,,india3                          ,,what
 ,,can ,,it ,,teach ,,us8               
,a ,course of ,lectures                 
,,delivered ,,before ,,the ,,university 
,,of ,,cambridge                        
,,by                           ,f4 ,,max
 ,m,ue,l,l,e,r1 ,k4,m4                  
,,text ,,and ,,foot-,,notes ,,complete4 
,,with ,,an ,,introduction ,,and ,,notes
 ,,by                       ,,prof4     
,,alexander ,,wilder1 ,m4,d4            
,,new ,,york3                           
,,funk  ,,wagnalls1 ,,publishers1       
#aj ,,and #ab ,,dey ,,street4         99
       99       99       99       99    
,,note ,,of ,,the ,,american            
,,publishers4   ,this volume contains   
the entire text of the ,english edition1
 also all the footnotes4 ,those portions
 of the ,appendix which serve to        
illustrate the text are inserted in     
their appropriate places as footnotes4  
,that part of the ,appendix which is of 
special interest only to the ,sanscrit  
scholar is omitted4  ,professor ,max    

,mueller writes in this book not as a   
theologian but as a scholar1 not        
intending either to attack or defend    
,christian theology4 ,his style is      
charming1 because he always writes with 
freedom and animation4 ,in some passages
 possibly his language might be         
misunderstood4 ,we have thought it best 
to add a few notes4 ,the notes of the   
,american editor are signed ,a4,w42     
ours1 ,am4 ,pubs4         99       99   
99       99       99     ,,dedicated    
,,to  ,e4 ,b4 ,,cowell ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41
  ,,professor ,,of ,,sanskrit ,,and     
,,fellow ,,of ,,corpus ,,christi        
,,college ,,in ,,the  ,,university ,,of 
,,cambridge4         99       99        
99       99       99     ,,my ,,dear    
,,cowell3 ,as these ,lectures would     
never have been written or delivered but
 for your hearty encouragement1 ,i hope 
you will now allow me to dedicate them  
to you1 not only as a token of my       
sincere admiration of your great        
achievements as an ,oriental scholar1   

but also as a memorial of our           
friendship1 now more than thirty years  
old1 a friendship which has grown from  
year to year1 has weathered many a      
storm1 and will last1 ,i trust1 for what
 to both of us may remain of our short  
passage from shore to shore4  ,i must   
add1 however1 that in dedicating these  
,lectures to you1 ,i do not wish to     
throw upon you any responsibility for   
the views which ,i have put forward in  
them4 ,i know that you do not agree with
 some of my views on the ancient        
religion and literature of ,india1 and  
,i am well aware that with regard to the
 recent date which ,i have assigned to  
the whole of what is commonly called the
 ,classical ,sanskrit ,literature1 ,i   
stand almost alone4 ,no1 if friendship  
can claim any voice in the courts of    
science and literature1 let me assure   
you that ,i shall consider your         
outspoken criticism of my ,lectures as  
the very best proof of your true and    
honest friendship4 ,i have through life 

considered it the greatest honor if real
 scholars1 ,i mean men not only of      
learning1 but of judgment and character1
 have considered my writings worthy of a
 severe and searching criticism2 and ,i 
have cared far more for the production  
of one single new fact1 though it spoke 
against me1 than for any amount of empty
 praise or empty abuse4 ,sincere        
devotion to his studies and an          
unswerving love of truth ought to       
furnish the true scholar with an armor  
impermeable to flattery or abuse1 and   
with a visor that shuts out no ray of   
light1 from whatever quarter it may     
come4 ,more light1 more truth1 more     
facts1 more combination of facts1 these 
are his quest4 ,and if in that quest he 
fails1 as many have failed before him1  
he knows that in the search for truth   
failures are sometimes the condition of 
victory1 and the true conquerors often  
those whom the world calls the          
vanquished4  ,you know better than      
anybody else the present state of       

,sanskrit scholarship4 ,you know that at
 present and for some time to come      
,sanskrit scholarship means discovery   
and conquest4 ,every one of your own    
works marks a real advance1 and a       
permanent occupation of new ground4 ,but
 you know also how small a strip has as 
yet been explored of the vast continent 
of ,sanskrit literature1 and how much   
still remains terra incognita4 ,no doubt
 this exploring work is troublesome1 and
 often disappointing1 but young students
 must learn the truth of a remark lately
 made by a distinguished member of the  
,indian ,civil ,service1 whose death we 
all deplore1 ,dr4 ,burnell1 that no     
trouble is thrown away which saves      
trouble to others4 ,we want men who will
 work hard1 even at the risk of seeing  
their labors unrequited2 we want strong 
and bold men who are not afraid of      
storms and shipwrecks4 ,the worst       
sailors are not those who suffer        
shipwreck1 but those who only dabble in 
puddles and are afraid of wetting their 

feet4  ,it is easy now to criticise the 
labors of ,sir ,william ,jones1 ,thomas 
,colebrooke1 and ,horace ,hayman        
,wilson1 but what would have become of  
,sanskrit scholarship if they had not   
rushed in where even now so many fear to
 tread8 and what will become of         
,sanskrit scholarship if their conquests
 are forever to mark the limits of our  
knowledge8 ,you know best that there is 
more to be discovered in ,sanskrit      
literature than ,nalas and ,sakuntalas1 
and surely the young men who every year 
go out to ,india are not deficient in   
the spirit of enterprise1 or even of    
adventure8 ,why1 then1 should it be said
 that the race of bold explorers1 who   
once rendered the name of the ,indian   
,civil ,service illustrious over the    
whole world1 has well-nigh become       
extinct1 and that ,england1 which offers
 the strongest incentives and the most  
brilliant opportunities for the study of
 the ancient language1 literature1 and  
history of ,india1 is no longer in the  

van of ,sanskrit scholarship8  ,if some 
of the young candidates for the ,indian 
,civil ,service who listened to my      
,lectures1 quietly made up their minds  
that such a reproach shall be wiped out1
 if a few of them at least determined to
 follow in the footsteps of ,sir        
,william ,jones1 and to show to the     
world that ,englishmen who have been    
able to achieve by pluck1 by            
perseverance1 and by real political     
genius the material conquest of ,india1 
do not mean to leave the laurels of its 
intellectual conquest entirely to other 
countries1 then ,i shall indeed rejoice1
 and feel that ,i have paid back1 in    
however small a degree1 the large debt  
of gratitude which ,i owe to my adopted 
country and to some of its greatest     
statesmen1 who have given me the        
opportunity which ,i could find nowhere 
else of realizing the dreams of my      
life--the publication of the text and   
commentary of the ,rig-,veda1 the most  
ancient book of ,sanskrit1 aye of ,aryan

 literature1 and now the edition of the 
translations of the ,sacred ,books of   
the ,east4  ,i have left my ,lectures   
very much as ,i delivered them at       
,cambridge4 ,i am fond of the form of   
,lectures1 because it seems to me the   
most natural form which in our age      
didactic composition ought to take4 ,as 
in ancient ,greece the dialogue         
reflected most truly the intellectual   
life of the people1 and as in the       
,middle ,ages learned literature        
naturally assumed with the recluse in   
his monastic cell the form of a long    
monologue1 so with us the lecture places
 the writer most readily in that        
position in which he is accustomed to   
deal with his fellow-men1 and to        
communicate his knowledge to others4 ,it
 has no doubt certain disadvantages4 ,in
 a lecture which is meant to be         
didactic1 we have1 for the sake of      
completeness1 to say and to repeat      
certain things which must be familiar to
 some of our readers1 while we are also 

forced to leave out information which1  
even in its imperfect form1 we should   
probably not hesitate to submit to our  
fellow-students1 but which we feel we   
have not yet sufficiently mastered and  
matured to enable us to place it clearly
 and simply before a larger public4     
,but the advantages outweigh the        
disadvantages4 ,a lecture1 by keeping a 
critical audience constantly before our 
eyes1 forces us to condense our subject1
 to discriminate between what is        
important and what is not1 and often to 
deny ourselves the pleasure of          
displaying what may have cost us the    
greatest labor1 but is of little        
consequence to other scholars4 ,in      
lecturing we are constantly reminded of 
what students are so apt to forget1 that
 their knowledge is meant not for       
themselves only1 but for others1 and    
that to know well means to be able to   
teach well4 ,i confess ,i can never     
write unless ,i think of somebody for   
whom ,i write1 and ,i should never wish 

for a better audience to have before my 
mind than the learned1 brilliant1 and   
kind-hearted assembly by which ,i was   
greeted in your ,university4  ,still ,i 
must confess that ,i did not succeed in 
bringing all ,i wished to say1 and more 
particularly the evidence on which some 
of my statements rested1 up to the      
higher level of a lecture2 and ,i have  
therefore added a number of notes       
containing the less-organized matter    
which resisted as yet that treatment    
which is necessary before our studies   
can realize their highest purpose1 that 
of feeding1 invigorating1 and           
inspiriting the minds of others4  ,yours
 affectionately1  ,f4 ,,max             
,m,ue,l,l,e,r4  ,,oxford1 ,december1    
#ahhb4         99       99       99     
99       99     ,,contents4             
,,dedication1  ,,introduction1          
,,lecture  ,i4 ,,what ,,can ,,india     
,,teach ,,us8         ,,ii4 ,,on ,,the  
,,truthful ,,character ,,of ,,the       
,,hindus1        ,,iii4 ,,the ,,human   

,,interest ,,of ,,sanskrit ,,literature1
         ,,iv4 ,,objections1            
,v4 ,,the ,,lessons ,,of ,,the ,,veda1  
,,vi4 ,,vedic ,,deities1         ,,vii4 
,,veda ,,and ,,vedanta1         99      
99       99       99       99           
,,introduction4   ,professor ,max       
,mueller has been so long and widely    
known in the world of letters as to     
render any formal introduction          
unnecessary4 ,he has been from his early
 youth an assiduous student of          
philology1 justly regarding it as an    
important key to history and an         
invaluable auxiliary to intellectual    
progress4 ,a glance at his personal     
career will show the ground upon which  
his reputation is established4          
,friedrich ,maximilian ,mueller1 the son
 of ,wilhelm ,mueller1 the ,saxon poet1 
was born at ,dessau1 ,december #fth1    
#ahbc4 ,he matriculated at ,leipzig in  
his eighteenth year1 giving his         
principal attention to classical        
philology1 and receiving his degree in  

#ahdc4 ,he immediately began a course of
 ,oriental studies1 chiefly ,sanskrit1  
under the supervision of ,professor     
,brockhaus1 and in #ahdd engaged in his 
translation of the ,hitopadesa4 ,he     
removed from ,leipzig to ,berlin1 and   
attended the lectures of ,bopp1         
,ruecker1 and ,schelling4 ,the next year
 he went to ,paris to listen to ,eugene 
,burnouf at the ,college de ,france4 ,he
 now began the collecting of material   
for his great quarto edition of the     
,rig-,veda ,sanhita and the ,commentary 
of ,saganadranja4 ,he visited ,england  
for this purpose to examine the         
manuscripts in the ,bodleian ,library   
and at the ,indian ,house4 ,at the      
recommendation of ,h4 ,h4 ,wilson1 the  
,orientalist1 he was commissioned by the
 ,east ,india ,company to publish his   
edition in ,england at their expense4   
,the first volume appeared in #ahdi1 and
 five others followed during the next   
few years4  ,in #ahej he delivered a    
course of ,lectures on ,comparative     

,philology at ,oxford1 and the next year
 was made member of ,christ ,church1    
curator1 etc41 and appointed ,taylorian 
,professor of ,modern ,european         
,languages and ,literature4 ,he received
 also numerous other marks of           
distinction from universities1 and was  
made one of the eight foreign members of
 the ,institute of ,france4 ,the ,volney
 prize was awarded him by the ,french   
,academy for his ,essay on the          
,comparative ,philology of              
,indo-,european ,languages and its      
,bearing on the ,early ,civilization of 
,mankind4  ,his writings have been      
numerous4 ,besides editing the          
translations of the ,sacred ,books of   
the ,principal ,religions1 he has       
published a ,handbook for the ,study of 
,sanskrit1 a ,sanskrit-,english         
,dictionary and ,grammar1 ,lectures upon
 the ,science of ,language1 ,an         
,introduction to the ,science of        
,religion1 ,essays on ,mythology1 ,chips
 from a ,german ,workshop1 etc4 ,he     

seems to have no intermission1 but      
penetrates where others would not have  
ventured1 or have faltered from utter   
weariness4 ,in the field of philology he
 has few peers1 while in early ,sanskrit
 learning he has virtually taken the    
part of an innovator4 ,while reverently 
following after ,sir ,william ,jones1   
,colebrooke1 ,windischmann1 ,bopp1 and  
others of equal distinction1 he sets    
aside the received views in regard to   
chronology and historical occurrences4  
,the era of ,vikramaditya and the       
,golden ,age of ,sanskrit literature1   
bearing a date almost simultaneous with 
the ,augustan period at the ,west1 are  
postponed by him to a later century4 ,it
 may be that he has overlooked some     
canon of interpretation that would have 
modified his results4 ,those1 however1  
who hesitate to accept his conclusions  
freely acknowledge his scholarly        
enthusiasm1 persistent energy1 and great
 erudition4  ,sanskrit in his judgment  
constitutes an essential element of a   

liberal education4 ,while heartily      
admiring the employment of some of the  
best talent and noblest genius of our   
age in the study of development in the  
outward world1 from the first growth of 
the earth and the beginning of organic  
life to the highest stages1 he pleads   
earnestly that there is an inward and   
intellectual world also to be studied in
 its historical development in strict   
analogy with the other1 leading up to   
the beginning of rational thought in its
 steady progress from the lowest to the 
highest stages4 ,in that study of the   
history of the human mind1 in that study
 of ourselves1 our true selves1 ,india  
occupies a place which is second to no  
other country4 ,whatever sphere of the  
human mind may be selected for special  
study1 whether language1 religion1      
mythology1 or philosophy1 whether laws1 
customs1 primitive art or primitive     
science1 we must go to ,india1 because  
some of the most valuable and most      
instructive materials in the history of 

man are treasured up there1 and there   
only4 ,he inveighs most eloquently      
against the narrowing of our horizon to 
the history of ,greeks and ,romans1     
,saxons and ,celts1 with a dim          
background of ,palestine1 ,egypt1 and   
,babylon1 leaving out of sight our      
nearest intellectual relatives1 the     
,aryans of ,india1 the framers of that  
most wonderful language the ,sanskrit1  
the fellow-workers in the construction  
of our fundamental concepts1 the fathers
 of the most natural of natural         
religions1 the makers of the most       
transparent of mythologies1 the         
inventors of the most subtle philosophy1
 and the givers of the most elaborate   
laws4 ,it is the purpose of historical  
study to enable each generation to      
profit from the experience of those who 
came before1 and advance toward higher  
aims1 without being obliged to start    
anew from the same point as its         
ancestors after the manner of every race
 of brutes4 ,he who knows little of     

those who preceded is very likely to    
care little for those coming after4     
,life would be to him a chain of sand1  
while it ought to be a kind of electric 
chain that makes our hearts tremble and 
vibrate with the most ancient thoughts  
of the ,past1 as well as with the most  
distant hopes of the ,future4  ,in no   
just sense is this an exaggeration4     
,deep as science and research have      
explored1 extensive as is the field     
which genius and art have occupied1 they
 have an ,herculean labor yet to perform
 before ,india will have yielded up all 
her opulence of learning4 ,the          
literature of the world in all ages has 
been richly furnished1 if not actually  
inspired1 from that fountain4 ,the      
,wisdom of the ,ancients1 so much lauded
 in the earlier writings of ,hebrews1   
,greeks1 and ,phoenicians1 was          
abundantly represented in the lore of   
these ,wise ,men of the ,east4  ,the    
first ,ionian sages lighted the torch of
 philosophy at the altar of ,zoroaster4 

,the conquest of ,asia ,minor by the    
,persians brought ,thales1 ,anaximenes1 
and ,herakleitos into contact with the  
,eranian dogmas4 ,the leaven thus       
imparted had a potent influence upon the
 entire mass of ,grecian thought4 ,we   
find it easy to trace its action upon   
opinions in later periods and among the 
newer nations4 ,kant1 ,hegel1 ,stewart1 
and ,hamilton1 as well as ,plato1 ,zeno1
 and ,aristotle1 had their prototypes in
 the world and antiquity beyond4 ,even  
the first ,zarathustra was an exponent  
and not the originator of the ,religion 
and ,science of ,light4 ,we are thus    
carried by this route back to the       
ancient ,aryan ,home for the sources    
from which so many golden streams have  
issued4 ,in the ,sanskrit books and     
mantras we must look for the treasures  
that make human souls rich4 ,perhaps we 
have been too much disposed to regard   
that former world as a wonderland1 a    
repertory of folk-lore1 or a theatre of 
gross and revolting superstition4 ,we   

are now required by candor and justice  
to revise such notions4 ,these primeval 
peoples1 in their way and in a language 
akin to ours1 adored the ,father in     
heaven1 and contemplated the future of  
the soul with a sure and certain hope4  
,nor did they1 while observing the      
myriads of races intervening between man
 and the monad1 regard the world beyond 
as waste and void4 ,intelligences of    
every grade were believed to people the 
region between mortals and the          
,infinite4 ,the angels and archangels1  
and the spirits of the just made        
perfect--devas and pitris they called   
them--ministered about the throne of the
 ,supreme ,being1 and abode in the      
various spheres of universal space4     
,much of the difference between our     
thought and theirs consists in the names
 and not in the substance of our        
beliefs4  ,we may thus be prepared to   
receive what ,india can teach us4 ,in   
her classic dialect1 the ,sanskrit1 we  
may read with what success the children 

of the men who journeyed from the       
ancient ,aryan ,home into the ,punjab   
and ,aryavartta have ventured to look   
inward upon themselves1 upward to       
something not themselves1 and to see    
whether they could not understand a     
little of the true purport of that      
mystery which we call life upon earth4  
,it was perfectly natural1 as well as   
perfectly right1 that as the beholder   
caught a glance of the ,infinite        
,beyond1 the image impressed itself upon
 his sensorium1 as would be the case    
from looking at the sun1 and he would as
 a result perceive that ,infinite in all
 that he looked upon4 ,thus to the      
,sanskrit-speaking ,aryan1 as to the    
enlightened mind of to-day1 not to see  
it was utter blindness4 ,what we call   
science1 law1 morality1 religion1 was in
 his view pervaded alike throughout by  
this concept of ,divine presence1 or    
else it would have been less than a     
dream that had not come to the awaking4 
,he was a follower of the light1 not    

from the senses or the logical          
understanding1 but from the eternal     
world4 ,let us not dwell on any darker  
shade of the picture4 ,clouds are dark  
to those who are beneath them2 but on   
the upper side1 where the sun shines1   
they glow with golden splendor4 ,let us 
be willing to contemplate ,india        
fraternally1 and upon that side where   
the radiance of the ,divine sheds a     
refulgent illumination4  ,,alexander    
,,wilder4  ,,newark1 ,n4 ,j41 ,may      
#adth1 #ahhc4         99       99       
99       99       99     ,,india4       
,,lecture ,i4  ,,what ,,can ,,india     
,,teach ,,us8   ,when ,i received from  
the ,board of ,historical ,studies at   
,cambridge the invitation to deliver a  
course of lectures1 specially intended  
for the candidates for the ,indian      
,civil ,service1 ,i hesitated for some  
time1 feeling extremely doubtful whether
 in a few public discourses ,i could say
 anything that would be of real use to  
them in passing their examinations4 ,to 

enable young men to pass their          
examinations seems now to have become   
the chief1 if not the only object of the
 universities2 and to no class of       
students is it of greater importance to 
pass their examinations1 and to pass    
them well1 than to the candidates for   
the ,indian ,civil ,service4  ,but      
although ,i was afraid that attendance  
on a few public lectures1 such as ,i    
could give1 would hardly benefit a      
candidate who was not already fully     
prepared to pass through the fiery      
ordeal of the three ,london             
examinations1 ,i could not on the other 
hand shut my eyes completely to the fact
 that1 after all1 universities were not 
meant entirely1 or even chiefly1 as     
stepping-stones to an examination1 but  
that there is something else which      
universities can teach and ought to     
teach--nay1 which ,i feel quite sure    
they were originally meant to           
teach--something that may not have a    
marketable value before a ,board of     

,examiners1 but which has a permanent   
value for the whole of our life1 and    
that is a real interest in our work1    
and1 more than that1 a love of our work1
 and1 more than that1 a true joy and    
happiness in our work4 ,if a university 
can teach that1 if it can engraft that  
one small living germ in the minds of   
the young men who come here to study and
 to prepare themselves for the battle of
 life1 and1 for what is still more      
difficult to encounter1 the daily dull  
drudgery of life1 then1 ,i feel         
convinced1 a university has done more1  
and conferred a more lasting benefit on 
its pupils than by helping them to pass 
the most difficult examinations1 and to 
take the highest place among ,senior    
,wranglers or ,first-,class men4        
,unfortunately1 that kind of work which 
is now required for passing one         
examination after another1 that process 
of cramming and crowding which has of   
late been brought to the highest pitch  
of perfection1 has often the very       

opposite effect1 and instead of exciting
 an appetite for work1 it is apt to     
produce an indifference1 if not a kind  
of intellectual nausea1 that may last   
for life4  ,and nowhere is this so much 
to be feared as in the case of          
candidates for the ,indian ,civil       
,service4 ,after they have passed their 
first examination for admission to the  
,indian ,civil ,service1 and given proof
 that they have received the benefits of
 a liberal education1 and acquired that 
general information in classics1        
history1 and mathematics1 which is      
provided at our public schools1 and     
forms no doubt the best and surest      
foundation for all more special and     
professional studies in later life1 they
 suddenly find themselves torn away from
 their old studies and their old        
friends1 and compelled to take up new   
subjects which to many of them seem     
strange1 outlandish1 if not repulsive4  
,strange alphabets1 strange languages1  
strange names1 strange literatures and  

laws have to be faced1 to be got up as  
it is called1 not from choice1 but from 
dire necessity4 ,the whole course of    
study during two years is determined for
 them1 the subjects fixed1 the books    
prescribed1 the examinations regulated1 
and there is no time to look either     
right or left1 if a candidate wishes to 
make sure of taking each successive     
fence in good style1 and without an     
accident4  ,i know quite well that this 
cannot be helped4 ,i am not speaking    
against the system of examinations in   
general1 if only they are intelligently 
conducted2 nay1 as an old examiner      
myself1 ,i feel bound to say that the   
amount of knowledge produced ready-made 
at these examinations is to my mind     
perfectly astounding4 ,but while the    
answers are there on paper1 strings of  
dates1 lists of royal names and battles1
 irregular verbs1 statistical figures   
and whatever else you like1 how seldom  
do we find that the heart of the        
candidates is in the work which they    

have to do4 ,the results produced are   
certainly most ample and voluminous1 but
 they rarely contain a spark of original
 thought1 or even a clever mistake4 ,it 
is work done from necessity1 or1 let us 
be just1 from a sense of duty1 but it is
 seldom1 or hardly ever1 a labor of     
love4  ,now why should that be8 ,why    
should a study of ,greek or ,latin--of  
the poetry1 the philosophy1 the laws and
 the art of ,greece and ,italy--seem    
congenial to us1 why should it excite   
even a certain enthusiasm1 and command  
general respect1 while a study of       
,sanskrit1 and of the ancient poetry1   
the philosophy1 the laws1 and the art of
 ,india is looked upon1 in the best     
case1 as curious1 but is considered by  
most people as useless1 tedious1 if not 
absurd8  ,and1 strange to say1 this     
feeling exists in ,england more than in 
any other country4 ,in ,france1         
,germany1 and ,italy1 even in ,denmark1 
,sweden1 and ,russia1 there is a vague  
charm connected with the name of ,india4

 ,one of the most beautiful poems in the
 ,german language is the ,weisheit der  
,brahmanen1 the ,wisdom of the          
,brahmans1 by ,rueckert1 to my mind more
 rich in thought and more perfect in    
form than even ,goethe's                
,west-oestlicher ,divan4 ,a scholar who 
studies ,sanskrit in ,germany is        
supposed to be initiated in the deep and
 dark mysteries of ancient wisdom1 and a
 man who has travelled in ,india1 even  
if he has only discovered ,calcutta1 or 
,bombay1 or ,madras1 is listened to like
 another ,marco ,polo4 ,in ,england a   
student of ,sanskrit is generally       
considered a bore1 and an old ,indian   
civil servant1 if he begins to describe 
the marvels of ,elephanta or the ,towers
 of ,silence1 runs the risk of producing
 a count-out4  ,there are indeed a few  
,oriental scholars whose works are read1
 and who have acquired a certain        
celebrity in ,england1 because they were
 really men of uncommon genius1 and     
would have ranked among the great       

glories of the country1 but for the     
misfortune that their energies were     
devoted to ,indian literature--,i mean  
,sir ,william ,jones1 one of the most   
enlightened of the sons of men1 as ,dr4 
,johnson called him1 and ,thomas        
,colebrooke4 ,but the names of others   
who have done good work in their day    
also1 men such as ,ballantyne1          
,buchanan1 ,carey1 ,crawfurd1 ,davis1   
,elliot1 ,ellis1 ,houghton1 ,leyden1    
,mackenzie1 ,marsden1 ,muir1 ,prinsep1  
,rennell1 ,turnour1 ,upham1 ,wallich1   
,warren1 ,wilkins1 ,wilson1 and many    
others1 are hardly known beyond the     
small circle of ,oriental scholars2 and 
their works are looked for in vain in   
libraries which profess to represent    
with a certain completeness the         
principal branches of scholarship and   
science in ,england4  ,how many times1  
when ,i advised young men1 candidates   
for the ,indian ,civil ,service1 to     
devote themselves before all things to a
 study of ,sanskrit1 have ,i been told1 

,what is the use of our studying        
,sanskrit8 ,there are translations of   
,sakuntala1 ,manu1 and the ,hitopadesa1 
and what else is there in that          
literature that is worth reading8       
,kalidasa may be very pretty1 and the   
,laws of ,manu are very curious1 and the
 fables of the ,hitopadesa are very     
quaint2 but you would not compare       
,sanskrit literature with ,greek1 or    
recommend us to waste our time in       
copying and editing ,sanskrit texts     
which either teach us nothing that we do
 not know already1 or teach us something
 which we do not care to know8  ,this   
seems to me a most unhappy              
misconception1 and it will be the chief 
object of my lectures to try to remove  
it1 or at all events to modify it1 as   
much as possible4 ,i shall not attempt  
to prove that ,sanskrit literature is as
 good as ,greek literature4 ,why should 
we always compare8 ,a study of ,greek   
literature has its own purpose1 and a   
study of ,sanskrit literature has its   

own purpose2 but what ,i feel convinced 
of1 and hope to convince you of1 is that
 ,sanskrit literature1 if studied only  
in a right spirit1 is full of human     
interests1 full of lessons which even   
,greek could never teach us1 a subject  
worthy to occupy the leisure1 and more  
than the leisure1 of every ,indian civil
 servant2 and certainly the best means  
of making any young man who has to spend
 five-and-twenty years of his life in   
,india1 feel at home among the ,indians1
 as a fellow-worker among               
fellow-workers1 and not as an alien     
among aliens4 ,there will be abundance  
of useful and most interesting work for 
him to do1 if only he cares to do it1   
work such as he would look for in vain1 
whether in ,italy or in ,greece1 or even
 among the pyramids of ,egypt or the    
palaces of ,babylon4  ,you will now     
understand why ,i have chosen as the    
title of my lectures1 ,what can ,india  
teach us8 ,true1 there are many things  
which ,india has to learn from us2 but  

there are other things1 and1 in one     
sense1 very important things1 which we  
too may learn from ,india4  ,if ,i were 
to look over the whole world to find out
 the country most richly endowed with   
all the wealth1 power1 and beauty that  
nature can bestow--in some parts a very 
paradise on earth--,i should point to   
,india4 ,if ,i were asked under what sky
 the human mind has most full developed 
some of its choicest gifts1 has most    
deeply pondered on the greatest problems
 of life1 and has found solutions of    
some of them which well deserve the     
attention even of those who have studied
 ,plato and ,kant--,i should point to   
,india4 ,and if ,i were to ask myself   
from what literature we1 here in        
,europe1 we who have been nurtured      
almost exclusively on the thoughts of   
,greeks and ,romans1 and of one ,semitic
 race1 the ,jewish1 may draw that       
corrective which is most wanted in order
 to make our inner life more perfect1   
more comprehensive1 more universal1 in  

fact more truly human1 a life1 not for  
this life only1 but a transfigured and  
eternal life--again ,i should point to  
,india4  ,i know you will be surprised  
to hear me say this4 ,i know that more  
particularly those who have spent many  
years of active life in ,calcutta1 or   
,bombay1 or ,madras1 will be            
horror-struck at the idea that the      
humanity they meet with there1 whether  
in the bazaars or in the courts of      
justice1 or in so-called native society1
 should be able to teach us any lessons4
  ,let me therefore explain at once to  
my friends who may have lived in ,india 
for years1 as civil servants1 or        
officers1 or missionaries1 or merchants1
 and who ought to know a great deal more
 of that country than one who has never 
set foot on the soil of ,aryavarta1 that
 we are speaking of two very different  
,indias4 ,i am thinking chiefly of      
,india such as it was a thousand1 two   
thousand1 it may be three thousand years
 ago2 they think of the ,india of       

to-day4 ,and again1 when thinking of the
 ,india of to-day1 they remember chiefly
 the ,india of ,calcutta1 ,bombay1 or   
,madras1 the ,india of the towns4 ,i    
look to the ,india of the village       
communities1 the true ,india of the     
,indians4  ,what ,i wish to show to you1
 ,i mean more especially the candidates 
for the ,indian ,civil ,service1 is that
 this ,india of a thousand1 or two      
thousand1 or three thousand years ago1  
ay the ,india of to-day also1 if only   
you know where to look for it1 is full  
of problems1 the solution of which      
concerns all of us1 even us in this     
,europe of the nineteenth century4  ,if 
you have acquired any special tastes    
here in ,england1 you will find plenty  
to satisfy them in ,india2 and whoever  
has learned to take an interest in any  
of the great problems that occupy the   
best thinkers and workers at home1 need 
certainly not be afraid of ,india       
proving to him an intellectual exile4   
,if you care for geology1 there is work 

for you from the ,himalayas to ,ceylon4 
,if you are fond of botany1 there is a  
flora rich enough for many ,hookers4    
,if you are a zoologist1 think of       
,haeckel1 who is just now rushing       
through ,indian forests and dredging in 
,indian seas1 and to whom his stay in   
,india is like the realization of the   
brightest dream of his life4  ,if you   
are interested in ethnology1 why ,india 
is like a living ethnological museum4   
,if you are fond of archaeology1 if you 
have ever assisted at the opening of a  
barrow in ,england1 and know the delight
 of finding a fibula1 or a knife1 or a  
flint in a heap of rubbish1 read only   
,general ,cunningham's ,annual ,reports 
of the ,archaeological ,survey of       
,india1 and you will be impatient for   
the time when you can take your spade   
and bring to light the ancient ,viharas 
or colleges built by the ,buddhist      
monarchs of ,india4  ,if ever you amused
 yourselves with collecting coins1 why  
the soil of ,india teems with coins1    

,persian1 ,carian1 ,thracian1 ,parthian1
 ,greek1 ,macedonian1 ,scythian1        
,roman1#a and ,mohammedan4 ,when ,warren
 ,hastings was ,governor-,general1 an   
earthen pot was found on the bank of a  
river in the province of ,benares1      
containing one hundred and seventy-two  
gold darics4#b ,warren ,hastings        
considered himself as making the most   
munificent present to his masters that  
he might ever have it in his power to   
send them1 by presenting those ancient  
coins to the ,court of ,directors4 ,the 
story is that they were sent to the     
melting-pot4 ,at all events they had    
disappeared when ,warren ,hastings      
returned to ,england4 ,it rests with you
 to prevent the revival of such         
vandalism4  ,in one of the last numbers 
of the ,asiatic ,journal of ,bengal you 
may read of the discovery of a treasure 
as rich in gold almost as some of the   
tombs opened by ,dr4 ,schliemann at     
,mykenae1 nay1 ,i should add1 perhaps1  
not quite unconnected with some of the  

treasures found at ,mykenae2 yet hardly 
any one has taken notice of it in       
,england6#c  ,the study of ,mythology   
has assumed an entirely new character1  
chiefly owing to the light that has been
 thrown on it by the ancient ,vedic     
,mythology of ,india4 ,but though the   
foundation of a true ,science of        
,mythology has been laid1 all the detail
 has still to be worked out1 and could  
be worked out nowhere better than in    
,india4  ,even the study of fables owes 
its new life to ,india1 from whence the 
various migrations of fables have been  
traced at various times and through     
various channels from ,east to ,west4#d 
,buddhism is now known to have been the 
principal source of our legends and     
parables4 ,but here1 too1 many problems 
still wait for their solution4 ,think1  
for instance1 of the allusion to the    
fable of the donkey in the lion's skin1 
which occurs in ,plato's ,cratylus4#e   
,was that borrowed from the ,east8 ,or  
take the fable of the weasel changed by 

,aphrodite into a woman who1 when she   
saw a mouse1 could not refrain from     
making a spring at it4 ,this1 too1 is   
very like a ,sanskrit fable2 but how    
then could it have been brought into    
,greece early enough to appear in one of
 the comedies of ,strattis1 about #djj  
,b4,c48#f ,here1 too1 there is still    
plenty of work to do4  ,we may go back  
even farther into antiquity1 and still  
find strange coincidences between the   
legends of ,india and the legends of the
 ,west1 without as yet being able to say
 how they travelled1 whether from ,east 
to ,west1 or from ,west to ,east4 ,that 
at the time of ,solomon there was a     
channel of communication open between   
,india and ,syria and ,palestine is     
established beyond doubt1 ,i believe1 by
 certain ,sanskrit words which occur in 
the ,bible as names of articles of      
export from ,ophir1 articles such as    
ivory1 apes1 peacocks1 and sandalwood1  
which1 taken together1 could not have   
been exported from any country but      

,india4#g ,nor is there any reason to   
suppose that the commercial intercourse 
between ,india1 the ,persian ,gulf1 the 
,red ,sea and the ,mediterranean was    
ever completely interrupted1 even at the
 time when the ,book of ,kings is       
supposed to have been written4  ,now you
 remember the judgment of ,solomon1     
which has always been admired as a proof
 of great legal wisdom among the        
,jews4#h ,i must confess that1 not      
having a legal mind1 ,i never could     
suppress a certain shudder#i when       
reading the decision of ,solomon3       
,divide the living child in two1 and    
give half to the one1 and half to the   
other4  ,let me now tell you the same   
story as it is told by the ,buddhists1  
whose sacred ,canon is full of such     
legends and parables4 ,in the ,kanjur1  
which is the ,tibetan translation of the
 ,buddhist ,tripitaka1 we likewise read 
of two women who claimed each to be the 
mother of the same child4 ,the king1    
after listening to their quarrels for a 

long time1 gave it up as hopeless to    
settle who was the real mother4 ,upon   
this ,visakha stepped forward and said3 
,what is the use of examining and       
cross-examining these women8 ,let them  
take the boy and settle it among        
themselves4 ,thereupon both women fell  
on the child1 and when the fight became 
violent the child was hurt and began to 
cry4 ,then one of them let him go1      
because she could not bear to hear the  
child cry4  ,that settled the question4 
,the king gave the child to the true    
mother1 and had the other beaten with a 
rod4  ,this seems to me1 if not the more
 primitive1 yet the more natural form of
 the story--showing a deeper knowledge  
of human nature and more wisdom than    
even the wisdom of ,solomon4#aj  ,many  
of you may have studied not only        
languages1 but also the ,science of     
,language1 and is there any country in  
which some of the most important        
problems of that science1 say only the  
growth and decay of dialects1 or the    

possible mixture of languages1 with     
regard not only to words1 but to        
grammatical elements also1 can be       
studied to greater advantage than among 
the ,aryan1 the ,dravidian1 and the     
,munda inhabitants of ,india1 when      
brought in contact with their various   
invaders and conquerors1 the ,greeks1   
the ,yue-tchi1 the ,arabs1 the          
,persians1 the ,moguls1 and lastly the  
,english8  ,again1 if you are a student 
of ,jurisprudence1 there is a history of
 law to be explored in ,india1 very     
different from what is known of the     
history of law in ,greece1 in ,rome1 and
 in ,germany1 yet both by its contrasts 
and by its similarities full of         
suggestions to the student of           
,comparative ,jurisprudence4 ,new       
materials are being discovered every    
year1 as1 for instance1 the so-called   
,dharma or ,samayakarika ,sutras1 which 
have supplied the materials for the     
later metrical law-books1 such as the   
famous ,laws of ,manu4 ,what was once   

called ,the ,code of ,laws of ,manu1 and
 confidently referred to #abjj1 or at   
least #ejj ,b4,c41 is now hesitatingly  
referred to perhaps the fourth century  
,a4,d41 and called neither a ,code1 nor 
a ,code of ,laws1 least of all1 the     
,code of ,laws of ,manu4  ,if you have  
learned to appreciate the value of      
recent researches into the antecedents  
of all law1 namely the foundation and   
growth of the simplest political        
communities--and nowhere could you have 
had better opportunities for it than    
here at ,cambridge--you will find a     
field of observation opened before you  
in the still-existing village estates in
 ,india that will amply repay careful   
research4  ,and take that which1 after  
all1 whether we confess or deny it1 we  
care for more in this life than for     
anything else--nay1 which is often far  
more cared for by those who deny than by
 those who confess--take that which     
supports1 pervades1 and directs all our 
acts and thoughts and hopes--without    

which there can be neither              
village-community nor empire1 neither   
custom nor law1 neither right nor       
wrong--take that which1 next to         
language1 has most firmly fixed the     
specific and permanent barrier between  
man and beast--which alone has made life
 possible and bearable1 and which1 as it
 is the deepest1 though often-hidden    
spring of individual life1 is also the  
foundation of all national life--the    
history of all histories1 and yet the   
mystery of all mysteries--take religion1
 and where can you study its true       
origin1#aa its natural growth1 and its  
inevitable decay better than in ,india1 
the home of ,brahmanism1 the birthplace 
of ,buddhism1 and the refuge of         
,zoroastrianism1 even now the mother of 
new superstitions--and why not1 in the  
future1 the regenerate child of the     
purest faith1 if only purified from the 
dust of nineteen centuries8  ,you will  
find yourselves everywhere in ,india    
between an immense past and an immense  

future1 with opportunities such as the  
old world could but seldom1 if ever1    
offer you4 ,take any of the burning     
questions of the day--popular education1
 higher education1 parliamentary        
representation1 codification of laws1   
finance1 emigration1 poor-law2 and      
whether you have anything to teach and  
to try1 or anything to observe and to   
learn1 ,india will supply you with a    
laboratory such as exists nowhere else4 
,that very ,sanskrit1 the study of which
 may at first seem so tedious to you and
 so useless1 if only you will carry it  
on1 as you may carry it on here at      
,cambridge better than anywhere else1   
will open before you large layers of    
literature1 as yet almost unknown and   
unexplored1 and allow you an insight    
into strata of thought deeper than any  
you have known before1 and rich in      
lessons that appeal to the deepest      
sympathies of the human heart4  ,depend 
upon it1 if only you can make leisure1  
you will find plenty of work in ,india  

for your leisure hours4  ,india is not1 
as you may imagine1 a distant1 strange1 
or1 at the very utmost1 a curious       
country4 ,india for the future belongs  
to ,europe1 it has its place in the     
,indo-,european world1 it has its place 
in our own history1 and in what is the  
very life of history1 the history of the
 human mind4  ,you know how some of the 
best talent and the noblest genius of   
our age has been devoted to the study of
 the development of the outward or      
material world1 the growth of the earth1
 the first appearance of living cells1  
their combination and differentiation1  
leading up to the beginning of organic  
life1 and its steady progress from the  
lowest to the highest stages4 ,is there 
not an inward and intellectual world    
also which has to be studied in its     
historical development1 from the first  
appearance of predicative and           
demonstrative roots1 their combination  
and differentiation1 leading up to the  
beginning of rational thought in its    

steady progress from the lowest to the  
highest stages8 ,and in that study of   
the history of the human mind1 in that  
study of ourselves1 of our true selves1 
,india occupies a place second to no    
other country4 ,whatever sphere of the  
human mind you may select for your      
special study1 whether it be language1  
or religion1 or mythology1 or           
philosophy1 whether it be laws or       
customs1 primitive art or primitive     
science1 everywhere1 you have to go to  
,india1 whether you like it or not1     
because some of the most valuable and   
most instructive materials in the       
history of man are treasured up in      
,india1 and in ,india only4  ,and while 
thus trying to explain to those whose   
lot will soon be cast in ,india the true
 position which that wonderful country  
holds or ought to hold in universal     
history1 ,i may perhaps be able at the  
same time to appeal to the sympathies of
 other members of this ,university1 by  
showing them how imperfect our knowledge

 of universal history1 our insight into 
the development of the human intellect1 
must always remain1 if we narrow our    
horizon to the history of ,greeks and   
,romans1 ,saxons and ,celts1 with a dim 
background of ,palestine1 ,egypt1 and   
,babylon1#ab and leave out of sight our 
nearest intellectual relatives1 the     
,aryans of ,india1 the framers of the   
most wonderful language1 the ,sanskrit1 
the fellow-workers in the construction  
of our fundamental concepts1 the fathers
 of the most natural of natural         
religions1 the makers of the most       
transparent of mythologies1 the         
inventors of the most subtle philosophy1
 and the givers of the most elaborate   
laws4  ,there are many things which we  
think essential in a liberal education1 
whole chapters of history which we teach
 in our schools and universities1 that  
cannot for one moment compare with the  
chapter relating to ,india1 if only     
properly understood and freely          
interpreted4  ,in our time1 when the    

study of history threatens to become    
almost an impossibility--such is the    
mass of details which historians collect
 in archives and pour out before us in  
monographs--it seems to me more than    
ever the duty of the true historian to  
find out the real proportion of things1 
to arrange his materials according to   
the strictest rules of artistic         
perspective1 and to keep completely out 
of sight all that may be rightly ignored
 by us in our own passage across the    
historical stage of the world4 ,it is   
this power of discovering what is really
 important that distinguishes the true  
historian from the mere chronicler1 in  
whose eyes everything is important1     
particularly if he has discovered it    
himself4 ,i think it was ,frederick the 
,great who1 when sighing for a true     
historian of his reign1 complained      
bitterly that those who wrote the       
history of ,prussia never forgot to     
describe the buttons on his uniform4    
,and it is probably of such historical  

works that ,carlyle was thinking when he
 said that he had waded through them    
all1 but that nothing should ever induce
 him to hand even their names and titles
 down to posterity4 ,and yet how much is
 there even in ,carlyle's histories that
 might safely be consigned to oblivion6 
,why do we want to know history8 ,why   
does history form a recognized part of  
our liberal education8 ,simply because  
all of us1 and every one of us1 ought to
 know how we have come to be what we    
are1 so that each generation need not   
start again from the same point and toil
 over the same ground1 but1 profiting by
 the experience of those who came       
before1 may advance toward higher points
 and nobler aims4 ,as a child when      
growing up might ask his father or      
grandfather who had built the house they
 lived in1 or who had cleared the field 
that yielded them their food1 we ask the
 historian whence we came1 and how we   
came into possession of what we call our
 own4 ,history may tell us afterward    

many useful and amusing things1 gossip1 
such as a child might like to hear from 
his mother or grandmother2 but what     
history has to teach us before all and  
everything1 is our own antecedents1 our 
own ancestors1 our own descent4  ,now   
our principal intellectual ancestors    
are1 no doubt1 the ,jews1 the ,greeks1  
the ,romans1 and the ,saxons1 and we1   
here in ,europe1 should not call a man  
educated or enlightened who was ignorant
 of the debt which he owes to his       
intellectual ancestors in ,palestine1   
,greece1 ,rome1 and ,germany4 ,the whole
 past history of the world would be     
darkness to him1 and not knowing what   
those who came before him had done for  
him1 he would probably care little to do
 anything for those who are to come     
after him4 ,life would be to him a chain
 of sand1 while it ought to be a kind of
 electric chain that makes our hearts   
tremble and vibrate with the most       
ancient thoughts of the past1 as well as
 with the most distant hopes of the     

future4  ,let us begin with our         
religion4 ,no one can understand even   
the historical possibility of the       
,christian religion without knowing     
something of the ,jewish race1 which    
must be studied chiefly in the pages of 
the ,old ,testament4 ,and in order to   
appreciate the true relation of the     
,jews to the rest of the ancient world1 
and to understand what ideas were       
peculiarly their own1 and what ideas    
they shared in common with the other    
members of the ,semitic stock1 or what  
moral and religious impulses they       
received from their historical contact  
with other nations of antiquity1 it is  
absolutely necessary that we should pay 
some attention to the history of        
,babylon1 ,nineveh1 ,phoenicia1 and     
,persia4 ,these may seem distant        
countries and forgotten people1 and many
 might feel inclined to say1 ,let the   
dead bury their dead2 what are those    
mummies to us8 ,still1 such is the      
marvellous continuity of history1 that  

,i could easily show you many things    
which we1 even we who are here          
assembled1 owe to ,babylon1 to ,nineveh1
 to ,egypt1 ,phoenicia1 and ,persia4    
,every one who carries a watch owes to  
the ,babylonians the division of the    
hour into sixty minutes4 ,it may be a   
very bad division1 yet such as it is1 it
 has come to us from the ,greeks and    
,romans1 and it came to them from       
,babylon4 ,the sexagesimal division is  
peculiarly ,babylonian4 ,hipparchos1    
#aej ,b4,c41 adopted it from ,babylon1  
,ptolemy1 #aej ,a4,d41 gave it wider    
currency1 and the ,french1 when they    
decimated everything else1 respected the
 dial-plates of our watches1 and left   
them with their sixty ,babylonian       
minutes4  ,every one who writes a letter
 owes his alphabet to the ,romans and   
,greeks2 the ,greeks owed their alphabet
 to the ,phoenicians1 and the           
,phoenicians learned it in ,egypt4 ,it  
may be a very imperfect alphabet--as all
 the students of phonetics will tell    

you--yet1 such as it is and has been1 we
 owe it to the old ,phoenicians and     
,egyptians1 and in every letter we      
trace1 there lies imbedded the mummy of 
an ancient ,egyptian hieroglyphic4      
,what do we owe to the ,persians8 ,it   
does not seem to be much1 for they were 
not a very inventive race1 and what they
 knew they had chiefly learned from     
their neighbors1 the ,babylonians and   
,assyrians4 ,still1 we owe them         
something4 ,first of all1 we owe them a 
large debt of gratitude for having      
allowed themselves to be beaten by the  
,greeks2 for think what the world would 
have been if the ,persians had beaten   
the ,greeks at ,marathon1 and had       
enslaved--that means1 annihilated--the  
genius of ancient ,greece4 ,however1    
this may be called rather an involuntary
 contribution to the progress of        
humanity1 and ,i mention it only in     
order to show how narrowly1 not only    
,greeks and ,romans1 but ,saxons and    
,anglo-,saxons too1 escaped becoming    

,parsis or ,fire-worshippers4  ,but ,i  
can mention at least one voluntary gift 
which came to us from ,persia1 and that 
is the relation of silver to gold in our
 bi-metallic currency4 ,that relation   
was1 no doubt1 first determined in      
,babylonia1 but it assumed its practical
 and historical importance in the       
,persian empire1 and spread from there  
to the ,greek colonies in ,asia1 and    
thence to ,europe1 where it has         
maintained itself with slight variation 
to the present day4  ,a talent#ac was   
divided into sixty minae1 a mina into   
sixty shekels4 ,here we have again the  
,babylonian sexagesimal system1 a system
 which owes its origin and popularity1  
,i believe1 to the fact that sixty has  
the greatest number of divisors4 ,shekel
 was translated into ,greek by ,stater1 
and an ,athenian gold stater1 like the  
,persian gold stater1 down to the times 
of ,croesus1 ,darius1 and ,alexander1   
was the sixtieth part of a mina of gold1
 not very far therefore from our        

sovereign4 ,the proportion of silver to 
gold was fixed as thirteen or thirteen  
and a third to one2 and if the weight of
 a silver shekel was made as thirteen to
 ten1 such a coin would correspond very 
nearly to our florin4#ad ,half a silver 
shekel was a drachma1 and this was      
therefore the true ancestor of our      
shilling4  ,again you may say that any  
attempt at fixing the relative value of 
silver and gold is1 and always has been1
 a great mistake4 ,still it shows how   
closely the world is held together1 and 
how1 for good or for evil1 we are what  
we are1 not so much by ourselves as by  
the toil and moil of those who came     
before us1 our true intellectual        
ancestors1 whatever the blood may have  
been composed of that ran through their 
veins1 or the bones which formed the    
rafters of their skulls4  ,and if it is 
true1 with regard to religion1 that no  
one could understand it and appreciate  
its full purport without knowing its    
origin and growth1 that is1 without     

knowing something of what the cuneiform 
inscriptions of ,mesopotamia1 the       
hieroglyphic and hieratic texts of      
,egypt1 and the historical monuments of 
,phoenicia and ,persia can alone reveal 
to us1 it is equally true with regard to
 all the other elements that constitute 
the whole of our intellectual life4 ,if 
we are ,jewish or ,semitic in our       
religion1 we are ,greek in our          
philosophy1 ,roman in our politics1 and 
,saxon in our morality2 and it follows  
that a knowledge of the history of the  
,greeks1 ,romans1 and ,saxons1 or of the
 flow of civilization from ,greece to   
,italy1 and through ,germany to these   
isles1 forms an essential element in    
what is called a liberal1 that is1 an   
historical and rational education4  ,but
 then it might be said1 ,let this be    
enough4 ,let us know by all means all   
that deserves to be known about our real
 spiritual ancestors in the great       
historical kingdoms of the world2 let us
 be grateful for all we have inherited  

from ,egyptians1 ,babylonians1          
,phoenicians1 ,jews1 ,greeks1 ,romans1  
and ,saxons4 ,but why bring in ,india8  
,why add a new burden to what every man 
has to bear already1 before he can call 
himself fairly educated8 ,what have we  
inherited from the dark dwellers on the 
,indus and the ,ganges1 that we should  
have to add their royal names and dates 
and deeds to the archives of our already
 overburdened memory8  ,there is some   
justice in this complaint4 ,the ancient 
inhabitants of ,india are not our       
intellectual ancestors in the same      
direct way as ,jews1 ,greeks1 ,romans1  
and ,saxons are2 but they represent1    
nevertheless1 a collateral branch of    
that family to which we belong by       
language1 that is1 by thought1 and their
 historical records extend in some      
respects so far beyond all other records
 and have been preserved to us in such  
perfect and such legible documents1 that
 we can learn from them lessons which we
 can learn nowhere else1 and supply     

missing links in our intellectual       
ancestry far more important than that   
missing link 7which we can well afford  
to miss71 the link between ,ape and     
,man4  ,i am not speaking as yet of the 
literature of ,india as it is1 but of   
something far more ancient1 the language
 of ,india1 or ,sanskrit4 ,no one       
supposes any longer that ,sanskrit was  
the common source of ,greek1 ,latin1 and
 ,anglo-,saxon4 ,this used to be said1  
but it has long been shown that         
,sanskrit is only a collateral branch of
 the same stem from which spring ,greek1
 ,latin1 and ,anglo-,saxon2 and not only
 these1 but all the ,teutonic1 all the  
,celtic1 all the ,slavonic languages1   
nay1 the languages of ,persia and       
,armenia also4  ,what1 then1 is it that 
gives to ,sanskrit its claim on our     
attention1 and its supreme importance in
 the eyes of the historian8  ,first of  
all1 its antiquity--for we know         
,sanskrit at an earlier period than     
,greek4 ,but what is far more important 

than its merely chronological antiquity 
is the antique state of preservation in 
which that ,aryan language has been     
handed down to us4 ,the world had known 
,latin and ,greek for centuries1 and it 
was felt1 no doubt1 that there was some 
kind of similarity between the two4 ,but
 how was that similarity to be          
explained8 ,sometimes ,latin was        
supposed to give the key to the         
formation of a ,greek word1 sometimes   
,greek seemed to betray the secret of   
the origin of a ,latin word4 ,afterward1
 when the ancient ,teutonic languages1  
such as ,gothic and ,anglo-,saxon1 and  
the ancient ,celtic and ,slavonic       
languages too1 came to be studied1 no   
one could help seeing a certain family  
likeness among them all4 ,but how such a
 likeness between these languages came  
to be1 and how1 what is far more        
difficult to explain1 such striking     
differences too between these languages 
came to be1 remained a mystery1 and gave
 rise to the most gratuitous theories1  

most of them1 as you know1 devoid of all
 scientific foundation4 ,as soon1       
however1 as ,sanskrit stepped into the  
midst of these languages1 there came    
light and warmth and mutual recognition4
 ,they all ceased to be strangers1 and  
each fell of its own accord into its    
right place4 ,sanskrit was the eldest   
sister of them all1 and could tell of   
many things which the other members of  
the family had quite forgotten4 ,still1 
the other languages too had each their  
own tale to tell2 and it is out of all  
their tales together that a chapter in  
the human mind has been put together    
which1 in some respects1 is more        
important to us than any of the other   
chapters1 the ,jewish1 the ,greek1 the  
,latin1 or the ,saxon4  ,the process by 
which that ancient chapter of history   
was recovered is very simple4 ,take the 
words which occur in the same form and  
with the same meaning in all the seven  
branches of the ,aryan family1 and you  
have in them the most genuine and       

trustworthy records in which to read the
 thoughts of our true ancestors1 before 
they had become ,hindus1 or ,persians1  
or ,greeks1 or ,romans1 or ,celts1 or   
,teutons1 or ,slaves4 ,of course1 some  
of these ancient charters may have been 
lost in one or other of these seven     
branches of the ,aryan family1 but even 
then1 if they are found in six1 or five1
 or four1 or three1 or even two only of 
its original branches1 the probability  
remains1 unless we can prove a later    
historical contact between these        
languages1 that these words existed     
before the great ,aryan ,separation4 ,if
 we find agni1 meaning fire1 in         
,sanskrit1 and ignis1 meaning fire1 in  
,latin1 we may safely conclude that fire
 was known to the undivided ,aryans1    
even if no trace of the same name of    
fire occurred anywhere else4 ,and why8  
,because there is no indication that    
,latin remained longer united with      
,sanskrit than any of the other ,aryan  
languages1 or that ,latin could have    

borrowed such a word from ,sanskrit1    
after these two languages had once      
become distinct4 ,we have1 however1 the 
,lithuanian ugnis1 and the ,scottish    
ingle1 to show that the ,slavonic and   
possibly the ,teutonic languages also1  
knew the same word for fire1 though they
 replaced it in time by other words4    
,words1 like all other things1 will die1
 and why they should live on in one soil
 and wither away and perish in another1 
is not always easy to say4 ,what has    
become of ignis1 for instance1 in all   
the ,romance languages8 ,it has withered
 away and perished1 probably because1   
after losing its final unaccentuated    
syllable1 it became awkward to          
pronounce2 and another word1 focus1     
which in ,latin meant fireplace1 hearth1
 altar1 has taken its place4  ,suppose  
we wanted to know whether the ancient   
,aryans before their separation knew the
 mouse3 we should only have to consult  
the principal ,aryan dictionaries1 and  
we should find in ,sanskrit mush1 in    

,greek ,greek3 mus1 in ,latin mus1 in   
,old ,slavonic myse1 in ,old ,high      
,german mus1 enabling us to say that1 at
 a time so distant from us that we feel 
inclined to measure it by ,indian rather
 than by our own chronology1 the mouse  
was known1 that is1 was named1 was      
conceived and recognized as a species of
 its own1 not to be confounded with any 
other vermin4  ,and if we were to ask   
whether the enemy of the mouse1 the cat1
 was known at the same distant time1 we 
should feel justified in saying         
decidedly1 ,no4 ,the cat is called in   
,sanskrit margara and vidala4 ,in ,greek
 and ,latin the words usually given as  
names of the cat1 ,greek3 galee and     
,greek3 ailouros1 mustella and feles1   
did not originally signify the tame cat1
 but the weasel or marten4 ,the name for
 the real cat in ,greek was ,greek3     
katta1 in ,latin catus1 and these words 
have supplied the names for cat in all  
the ,teutonic1 ,slavonic1 and ,celtic   
languages4 ,the animal itself1 so far as

 we know at present1 came to ,europe    
from ,egypt1 where it had been          
worshipped for centuries and tamed2 and 
as this arrival probably dates from the 
fourth century ,a4,d41 we can well      
understand that no common name for it   
could have existed when the ,aryan      
nations separated4#ae  ,in this way a   
more or less complete picture of the    
state of civilization1 previous to the  
,aryan ,separation1 can be and has been 
reconstructed1 like a mosaic put        
together with the fragments of ancient  
stones2 and ,i doubt whether1 in tracing
 the history of the human mind1 we shall
 ever reach to a lower stratum than that
 which is revealed to us by the         
converging rays of the different ,aryan 
languages4  ,nor is that all2 for even  
that ,proto-,aryan language1 as it has  
been reconstructed from the ruins       
scattered about in ,india1 ,greece1     
,italy1 and ,germany1 is clearly the    
result of a long1 long process of       
thought4 ,one shrinks from chronological

 limitations when looking into such     
distant periods of life4 ,but if we find
 ,sanskrit as a perfect literary        
language1 totally different from ,greek 
and ,latin1 #aejj ,b4,c41 where can     
those streams of ,sanskrit1 ,greek1 and 
,latin meet1 as we trace them back to   
their common source8 ,and then1 when we 
have followed these mighty national     
streams back to their common            
meeting-point1 even then that common    
language looks like a rock washed down  
and smoothed for ages by the ebb and    
flow of thought4 ,we find in that       
language such a compound1 for instance1 
as asmi1 ,i am1 ,greek ,greek3 esmi4    
,what would other languages give for    
such a pure concept as ,i am8 ,they may 
say1 ,i stand1 or ,i live1 or ,i grow1  
or ,i turn1 but it is given to few      
languages only to be able to say ,i am4 
,to us nothing seems more natural than  
the auxiliary verb ,i am2 but1 in       
reality1 no work of art has required    
greater efforts than this little word ,i

 am4 ,and all those efforts lie beneath 
the level of the common ,proto-,aryan   
speech4 ,many different ways were open1 
were tried1 too1 in order to arrive at  
such a compound as asmi1 and such a     
concept as ,i am4 ,but all were given   
up1 and this one alone remained1 and was
 preserved forever in all the languages 
and all the dialects of the ,aryan      
family4 ,in as-mi1 as is the root1 and  
in the compound as-mi1 the predicative  
root as1 to be1 is predicated of mi1 ,i4
 ,but no language could ever produce at 
once so empty1 or1 if you like1 so      
general a root as as1 to be4 ,as meant  
originally to breathe1 and from it we   
have asu1 breath1 spirit1 life1 also as 
the mouth1 ,latin os1 oris4 ,by constant
 wear and tear this root as1 to breathe1
 had first to lose all signs of its     
original material character1 before it  
could convey that purely abstract       
meaning of existence1 without any       
qualification1 which has rendered to the
 higher operations of thought the same  

service which the nought1 likewise the  
invention of ,indian genius1 has to     
render in arithmetic4 ,who will say how 
long the friction lasted which changed  
as1 to breathe1 into as1 to be8 ,and    
even a root as1 to breathe1 was an      
,aryan root1 not ,semitic1 not          
,turanian4 ,it possessed an historical  
individuality--it was the work of our   
forefathers1 and represents a thread    
which unites us in our thoughts and     
words with those who first thought for  
us1 with those who first spoke for us1  
and whose thoughts and words men are    
still thinking and speaking1 though     
divided from them by thousands1 it may  
be by hundreds of thousands of years4   
,this is what ,i call history in the    
true sense of the word1 something really
 worth knowing1 far more so than the    
scandals of courts1 or the butcheries of
 nations1 which fill so many pages of   
our ,manuals of ,history4 ,and all this 
work is only beginning1 and whoever     
likes to labor in these the most ancient

 of historical archives will find plenty
 of discoveries to make--and yet people 
ask1 ,what is the use of learning       
,sanskrit8  ,we get accustomed to       
everything1 and cease to wonder at what 
would have startled our fathers and     
upset all their stratified notions1 like
 a sudden earthquake4 ,every child now  
learns at school that ,english is an    
,aryan or ,indo-,european language1 that
 it belongs to the ,teutonic branch1 and
 that this branch1 together with the    
,italic1 ,greek1 ,celtic1 ,slavonic1    
,iranic1 and ,indic branches1 all spring
 from the same stock1 and form together 
the great ,aryan or ,indo-,european     
family of speech4  ,but this1 though it 
is taught now in our elementary schools1
 was really1 but fifty years ago1 like  
the opening of a new horizon of the     
world of the intellect1 and the         
extension of a feeling of closest       
fraternity that made us feel at home    
where before we had been strangers1 and 
changed millions of so-called barbarians

 into our own kith and kin4 ,to speak   
the same language constitutes a closer  
union than to have drunk the same milk2 
and ,sanskrit1 the ancient language of  
,india1 is substantially the same       
language as ,greek1 ,latin1 and         
,anglo-,saxon4 ,this is a lesson which  
we should never have learned but from a 
study of ,indian language and           
literature1 and if ,india had taught us 
nothing else1 it would have taught us   
more than almost any other language ever
 did4  ,it is quite amusing1 though     
instructive also1 to read what was      
written by scholars and philosophers    
when this new light first dawned on the 
world4 ,they would not have it1 they    
would not believe that there could be   
any community of origin between the     
people of ,athens and ,rome1 and the    
so-called ,niggers of ,india4 ,the      
classical scholar scouted the idea1 and 
,i myself still remember the time1 when 
,i was a student at ,leipzig1 and began 
to study ,sanskrit1 with what contempt  

any remarks on ,sanskrit or comparative 
grammar were treated by my teachers1 men
 such as ,gottfried ,hermann1 ,haupt1   
,westermann1 ,stallbaum1 and others4 ,no
 one ever was for a time so completely  
laughed down as ,professor ,bopp1 when  
he first published his ,comparative     
,grammar of ,sanskrit1 ,zend1 ,greek1   
,latin1 and ,gothic4 ,all hands were    
against him2 and if in comparing ,greek 
and ,latin with ,sanskrit1 ,gothic1     
,celtic1 ,slavonic1 or ,persian1 he     
happened to have placed one single      
accent wrong1 the shouts of those who   
knew nothing but ,greek and ,latin1 and 
probably looked in their ,greek         
dictionaries to be quite sure of their  
accents1 would never end4 ,dugald       
,stewart1 rather than admit a           
relationship between ,hindus and ,scots1
 would rather believe that the whole    
,sanskrit language and the whole of     
,sanskrit literature--mind1 a literature
 extending over three thousand years and
 larger than the ancient literature of  

either ,greece or ,rome--was a forgery  
of those wily priests1 the ,brahmans4 ,i
 remember too how1 when ,i was at school
 at ,leipzig 7and a very good school it 
was1 with such masters as ,nobbe1       
,forbiger1 ,funkhaenel1 and ,palm--an   
old school too1 which could boast of    
,leibnitz among its former pupils7 ,i   
remember1 ,i say1 one of our masters    
7,dr4 ,klee7 telling us one afternoon1  
when it was too hot to do any serious   
work1 that there was a language spoken  
in ,india1 which was much the same as   
,greek and ,latin1 nay1 as ,german and  
,russian4 ,at first we thought it was a 
joke1 but when one saw the parallel     
columns of numerals1 pronouns1 and verbs
 in ,sanskrit1 ,greek1 and ,latin       
written on the blackboard1 one felt in  
the presence of facts1 before which one 
had to bow4 ,all one's ideas of ,adam   
and ,eve1 and the ,paradise1 and the    
tower of ,babel1 and ,shem1 ,ham1 and   
,japhet1 with ,homer and ,a,eneas and   
,virgil too1 seemed to be whirling round

 and round1 till at last one picked up  
the fragments and tried to build up a   
new world1 and to live with a new       
historical consciousness4  ,here you    
will see why ,i consider a certain      
knowledge of ,india an essential portion
 of a liberal or an historical          
education4 ,the concept of the ,european
 man has been changed and widely        
extended by our acquaintance with       
,india1 and we know now that we are     
something different from what we thought
 we were4 ,suppose the ,americans1 owing
 to some cataclysmal events1 had        
forgotten their ,english origin1 and    
after two or three thousand years found 
themselves in possession of a language  
and of ideas which they could trace back
 historically to a certain date1 but    
which1 at that date1 seemed1 as it were1
 fallen from the sky1 without any       
explanation of their origin and previous
 growth1 what would they say if suddenly
 the existence of an ,english language  
and literature were revealed to them1   

such as they existed in the eighteenth  
century--explaining all that seemed     
before almost miraculous1 and solving   
almost every question that could be     
asked8 ,well1 this is much the same as  
what the discovery of ,sanskrit has done
 for us4 ,it has added a new period to  
our historical consciousness1 and       
revived the recollections of our        
childhood1 which seemed to have vanished
 forever4  ,whatever else we may have   
been1 it is quite clear now that1 many  
thousands of years ago1 we were         
something that had not yet developed    
into an ,englishman1 or a ,saxon1 or a  
,greek1 or a ,hindu either1 yet         
contained in itself the germs of all    
these characters4 ,a strange being1 you 
may say4 ,yes1 but for all that a very  
real being1 and an ancestor too of whom 
we must learn to be proud1 far more than
 of any such modern ancestors1 as       
,normans1 ,saxons1 ,celts1 and all the  
rest4  ,and this is not all yet that a  
study of ,sanskrit and the other ,aryan 

languages has done for us4 ,it has not  
only widened our views of man1 and      
taught us to embrace millions of        
strangers and barbarians as members of  
one family1 but it has imparted to the  
whole ancient history of man a reality  
which it never possessed before4  ,we   
speak and write a great deal about      
antiquities1 and if we can lay hold of a
 ,greek statue or an ,egyptian ,sphinx  
or a ,babylonian ,bull1 our heart       
rejoices1 and we build museums grander  
than any royal palaces to receive the   
treasures of the past4 ,this is quite   
right4 ,but are you aware that every one
 of us possesses what may be called the 
richest and most wonderful ,museum of   
,antiquities1 older than any statues1   
sphinxes1 or bulls8 ,and where8 ,why1 in
 our own language4 ,when ,i use such    
words as father or mother1 heart or     
tear1 one1 two1 three1 here and there1  
,i am handling coins or counters that   
were current before there was one single
 ,greek statue1 one single ,babylonian  

,bull1 one single ,egyptian ,sphinx4    
,yes1 each of us carries about with him 
the richest and most wonderful ,museum  
of ,antiquities2 and if he only knows   
how to treat those treasures1 how to rub
 and polish them till they become       
translucent again1 how to arrange them  
and read them1 they will tell him       
marvels more marvellous than all        
hieroglyphics and cuneiform inscriptions
 put together4 ,the stories they have   
told us are beginning to be old stories 
now4 ,many of you have heard them       
before4 ,but do not let them cease to be
 marvels1 like so many things which     
cease to be marvels because they happen 
every day4 ,and do not think that there 
is nothing left for you to do4 ,there   
are more marvels still to be discovered 
in language than have ever been revealed
 to us2 nay1 there is no word1 however  
common1 if only you know how to take it 
to pieces1 like a cunningly contrived   
work of art1 fitted together thousands  
of years ago by the most cunning of     

artists1 the human mind1 that will not  
make you listen and marvel more than any
 chapter of the ,arabian ,nights4  ,but 
,i must not allow myself to be carried  
away from my proper subject4 ,all ,i    
wish to impress on you by way of        
introduction is that the results of the 
,science of ,language1 which1 without   
the aid of ,sanskrit1 would never have  
been obtained1 form an essential element
 of what we call a liberal1 that is an  
historical education--an education which
 will enable a man to do what the       
,french call s'orienter1 that is1 to    
find his ,east1 his true ,east1 and thus
 to determine his real place in the     
world2 to know1 in fact1 the port whence
 man started1 the course he has         
followed1 and the port toward which he  
has to steer4  ,we all come from the    
,east--all that we value most has come  
to us from the ,east1 and in going to   
the ,east1 not only those who have      
received a special ,oriental training1  
but everybody who has enjoyed the       

advantages of a liberal1 that is1 of a  
truly historical education1 ought to    
feel that he is going to his old home1  
full of memories1 if only he can read   
them4 ,instead of feeling your hearts   
sink within you1 when next year you     
approach the shores of ,india1 ,i wish  
that every one of you could feel what   
,sir ,william ,jones felt1 when1 just   
one hundred years ago1 he came to the   
end of his long voyage from ,england1   
and saw the shores of ,india rising on  
the horizon4 ,at that time1 young men   
going to the wonderland of ,india were  
not ashamed of dreaming dreams and      
seeing visions2 and this was the dream  
dreamed and the vision seen by ,sir     
,william ,jones1 then simple ,mr4       
,jones3      ,when ,i was at sea last   
,august 7that is in ,august1 #aghc71 on 
my last voyage to this country 7,india7 
,i had long and     ardently desired to 
visit1 ,i found one evening1 on         
inspecting     the observations of the  
day1 that ,india lay before us1         

,persia on our left1 while a breeze from
 ,arabia blew     nearly on our stern4  
,a situation so pleasing in itself and  
to     me so new1 could not fail to     
awaken a train of reflections in     a  
mind which had early been accustomed to 
contemplate with     delight the        
eventful histories and agreeable        
fictions of this     ,eastern world4 ,it
 gave me inexpressible pleasure to find 
myself in the midst of so noble an      
amphitheatre1 almost     encircled by   
the vast regions of ,asia1 which has    
ever been     esteemed the nurse of     
sciences1 the inventress of delightful  
and useful arts1 the scene of glorious  
actions1 fertile in     the productions 
of human genius1 and infinitely         
diversified     in the forms of religion
 and government1 in the laws1           
manners1 customs1 and languages1 as well
 as in the features     and complexions 
of men4 ,i could not help remarking how 
important and extensive a field was yet 
unexplored1 and how     many solid      

advantages unimproved4  ,india wants    
more such dreamers as that young ,mr4   
,jones1 standing alone on the deck of   
his vessel and watching the sun diving  
into the sea--with the memories of      
,england behind and the hopes of ,india 
before him1 feeling the presence of     
,persia and its ancient monarchs1 and   
breathing the breezes of ,arabia and its
 glowing poetry4 ,such dreamers know how
 to make their dreams come true1 and how
 to change their visions into realities4
  ,and as it was a hundred years ago1 so
 it is now2 or at least1 so it may be   
now4 ,there are many bright dreams to be
 dreamed about ,india1 and many bright  
deeds to be done in ,india1 if only you 
will do them4 ,though many great and    
glorious conquests have been made in the
 history and literature of the ,east1   
since the days when ,sir ,william       
,jones#af landed at ,calcutta1 depend   
upon it1 no young ,alexander here need  
despair because there are no kingdoms   
left for him to conquer on the ancient  

shores of the ,indus and the ,ganges4   
,,footnotes3  ,footnote #a3 ,pliny      
7,,vi4 #bf7 tells us that in his day the
 annual drain of bullion into ,india1 in
 return for her valuable produce1       
reached the immense amount of five      
hundred and fifty millions of sesterces4
 ,see ,e4 ,thomas1 ,the ,indian         
,balhara1 p4 #ac4  ,footnote #b3        
,cunningham1 in the ,journal of the     
,asiatic ,society of ,bengal1 #ahha1 p4 
#ahd4  ,footnote #c3 ,general           
,cunningham describes this treasure in  
the ,journal of the ,asiatic ,society of
 ,bengal as having been found on the    
northern bank of the ,oxus in #ahgg1 and
 containing coins from ,darius down to  
,antiochus the ,great1 and ,euthydemus1 
,king of ,baktria4 ,this would seem to  
indicate that it had been buried there  
in #bjh ,b4,c41 when ,baktria was       
invaded by ,antiochus and ,euthydemus   
defeated4 ,the coins1 figures1 and      
ornaments1 many of them1 were manifestly
 ,persian1 and doubtless had been       

brought into that country and kept by   
the victorious generals of ,alexander4  
,some of the works of art unearthed by  
,dr4 ,schliemann at ,mykenae are either 
,persian or ,assyrian in character1 and 
are like those found on the ,oxus4      
,professor ,forchhammer very plausibly  
supposes that they were spoils from the 
,persian camp which had been awarded to 
,mykenae as her share after the         
overthrow of ,mardonius4--,a4 ,w4       
,footnote #d3 ,see ,selected ,essays1   
vol4 i41 p4 #ejj1 ,the ,migration of    
,fables4  ,footnote #e3 ,cratylus1 #daa 
,a4 ,still1 as ,i have put on the lion's
 skin1 ,i must not be faint-hearted4    
,possibly1 however1 this may refer to   
,hercules1 and not to the fable of the  
donkey in the lion's or the tiger's     
skin4 ,in the ,hitopadesa1 a donkey1    
being nearly starved1 is sent by his    
master into a corn-field to feed4 ,in   
order to shield him he puts a tiger's   
skin on him4 ,all goes well till a      
watchman approaches1 hiding himself     

under his gray coat1 and trying to shoot
 the tiger4 ,the donkey thinks it is a  
gray female donkey1 begins to bray1 and 
is killed4 ,on a similar fable in       
,a,esop1 see ,benfey1 ,pantschatantra1  
vol4 i41 p4 #dfc2 ,m4 ,m41 ,selected    
,essays1 vol4 i41 p4 #eac4  ,footnote   
#f3 ,see ,fragmenta ,comic 7,didot71 p4 
#cjb2 ,benfey1 l4 c4 vol4 i41 p4 #cgd4  
,footnote #g3 ,lectures on the ,science 
of ,language1 vol4 i41 p4 #bca4  ,the   
names employed in the ,hebrew text of   
the ,bible are said to be ,tamil4--,a4  
,w4  ,footnote #h3 #a ,kings #c3be4     
,footnote #i3 ,the ,bible story is      
dramatic2 the other is not4 ,the shudder
 is a tribute to the dramatic power of  
the ,bible narrative4 ,the child was in 
no danger of being cut in twain4 ,in the
 ,buddhist version the child is injured4
 ,why does not ,prof4 ,mueller shudder  
when the child is hurt and cries8 ,the  
,solomonic child is not hurt and does   
not cry4 ,is not the ,bible story the   
more humane1 the more dignified1 the    

more dramatic8 ,and no canon of         
criticism requires us to believe that a 
poor version of a story is the more     
primitive4--,,am4 ,,pubs4  ,footnote    
#aj3 ,see some excellent remarks on this
 subject in ,rhys ,davids1 ,buddhist    
,birth-,stories1 vol4 i41 pp4 xiii4 and 
xliv4 ,the learned scholar gives another
 version of the story from a ,singhalese
 translation of the ,gataka1 dating from
 the fourteenth century1 and he         
expresses a hope that ,dr4 ,fausboell   
will soon publish the ,pali original4   
,footnote #aa3 ,this is true of what    
theologians call natural religion1 which
 is assumed to be a growth out of human 
consciousness2 but the ,christian       
religion is not a natural               
religion4--,,am4 ,,pubs4  ,footnote #ab3
 ,there are traces of ,aryan occupation 
at ,babylon1 ,rawlinson assures us1     
about twenty centuries ,b4,c4 ,this     
would suggest a possible interchange of 
religious ideas between the earlier     
,aryan and ,akkado-,chaldean            

peoples4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #ac3 ,see  
,cunningham1 ,journal of the ,asiatic   
,society of ,bengal1 #ahha1 pp4         
#afb-afh4  ,footnote #ad3 ,sim1 the     
,persian word for silver1 has also the  
meaning of one thirteenth2 see          
,cunningham1 l4 c4 p4 #afe4  ,footnote  
#ae3 ,the common domestic cat is first  
mentioned by ,caesarius1 the physician1 
brother of ,gregory of ,nazianus1 about 
the middle of the fourth century4 ,it   
came from ,egypt1 where it was regarded 
as sacred4 ,herodotus denominates it    
,greek3 ailouros1 which was also the    
designation of the weasel and marten4   
,kallimachus employs the same title1    
which his commentator explains as       
,greek3 kattos4 ,in later times this    
name of uncertain etymology has         
superseded every other4 ,the earlier    
,sanskrit writers appear to have had no 
knowledge of the animal2 but the margara
 is named by ,manu1 and the vidala by   
,panini4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #af3 ,sir  
,william ,jones was thirty-seven years  

of age when he sailed for ,india4 ,he   
received the honor of knighthood in     
,march1 #aghc1 on his appointment as    
,judge of the ,supreme ,court of        
,judicature at ,fort ,william1 at       
,bengal4--,a4 ,w4     ,,lecture ,,ii4   
,,truthful ,,character ,,of ,,the       
,,hindus4   ,in my first ,lecture ,i    
endeavored to remove the prejudice that 
everything in ,india is strange1 and so 
different from the intellectual life    
which we are accustomed to in ,england1 
that the twenty or twenty-five years    
which a civil servant has to spend in   
the ,east seem often to him a kind of   
exile that he must bear as well as he   
can1 but that severs him completely from
 all those higher pursuits by which life
 is made enjoyable at home4 ,this need  
not be so and ought not to be so1 if    
only it is clearly seen how almost every
 one of the higher interests that make  
life worth living here in ,england1 may 
find as ample scope in ,india as in     
,england4  ,to-day ,i shall have to     

grapple with another prejudice which is 
even more mischievous1 because it forms 
a kind of icy barrier between the       
,hindus and their rulers1 and makes     
anything like a feeling of true         
fellowship between the two utterly      
impossible4  ,that prejudice consists in
 looking upon our stay in ,india as a   
kind of moral exile1 and in regarding   
the ,hindus as an inferior race1 totally
 different from ourselves in their moral
 character1 and1 more particularly in   
what forms the very foundation of the   
,english character1 respect for truth4  
,i believe there is nothing more        
disheartening to any high-minded young  
man than the idea that he will have to  
spend his life among human beings whom  
he can never respect or love--natives1  
as they are called1 not to use even more
 offensive names--men whom he is taught 
to consider as not amenable to the      
recognized principles of self-respect1  
uprightness1 and veracity1 and with whom
 therefore any community of interests   

and action1 much more any real          
friendship1 is supposed to be out of the
 question4  ,so often has that charge of
 untruthfulness been repeated1 and so   
generally is it now accepted1 that it   
seems almost ,quixotic to try to fight  
against it4  ,nor should ,i venture to  
fight this almost hopeless battle1 if ,i
 were not convinced that such a charge1 
like all charges brought against a whole
 nation1 rests on the most flimsy       
induction1 and that it has done1 is     
doing1 and will continue to do more     
mischief than anything that even the    
bitterest enemy of ,english dominion in 
,india could have invented4 ,if a young 
man who goes to ,india as a civil       
servant or as a military officer1 goes  
there fully convinced that the people   
whom he is to meet with are all liars1  
liars by nature or by national instinct1
 never restrained in their dealings by  
any regard for truth1 never to be       
trusted on their word1 need we wonder at
 the feelings of disgust with which he  

thinks of the ,hindus1 even before he   
has seen them2 the feelings of distrust 
with which he approaches them1 and the  
contemptuous way in which he treats them
 when brought into contact with them for
 the transaction of public or private   
business8 ,when such tares have once    
been sown by the enemy1 it will be      
difficult to gather them up4 ,it has    
become almost an article of faith with  
every ,indian civil servant that all    
,indians are liars2 nay1 ,i know ,i     
shall never be forgiven for my heresy in
 venturing to doubt it4  ,now1 quite    
apart from ,india1 ,i feel most strongly
 that every one of these international  
condemnations is to be deprecated1 not  
only for the sake of the self-conceited 
and uncharitable state of mind from     
which they spring1 and which they serve 
to strengthen and confirm1 but for      
purely logical reasons also1 namely for 
the reckless and slovenly character of  
the induction on which such conclusions 
rest4 ,because a man has travelled in   

,greece and has been cheated by his     
dragoman1 or been carried off by        
brigands1 does it follow that all       
,greeks1 ancient as well as modern1 are 
cheats and robbers1 or that they approve
 of cheating and robbery8 ,and because  
in ,calcutta1 or ,bombay1 or ,madras1   
,indians who are brought before judges1 
or who hang about the law-courts and the
 bazaars1 are not distinguished by an   
unreasoning and uncompromising love of  
truth1 is it not a very vicious         
induction to say1 in these days of      
careful reasoning1 that all ,hindus are 
liars--particularly if you bear in mind 
that1 according to the latest census1   
the number of inhabitants of that vast  
country amounts to two hundred and      
fifty-three millions4 ,are all these two
 hundred and fifty-three millions of    
human beings to be set down as liars1   
because some hundreds1 say even some    
thousands of ,indians1 when they are    
brought to an ,english court of law1 on 
suspicion of having committed a theft or

 a murder1 do not speak the truth1 the  
whole truth1 and nothing but the truth8 
,would an ,english sailor1 if brought   
before a dark-skinned judge1 who spoke  
,english with a strange accent1 bow down
 before him and confess at once any     
misdeed that he may have committed2 and 
would all his mates rush forward and    
eagerly bear witness against him1 when  
he had got himself into trouble8  ,the  
rules of induction are general1 but they
 depend on the subjects to which they   
are applied4 ,we may1 to follow an      
,indian proverb1 judge of a whole field 
of rice by tasting one or two grains    
only1 but if we apply this rule to human
 beings1 we are sure to fall into the   
same mistake as the ,english chaplain   
who had once1 on board an ,english      
vessel1 christened a ,french child1 and 
who remained fully convinced for the    
rest of his life that all ,french babies
 had very long noses4  ,i can hardly    
think of anything that you could safely 
predicate of all the inhabitants of     

,india1 and ,i confess to a little      
nervous tremor whenever ,i see a        
sentence beginning with ,the people of  
,india1 or even with ,all the ,brahmans1
 or ,all the ,buddhists4 ,what follows  
is almost invariably wrong4 ,there is a 
greater difference between an ,afghan1 a
 ,sikh1 a ,hindustani1 a ,bengalese1 and
 a ,dravidian than between an           
,englishman1 a ,frenchman1 a ,german1   
and a ,russian--yet all are classed as  
,hindus1 and all are supposed to fall   
under the same sweeping condemnation4   
,let me read you what ,sir ,john        
,malcolm says about the diversity of    
character to be observed by any one who 
has eyes to observe1 among the different
 races whom we promiscuously call       
,hindus1 and whom we promiscuously      
condemn as ,hindus4 ,after describing   
the people of ,bengal as weak in body   
and timid in mind1 and those below      
,calcutta as the lowest of our ,hindu   
subjects1 both in character and         
appearance1 he continues3 ,but from the 

moment you enter the district of ,behar1
 the ,hindu inhabitants are a race of   
men1 generally speaking1 not more       
distinguished by their lofty stature and
 robust frame than they are for some of 
the finest qualities of the mind4 ,they 
are brave1 generous1 humane1 and their  
truth is as remarkable as their courage4
  ,but because ,i feel bound to protest 
against the indiscriminating abuse that 
has been heaped on the people of ,india 
from the ,himalaya to ,ceylon1 do not   
suppose that it is my wish or intention 
to draw an ideal picture of ,india1     
leaving out all the dark shades1 and    
giving you nothing but sweetness and    
light4 ,having never been in ,india     
myself1 ,i can only claim for myself the
 right and duty of every historian1     
namely1 the right of collecting as much 
information as possible1 and the duty to
 sift it according to the recognized    
rules of historical criticism4 ,my chief
 sources of information with regard to  
the national character of the ,indians  

in ancient times will be the works of   
,greek writers and the literature of the
 ancient ,indians themselves4 ,for later
 times we must depend on the statements 
of the various conquerors of ,india1 who
 are not always the most lenient judges 
of those whom they may find it more     
difficult to rule than to conquer4 ,for 
the last century to the present day1 ,i 
shall have to appeal1 partly to the     
authority of those who1 after spending  
an active life in ,india and among the  
,indians1 have given us the benefit of  
their experience in published works1    
partly to the testimony of a number of  
distinguished civil servants and of     
,indian gentlemen also1 whose personal  
acquaintance ,i have enjoyed in         
,england1 in ,france1 and in ,germany4  
,as ,i have chiefly to address myself to
 those who will themselves be the rulers
 and administrators of ,india in the    
future1 allow me to begin with the      
opinions which some of the most eminent1
 and1 ,i believe1 the most judicious    

among the ,indian civil servants of the 
past have formed and deliberately       
expressed on the point which we are     
to-day discussing1 namely1 the veracity 
or want of veracity among the ,hindus4  
,and here ,i must begin with a remark   
which has been made by others also1     
namely1 that the civil servants who went
 to ,india in the beginning of this     
century1 and under the auspices of the  
old ,east ,india ,company1 many of whom 
,i had the honor and pleasure of knowing
 when ,i first came to ,england1 seemed 
to have seen a great deal more of native
 life1 native manners1 and native       
character than those whom ,i had to     
examine five-and-twenty years ago1 and  
who are now1 after a distinguished      
career1 coming back to ,england4 ,india 
is no longer the distant island which it
 was1 where each ,crusoe had to make a  
home for himself as best he could4 ,with
 the short and easy voyages from        
,england to ,india and from ,india to   
,england1 with the frequent mails1 and  

the telegrams1 and the ,anglo-,indian   
newspapers1 official life in ,india has 
assumed the character of a temporary    
exile rather1 which even ,english ladies
 are now more ready to share than fifty 
years ago4 ,this is a difficulty which  
cannot be removed1 but must be met1 and 
which1 ,i believe1 can best be met by   
inspiring the new civil servants with   
new and higher interests during their   
stay in ,india4  ,i knew the late       
,professor ,wilson1 our ,boden          
,professor of ,sanskrit at ,oxford1 for 
many years1 and often listened with deep
 interest to his ,indian reminiscences4 
,let me read you what he1 ,professor    
,wilson1 says of his native friends1    
associates1 and servants3#ag      ,i    
lived1 both from necessity and choice1  
very much among the     ,hindus1 and had
 opportunities of becoming acquainted   
with     them in a greater variety of   
situations than those in which     they 
usually come under the observation of   
,europeans4 ,in the     ,calcutta mint1 

for instance1 ,i was in daily personal  
communication with a numerous body of   
artificers1 mechanics1     and laborers1
 and always found among them cheerful   
and     unwearied industry1 good-humored
 compliance with the will of     their  
superiors1 and a readiness to make      
whatever exertions     were demanded    
from them2 there was among them no      
drunkenness1     no disorderly conduct1 
no insubordination4 ,it would not be    
true to say that there was no           
dishonesty1 but it was     comparatively
 rare1 invariably petty1 and much less  
formidable than1 ,i believe1 it is      
necessary to guard against     in other 
mints in other countries4 ,there was    
considerable     skill and ready        
docility4 ,so far from there being any  
servility1 there was extreme frankness1 
and ,i should say that     where there  
is confidence without fear1 frankness is
 one of     the most universal features 
in the ,indian character4 ,let the      
people feel sure of the temper and      

good-will of their     superiors1 and   
there is an end of reserve and timidity1
     without the slightest departure    
from respect4444  ,then1 speaking of the
 much-abused ,indian ,pandits1 he says3 
,the studies which engaged my leisure   
brought me into connection with the men 
of learning1 and in them ,i found the   
similar merits of industry1             
intelligence1 cheerfulness1 frankness1  
with others peculiar to their avocation4
 ,a very common characteristic of these 
men1 and of the ,hindus especially1 was 
a simplicity truly childish1 and a total
 unacquaintance with the business and   
manners of life4 ,where that feature was
 lost1 it was chiefly by those who had  
been long familiar with ,europeans4     
,among the ,pandits or the learned      
,hindus there prevailed great ignorance 
and great dread of the ,european        
character4 ,there is1 indeed1 very      
little intercourse between any class of 
,europeans and ,hindu scholars1 and it  
is not wonderful1 therefore1 that mutual

 misapprehension should prevail4        
,speaking1 lastly1 of the higher classes
 in ,calcutta and elsewhere1 ,professor 
,wilson says that he witnessed among    
them polished manners1 clearness and    
comprehensiveness of understanding1     
liberality of feeling1 and independence 
of principle that would have stamped    
them gentlemen in any country in the    
world4 ,with some of this class1 he     
adds1 ,i formed friendships which ,i    
trust to enjoy through life4  ,i have   
often heard ,professor ,wilson speak in 
the same1 and in even stronger terms of 
his old friends in ,india1 and his      
correspondence with ,ram ,comul ,sen1   
the grandfather of ,keshub ,chunder     
,sen1#ah a most orthodox1 not to say    
bigoted1 ,hindu1 which has lately been  
published1 shows on what intimate terms 
,englishmen and ,hindus may be1 if only 
the advances are made on the ,english   
side4  ,there is another ,professor of  
,sanskrit1 of whom your ,university may 
well be proud1 and who could speak on   

this subject with far greater authority 
than ,i can4 ,he too will tell you1 and 
,i have no doubt has often told you1    
that if only you look out for friends   
among the ,hindus1 you will find them1  
and you may trust them4  ,there is one  
book which for many years ,i have been  
in the habit of recommending1 and       
another against which ,i have always    
been warning those of the candidates for
 the ,indian ,civil ,service whom ,i    
happened to see at ,oxford2 and ,i      
believe both the advice and the warning 
have in several cases borne the very    
best fruit4 ,the book which ,i consider 
most mischievous1 nay1 which ,i hold    
responsible for some of the greatest    
misfortunes that have happened to       
,india1 is ,mill's ,history of ,british 
,india1 even with the antidote against  
its poison1 which is supplied by        
,professor ,wilson's notes4 ,the book   
which ,i recommend1 and which ,i wish   
might be published again in a cheaper   
form1 so as to make it more generally   

accessible1 is ,colonel ,sleeman's      
,rambles and ,recollections of an       
,indian ,official1 published in #ahdd1  
but written originally in #ahce-ahcf4   
,mill's ,history1 no doubt1 you all     
know1 particularly the candidates for   
the ,indian ,civil ,service1 who1 ,i am 
sorry to say1 are recommended to read   
it1 and are examined in it4 ,still1 in  
order to substantiate my strong         
condemnation of the book1 ,i shall have 
to give a few proofs3  ,mill in his     
estimate of the ,hindu character is     
chiefly guided by ,dubois1 a ,french    
missionary1 and by ,orme and ,buchanan1 
,tennant1 and ,ward1 all of them neither
 very competent nor very unprejudiced   
judges4 ,mill1#ai however1 picks out all
 that is most unfavorable from their    
works1 and omits the qualifications     
which even these writers felt bound to  
give to their wholesale condemnation of 
the ,hindus4 ,he quotes as serious1 for 
instance1 what was said in joke1#bj     
namely1 that a ,brahman is an ant's nest

 of lies and impostures4 ,next to the   
charge of untruthfulness1 ,mill upbraids
 the ,hindus for what he calls their    
litigiousness4 ,he writes3#ba ,as often 
as courage fails them in seeking more   
daring gratification to their hatred and
 revenge1 their malignity finds a vent  
in the channel of litigation4 ,without  
imputing dishonorable motives1 as ,mill 
does1 the same fact might be stated in a
 different way1 by saying1 ,as often as 
their conscience and respect of law keep
 them from seeking more daring          
gratification to their hatred and       
revenge1 say by murder or poisoning1    
their trust in ,english justice leads   
them to appeal to our courts of law4    
,dr4 ,robertson1 in his ,historical     
,disquisitions concerning ,india1#bb    
seems to have considered the litigious  
subtlety of the ,hindus as a sign of    
high civilization rather than of        
barbarism1 but he is sharply corrected  
by ,mr4 ,mill1 who tells him that       
nowhere is this subtlety carried higher 

than among the wildest of the ,irish4   
,that courts of justice1 like the       
,english1 in which a verdict was not to 
be obtained1 as formerly in ,mohammedan 
courts1 by bribes and corruption1 should
 at first have proved very attractive to
 the ,hindus1 need not surprise us4 ,but
 is it really true that the ,hindus are 
more fond of litigation than other      
nations8 ,if we consult ,sir ,thomas    
,munro1 the eminent ,governor of        
,madras1 and the powerful advocate of   
the ,ryotwar settlements1 he tells us in
 so many words3#bc ,i have had ample    
opportunity of observing the ,hindus in 
every situation1 and ,i can affirm1 that
 they are not litigious4#bd  ,but ,mill 
goes further still1 and in one place he 
actually assures his readers#be that a  
,brahman may put a man to death when he 
lists4 ,in fact1 he represents the      
,hindus as such a monstrous mass of all 
vices1 that1 as ,colonel ,vans          
,kennedy#bf remarked1 society could not 
have held together if it had really     

consisted of such reprobates only4 ,nor 
does he seem to see the full bearing of 
his remarks4 ,surely1 if a ,brahman     
might1 as he says1 put a man to death   
whenever he lists1 it would be the      
strongest testimony in their favor that 
you hardly ever hear of their availing  
themselves of such a privilege1 to say  
nothing of the fact--and a fact it      
is--that1 according to statistics1 the  
number of capital sentences was one in  
every #aj1jjj in ,england1 but only one 
in every million in ,bengal4#bg         
,colonel ,sleeman's ,rambles are less   
known than they deserve to be4 ,to give 
you an idea of the man1 ,i must read you
 some extracts from the book4  ,his     
sketches being originally addressed to  
his sister1 this is how he writes to    
her3       ,,my ,,dear ,,sister3 ,were  
any one to ask your countrymen in       
,india1 what had been their greatest    
source of pleasure while      there1    
perhaps nine in ten would say the       
letters which they      receive from    

their sisters at home4444 ,and while    
thus      contributing so much to our   
happiness1 they no doubt tend to        
make us better citizens of the world and
 servants of      government than we    
should otherwise be2 for in our         
'struggles through life' in ,india1 we  
have all1 more or      less1 an eye to  
the approbation of those circles which  
our      kind sisters represent1 who may
 therefore be considered in      the    
exalted light of a valuable species of  
unpaid      magistracy to the government
 of ,india4  ,there is a touch of the   
old ,english chivalry even in these few 
words addressed to a sister whose       
approbation he values1 and with whom he 
hoped to spend the winter of his days4  
,having been1 as he confesses1 idle in  
answering letters1 or rather1 too busy  
to find time for long letters1 he made  
use of his enforced leisure1 while on   
his way from the ,nerbuddah ,river to   
the ,himmaleh ,mountains1 in search of  
health1 to give to his sister a full    

account of his impressions and          
experiences in ,india4  ,though what he 
wrote was intended at first to interest 
and amuse his sister only and the other 
members of his family at home1 he adds1 
in a more serious tone3 ,of one thing ,i
 must beg you to be assured1 that ,i    
have nowhere indulged in fiction1 either
 in the narrative1 the recollections1 or
 the conversations4 ,what ,i relate on  
the testimony of others1 ,i believe to  
be true2 and what ,i relate on my own1  
you may rely upon as being so4  ,when   
placing his volumes before the public at
 large in #ahdd1 he expresses a hope    
that they may tend to make the people of
 ,india better understood by those of   
our countrymen whose destinies are cast 
among them1 and inspire more kindly     
feelings toward them4  ,you may ask why 
,i consider ,colonel ,sleeman so        
trustworthy an authority on the ,indian 
character1 more trustworthy1 for        
instance1 than even so accurate and     
unprejudiced an observer as ,professor  

,wilson4 ,my answer is--because ,wilson 
lived chiefly in ,calcutta1 while       
,colonel ,sleeman saw ,india1 where     
alone the true ,india can be seen1      
namely1 in the village-communities4 ,for
 many years he was employed as          
,commissioner for the suppression of    
,thuggee4 ,the ,thugs were professional 
assassins1 who committed their murders  
under a kind of religious sanction4     
,they were originally all ,mohammedans1 
but for a long time past ,mohammedans   
and ,hindus had been indiscriminately   
associated in the gangs1 the former     
class1 however1 still predominating4#bh 
,in order to hunt up these gangs1       
,colonel ,sleeman had constantly to live
 among the people in the country1 to    
gain their confidence1 and to watch the 
good as well as the bad features in     
their character4  ,now what ,colonel    
,sleeman continually insists on is that 
no one knows the ,indians who does not  
know them in their                      
village-communities--what we should now 

call their communes4 ,it is that        
village-life which in ,india has given  
its peculiar impress to the ,indian     
character1 more so than in any other    
country we know4 ,when in ,indian       
history we hear so much of kings and    
emperors1 of rajahs and maharajahs1 we  
are apt to think of ,india as an        
,eastern monarchy1 ruled by a central   
power1 and without any trace of that    
self-government which forms the pride of
 ,england4 ,but those who have most     
carefully studied the political life of 
,india tell you the very opposite4  ,the
 political unit1 or the social cell in  
,india has always been1 and1 in spite of
 repeated foreign conquests1 is still   
the village-community4 ,some of these   
political units will occasionally       
combine or be combined for common       
purposes 7such a confederacy being      
called a gramagala71 but each is perfect
 in itself4 ,when we read in the ,laws  
of ,manu#bi of officers appointed to    
rule over ten1 twenty1 a hundred1 or a  

thousand of these villages1 that means  
no more than that they were responsible 
for the collection of taxes1 and        
generally for the good behavior of these
 villages4 ,and when1 in later times1 we
 hear of circles of eighty-four         
villages1 the so-called ,chourasees     
7,katurasiti#cj71 and of three hundred  
and sixty villages1 this too seems to   
refer to fiscal arrangements only4 ,to  
the ordinary ,hindu1 ,i mean to         
ninety-nine in every hundred1 the       
village was his world1 and the sphere of
 public opinion1 with its beneficial    
influences on individuals1 seldom       
extended beyond the horizon of his      
village4#ca  ,colonel ,sleeman was one  
of the first who called attention to the
 existence of these village-communities 
in ,india1 and their importance in the  
social fabric of the whole country both 
in ancient and in modern times2 and     
though they have since become far better
 known and celebrated through the       
writings of ,sir ,henry ,maine1 it is   

still both interesting and instructive  
to read ,colonel ,sleeman's account4 ,he
 writes as a mere observer1 and         
uninfluenced as yet by any theories on  
the development of early social and     
political life among the ,aryan nations 
in general4  ,i do not mean to say that 
,colonel ,sleeman was the first who     
pointed out the palpable fact that the  
whole of ,india is parcelled out into   
estates of villages4 ,even so early an  
observer as ,megasthenes#cb seems to    
have been struck by the same fact when  
he says that in ,india the husbandmen   
with their wives and children live in   
the country1 and entirely avoid going   
into town4 ,what ,colonel ,sleeman was  
the first to point out was that all the 
native virtues of the ,hindus are       
intimately connected with their         
village-life4  ,that village-life1      
however1 is naturally the least known to
 ,english officials1 nay1 the very      
presence of an ,english official is     
often said to be sufficient to drive    

away those native virtues which         
distinguish both the private life and   
the public administration of justice and
 equity in an ,indian village4#cc ,take 
a man out of his village-community1 and 
you remove him from all the restraints  
of society4 ,he is out of his element1  
and1 under temptation1 is more likely to
 go wrong than to remain true to the    
traditions of his home-life4 ,even      
between village and village the usual   
restraints of public morality are not   
always recognized4 ,what would be called
 theft or robbery at home is called a   
successful raid or conquest if directed 
against distant villages2 and what would
 be falsehood or trickery in private    
life is honored by the name of policy   
and diplomacy if successful against     
strangers4 ,on the other hand1 the rules
 of hospitality applied only to people  
of other villages1 and a man of the same
 village could never claim the right of 
an ,atithi1 or guest4#cd  ,let us hear  
now what ,colonel ,sleeman tells us     

about the moral character of the members
 of these village-communities1#ce and   
let us not forget that the ,commissioner
 for the suppression of ,thuggee had    
ample opportunities of seeing the dark  
as well as the bright side of the       
,indian character4  ,he assures us that 
falsehood or lying between members of   
the same village is almost unknown4     
,speaking of some of the most savage    
tribes1 the ,gonds1 for instance1 he    
maintains that nothing would induce them
 to tell a lie1 though they would think 
nothing of lifting a herd of cattle from
 a neighboring plain4  ,of these men it 
might perhaps be said that they have not
 yet learned the value of a lie2 yet    
even such blissful ignorance ought to   
count in a nation's character4 ,but ,i  
am not pleading here for ,gonds1 or     
,bhils1 or ,santhals1 and other         
non-,aryan tribes4 ,i am speaking of the
 ,aryan and more or less civilized      
inhabitants of ,india4 ,now among them1 
where rights1 duties1 and interests     

begin to clash in one and the same      
village1 public opinion1 in its limited 
sphere1 seems strong enough to deter    
even an evil-disposed person from       
telling a falsehood4 ,the fear of the   
gods also has not yet lost its power4#cf
 ,in most villages there is a sacred    
tree1 a pipal-tree 7,ficus ,indica71 and
 the gods are supposed to delight to sit
 among its leaves1 and listen to the    
music of their rustling4 ,the deponent  
takes one of these leaves in his hand1  
and invokes the god1 who sits above him1
 to crush him1 or those dear to him1 as 
he crushes the leaf in his hand1 if he  
speaks anything but the truth4 ,he then 
plucks and crushes the leaf1 and states 
what he has to say4  ,the pipal-tree is 
generally supposed to be occupied by one
 of the ,hindu deities1 while the large 
cotton-tree1 particularly among the     
wilder tribes1 is supposed to be the    
abode of local gods1 all the more       
terrible because entrusted with the     
police of a small settlement only4 ,in  

their punchayets1 ,sleeman tells us1 men
 adhere habitually and religiously to   
the truth1 and ,i have had before me    
hundreds of cases1 he says1 in which a  
man's property1 liberty1 and life has   
depended upon his telling a lie1 and he 
has refused to tell it4  ,could many an 
,english judge say the same8  ,in their 
own tribunals under the pipal-tree or   
cotton-tree1 imagination commonly did   
what the deities1 who were supposed to  
preside1 had the credit of doing4 ,if   
the deponent told a lie1 he believed    
that the god who sat on his sylvan      
throne above him1 and searched the heart
 of man1 must know it2 and from that    
moment he knew no rest1 he was always in
 dread of his vengeance4 ,if any        
accident happened to him1 or to those   
dear to him1 it was attributed to this  
offended deity2 and if no accident      
happened1 some evil was brought about by
 his own disordered imagination4#cg ,it 
was an excellent superstition1          
inculcated in the ancient law-books1    

that the ancestors watched the answer of
 a witness1 because1 according as it was
 true or false1 they themselves would go
 to heaven or to hell4#ch  ,allow me to 
read you the abstract of a conversation 
between an ,english official and a      
native law-officer as reported by       
,colonel ,sleeman4 ,the native lawyer   
was asked what he thought would be the  
effect of an act to dispense with oaths 
on the ,koran and ,ganges-water1 and to 
substitute a solemn declaration made in 
the name of ,god1 and under the same    
penal liabilities as if the ,koran or   
,ganges-water had been in the deponent's
 hand4  ,i have practiced in the courts1
 the native said1 for thirty years1 and 
during that time ,i have found only     
three kinds of witnesses--two of whom   
would1 by such an act1 be left precisely
 where they were1 while the third would 
be released by it from a very salutary  
check4  ,and1 pray1 what are the three  
classes into which you divide the       
witnesses in our courts8  ,first1 ,sir1 

are those who will always tell the      
truth1 whether they are required to     
state what they know in the form of an  
oath or not4  ,do you think this a large
 class8  ,yes1 ,i think it is2 and ,i   
have found among them many whom nothing 
on earth could make to swerve from the  
truth4 ,do what you please1 you could   
never frighten or bribe them into a     
deliberate falsehood4  ,the second are  
those who will not hesitate to tell a   
lie when they have a motive for it1 and 
are not restrained by an oath4 ,in      
taking an oath1 they are afraid of two  
things1 the anger of ,god and the odium 
of men4  ,only three days ago1 he       
continued1 ,i required a power of       
attorney from a lady of rank1 to enable 
me to act for her in a case pending     
before the court in this town4 ,it was  
given to me by her brother1 and two     
witnesses came to declare that she had  
given it4 ',now1' said ,i1 'this lady is
 known to live under the curtain1 and   
you will be asked by the judge whether  

you saw her give this paper3 what will  
you say8' ,they both replied3 ',if the  
judge asks us the question without an   
oath1 we will say ,yes2 it will save    
much trouble1 and we know that she did  
give the paper1 though we did not really
 see her give it2 but if he puts the    
,koran into our hands1 we must say ,no1 
for we should otherwise be pointed at by
 all the town as perjured wretches--our 
enemies would soon tell everybody that  
we had taken a false oath4'  ,now1 the  
native lawyer went on1 the form of an   
oath is a great check on this sort of   
persons4  ,the third class consists of  
men who will tell lies whenever they    
have a sufficient motive1 whether they  
have the ,koran or ,ganges-water in     
their hand or not4 ,nothing will ever   
prevent their doing so2 and the         
declaration which you propose would be  
just as well as any other for them4     
,which class do you consider the most   
numerous of the three8  ,i consider the 
second the most numerous1 and wish the  

oath to be retained for them4  ,that is1
 of all the men you see examined in our 
courts1 you think the most come under   
the class of those who will1 under the  
influence of strong motives1 tell lies1 
if they have not the ,koran or          
,ganges-water in their hands8  ,yes4    
,but do not a great many of those whom  
you consider to be included among the   
second class come from the              
village-communities--the peasantry of   
the country8  ,yes4  ,and do you not    
think that the greatest part of those   
men who will tell lies in the court1    
under the influence of strong motives1  
unless they have the ,koran or          
,ganges-water in their hands1 would     
refuse to tell lies1 if questioned      
before the people of their villages1    
among the circle in which they live8    
,of course ,i do2 three-fourths of those
 who do not scruple to lie in the       
courts1 would be ashamed to lie before  
their neighbors1 or the elders of their 
village4  ,you think that the people of 

the village-communities are more ashamed
 to tell lies before their neighbors    
than the people of towns8  ,much        
more--there is no comparison4  ,and the 
people of towns and cities bear in      
,india but a small proportion to the    
people of the village-communities8  ,i  
should think a very small proportion    
indeed4  ,then you think that in the    
mass of the population of ,india1 out of
 our courts1 the first class1 or those  
who speak truth1 whether they have the  
,koran or ,ganges-water in their hands  
or not1 would be found more numerous    
than the other two8  ,certainly ,i do2  
if they were always to be questioned    
before their neighbors or elders1 so    
that they could feel that their         
neighbors and elders could know what    
they say4  ,it was from a simple sense  
of justice that ,i felt bound to quote  
this testimony of ,colonel ,sleeman as  
to the truthful character of the natives
 of ,india1 when left to themselves4 ,my
 interest lies altogether with the      

people of ,india1 when left to          
themselves1 and historically ,i should  
like to draw a line after the year one  
thousand after ,christ4 ,when you read  
the atrocities committed by the         
,mohammedan conquerors of ,india from   
that time to the time when ,england     
stepped in and1 whatever may be said by 
her envious critics1 made1 at all       
events1 the broad principles of our     
common humanity respected once more in  
,india1 the wonder1 to my mind1 is how  
any nation could have survived such an  
,inferno without being turned into      
devils themselves4  ,now1 it is quite   
true that during the two thousand years 
which precede the time of ,mahmud of    
,gazni1 ,india has had but few foreign  
visitors1 and few foreign critics2 still
 it is surely extremely strange that    
whenever1 either in ,greek1 or in       
,chinese1 or in ,persian1 or in ,arab   
writings1 we meet with any attempts at  
describing the distinguishing features  
in the national character of the        

,indians1 regard for truth and justice  
should always be mentioned first4       
,ktesias1 the famous ,greek physician of
 ,artaxerxes ,mnemon 7present at the    
battle of ,cunaxa1 #djd ,b4,c471 the    
first ,greek writer who tells us        
anything about the character of the     
,indians1 such as he heard it described 
at the ,persian court1 has a special    
chapter ,on the ,justice of the         
,indians4#ci  ,megasthenes1#dj the      
ambassador of ,seleucus ,nicator at the 
court of ,sandrocottus in ,palibothra   
7,pataliputra1 the modern ,patna71      
states that thefts were extremely rare1 
and that they honored truth and         
virtue4#da  ,arrian 7in the second      
century1 the pupil of ,epictetus71 when 
speaking of the public overseers or     
superintendents in ,india1 says3#db     
,they oversee what goes on in the       
country or towns1 and report everything 
to the king1 where the people have a    
king1 and to the magistrates1 where the 
people are self-governed1 and it is     

against use and wont for these to give  
in a false report2 but indeed no ,indian
 is accused of lying4#dc  ,the ,chinese1
 who come next in order of time1 bear   
the same1 ,i believe1 unanimous         
testimony in favor of the honesty and   
veracity of the ,hindus4 ,the earliest  
witness is ,su-we1 a relative of        
,fan-chen1 ,king of ,siam1 who between  
#bbb and #bbg ,a4,d4 sailed round the   
whole of ,india1 till he reached the    
mouth of the ,indus1 and then explored  
the country4 ,after his return to       
,sinto1 he received four ,yueh-chi      
horses1 sent by a king of ,india as a   
present to the ,king of ,siam and his   
ambassador4 ,at the time when these     
horses arrived in ,siam 7it took them   
four years to travel there71 there was  
staying at the court of ,siam an        
ambassador of the ,emperor of ,china1   
,khang-thai1 and this is the account    
which he received of the kingdom of     
,india3 ,it is a kingdom in which the   
religion of ,buddha flourishes4 ,the    

inhabitants are straightforward and     
honest1 and the soil is very fertile4   
,the king is called ,meu-lun1 and his   
capital is surrounded by walls1 etc4    
,this was in about #bca ,a4,d4 ,in #fje 
we hear again of the ,emperor ,yang-ti  
sending an ambassador1 ,fei-tu1 to      
,india1 and this is what among other    
things he points out as peculiar to the 
,hindus3 ,they believe in solemn        
oaths4#dd ,let me quote ,hiouen-thsang1 
the most famous of the ,chinese         
,buddhist pilgrims1 who visited ,india  
in the seventh century4#de ,though the  
,indians1 he writes1 are of a light     
temperament1 they are distinguished by  
the straightforwardness and honesty of  
their character4 ,with regard to riches1
 they never take anything unjustly2 with
 regard to justice1 they make even      
excessive concessions4444               
,straightforwardness is the             
distinguishing feature of their         
administration4  ,if we turn to the     
accounts given by the ,mohammedan       

conquerors of ,india1 we find ,idrisi1  
in his ,geography 7written in the       
eleventh century71 summing up their     
opinion of the ,indians in the following
 words3#df      ,the ,indians are       
naturally inclined to justice1 and never
     depart from it in their actions4   
,their good faith1 honesty1     and     
fidelity to their engagements are well  
known1 and they     are so famous for   
these qualities that people flock to    
their     country from every side4      
,again1 in the thirteenth century1      
,shems-ed-din ,abu ,abdallah quotes the 
following judgment of ,bedi ezr ,zenan3 
,the ,indians are innumerable1 like     
grains of sand1 free from all deceit and
 violence4 ,they fear neither death nor 
life4#dg  ,in the thirteenth century we 
have the testimony of ,marco            
,polo1#dhwho thus speaks of the         
,abraiaman1 a name by which he seems to 
mean the ,brahmans who1 though1 not     
traders by profession1 might well have  
been employed for great commercial      

transactions by the king4 ,this was     
particularly the case during times which
 the ,brahmans would call times of      
distress1 when many things were allowed 
which at other times were forbidden by  
the laws4 ,you must know1 ,marco ,polo  
says1 that these ,abraiaman are the best
 merchants in the world1 and the most   
truthful1 for they would not tell a lie 
for anything on earth4  ,in the         
fourteenth century we have ,friar       
,jordanus1 who goes out of his way to   
tell us that the people of ,lesser      
,india 7,south and ,western ,india7 are 
true in speech and eminent in           
justice4#di  ,in the fifteenth century1 
,kamal-eddin ,abd-errazak ,samarkandi   
7#adac-adhb71 who went as ambassador of 
the ,khakan to the prince of ,kalikut   
and to the ,king of ,vidyanagara 7about 
#addj-adde71 bears testimony to the     
perfect security which merchants enjoy  
in that country4#ej  ,in the sixteenth  
century1 ,abu ,fazl1 the minister of the
 ,emperor ,akbar1 says in his ,ayin     

,akbari3 ,the ,hindus are religious1    
affable1 cheerful1 lovers of justice1   
given to retirement1 able in business1  
admirers of truth1 grateful and of      
unbounded fidelity2 and their soldiers  
know not what it is to fly from the     
field of battle4#ea  ,and even in quite 
modern times the ,mohammedans seem      
willing to admit that the ,hindus1 at   
all events in their dealings with       
,hindus1 are more straightforward than  
,mohammedans in their dealings with     
,mohammedans4  ,thus ,meer ,sulamut     
,ali1 a venerable old ,mussulman1 and1  
as ,colonel ,sleeman says1 a most       
valuable public servant1 was obliged to 
admit that a ,hindu may feel himself    
authorized to take in a ,mussulman1 and 
might even think it meritorious to do   
so2 but he would never think it         
meritorious to take in one of his own   
religion4 ,there are no less than       
seventy-two sects of ,mohammedans2 and  
every one of these sects would not only 
take in the followers of every other    

religion on earth1 but every member of  
every one of the other seventy-one      
sects2 and the nearer that sect is to   
his own1 the greater the merit of taking
 in its members4#eb  ,so ,i could go on 
quoting from book after book1 and again 
and again we should see how it was love 
of truth that struck all the people who 
came in contact with ,india1 as the     
prominent feature in the national       
character of its inhabitants4 ,no one   
ever accused them of falsehood4 ,there  
must surely be some ground for this1 for
 it is not a remark that is frequently  
made by travellers in foreign countries1
 even in our time1 that their           
inhabitants invariably speak the truth4 
,read the accounts of ,english          
travellers in ,france1 and you will find
 very little said about ,french honesty 
and veracity1 while ,french accounts of 
,england are seldom without a fling at  
,perfide ,albion6  ,but if all this is  
true1 how is it1 you may well ask1 that 
public opinion in ,england is so        

decidedly unfriendly to the people of   
,india2 at the utmost tolerates and     
patronizes them1 but will never trust   
them1 never treat them on terms of      
equality8  ,i have already hinted at    
some of the reasons4 ,public opinion    
with regard to ,india is made up in     
,england chiefly by those who have spent
 their lives in ,calcutta1 ,bombay1     
,madras1 or some other of the principal 
towns in ,india4 ,the native element in 
such towns contains mostly the most     
unfavorable specimens of the ,indian    
population4 ,an insight into the        
domestic life of the more respectable   
classes1 even in towns1 is difficult to 
obtain2 and1 when it is obtained1 it is 
extremely difficult to judge of their   
manners according to our standard of    
what is proper1 respectable1 or         
gentlemanlike4 ,the misunderstandings   
are frequent and often most grotesque2  
and such1 we must confess1 is human     
nature1 that when we hear the different 
and often most conflicting accounts of  

the character of the ,hindus1 we are    
naturally skeptical with regard to      
unsuspected virtues among them1 while we
 are quite disposed to accept           
unfavorable accounts of their character4
  ,lest ,i should seem to be pleading   
too much on the native side of the      
question1 and to exaggerate the         
difficulty of forming a correct estimate
 of the character of the ,hindus1 let me
 appeal to one of the most              
distinguished1 learned1 and judicious   
members of the ,indian ,civil ,service1 
the author of the ,history of ,india1   
,mountstuart ,elphinstone4 ,englishmen  
in ,india1#ec he says1 have less        
opportunity than might be expected of   
forming opinions of the native          
character4 ,even in ,england1 few know  
much of the people beyond their own     
class1 and what they do know1 they learn
 from newspapers and publications of a  
description which does not exist in     
,india4 ,in that country also1 religion 
and manners put bars to our intimacy    

with the natives1 and limit the number  
of transactions as well as the free     
communication of opinions4 ,we know     
nothing of the interior of families but 
by report1 and have no share in those   
numerous occurrences of life in which   
the amiable parts of character are most 
exhibited4 ,missionaries of a different 
religion1#ed judges1 police-magistrates1
 officers of revenue or customs1 and    
even diplomatists1 do not see the most  
virtuous portion of a nation1 nor any   
portion1 unless when influenced by      
passion1 or occupied by some personal   
interest4 ,what we do see we judge by   
our own standard4 ,we conclude that a   
man who cries like a child on slight    
occasions must always be incapable of   
acting or suffering with dignity2 and   
that one who allows himself to be called
 a liar would not be ashamed of any     
baseness4 ,our writers also confound the
 distinctions of time and place2 they   
combine in one character the ,maratta   
and the ,bengalese1 and tax the present 

generation with the crimes of the heroes
 of the ,mahabharata4 ,it might be      
argued1 in opposition to many           
unfavorable testimonies1 that those who 
have known the ,indians longest have    
always the best opinion of them2 but    
this is rather a compliment to human    
nature than to them1 since it is true of
 every other people4 ,it is more in     
point1 that all persons who have retired
 from ,india think better of the people 
they have left1 after comparing them    
with others1 even of the most           
justly-admired nations4  ,but what is   
still more extraordinary than the ready 
acceptance of judgments unfavorable to  
the character of the ,hindus1 is the    
determined way in which public opinion1 
swayed by the statements of certain     
unfavorable critics1 has persistently   
ignored the evidence which members of   
the ,civil ,service1 officers and       
statesmen--men of the highest           
authority--have given again and again1  
in direct opposition to these           

unfavorable opinions4  ,here1 too1 ,i   
must ask to be allowed to quote at least
 a few of these witnesses on the other  
side4  ,warren ,hastings thus speaks of 
the ,hindus in general3 ,they are gentle
 and benevolent1 more susceptible of    
gratitude for kindness shown them1 and  
less prompted to vengeance for wrongs   
inflicted than any people on the face of
 the earth2 faithful1 affectionate1     
submissive to legal authority4  ,bishop 
,heber said3 ,the ,hindus are brave1    
courteous1 intelligent1 most eager for  
knowledge and improvement2 sober1       
industrious1 dutiful to parents1        
affectionate to their children1         
uniformly gentle and patient1 and more  
easily affected by kindness and         
attention to their wants and feelings   
than any people ,i ever met with4#ee    
,elphinstone states3 ,no set of people  
among the ,hindus are so depraved as the
 dregs of our own great towns4 ,the     
villagers are everywhere amiable1       
affectionate to their families1 kind to 

their neighbors1 and toward all but the 
government honest and sincere4          
,including the ,thugs and ,dacoits1 the 
mass of crime is less in ,india than in 
,england4 ,the ,thugs are almost a      
separate nation1 and the ,dacoits are   
desperate ruffians in gangs4 ,the       
,hindus are mild and gentle people1 more
 merciful to prisoners than any other   
,asiatics4 ,their freedom from gross    
debauchery is the point in which they   
appear to most advantage2 and their     
superiority in purity of manners is not 
flattering to our self-esteem4#ef  ,yet 
,elphinstone can be most severe on the  
real faults of the people of ,india4 ,he
 states that1 at present1 want of       
veracity is one of their prominent      
vices1 but he adds#eg that such deceit  
is most common in people connected with 
government1 a class which spreads far in
 ,india1 as1 from the nature of the     
land-revenue1 the lowest villager is    
often obliged to resist force by        
fraud4#eh  ,sir ,john ,malcolm          

writes3#ei ,i have hardly ever known    
where a person did understand the       
language1 or where a calm communication 
was made to a native of ,india1 through 
a well-informed and trustworthy medium1 
that the result did not prove1 that what
 had at first been stated as falsehood  
had either proceeded from fear or from  
misapprehension4 ,i by no means wish to 
state that our ,indian subjects are more
 free from this vice than other nations 
that occupy a nearly equal position in  
society1 but ,i am positive that they   
are not more addicted to untruth4  ,sir 
,thomas ,munro bears even stronger      
testimony4 ,he writes3#fj ,if a good    
system of agriculture1 unrivalled       
manufacturing skill1 a capacity to      
produce whatever can contribute to      
either convenience or luxury1 schools   
established in every village for        
teaching reading1 writing1 and          
arithmetic1#fa the general practice of  
hospitality and charity among each      
other1 and1 above all1 a treatment of   

the female sex full of confidence1      
respect1 and delicacy1 are among the    
signs which denote a civilized          
people--then the ,hindus are not        
inferior to the nations of ,europe--and 
if civilization is to become an article 
of trade between ,england and ,india1 ,i
 am convinced that ,england will gain by
 the import cargo4  ,my own experience  
with regard to the native character has 
been1 of course1 very limited4 ,those   
,hindus whom ,i have had the pleasure to
 know personally in ,europe may be      
looked upon as exceptional1 as the best 
specimens1 it may be1 that ,india could 
produce4 ,also1 my intercourse with them
 has naturally been such that it could  
hardly have brought out the darker sides
 of human nature4 ,during the last      
twenty years1 however1 ,i have had some 
excellent opportunities of watching a   
number of native scholars under         
circumstances where it is not difficult 
to detect a man's true character--,i    
mean in literary work and1 more         

particularly1 in literary controversy4  
,i have watched them carrying on such   
controversies both among themselves and 
with certain ,european scholars1 and ,i 
feel bound to say that1 with hardly one 
exception1 they have displayed a far    
greater respect for truth and a far more
 manly and generous spirit than we are  
accustomed to even in ,europe and       
,america4 ,they have shown strength1 but
 no rudeness2 nay1 ,i know that nothing 
has surprised them so much as the coarse
 invective to which certain ,sanskrit   
scholars have condescended1 rudeness of 
speech being1 according to their view of
 human nature1 a safe sign not only of  
bad breeding1 but of want of knowledge4 
,when they were wrong1 they have readily
 admitted their mistakes2 when they were
 right1 they have never sneered at their
 ,european adversaries4 ,there has been1
 with few exceptions1 no quibbling1 no  
special pleading1 no untruthfulness on  
their part1 and certainly none of that  
low cunning of the scholar who writes   

down and publishes what he knows        
perfectly well to be false1 and snaps   
his fingers at those who still value    
truth and self-respect more highly than 
victory or applause at any price4 ,here1
 too1 we might possibly gain by the     
import cargo4  ,let me add that ,i have 
been repeatedly told by ,english        
merchants that commercial honor stands  
higher in ,india than in any other      
country1 and that a dishonored bill is  
hardly known there4  ,i have left to the
 last the witnesses who might otherwise 
have been suspected--,i mean the ,hindus
 themselves4 ,the whole of their        
literature from one end to the other is 
pervaded by expressions of love and     
reverence for truth4 ,their very word   
for truth is full of meaning4 ,it is s a
 t or s a t y a1 s a t being the        
participle of the verb as1 to be4 ,true1
 therefore1 was with them simply that   
which is4 ,the ,english sooth is        
connected with sat1 also the ,greek     
,greek3 on for ,greek3 eson1 and the    

,latin sens1 in praesens4  ,we are all  
very apt to consider truth to be what is
 trowed by others1 or believed in by    
large majorities4 ,that kind of truth is
 easy to accept4 ,but whoever has once  
stood alone1 surrounded by noisy        
assertions1 and overwhelmed by the      
clamor of those who ought to know       
better1 or perhaps who did know         
better--call him ,galileo or ,darwin1   
,colenso or ,stanley1 or any other      
name--he knows what a real delight it is
 to feel in his heart of hearts1 this is
 true--this is--this is s a t--whatever 
daily1 weekly1 or quarterly papers1     
whatever bishops1 archbishops1 or popes1
 may say to the contrary4  ,another name
 for truth is the ,sanskrit r it a1     
which originally seems to have meant    
straight1 direct1 while a nr it a is    
untrue1 false4  ,now one of the highest 
praises bestowed upon the gods in the   
,veda is that they are s a t y a1 true1 
truthful1 trustworthy2#fb and it is well
 known that both in modern and ancient  

times1 men always ascribe to ,god or to 
their gods those qualities which they   
value most in themselves4  ,other words 
applied to the gods as truthful beings  
are1 a d r o g h a1 lit4 not            
deceiving4#fc ,a d r o g h a-v a k      
means1 he whose word is never broken4   
,thus ,indra1 the ,vedic ,jupiter1 is   
said to have been praised by the        
fathers#fd as reaching the enemy1       
overcoming him1 standing on the summit1 
true of speech1 most powerful in        
thought4  ,d r o g h a v a k1#fe on the 
contrary1 is used for deceitful men4    
,thus ,vasishtha1 one of the great      
,vedic poets1 says3 ,if ,i had          
worshipped false gods1 or if ,i believed
 in the gods vainly--but why art thou   
angry with us1 ,o ,gatavedas8 ,may liars
 go to destruction6  ,s a t y a m1 as a 
neuter1 is often used as an abstract1   
and is then rightly translated by truth4
 ,but it also means that which is1 the  
true1 the real2 and there are several   
passages in the ,rig-,veda where1       

instead of truth1 ,i think we ought     
simply to translate s a t y a m by the  
true1 that is1 the real1 ,greek3 to     
ontos on4#ff ,it sounds1 no doubt1 very 
well to translate ,satyena uttabhita    
bhumih by the earth is founded on truth2
 and ,i believe every translator has    
taken s a t y a in that sense here4     
,ludwig translates1 ,von der ,wahrheit  
ist die ,erde gestuetzt4 ,but such an   
idea1 if it conveys any tangible meaning
 at all1 is far too abstract for those  
early poets and philosophers4 ,they     
meant to say the earth1 such as we see  
it1 is held up1 that is1 rests on       
something real1 though we may not see   
it1 on something which they called the  
,real1#fg and to which1 in course of    
time1 they gave many more names1 such as
 ,r i t a1 the right1 ,b r a h m a n1   
etc4  ,of course where there is that    
strong reverence for truth1 there must  
also be the sense of guilt arising from 
untruth4 ,and thus we hear one poet pray
 that the waters may wash him clean1 and

 carry off all his sins and all untruth3
      ,carry away1 ye waters1#fh        
whatever evil there is in me1           
wherever ,i may have deceived1 or may   
have cursed1 and also     all untruth   
7anritam74#fi  ,or again1 in the        
,atharva-,veda ,,iv4 #af3      ,may all 
thy fatal snares1 which stand spread out
 seven by     seven and threefold1 catch
 the man who tells a lie1 may they      
pass by him who tells the truth6  ,from 
the ,brahmanas1 or theological treatises
 of the ,brahmans1 ,i shall quote a few 
passages only3      ,whosoever#gj speaks
 the truth1 makes the fire on his own   
altar blaze up1 as if he poured butter  
into the lighted fire4     ,his own     
light grows larger1 and from to-morrow  
to to-morrow     he becomes better4 ,but
 whosoever speaks untruth1 he quenches  
the fire on his altar1 as if he poured  
water into the lighted     fire2 his own
 light grows smaller and smaller1 and   
from     to-morrow to to-morrow he      
becomes more wicked4 ,let man           

therefore speak truth only4#ga  ,and    
again3#gb ,a man becomes impure by      
uttering falsehood4  ,and again3#gc ,as 
a man who steps on the edge of a sword  
placed over a pit cries out1 ,i shall   
slip1 ,i shall slip into the pit1 so let
 a man guard himself from falsehood 7or 
sin74  ,in later times we see the       
respect for truth carried to such an    
extreme1 that even a promise1           
unwittingly made1 is considered to be   
binding4  ,in the ,katha-,upanishad1 for
 instance1 a father is introduced       
offering what is called an              
,all-sacrifice1 where everything is     
supposed to be given up4 ,his son1 who  
is standing by1 taunts his father with  
not having altogether fulfilled his vow1
 because he has not sacrificed his son4 
,upon this1 the father1 though angry and
 against his will1 is obliged to        
sacrifice his son4 ,again1 when the son 
arrives in the lower world1 he is       
allowed by the ,judge of the ,dead to   
ask for three favors4 ,he then asks to  

be restored to life1 to be taught some  
sacrificial mysteries1 and1 as the third
 boon1 he asks to know what becomes of  
man after he is dead4 ,yama1 the lord of
 the ,departed1 tries in vain to be let 
off from answering this last question4  
,but he1 too1 is bound by his promise1  
and then follows a discourse on life    
after death1 or immortal life1 which    
forms one of the most beautiful chapters
 in the ancient literature of ,india4   
,the whole plot of one of the great epic
 poems1 the ,ramayana1 rests on a rash  
promise given by ,dasaratha1 king of    
,ayodhya1 to his second wife1 ,kaikeyi1 
that he would grant her two boons4 ,in  
order to secure the succession to her   
own son1 she asks that ,rama1 the eldest
 son by the king's other wife1 should be
 banished for fourteen years4 ,much as  
the king repents his promise1 ,rama1 his
 eldest son1 would on no account let his
 father break his word1 and he leaves   
his kingdom to wander in the forest with
 his wife ,sita and his brother         

,lakshmana4 ,after the father's death1  
the son of the second wife declines the 
throne1 and comes to ,rama to persuade  
him to accept the kingdom of his father4
 ,but all in vain4 ,rama will keep his  
exile for fourteen years1 and never     
disown his father's promise4 ,here      
follows a curious dialogue between a    
,brahman ,gabali and ,prince ,rama1 of  
which ,i shall give some extracts3#gd   
,the ,brahman1 who is a priest and      
courtier1 says1 ',well1     descendant  
of ,raghu1 do not thou1 so noble in     
sentiments1 and     austere in          
character1 entertain1 like a common man1
 this     useless thought4 ,what man is 
a kinsman of any other8 ,what           
relationship has any one with another8  
,a man is born alone     and dies alone4
 ,hence he who is attached to any one as
 his     father or his mother1 is to be 
regarded as if he were insane1     for  
no one belongs to another4 ,thou        
oughtest not to abandon     thy father's
 kingdom and stay here in a sad and     

miserable     abode1 attended with many 
trials4 ,let thyself be inaugurated     
king in the wealthy ,ayodhya4           
,dasaratha1 thy father is     nothing to
 thee1 or thou to him2 the king is one1 
and thou     another1 do therefore what 
is said4444 ,then offer oblations     to
 the departed spirits 7of thy           
forefathers7 on prescribed     days2 but
 see what a waste of food6 ,for what can
 a dead man     eat8 ,if what is eaten  
by one here enters into the body of     
another 7viz41 of the departed71 let    
,sraddhas be offered to     those who   
are travelling2 they need not then get  
food to eat     on their journey4 ,these
 books 7the ,vedas71 7which enjoin men  
to7 sacrifice1 give1 consecrate         
themselves1 practise     austerities1   
and forsake the world1 are composed by  
clever     men to induce others to      
bestow gifts4 ,authoritative words do   
not fall from heaven4 ,let me1 and      
others like yourselves1     embrace     
whatever assertion is supported by      

reason4 ,adhere to     what is apparent 
to the senses1 and reject what is       
invisible4444 ,this world is the next   
world2 do thou     therefore enjoy      
pleasure1 for every virtuous man does   
not     gain it4 ,virtuous men are      
greatly distressed1 while the           
unrighteous are seen to be happy4'      
,these positivist sentiments sound      
strange1 particularly from the mouth of 
a ,brahman4 ,but the poet evidently     
wishes to represent a ,brahman living at
 court1 who has an argument ready for   
anything and everything that is likely  
to please his king4  ,but what does     
,rama answer8 ,the words1 he says1 which
 you have addressed to me1 though they  
recommend what seems to be right and    
salutary1 advise1 in fact1 the contrary4
 ,the sinful transgressor1 who lives    
according to the rules of heretical     
systems1 obtains no esteem from good    
men4 ,it is good conduct that marks a   
man to be noble or ignoble1 heroic or a 
pretender to manliness1 pure or impure4 

,truth and mercy are immemorial         
characteristics of a king's conduct4    
,hence royal rule is in its essence     
truth4 ,on truth the word is based4     
,both sages and gods have esteemed      
truth4 ,the man who speaks truth in this
 world attains the highest imperishable 
state4 ,men shrink with fear and horror 
from a liar as from a serpent4 ,in this 
world the chief element in virtue is    
truth2 it is called the basis of        
everything4 ,truth is lord in the world2
 virtue always rests on truth4 ,all     
things are founded on truth2 nothing is 
higher than it4 ,why1 then1 should ,i   
not be true to my promise1 and          
faithfully observe the truthful         
injunction given by my father8 ,neither 
through covetousness1 nor delusion1 nor 
ignorance1 will ,i1 overpowered by      
darkness1 break through the barrier of  
truth1 but remain true to my promise to 
my father4 ,how shall ,i1 having        
promised to him that ,i would thus      
reside in the forests1 transgress his   

injunction1 and do what ,bharata        
recommends8  ,the other epic poem too1  
the ,mahabharata1 is full of episodes   
showing a profound regard for truth and 
an almost slavish submission to a pledge
 once given4 ,the death of ,bhishma1 one
 of the most important events in the    
story of the ,mahabharata1 is due to his
 vow never to hurt a woman4 ,he is thus 
killed by ,sikhandin1 whom he takes to  
be a woman4#ge  ,were ,i to quote from  
all the law-books1 and from still later 
works1 everywhere you would hear the    
same key-note of truthfulness vibrating 
through them all4  ,we must not1        
however1 suppress the fact that1 under  
certain circumstances1 a lie was        
allowed1 or1 at all events1 excused by  
,indian lawgivers4 ,thus ,gautama       
says3#gf ,an untruth spoken by people   
under the influence of anger1 excessive 
joy1 fear1 pain1 or grief1 by infants1  
by very old men1 by persons laboring    
under a delusion1 being under the       
influence of drink1 or by madmen1 does  

not cause the speaker to fall1 or1 as we
 should say1 is a venial1 not a mortal  
sin4#gg  ,this is a large admission1 yet
 even in that open admission there is a 
certain amount of honesty4 ,again and   
again in the ,mahabharata is this excuse
 pleaded4#gh ,nay1 there is in the      
,mahabharata#gi the well-known story of 
,kausika1 called ,satyavadin1 the       
,truth-speaker1 who goes to hell for    
having spoken the truth4 ,he once saw   
men flying into the forest before       
robbers 7dasyu74 ,the robbers came up   
soon after them1 and asked ,kausika1    
which way the fugitives had taken4 ,he  
told them the truth1 and the men were   
caught by the robbers and killed4 ,but  
,kausika1 we are told1 went to hell for 
having spoken the truth4  ,the ,hindus  
may seem to have been a priest-ridden   
race1 and their devotion to sacrifice   
and ceremonial is well known4 ,yet this 
is what the poet of the ,mahabharata    
dares to say3      ,let a thousand      
sacrifices 7of a horse7 and truth be    

weighed     in the balance--truth will  
exceed the thousand     sacrifices4#hj  
,these are words addressed by           
,sakuntala1 the deserted wife1 to ,king 
,dushyanta1 when he declined to         
recognize her and his son4 ,and when he 
refuses to listen to her appeal1 what   
does she appeal to as the highest       
authority8--,the voice of conscience4   
,if you think ,i am alone1 she says to  
the king1 you do not know that wise man 
within your heart4 ,he knows of your    
evil deed--in his sight you commit sin4 
,a man who has committed sin may think  
that no one knows it4 ,the gods know it 
and the old man within4#ha  ,this must  
suffice4 ,i say once more that ,i do not
 wish to represent the people of ,india 
as two hundred and fifty-three millions 
of angels1 but ,i do wish it to be      
understood and to be accepted as a fact1
 that the damaging charge of            
untruthfulness brought against that     
people is utterly unfounded with regard 
to ancient times4 ,it is not only not   

true1 but the very opposite of the      
truth4 ,as to modern times1 and ,i date 
them from about #ajjj after ,christ1 ,i 
can only say that1 after reading the    
accounts of the terrors and horrors of  
,mohammedan rule1 my wonder is that so  
much of native virtue and truthfulness  
should have survived4 ,you might as well
 expect a mouse to speak the truth      
before a cat1 as a ,hindu before a      
,mohammedan judge4#hb ,if you frighten a
 child1 that child will tell a lie2 if  
you terrorize millions1 you must not be 
surprised if they try to escape from    
your fangs4 ,truthfulness is a luxury1  
perhaps the greatest1 and let me assure 
you1 the most expensive luxury in our   
life--and happy the man who has been    
able to enjoy it from his very          
childhood4 ,it may be easy enough in our
 days and in a free country1 like       
,england1 never to tell a lie--but the  
older we grow1 the harder we find it to 
be always true1 to speak the truth1 the 
whole truth1 and nothing but the truth4 

,the ,hindus too had made that          
discovery4 ,they too knew how hard1 nay 
how impossible it is1 always to speak   
the truth1 the whole truth1 and nothing 
but the truth4 ,there is a short story  
in the ,satapatha ,brahmana1 to my mind 
full of deep meaning1 and pervaded by   
the real sense of truth1 the real sense 
of the difficulty of truth4 ,his kinsman
 said to ,aruna ,aupavesi1 ,thou art    
advanced in years1 establish thou the   
sacrificial fires4 ,he replied3 ,thereby
 you tell me henceforth to keep silence4
 ,for he who has established the fires  
must not speak an untruth1 and only by  
not speaking at all1 one speaks no      
untruth4 ,to that extent the service of 
the sacrificial fires consists in       
truth4#hc  ,i doubt whether in any other
 of the ancient literatures of the world
 you will find traces of that extreme   
sensitiveness of conscience which       
despairs of our ever speaking the truth1
 and which declares silence gold1 and   
speech silver1 though1 in a much higher 

sense than our proverb4  ,what ,i should
 wish to impress on those who will soon 
find themselves the rulers of millions  
of human beings in ,india1 is the duty  
to shake off national prejudices1 which 
are apt to degenerate into a kind of    
madness4 ,i have known people with a    
brown skin whom ,i could look up to as  
my betters4 ,look for them in ,india1   
and you will find them1 and if you meet 
with disappointments1 as no doubt you   
will1 think of the people with white    
skins whom you have trusted1 and whom   
you can trust no more4 ,we are all apt  
to be ,pharisees in international       
judgments4 ,i read only a few days ago  
in a pamphlet written by an enlightened 
politician1 the following words3        
,experience only can teach that nothing 
is so truly     astonishing to a morally
 depraved people as the phenomenon of   
a race of men in whose word perfect     
confidence may be     placed#hd4444 ,the
 natives are conscious of their         
inferiority     in nothing so much as in

 this4 ,they require to be taught       
rectitude of conduct much more than     
literature and science4  ,if you        
approach the ,hindus with such feelings1
 you will teach them neither rectitude1 
nor science1 nor literature4 ,nay1 they 
might appeal to their own literature1   
even to their law-books1 to teach us at 
least one lesson of truthfulness1       
truthfulness to ourselves1 or1 in other 
words1 humility4  ,what does            
,yagnavalkya say8#he      ,it is not our
 hermitage1 he says--our religion we    
might     say--still less the color of  
our skin1 that produces virtue2         
virtue must be practiced4 ,therefore let
 no one do to others     what he would  
not have done to himself4  ,and the laws
 of the ,manavas1 which were so much    
abused by ,mill1 what do they teach8#hf 
,evil-doers think indeed that no one    
sees them2 but the gods     see them1   
and the old man within4      ,self is   
the witness of ,self1 ,self is the      
refuge of ,self4 ,do     not despise thy

 own ,self1 the highest witness of      
men4#hg      ,if1 friend1 thou thinkest 
thou art self-alone1 remember     there 
is the silent thinker 7the ,highest     
,self7 always within     thy heart1 and 
he sees what is good and what is        
evil4#hh      ,o friend1 whatever good  
thou mayest have done from thy very     
birth1 all will go to the dogs1 if thou 
speak an untruth4  ,or in ,vasishtha1   
,,xxx4 #a3      ,practice righteousness1
 not unrighteousness2 speak truth1      
not untruth2 look far1 not near2 look up
 toward the highest1     not toward     
anything low4  ,no doubt there is moral 
depravity in ,india1 and where is there 
no moral depravity in this world8 ,but  
to appeal to international statistics   
would be1 ,i believe1 a dangerous game4 
,nor must we forget that our standards  
of morality differ1 and1 on some points1
 differ considerably from those         
recognized in ,india2 and we must not   
wonder if sons do not at once condemn as
 criminal what their fathers and        

grandfathers considered right4 ,let us  
hold by all means to our sense of what  
is right and what is wrong2 but in      
judging others1 whether in public or in 
private life1 whether as historians or  
politicians1 let us not forget that a   
kindly spirit will never do any harm4   
,certainly ,i can imagine nothing more  
mischievous1 more dangerous1 more fatal 
to the permanence of ,english rule in   
,india1 than for the young civil        
servants to go to that country with the 
idea that it is a sink of moral         
depravity1 an ants' nest of lies2 for no
 one is so sure to go wrong1 whether in 
public or in private life1 as he who    
says in his haste3 ,all men are liars4  
,,footnotes3  ,footnote #ag3 ,mill's    
,history of ,british ,india1 ed4        
,wilson1 vol4 i41 p4 #cge4  ,footnote   
#ah3 ,keshub ,chunder ,sen is the       
present spiritual director of the       
,brahmo ,samag1 the theistic            
organization founded by the late        
,rammohun ,roy4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #ai3

 ,mill's ,history1 ed4 ,wilson1 vol4 i41
 p4 #cfh4  ,footnote #bj3 ,l4 c4 p4     
#cbe4  ,footnote #ba3 ,l4 c4 p4 #cbi4   
,footnote #bb3 ,p4 #bag4  ,footnote #bc3
 ,mill's ,history1 vol4 i41 p4 #cbi4    
,footnote #bd3 ,manu1 ,,viii4 #dc1 says3
 ,neither a ,king himself nor his       
officers must ever promote litigation2  
nor ever neglect a lawsuit instituted by
 others4  ,footnote #be3 ,mill's        
,history1 vol4 i41 p4 #cbg4  ,footnote  
#bf3 ,l4 c4 p4 #cfh4  ,footnote #bg3    
,see ,elphinstone1 ,history of ,india1  
ed4 ,cowell1 p4 #bai1 note4 ,of the #bcb
 sentences of death #fd only were       
carried out in ,england1 while the #ei  
sentences of death in ,bengal were all  
carried out4  ,footnote #bh3 ,sir ,ch4  
,trevelyan1 ,christianity and ,hinduism1
 #ahhb1 p4 #db4  ,this will be news to  
many4 ,it has been quite common to      
include the ,thugs with the worshippers 
of ,bhavani1 the consort of ,siva4 ,the 
word signifies a deceiver1 which        
eliminates it from every religious      

association4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #bi3   
,manu ,,vii4 #aae4  ,footnote #cj3 ,h4  
,m4 ,elliot1 ,supplement to the         
,glossary of ,indian ,terms1 p4 #aea4   
,footnote #ca3 ,i see from ,dr4         
,hunter's latest statistical tables that
 the whole number of towns and villages 
in ,british ,india amounts to #dic1dbi4 
,out of this number #ddh1cbj have less  
than #ajjj inhabitants1 and may be      
called villages4 ,in ,bengal1 where the 
growth of towns has been most encouraged
 through ,government establishments1 the
 total number of homesteads is #aag1jdb1
 and more than half of these contain    
less than #bjj inhabitants4 ,only       
#aj1jgg towns in ,bengal have more than 
#ajjj inhabitants1 that is1 no more than
 about a seventeenth part of all the    
settlements are anything but what we    
should call substantial villages4 ,in   
the ,north-,western ,provinces the last 
census gives us #aje1abd villages1      
against #big towns4 ,see ,london ,times1
 #adth ,aug4 #ahhb4  ,footnote #cb3     

,ancient ,india as described by         
,megasthenes and ,arrian1 by            
,mc,crindle1 p4 #db4  ,footnote #cc3    
,perjury seems to be committed by the   
meanest and encouraged by some of the   
better sort among the ,hindus and       
,mussulmans1 with as little remorse as  
if it were a proof of ingenuity1 or even
 a merit4--,sir ,w4 ,jones1 ,address to 
,grand ,jury at ,calcutta1 in ,mill's   
,history of ,india1 vol4 i41 p4 #cbd4   
,the longer we possess a province1 the  
more common and grave does perjury      
become4--,sir ,g4 ,campbell1 quoted by  
,rev4 ,samuel ,johnson1 ,oriental       
,religions1 ,india1 p4 #bhh4  ,footnote 
#cd3 ,vasishtha1 translated by ,buehler1
 ,,viii4 #h4  ,footnote #ce3 ,mr4 ,j4   
,d4 ,baldwin1 author of ,prehistoric    
,nations1 declares that this system of  
village-communities existed in ,india   
long before the ,aryan conquest4 ,he    
attributes it to ,cushite or ,a,ethiopic
 influence1 and with great plausibility4
 ,nevertheless1 the same system         

flourished in prehistoric ,greece1 even 
till the ,roman conquests4 ,mr4         
,palgrave observed it existing in       
,arabia4 ,oman is less a kingdom than an
 aggregation of municipalities1 he      
remarks2 each town1 each village has its
 separate existence and corporation1    
while towns and villages1 in their turn1
 are subjected to one or other of the   
ancestral chiefs4 ,the ,ionian and      
,phoenician cities existed by a similar 
tenure1 as did also the ,free ,cities of
 ,europe4 ,it appears1 indeed1 to have  
been the earlier form of rule4          
,megasthenes noticed it in ,india4 ,the 
village-communities1 says ,sir ,charles 
,metcalf1 are little republics1 having  
everything they want within themselves1 
and almost independent of any foreign   
relations4 ,they seem to last where     
nothing else lasts4 ,these villages     
usually consist of the holders of the   
land1 those who farm and cultivate it1  
the established village-servants1       
priest1 blacksmith1 carpenter1          

accountant1 washerman1 potter1 barber1  
watchman1 shoemaker1 etc4 ,the tenure   
and law of inheritance varies with the  
different native races1 but tenantship  
for a specific period seems to be the   
most common4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #cf3   
,sleeman1 vol4 ii41 p4 #aaa4  ,footnote 
#cg3 ,sleeman1 ,rambles1 vol4 ii41 p4   
#aaf4  ,footnote #ch3 ,vasishtha ,,xvi4 
#cb4  ,footnote #ci3 ,ktesiae ,fragmenta
 7ed4 ,didot71 p4 #ha4  ,footnote #dj3  
,see ,indian ,antiquary1 #ahgf1 p4 #ccc4
  ,footnote #da3 ,megasthenis ,fragmenta
 7ed4 ,didot7 in ,fragm4 ,histor4       
,graec4 vol4 ii41 p4 #dbf b3 ,greek3    
,aletheian te humoios kai areten        
apodechontai  ,footnote #db3 ,indica1   
cap4 xii4 #f4  ,footnote #dc3 ,see      
,mc,crindle in4 ,indian ,antiquary1     
#ahgf1 p4 #ib4  ,footnote #dd3 ,see     
,stanislas ,julien1 ,journal ,asiatique1
 #ahdg1 ,aout1 pp4 #ih1 #aje4  ,footnote
 #de3 ,vol4 ii41 p4 #hc4  ,footnote #df3
 ,elliot1 ,history of ,india1 vol4 i41  
p4 #hh4  ,footnote #dg3 ,see ,mehren3   

,manuel de la ,cosmographie du moyen    
age1 traduction de l'ouvrage de         
,shems-ed-din ,abou ,abdallah de ,damas4
 ,paris3 ,leroux1 #ahgd1 p4 #cga4       
,footnote #dh3 ,marco ,polo1 ed4 ,h4    
,yule1 vol4 ii41 p4 #cej4  ,footnote    
#di3 ,marco ,polo1 vol4 ii41 p4 #ced4   
,footnote #ej3 ,notices des ,manuscrits1
 tom4 xiv41 p4 #dcf4 ,he seems to have  
been one of the first to state that the 
,persian text of the ,kalilah and ,dimna
 was derived from the wise people of    
,india4  ,footnote #ea3 ,samuel         
,johnson1 ,india1 p4 #bid4  ,footnote   
#eb3 ,sleeman1 ,rambles1 vol4 i41 p4    
#fc4  ,footnote #ec3 ,elphinstone's     
,history of ,india1 ed4 ,cowell1 p4     
#bac4  ,footnote #ed3 ,this statement   
may well be doubted4 ,the missionary    
staff in ,india is very large and has   
been for years past4 ,there is no reason
 to doubt that many of its members are  
well informed respecting ,hindoo        
character in all grades of              
society4--,,am4 ,,pubs4  ,footnote #ee3 

,samuel ,johnson1 ,india1 p4 #bic4      
,footnote #ef3 ,see ,history of ,india1 
pp4 #cge-cha4  ,footnote #eg3 ,l4 c41 p4
 #bae4  ,footnote #eh3 ,history of      
,india1 p4 #bah4  ,footnote #ei3 ,mill's
 ,history of ,india1 ed4 ,wilson1 vol4  
i41 p4 #cgj4  ,footnote #fj3 ,l4 c41 p4 
#cga4  ,footnote #fa3 ,sir ,thomas      
,munro estimated the children educated  
at public schools in the ,madras        
presidency as less than one in three4   
,but low as it was1 it was1 as he justly
 remarked1 a higher rate than existed   
till very lately in most countries of   
,europe4--,elphinstone1 ,hist4 of       
,india1 p4 #bje4  ,in ,bengal there     
existed no less than #hj1jjj native     
schools1 though1 doubtless1 for the most
 part1 of a poor quality4 ,according to 
a ,government ,report of #ahce1 there   
was a village-school for every #djj     
persons4--,missionary ,intelligencer1   
,,ix4 #ahc-aic4  ,ludlow 7,british      
,india1 ,i4 #fb7 writes3 ,in every      
,hindu village which has retained its   

old form ,i am assured that the children
 generally are able to read1 write1 and 
cipher2 but where we have swept away the
 village-system1 as in ,bengal1 there   
the village-school has also disappeared4
  ,footnote #fb3 ,rig-,veda ,i4 #hg1 #d2
 #ade1 #e2 #agd1 #a2 ,v4 #bc1 #b4       
,footnote #fc3 ,rig-,veda ,,iii4 #cb1   
#i2 ,,vi4 #e1 #a4  ,footnote #fd3       
,rig-,veda ,,vi4 #bb1 #b4  ,footnote    
#fe3 ,rig-,veda ,,iii4 #ad1 #f4         
,footnote #ff3 ,this is the favorite    
expression of ,plato for the ,divine1   
which ,cary1 ,davis1 and others render  
,real ,being4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #fg3  
,sometimes they trace even this ,s a t y
 a or ,r i t a1 the ,real or ,right1 to 
a still higher cause1 and say           
7,rig-,veda ,x4 #aij1 #a73  ,the ,right 
and ,real was born from the ,lighted    
,heat2 from thence was born ,night1 and 
thence the billowy sea4 ,from the sea   
was born ,samvatsara1 the year1 he who  
ordereth day and night1 the ,lord of all
 that moves 7winks74 ,the ,maker        

7dhatri7 shaped ,sun and ,moon in order2
 he shaped the sky1 the earth1 the      
welkin1 and the highest heaven4         
,footnote #fh3 ,rig-,veda ,i4 #bc1 #bb4 
,footnote #fi3 ,or it may mean1         
,wherever ,i may have deceived1 or sworn
 false4  ,footnote #gj3 ,satapatha      
,brahmana ,,ii4 #b1 #c1 #ai4  ,footnote 
#ga3 ,cf4 ,muir1 ,metrical              
,translations1 p4 #bfh4  ,footnote #gb3 
,sat4 ,br4 ,,iii4 #a1 #b1 #aj4          
,footnote #gc3 ,taitt4 ,aranyaka ,x4 #i4
  ,footnote #gd3 ,muir1 ,metrical       
,translations1 p4 #bah4  ,footnote #ge3 
,holtzmann1 ,das alte indische ,epos1 p4
 #ba1 note #hc4  ,footnote #gf3 ,v4 #bd4
  ,footnote #gg3 ,this permission to    
prevaricate was still further extended4 
,the following five untruths are        
enumerated by various writers as not    
constituting mortal sins--namely1 at the
 time of marriage1 during dalliance1    
when life is in danger1 when the loss of
 property is threatened1 and for the    
sake of a ,brahmana4 ,again1 another    

writer cites the declaration that an    
untruth is venial if it is spoken at the
 time of marriage1 during dalliance1 in 
jest1 or while suffering great pain4 ,it
 is evident that ,venus laughed at      
lovers' oaths in ,india as well as      
elsewhere2 and that false testimony     
extracted by torture was excused4 ,manu 
declared that in some cases the giver of
 false evidence from a pious motive     
would not lose his seat in heaven2      
indeed1 that whenever the death of a man
 of any of the four castes would be     
occasioned by true evidence1 falsehood  
was even better than truth4 ,he gives as
 the primeval rule1 to say what is true 
and what is pleasant1 but not what is   
true and unpleasant1 or what is pleasant
 and not true4 ,the ,vishnu-purana gives
 like counsel1 adding the following     
aphorism3 ,a considerate man will always
 cultivate1 in act1 thought1 and speech1
 that which is good for living beings1  
both in this world and in the next4     
,about the same license appears to be   

used in this country and winked at4--,a4
 ,w4  ,footnote #gh3 ,i4 #cdab2 ,,iii4  
#achdd2 ,,vii4 #hgdb2 ,,viii4 #cdcf1    
#cdfd4  ,footnote #gi3 ,mahabharata     
,,viii4 #cddh4  ,footnote #hj3 ,muir1 l4
 c4 p4 #bfh2 ,mahabharata ,i4 #cjie4    
,footnote #ha3 ,mahabharata ,i4         
#cjae-af4  ,footnote #hb3 ,this explains
 satisfactorily how the ,hindoos became 
liars1 and of course admits that they   
did become so4--,,am4 ,,pubs4  ,footnote
 #hc3 ,satapatha ,brahmana1 translated  
by ,eggeling1 ,sacred ,books of the     
,east1 vol4 xii41 p4 #cac1 ,sec4 #bj4   
,footnote #hd3 ,sir ,charles ,trevelyan1
 ,christianity and ,hinduism1 p4 #ha4   
,footnote #he3 ,,iv4 #fe4  ,footnote    
#hf3 ,,viii4 #he4  ,footnote #hg3       
,,viii4 #ij4  ,footnote #hh3 ,,viii4    
#ib4     ,,lecture ,,iii4  ,,human      
,,interest ,,of ,,sanskrit ,,literature4
   ,my first lecture was intended to    
remove the prejudice that ,india is and 
always must be a strange country to us1 
and that those who have to live there   

will find themselves stranded1 and far  
away from that living stream of thoughts
 and interests which carries us along in
 ,england and in other countries of     
,europe4  ,my second lecture was        
directed against another prejudice1     
namely1 that the people of ,india with  
whom the young civil servants will have 
to pass the best years of their life are
 a race so depraved morally1 and more   
particularly so devoid of any regard for
 truth1 that they must always remain    
strangers to us1 and that any real      
fellowship or friendship with them is   
quite out of the question4  ,to-day ,i  
shall have to grapple with a third      
prejudice1 namely1 that the literature  
of ,india1 and more especially the      
classical ,sanskrit literature1 whatever
 may be its interest to the scholar and 
the antiquarian1 has little to teach us 
which we cannot learn better from other 
sources1 and that at all events it is of
 little practical use to young          
civilians4 ,if only they learn to       

express themselves in ,hindustani or    
,tamil1 that is considered quite enough2
 nay1 as they have to deal with men and 
with the ordinary affairs of life1 and  
as1 before everything else1 they are to 
be men of the world and men of business1
 it is even supposed to be dangerous1 if
 they allowed themselves to become      
absorbed in questions of abstruse       
scholarship or in researches on ancient 
religion1 mythology1 and philosophy4  ,i
 take the very opposite opinion1 and ,i 
should advise every young man who wishes
 to enjoy his life in ,india1 and to    
spend his years there with profit to    
himself and to others1 to learn         
,sanskrit1 and to learn it well4  ,i    
know it will be said1 ,what can be the  
use of ,sanskrit at the present day8 ,is
 not ,sanskrit a dead language8 ,and are
 not the ,hindus themselves ashamed of  
their ancient literature8 ,do they not  
learn ,english1 and do they not prefer  
,locke1 and ,hume1 and ,mill to their   
ancient poets and philosophers8  ,no    

doubt ,sanskrit1 in one sense1 is a dead
 language4 ,it was1 ,i believe1 a dead  
language more than two thousand years   
ago4 ,buddha1 about #ejj ,b4,c41        
commanded his disciples to preach in the
 dialects of the people2 and ,king      
,asoka1 in the third century ,b4,c41    
when he put up his ,edicts1 which were  
intended to be read1 or at least to be  
understood by the people1 had them      
engraved on rocks and pillars in the    
various local dialects from ,cabul#hi in
 the north to ,ballabhi in the south1   
from the sources of the ,ganges and the 
,jumnah to ,allahabad and ,patna1 nay   
even down to ,orissa4 ,these various    
dialects are as different from ,sanskrit
 as ,italian is from ,latin1 and we have
 therefore good reason to suppose that1 
in the third century ,b4,c41 if not     
earlier1 ,sanskrit had ceased to be the 
spoken language of the people at large4 
,there is an interesting passage in the 
,kullavagga1 where we are told that1    
even during ,buddha's lifetime1 some of 

his pupils1 who were ,brahmans by birth1
 complained that people spoiled the     
words of ,buddha by every one repeating 
them in his own dialect 7nirutti74 ,they
 proposed to translate his words into   
,sanskrit2 but he declined1 and         
commanded that each man should learn his
 doctrine in his own language4#ij  ,and 
there is another passage1 quoted by     
,hardy in his ,manual of ,buddhism1 p4  
#ahf1 where we read that at the time of 
,buddha's first preaching each of the   
countless listeners thought that the    
sage was looking toward him1 and was    
speaking to him in his own tongue1      
though the language used was            
,magadhi4#ia  ,sanskrit1 therefore1 as a
 language spoken by the people at large1
 had ceased to exist in the third       
century ,b4,c4  ,yet such is the        
marvellous continuity between the past  
and the present in ,india1 that in spite
 of repeated social convulsions1        
religious reforms1 and foreign          
invasions1 ,sanskrit may be said to be  

still the only language that is spoken  
over the whole extent of that vast      
country4  ,though the ,buddhist         
sovereigns published their edicts in the
 vernaculars1 public inscriptions and   
private official documents continued to 
be composed in ,sanskrit during the last
 two thousand years4 ,and though the    
language of the sacred writings of      
,buddhists and ,gainas was borrowed from
 the vulgar dialects1 the literature of 
,india never ceased to be written in    
,paninean ,sanskrit1 while the few      
exceptions1 as1 for instance1 the use of
 ,prakrit by women and inferior         
characters in the plays of ,kalidasa and
 others1 are themselves not without an  
important historical significance4      
,even at the present moment1 after a    
century of ,english rule and ,english   
teaching1 ,i believe that ,sanskrit is  
more widely understood in ,india than   
,latin was in ,europe at the time of    
,dante4  ,whenever ,i receive a letter  
from a learned man in ,india1 it is     

written in ,sanskrit4 ,whenever there is
 a controversy on questions of law and  
religion1 the pamphlets published in    
,india are written in ,sanskrit4 ,there 
are journals written in ,sanskrit which 
must entirely depend for their support  
on readers who prefer that classical    
language to the vulgar dialects4 ,there 
is ,the ,pandit1 published at ,benares1 
containing not only editions of ancient 
texts1 but treatises on modern subjects1
 reviews of books published in ,england1
 and controversial articles1 all in     
,sanskrit4  ,another paper of the same  
kind is the ,pratna-,kamra-nandini1 the 
,delight of lovers of old things1       
published likewise at ,benares1 and full
 of valuable materials4  ,there is also 
the ,vidyodaya1 the ,rise of ,knowledge1
 a ,sanskrit journal published at       
,calcutta1 which sometimes contains     
important articles4 ,there are probably 
others1 which ,i do not know4  ,there is
 a monthly serial published at ,bombay1 
by ,m4 ,moreshwar ,kunte1 called the    

,shad-darshana-,chintanika1 or ,studies 
in ,indian ,philosophy1 giving the text 
of the ancient systems of philosophy1   
with commentaries and treatises1 written
 in ,sanskrit1 though in this case      
accompanied by a ,marathi and an        
,english translation4  ,of the          
,rig-,veda1 the most ancient of         
,sanskrit books1 two editions are now   
coming out in monthly numbers1 the one  
published at ,bombay1 by what may be    
called the liberal party1 the other at  
,prayaga 7,allahabad7 by ,dayananda     
,sarasvati1 the representative of       
,indian orthodoxy4 ,the former gives a  
paraphrase in ,sanskrit1 and a ,marathi 
and an ,english translation2 the latter 
a full explanation in ,sanskrit1        
followed by a vernacular commentary4    
,these books are published by           
subscription1 and the list of           
subscribers among the natives of ,india 
is very considerable4  ,there are other 
journals1 which are chiefly written in  
the spoken dialects1 such as ,bengali1  

,marathi1 or ,hindi2 but they contain   
occasional articles in ,sanskrit1 as1   
for instance1 the ,hariskandrakandrika1 
published at ,benares1 the              
,tattvabodhini1 published at ,calcutta1 
and several more4  ,it was only the     
other day that ,i saw in the ,liberal1  
the journal of ,keshub ,chunder ,sen's  
party1#ib an account of a meeting       
between ,brahmavrata ,samadhyayi1 a     
,vedic scholar of ,nuddea1 and          
,kashinath ,trimbak ,telang1 a ,m4,a4 of
 the ,university of ,bombay4 ,the one   
came from the east1 the other from the  
west1 yet both could converse fluently  
in ,sanskrit4#ic  ,still more           
extraordinary is the number of ,sanskrit
 texts1 issuing from native presses1 for
 which there seems to be a large demand1
 for if we write for copies to be sent  
to ,england1 we often find that1 after a
 year or two1 all the copies have been  
bought up in ,india itself4 ,that would 
not be the case with ,anglo-,saxon texts
 in ,england1 or with ,latin texts in   

,italy6  ,but more than this1 we are    
told that the ancient epic poems of the 
,mahabharata and ,ramayana are still    
recited in the temples for the benefit  
of visitors1 and that in the villages   
large crowds assemble around the        
,kathaka1 the reader of these ancient   
,sanskrit poems1 often interrupting his 
recitations with tears and sighs1 when  
the hero of the poem is sent into       
banishment1 while when he returns to his
 kingdom1 the houses of the village are 
adorned with lamps and garlands4 ,such a
 recitation of the whole of the         
,mahabharata is said to occupy ninety   
days1 or sometimes half a year4#id ,the 
people at large require1 no doubt1 that 
the ,brahman narrator 7,kathaka7 should 
interpret the old poem1 but there must  
be some few people present who          
understand1 or imagine they understand1 
the old poetry of ,vyasa and ,valmiki4  
,there are thousands of ,brahmans#ie    
even now1 when so little inducement     
exists for ,vedic studies1 who know the 

whole of the ,rig-,veda by heart and can
 repeat it2 and what applies to the     
,rig-,veda applies to many other books4 
,but even if ,sanskrit were more of a   
dead language than it really is1 all the
 living languages of ,india1 both ,aryan
 and ,dravidian1 draw their very life   
and soul from ,sanskrit4#if ,on this    
point1 and on the great help that even a
 limited knowledge of ,sanskrit would   
render in the acquisition of the        
vernaculars1 ,i1 and others better      
qualified than ,i am1 have spoken so    
often1 though without any practical     
effect1 that ,i need not speak again4   
,any candidate who knows but the        
elements of ,sanskrit grammar will well 
understand what ,i mean1 whether his    
special vernacular may be ,bengali1     
,hindustani1 or even ,tamil4 ,to a      
classical scholar ,i can only say that  
between a civil servant who knows       
,sanskrit and ,hindustani1 and another  
who knows ,hindustani only1 there is    
about the same difference in their power

 of forming an intelligent appreciation 
of ,india and its inhabitants1 as there 
is between a traveller who visits ,italy
 with a knowledge of ,latin1 and a party
 personally conducted to ,rome by       
,messrs4 ,cook  ,co4  ,let us examine1  
however1 the objection that ,sanskrit   
literature is a dead or an artificial   
literature1 a little more carefully1 in 
order to see whether there is not some  
kind of truth in it4 ,some people hold  
that the literary works which we possess
 in ,sanskrit never had any real life at
 all1 that they were altogether         
scholastic productions1 and that        
therefore they can teach us nothing of  
what we really care for1 namely1 the    
historical growth of the ,hindu mind4   
,others maintain that at the present    
moment1 at all events1 and after a      
century of ,english rule1 ,sanskrit     
literature has ceased to be a motive    
power in ,india1 and that it can teach  
us nothing of what is passing now       
through the ,hindu mind and influencing 

it for good or for evil4  ,let us look  
at the facts4 ,sanskrit literature is a 
wide and a vague term4 ,if the ,vedas1  
such as we now have them1 were composed 
about #aejj ,b4,c41 and if it is a fact 
that considerable works continue to be  
written in ,sanskrit even now1 we have  
before us a stream of literary activity 
extending over three thousand four      
hundred years4 ,with the exception of   
,china there is nothing like this in the
 whole world4  ,it is difficult to give 
an idea of the enormous extent and      
variety of that literature4 ,we are only
 gradually becoming acquainted with the 
untold treasures which still exist in   
manuscripts1 and with the titles of that
 still larger number of works which must
 have existed formerly1 some of them    
being still quoted by writers of the    
last three or four centuries4#ig  ,the  
,indian ,government has of late years   
ordered a kind of bibliographical survey
 of ,india to be made1 and has sent some
 learned ,sanskrit scholars1 both       

,european and native1 to places where   
collections of ,sanskrit ,,mss4 are     
known to exist1 in order to examine and 
catalogue them4 ,some of these          
catalogues have been published1 and we  
learn from them that the number of      
separate works in ,sanskrit1 of which   
mss4 are still in existence1 amounts to 
about #aj1jjj4ih ,this is more1 ,i      
believe1 than the whole classical       
literature of ,greece and ,italy put    
together4 ,much of it1 no doubt1 will be
 called mere rubbish2 but then you know 
that even in our days the writings of a 
very eminent philosopher have been      
called mere rubbish4 ,what ,i wish you  
to see is this1 that there runs through 
the whole history of ,india1 through its
 three or four thousand years1 a high   
road1 or1 it is perhaps more accurate to
 say1 a high mountain-path of           
literature4 ,it may be remote from the  
turmoil of the plain1 hardly visible    
perhaps to the millions of human beings 
in their daily struggle of life4 ,it may

 have been trodden by a few solitary    
wanderers only4 ,but to the historian of
 the human race1 to the student of the  
development of the human mind1 those few
 solitary wanderers are after all the   
true representatives of ,india from age 
to age4 ,do not let us be deceived4 ,the
 true history of the world must always  
be the history of the few2 and as we    
measure the ,himalaya by the height of  
,mount ,everest1 we must take the true  
measure of ,india from the poets of the 
,veda1 the sages of the ,upanishads1 the
 founders of the ,vedanta and ,sankhya  
philosophies1 and the authors of the    
oldest law-books1 and not from the      
millions who are born and die in their  
villages1 and who have never for one    
moment been roused out of their drowsy  
dream of life4  ,to large multitudes in 
,india1 no doubt1 ,sanskrit literature  
was not merely a dead literature1 it was
 simply non-existent2 but the same might
 be said of almost every literature1 and
 more particularly of the literatures of

 the ancient world4  ,still1 even beyond
 this1 ,i am quite prepared to          
acknowledge to a certain extent the     
truth of the statement1 that a great    
portion of ,sanskrit literature has     
never been living and national1 in the  
same sense in which the ,greek and      
,roman literatures reflected at times   
the life of a whole nation2 and it is   
quite true besides1 that the ,sanskrit  
books which are best known to the public
 at large1 belong to what might         
correctly be called the ,renaissance    
period of ,indian literature1 when those
 who wrote ,sanskrit had themselves to  
learn the language1 as we learn ,latin1 
and were conscious that they were       
writing for a learned and cultivated    
public only1 and not for the people at  
large4  ,this will require a fuller     
explanation4  ,we may divide the whole  
of ,sanskrit literature1 beginning with 
the ,rig-,veda and ending with          
,dayananda's ,introduction to his       
edition of the ,rig-,veda1 his by no    

means uninteresting ,rig-,veda-bhumika1 
into two great periods3 that preceding  
the great ,turanian invasion1 and that  
following it4  ,the former comprises the
 ,vedic literature and the ancient      
literature of ,buddhism1 the latter all 
the rest4  ,if ,i call the invasion     
which is generally called the invasion  
of the ,sakas1 or the ,scythians1 or    
,indo-,scythians1 or ,turushkas1 the    
,turanian#ii invasion1 it is simply     
because ,i do not as yet wish to commit 
myself more than ,i can help as to the  
nationality of the tribes who took      
possession of ,india1 or1 at least1 of  
the government of ,india1 from about the
 first century ,b4,c4 to the third      
century ,a4,d4  ,they are best known by 
the name of ,yueh-chi1 this being the   
name by which they are called in        
,chinese chronicles4 ,these ,chinese    
chronicles form the principal source    
from which we derive our knowledge of   
these tribes1 both before and after     
their invasion of ,india4 ,many theories

 have been started as to their          
relationship with other races4 ,they are
 described as of pink and white         
complexion and as shooting from         
horseback2 and as there was some        
similarity between their ,chinese name  
,yueh-chi and the ,gothi or ,goths1 they
 were identified by ,remusat#ajj with   
those ,german tribes1 and by others with
 the ,getae1 the neighbors of the       
,goths4 ,tod went even a step farther1  
and traced the ,gats in ,india and the  
,rajputs back to the ,yueh-chi and      
,getae4#aja ,some light may come in time
 out of all this darkness1 but for the  
present we must be satisfied with the   
fact that1 between the first century    
before and the third century after our  
era1 the greatest political revolution  
took place in ,india owing to the       
repeated inroads of ,turanian1 or1 to   
use a still less objectionable term1 of 
,northern tribes4 ,their presence in    
,india1 recorded by ,chinese historians1
 is fully confirmed by coins1 by        

inscriptions1 and by the traditional    
history of the country1 such as it is2  
but to my mind nothing attests the      
presence of these foreign invaders more 
clearly than the break1 or1 ,i could    
almost say1 the blank in the            
,brahmanical literature of ,india from  
the first century before to the third   
century after our era4#ajb  ,if we      
consider the political and social state 
of that country1 we can easily          
understand what would happen in a case  
of invasion and conquest by a warlike   
race4 ,the invaders would take          
possession of the strongholds or        
castles1 and either remove the old      
,rajahs1 or make them their vassals and 
agents4 ,everything else would then go  
on exactly as before4 ,the rents would  
be paid1 the taxes collected1 and the   
life of the villagers1 that is1 of the  
great majority of the people of ,india1 
would go on almost undisturbed by the   
change of government4 ,the only people  
who might suffer would be1 or1 at all   

events1 might be the priestly caste1    
unless they should come to terms with   
the new conquerors4 ,the priestly caste1
 however1 was also to a great extent the
 literary caste1 and the absence of     
their old patrons1 the native ,rajahs1  
might well produce for a time a complete
 cessation of literary activity4 ,the   
rise of ,buddhism and its formal        
adoption by ,king ,asoka had already    
considerably shaken the power and       
influence of the old ,brahmanic         
hierarchy4 ,the ,northern conquerors1   
whatever their religion may have been1  
were certainly not believers in the     
,veda4 ,they seem to have made a kind of
 compromise with ,buddhism1 and it is   
probably due to that compromise1 or to  
an amalgamation of ,saka legends with   
,buddhist doctrines1 that we owe the    
so-called ,mahayana form of             
,buddhism--and more particularly the    
,amitabha worship--which was finally    
settled at the ,council under ,kanishka1
 one of the ,turanian rulers of ,india  

in the first century ,a4,d4  ,if then we
 divide the whole of ,sanskrit          
literature into these two periods1 the  
one anterior to the great ,turanian     
invasion1 the other posterior to it1 we 
may call the literature of the former   
period ancient and natural1 that of the 
latter modern and artificial4  ,of the  
former period we possess1 first1 what   
has been called the ,veda1 i4e41        
,knowledge1 in the widest sense of the  
word--a considerable mass of literature1
 yet evidently a wreck only1 saved out  
of a general deluge2 secondly1 the works
 collected in the ,buddhist ,tripitaka1 
now known to us chiefly in what is      
called the ,pali dialect1 the ,gatha    
dialects1 and ,sanskrit1 and probably   
much added to in later times4  ,the     
second period of ,sanskrit literature   
comprehends everything else4 ,both      
periods may be subdivided again1 but    
this does not concern us at present4    
,now ,i am quite willing to admit that  
the literature of the second period1 the

 modern ,sanskrit literature1 never was 
a living or national literature4 ,it    
here and there contains remnants of     
earlier times1 adapted to the literary1 
religious1 and moral tastes of a later  
period2 and whenever we are able to     
disentangle those ancient elements1 they
 may serve to throw light on the past1  
and1 to a certain extent1 supplement    
what has been lost in the literature of 
the ,vedic times4 ,the metrical         
,law-books1 for instance1 contain old   
materials which existed during the      
,vedic period1 partly in prose1 as      
,sutras1 partly in more ancient metres1 
as ,gathas4 ,the ,epic poems1 the       
,mahabharata and ,ramayana1 have taken  
the place of the old ,itihasas and      
,akhyanas4 ,the ,puranas1 even1 may     
contain materials1 though much altered1 
of what was called in ,vedic literature 
the ,purana4#ajc  ,but the great mass of
 that later literature is artificial or 
scholastic1 full of interesting         
compositions1 and by no means devoid of 

originality and occasional beauty2 yet  
with all that1 curious only1 and        
appealing to the interests of the       
,oriental scholar far more than the     
broad human sympathies of the historian 
and the philosopher4  ,it is different  
with the ancient literature of ,india1  
the literature dominated by the ,vedic  
and the ,buddhistic religions4 ,that    
literature opens to us a chapter in what
 has been called the ,education of the  
,human ,race1 to which we can find no   
parallel anywhere else4 ,whoever cares  
for the historical growth of our        
language1 that is1 of our thoughts2     
whoever cares for the first intelligible
 development of religion and mythology2 
whoever cares for the first foundation  
of what in later times we call the      
sciences of astronomy1 metronomy1       
grammar1 and etymology2 whoever cares   
for the first intimations of            
philosophical thought1 for the first    
attempts at regulating family life1     
village life1 and state life1 as founded

 on religion1 ceremonial1 tradition and 
contract 7samaya7--must in future pay   
the same attention to the literature of 
the ,vedic period as to the literatures 
of ,greece and ,rome and ,germany4  ,as 
to the lessons which the early          
literature of ,buddhism may teach us1 ,i
 need not dwell on them at present4 ,if 
,i may judge from the numerous questions
 that are addressed to me with regard to
 that religion and its striking         
coincidences with ,christianity1        
,buddhism has already become a subject  
of general interest1 and will and ought 
to become so more and more4#ajd ,on that
 whole class of literature1 however1 it 
is not my intention to dwell in this    
short course of ,lectures1 which can    
hardly suffice even for a general survey
 of ,vedic literature1 and for an       
elucidation of the principal lessons    
which1 ,i think1 we may learn from the  
,hymns1 the ,brahmanas1 the ,upanishads1
 and the ,sutras4  ,it was a real       
misfortune that ,sanskrit literature    

became first known to the learned public
 in ,europe through specimens belonging 
to the second1 or1 what ,i called1 the  
,renaissance period4 ,the ,bhagavadgita1
 the plays of ,kalidasa1 such as        
,sakuntala or ,urvasi1 a few episodes   
from the ,mahabharata and ,ramayana1    
such as those of ,nala and the          
,yagnadattabadha1 the fables of the     
,hitopadesa1 and the sentences of       
,bhartrihari are1 no doubt1 extremely   
curious2 and as1 at the time when they  
first became known in ,europe1 they were
 represented to be of extreme antiquity1
 and the work of a people formerly      
supposed to be quite incapable of high  
literary efforts1 they naturally        
attracted the attention of men such as  
,sir ,william ,jones in ,england1       
,herder and ,goethe in ,germany1 who    
were pleased to speak of them in terms  
of highest admiration4 ,it was the      
fashion at that time to speak of        
,kalidasa1 as1 for instance1 ,alexander 
von ,humboldt did even in so recent a   

work as his ,kosmos1 as the great       
contemporary of ,virgil and ,horace1 who
 lived at the splendid court of         
,vikramaditya1 this ,vikramaditya being 
supposed to be the founder of the       
,samvat era1 #ef ,b4,c4 ,but all this is
 now changed4 ,whoever the ,vikramaditya
 was who is supposed to have defeated   
the ,sakas1 and to have founded another 
era1 the ,samvat era1 #ef ,b4,c41 he    
certainly did not live in the first     
century ,b4,c4 ,nor are the ,indians    
looked upon any longer as an illiterate 
race1 and their poetry as popular and   
artless4 ,on the contrary1 they are     
judged now by the same standards as     
,persians and ,arabs1 ,italians or      
,french2 and1 measured by that standard1
 such works as ,kalidasa's plays are not
 superior to many plays that have long  
been allowed to rest in dust and peace  
on the shelves of our libraries4 ,their 
antiquity is no longer believed in by   
any critical ,sanskrit scholar4         
,kalidasa is mentioned with ,bharavi as 

a famous poet in an inscription#aje     
dated ,a4,d4 #ehe-f 7#ejg ,saka era71   
and for the present ,i see no reason to 
place him much earlier4 ,as to the ,laws
 of ,manu1 which used to be assigned to 
a fabulous antiquity1#ajf and are so    
still sometimes by those who write at   
random or at second-hand1 ,i doubt      
whether1 in their present form1 they can
 be older than the fourth century of our
 era1 nay ,i am quite prepared to see an
 even later date assigned to them4 ,i   
know this will seem heresy to many      
,sanskrit scholars1 but we must try to  
be honest to ourselves4 ,is there any   
evidence to constrain us to assign the  
,manava-dharma-sastra1 such as we now   
possess it1 written in continuous       
,slokas1 to any date anterior to #cjj   
,a4,d48 ,and if there is not1 why should
 we not openly state it1 challenge      
opposition1 and feel grateful if our    
doubts can be removed8  ,that ,manu was 
a name of high legal authority before   
that time1 and that ,manu and the       

,manavam are frequently quoted in the   
ancient legal ,sutras1 is quite true2   
but this serves only to confirm the     
conviction that the literature which    
succeeded the ,turanian invasion is full
 of wrecks saved from the intervening   
deluge4 ,if what we call the ,laws of   
,manu had really existed as a code of   
laws1 like the ,code of ,justinian1     
during previous centuries1 is it likely 
that it should nowhere have been quoted 
and appealed to8  ,varahamihira 7who    
died #ehg ,a4,d47 refers to ,manu       
several times1 but not to a             
,manava-dharma-sastra2 and the only time
 where he seems actually to quote a     
number of verses from ,manu1 these      
verses are not to be met with in our    
text4#ajg  ,i believe it will be found  
that the century in which ,varahamihara 
lived and wrote was the age of the      
literary ,renaissance in ,india4#ajh    
,that ,kalidasa and ,bharavi were famous
 at that time1 we know from the evidence
 of inscriptions4 ,we also know that    

during that century the fame of ,indian 
literature had reached ,persia1 and that
 the ,king of ,persia1 ,khosru          
,nushirvan1 sent his physician1 ,barzoi1
 to ,india1 in order to translate the   
fables of the ,pankatantra1 or rather   
their original1 from ,sanskrit into     
,pahlavi4 ,the famous ,nine ,gems1 or   
the nine classics1 as we should say1    
have been referred1 at least in part1 to
 the same age1#aji and ,i doubt whether 
we shall be able to assign a much       
earlier date to anything we possess of  
,sanskrit literature1 excepting always  
the ,vedic and ,buddhistic writings4    
,although the specimens of this modern  
,sanskrit literature1 when they first   
became known1 served to arouse a general
 interest1 and serve even now to keep   
alive a certain superficial sympathy for
 ,indian literature1 more serious       
students had soon disposed of these     
compositions1 and while gladly admitting
 their claim to be called pretty and    
attractive1 could not think of allowing 

to ,sanskrit literature a place among   
the world-literatures1 a place by the   
side of ,greek and ,latin1 ,italian1    
,french1 ,english1 or ,german4  ,there  
was indeed a time when people began to  
imagine that all that was worth knowing 
about ,indian literature was known1 and 
that the only ground on which ,sanskrit 
could claim a place among the recognized
 branches of learning in a university   
was its usefulness for the study of the 
,science of ,language4  ,at that very   
time1 however1 now about forty years    
ago1 a new start was made1 which has    
given to ,sanskrit scholarship an       
entirely new character4 ,the chief      
author of that movement was ,burnouf1   
then professor at the ,college de       
,france in ,paris1 an excellent scholar1
 but at the same time a man of wide     
views and true historical instincts1 and
 the last man to waste his life on mere 
,nalas and ,sakuntalas4 ,being brought  
up in the old traditions of the         
classical school in ,france 7his father 

was the author of the well-known ,greek 
,grammar71 then for a time a promising  
young barrister1 with influential       
friends such as ,guizot1 ,thiers1       
,mignet1 ,villemain1 at his side1 and   
with a brilliant future before him1 he  
was not likely to spend his life on     
pretty ,sanskrit ditties4 ,what he      
wanted when he threw himself on         
,sanskrit was history1 human history1   
world-history1 and with an unerring     
grasp he laid hold of ,vedic literature 
and ,buddhist literature1 as the two    
stepping-stones in the slough of ,indian
 literature4 ,he died young1 and has    
left a few arches only of the building  
he wished to rear4 ,but his spirit lived
 on in his pupils and his friends1 and  
few would deny that the first impulse1  
directly or indirectly1 to all that has 
been accomplished since by the students 
of ,vedic and ,buddhist literature1 was 
given by ,burnouf and his lectures at   
the ,college de ,france4  ,what then1   
you may ask1 do we find in that ancient 

,sanskrit literature and cannot find    
anywhere else8 ,my answer is3 ,we find  
there the ,aryan man1 whom we know in   
his various characters1 as ,greek1      
,roman1 ,german1 ,celt1 and ,slave1 in  
an entirely new character4 ,whereas in  
his migrations northward his active and 
political energies are called out and   
brought to their highest perfection1 we 
find the other side of the human        
character1 the passive and meditative1  
carried to its fullest growth in ,india4
 ,in some of the hymns of the ,rig-,veda
 we can still watch an earlier phase4   
,we see the ,aryan tribes taking        
possession of the land1 and under the   
guidance of such warlike gods as ,indra 
and the ,maruts1 defending their new    
homes against the assaults of the       
black-skinned aborigines as well as     
against the inroads of later ,aryan     
colonists4 ,but that period of war soon 
came to an end1 and when the great mass 
of the people had once settled down in  
their homesteads1 the military and      

political duties seem to have been      
monopolized by what we call a caste1#aaj
 that is by a small aristocracy1 while  
the great majority of the people were   
satisfied with spending their days      
within the narrow spheres of their      
villages1 little concerned about the    
outside world1 and content with the     
gifts that nature bestowed on them1     
without much labor4 ,we read in the     
,mahabharata 7,,xiii4 #bb73      ,there 
is fruit on the trees in every forest1  
which every one     who likes may pluck 
without trouble4 ,there is cool and     
sweet     water in the pure rivers here 
and there4 ,there is a soft bed     made
 of the twigs of beautiful creepers4    
,and yet wretched     people suffer pain
 at the door of the rich6  ,at first    
sight we may feel inclined to call this 
quiet enjoyment of life1 this mere      
looking on1 a degeneracy rather than a  
growth4 ,it seems so different from what
 we think life ought to be4 ,yet1 from a
 higher point of view it may appear that

 those ,southern ,aryans have chosen the
 good part1 or at least the part good   
for them1 while we1 ,northern ,aryans1  
have been careful and troubled about    
many things4  ,it is at all events a    
problem worth considering whether1 as   
there is in nature a ,south and a       
,north1 there are not two hemispheres   
also in human nature1 both worth        
developing--the active1 combative1 and  
political on one side1 the passive1     
meditative1 and philosophical on the    
other2 and for the solution of that     
problem no literature furnishes such    
ample materials as that of the ,veda1   
beginning with the ,hymns and ending    
with the ,upanishads4 ,we enter into a  
new world--not always an attractive one1
 least of all to us2 but it possesses   
one charm1 it is real1 it is of natural 
growth1 and like everything of natural  
growth1 ,i believe it had a hidden      
purpose1 and was intended to teach us   
some kind of lesson that is worth       
learning1 and that certainly we could   

learn nowhere else4 ,we are not called  
upon either to admire or to despise that
 ancient ,vedic literature2 we have     
simply to study and to try to understand
 it4  ,there have been silly persons who
 have represented the development of the
 ,indian mind as superior to any other1 
nay1 who would make us go back to the   
,veda or to the sacred writings of the  
,buddhists in order to find there a     
truer religion1 a purer morality1 and a 
more sublime philosophy than our own4 ,i
 shall not even mention the names of    
these writers or the titles of their    
works4 ,but ,i feel equally impatient   
when ,i see other scholars criticising  
the ancient literature of ,india as if  
it were the work of the nineteenth      
century1 as if it represented an enemy  
that must be defeated1 and that can     
claim no mercy at our hands4 ,that the  
,veda is full of childish1 silly1 even  
to our minds monstrous conceptions1 who 
would deny8 ,but even these             
monstrosities are interesting and       

instructive2 nay1 many of them1 if we   
can but make allowance for different    
ways of thought and language1 contain   
germs of truth and rays of light1 all   
the more striking because breaking upon 
us through the veil of the darkest      
night4  ,here lies the general1 the     
truly human interest which the ancient  
literature of ,india possesses1 and     
which gives it a claim on the attention1
 not only of ,oriental scholars or of   
students of ancient history1 but of     
every educated man and woman4  ,there   
are problems which we may put aside for 
a time1 ay1 which we must put aside     
while engaged each in our own hard      
struggle for life1 but which will recur 
for all that1 and which1 whenever they  
do recur1 will stir us more deeply than 
we like to confess to others1 or even to
 ourselves4 ,it is true that with us one
 day only out of seven is set apart for 
rest and meditation1 and for the        
consideration of what the ,greeks called
 ,greek3 ta megista--the greatest       

things4 ,it is true that that seventh   
day also is passed by many of us either 
in mere church-going routine or in      
thoughtless rest4 ,but whether on       
week-days or on ,sundays1 whether in    
youth or in old age1 there are moments1 
rare though they be1 yet for all that   
the most critical moments of our life1  
when the old simple questions of        
humanity return to us in all their      
intensity1 and we ask ourselves1 ,what  
are we8 ,what is this life on earth     
meant for8 ,are we to have no rest here1
 but to be always toiling and building  
up our own happiness out of the ruins of
 the happiness of our neighbors8 ,and   
when we have made our home on earth as  
comfortable as it can be made with steam
 and gas and electricity1 are we really 
so much happier than the ,hindu in his  
primitive homestead8  ,with us1 as ,i   
said just now1 in these ,northern       
climates1 where life is and always must 
be a struggle1 and a hard struggle too1 
and where accumulation of wealth has    

become almost a necessity to guard      
against the uncertainties of old age or 
the accidents inevitable in our         
complicated social life--with us1 ,i    
say1 and in our society1 hours of rest  
and meditation are but few and far      
between4 ,it was the same as long as we 
know the history of the ,teutonic races2
 it was the same even with ,romans and  
,greeks4 ,the ,european climate1 with   
its long cold winters1 in many places   
also the difficulty of cultivating the  
soil1 the conflict of interests between 
small communities1 has developed the    
instinct of self-preservation 7not to   
say self-indulgence7 to such an extent  
that most of the virtues and most of the
 vices of ,european society can be      
traced back to that source4 ,our own    
character was formed under these        
influences1 by inheritance1 by          
education1 by necessity4 ,we all lead a 
fighting-life2 our highest ideal of life
 is a fighting-life4 ,we work till we   
can work no longer1 and are proud1 like 

old horses1 to die in harness4 ,we point
 with inward satisfaction to what we and
 our ancestors have achieved by hard    
work1 in founding a family or a         
business1 a town or a state4 ,we point  
to the marvels of what we call          
civilization--our splendid cities1 our  
high-roads and bridges1 our ships1 our  
railways1 our telegraphs1 our electric  
light1 our pictures1 our statues1 our   
music1 our theatres4 ,we imagine we have
 made life on earth quite perfect--in   
some cases so perfect that we are almost
 sorry to leave it again4 ,but the      
lesson which both ,brahmans and         
,buddhists are never tired of teaching  
is that this life is but a journey from 
one village to another1 and not a       
resting-place4 ,thus we read3#aaa       
,as a man journeying to another village 
may enjoy a night's     rest in the open
 air1 but1 after leaving his            
resting-place1     proceeds again on his
 journey the next day1 thus father1     
mother1 wife1 and wealth are all but    

like a night's rest to     us--wise     
people do not cling to them forever4    
,instead of simply despising this       
,indian view of life1 might we not pause
 for a moment and consider whether their
 philosophy of life is entirely wrong1  
and ours entirely right2 whether this   
earth was really meant for work only    
7for with us pleasure also has been     
changed into work71 for constant hurry  
and flurry2 or whether we1 sturdy       
,northern ,aryans1 might not have been  
satisfied with a little less of work1   
and a little less of so-called pleasure1
 but with a little more of thought and a
 little more of rest4 ,for1 short as our
 life is1 we are not mere may-flies1    
that are born in the morning to die at  
night4 ,we have a past to look back to  
and a future to look forward to1 and it 
may be that some of the riddles of the  
future find their solution in the wisdom
 of the past4  ,then why should we      
always fix our eyes on the present only8
 ,why should we always be racing1       

whether for wealth or for power or for  
fame8 ,why should we never rest and be  
thankful8  ,i do not deny that the manly
 vigor1 the silent endurance1 the public
 spirit1 and the private virtues too1 of
 the citizens of ,european states       
represent one side1 it may be a very    
important side1 of the destiny which man
 has to fulfil on earth4  ,but there is 
surely another side of our nature1 and  
possibly another destiny open to man in 
his journey across this life1 which     
should not be entirely ignored4 ,if we  
turn our eyes to the ,east1 and         
particularly to ,india1 where life is1  
or at all events was1 no very severe    
struggle1 where the climate was mild1   
the soil fertile1 where vegetable food  
in small quantities sufficed to keep the
 body in health and strength1 where the 
simplest hut or cave in a forest was all
 the shelter required1 and where social 
life never assumed the gigantic1 ay     
monstrous proportions of a ,london or   
,paris1 but fulfilled itself within the 

narrow boundaries of                    
village-communities--was it not1 ,i say1
 natural there1 or1 if you like1 was it 
not intended there1 that another side of
 human nature should be developed--not  
the active1 the combative1 and          
acquisitive1 but the passive1 the       
meditative1 and reflective8 ,can we     
wonder that the ,aryans1 who stepped as 
strangers into some of the happy fields 
and valleys along the ,indus or the     
,ganges1 should have looked upon life as
 a perpetual ,sunday or holiday1 or a   
kind of long vacation1 delightful so    
long as it lasts1 but which must come to
 an end sooner or later8 ,why should    
they have accumulated wealth8 why should
 they have built palaces8 why should    
they have toiled day and night8 ,after  
having provided from day to day for the 
small necessities of the body1 they     
thought they had the right1 it may be   
the duty1 to look round upon this       
strange exile1 to look inward upon      
themselves1 upward to something not     

themselves1 and to see whether they     
could not understand a little of the    
true purport of that mystery which we   
call life on earth4  ,of course we      
should call such notions of life dreamy1
 unreal1 unpractical1 but may not they  
look upon our notions of life as        
short-sighted1 fussy1 and1 in the end1  
most unpractical1 because involving a   
sacrifice of life for the sake of life8 
,no doubt these are both extreme views1 
and they have hardly ever been held or  
realized in that extreme form by any    
nation1 whether in the ,east or in the  
,west4 ,we are not always plodding--we  
sometimes allow ourselves an hour of    
rest and peace and thought--nor were the
 ancient people of ,india always        
dreaming and meditating on ,greek3 ta   
megista1 on the great problems of life1 
but1 when called upon1 we know that they
 too could fight like heroes1 and that1 
without machinery1 they could by patient
 toil raise even the meanest handiwork  
into a work of art1 a real joy to the   

maker and to the buyer4  ,all then that 
,i wish to put clearly before you is    
this1 that the ,aryan man1 who had to   
fulfil his mission in ,india1 might     
naturally be deficient in many of the   
practical and fighting virtues1 which   
were developed in the ,northern ,aryans 
by the very struggle without which they 
could not have survived1 but that his   
life on earth had not therefore been    
entirely wasted4 ,his very view of life1
 though we cannot adopt it in this      
,northern climate1 may yet act as a     
lesson and a warning to us1 not1 for the
 sake of life1 to sacrifice the highest 
objects of life4  ,the greatest         
conqueror of antiquity stood in silent  
wonderment before the ,indian           
,gymnosophists1 regretting that he could
 not communicate with them in their own 
language1 and that their wisdom could   
not reach him except through the        
contaminating channels of sundry        
interpreters4  ,that need not be so at  
present4 ,sanskrit is no longer a       

difficult language1 and ,i can assure   
every young ,indian civil servant that  
if he will but go to the fountain-head  
of ,indian wisdom1 he will find there1  
among much that is strange and useless1 
some lessons of life which are worth    
learning1 and which we in our haste are 
too apt to forget or to despise4  ,let  
me read you a few sayings only1 which   
you may still hear repeated in ,india   
when1 after the heat of the day1 the old
 and the young assemble together under  
the shadow of their village             
tree--sayings which to them seem truth2 
to us1 ,i fear1 mere truism6      ,as   
all have to sleep together laid low in  
the earth1 why do     foolish people    
wish to injure one another8#aab      ,a 
man seeking for eternal happiness       
7moksha7 might obtain it     by a       
hundredth part of the sufferings which a
 foolish man     endures in the pursuit 
of riches4#aac      ,poor men eat more  
excellent bread than the rich3 for      
hunger     gives it sweetness4#aad      

,our body is like the foam of the sea1  
our life like a bird1     our company   
with those whom we love does not last   
forever2     why then sleepest thou1 my 
son8#aae      ,as two logs of wood meet 
upon the ocean and then separate        
again1 thus do living creatures         
meet4#aaf      ,our meeting with wives1 
relations1 and friends occurs on our    
journey4 ,let a man therefore see       
clearly where he is1 whither     he will
 go1 what he is1 why tarrying here1 and 
why grieving     for anything4#aag      
,family1 wife1 children1 our very body  
and our wealth1 they     all pass away4 
,they do not belong to us4 ,what then is
 ours8     ,our good and our evil       
deeds4#aah      ,when thou goest away   
from here1 no one will follow thee4     
,only thy good and thy evil deeds1 they 
will follow thee     wherever thou      
goest4#aai      ,whatever act1 good or  
bad1 a man performs1 of that by         
necessity he receives the               
recompense4#abj      ,according to the  

,veda#aba the soul 7life7 is eternal1   
but     the body of all creatures is    
perishable4 ,when the body is           
destroyed1 the soul departs elsewhere1  
fettered by the bonds     of our works4 
,if ,i know that my own body is not     
mine1 and yet that the     whole earth  
is mine1 and again that it is both mine 
and     thine1 no harm can happen       
then4#abb      ,as a man puts on new    
garments in this world1 throwing aside  
those which he formerly wore1 even so   
the ,self#abc of man     puts on new    
bodies which are in accordance with his 
acts4#abd      ,no weapons will hurt the
 ,self of man1 no fire will burn it1    
no water moisten it1 no wind will dry it
 up4      ,it is not to be hurt1 not to 
be burnt1 not to be moistened1     not  
to be dried up4 ,it is imperishable1    
unchanging1     immovable1 without      
beginning4      ,it is said to be       
immaterial1 passing all understanding1  
and     unchangeable4 ,if you know the  
,self of man to be all this1     grieve 

not4      ,there is nothing higher than 
the attainment of the knowledge     of  
the ,self4#abe      ,all living         
creatures are the dwelling of the ,self 
who lies     enveloped in matter1 who is
 immortal1 and spotless4 ,those who     
worship the ,self1 the immovable1 living
 in a movable     dwelling1 become      
immortal4      ,despising everything    
else1 a wise man should strive after    
the knowledge of the ,self4  ,we shall  
have to return to this subject again1   
for this knowledge of the ,self is      
really the ,vedanta1 that is1 the end1  
the highest goal of the ,veda4 ,the     
highest wisdom of ,greece was to know   
ourselves2 the highest wisdom of ,india 
is to know our ,self4  ,if ,i were asked
 to indicate by one word the            
distinguishing feature of the ,indian   
character1 as ,i have here tried to     
sketch it1 ,i should say it was         
transcendent1 using that word1 not in   
its strict technical sense1 as fixed by 
,kant1 but in its more general          

acceptation1 as denoting a mind bent on 
transcending the limits of empirical    
knowledge4 ,there are minds perfectly   
satisfied with empirical knowledge1 a   
knowledge of facts1 well ascertained1   
well classified1 and well labelled4     
,such knowledge may assume very vast    
proportions1 and1 if knowledge is power1
 it may impart great power1 real        
intellectual power to the man who can   
wield and utilize it4 ,our own age is   
proud of that kind of knowledge1 and to 
be content with it1 and never to attempt
 to look beyond it1 is1 ,i believe1 one 
of the happiest states of mind to be    
in4#abf  ,but1 for all that1 there is a 
,beyond1 and he who has once caught a   
glance of it1 is like a man who has     
gazed at the sun--wherever he looks1    
everywhere he sees the image of the sun4
 ,speak to him of finite things1 and he 
will tell you that the ,finite is       
impossible and meaningless without the  
,infinite4 ,speak to him of death1 and  
he will call it birth2 speak to him of  

time1 and he will call it the mere      
shadow of eternity4 ,to us the senses   
seem to be the organs1 the tools1 the   
most powerful engines of knowledge2 to  
him they are1 if not actually deceivers1
 at all events heavy fetters1 checking  
the flight of the spirit4 ,to us this   
earth1 this life1 all that we see1 and  
hear1 and touch is certain4 ,here1 we   
feel1 is our home1 here lie our duties1 
here our pleasures4 ,to him this earth  
is a thing that once was not1 and that  
again will cease to be2 this life is a  
short dream from which we shall soon    
awake4 ,of nothing he professes greater 
ignorance than of what to others seems  
to be most certain1 namely what we see1 
and hear1 and touch2 and as to our home1
 wherever that may be1 he knows that    
certainly it is not here4  ,do not      
suppose that such men are mere dreamers4
 ,far from it6 ,and if we can only bring
 ourselves to be quite honest to        
ourselves1 we shall have to confess that
 at times we all have been visited by   

these transcendental aspirations1 and   
have been able to understand what       
,wordsworth meant when he spoke of those
                ,obstinate questionings 
,of sense and outward things1           
,fallings from us1 vanishings2          
,blank misgivings of a creature         
,moving about in worlds not realized4   
,the transcendent temperament acquired  
no doubt a more complete supremacy in   
the ,indian character than anywhere     
else2 but no nation1 and no individual1 
is entirely without that yearning       
beyond2 indeed we all know it under a   
more familiar name--namely1 ,religion4  
,it is necessary1 however1 to           
distinguish between religion and a      
religion1 quite as much as in another   
branch of philosophy we have to         
distinguish between language and a      
language or many languages4 ,a man may  
accept a religion1 he may be converted  
to the ,christian religion1 and he may  
change his own particular religion from 
time to time1 just as he may speak      

different languages4 ,but in order to   
have a religion1 a man must have        
religion4 ,he must once at least in his 
life have looked beyond the horizon of  
this world1 and carried away in his mind
 an impression of the ,infinite1 which  
will never leave him again4 ,a being    
satisfied with the world of sense1      
unconscious of its finite nature1       
undisturbed by the limited or negative  
character of all perceptions of the     
senses1 would be incapable of any       
religious concepts4 ,only when the      
finite character of all human knowledge 
has been received is it possible for the
 human mind to conceive that which is   
beyond the ,finite1 call it what you    
like1 the ,beyond1 the ,unseen1 the     
,infinite1 the ,supernatural1 or the    
,divine4 ,that step must have been taken
 before religion of any kind becomes    
possible4 ,what kind of religion it will
 be1 depends on the character of the    
race which elaborates it1 its           
surroundings in nature1 and its         

experience in history4  ,now we may seem
 to know a great many religions--,i     
speak here1 of course1 of ancient       
religions only1 of what are sometimes   
called national or autochthonous        
religions--not of those founded in later
 times by individual prophets or        
reformers4  ,yet1 among those ancient   
religions we seldom know1 what after all
 is the most important point1 their     
origin and their gradual growth4 ,the   
,jewish religion is represented to us as
 perfect and complete from the very     
first1 and it is with great difficulty  
that we can discover its real beginnings
 and its historical growth4 ,and take   
the ,greek and the ,roman religions1    
take the religions of the ,teutonic1    
,slavonic1 or ,celtic tribes1 and you   
will find that their period of growth   
has always passed1 long before we know  
them1 and that from the time we know    
them1 all their changes are purely      
metamorphic--changes in form of         
substances ready at hand4 ,now let us   

look to the ancient inhabitants of      
,india4 ,with them1 first of all1       
religion was not only one interest by   
the side of many4 ,it was the           
all-absorbing interest2 it embraced not 
only worship and prayer1 but what we    
call philosophy1 morality1 law1 and     
government--all was pervaded by         
religion4 ,their whole life was to them 
a religion--everything else was1 as it  
were1 a mere concession made to the     
ephemeral requirements of this life4    
,what then can we learn from the ancient
 religious literature of ,india1 or from
 the ,veda8  ,it requires no very       
profound knowledge of ,greek religion   
and ,greek language to discover in the  
,greek deities the original outlines of 
certain physical phenomena4 ,every      
schoolboy knows that in ,zeus there is  
something of the sky1 in ,poseidon of   
the sea1 in ,hades of the lower world1  
in ,apollo of the sun1 in ,artemis of   
the moon1 in ,hephaestos of the fire4   
,but for all that1 there is1 from a     

,greek point of view1 a very            
considerable difference between ,zeus   
and the sky1 between ,poseidon and the  
sea1 between ,apollo and the sun1       
between ,artemis and the moon4  ,now    
what do we find in the ,veda8 ,no doubt 
here and there a few philosophical hymns
 which have been quoted so often that   
people have begun to imagine that the   
,veda is a kind of collection of ,orphic
 hymns4 ,we also find some purely       
mythological hymns1 in which the ,devas 
or gods have assumed nearly as much     
dramatic personality as in the ,homeric 
hymns4  ,but the great majority of      
,vedic hymns consists in simple         
invocations of the fire1 the water1 the 
sky1 the sun1 and the storms1 often     
under the same names which afterward    
became the proper names of ,hindu       
deities1 but as yet nearly free from all
 that can be called irrational or       
mythological4 ,there is nothing         
irrational1 nothing ,i mean we cannot   
enter into or sympathize with1 in people

 imploring the storms to cease1 or the  
sky to rain1 or the sun to shine4 ,i say
 there is nothing irrational in it1     
though perhaps it might be more accurate
 to say that there is nothing in it that
 would surprise anybody who is          
acquainted with the growth of human     
reason1 or at all events1 of childish   
reason4 ,it does not matter how we call 
the tendency of the childish mind to    
confound the manifestation with that    
which manifests itself1 effect with     
cause1 act with agent4 ,call it         
,animism1 ,personification1 ,metaphor1  
or ,poetry1 we all know what is meant by
 it1 in the most general sense of all   
these names2 we all know that it exists1
 and the youngest child who beats the   
chair against which he has fallen1 or   
who scolds his dog1 or who sings3 ,rain1
 rain1 go to ,spain1 can teach us that1 
however irrational all this may seem to 
us1 it is perfectly rational1 natural1  
ay inevitable in the first periods1 or  
the childish age of the human mind4     

,now it is exactly this period in the   
growth of ancient religion1 which was   
always presupposed or postulated1 but   
was absent everywhere else1 that is     
clearly put before us in the hymns of   
the ,rig-,veda4 ,it is this ancient     
chapter in the history of the human mind
 which has been preserved to us in      
,indian literature1 while we look for it
 in vain in ,greece or ,rome or         
elsewhere4  ,it has been a favorite idea
 of those who call themselves students  
of man1 or anthropologists1 that in     
order to know the earliest or so-called 
prehistoric phases in the growth of man1
 we should study the life of savage     
nations1 as we may watch it still in    
some parts of ,asia1 ,africa1           
,polynesia1 and ,america4  ,there is    
much truth in this1 and nothing can be  
more useful than the observations which 
we find collected in the works of such  
students as ,waitz1 ,tylor1 ,lubbock1   
and many others4 ,but let us be honest1 
and confess1 first of all1 that the     

materials on which we have here to      
depend are often extremely              
untrustworthy4  ,nor is this all4 ,what 
do we know of savage tribes beyond the  
last chapter of their history8 ,do we   
ever get an insight into their          
antecedents8 ,can we understand1 what   
after all is everywhere the most        
important and the most instructive      
lesson to learn1 how they have come to  
be what they are8 ,there is indeed their
 language1 and in it we see traces of   
growth that point to distant ages1 quite
 as much as the ,greek of ,homer or the 
,sanskrit of the ,vedas4 ,their language
 proves indeed that these so-called     
heathens1 with their complicated systems
 of mythology1 their artificial customs1
 their unintelligible whims and         
savageries1 are not the creatures of    
to-day or yesterday4 ,unless we admit a 
special creation for these savages1 they
 must be as old as the ,hindus1 the     
,greeks and ,romans1 as old as we       
ourselves4 ,we may assume1 of course1 if

 we like1 that their life has been      
stationary1 and that they are to-day    
what the ,hindus were no longer #cjjj   
years ago4 ,but that is a mere guess1   
and is contradicted by the facts of     
their language4 ,they may have passed   
through ever so many vicissitudes1 and  
what we consider as primitive may be1   
for all we know1 a relapse into         
savagery1 or a corruption of something  
that was more rational and intelligible 
in former stages4 ,think only of the    
rules that determine marriage among the 
lowest of savage tribes4 ,their         
complication passes all understanding1  
all seems a chaos of prejudice1         
superstition1 pride1 vanity1 and        
stupidity4 ,and yet we catch a glimpse  
here and there that there was some      
reason in most of that unreason2 we see 
how sense dwindled away into nonsense1  
custom into ceremony1 ceremony into     
farce4 ,why then should this surface of 
savage life represent to us the lowest  
stratum of human life1 the very         

beginnings of civilization1 simply      
because we cannot dig beyond that       
surface8  ,now1 ,i do not wish to be    
misunderstood4 ,i do not claim for the  
ancient ,indian literature any more than
 ,i should willingly concede to the     
fables and traditions and songs of      
savage nations1 such as we can study at 
present in what we call a state of      
nature4 ,both are important documents to
 the student of the ,science of ,man4 ,i
 simply say that in the ,veda we have a 
nearer approach to a beginning1 and an  
intelligible beginning1 than in the wild
 invocations of ,hottentots or ,bushmen4
 ,but when ,i speak of a beginning1 ,i  
do not mean an absolute beginning1 a    
beginning of all things4 ,again and     
again the question has been asked       
whether we could bring ourselves to     
believe that man1 as soon as he could   
stand on his legs1 instead of crawling  
on all fours1 as he is supposed to have 
done1 burst forth into singing ,vedic   
hymns8 ,but who has ever maintained     

this8 ,surely whoever has eyes to see   
can see in every ,vedic hymn1 ay1 in    
every ,vedic word1 as many rings within 
rings as are in the oldest tree that was
 ever hewn down in the forest4  ,i shall
 say even more1 and ,i have said it     
before1 namely1 that supposing that the 
,vedic hymns were composed between #aejj
 and #ajjj ,b4,c41 we can hardly        
understand how1 at so early a date1 the 
,indians had developed ideas which to us
 sound decidedly modern4 ,i should give 
anything if ,i could escape from the    
conclusion that the collection of the   
,vedic ,hymns1 a collection in ten      
books1 existed at least #ajjj ,b4,c41   
that is1 about #ejj years before the    
rise of ,buddhism4 ,i do not mean to say
 that something may not be discovered   
hereafter to enable us to refer that    
collection to a later date4 ,all ,i say 
is that1 so far as we know at present1  
so far as all honest ,sanskrit scholars 
know at present1 we cannot well bring   
our pre-,buddhistic literature into     

narrower limits than five hundred years4
  ,what then is to be done8 ,we must    
simply keep our preconceived notions of 
what people call primitive humanity in  
abeyance for a time1 and if we find that
 people three thousand years ago were   
familiar with ideas that seem novel and 
nineteenth-century-like to us1 well1 we 
must somewhat modify our conceptions of 
the primitive savage1 and remember that 
things hid from the wise and prudent    
have sometimes been revealed to babes4  
,i maintain then that for a study of    
man1 or1 if you like1 for a study of    
,aryan humanity1 there is nothing in the
 world equal in importance with the     
,veda4 ,i maintain that to everybody who
 cares for himself1 for his ancestors1  
for his history1 or for his intellectual
 development1 a study of ,vedic         
literature is indispensable2 and that1  
as an element of liberal education1 it  
is far more important and far more      
improving than the reigns of ,babylonian
 and ,persian kings4  ,it is curious to 

observe the reluctance with which these 
facts are accepted1 particularly by     
those to whom they ought to be most     
welcome1 ,i mean the students of        
anthropology4 ,instead of devoting all  
their energy to the study of these      
documents1 which have come upon us like 
a miracle1 they seem only bent on       
inventing excuses why they need not be  
studied4 ,let it not be supposed that1  
because there are several translations  
of the ,rig-,veda in ,english1 ,french  
and ,german1 therefore all that the     
,veda can teach us has been learned4    
,far from it4 ,every one of these       
translations has been put forward as    
tentative only4 ,i myself1 though during
 the last thirty years ,i have given    
translations of a number of the more    
important hymns1 have only ventured to  
publish a specimen of what ,i think a   
translation of the ,veda ought to be2   
and that translation1 that traduction   
raisonnee as ,i ventured to call it1 of 
twelve hymns only1 fills a whole volume4

 ,we are still on the mere surface of   
,vedic literature1 and yet our critics  
are ready with ever so many arguments   
why the ,veda can teach us nothing as to
 a primitive state of man4 ,if they mean
 by primitive that which came absolutely
 first1 then they ask for something     
which they will never get1 not even if  
they discovered the private             
correspondence of ,adam and ,eve1 or of 
the first ,homo and ,femina sapiens4 ,we
 mean by primitive the earliest state of
 man of which1 from the nature of the   
case1 we can hope to gain any knowledge2
 and here1 next to the archives hidden  
away in the secret drawers of language1 
in the treasury of words common to all  
the ,aryan tribes1 and in the radical   
elements of which each word is          
compounded1 there is no literary relic  
more full of lessons to the true        
anthropologist1 to the true student of  
mankind1 than the ,rig-,veda4           
,,footnotes3  ,footnote #hi3 ,see       
,cunningham1 ,corpus ,inscriptionum     

,indicarum1 vol4 i41 #ahgg4  ,footnote  
#ij3 ,kulavagga ,v4 #cc1 #a4 ,the       
expression used is ,khandaso aropema'ti4
  ,footnote #ia3 ,see ,rhys ,davids1    
,buddhist ,suttas1 ,sacred ,books of the
 ,east1 vol4 xi41 p4 #adb4  ,footnote   
#ib3 ,the ,brahmo-,samaj1 a theistic    
school4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #ic3 ,the   
,liberal1 ,march #ab1 #ahhb4  ,footnote 
#id3 ,see ,r4 ,g4 ,bhandarkar1          
,consideration of the date of the       
,mahabharata1 ,journal of the ,r4 ,a4   
,s4 of ,bombay1 #ahgb2 ,talboys         
,wheeler1 ,history of ,india1 ii4 #cfe1 
#egb2 ,holtzmann1 ,ueber das alte       
indische ,epos1 #ahha1 p4 #a2 ,phear1   
,the ,aryan ,village in ,india and      
,ceylon1 p4 #ai4 ,that the ,mahabharata 
was publicly read in the seventh century
 ,a4,d41 we learn from ,bana2 see       
,journal of the ,royal ,asiatic         
,society1 ,bombay1 vol4 x41 p4 #hg1     
note4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #ie3 ,hibbert 
,lectures1 p4 #aeg4  ,footnote #if3     
,every person acquainted with the spoken

 speech of ,india knows perfectly well  
that its elevation to the dignity and   
usefulness of written speech has        
depended1 and must still depend1 upon   
its borrowing largely from its parent or
 kindred source2 that no man who is     
ignorant of ,arabic or ,sanskrit can    
write ,hindustani or ,bengali with      
elegance1 or purity1 or precision1 and  
that the condemnation of the classical  
languages to oblivion would consign the 
dialects to utter helplessness and      
irretrievable barbarism4--,h4 ,h4       
,wilson1 ,asiatic ,journal1 ,jan41      
#ahcf2 vol xix41 p4 #ae4  ,footnote #ig3
 ,it would be a most useful work for any
 young scholar to draw up a list of     
,sanskrit books which are quoted by     
later writers1 but have not yet been met
 with in ,indian libraries4  ,footnote  
#ih3 ,hibbert ,lectures1 p4 #acc4       
,footnote #ii3 ,this vague term1        
,turanian1 so much used in the ,parsi   
,scriptures1 is used here in the sense  
of unclassified ethnically4--,a4 ,w4    

,footnote #ajj3 ,recherches sur les     
langues ,tartares1 #ahbj1 vol4 i41 p4   
#cbg2 ,lassen1 ,i4 ,a41 vol4 ii41 p4    
#cei4  ,footnote #aja3 ,lassen1 who at  
first rejected the identification of    
,gats and ,yueh-chi1 was afterward      
inclined to accept it4  ,footnote #ajb3 
,the ,yueh-chi appear to have begun     
their invasion about #acj ,b4,c4 ,at    
this period the ,grecian kingdom of     
,bactria1 after a brilliant existence of
 a century1 had fallen before the       
,tochari1 a ,scythian people4 ,the new  
invaders1 called ,greek3 ,ephthalitai by
 the ,greeks1 had been driven out of    
their old abodes and now occupied the   
country lying between ,parthia at the   
west1 the ,oxus and ,surkhab1 and       
extending into ,little ,thibet4 ,they   
were herdsmen and nomads4 ,at this time 
,india was governed by the descendants  
of ,asoka1 the great propagandist of    
,buddhism4 ,about twenty years before   
the ,christian era1 or probably earlier1
 the ,yueh-chi1 under ,karranos1 crossed

 the ,indus and conquered the country1  
which remained subject to them for three
 centuries4 ,the ,chinese historians    
,sze-ma ,tsien and ,han-yo1 give these  
accounts1 which are however confirmed by
 numismatic and other evidence4--,a4 ,w4
  ,footnote #ajc3 ,hibbert ,lectures1 p4
 #aed1 note4  ,footnote #ajd3 ,in ,june1
 #ahhb1 a ,conference on ,buddhism was  
held at ,sion ,college1 to discuss the  
real or apparent coincidences between   
the religions of ,buddha and ,christ4   
,professor ,mueller addressed two       
letters to the secretary1 which were    
afterward published1 declaring such a   
discussion in general terms almost an   
impossibility4 ,the name of ,buddhism1  
he says1 is applied to religious        
opinions1 not only of the most varying1 
but of a decidedly opposite character1  
held by people on the highest and lowest
 stages of civilization1 divided into   
endless sects1 nay1 founded on two      
distinct codes of canonical writings4   
,two ,buddhist priests who were reading 

,sanskrit with him would hardly         
recognize the ,buddhism now practiced in
 ,ceylon as their own religion4  ,he    
also acknowledged the startling         
coincidences between ,buddhism and      
,christianity1 and that ,buddhism       
existed at least #djj years before      
,christianity4 ,he would go farther1 and
 feel extremely grateful if anybody     
would point out to him the historical   
channels through which ,buddhism had    
influenced early ,christianity4 ,i have 
been looking for such channels all my   
life1 says he1 but hitherto ,i have     
found none4 ,what ,i have found is that 
for some of the most startling          
coincidences there are historical       
antecedents on both sides2 and if we    
knew these antecedents1 the coincidences
 become far less startling4 ,if ,i do   
find in certain ,buddhist works         
doctrines identically the same as in    
,christianity1 so far from being        
frightened1 ,i feel delighted1 for      
surely truth is not the less true       

because it is believed by the majority  
of the human race4  ,i believe we have  
made some progress during the last      
thirty years4 ,i still remember the time
 when all heathen religions were looked 
upon as the work of the devil47,a#a7 ,we
 know now that they are stages in a     
growth1 and in a growth not determined  
by an accidental environment only1 but  
by an original purpose1 a purpose to be 
realized in the history of the human    
race as a whole4 ,even missionaries have
 begun to approach the heathen in a new 
and better spirit4 ,they look for what  
may safely be preserved in the religion 
of their pupils1 and on that common     
ground they try to erect a purer faith  
and a better worship1 instead of        
attempting to destroy the sacred        
foundations of religion1 which1 ,i      
believe1 exist1 or at least1 existed1 in
 every human heart4  ,he also states    
that the publishing of the ,rig-,veda   
and ,commentary1 his life-work1 had     
produced a complete revolution both in  

our views of ancient religions and in   
the religious life of the ,hindus       
themselves2 and this not so much on the 
surface as in its deepest               
foundations4--,a4 ,w4  ,a#a3 ,we have no
 knowledge of such a belief4 ,the common
 ,christian theory is that ,christianity
 is as old as the garden of ,eden1 and  
that truth in other religions is the    
result of contact1 somewhere1 at some   
time1 with ,christianity4--,,am4 ,,pubs4
  ,footnote #aje3 ,published by ,fleet  
in the ,indian ,antiquary1 #ahgf1 pp4   
#fh-gc1 and first mentioned by ,dr4     
,bhao ,daji1 ,journal ,asiatic ,society1
 ,bombay ,branch1 vol4 ix4  ,footnote   
#ajf3 ,sir ,william ,jones fixed their  
date at #abhj ,b4,c42 ,elphinstone as   
#ijj ,b4,c4 ,it has recently been stated
 that they could not reasonably be      
placed later than the fifth century     
,b4,c4  ,footnote #ajg3 ,a very useful  
indication of the age of the            
,dharma-sutras1 as compared with the    
metrical ,dharma-sastras or ,samhitas1  

is to be found in the presence or       
absence in them of any reference to     
written documents4 ,such written        
documents1 if they existed1 could hardly
 be passed over in silence in law-books1
 particularly when the nature of        
witnesses is discussed in support of    
loans1 pledges1 etc4 ,now1 we see that  
in treating of the law of debt and      
debtors17,a#a7 the ,dharma-sutras of    
,gautama1 ,baudhayana1 and ,apastamba   
never mention evidence in writing4      
,vasishtha only refers to written       
evidence1 but in a passage which may be 
interpolated17,a#b7 considering that in 
other respects his treatment of the law 
of debt is very crude4 ,manu's metrical 
code shows here again its usual         
character4 ,it is evidently based on    
ancient originals1 and when it simply   
reproduces them1 gives us the impression
 of great antiquity4 ,but it freely     
admits more modern ingredients1 and does
 so in our case4 ,it speaks of          
witnesses1 fixes their minimum number at

 three1 and discusses very minutely     
their qualifications and                
disqualifications1 without saying a word
 about written documents4 ,but in one   
place 7,,viii4 #afh7 it speaks of the   
valuelessness of written agreements     
obtained by force1 thus recognizing the 
practical employment of writing for     
commercial transactions4 ,professor     
,jolly17,a#c7 it is true1 suggests that 
this verse may be a later addition1     
particularly as it occurs totidem verbis
 in ,narada 7,,iv4 #ee72 but the final  
composition of ,manu's ,samhita1 such as
 we possess it1 can hardly be referred  
to a period when writing was not yet    
used1 at all events for commercial      
purposes4 ,manu's ,law-book is older    
than ,yagnavalkya's1 in which writing   
has become a familiar subject4 ,vishnu  
often agrees literally with             
,yagnavalkya1 while ,narada1 as showing 
the fullest development of the law of   
debt1 is most likely the latest47,a#d7  
,see ,brihatsamhita1 ed4 ,kern1 pref41  

p4 #dc2 ,journal of the ,r4 ,a4 ,s41    
#ahge1 p4 #ajf4  ,a#a3 ,ueber das       
,indische ,schuldrecht von ,j4 ,jolly1  
p4 #bia4  ,a#b3 ,jolly1 l4 c41 p4 #cbb4 
,a#c3 ,l4 c41 p4 #bij4  ,a#d3 ,jolly1 l4
 c41 p4 #cbb4 ,he places ,katyayana and 
,brihaspati after ,narada1 possibly     
,vyasa and ,harita also4 ,see also      
,stenzler1 ,z4 d ,d4 ,m4 ,g4 ix4 #ffd4  
,footnote #ajh3 ,professor ,mueller     
rejects the theory of the ,samvat era   
and the ,renaissance of ,sanskrit       
literature in the first century4        
,instead1 he acknowledges the existence 
of a ,saka era1 bearing date with the   
coronation of ,kanishka1 #gh ,a4,d4     
,although this monarch was a patron of  
the ,buddhists1 and the third collection
 of their sacred books was made under   
his auspices1 our author considers the  
period of ,saka or ,yuen-chi domination 
from #bd ,b4,c4 till #agh ,a4,d4 as a   
literary interregnum4 ,he is not willing
 to suggest any date for the            
,mahabharata or ,ramayana1 which appear 

to have been then extant4 ,he exonerates
 ,indian epic poetry1 however1 from any 
imputation of ,greek influence4 ,not so 
with astronomy4 ,aryabhata1 the elder1  
who described the motion of the earth   
very accurately1 he considers to have   
had no predecessors2 and also cites     
other ,indian authors who described the 
twelve signs of the zodiac with ,greek  
names or their equivalents1 and assigned
 each to a region in the body of the    
,creator1 as we now see it marked out in
 our almanacs4 ,in this matter he is    
certainly plausible4  ,the period of the
 ,renaissance and the reign and proper  
era of ,vikramaditya are set down at    
about #eej ,a4,d4 ,he follows ,dr4 ,bhao
 ,daji1 and is sustained by ,mr4        
,fergusson1 author of ,tree and ,serpent
 ,worship1 and other works on religious 
architecture4 ,it was the period of     
learned and literary men1 as well as of 
active religious controversy4 ,believers
 in ,buddha and believers in the ,veda  
lived together at this time1 he remarks1

 very much as ,protestants and ,roman   
,catholics do at the present            
day--fighting when there is an          
opportunity or necessity for it1 but    
otherwise sharing the same air as       
fellow-creatures4 ,among a crowd of     
others we may instance ,dignaga1 a      
,buddhist1 ,kalidasa1 a ,siva           
worshipper1 and ,manatunga1 a ,gaina1 as
 frequenting the royal court4           
,vasubandhu1 to whom the revival of     
,buddhist literature was largely due1   
was the son of a ,brahman and a student 
of the ,nyaya philosophy2 as1 indeed1   
,hiouen-thsang1 the ,chinese traveller1 
also studied logic under a ,brahmana    
teacher4  ,vikramaditya oscillated      
between all parties4 ,having quarrelled 
with the ,king of ,kasmira and          
,manorhita1 the great ,buddhist teacher 
at the convent near ,peshawer1 he called
 an assembly of ,sastrikas and          
,sramanas1 at which the latter were     
denounced4 ,he also placed ,matrigupta  
7,kalidasa87 over that country4 ,at his 

death1 however1 the regal authority was 
surrendered to the legitimate king1 who 
in his turn reinstated ,siladitya1 the  
successor of ,vikrama1 on the throne4   
,this king also called an assembly of   
divines1 and the ,buddhists were        
restored to their former position4 ,as  
they seem to have constituted the       
principal men of learning1 ,i am        
disposed to believe that they were the  
actual restorers of the golden period to
 ,india4 ,the ,nine ,gems1 ,professor   
,mueller is very confident1 belong to   
this period4 ,he declares that the      
philosophical ,sutras have no           
ascertained date prior to #cjj ,a4,d4   
,according to him1 we need not refer    
many famous authors to a period anterior
 to the fifth century4 ,kalidasa1 from  
being the contemporary of ,augustus1    
becomes the contemporary of ,justinian1 
and the very books which were most      
admired by ,sanskrit students as        
specimens of ancient ,indian poetry and 
wisdom find their rightful place in the 

period of literary renaissance1         
coinciding with an age of renewed       
literary activity in ,persia1 soon to be
 followed there1 as later in ,india1 by 
the great ,mohammedan conquests4 ,it    
appears to me that he is altogether too 
iconoclastic4 ,it is more than probable 
that the apparent lateness of date is   
due to the destruction of books when the
 ,buddhists were driven out of ,india4  
,it would be as logical1 it seems to me1
 to assign a post-,christian date to the
 ,vendidad and ,yasna because they had  
been lost and were collected anew under 
the auspices of a ,sassanid king4 ,we   
are told in the second book of the      
,maccabees that ,antiochus ,epiphanes   
burned the ,hebrew ,scriptures1 and that
 ,judas ,makkabaeus made a new          
collection2 yet nobody pretends that    
they ought to be assigned to the second 
century ,b4,c4 ,in fact1 we must in due 
sincerity give some room to faith4      
,astronomy was also studied4 ,aryabhatta
 the elder had described the earth as   

making a revolution which produced the  
daily rising and setting of the sun4    
,professor ,mueller thinks he had no    
predecessors4 ,varahamihira wrote during
 the reign of ,vikramaditya1 and employs
 the ,yuga in opposition to the ,saka   
era4 ,it is apparent1 however1 that the 
,greek zodiac was employed4 ,badarayana 
describes the pictorial representations 
of the ,twelve ,signs and their relation
 to the body of ,brahman or the         
,creator3  ,the ,ram is the head2 the   
face of the ,creator is the ,bull2 the  
breast would be the ,man-pair2 the      
heart1 the ,crab2 the ,lion1 the        
stomach2 the ,maid1 the hip2 the        
,balance-bearer1 the belly2 the eighth  
7,scorpion71 the membrum2 the ,archer1  
his pair of thighs2 the ,makara1 his    
pair of knees2 the ,pot1 his pair of    
legs2 the ,fish-pair1 his two feet4     
,another writer gives them in like      
series as the members of ,kala or ,time4
 ,other evidence seems even more        
conclusive2 ,varahamihira giving the    

actual ,greek names in a ,sanskrit      
dress4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #aji3 ,kern1 
,preface to ,brihatsamahita1 p4 #bj4    
,footnote #aaj3 ,during times of        
conquest and migration1 such as are     
represented to us in the hymns of the   
,rig-,veda1 the system of castes1 as it 
is described1 for instance1 in the ,laws
 of ,manu1 would have been a simple     
impossibility4 ,it is doubtful whether  
such a system was ever more than a      
social ideal1 but even for such an ideal
 the materials would have been wanting  
during the period when the ,aryas were  
first taking possession of the land of  
the ,seven ,rivers4 ,on the other hand1 
even during that early period1 there    
must have been a division of labor1 and 
hence we expect to find and do find in  
the gramas of the ,five ,nations1       
warriors1 sometimes called nobles1      
leaders1 kings2 counsellors1 sometimes  
called priests1 prophets1 judges2 and   
working men1 whether ploughers1 or      
builders1 or road-makers4 ,these three  

divisions we can clearly perceive even  
in the early hymns of the ,rig-,veda4   
,footnote #aaa3 ,boehtlingk1 ,sprueche1 
#eaja4  ,footnote #aab3 ,mahabh4 ,,xi4  
#aba4  ,footnote #aac3 ,pankat4 ,,ii4   
#abg 7#aag74  ,footnote #aad3 ,mahabh4  
,v4 #aadd4  ,footnote #aae3 ,l4 c4      
,,xii4 #abjej4  ,footnote #aaf3 ,l4 c4  
,,xii4 #hfi4  ,footnote #aag3 ,l4 c4    
,,xii4 #hgb4  ,footnote #aah3 ,l4 c4    
,,xii4 #abdec4  ,footnote #aai3 ,l4 c4  
,,xii4 #abdef4  ,footnote #abj3 ,l4 c4  
,,iii4 #achdf 7#bci74  ,footnote #aba3  
,l4 c4 ,,iii4 #achfd4  ,footnote #abb3  
,kam4 ,nitis1 #a1 #bc 7,boehtlingk1     
#iah74  ,footnote #abc3 ,atman1 see     
,lecture ,,vii4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote     
#abd3 ,vishnu-sutras ,,xx4 #ej-ec4      
,footnote #abe3 ,apastamba              
,dharma-sutras ,i4 #h1 #bb4  ,footnote  
#abf3 ,can a state be justly regarded as
 one of happiness1 in which the         
essential being is overlooked and not   
regarded2 whereas that subtler essence  
is the reality which gives life1 energy1

 and purity to all our motives8 ,is to  
be of the earth1 earthy1 a greater      
felicity than to acknowledge that which 
is from heaven8 ,i trow not4--,a4 ,w4   
,,lecture ,,iv4  ,,objections4   ,it may
 be quite true that controversy often   
does more harm than good1 that it       
encourages the worst of all talents1    
that of plausibility1 not to say        
dishonesty1 and generally leaves the    
world at large worse confounded than it 
was before4 ,it has been said that no   
clever lawyer would shrink from taking a
 brief to prove that the earth forms the
 centre of the world1 and1 with all     
respect for ,english juries1 it is not  
impossible that even in our days he     
might gain a verdict against ,galileo4  
,nor do ,i deny that there is a power   
and vitality in truth which in the end  
overcomes and survives all opposition1  
as shown by the very doctrine of        
,galileo which at present is held by    
hundreds and thousands who would find it
 extremely difficult to advance one     

single argument in its support4 ,i am   
ready to admit also that those who have 
done the best work1 and have contributed
 most largely toward the advancement of 
knowledge and the progress of truth1    
have seldom wasted their time in        
controversy1 but have marched on        
straight1 little concerned either about 
applause on the right or abuse on the   
left4 ,all this is true1 perfectly true1
 and yet ,i feel that ,i cannot escape  
from devoting the whole of a lecture to 
the answering of certain objections     
which have been raised against the views
 which ,i have put forward with regard  
to the character and the historical     
importance of ,vedic literature4 ,we    
must not forget that the whole subject  
is new1 the number of competent judges  
small1 and mistakes not only possible1  
but almost inevitable4 ,besides1 there  
are mistakes and mistakes1 and the      
errors of able men are often            
instructive1 nay one might say sometimes
 almost indispensable for the discovery 

of truth4 ,there are criticisms which   
may be safely ignored1 criticisms for   
the sake of criticism1 if not inspired  
by meaner motives4 ,but there are doubts
 and difficulties which suggest         
themselves naturally1 objections which  
have a right to be heard1 and the very  
removal of which forms the best approach
 to the stronghold of truth4 ,nowhere   
has this principle been so fully        
recognized and been acted on as in      
,indian literature4 ,whatever subject is
 started1 the rule is that the argument 
should begin with the purvapaksha1 with 
all that can be said against a certain  
opinion4 ,every possible objection is   
welcome1 if only it is not altogether   
frivolous and absurd1 and then only     
follows the uttarapaksha1 with all that 
can be said against these objections and
 in support of the original opinion4    
,only when this process has been fully  
gone through is it allowed to represent 
an opinion as siddhanta1 or established4
  ,therefore1 before opening the pages  

of the ,veda1 and giving you a          
description of the poetry1 the religion1
 and philosophy of the ancient          
inhabitants of ,india1 ,i thought it    
right and necessary to establish1 first 
of all1 certain points without which it 
would be impossible to form a right     
appreciation of the historical value of 
the ,vedic hymns1 and of their          
importance even to us who live at so    
great a distance from those early poets4
  ,the first point was purely           
preliminary1 namely that the ,hindus in 
ancient1 and in modern times also1 are a
 nation deserving of our interest and   
sympathy1 worthy also of our confidence1
 and by no means guilty of the charge so
 recklessly brought against them--the   
charge of an habitual disregard of      
truth4  ,secondly1 that the ancient     
literature of ,india is not to be       
considered simply as a curiosity and to 
be handed over to the good pleasure of  
,oriental scholars1 but that1 both by   
its language1 the ,sanskrit1 and by its 

most ancient literary documents1 the    
,vedas1 it can teach us lessons which   
nothing else can teach1 as to the origin
 of our own language1 the first         
formation of our own concepts1 and the  
true natural germs of all that is       
comprehended under the name of          
civilization1 at least the civilization 
of the ,aryan race1 that race to which  
we and all the greatest nations of the  
world--the ,hindus1 the ,persians1 the  
,greeks and ,romans1 the ,slaves1 the   
,celts1 and last1 not least1 the        
,teutons1 belong4 ,a man may be a good  
and useful ploughman without being a    
geologist1 without knowing the stratum  
on which he takes his stand1 or the     
strata beneath that give support to the 
soil on which he lives and works1 and   
from which he draws his nourishment4    
,and a man may be a good and useful     
citizen1 without being an historian1    
without knowing how the world in which  
he lives came about1 and how many phases
 mankind had to pass through in         

language1 religion1 and philosophy1     
before it could supply him with that    
intellectual soil on which he lives and 
works1 and from which he draws his best 
nourishment4  ,but there must always be 
an aristocracy of those who know1 and   
who can trace back the best which we    
possess1 not merely to a ,norman count1 
or a ,scandinavian viking1 or a ,saxon  
earl1 but to far older ancestors and    
benefactors1 who thousands of years ago 
were toiling for us in the sweat of     
their face1 and without whom we should  
never be what we are--the ancestors of  
the whole ,aryan race1 the first framers
 of our words1 the first poets of our   
thoughts1 the first givers of our laws1 
the first prophets of our gods1 and of  
,him who is ,god above all gods4  ,that 
aristocracy of those who know--di color 
che sanno--or try to know1 is open to   
all who are willing to enter1 to all who
 have a feeling for the past1 an        
interest in the genealogy of our        
thoughts1 and a reverence for the       

ancestry of our intellect1 who are in   
fact historians in the true sense of the
 word1 i4e4 inquirers into that which is
 past1 but not lost4  ,thirdly1 having  
explained to you why the ancient        
literature of ,india1 the really ancient
 literature of that country1 ,i mean    
that of the ,vedic period1 deserves the 
careful attention1 not of ,oriental     
scholars only1 but of every educated man
 and woman who wishes to know how we1   
even we here in ,england and in this    
nineteenth century of ours1 came to be  
what we are1 ,i tried to explain to you 
the difference1 and the natural and     
inevitable difference1 between the      
development of the human character in   
such different climates as those of     
,india and ,europe4 ,and while admitting
 that the ,hindus were deficient in many
 of those manly virtues and practical   
achievements which we value most1 ,i    
wished to point out that there was      
another sphere of intellectual activity 
in which the ,hindus excelled--the      

meditative and transcendent--and that   
here we might learn from them some      
lessons of life which we ourselves are  
but too apt to ignore or to despise4    
,fourthly1 fearing that ,i might have   
raised too high expectations of the     
ancient wisdom1 the religion and        
philosophy of the ,vedic ,indians1 ,i   
felt it my duty to state that1 though   
primitive in one sense1 we must not     
expect the ,vedic religion to be        
primitive in the anthropological sense  
of the word1 as containing the          
utterances of beings who had just broken
 their shells1 and were wonderingly     
looking out for the first time upon this
 strange world4 ,the ,veda may be called
 primitive1 because there is no other   
literary document more primitive than   
it2 but the language1 the mythology1 the
 religion and philosophy that meet us in
 the ,veda open vistas of the past which
 no one would venture to measure in     
years4 ,nay1 they contain1 by the side  
of simple1 natural1 childish thoughts1  

many ideas which to us sound modern1 or 
secondary and tertiary1 as ,i called    
them1 but which nevertheless are older  
than any other literary document1 and   
give us trustworthy information of a    
period in the history of human thought  
of which we knew absolutely nothing     
before the discovery of the ,vedas4#abg 
,but even thus our path is not yet      
clear4 ,other objections have been      
raised against the ,veda as an          
historical document4 ,some of them are  
important2 and ,i have at times shared  
them myself4 ,others are at least       
instructive1 and will give us an        
opportunity of testing the foundation on
 which we stand4  ,the first objection  
then against our treating the ,veda as  
an historical document is that it is not
 truly national in its character1 and   
does not represent the thoughts of the  
whole of the population of ,india1 but  
only of a small minority1 namely of the 
,brahmans1 and not even of the whole    
class of ,brahmans1 but only of a small 

minority of them1 namely of the         
professional priests4  ,objections      
should not be based on demands which1   
from the nature of the case1 are        
unreasonable4 ,have those who maintain  
that the ,vedic hymns do not represent  
the whole of ,india1 that is the whole  
of its ancient population1 in the same  
manner as they say that the ,bible      
represents the ,jews or ,homer the      
,greeks1 considered what they are asking
 for8 ,so far from denying that the     
,vedic hymns represent only a small and1
 it may be1 a priestly minority of the  
ancient population of ,india1 the true  
historian would probably feel inclined  
to urge the same cautions against the   
,old ,testament and the ,homeric poems  
also4  ,no doubt1 after the books which 
compose the ,old ,testament had been    
collected as a ,sacred ,canon1 they were
 known to the majority of the ,jews4    
,but when we speak of the primitive     
state of the ,jews1 of their moral1     
intellectual1 and religious status while

 in ,mesopotamia or ,canaan or ,egypt1  
we should find that the different books 
of the ,old ,testament teach us as      
little of the whole ,jewish race1 with  
all its local characteristics and social
 distinctions1 as the ,homeric poems do 
of all the ,greek tribes1 or the ,vedic 
hymns of all the inhabitants of ,india4 
,surely1 even when we speak of the      
history of the ,greeks or the ,romans1  
we know that we shall not find there a  
complete picture of the social1         
intellectual1 and religious life of a   
whole nation4 ,we know very little of   
the intellectual life of a whole nation1
 even during the ,middle ,ages1 ay1 even
 at the present day4 ,we may know       
something of the generals1 of the       
commanders-in-chief1 but of the         
privates1 of the millions1 we know next 
to nothing4 ,and what we do know of     
kings or generals or ministers is mostly
 no more than what was thought of them  
by a few ,greek poets or ,jewish        
prophets1 men who were one in a million 

among their contemporaries4  ,but it    
might be said that though the writers   
were few1 the readers were many4 ,is    
that so8 ,i believe you would be        
surprised to hear how small the number  
of readers is even in modern times1     
while in ancient times reading was      
restricted to the very smallest class of
 privileged persons4 ,there may have    
been listeners at public and private    
festivals1 at sacrifices1 and later on  
in theatres1 but readers1 in our sense  
of the word1 are a very modern          
invention4  ,there never has been so    
much reading1 reading spread over so    
large an area1 as in our times4 ,but if 
you asked publishers as to the number of
 copies sold of books which are supposed
 to have been read by everybody1 say    
,macaulay's ,history of ,england1 the   
,life of the ,prince ,consort1 or       
,darwin's ,origin of ,species1 you would
 find that out of a population of       
thirty-two millions not one million has 
possessed itself of a copy of these     

works4 ,the book which of late has      
probably had the largest sale is the    
,revised ,version of the ,new           
,testament2 and yet the whole number of 
copies sold among the eighty millions of
 ,english-speaking people is probably   
not more than four millions4 ,of        
ordinary books which are called books of
 the season1 and which are supposed to  
have had a great success1 an edition of 
three or four thousand copies is not    
considered unsatisfactory by publishers 
or authors in ,england4 ,but if you look
 to other countries1 such1 for instance1
 as ,russia1 it would be very difficult 
indeed to name books that could be      
considered as representative of the     
whole nation1 or as even known by more  
than a very small minority4  ,and if we 
turn our thoughts back to the ancient   
nations of ,greece and ,italy1 or of    
,persia and ,babylonia1 what book is    
there1 with the exception perhaps of the
 ,homeric poems1 of which we could say  
that it had been read or even heard of  

by more than a few thousand people8 ,we 
think of ,greeks and ,romans as literary
 people1 and so no doubt they were1 but 
in a very different sense from what we  
mean by this4 ,what we call ,greeks and 
,romans are chiefly the citizens of     
,athens and ,rome1 and here again those 
who could produce or who could read such
 works as the ,dialogues of ,plato or   
the ,epistles of ,horace constituted a  
very small intellectual aristocracy     
indeed4 ,what we call history--the      
memory of the past--has always been the 
work of minorities4 ,millions and       
millions pass away unheeded1 and the few
 only to whom has been given the gift of
 fusing speech and thought into forms of
 beauty remain as witnesses of the past4
  ,if then we speak of times so distant 
as those represented by the ,rig-,veda1 
and of a country so disintegrated1 or   
rather as yet so little integrated as   
,india was three thousand years ago1    
surely it requires but little reflection
 to know that what we see in the ,vedic 

poems are but a few snow-clad peaks1    
representing to us1 from a far distance1
 the whole mountain-range of a nation1  
completely lost beyond the horizon of   
history4 ,when we speak of the ,vedic   
hymns as representing the religion1 the 
thoughts and customs of ,india three    
thousand years ago1 we cannot mean by   
,india more than some unknown quantity  
of which the poets of the ,veda are the 
only spokesmen left4 ,when we now speak 
of ,india1 we think of #bej millions1 a 
sixth part of the whole human race1     
peopling the vast peninsula from the    
,himalayan mountains between the arms of
 the ,indus and the ,ganges1 down to    
,cape ,comorin and ,ceylon1 an extent of
 country nearly as large as ,europe4 ,in
 the ,veda the stage on which the life  
of the ancient kings and poets is acted1
 is the valley of the ,indus and the    
,punjab1 as it is now called1 the ,sapta
 ,sindhasah1 the ,seven ,rivers of the  
,vedic poets4 ,the land watered by the  
,ganges is hardly known1 and the whole  

of the ,dekkan seems not yet to have    
been discovered4  ,then again1 when     
these ,vedic hymns are called the       
lucubrations of a few priests1 not the  
outpourings of the genius of a whole    
nation1 what does that mean8 ,we may no 
doubt call these ancient ,vedic poets   
priests1 if we like1 and no one would   
deny that their poetry is pervaded not  
only by religious1 mythological1 and    
philosophical1 but likewise by          
sacrificial and ceremonial conceits4    
,still a priest1 if we trace him back   
far enough1 is only a presbyteros or an 
elder1 and1 as such1 those ,vedic poets 
had a perfect right to speak in the name
 of a whole class1 or of the village    
community to which they belonged4 ,call 
,vasishtha a priest by all means1 only  
do not let us imagine that he was       
therefore very like ,cardinal ,manning4 
,after we have made every possible      
concession to arguments1 most of which  
are purely hypothetical1 there remains  
this great fact that here1 in the       

,rig-,veda1 we have poems1 composed in  
perfect language1 in elaborate metre1   
telling us about gods and men1 about    
sacrifices and battles1 about the       
varying aspects of nature and the       
changing conditions of society1 about   
duty and pleasure1 philosophy and       
morality--articulate voices reaching us 
from a distance from which we never     
heard before the faintest whisper2 and  
instead of thrilling with delight at    
this almost miraculous discovery1 some  
critics stand aloof and can do nothing  
but find fault1 because these songs do  
not represent to us primitive men       
exactly as they think they ought to have
 been2 not like ,papuas or ,bushmen1    
with arboraceous habits and half-animal 
clicks1 not as worshipping stocks or    
stones1 or believing in fetiches1 as    
according to ,comte's inner             
consciousness they ought to have done1  
but rather1 ,i must confess1 as beings  
whom we can understand1 with whom to a  
certain extent we can sympathize1 and to

 whom1 in the historical progress of the
 human intellect1 we may assign a place 
not very far behind the ancient ,jews   
and ,greeks4  ,once more then1 if we    
mean by primitive1 people who inhabited 
this earth as soon as the vanishing of  
the glacial period made this earth      
inhabitable1 the ,vedic poets were      
certainly not primitive4 ,if we mean by 
primitive1 people who were without a    
knowledge of fire1 who used unpolished  
flints1 and ate raw flesh1 the ,vedic   
poets were not primitive4 ,if we mean by
 primitive1 people who did not cultivate
 the soil1 had no fixed abodes1 no      
kings1 no sacrifices1 no laws1 again1 ,i
 say1 the ,vedic poets were not         
primitive4 ,but if we mean by primitive 
the people who have been the first of   
the ,aryan race to leave behind literary
 relics of their existence on earth1    
then ,i say the ,vedic poets are        
primitive1 the ,vedic language is       
primitive1 the ,vedic religion is       
primitive1 and1 taken as a whole1 more  

primitive than anything else that we are
 ever likely to recover in the whole    
history of our race4  ,when all these   
objections had failed1 a last trump was 
played4 ,the ancient ,vedic poetry was  
said to be1 if not of foreign origin1 at
 least very much infected by foreign1   
and more particularly by ,semitic       
influences4 ,it had always been urged by
 ,sanskrit scholars as one of the chief 
attractions of ,vedic literature that it
 not only allowed us an insight into a  
very early phase of religious thought1  
but that the ,vedic religion was the    
only one the development of which took  
place without any extraneous influences1
 and could be watched through a longer  
series of centuries than any other      
religion4 ,now with regard to the first 
point1 we know how perplexing it is in  
the religion of ancient ,rome to        
distinguish between ,italian and ,greek 
ingredients1 to say nothing of ,etruscan
 and ,phoenician influences4 ,we know   
the difficulty of finding out in the    

religion of the ,greeks what is purely  
home-grown1 and what is taken over from 
,egypt1 ,phoenicia1 it may be from      
,scythia2 or at all events1 slightly    
colored by those foreign rays of        
thought4 ,even in the religion of the   
,hebrews1 ,babylonian1 ,phoenician1 and 
at a later time ,persian influences have
 been discovered1 and the more we       
advance toward modern times1 the more   
extensive becomes the mixture of        
thought1 and the more difficult the task
 of assigning to each nation the share  
which it contributed to the common      
intellectual currency of the world4 ,in 
,india alone1 and more particularly in  
,vedic ,india1 we see a plant entirely  
grown on native soil1 and entirely      
nurtured by native air4 ,for this       
reason1 because the religion of the     
,veda was so completely guarded from all
 strange infections1 it is full of      
lessons which the student of religion   
could learn nowhere else4  ,now what    
have the critics of the ,veda to say    

against this8 ,they say that the ,vedic 
poems show clear traces of ,babylonian  
influences4  ,i must enter into some    
details1 because1 small as they seem1   
you can see that they involve very wide 
consequences4  ,there is one verse in   
the ,rig-,veda1 ,,viii4 #gh1 #b1abh     
which has been translated as follows3   
,oh ,indra1 bring to us a brilliant     
jewel1 a cow1 a horse1 an ornament1     
together with a golden ,mana4#abi  ,now 
what is a golden ,mana8 ,the word does  
not occur again by itself1 either in the
 ,veda or anywhere else1 and it has been
 identified by ,vedic scholars with the 
,latin mina1 the ,greek ,greek3 mna1 the
 ,phoenician manah 7,hebrew3            
,ma-ne71#acj the well-known weight which
 we actually possess now among the      
treasures brought from ,babylon and     
,nineveh to the ,british ,museum4#aca   
,if this were so1 it would be           
irrefragable evidence of at all events a
 commercial intercourse between ,babylon
 and ,india at a very early time1 though

 it would in no way prove a real        
influence of ,semitic on ,indian        
thought4 ,but is it so8 ,if we translate
 saka mana hiranyaya by with a mina of  
gold1 we must take mana hiranyaya as    
instrumental cases4 ,but saka never     
governs an instrumental case4 ,this     
translation therefore is impossible1 and
 although the passage is difficult1     
because mana does not occur again in the
 ,rig-,veda1 ,i should think we might   
take mana hiranyaya for a dual1 and     
translate1 ,give us also two golden     
armlets4 ,to suppose that the ,vedic    
poets should have borrowed this one word
 and this one measure from the          
,babylonians1 would be against all the  
rules of historical criticism4 ,the word
 mana never occurs again in the whole of
 ,sanskrit literature1 no other         
,babylonian weight occurs again in the  
whole of ,sanskrit literature1 and it is
 not likely that a poet who asks for a  
cow and a horse1 would ask in the same  
breath for a foreign weight of gold1    

that is1 for about sixty sovereigns4    
,but this is not the only loan that     
,india has been supposed to have        
negotiated in ,babylon4 ,the            
twenty-seven ,nakshatras1 or the        
twenty-seven constellations1 which were 
chosen in ,india as a kind of lunar     
,zodiac1 were supposed to have come from
 ,babylon4 ,now the ,babylonian ,zodiac 
was solar1 and1 in spite of repeated    
researches1 no trace of a lunar ,zodiac 
has been found1 where so many things    
have been found1 in the cuneiform       
inscriptions4 ,but supposing even that a
 lunar ,zodiac had been discovered in   
,babylon1 no one acquainted with ,vedic 
literature and with the ancient ,vedic  
ceremonial would easily allow himself to
 be persuaded that the ,hindus had      
borrowed that simple division of the sky
 from the ,babylonians4 ,it is well     
known that most of the ,vedic sacrifices
 depend on the moon1 far more than on   
the sun4#acb ,as the ,psalmist says1 ,he
 appointed the moon for seasons2 the sun

 knoweth his going down1 we read in the 
,rig-,veda ,x4 #he1 #ah1 in a verse     
addressed to sun and moon1 ,they walk by
 their own power1 one after the other   
7or from east to west71 as playing      
children they go round the sacrifice4   
,the one looks upon all the worlds1 the 
other is born again and again1          
determining the seasons4      ,he       
becomes new and new1 when he is born2 as
 the herald of     the days1 he goes    
before the dawns4 ,by his approach he   
determines their share for the gods1 the
 moon increases a     long life4  ,the  
moon1 then1 determines the seasons1 the 
ritus1 the moon fixes the share1 that   
is1 the sacrificial oblation for all the
 gods4 ,the seasons and the sacrifices  
were in fact so intimately connected    
together in the thoughts of the ancient 
,hindus1 that one of the commonest names
 for priest was ritv-ig1 literally1 the 
season-sacrificer4  ,besides the rites  
which have to be performed every day1   
such as the five ,mahayagnas1 and the   

,agnihotra in the morning and the       
evening1 the important sacrifices in    
,vedic times were the ,full and         
,new-moon sacrifices 7darsapurnamasa72  
the ,season-sacrifices 7katurmasya71    
each season consisting of four          
months2#acc and the ,half-yearly        
sacrifices1 at the two solstices4 ,there
 are other sacrifices 7agrayana1 etc47  
to be performed in autumn and summer1   
others in winter and spring1 whenever   
rice and barley are ripening4#acd  ,the 
regulation of the seasons1 as one of the
 fundamental conditions of an incipient 
society1 seems in fact to have been so  
intimately connected with the worship of
 the gods1 as the guardians of the      
seasons and the protectors of law and   
order1 that it is sometimes difficult to
 say whether in their stated sacrifices 
the maintenance of the calendar or the  
maintenance of the worship of the gods  
was more prominent in the minds of the  
old ,vedic priests4  ,the twenty-seven  
,nakshatras then were clearly suggested 

by the moon's passage4#ace ,nothing was 
more natural for the sake of counting   
days1 months1 or seasons than to observe
 the twenty-seven places which the moon 
occupied in her passage from any point  
of the sky back to the same point4 ,it  
was far easier than to determine the    
sun's position either from day to day1  
or from month to month2 for the stars1  
being hardly visible at the actual      
rising and setting of the sun1 the idea 
of the sun's conjunction with certain   
stars could not suggest itself to a     
listless observer4 ,the moon1 on the    
contrary1 progressing from night to     
night1 and coming successively in       
contact with certain stars1 was like the
 finger of a clock1 moving round a      
circle1 and coming in contact with one  
figure after another on the dial-plate  
of the sky4 ,nor would the portion of   
about one third of a lunation in        
addition to the twenty-seven stars from 
new moon to new moon1 create much       
confusion in the minds of the           

rough-and-ready reckoners of those early
 times4 ,all they were concerned with   
were the twenty-seven celestial stations
 which1 after being once traced out by  
the moon1 were fixed1 like so many      
mile-stones1 for determining the course 
of all the celestial travellers that    
could be of any interest for signs and  
for seasons1 and for days and for years4
 ,a circle divided into twenty-seven    
sections1 or any twenty-seven poles     
planted in a circle at equal distances  
round a house1 would answer the purpose 
of a primitive ,vedic observatory4 ,all 
that was wanted to be known was between 
which pair of poles the moon1 or        
afterward the sun also1 was visible at  
their rising or setting1 the observer   
occupying the same central position on  
every day4  ,our notions of astronomy   
cannot in fact be too crude and too     
imperfect if we wish to understand the  
first beginnings in the reckoning of    
days and seasons and years4 ,we cannot  
expect in those days more than what any 

shepherd would know at present of the   
sun and moon1 the stars and seasons4    
,nor can we expect any observations of  
heavenly phenomena unless they had some 
bearing on the practical wants of       
primitive society4  ,if then we can     
watch in ,india the natural1 nay        
inevitable1 growth of the division of   
the heaven into twenty-seven equal      
divisions1 each division marked by      
stars1 which may have been observed and 
named long before they were used for    
this new purpose--if1 on the other hand1
 we could hardly understand the growth  
and development of the ,indian          
ceremonial except as determined by a    
knowledge of the lunar asterisms1 the   
lunar months1 and the lunar seasons1    
surely it would be a senseless          
hypothesis to imagine that the ,vedic   
shepherds or priests went to ,babylonia 
in search of a knowledge which every    
shepherd might have acquired on the     
banks of the ,indus1 and that1 after    
their return from that country only1    

where a language was spoken which no    
,hindu could understand1 they set to    
work to compose their sacred hymns and  
arrange their simple ceremonial4 ,we    
must never forget that what is natural  
in one place is natural in other places 
also1 and we may sum up without fear of 
serious contradiction1 that no case has 
been made out in favor of a foreign     
origin of the elementary astronomical   
notions of the ,hindus as found or      
presupposed in the ,vedic hymns4#acf    
,the ,arabs1 as is well known1 have     
twenty-eight lunar stations1 the        
,manzil1 and ,i can see no reason why   
,mohammed and his ,bedouins in the      
desert should not have made the same    
observation as the ,vedic poets in      
,india1 though ,i must admit at the same
 time that ,colebrooke has brought      
forward very cogent arguments to prove  
that1 in their scientific employment at 
least1 the ,arabic ,manzil were really  
borrowed from an ,indian source4#acg    
,the ,chinese1 too1 have their famous   

lunar stations1 the ,sieu1 originally   
twenty-four in number1 and afterward    
raised to twenty-eight4#ach ,but here   
again there is no necessity whatever for
 admitting1 with ,biot1 ,lassen1 and    
others1 that the ,hindus went to ,china 
to gain their simplest elementary       
notions of lunar chrononomy4 ,first of  
all1 the ,chinese began with            
twenty-four1 and raised them to         
twenty-eight2 the ,hindus began with    
twenty-seven1 and raised them to        
twenty-eight4 ,secondly1 out of these   
twenty-eight asterisms1 there are       
seventeen only which can really be      
identified with the ,hindu stars        
7taras74 ,now if a scientific system is 
borrowed1 it is borrowed complete4 ,but1
 in our case1 ,i see really no possible 
channel through which ,chinese          
astronomical knowledge could have been  
conducted to ,india so early as #ajjj   
before our era4 ,in ,chinese literature 
,india is never mentioned before the    
middle of the second century before     

,christ2 and if the ,kinas in the later 
,sanskrit literature are meant for      
,chinese1 which is doubtful1 it is      
important to observe that that name     
never occurs in ,vedic literature4#aci  
,when therefore the impossibility of so 
early a communication between ,china and
 ,india had at last been recognized1 a  
new theory was formed1 namely1 that the 
knowledge of ,chinese astronomy was not 
imported straight from ,china to ,india1
 but was carried1 together with the     
,chinese system of division of the      
heavens into twenty-eight mansions1 into
 ,western ,asia1 at a period not much   
later than #aajj ,b4,c41 and was then   
adopted by some ,western people1 either 
,semitic or ,iranian4 ,in their hands it
 was supposed to have received a new    
form1 such as adapted it to a ruder and 
less scientific method of observation1  
the limiting stars of the mansions being
 converted into zodiacal groups or      
constellations1 and in some instances   
altered in position1 so as to be brought

 nearer to the general planetary path of
 the ecliptic4 ,in this changed form1   
having become a means of roughly        
determining and describing the places   
and movements of the planets1 it was    
believed to have passed into the keeping
 of the ,hindus1 very probably along    
with the first knowledge of the planets 
themselves1 and entered upon an         
independent career of history in ,india4
 ,it still maintained itself in its old 
seat1 leaving its traces later in the   
,bundahash2 and made its way so far     
westward as finally to become known and 
adopted by the ,arabs4 ,with due respect
 for the astronomical knowledge of those
 who hold this view1 all ,i can say is  
that this is a novel1 and nothing but a 
novel1 without any facts to support it1 
and that the few facts which are known  
to us do not enable a careful reasoner  
to go beyond the conclusions stated many
 years ago by ,colebrooke1 that the     
,hindus had undoubtedly made some       
progress at an early period in the      

astronomy cultivated by them for the    
regulation of time4 ,their calendar1    
both civil and religious1 was governed  
chiefly1 not exclusively1 by the moon   
and the sun2 and the motions of these   
luminaries were carefully observed by   
them1 and with such success that their  
determination of the moon's synodical   
revolution1 which was what they were    
principally concerned with1 is a much   
more correct one than the ,greeks ever  
achieved4 ,they had a division of the   
ecliptic into twenty-seven and          
twenty-eight parts1 suggested evidently 
by the moon's period in days1 and       
seemingly their own2 it was certainly   
borrowed by the ,arabians4  ,there is   
one more argument which has been adduced
 in support of a ,babylonian1 or1 at all
 events1 a ,semitic influence to be     
discovered in ,vedic literature which we
 must shortly examine4 ,it refers to the
 story of the ,deluge4  ,that story1 as 
you know1 has been traced in the        
traditions of many races1 which could   

not well have borrowed it from one      
another2 and it was rather a surprise   
that no allusion even to a local deluge 
should occur in any of the ,vedic hymns1
 particularly as very elaborate accounts
 of different kinds of deluges are found
 in the later ,epic poems1 and in the   
still later ,puranas1 and form in fact a
 very familiar subject in the religious 
traditions of the people of ,india4     
,three of the ,avataras or incarnations 
of ,vishnu are connected with a deluge1 
that of the ,fish1 that of the          
,tortoise1 and that of the ,boar1       
,vishnu in each case rescuing mankind   
from destruction by water1 by assuming  
the form of a fish1 or a tortoise1 or a 
boar4  ,this being so1 it seemed a very 
natural conclusion to make that1 as     
there was no mention of a deluge in the 
most ancient literature of ,india1 that 
legend had penetrated into ,india from  
without at a later time4  ,when1        
however1 the ,vedic literature became   
more generally known1 stories of a      

deluge were discovered1 if not in the   
hymns1 at least in the prose writings1  
belonging to the second period1 commonly
 called the ,brahmana period4 ,not only 
the story of ,manu and the ,fish1 but   
the stories of the ,tortoise and of the 
,boar also1 were met with there in a    
more or less complete form1 and with    
this discovery the idea of a foreign    
importation lost much of its            
plausibility4 ,i shall read you at least
 one of these accounts of a ,deluge     
which is found in the ,satapatha        
,brahmana1 and you can then judge for   
yourselves whether the similarities     
between it and the account in ,genesis  
are really such as to require1 nay as to
 admit1 the hypothesis that the ,hindus 
borrowed their account of the ,deluge   
from their nearest ,semitic neighbors4  
,we read in the ,satapatha ,brahmana ,i4
 #h1 #a3      ,in the morning they      
brought water to ,manu for washing1 as  
they bring it even now for washing our  
hands4      ,while he was thus washing1 

a fish came into his hands4      #b4    
,the fish spoke this word to ,manu3     
',keep me1 and ,i shall     save thee4' 
,manu said3 ',from what wilt thou save  
me8'      ,the fish said3 ',a flood will
 carry away all these creatures1     and
 ,i shall save thee from it4'      ,manu
 said3 ',how canst thou be kept8'       
#c4 ,the fish said3 ',so long as we are 
small1 there is much     destruction for
 us1 for fish swallows fish4 ,keep me   
therefore     first in a jar4 ,when ,i  
outgrow that1 dig a hole and keep me    
in it4 ,when ,i outgrow that1 take me to
 the sea1 and ,i shall     then be      
beyond the reach of destruction4'       
#d4 ,he became soon a large fish        
7ghasha71 for such a fish     grows     
largest4 ,the fish said3 ',in such and  
such a year the     flood will come4    
,therefore when thou hast built a ship1 
thou     shalt meditate on me4 ,and when
 the flood has risen1 thou     shalt    
enter into the ship1 and ,i will save   
thee from the     flood4'      #e4      

,having thus kept the fish1 ,manu took  
him to the sea4 ,then     in the same   
year which the fish had pointed out1    
,manu1 having     built the ship1       
meditated on the fish4 ,and when the    
flood had     risen1 ,manu entered into 
the ship4 ,then the fish swam toward    
him1 and ,manu fastened the rope of the 
ship to the fish's     horn1 and he thus
 hastened toward#adj the ,northern      
,mountain4      #f4 ,the fish said3 ',i 
have saved thee2 bind the ship to a     
tree4 ,may the water not cut thee off1  
while thou art on the     mountain4 ,as 
the water subsides1 do thou gradually   
slide down     with it4' ,manu then slid
 down gradually with the water1 and     
therefore this is called 'the ,slope of 
,manu' on the ,northern     ,mountain4  
,now the flood had carried away all     
these creatures1     and thus ,manu was 
left there alone4      #g4 ,then ,manu  
went about singing praises and toiling1 
wishing     for offspring4 ,and he      
sacrificed there also with a            

,paka-sacrifice4 ,he poured clarified   
butter1 thickened milk1     whey1 and   
curds in the water as a libation4 ,in   
one year a     woman arose from it4 ,she
 came forth as if dripping1 and         
clarified butter gathered on her step4  
,mitra and ,varuna     came to meet her4
      #h4 ,they said to her3 ',who art  
thou8' ,she said3 ',the daughter     of 
,manu4' ,they rejoined3 ',say that thou 
art ours4' ',no1' she     said1 'he who 
has begotten me1 his ,i am4'      ,then 
they wished her to be their sister1 and 
she half agreed     and half did not    
agree1 but went away1 and came to ,manu4
      #i4 ,manu said to her3 ',who art  
thou8' ,she said3 ',i am thy            
daughter4' ',how1 lady1 art thou my     
daughter8' he asked4      ,she replied3 
',the libations which thou hast poured  
into the     water1 clarified butter1   
thickened milk1 whey and curds1 by      
them thou hast begotten me4 ,i am a     
benediction--perform 7me7     this      
benediction at the sacrifices4 ,if thou 

perform 7me7 it     at the sacrifice1   
thou wilt be rich in offspring and      
cattle4     ,and whatever blessing thou 
wilt ask by me1 will always accrue      
to thee4' ,he therefore performed that  
benediction in the     middle of the    
sacrifice1 for the middle of the        
sacrifice is     that which comes       
between the introductory and the final  
offerings4      #aj4 ,then ,manu went   
about with her1 singing praises and     
toiling1 wishing for offspring4 ,and    
with her he begat that     offspring    
which is called the offspring of ,manu2 
and whatever     blessing he asked with 
her1 always accrued to him4 ,she is     
indeed ,ida1 and whosoever1 knowing     
this1 goes about     7sacrifices7 with  
,ida1 begets the same offspring which   
,manu     begat1 and whatever blessing  
he asks with her1 always accrues     to 
him4  ,this1 no doubt1 is the account of
 a deluge1 and ,manu acts in some       
respects the same part which is assigned
 to ,noah in the ,old ,testament4 ,but  

if there are similarities1 think of the 
dissimilarities1 and how they are to be 
explained4 ,it is quite clear that1 if  
this story was borrowed from a ,semitic 
source1 it was not borrowed from the    
,old ,testament1 for in that case it    
would really seem impossible to account 
for the differences between the two     
stories4 ,that it may have been         
borrowed#ada from some unknown ,semitic 
source cannot1 of course1 be disproved1 
because no tangible proof has ever been 
produced that would admit of being      
disproved4 ,but if it were1 it would be 
the only ,semitic loan in ancient       
,sanskrit literature--and that alone    
ought to make us pause6  ,the story of  
the boar and the tortoise too1 can be   
traced back to the ,vedic literature4   
,for we read in the ,taittiriya         
,samhita3#adb      ,at first this was   
water1 fluid4 ,pragapati1 the lord of   
creatures1 having become wind1 moved on 
it4 ,he saw this     earth1 and becoming
 a boar1 he took it up4 ,becoming       

,visvakarman1 the maker of all things1  
he cleaned it4 ,it     spread and became
 the widespread ,earth1 and this is why 
the     ,earth is called ,prithivi1 the 
widespread4  ,and we find in the        
,satapatha ,brahmana#adc the following  
slight allusion at least to the tortoise
 myth3      ,pragapati1 assuming the    
form of a tortoise 7,kurma71     brought
 forth all creatures4 ,in so far as he  
brought them     forth1 he made them    
7akarot71 and because he made them he   
was     7called7 tortoise 7,kurma74 ,a  
tortoise is 7called7 ,kasyapa1     and  
therefore all creatures are called      
,kasyapa1     tortoise-like4 ,he who was
 this tortoise 7,kurma7 was really      
,aditya 7the sun74  ,one other allusion 
to something like a deluge1#add         
important chiefly on account of the name
 of ,manu occurring in it1 has been     
pointed out in the ,kathaka 7,,xi4 #b71 
where this short sentence occurs3 ,the  
waters cleaned this1 ,manu alone        
remained4  ,all this shows that ideas of

 a deluge1 that is1 of a submersion of  
the earth by water and of its rescue    
through divine aid1 were not altogether 
unknown in the early traditions of      
,india1 while in later times they were  
embodied in several of the ,avataras of 
,vishnu4  ,when we examine the numerous 
accounts of a deluge among different    
nations in almost every part of the     
world1 we can easily perceive that they 
do not refer to one single historical   
event1 but to a natural phenomenon      
repeated every year1 namely1 the deluge 
or flood of the rainy season or the     
winter4#ade  ,this is nowhere clearer   
than in ,babylon4 ,sir ,henry ,rawlinson
 was the first to point out that the    
twelve cantos of the poem of ,izdubar or
 ,nimrod refer to the twelve months of  
the year and the twelve representative  
signs of the ,zodiac4 ,dr4 ,haupt       
afterward pointed out that ,eabani1 the 
wise bull-man in the second canto1      
corresponds to the second month1 ,ijjar1
 ,april-,may1 represented in the ,zodiac

 by the bull2 that the union between    
,eabani and ,nimrod in the third canto  
corresponds to the third month1 ,sivan1 
,may-,june1 represented in the ,zodiac  
by the twins2 that the sickness of      
,nimrod in the seventh canto corresponds
 to the seventh month1 ,tishri1         
,september-,october1 when the sun begins
 to wane2 and that the flood in the     
eleventh canto corresponds to the       
eleventh month1 ,shabatu1 dedicated to  
the storm-god ,rimmon1#adf represented  
in the ,zodiac by the waterman4#adg  ,if
 that is so1 we have surely a right to  
claim the same natural origin for the   
story of the ,deluge in ,india which we 
are bound to admit in other countries4  
,and even if it could be proved that in 
the form in which these legends have    
reached us in ,india they show traces of
 foreign influences1#adh the fact would 
still remain that such influences have  
been perceived in comparatively modern  
treatises only1 and not in the ancient  
hymns of the ,rig-,veda4  ,other        

conjectures have been made with even    
less foundation than that which would   
place the ancient poets of ,india under 
the influence of ,babylon4 ,china has   
been appealed to1 nay even ,persia1     
,parthia1 and ,bactria1 countries beyond
 the reach of ,india at that early time 
of which we are here speaking1 and      
probably not even then consolidated into
 independent nations or kingdoms4 ,i    
only wonder that traces of the lost     
,jewish tribes have not been discovered 
in the ,vedas1 considering that         
,afghanistan has so often been pointed  
out as one of their favorite retreats4  
,after having thus carefully examined   
all the traces of supposed foreign      
influences that have been brought       
forward by various scholars1 ,i think ,i
 may say that there really is no trace  
whatever of any foreign influence in the
 language1 the religion1 or the         
ceremonial of the ancient ,vedic        
literature of ,india4 ,as it stands     
before us now1 so it has grown up1      

protected by the mountain ramparts in   
the north1 the ,indus and the ,desert in
 the west1 the ,indus or what was called
 the sea in the south1 and the ,ganges  
in the east4 ,it presents us with a     
home-grown poetry and a home-grown      
religion2 and history has preserved to  
us at least this one relic1 in order to 
teach us what the human mind can achieve
 if left to itself1 surrounded by a     
scenery and by conditions of life that  
might have made man's life on earth a   
paradise1 if man did not possess the    
strange art of turning even a paradise  
into a place of misery4#adi             
,,footnotes3  ,footnote #abg3 ,if we    
applied the name of literature to the   
cylinders of ,babylon and the papyri of 
,egypt1 we should have to admit that    
some of these documents are more ancient
 than any date we dare as yet assign to 
the hymns collected in the ten books of 
the ,rig-,veda4  ,footnote #abh3 ,a nah 
bhara vyanganam gam asvam abhyanganam   
,saka mana hiranyaya4  ,footnote #abi3  

,grassman translates1 ,zugleich mit     
goldenem ,geraeth2 ,ludwig1 ,zusammt mit
 goldenem ,zierrath2 ,zimmer1 ,und eine 
,mana gold4 ,the ,petersburg ,dictionary
 explains mana by ein bestimmtes        
,geraeth oder ,gewicht 7,gold74         
,footnote #acj3 ,according to ,dr4      
,haupt1 ,die ,sumerisch-akkadische      
,sprache1 p4 #bgb1 mana is an ,akkadian 
word4  ,footnote #aca3 ,according to the
 weights of the lions and ducks         
preserved in the ,british ,museum1 an   
,assyrian mina was  #ggdg grains4 ,the  
same difference is still preserved to   
the present day1 as the man of ,shiraz  
and ,bagdad is just double that of      
,tabraz and ,bushir1 the average of the 
former being #ad4j and that of the      
latter only #f4ihe4 ,see ,cunningham1   
,journal of the ,asiatic ,society1      
,calcutta1 #ahha1 p4 #afc4  ,footnote   
#acb3 ,preface to the fourth volume of  
my edition of the ,rig-,veda1 p4 li4    
,footnote #acc3 ,vaisvadevam on the     
full-moon of ,phalguna1 ,varunapraghasah

 on the full-moon of ,ashadha1          
,sakamedhah on the full-moon of         
,krittika1 see ,boehtlingk1 ,dictionary1
 s4 v4  ,footnote #acd3 ,see            
,vishnu-smriti1 ed4 ,jolly ,,lix4 #d2   
,aryabhata1 ,introduction4  ,footnote   
#ace3 ,see ,preface to vol4 iv4 of      
,rig-,veda1 p4 li4 7#ahfb74  ,footnote  
#acf3 ,see ,zimmer1 ,altindisches       
,leben1 pp4 #ceb-ceg4  ,footnote #acg3  
,l4 c4 p4 lxx4  ,footnote #ach3 ,see    
,zimmer1 ,altindisches ,leben1 p4 xlvii4
  ,footnote #aci3 ,in the ,mahabharata  
and elsewhere the ,kinas are mentioned  
among the ,dasyus or non-,aryan races in
 the north and in the east of ,india4   
,king ,bhagadatta is said to have had an
 army of ,kinas and ,kiratas17,b#a7 and 
the ,pandavas are said to reach the town
 of the ,king of the ,kulindas1 after   
having passed through the countries of  
,kinas1 ,tukharas1 and ,daradas4 ,all   
this is as vague as ethnological        
indications generally are in the late   
epic poetry of ,india4 ,the only        

possibly real element is that ,kirata   
and ,kina soldiers are called kankana1  
gold or yellow colored17,b#b7 and       
compared to a forest of ,karnikaras1    
which were trees with yellow            
flowers47,b#c7 ,in ,mahabh4 ,,vi4 #i1 v4
 #cgc1 vol4 ii41 p4 #cdd1 the ,kinas    
occur in company with ,kambogas and     
,yavanas1 which again conveys nothing   
definite4  ,b#a3 ,lassen1 i4 p4 #ajbi2  
,mahabh4 ,,iii4 #aag1 v4 #ab1cej2 vol4  
i4 p4 #fai4  ,b#b3 ,mahabh4 ,v4 #ah1 v4 
#ehd2 vol4 ii4 p4 #ajf4  ,b#c3 ,see     
,vakaspatya s4 v42 ,kaskit              
,karnikaragaurah4  ,chinese scholars    
tell us that the name of ,china is of   
modern origin1 and only dates from the  
,thsin dynasty or from the famous       
,emperor ,shi hoang-ti1 #bdg ,b4,c4 ,but
 the name itself1 though in a more      
restricted sense1 occurs in earlier     
documents1 and may1 as ,lassen          
thinks17,b#d7 have become known to the  
,western neighbors of ,china4 ,it is    
certainly strange that the ,sinim too1  

mentioned in ,isaiah xlix4 #ab1 have    
been taken by the old commentators for  
people of ,china1 visiting ,babylon as  
merchants and travellers4  ,b#d3        
,lassen1 vol4 i4 p4 #ajbi1 n4 #b4       
,footnote #adj3 ,i prefer now the       
reading of the ,kanva-sakha1            
abhidudrava1 instead of atidudrava or   
adhidudrava of the other ,,mss4 ,see    
,weber1 ,ind4 ,streifen1 i4 p4 #aa4     
,footnote #ada3 ,it is not necessary to 
establish literary borrowing2 for on the
 theory of ,bible inspiration and       
trustworthiness we must assume that the 
,aryans as well as the ,semites were    
saved in the ark4 ,the story of a flood 
supports the story of the flood to a    
certain extent4--,,am4 ,,pubs4          
,footnote #adb3 ,,vii4 #a1 #e1 #a seq42 
,muir1 i4 p4 #eb2 ,colebrooke1 ,essays1 
i4 #ge4  ,footnote #adc3 ,,vii4 #e1 #a1 
#e2 ,muir1 ,original ,sanskrit ,texts1  
i4 p4 #ed4  ,footnote #add3 ,weber1     
,indische ,streifen1 i4 p4 #aa4         
,footnote #ade3 ,see ,lecture ,v4 p4    

#agb4  ,footnote #adf3 ,more accurately 
,ramanu1 the ,vul or storm-god of       
,george ,smith2 and the god of the ,mind
 and higher intellect at ,babylon4 ,his 
arcane name is said to have been ,yav1  
,hebrew3 ,,yhwh or ,greek3 ,iao4--,a4   
,w4  ,footnote #adg3 ,see ,haupt1 ,der  
,keilinschriftliche ,sintfluthbericht1  
#ahha1 p4 #aj4  ,footnote #adh3 ,see ,m4
 ,m41 ,genesis and ,avesta 7,german     
translation71 i4 p4 #adh4  ,footnote    
#adi3 ,no one is more competent than the
 learned author to give a verdict on all
 the evidence which has been gathered2  
but we are only at the beginning of     
research into the intercourse of mankind
 in remote times1 and much that was once
 thought home-grown has already been    
traced to distant points4 ,it is in the 
general line of progress in research    
that more evidence may be expected to   
connect ,vedic thought with other       
cultures4--,,am4 ,,pubs4     ,,lecture  
,v4  ,,the ,,lessons ,,of ,,the ,,veda4 
,although there is hardly any department

 of learning which has not received new 
light and new life from the ancient     
literature of ,india1 yet nowhere is the
 light that comes to us from ,india so  
important1 so novel1 and so rich as in  
the study of religion and mythology4 ,it
 is to this subject therefore that ,i   
mean to devote the remaining lectures of
 this course4 ,i do so1 partly because  
,i feel myself most at home in that     
ancient world of ,vedic literature in   
which the germs of ,aryan religion have 
to be studied1 partly because ,i believe
 that for a proper understanding of the 
deepest convictions1 or1 if you like1   
the strongest prejudices of the modern  
,hindus1 nothing is so useful as a      
knowledge of the ,veda4 ,it is perfectly
 true that nothing would give a falser  
impression of the actual ,brahmanical   
religion than the ancient ,vedic        
literature1 supposing we were to imagine
 that three thousand years could have   
passed over ,india without producing any
 change4 ,such a mistake would be nearly

 as absurd as to deny any difference    
between the ,vedic ,sanskrit and the    
spoken ,bengali4 ,but no one will gain a
 scholarlike knowledge or a true insight
 into the secret springs of ,bengali who
 is ignorant of the grammar of          
,sanskrit2 and no one will ever         
understand the present religious1       
philosophical1 legal1 and social        
opinions of the ,hindus who is unable to
 trace them back to their true sources  
in the ,veda4  ,i still remember how1   
many years ago1 when ,i began to publish
 for the first time the text and the    
commentary of the ,rig-,veda1 it was    
argued by a certain1 perhaps not quite  
disinterested party1 that the ,veda was 
perfectly useless2 that no man in       
,india1 however learned1 could read it1 
and that it was of no use either for    
missionaries or for any one else who    
wished to study and to influence the    
native mind4 ,it was said that we ought 
to study the later ,sanskrit1 the ,laws 
of ,manu1 the epic poems1 and1 more     

particularly1 the ,puranas4 ,the ,veda  
might do very well for ,german students1
 but not for ,englishmen4  ,there was no
 excuse for such ignorant assertions    
even thirty years ago1 for in these very
 books1 in the ,laws of ,manu1 in the   
,mahabharata1 and in the ,puranas1 the  
,veda is everywhere proclaimed as the   
highest authority in all matters of     
religion4#aej ,a ,brahman1 says ,manu1  
unlearned in holy writ1 is extinguished 
in an instant like dry grass on fire4 ,a
 twice-born man 7that is1 a ,brahmana1 a
 ,kshatriya1 and a ,vaisya7 not having  
studied the ,veda1 soon falls1 even when
 living1 to the condition of a ,sudra1  
and his descendants after him4  ,how far
 this license of ignorant assertion may 
be carried is shown by the same         
authorities who denied the importance of
 the ,veda for a historical study of    
,indian thought1 boldly charging those  
wily priests1 the ,brahmans1 with having
 withheld their sacred literature from  
any but their own caste4 ,now1 so far   

from withholding it1 the ,brahmans have 
always been striving1 and often striving
 in vain1 to make the study of their    
sacred literature obligatory on all     
castes except the ,sudras1 and the      
passages just quoted from ,manu show    
what penalties were threatened if       
children of the second and third castes1
 the ,kshatriyas and ,vaisyas1 were not 
instructed in the sacred literature of  
the ,brahmans4  ,at present the         
,brahmans themselves have spoken1 and   
the reception they have accorded to my  
edition of the ,rig-,veda#aea and its   
native commentary1 the zeal with which  
they have themselves taken up the study 
of ,vedic literature1 and the           
earnestness with which different sects  
are still discussing the proper use that
 should be made of their ancient        
religious writings1 show abundantly that
 a ,sanskrit scholar ignorant of1 or1 ,i
 should rather say1 determined to ignore
 the ,veda1 would be not much better    
than a ,hebrew scholar ignorant of the  

,old ,testament4  ,i shall now proceed  
to give you some characteristic         
specimens of the religion and poetry of 
the ,rig-,veda4 ,they can only be few1  
and as there is nothing like system or  
unity of plan in that collection of     
#ajag hymns1 which we call the ,samhita 
of the ,rig-,veda1 ,i cannot promise    
that they will give you a complete      
panoramic view of that intellectual     
world in which our ,vedic ancestors     
passed their life on earth4  ,i could   
not even answer the question1 if you    
were to ask it whether the religion of  
the ,veda was polytheistic or           
monotheistic4 ,monotheistic1 in the     
usual sense of that word1 it is         
decidedly not1 though there are hymns   
that assert the unity of the ,divine as 
fearlessly as any passage of the ,old   
,testament1 or the ,new ,testament1 or  
the ,koran4 ,thus one poet says         
7,rig-,veda ,i4 #afd1 #df73 ,that which 
is one1 sages name it in various        
ways--they call it ,agni1 ,yama1        

,matarisvan4  ,another poet says3 ,the  
wise poets represent by their words ,him
 who is one with beautiful wings1 in    
many ways4#aeb  ,and again we hear of a 
being called ,hiranyagarbha1 the golden 
germ 7whatever the original of that name
 may have been71 of whom the poet       
says3#aec ,in the beginning there arose 
,hiranyagarbha2 he was the one born lord
 of all this4 ,he established the earth 
and this sky4 ,who is the god to whom we
 shall offer our sacrifice8 ,that       
,hiranyagarbha1 the poet says1 is alone 
,god above all gods 7yah deveshu adhi   
devah ekah asit7--an assertion of the   
unity of the ,divine which could hardly 
be exceeded in strength by any passage  
from the ,old ,testament4  ,but by the  
side of such passages1 which are few in 
number1 there are thousands in which    
ever so many divine beings are praised  
and prayed to4 ,even their number is    
sometimes given as thrice eleven#aed or 
thirty-three1 and one poet assigns      
eleven gods to the sky1 eleven to the   

earth1 and eleven to the waters1#aee the
 waters here intended being those of the
 atmosphere and the clouds4 ,these      
thirty-three gods have even wives       
apportioned to them1#aef though few of  
these only have as yet attained to the  
honor of a name4#aeg  ,these            
thirty-three gods1 however1 by no means 
include all the ,vedic gods1 for such   
important deities as ,agni1 the fire1   
,soma1 the rain1 the ,maruts or         
,storm-gods1 the ,asvins1 the gods of   
,morning and ,evening1 the ,waters1 the 
,dawn1 the ,sun are mentioned           
separately2 and there are not wanting   
passages in which the poet is carried   
away into exaggerations1 till he        
proclaims the number of his gods to be1 
not only thirty-three1 but three        
thousand three hundred and              
thirty-nine4#aeh  ,if therefore there   
must be a name for the religion of the  
,rig-,veda1 polytheism would seem at    
first sight the most appropriate4       
,polytheism1 however1 has assumed with  

us a meaning which renders it totally   
inapplicable to the ,vedic religion4    
,our ideas of polytheism being chiefly  
derived from ,greece and ,rome1 we      
understand by it a certain more or less 
organized system of gods1 different in  
power and rank1 and all subordinate to a
 supreme ,god1 a ,zeus or ,jupiter4 ,the
 ,vedic polytheism differs from the     
,greek and ,roman polytheism1 and1 ,i   
may add1 likewise from the polytheism of
 the ,ural-,altaic1 the ,polynesian1 the
 ,american1 and most of the ,african    
races1 in the same manner as a          
confederacy of village communities      
differs from a monarchy4 ,there are     
traces of an earlier stage of           
village-community life to be discovered 
in the later republican and monarchical 
constitutions1 and in the same manner   
nothing can be clearer1 particularly in 
,greece1 than that the monarchy of ,zeus
 was preceded by what may be called the 
septarchy of several of the great gods  
of ,greece4 ,the same remark applies to 

the mythology of the ,teutonic nations  
also4#aei ,in the ,veda1 however1 the   
gods worshipped as supreme by each sept 
stand still side by side4 ,no one is    
first always1 no one is last always4    
,even gods of a decidedly inferior and  
limited character assume occasionally in
 the eyes of a devoted poet a supreme   
place above all other gods4#afj ,it was 
necessary1 therefore1 for the purpose of
 accurate reasoning1 to have a name1    
different from polytheism1 to signify   
this worship of single gods1 each       
occupying for a time a supreme position1
 and ,i proposed for it the name of     
,kathenotheism1 that is1 a worship of   
one god after another1 or of            
,henotheism1 the worship of single gods4
 ,this shorter name of ,henotheism has  
found more general acceptance1 as       
conveying more definitely the opposition
 between ,monotheism1 the worship of one
 only ,god1 and ,henotheism1 the worship
 of single gods2 and1 if but properly   
defined1 it will answer its purpose very

 well4 ,however1 in researches of this  
kind we cannot be too much on our guard 
against technical terms4 ,they are      
inevitable1 ,i know2 but they are almost
 always misleading4 ,there is1 for      
instance1 a hymn addressed to the ,indus
 and the rivers that fall into it1 of   
which ,i hope to read you a translation1
 because it determines very accurately  
the geographical scene on which the     
poets of the ,veda passed their life4   
,now native scholars call these rivers d
 e v a t a s or deities1 and ,european  
translators too speak of them as gods   
and goddesses4 ,but in the language used
 by the poet with regard to the ,indus  
and the other rivers1 there is nothing  
to justify us in saying that he         
considered these rivers as gods and     
goddesses1 unless we mean by gods and   
goddesses something very different from 
what the ,greeks called ,river-gods and 
,river-goddesses1 ,nymphs1 ,najades1 or 
even ,muses4  ,and what applies to these
 rivers applies more or less to all the 

objects of ,vedic worship4 ,they all are
 still oscillating between what is seen 
by the senses1 what is created by fancy1
 and what is postulated by the          
understanding2 they are things1 persons1
 causes1 according to the varying       
disposition of the poets2 and if we call
 them gods or goddesses1 we must        
remember the remark of an ancient native
 theologian1 who reminds us that by d e 
v a t a or deity he means no more than  
the object celebrated in a hymn1 while  
,r i s h i or seer means no more than   
the subject or the author of a hymn4    
,it is difficult to treat of the        
so-called gods celebrated in the ,veda  
according to any system1 for the simple 
reason that the concepts of these gods  
and the hymns addressed to them sprang  
up spontaneously and without any        
pre-established plan4 ,it is best       
perhaps for our purpose to follow an    
ancient ,brahmanical writer1 who is     
supposed to have lived about #djj ,b4,c4
 ,he tells us of students of the ,veda1 

before his time1 who admitted three     
deities only1 viz41 ,a g n i or fire1   
whose place is on the earth2 ,v a y u or
 ,i n d r a1 the wind and the god of the
 thunderstorm1 whose place is in the    
air2 and ,s u r y a1 the sun1 whose     
place is in the sky4 ,these deities1    
they maintained1 received severally many
 appellations1 in consequence of their  
greatness1 or of the diversity of their 
functions1 just as a priest1 according  
to the functions which he performs at   
various sacrifices1 receives various    
names4  ,this is one view of the ,vedic 
gods1 and1 though too narrow1 it cannot 
be denied that there is some truth in   
it4 ,a very useful division of the      
,vedic gods might be made1 and has been 
made by ,yaska1 into terrestrial1       
aerial1 and celestial1 and if the old   
,hindu theologians meant no more than   
that all the manifestations of divine   
power in nature might be traced back to 
three centres of force1 one in the sky1 
one in the air1 and one on the earth1 he

 deserves great credit for his sagacity4
  ,but he himself perceived evidently   
that this generalization was not quite  
applicable to all the gods1 and he goes 
on to say3 ,or1 it may be1 these gods   
are all distinct beings1 for the praises
 addressed to them are distinct1 and    
their appellations also4 ,this is quite 
right4 ,it is the very object of most of
 these divine names to impart distinct  
individuality to the manifestations of  
the powers of nature2 and though the    
philosopher or the inspired poet might  
perceive that these numerous names were 
but names1 while that which was named   
was one and one only1 this was certainly
 not the idea of most of the ,vedic     
,rishis themselves1 still less of the   
people who listened to their songs at   
fairs and festivals4 ,it is the peculiar
 character of that phase of religious   
thought which we have to study in the   
,veda1 that in it the ,divine is        
conceived and represented as manifold1  
and that many functions are shared in   

common by various gods1 no attempt      
having yet been made at organizing the  
whole body of the gods1 sharply         
separating one from the other1 and      
subordinating all of them to several or1
 in the end1 to one supreme head4       
,availing ourselves of the division of  
the ,vedic gods into terrestrial1       
aerial1 and celestial1 as proposed by   
some of the earliest ,indian            
theologians1 we should have to begin    
with the gods connected with the earth4 
,before we examine them1 however1 we    
have first to consider one of the       
earliest objects of worship and         
adoration1 namely ,earth and ,heaven1 or
 ,heaven and ,earth1 conceived as a     
divine couple4 ,not only in ,india1 but 
among many other nations1 both savage1  
half-savage1 or civilized1 we meet with 
,heaven and ,earth as one of the        
earliest objects1 pondered on1          
transfigured1 and animated by the early 
poets1 and more or less clearly         
conceived by early philosophers4 ,it is 

surprising that it should be so1 for the
 conception of the ,earth as an         
independent being1 and of ,heaven as an 
independent being1 and then of both     
together as a divine couple embracing   
the whole universe1 requires a          
considerable effort of abstraction1 far 
more than the concepts of other divine  
powers1 such as the ,fire1 the ,rain1   
the ,lightning1 or the ,sun4  ,still so 
it is1 and as it may help us to         
understand the ideas about ,heaven and  
,earth1 as we find them in the ,veda1   
and show us at the same time the strong 
contrast between the mythology of the   
,aryans and that of real savages 7a     
contrast of great importance1 though ,i 
admit very difficult to explain71 ,i    
shall read you first some extracts from 
a book1 published by a friend of mine1  
the ,rev4 ,william ,wyatt ,gill1 for    
many years an active and most successful
 missionary in ,mangaia1 one of those   
,polynesian islands that form a girdle  
round one quarter of our globe1#afa and 

all share in the same language1 the same
 religion1 the same mythology1 and the  
same customs4 ,the book is called ,myths
 and ,songs from the ,south             
,pacific1#afb and it is full of interest
 to the student of mythology and        
religion4  ,the story1 as told him by   
the natives of ,mangaia1 runs as        
follows3#afc      ,the sky is built of  
solid blue stone4 ,at one time it almost
     touched the earth2 resting upon the
 stout broad leaves of the     t e v e  
7which attains the height of about six  
feet7 and the     delicate indigenous   
arrow-root 7whose slender stem rarely   
exceeds three feet74444 ,in this narrow 
space between earth     and sky the     
inhabitants of this world were pent up4 
,ru1 whose     usual residence was in   
,avaiki1 or the shades1 had come up for 
a time to this world of ours4 ,pitying  
the wretched confined     residence of  
the inhabitants1 he employed himself in 
endeavoring to raise the sky a little4  
,for this purpose he     cut a number of

 strong stakes of different kinds of    
trees1     and firmly planted them in   
the ground at ,rangimotia1 the          
centre of the island1 and with him the  
centre of the world4     ,this was a    
considerable improvement1 as mortals    
were thereby     enabled to stand erect 
and to walk about without               
inconvenience4 ,hence ,ru was named     
',the sky-supporter4'     ,wherefore    
,teka sings 7#agid73          ',force up
 the sky1 ,o ,ru1         ,and let the  
space be clear6'      ,one day when the 
old man was surveying his work1 his     
graceless son ,maui contemptuously asked
 him what he was doing     there4 ,ru   
replied3 ',who told youngsters to talk8 
,take care of     yourself1 or ,i will  
hurl you out of existence4'      ',do   
it1 then1' shouted ,maui4      ,ru was  
as good as his word1 and forthwith      
seized ,maui1 who     was small of      
stature1 and threw him to a great       
height4 ,in     falling ,maui assumed   
the form of a bird1 and lightly touched 

the ground1 perfectly unharmed4 ,maui1  
now thirsting for     revenge1 in a     
moment resumed his natural form1 but    
exaggerated to gigantic proportions1 and
 ran to his father1     saying3         
',ru1 who supportest the many heavens1  
,the third1 even to the highest1        
ascend6'      ,inserting his head       
between the old man's legs1 he exerted  
all     his prodigious strength1 and    
hurled poor ,ru1 sky and all1 to     a  
tremendous height--so high1 indeed1 that
 the blue sky could     never get back  
again4 ,unluckily1 however1 for the     
sky-supporting ,ru1 his head and        
shoulders got entangled among     the   
stars4 ,he struggled hard1 but          
fruitlessly1 to extricate     himself4  
,maui walked off well pleased with      
having raised the     sky to its present
 height1 but left half his father's body
     and both his legs ingloriously     
suspended between heaven and     earth4 
,thus perished ,ru4 ,his body rotted    
away1 and his bones     came tumbling   

down from time to time1 and were        
shivered on     the earth into countless
 fragments4 ,these shivered bones of    
,ru are scattered over every hill and   
valley of ,mangaia1 to     the very edge
 of the sea4  ,what the natives call the
 bones of ,ru 7t e  i v i o  ,r u7 are  
pieces of pumice-stone4  ,now let us    
consider1 first of all1 whether this    
story1 which with slight variations is  
told all over the ,polynesian           
islands1#afd is pure nonsense1 or       
whether there was originally some sense 
in it4 ,my conviction is that nonsense  
is everywhere the child of sense1 only  
that unfortunately many children1 like  
that youngster ,maui1 consider          
themselves much wiser than their        
fathers1 and occasionally succeed in    
hurling them out of existence4  ,it is a
 peculiarity of many of the ancient     
myths that they represent events which  
happen every day1 or every year1 as     
having happened once upon a time4#afe   
,the daily battle between day and night1

 the yearly battle between winter and   
spring1 are represented almost like     
historical events1 and some of the      
episodes and touches belonging          
originally to these constant battles of 
nature1 have certainly been transferred 
into and mixed up with battles that took
 place at a certain time1 such as1 for  
instance1 the siege of ,troy4 ,when     
historical recollections failed1        
legendary accounts of the ancient       
battles between ,night and ,morning1    
,winter and ,spring1 were always at     
hand2 and1 as in modern times we        
constantly hear good stories1 which we  
have known from our childhood1 told     
again and again of any man whom they    
seem to fit1 in the same manner1 in     
ancient times1 any act of prowess1 or   
daring1 or mischief1 originally told of 
the sun1 the orient ,conqueror of gloomy
 ,night1 was readily transferred to and 
believed of any local hero who might    
seem to be a second ,jupiter1 or ,mars1 
or ,hercules4  ,i have little doubt     

therefore that as the accounts of a     
deluge1 for instance1 which we find     
almost everywhere1 are originally       
recollections of the annual torrents of 
rain or snow that covered the little    
worlds within the ken of the ancient    
village-bards1#aff this tearing asunder 
of heaven and earth too was originally  
no more than a description of what might
 be seen every morning4 ,during a dark  
night the sky seemed to cover the earth2
 the two seemed to be one1 and could not
 be distinguished one from the          
other4#afg ,then came the ,dawn1 which  
with its bright rays lifted the covering
 of the dark night to a certain point1  
till at last ,maui appeared1 small in   
stature1 a mere child1 that is1 the sun 
of the morning--thrown up suddenly1 as  
it were1 when his first rays shot       
through the sky from beneath the        
horizon1 then falling back to the earth1
 like a bird1 and rising in gigantic    
form on the morning sky4 ,the dawn now  
was hurled away1 and the sky was seen   

lifted high above the earth2 and ,maui1 
the sun1 marched on well pleased with   
having raised the sky to its present    
height4  ,why pumice-stone should be    
called the bones of ,ru1 we cannot tell1
 without knowing a great deal more of   
the language of ,mangaia than we do at  
present4 ,it is most likely an          
independent saying1 and was afterward   
united with the story of ,ru and ,maui4 
,now ,i must quote at least a few       
extracts from a ,maori legend as written
 down by ,judge ,manning3#afh           
,this is the ,genesis of the ,new       
,zealanders3       ,the ,heavens which  
are above us1 and the ,earth which lies 
beneath us1 are the progenitors of men1 
and the origin of      all things4      
,formerly the ,heaven lay upon the      
,earth1 and all was      darkness4444   
,and the children of ,heaven and ,earth 
sought to discover the      difference  
between light and darkness1 between day 
and      night4444       ,so the sons of
 ,rangi 7,heaven7 and of ,papa 7,earth7 

consulted      together1 and said1 ',let
 us seek means whereby to destroy       
,heaven and ,earth1 or to separate them 
from each other4'       ,then said      
,tumatauenga 7the ,god of ,war71 ',let  
us destroy      them both4'       ,then 
said ,tane-,mahuta 7the ,forest ,god71  
',not so2 let them      be separated4   
,let one of them go upward and become a 
stranger to us2 let the other remain    
below and be a parent      for us4'     
,then four of the gods tried to separate
 ,heaven and ,earth1      but did not   
succeed1 while the fifth1 ,tane1        
succeeded4       ,after ,heaven and     
,earth had been separated1 great storms 
arose1 or1 as the poet expresses it1 one
 of their sons1      ,tawhiri-,matea1   
the god of the winds1 tried to revenge  
the      outrage committed on his       
parents by his brothers4 ,then          
follow dismal dusky days1 and dripping  
chilly skies1 and      arid scorching   
blasts4 ,all the gods fight1 till at    
last ,tu      only remains1 the god of  

war1 who had devoured all his           
brothers1 except the ,storm4 ,more      
fights follow1 in which the      greater
 part of the earth was overwhelmed by   
the waters1 and      but a small portion
 remained dry4 ,after that1 light       
continued to increase1 and as the light 
increased1 so also      the people who  
had been hidden between ,heaven and     
,earth      increased4444 ,and so       
generation was added to generation      
down to the time of ,maui-,potiki1 he   
who brought death into      the world4  
,now in these latter days ,heaven       
remains far removed from      his wife1 
the ,earth2 but the love of the wife    
rises upward      in sighs toward her   
husband4 ,these are the mists which fly 
upward from the mountain-tops2 and the  
tears of ,heaven fall      downward on  
his wife2 behold the dew-drops6  ,so far
 the ,maori ,genesis4  ,let us now      
return to the ,veda1 and compare these  
crude and somewhat grotesque legends    
with the language of the ancient ,aryan 

poets4 ,in the hymns of the ,rig-,veda  
the separating and keeping apart of     
,heaven and ,earth is several times     
alluded to1 and here too it is          
represented as the work of the most     
valiant gods4 ,in ,i4 #fg1 #c it is     
,agni1 fire1 who holds the earth and    
supports the heaven2 in ,x4 #hi1 #d it  
is ,indra who keeps them apart2 in ,,ix4
 #aja1 #ae ,soma is celebrated for the  
same deed1 and in ,,iii4 #ca1 #ab other 
gods too share the same honor4#afi  ,in 
the ,aitareya ,brahmana we read3#agj    
,these two worlds 7,heaven and ,earth7  
were once joined together4 ,they went   
asunder4 ,then it did not rain1 nor did 
the sun shine4 ,and the five tribes did 
not agree with one another4 ,the gods   
then brought the two 7,heaven and       
,earth7 together1 and when they came    
together they formed a wedding of the   
gods4  ,here we have in a shorter form  
the same fundamental ideas3 first1 that 
formerly ,heaven and ,earth were        
together2 that afterward they were      

separated2 that when they were thus     
separated there was war throughout      
nature1 and neither rain nor sunshine2  
that1 lastly1 ,heaven and ,earth were   
conciliated1 and that then a great      
wedding took place4  ,now ,i need hardly
 remind those who are acquainted with   
,greek and ,roman literature1 how       
familiar these and similar conceptions  
about a marriage between ,heaven and    
earth were in ,greece and ,italy4 ,they 
seem to possess there a more special    
reference to the annual reconciliation  
between ,heaven and ,earth1 which takes 
place in spring1 and to their former    
estrangement during winter4 ,but the    
first cosmological separation of the two
 always points to the want of light and 
the impossibility of distinction during 
the night1 and the gradual lifting up of
 the blue sky through the rising of the 
sun4#aga  ,in the ,homeric hymns#agb the
 ,earth is addressed as      ,mother of 
gods1 the wife of the starry            
,heaven2#agc  and the ,heaven or        

,a,ether is often called the father4    
,their marriage too is described1 as1   
for instance1 by ,euripides1 when he    
says3      ,there is the mighty ,earth1 
,jove's ,a,ether3       ,he 7the        
,a,ether7 is the creator of men and     
gods2     ,the earth receiving the moist
 drops of rain1             ,bears      
mortals1     ,bears food1 and the tribes
 of animals4       ,hence she is not    
unjustly regarded         ,as the mother
 of all4#agd  ,and what is more curious 
still is that we have evidence that     
,euripides received this doctrine from  
his teacher1 the philosopher            
,anaxagoras4 ,for ,dionysius of         
,halicarnassus#age tells us that        
,euripides frequented the lectures of   
,anaxagoras4 ,now1 it was the theory of 
that philosopher that originally all    
things were in all things1 but that     
afterward they became separated4        
,euripides later in life associated with
 ,sokrates1 and became doubtful         
regarding that theory4 ,he accordingly  

propounds the ancient doctrine by the   
mouth of another1 namely ,melanippe1 who
 says3      ,this saying 7myth7 is not  
mine1 but came from my mother1     that 
formerly ,heaven and ,earth were one    
shape2 but when they     were separated 
from each other1 they gave birth and    
brought     all things into the light1  
trees1 birds1 beasts1 and the     fishes
 whom the sea feeds1 and the race of    
mortals4  ,thus we have met with the    
same idea of the original union1 of a   
separation1 and of a subsequent reunion 
of ,heaven and ,earth in ,greece1 in    
,india1 and in the ,polynesian islands4 
,let us now see how the poets of the    
,veda address these two beings1 ,heaven 
and ,earth4  ,they are mostly addressed 
in the dual1 as two beings forming but  
one concept4 ,we meet1 however1 with    
verses which are addressed to the ,earth
 by herself1 and which speak of her as  
kind1 without thorns1 and pleasant to   
dwell on1#agf while there are clear     
traces in some of the hymns that at one 

time ,dyaus1 the sky1 was the supreme   
deity4#agg ,when invoked together they  
are called ,d y a v a - p r i t h i v y 
a u1 from d y u1 the sky1 and p r i t h 
i v i1 the broad earth4  ,if we examine 
their epithets1 we find that many of    
them reflect simply the physical aspects
 of ,heaven and ,earth4 ,thus they are  
called u r u1 wide2 u r u v y a k a s1  
widely expanded1 d u r e - a n t e1 with
 limits far apart1 g a b h i r a1 deep2 
g h r i t a v a t1 giving fat2 m a d h u
 d u g h a1 yielding honey or dew2 p a y
 a s v a t1 full of milk2 b h u r i - r 
e t a s1 rich in seed4  ,another class  
of epithets represents them already as  
endowed with certain human and          
superhuman qualities1 such as a s a s k 
a t1 never tiring1 a g a r a1 not       
decaying1 which brings us very near to  
immortal2 a d r u h1 not injuring1 or   
not deceiving1 p r a k e t a s1         
provident1 and then pita-mata1 father   
and mother1 devaputra1 having the gods  
for their sons1 r i t a - v r i d h and 

r i t a v a t1 protectors of the ,rita1 
of what is right1 guardians of eternal  
laws4  ,here you see what is so         
interesting in the ,veda1 the gradual   
advance from the material to the        
spiritual1 from the sensuous to the     
supersensuous1 from the human to the    
superhuman and the divine4 ,heaven and  
,earth were seen1 and1 according to our 
notions1 they might simply be classed as
 visible and finite beings4 ,but the    
ancient poets were more honest to       
themselves4 ,they could see ,heaven and 
,earth1 but they never saw them in their
 entirety4 ,they felt that there was    
something beyond the purely finite      
aspect of these beings1 and therefore   
they thought of them1 not as they would 
think of a stone1 or a tree1 or a dog1  
but as something not-finite1 not        
altogether visible or knowable1 yet as  
something important to themselves1      
powerful1 strong to bless1 but also     
strong to hurt4 ,whatever was between   
,heaven and ,earth seemed to be theirs1 

their property1 their realm1 their      
dominion4 ,they held and embraced all2  
they seemed to have produced all4 ,the  
,devas or bright beings1 the sun1 the   
dawn1 the fire1 the wind1 the rain1 were
 all theirs1 and were called therefore  
the offspring of ,heaven and ,earth4    
,thus ,heaven and ,earth became the     
,universal ,father and ,mother4  ,then  
we ask at once3 ,were then these ,heaven
 and ,earth gods8 ,but gods in what     
sense8 ,in our sense of ,god8 ,why1 in  
our sense1 ,god is altogether incapable 
of a plural4 ,then in the ,greek sense  
of the word8 ,no1 certainly not2 for    
what the ,greeks called gods was the    
result of an intellectual growth totally
 independent of the ,veda or of ,india4 
,we must never forget that what we call 
gods in ancient mythologies are not     
substantial1 living1 individual beings1 
of whom we can predicate this or that4  
,d e v a1 which we translate by god1 is 
nothing but an adjective1 expressive of 
a quality shared by heaven and earth1 by

 the sun and the stars and the dawn and 
the sea1 namely brightness2 and the idea
 of god1 at that early time1 contains   
neither more nor less than what is      
shared in common by all these bright    
beings4 ,that is to say1 the idea of god
 is not an idea ready-made1 which could 
be applied in its abstract purity to    
heaven and earth and other such like    
beings2 but it is an idea1 growing out  
of the concepts of heaven and earth and 
of the other bright beings1 slowly      
separating itself from them1 but never  
containing more than what was contained1
 though confusedly1 in the objects to   
which it was successively applied4  ,nor
 must it be supposed that heaven and    
earth1 having once been raised to the   
rank of undecaying or immortal beings1  
of divine parents1 of guardians of the  
laws1 were thus permanently settled in  
the religious consciousness of the      
people4 ,far from it4 ,when the ideas of
 other gods1 and of more active and more
 distinctly personal gods had been      

elaborated1 the ,vedic ,rishis asked    
without hesitation3 ,who then has made  
heaven and earth8 not exactly ,heaven   
and ,earth1 as conceived before1 but    
heaven and earth as seen every day1 as a
 part of what began to be called ,nature
 or the ,universe4  ,thus one poet      
says3#agh      ,he was indeed among the 
gods the cleverest workman who          
produced the two brilliant ones 7heaven 
and earth71 that     gladden all things2
 he who measured out the two bright ones
     7heaven and earth7 by his wisdom1  
and established them on     everlasting 
supports4  ,and again3#agi ,he was a    
good workman who produced heaven and    
earth2 the wise1 who by his might       
brought together these two 7heaven and  
earth71 the wide1 the deep1 the         
well-fashioned in the bottomless space4 
,very soon this great work of making    
heaven and earth was ascribed1 like     
other mighty works1 to the mightiest of 
their gods1 to ,indra4 ,at first we read
 that ,indra1 originally only a kind of 

,jupiter pluvius1 or god of rain1       
stretched out heaven and earth1 like a  
hide2#ahj that he held them in his      
hand1#aha that he upholds heaven and    
earth1#ahb and that he grants heaven and
 earth to his worshippers4#ahc ,but very
 soon ,indra is praised for having made 
,heaven and ,earth2#ahd and then1 when  
the poet remembers that ,heaven and     
,earth had been praised elsewhere as the
 parents of the gods1 and more          
especially as the parents of ,indra1 he 
does not hesitate for a moment1 but     
says3#ahe ,what poets living before us  
have reached the end of all thy         
greatness8 for thou hast indeed begotten
 thy father and thy mother together#ahf 
from thy own body6  ,that is a strong   
measure1 and a god who once could do    
that1 was no doubt capable of anything  
afterward4 ,the same idea1 namely that  
,indra is greater than heaven and earth1
 is expressed in a less outrageous way  
by another poet1 who says#ahg that      
,indra is greater than heaven and earth1

 and that both together are only a half 
of ,indra4 ,or again3#ahh ,the divine   
,dyaus bowed before ,indra1 before      
,indra the great ,earth bowed with her  
wide spaces4 ,at the birth of thy       
splendor ,dyaus trembled1 the ,earth    
trembled for fear of thy anger4#ahi     
,thus1 from one point of view1 ,heaven  
and ,earth were the greatest gods1 they 
were the parents of everything1 and     
therefore of the gods also1 such as     
,indra and others4  ,but1 from another  
point of view1 every god that was       
considered as supreme at one time or    
other1 must necessarily have made heaven
 and earth1 must at all events be       
greater than heaven and earth1 and thus 
the child became greater than the       
father1 ay1 became the father of his    
father4 ,indra was not the only god that
 created heaven and earth4 ,in one      
hymn#aij that creation is ascribed to   
,soma and ,pushan1 by no means very     
prominent characters2 in another#aia to 
,hiranyagarbha 7the golden germ72 in    

another again to a god who is simply    
called ,dhatri1 the ,creator1#aib or    
,visvakarman1#aic the maker of all      
things4 ,other gods1 such as ,mitra and 
,savitri1 names of the sun1 are praised 
for upholding ,heaven and ,earth1 and   
the same task is sometimes performed by 
the old god ,varuna#aid also4  ,what ,i 
wish you to observe in all this is the  
perfect freedom with which these        
so-called gods or ,devas are handled1   
and particularly the ease and           
naturalness with which now the one1 now 
the other emerges as supreme out of this
 chaotic theogony4 ,this is the peculiar
 character of the ancient ,vedic        
religion1 totally different both from   
the ,polytheism and from the ,monotheism
 as we see it in the ,greek and the     
,jewish religions2 and if the ,veda had 
taught us nothing else but this         
henotheistic phase1 which must          
everywhere have preceded the more       
highly-organized phase of ,polytheism   
which we see in ,greece1 in ,rome1 and  

elsewhere1 the study of the ,veda would 
not have been in vain4  ,it may be quite
 true that the poetry of the ,veda is   
neither beautiful1 in our sense of the  
word1 nor very profound2 but it is      
instructive4 ,when we see those two     
giant spectres of ,heaven and ,earth on 
the background of the ,vedic religion1  
exerting their influence for a time1 and
 then vanishing before the light of     
younger and more active gods1 we learn a
 lesson which it is well to learn1 and  
which we can hardly learn anywhere      
else--the lesson how gods were made and 
unmade--how the ,beyond or the ,infinite
 was named by different names in order  
to bring it near to the mind of man1 to 
make it for a time comprehensible1      
until1 when name after name had proved  
of no avail1 a nameless ,god was felt to
 answer best the restless cravings of   
the human heart4  ,i shall next         
translate to you the hymn to which ,i   
referred before as addressed to the     
,rivers4 ,if the ,rivers are to be      

called deities at all1 they belong to   
the class of terrestrial deities4 ,but  
the reason why ,i single out this hymn  
is not so much because it throws new    
light on the theogonic process1 but     
because it may help to impart some      
reality to the vague conceptions which  
we form to ourselves of the ancient     
,vedic poets and their surroundings4    
,the rivers invoked are1 as we shall    
see1 the real rivers of the ,punjab1 and
 the poem shows a much wider            
geographical horizon than we should     
expect from a mere village-bard4#aie    
#a4 ,let the poet declare1 ,o ,waters1  
your exceeding greatness1     here in   
the seat of ,vivasvat4#aif ,by seven and
 seven they     have come forth in three
 courses1 but the ,sindhu 7the ,indus7  
exceeds all the other wandering rivers  
by her strength4      #b4 ,varuna dug   
out paths for thee to walk on1 when thou
     rannest to the race4#aig ,thou     
proceedest on a precipitous     ridge of
 the earth1 when thou art lord in the   

van of all the     moving streams4      
#c4 ,the sound rises up to heaven above 
the earth2 she stirs     up with        
splendor her endless power4#aih ,as from
 a cloud1 the     showers thunder forth1
 when the ,sindhu comes1 roaring like a 
bull4      #d4 ,to thee1 ,o ,sindhu1    
they 7the other rivers7 come as lowing  
mother-cows 7run7 to their young with   
their milk4#aii ,like a     king in     
battle thou leadest the two wings1 when 
thou reachest     the front of these    
down-rushing rivers4      #e4 ,accept1  
,o ,ganga 7,ganges71 ,yamuna 7,jumna71  
,sarasvati     7,sursuti71 ,sutudri     
7,sutlej71 ,parushni 7,iravati1 ,ravi71 
my praise6#bjj ,with the ,asikni        
7,akesines7 listen1 ,o                  
,marudvridha1#bja and with the ,vitasta 
7,hydaspes1 ,behat72 ,o                 
,argikiya1#bjb listen with the          
,sushoma4#bjc      #f4 ,first thou goest
 united with the ,trishtama on thy      
journey1 with the ,susartu1 the ,rasa   
7,ramha1 ,araxes8#bjd71     and the     

,sveti--,o ,sindhu1 with the ,kubha     
7,kophen1 ,cabul     river7 to the      
,gomati 7,gomal71 with the ,mehatnu to  
the ,krumu     7,kurum7--with whom thou 
proceedest together4      #g4           
,sparkling1 bright1 with mighty splendor
 she carries the     waters across the  
plains--the unconquered ,sindhu1 the    
quickest of the quick1 like a beautiful 
mare--a sight to see4      #h4 ,rich in 
horses1 in chariots1 in garments1 in    
gold1 in     booty1#bje in wool1#bjf and
 in straw1#bjg the ,sindhu1     handsome
 and young1 clothes herself in sweet    
flowers4#bjh      #i4 ,the ,sindhu has  
yoked her easy chariot with horses2 may 
she conquer prizes for us in the race4  
,the greatness of her     chariot is    
praised as truly great--that chariot    
which is     irresistible1 which has its
 own glory1 and abundant                
strength4#bji  ,this hymn does not sound
 perhaps very poetical1 in our sense of 
the word2 yet if you will try to realize
 the thoughts of the poet who composed  

it1 you will perceive that it is not    
without some bold and powerful          
conceptions4  ,take the modern peasants1
 living in their villages by the side of
 the ,thames1 and you must admit that he
 would be a remarkable man who could    
bring himself to look on the ,thames as 
a kind of a general1 riding at the head 
of many ,english rivers1 and leading    
them on to a race or a battle4 ,yet it  
is easier to travel in ,england1 and to 
gain a commanding view of the           
river-system of the country1 than it was
 three thousand years ago to travel over
 ,india1 even over that part of ,india  
which the poet of our hymn commands4 ,he
 takes in at one swoop three great      
river-systems1 or1 as he calls them1    
three great armies of rivers--those     
flowing from the north-west into the    
,indus1 those joining it from the       
north-east1 and1 in the distance1 the   
,ganges and the ,jumnah with their      
tributaries4 ,look on the map and you   
will see how well these three armies are

 determined2 but our poet had no map--he
 had nothing but high mountains and     
sharp eyes to carry out his             
trigonometrical survey4 ,now ,i call a  
man1 who for the first time could see   
those three marching armies of rivers1 a
 poet4  ,the next thing that strikes one
 in that hymn--if hymn we must call     
it--is the fact that all these rivers1  
large and small1 have their own proper  
names4 ,that shows a considerable       
advance in civilized life1 and it proves
 no small degree of coherence1 or what  
the ,french call solidarity1 between the
 tribes who had taken possession of     
,northern ,india4 ,most settlers call   
the river on whose banks they settle the
 river4 ,of course there are many names 
for river4 ,it may be called the        
runner1#baj the fertilizer1 the         
roarer--or1 with a little poetical      
metaphor1 the arrow1 the horse1 the cow1
 the father1 the mother1 the watchman1  
the child of the mountains4 ,many rivers
 had many names in different parts of   

their course1 and it was only when      
communication between different         
settlements became more frequent1 and a 
fixed terminology was felt to be a      
matter of necessity1 that the rivers of 
a country were properly baptized and    
registered4 ,all this had been gone     
through in ,india before our hymn became
 possible4  ,and now we have to consider
 another1 to my mind most startling     
fact4 ,we here have a number of names of
 the rivers of ,india1 as they were     
known to one single poet1 say about     
#ajjj ,b4,c4 ,we then hear nothing of   
,india till we come to the days of      
,alexander1 and when we look at the     
names of the ,indian rivers1 represented
 as well as they could be by            
,alexander's companions1 mere strangers 
in ,india1 and by means of a strange    
language and a strange alphabet1 we     
recognize1 without much difficulty1     
nearly all of the old ,vedic names4  ,in
 this respect the names of rivers have a
 great advantage over the names of towns

 in ,india4 ,what we now call ,dilli or 
,delhi#baa was in ancient times called  
,indraprastha1 in later times           
,shahjahanabad4 ,oude is ,ayodhya1 but  
the old name of ,saketa is forgotten4   
,the town of ,pataliputra1 known to the 
,greeks as ,palimbothra1 is now called  
,patna4#bab  ,now ,i can assure you this
 persistency of the ,vedic river-names  
was to my mind something so startling   
that ,i often said to myself1 ,this     
cannot be--there must be something wrong
 here4 ,i do not wonder so much at the  
names of the ,indus and the ,ganges     
being the same4 ,the ,indus was known to
 early traders1 whether by sea or by    
land4 ,skylax sailed from the country of
 the ,paktys1 i4e4 the ,pushtus1 as the 
,afghans still call themselves1 down to 
the mouth of the ,indus4 ,that was under
 ,darius ,hystaspes 7#eba-dhf74 ,even   
before that time ,india and the ,indians
 were known by their name1 which was    
derived from ,sindhu1 the name of their 
frontier river4 ,the neighboring tribes 

who spoke ,iranic languages all         
pronounced1 like the ,persian1 the s as 
an h4#bac ,thus ,sindhu became ,hindhu  
7,hidhu71 and1 as h's were dropped even 
at that early time1 ,hindhu became      
,indu4 ,thus the river was called       
,indos1 the people ,indoi by the        
,greeks1 who first heard of ,india from 
the ,persians4  ,sindhu probably meant  
originally the divider1 keeper1 and     
defender1 from sidh1 to keep off4 ,it   
was a masculine1 before it became a     
feminine4 ,no more telling name could   
have been given to a broad river1 which 
guarded peaceful settlers both against  
the inroads of hostile tribes and the   
attacks of wild animals4 ,a common name 
for the ancient settlements of the      
,aryans in ,india was the ,seven        
,rivers1 ,sapta ,sindhavah4 ,but though 
sindhu was used as an appellative noun  
for river in general 7cf4 ,rig-,veda    
,,vi4 #ai1 #e1 samudre na sindhavah     
yadamanah1 like rivers longing for the  
sea71 it remained throughout the whole  

history of ,india the name of its       
powerful guardian river1 the ,indus4    
,in some passages of the ,rig-,veda it  
has been pointed out that sindhu might  
better be translated by sea1 a change of
 meaning1 if so it can be called1 fully 
explained by the geographical conditions
 of the country4 ,there are places where
 people could swim across the ,indus1   
there are others where no eye could tell
 whether the boundless expanse of water 
should be called river or sea4 ,the two 
run into each other1 as every sailor    
knows1 and naturally the meaning of     
sindhu1 river1 runs into the meaning of 
sindhu1 sea4  ,but besides the two great
 rivers1 the ,indus and the ,ganges--in 
,sanskrit the ,ganga1 literally the     
,go-go--we have the smaller rivers1 and 
many of their names also agree with the 
names preserved to us by the companions 
of ,alexander4#bad  ,the ,yamuna1 the   
,jumna1 was known to ,ptolemy as ,greek3
 ,diamouna1#bae to ,pliny as ,jomanes1  
to ,arrian1 somewhat corrupted1 as      

,jobares4#baf  ,the ,sutudri1 or1 as it 
was afterward called1 ,satadru1 meaning 
running in a hundred streams1 was known 
to ,ptolemy as ,greek3 ,zadardes or     
,greek3 ,zarados2 ,pliny called it      
,sydrus2 and ,megasthenes1 too1 was     
probably acquainted with it as ,greek3  
,zadardes4 ,in the ,veda#bag it formed  
with the ,vipas the frontier of the     
,punjab1 and we hear of fierce battles  
fought at that time1 it may be on the   
same spot where in #ahdf the battle of  
the ,sutledge was fought by ,sir ,hugh  
,gough and ,sir ,henry ,hardinge4 ,it   
was probably on the ,vipas 7later       
,vipasa71 a north-western tributary of  
the ,sutledge1 that ,alexander's army   
turned back4 ,the river was then called 
,hyphasis2 ,pliny calls it ,hypasis1#bah
 a very fair approximation to the ,vedic
 ,vipas1 which means unfettered4 ,its   
modern name is ,bias or ,bejah4  ,the   
next river on the west is the ,vedic    
,parushni1 better known as ,iravati1#bai
 which ,strabo calls ,hyarotis1 while   

,arrian gives it a more ,greek          
appearance by calling it ,hydraotes4 ,it
 is the modern ,rawi4 ,it was this river
 which the ,ten ,kings when attacking   
the ,tritsus under ,sudas tried to cross
 from the west by cutting off its water4
 ,but their stratagem failed1 and they  
perished in the river 7,rig-,veda ,,vii4
 #ah1 #h-i74  ,we then come to the      
,asikni1 which means black4 ,that river 
had another name also1 ,kandrabhaga1    
which means streak of the moon4 ,the    
,greeks1 however1 pronounced that       
,greek3 ,sandarophagos1 and this had the
 unlucky meaning of the devourer of     
,alexander4 ,hesychius tells us that in 
order to avert the bad omen ,alexander  
changed the name of that river into     
,greek3 ,akesines1 which would mean the 
,healer2 but he does not tell1 what the 
,veda tells us1 that this name ,greek3  
,akesines was a ,greek adaptation of    
another name of the same river1 namely  
,asikni1 which had evidently supplied to
 ,alexander the idea of calling the     

,asikni ,greek3 ,akesines4 ,it is the   
modern ,chinab4  ,next to the ,akesines 
we have the ,vedic ,vitasta1 the last of
 the rivers of the ,punjab1 changed in  
,greek into ,hydaspes4 ,it was to this  
river that ,alexander retired1 before   
sending his fleet down the ,indus and   
leading his army back to ,babylon4 ,it  
is the modern ,behat or ,jilam4  ,i     
could identify still more of these      
,vedic rivers1 such as1 for instance1   
the ,kubha1 the ,greek ,cophen1 the     
modern ,kabul river2#bbj but the names  
which ,i have traced from the ,veda to  
,alexander1 and in many cases from      
,alexander again to our own time1 seem  
to me sufficient to impress upon us the 
real and historical character of the    
,veda4 ,suppose the ,veda were a        
forgery--suppose at least that it had   
been put together after the time of     
,alexander--how could we explain these  
names8 ,they are names that have mostly 
a meaning in ,sanskrit1 they are names  
corresponding very closely to their     

,greek corruptions1 as pronounced and   
written down by people who did not know 
,sanskrit4 ,how is a forgery possible   
here8  ,i selected this hymn for two    
reasons4 ,first1 because it shows us the
 widest geographical horizon of the     
,vedic poets1 confined by the snowy     
mountains in the north1 the ,indus and  
the range of the ,suleiman mountains in 
the west1 the ,indus or the seas in the 
south1 and the valley of the ,jumna and 
,ganges in the east4 ,beyond that1 the  
world1 though open1 was unknown to the  
,vedic poets4 ,secondly1 because the    
same hymn gives us also a kind of       
historical background to the ,vedic age4
 ,these rivers1 as we may see them      
to-day1 as they were seen by ,alexander 
and his ,macedonians1 were seen also by 
the ,vedic poets4 ,here we have an      
historical continuity--almost living    
witnesses1 to tell us that the people   
whose songs have been so strangely1 ay1 
you may almost say1 so miraculously     
preserved to us1 were real people1      

lairds with their clans1 priests1 or    
rather1 servants of their gods1         
shepherds with their flocks1 dotted     
about on the hills and valleys1 with    
inclosures or palisades here and there1 
with a few strongholds1 too1 in case of 
need--living their short life on earth1 
as at that time life might be lived by  
men1 without much pushing and crowding  
and trampling on each other--spring1    
summer1 and winter leading them on from 
year to year1 and the sun in his rising 
and setting lifting up their thoughts   
from their meadows and groves which they
 loved1 to a world in the ,east1 from   
which they had come1 or to a world in   
the ,west1 to which they were gladly    
hastening on4 ,they had what ,i call    
religion1 though it was very simple1 and
 hardly reduced as yet to the form of a 
creed4 ,there is a ,beyond1 that was all
 they felt and knew1 though they tried1 
as well as they could1 to give names to 
that ,beyond1 and thus to change        
religion into a religion4 ,they had not 

as yet a name for ,god--certainly not in
 our sense of the word--or even a       
general name for the gods2 but they     
invented name after name to enable them 
to grasp and comprehend by some outward 
and visible tokens powers whose presence
 they felt in nature1 though their true 
and full essence was to them1 as it is  
to us1 invisible and incomprehensible4  
,,footnotes3  ,footnote #aej3 ,wilson1  
,lectures1 p4 #i4  ,footnote #aea3 ,as  
it has been doubted1 and even denied1   
that the publication of the ,rig-,veda  
and its native commentary has had some  
important bearing on the resuscitation  
of the religious life of ,india1 ,i feel
 bound to give at least one from the    
many testimonials which ,i have received
 from ,india4 ,it comes from the ,adi   
,brahma ,samaj1 founded by ,ram ,mohun  
,roy1 and now represented by its three  
branches1 the ,adi ,brahma ,samaj1 the  
,brahma ,samaj of ,india1 and the       
,sadharano ,brahma ,samaj4 ,the         
,committee of the ,adi ,brahma ,samaj   

beg to offer you their hearty           
congratulations on the completion of the
 gigantic task which has occupied you   
for the last quarter of a century4 ,by  
publishing the ,rig-,veda at a time when
 ,vedic learning has by some sad        
fatality become almost extinct in the   
land of its birth1 you have conferred a 
boon upon us ,hindus1 for which we      
cannot but be eternally grateful4       
,footnote #aeb3 ,rig-,veda ,x4 #aad1 #e4
  ,footnote #aec3 ,rig-,veda ,x4 #aba4  
,footnote #aed3 ,muir1 iv4 #i4          
,footnote #aee3 ,rig-,veda ,i4 #aci1    
#aa4  ,footnote #aef3 ,rig-,veda ,,iii4 
#f1 #i4  ,footnote #aeg3 ,the following 
names of ,devapatnis or wives of the    
gods are given in the ,vaitana ,sutra   
,,xv4 #c 7ed4 ,garbe73 ,prithivi1 the   
wife of ,agni1 ,vak of ,vata1 ,sena of  
,indra1 ,dhena of ,brihaspati1 ,pathya  
of ,pushan1 ,gayatri of ,vasu1          
,trishtubh of ,rudra1 ,gagati of        
,aditya1 ,anushtubh of ,mitra1 ,virag of
 ,varuna1 ,pankti of ,vishnu1 ,diksha of

 ,soma4  ,footnote #aeh3 ,rig-,veda     
,,iii4 #i1 #i4  ,footnote #aei3 ,grimm  
showed that ,thorr is sometimes the     
supreme god1 while at other times he is 
the son of ,odinn4 ,this1 as ,professor 
,zimmer truly remarks1 need not be      
regarded as the result of a revolution1 
or even of gradual decay1 as in the case
 of ,dyaus and ,tyr1 but simply as      
inherent in the character of a nascent  
polytheism4 ,see ,zeitschrift fuer ,d4  
,a41 vol4 xii4 p4 #agd4  ,footnote #afj3
 ,among not yet civilized races prayers 
are addressed to a god with a special   
object1 and to that god who is supposed 
to be most powerful in a special domain4
 ,he becomes for the moment the highest 
god to whom all others must give place4 
,he may be invoked as the highest and   
the only god1 without any slight being  
intended for the other gods4--,zimmer1  
l4 c4 p4 #age4  ,footnote #afa3 ,es     
handelt sich hier nicht um amerikanische
 oder afrikanische ,zersplitterung1     
sondern eine ueberraschende             

,gleichartigkeit dehnt sich durch die   
,weite und ,breite des ,stillen ,oceans1
 und wenn wir ,oceanien in der vollen   
,auffassung nehmen mit ,einschluss      
,mikro-und ,mela-nesiens 7bis ,malaya71 
selbst weiter4 ,es laesst sich sagen1   
dass ein einheitlicher ,gedankenbau1 in 
etwa #abj ,laengen und #gj              
,breitegraden1 ein ,viertel unsers      
,erdglobus ueberwoelbt4--,bastian1 ,die 
,heilige ,sage der ,polynesier1 p4 #eg4 
,footnote #afb3 ,henry ,s4 ,king  ,co41 
,london1 #ahgf4  ,footnote #afc3 ,p4    
#eh4  ,footnote #afd3 ,there is a second
 version of the story even in the small 
island of ,mangaia2 see ,myths and      
,songs1 p4 #ga4  ,footnote #afe3 ,see   
before1 p4 #aeh4  ,footnote #aff3 ,this 
explanation is considered altogether    
inadequate by many scholars4 ,it is1 of 
course1 not altogether a question of    
learning1 but also one of               
judgment4--,,am4 ,,pubs4  ,footnote     
#afg3 ,the ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 
vol4 i4 p4 #bdi3 ,the first half is the 

earth1 the second half the heaven1 their
 uniting the rain1 the uniter ,parganya4
 ,and so it is when it 7,parganya7 rains
 thus strongly--without ceasing1 day and
 night together--then they say also1    
,heaven and earth have come             
together4--,from the                    
,aitareya-,aranyaka1 ,,iii4 #b1         
#b4--;,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #afh3 ,bastian1
 ,heilige ,sage der ,polynesier1 p4 #cf4
  ,footnote #afi3 ,bergaigne1 ,la       
,religion ,vedique1 p4 #bdj4  ,footnote 
#agj3 ,ait4 ,br4 ,,iv4 #bg2 ,muir1 iv4  
p4 #bc4  ,footnote #aga3 ,see ,muir1 iv4
 p4 #bd4  ,footnote #agb3 ,homer1 ,hymn 
xxx4 #ag4  ,footnote #agc3 ,greek3      
,chaire theon meter1 haloch ,onranon    
asteroentos4  ,footnote #agd3           
,euripides1 ,chrysippus1 fragm4 #f      
7edit4 ,didot1 p4 #hbd73      ,greek3   
,gaia megiste kai ,dios aither1     o   
men anthropon kai theon genetor1     he 
d' ugrobolous stagonas notious          
paradexamene tiktei thnatous1     tiktei
 de ,boran1 phula te theron1     hothen 

onk hadikos     meter panton nenomistai4
  ,footnote #age3 ,dionysius ,halic41   
vol4 v4 p4 #cee2 ,muir1 v4 p4 #bg4      
,footnote #agf3 ,rig-,veda ,i4 #bb1 #ae4
  ,footnote #agg3 ,see ,lectures on the 
,science of ,language1 vol4 ii4 p4 #dfh4
  ,footnote #agh3 ,rig-,veda ,i4 #afj1  
#d4  ,footnote #agi3 ,l4 c4 ,,iv4 #ef1  
#c4  ,footnote #ahj3 ,l4 c4 ,,viii4 #f1 
#e4  ,footnote #aha3 ,l4 c4 ,,iii4 #cj1 
#e4  ,footnote #ahb3 ,l4 c4 ,,iii4 #cd1 
#h4  ,footnote #ahc3 ,l4 c4 ,,iii4 #cd1 
#h4  ,footnote #ahd3 ,l4 c4 ,,viii4 #cf1
 #d4  ,footnote #ahe3 ,l4 c4 ,x4 #ed1   
#c4  ,footnote #ahf3 ,cf4 ,,iv4 #ag1 #d1
 where ,dyaus is the father of ,indra2  
see however ,muir1 iv4 #ca1 note4       
,footnote #ahg3 ,rig-,veda ,,vi4 #cj1   
#a4  ,footnote #ahh3 ,l4 c4 ,i4 #aca1   
#a4  ,footnote #ahi3 ,l4 c4 ,,iv4 #ag1  
#b4  ,footnote #aij3 ,l4 c4 ,,ii4 #dj1  
#a4  ,footnote #aia3 ,l4 c4 ,x4 #aba1   
#i4  ,footnote #aib3 ,l4 c4 ,x4 #aij1   
#c4  ,footnote #aic3 ,l4 c4 ,x4 #ha1 #b4
  ,footnote #aid3 ,rig-,veda ,,vi4 #gj1 

#a4  ,footnote #aie3 ,rig-,veda ,x4 #ge4
 ,see ,hibbert ,lectures1 ,lect4 iv4    
,footnote #aif3 ,vivasvat is a name of  
the sun1 and the seat or home of        
,vivasvat can hardly be anything but the
 earth1 as the home of the sun1 or1 in a
 more special sense1 the place where a  
sacrifice is offered4  ,footnote #aig3  
,i formerly translated yat vagan abhi   
adravah tvam by when thou rannest for   
the prizes4 ,grassman had translated    
similarly1 ,when thou1 ,o ,sindhu1      
rannest to the prize of the battle1     
while ,ludwig wrote1 ,when thou1 ,o     
,sindhu1 wast flowing on to greater     
powers4 ,vaga1 connected with vegeo1    
vigeo1 vigil1 wacker 7see ,curtius1     
,grundzuege1 ,no4 #aei71 is one of the  
many difficult words in the ,veda the   
general meaning of which may be guessed1
 but in many places cannot yet be       
determined with certainty4 ,vaga occurs 
very frequently1 both in the singular   
and the plural1 and some of its meanings
 are clear enough4 ,the ,petersburg     

,dictionary gives the following list of 
them--swiftness1 race1 prize of race1   
gain1 treasure1 race-horse1 etc4 ,here  
we perceive at once the difficulty of   
tracing all these meanings back to a    
common source1 though it might be       
possible to begin with the meanings of  
strength1 strife1 contest1 race1 whether
 friendly or warlike1 then to proceed to
 what is won in a race or in war1 viz4  
booty1 treasure1 and lastly to take     
vagah in the more general sense of      
acquisitions1 goods1 even goods bestowed
 as gifts4 ,we have a similar transition
 of meaning in the ,greek ,greek3       
athlos1 contest1 contest for a prize1   
and ,greek3 athlon1 the prize of        
contest1 reward1 gift1 while in the     
plural ,greek3 ta athla stands again for
 contest1 or even the place of combat4  
,the ,vedic vagambhara may in fact be   
rendered by ,greek3 athlophoros1        
vagasati by ,greek3 athlosyne4  ,the    
transition from fight to prize is seen  
in passages such as3  ,rig-,veda ,,vi4  

#de1 #ab1 vagan indra sravayyan tvaya   
geshna hitam dhanam1 ,may we with thy   
help1 ,o ,indra1 win the glorious       
fights1 the offered prize 7cf4 ,greek3  
athlothetes74  ,rig-,veda ,,viii4 #ai1  
#ah1 te it vagebhih gigyuh mahat dhanam1
 ,they won great-wealth by battles4     
,what we want for a proper understanding
 of our verse1 are passages where we    
have1 as here1 a movement toward vagas  
in the plural4 ,such passages are few2  
for instance3 ,x4 #ec1 #h1 atra gahama  
ye asan asevah sivan vayam ut tarema    
abhi vagan1 ,let us leave here those who
 were unlucky 7the dead71 and let us get
 up to lucky toils4 ,no more is probably
 meant here when the ,sindhu is said to 
run toward her vagas1 that is1 her      
struggles1 her fights1 her race across  
the mountains with the other rivers4    
,footnote #aih3 ,on sushma1 strength1   
see ,rig-,veda1 translation1 vol4 i4 p4 
#aje4 ,we find subhram sushmam ,,ii4    
#aa1 #d2 and iyarti with sushmam ,,iv4  
#ag1 #ab4  ,footnote #aii3 ,see ,muir1  

,santkrit ,texts1 v4 p4 #cdd4  ,footnote
 #bjj3 ,o ,marudvridha with ,asikni1    
,vitasta2 ,o ,argikiya1 listen with the 
,sushoma1 ,ludwig4 ,asikni and ,vitasta 
and ,marudvridha1 with the ,sushoma1    
hear us1 ,o ,argikiya1 ,grassman4       
,footnote #bja3 ,marudvridha1 a general 
name for river4 ,according to ,roth the 
combined course of the ,akesines and    
,hydaspes1 before the junction with the 
,hydraotes2 according to ,ludwig1 the   
river after the junction with           
,hydraotes4 ,zimmer 7,altindisches      
,leben1 p4 #ab7 adopts ,roth's1 ,kiepert
 in his maps follows ,ludwig's opinion4 
,footnote #bjb3 ,according to ,yaska1   
the ,argikiya is the ,vipas4 ,vivien de 
,saint-,martin takes it for the country 
watered by the ,suwan1 the ,soanos of   
,megasthenes4  ,footnote #bjc3          
,according to ,yaska the ,sushoma is the
 ,indus4 ,vivien de ,saint-,martin      
identifies it with the ,suwan4 ,zimmer  
7l4 c4 p4 #ad7 points out that in       
,arrian1 ,indica1 iv4 #ab1 there is a   

various reading ,soamos for ,soanos4    
,footnote #bjd3 ,chips from a ,german   
,workshop1 vol4 i4 p4 #aeg4  ,footnote  
#bje3 ,vaginivati is by no means an easy
 word4 ,hence all translators vary1 and 
none settles the meaning4 ,muir         
translates1 yielding nutriment2 ,zimmer1
 having plenty of quick horses2 ,ludwig1
 like a strong mare4 ,vagin1 no doubt1  
means a strong horse1 a racer1 but      
vagini never occurs in the ,rig-,veda in
 the sense of a mare1 and the text is   
not vaginivat1 but vaginivati4 ,if      
vagini meant mare1 we might translate   
rich in mares1 but that would be a mere 
repetition after svasva1 possessed of   
good horses4 ,vaginivati is chiefly     
applied to ,ushas1 ,sarasvati1 and here 
to the river ,sindhu4 ,it is joined with
 vagebhih1 ,rig-,veda ,i4 #c1 #aj1      
which1 if vagini meant mare1 would mean 
rich in mares through horses4 ,we also  
read1 ,rig-,veda ,i4 #dh1 #af1 sam 7nah 
mimikshva7 vagaih vaginivati1 which we  
can hardly translate by give us horses1 

thou who art possessed of mares2 nor1   
,rig-,veda ,i4 #ib1 #ae1 yukshva hi     
vaginivati asvan1 harness the horses1   
thou who art rich in mares4 ,in most of 
the passages where vaginivati occurs1   
the goddess thus addressed is           
represented as rich1 and asked to bestow
 wealth1 and ,i should therefore prefer 
to take vagini1 as a collective abstract
 noun1 like tretini1 in the sense of    
wealth1 originally booty1 and to        
translate vaginivati simply by rich1 a  
meaning well adapted to every passage   
where the word occurs4  ,footnote #bjf3 
,urnavati1 rich in wool1 probably refers
 to the flocks of sheep for which the   
,north-,west of ,india was famous4 ,see 
,rig-,veda ,i4 #abf1 #g4  ,footnote     
#bjg3 ,silamavati does not occur again  
in the ,rig-,veda4 ,muir translates1    
rich in plants2 ,zimmer1 rich in water2 
,ludwig takes it as a proper name4      
,sayana states that silama is a plant   
which is made into ropes4 ,that the     
meaning of silamavati was forgotten at  

an early time we see by the             
,atharva-,veda ,,iii4 #ab1 #b1          
substituting sunritavati1 for           
silamavati1 as preserved in the         
,sankhayana ,grihya-sutras1 #c1 #c4 ,i  
think silama means straw1 from whatever 
plant it may be taken1 and this would be
 equally applicable to a sala1 a house1 
a sthuna1 a post1 and to the river      
,indus4 ,it may have been1 as ,ludwig   
conjectures1 an old local name1 and in  
that case it may possibly account for   
the name given in later times to the    
,suleiman range4  ,footnote #bjh3       
,madhuvridh is likewise a word which    
does not occur again in the ,rig-,veda4 
,sayana explains it by nirgundi and     
similar plants1 but it is doubtful what 
plant is meant4 ,gunda is the name of a 
grass1 madhuvridh therefore may have    
been a plant such as sugar-cane1 that   
yielded a sweet juice1 the ,upper ,indus
 being famous for sugar-cane2 see       
,hiouen-thsang1 ,,ii4 p4 #aje4 ,i take  
adhivaste with ,roth in the sense she   

dresses herself1 as we might say the    
river is dressed in heather4 ,muir      
translates1 she traverses a land        
yielding sweetness2 ,zimmer1 she clothes
 herself in ,madhuvridh2 ,ludwig1 the   
,silamavati throws herself into the     
increaser of the honey-sweet dew4 ,all  
this shows how little progress can be   
made in ,vedic scholarship by merely    
translating either words or verses1     
without giving at the same time a full  
justification of the meaning assigned to
 every single word4  ,footnote #bji3    
,see ,petersburg ,dictionary1 s4 v4     
virapsin4  ,footnote #baj3 ,among the   
,hottentots1 the ,kunene1 ,okavango1 and
 ,orange rivers1 all have the name of   
,garib1 i4e4 the ,runner4--,dr4 ,theoph4
 ,hahn1 ,cape ,times1 ,july #aa1 #ahhb4 
,footnote #baa3 ,dehli1 not             
,del-high4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #bab3    
,cunningham1 ,archaeological ,survey of 
,india1 vol4 xii4 p4 #aac4  ,footnote   
#bac3 ,pliny1 ,hist4 ,nat4 vi4 #bj1 #ga3
 ,indus incolis ,sindus appellatus4     

,footnote #bad3 ,the history of these   
names has been treated by ,professor    
,lassen1 in his ,indische               
,alterthumskunde1 and more lately by    
,professor ,kaegi1 in his very careful  
essay1 ,der ,rig-,veda1 pp4 #adf1 #adg4 
,footnote #bae3 ,ptol4 vii4 #a1 #bi4    
,footnote #baf3 ,arrian1 ,indica1 viii4 
#e4  ,footnote #bag3 ,rig-,veda ,,iii4  
#cc1 #a3 ,from the lap of the mountains 
,vipas and ,sutudri rush forth with     
their water like two lusty mares        
neighing1 freed from their tethers1 like
 two bright mother-cows licking 7their  
calf74  ,ordered by ,indra and waiting  
his bidding you run toward the sea like 
two charioteers2 running together1 as   
your waters rise1 the one goes into the 
other1 you bright ones4  ,footnote #bah3
 ,other classical names are ,hypanis1   
,bipasis1 and ,bibasis4 ,yaska          
identifies it with the ,argikiya4       
,footnote #bai3 ,cf4 ,nirukta ,,ix4 #bf4
  ,footnote #bbj3 ,the first tributaries
 which join the ,indus before its       

meeting with the ,kubha or the ,kabul   
river cannot be determined4 ,all        
travellers in these northern countries  
complain of the continual changes in the
 names of the rivers1 and we can hardly 
hope to find traces of the ,vedic names 
in existence there after the lapse of   
three or four thousand years4 ,the      
rivers intended may be the ,shauyook1   
,ladak1 ,abba ,seen1 and ,burrindu1 and 
one of the four rivers1 the ,rasa1 has  
assumed an almost fabulous character in 
the ,veda4 ,after the ,indus has joined 
the ,kubha or the ,kabul river1 two     
names occur1 the ,gomati and ,krumu1    
which ,i believe ,i was the first to    
identify with the modern rivers the     
,gomal and ,kurrum4 7,roth1 ,nirukta1   
,erlaeuterungen1 p4 #dc1 ,anm47 ,the    
,gomal falls into the ,indus1 between   
,dera ,ismael ,khan and ,paharpore1 and 
although ,elphinstone calls it a river  
only during the rainy season1 ,klaproth 
7,foe-koue-ki1 p4 #bc7 describes its    
upper course as far more considerable1  

and adds3 ',un peu a l'est de ,sirmagha1
 le ,gomal traverse la chaine de        
montagnes de ,soliman1 passe devant     
,raghzi1 et fertilise le pays habite par
 les tribus de ,dauletkhail et de       
,gandehpour4 ,il se desseche au defile  
de ,pezou1 et son lit ne se remplit plus
 d'eau que dans la saison des pluies2   
alors seulement il rejoint la droite de 
l',indus1 au sud-est de bourg de        
,paharpour4' ,the ,kurrum falls into the
 ,indus north of the ,gomal1 while1     
according to the poet1 we should expect 
it south4 ,it might be urged that poets 
are not bound by the same rules as      
geographers1 as we see1 for instance1 in
 the verse immediately preceding4 ,but  
if it should be taken as a serious      
objection1 it will be better to give up 
the ,gomati than the ,krumu1 the latter 
being the larger of the two1 and we     
might then take ,gomati1 'rich in       
cattle1' as an adjective belonging to   
,krumu4--,from a review of ,general     
,cunningham's ,ancient ,geography of    

,india1 in ,nature1 #ahga1 ,sept4 #ad4  
,,lecture ,,vi4  ,,vedic ,,deities4     
,the next important phenomenon of nature
 which was represented in the ,veda as a
 terrestrial deity is ,fire1 in         
,sanskrit ,agni1 in ,latin ignis4 ,in   
the worship which is paid to the ,fire  
and in the high praises bestowed on     
,agni we can clearly perceive the traces
 of a period in the history of man in   
which not only the most essential       
comforts of life1 but life itself1      
depended on the knowledge of producing  
fire4 ,to us fire has become so familiar
 that we can hardly form an idea of what
 life would be without it4 ,but how did 
the ancient dwellers on earth get       
command and possession of fire8 ,the    
,vedic poets tell us that fire first    
came to them from the sky1 in the form  
of lightning1 but that it disappeared   
again1 and that then ,matarisvan1 a     
being to a certain extent like          
,prometheus1 brought it back and        
confided it to the safe keeping of the  

clan of the ,bhrigus 7,phlegyas74#bba   
,in other poems we hear of the mystery  
of fire being produced by rubbing pieces
 of wood2 and here it is a curious fact 
that the name of the wood thus used for 
rubbing is in ,sanskrit ,pramantha1 a   
word which1 as ,kuhn has shown1 would in
 ,greek come very near to the name of   
,prometheus4 ,the possession of fire1   
whether by preserving it as sacred on   
the hearth1 or by producing it at       
pleasure with the fire-drill1 represents
 an enormous step in early civilization4
 ,it enabled people to cook their meat  
instead of eating it raw2 it gave them  
the power of carrying on their work by  
night2 and in colder climates it really 
preserved them from being frozen to     
death4 ,no wonder1 therefore1 that the  
fire should have been praised and       
worshipped as the best and kindest of   
gods1 the only god who had come down    
from heaven to live on earth1 the friend
 of man1 the messenger of the gods1 the 
mediator between gods and men1 the      

immortal among mortals4 ,he1 it is said1
 protects the settlements of the        
,aryans1 and frightens away the         
black-skinned enemies4  ,soon1 however1 
fire was conceived by the ,vedic poets  
under the more general character of     
light and warmth1 and then the presence 
of ,agni was perceived1 not only on the 
hearth and the altar1 but in the ,dawn1 
in the ,sun1 and in the world beyond the
 ,sun1 while at the same time his power 
was recognized as ripening1 or as they  
called it1 as cooking1 the fruits of the
 earth1 and as supporting also the      
warmth and the life of the human body4  
,from that point of view ,agni1 like    
other powers1 rose to the rank of a     
,supreme ,god4#bbb ,he is said to have  
stretched out heaven and                
earth--naturally1 because without his   
light heaven and earth would have been  
invisible and undistinguishable4 ,the   
next poet says that ,agni held heaven   
aloft by his light1 that he kept the two
 worlds asunder2 and in the end ,agni is

 said to be the progenitor and father of
 heaven and earth1 and the maker of all 
that flies1 or walks1 or stands1 or     
moves on earth4  ,here we have once more
 the same process before our eyes4 ,the 
human mind begins with being startled by
 a single or repeated event1 such as the
 lightning striking a tree and devouring
 a whole forest1 or a spark of fire     
breaking forth from wood being rubbed   
against wood1 whether in a forest1 or in
 the wheel of a carriage1 or at last in 
a fire-drill1 devised on purpose4 ,man  
then begins to wonder at what to him is 
a miracle1 none the less so because it  
is a fact1 a simple1 natural fact4 ,he  
sees the effects of a power1 but he can 
only guess at its cause1 and if he is to
 speak of it1 he can only do so by      
speaking of it as an agent1 or as       
something like a human agent1 and1 if in
 some respects not quite human1 in      
others more than human or superhuman4   
,thus the concept of ,fire grew2 and    
while it became more and more           

generalized1 it also became more        
sublime1 more incomprehensible1 more    
divine4 ,without ,agni1 without fire1   
light1 and warmth1 life would have been 
impossible4 ,hence he became the author 
and giver of life1 of the life of plants
 and animals and of men2 and his favor  
having once been implored for light and 
life and all things1 what wonder that in
 the minds of some poets1 and in the    
traditions of this or that              
village-community he should have been   
raised to the rank of a supreme ruler1 a
 god above all gods1 their own true god6
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,we now proceed to consider the     
powers which the ancient poets might    
have discovered in the air1 in the      
clouds1 and1 more particularly1 in those
 meteoric conflicts which by thunder1   
lightning1 darkness1 storms1 and showers
 of rain must have taught man that very 
important lesson that he was not alone  
in this world4 ,many philosophers1 as   
you know1 believe that all religion     

arose from fear or terror1 and that     
without thunder and lightning to teach  
us1 we should never have believed in any
 gods or god4 ,this is a one-sided and  
exaggerated view4 ,thunderstorms1 no    
doubt1 had a large share in arousing    
feelings of awe and terror1 and in      
making man conscious of his weakness and
 dependence4 ,even in the ,veda1 ,indra 
is introduced as saying3 ,yes1 when ,i  
send thunder and lightning1 then you    
believe in me4 ,but what we call        
religion would never have sprung from   
fear and terror alone4 ,religion is     
trust1 and that trust arose in the      
beginning from the impressions made on  
the mind and heart of man by the order  
and wisdom of nature1 and more          
particularly by those regularly         
recurring events1 the return of the sun1
 the revival of the moon1 the order of  
the seasons1 the law of cause and       
effect1 gradually discovered in all     
things1 and traced back in the end to a 
cause of all causes1 by whatever name we

 choose to call it4  ,still the meteoric
 phenomena had1 no doubt1 their         
important share in the production of    
ancient deities2 and in the poems of the
 ,vedic ,rishis they naturally occupy a 
very prominent place4 ,if we were asked 
who was the principal god of the ,vedic 
period1 we should probably1 judging from
 the remains of that poetry which we    
possess1 say it was ,indra1 the god of  
the blue sky1 the ,indian ,zeus1 the    
gatherer of the clouds1 the giver of    
rain1 the wielder of the thunder-bolt1  
the conqueror of darkness1 and of all   
the powers of darkness1 the bringer of  
light1 the source of freshness1 vigor1  
and life1 the ruler and lord of the     
whole world4 ,indra is this1 and much   
more in the ,veda4 ,he is supreme in the
 hymns of many poets1 and may have been 
so in the prayers addressed to him by   
many of the ancient septs or village    
communities in ,india4 ,compared with   
him the other gods are said to be       
decrepit old men4 ,heaven1 the old      

,heaven or ,dyaus1 formerly the father  
of all the gods1 nay the father of      
,indra himself1 bows before him1 and the
 ,earth trembles at his approach4 ,yet  
,indra never commanded the permanent    
allegiance of all the other gods1 like  
,zeus and ,jupiter2 nay1 we know from   
the ,veda itself that there were        
skeptics1 even at that early time1 who  
denied that there was any such thing as 
,indra4#bbc  ,by the side of ,indra1 and
 associated with him in his battles1 and
 sometimes hardly distinguishable from  
him1 we find the representatives of the 
wind1 called ,vata or ,vayu1 and the    
more terrible storm-gods1 the ,maruts1  
literally the ,smashers4  ,when speaking
 of the ,wind1 a poet says3#bbd ,where  
was he born8 ,whence did he spring8 the 
life of the gods1 the germ of the world6
 ,that god moves about where he listeth1
 his voices are heard1 but he is not to 
be seen4  ,the ,maruts are more terrible
 than ,vata1 the wind4 ,they are clearly
 the representatives of such storms as  

are known in ,india1 when the air is    
darkened by dust and clouds1 when in a  
moment the trees are stripped of their  
foliage1 their branches shivered1 their 
stems snapped1 when the earth seems to  
reel and the mountains to shake1 and the
 rivers are lashed into foam and fury4  
,then the poet sees the ,maruts         
approaching with golden helmets1 with   
spotted skins on their shoulders1       
brandishing golden spears1 whirling     
their axes1 shooting fiery arrows1 and  
cracking their whips amid thunder and   
lightning4 ,they are the comrades of    
,indra1 sometimes1 like ,indra1 the sons
 of ,dyaus or the sky1 but also the sons
 of another terrible god1 called ,rudra1
 or the ,howler1 a fighting god1 to whom
 many hymns are addressed4 ,in him a new
 character is evolved1 that of a healer 
and saviour--a very natural transition  
in ,india1 where nothing is so powerful 
for dispelling miasmas1 restoring       
health1 and imparting fresh vigor to man
 and beast1 as a thunderstorm1 following

 after weeks of heat and drought4  ,all 
these and several others1 such as       
,parganya and the ,ribhus1 are the gods 
of mid-air1 the most active and dramatic
 gods1 ever present to the fancy of the 
ancient poets1 and in several cases the 
prototypes of later heroes1 celebrated  
in the epic poems of ,india4 ,in        
battles1 more particularly1 these       
fighting gods of the sky were constantly
 invoked4#bbe ,indra is the leader in   
battles1 the protector of the bright    
,aryans1 the destroyer of the black     
aboriginal inhabitants of ,india4 ,he   
has thrown down fifty thousand black    
fellows1 the poet says1 and their       
strongholds crumbled away like an old   
rag4 ,strange to say1 ,indra is praised 
for having saved his people from their  
enemies1 much as ,jehovah was praised by
 the ,jewish prophets4 ,thus we read in 
one hymn that when ,sudas1 the pious    
king of the ,tritsus1 was pressed hard  
in his battle with the ten kings1 ,indra
 changed the flood into an easy ford1   

and thus saved ,sudas4  ,in another hymn
 we read3#bbf ,thou hast restrained the 
great river for the sake of ,turviti    
,vayya3 the flood moved in obedience to 
thee1 and thou madest the rivers easy to
 cross4 ,this is not very different from
 the ,psalmist 7#gh3ac73 ,he divided the
 sea1 and caused them to pass through2  
and he made the waters to stand as an   
heap4  ,and there are other passages    
which have reminded some students of the
 ,veda of ,joshua's battle1#bbg when the
 sun stood still and the moon stayed1   
until the people had avenged themselves 
upon their enemies4 ,for we read in the 
,veda also1 as ,professor ,kaegi has    
pointed out 7l4 c4 p4 #fc71 that ,indra 
lengthened the days into the night1 and 
that the ,sun unharnessed its chariot in
 the middle of the day4#bbh  ,in some of
 the hymns addressed to ,indra his      
original connection with the sky and the
 thunderstorm seems quite forgotten4 ,he
 has become a spiritual god1 the only   
king of all worlds and all people1#bbi  

who sees and hears everything1#bcj nay1 
who inspires men with their best        
thoughts4 ,no one is equal to him1 no   
one excels him4  ,the name of ,indra is 
peculiar to ,india1 and must have been  
formed after the separation of the great
 ,aryan family had taken place1 for we  
find it neither in ,greek1 nor in       
,latin1 nor in ,german4 ,there are      
,vedic gods1 as ,i mentioned before1    
whose names must have been framed before
 that separation1 and which occur       
therefore1 though greatly modified in   
character1 sometimes in ,greek1         
sometimes in ,latin1 sometimes in the   
,celtic1 ,teutonic1 and ,slavonic       
dialects4 ,d y a u s1 for instance1 is  
the same word as ,zeus or ,jupiter1 ,u s
 h a s is ,eos1 ,n a k t a is ,nyx1 ,s u
 r y a is ,helios1 ,a g n i is ignis1 ,b
 h a g a is ,baga in ,old ,persian1 ,b o
 g u in ,old ,slavonic1 ,v a r u n a is 
,uranos1 ,v a t a is ,wotan1 ,v a k is  
vox1 and in the name of the ,maruts1 or 
the storm-gods1 the germs of the ,italic

 god of war1 ,mars1 have been           
discovered4 ,besides these direct       
coincidences1 some indirect relations   
have been established between ,hermes   
and ,s a r a m e y a1 ,dionysos and ,d y
 u n i s y a1 ,prometheus and p r a m a 
n t h a1 ,orpheus and ,r i b h u1       
,erinnys and ,s a r a n y u1 ,pan and ,p
 a v a n a4#bca  ,but while the name of 
,indra as the god of the sky1 also as   
the god of the thunderstorm1 and the    
giver of rain1 is unknown among the     
north-western members of the ,aryan     
family1 the name of another god who     
sometimes acts the part of ,indra       
7,indrah ,parganyatma71 but is much less
 prominent in the ,veda1 ,i mean        
,parganya1 must have existed before that
 of ,indra1 because two at least of the 
,aryan languages have carried it1 as we 
shall see1 to ,germany1 and to the very 
shores of the ,baltic4  ,sometimes this 
,parganya stands in the place of ,dyaus1
 the sky4 ,thus we read in the          
,atharva-,veda1 ,,xii4 #a1 #ab3bcb ,the 

,earth is the mother1 and ,i am the son 
of the ,earth4 ,parganya is the father2 
may he help us6  ,in another place      
7,,xii4 #a1 #db7 the ,earth1 instead of 
being the wife of ,heaven or ,dyaus1 is 
called the wife of ,parganya4  ,now who 
or what is this ,parganya8 ,there have  
been long controversies about him1#bcc  
as to whether he is the same as ,dyaus1 
,heaven1 or the same as ,indra1 the     
successor of ,dyaus1 whether he is the  
god of the sky1 of the cloud1 or of the 
rain4  ,to me it seems that this very   
expression1 god of the sky1 god of the  
cloud1 is so entire an anachronism that 
we could not even translate it into     
,vedic ,sanskrit without committing a   
solecism4 ,it is true1 no doubt1 we must
 use our modern ways of speaking when we
 wish to represent the thoughts of the  
ancient world2 but we cannot be too much
 on our guard against accepting the     
dictionary representative of an ancient 
word for its real counterpart4 ,deva1 no
 doubt1 means gods and god1 and ,p a r g

 a n y a means cloud1 but no one could  
say in ,sanskrit p a r g a n y a s y a d
 e v a h1 the god of the cloud4 ,the    
god1 or the divine1 or transcendental   
element1 does not come from without1 to 
be added to the cloud or to the sky or  
to the earth1 but it springs from the   
cloud and the sky and the earth1 and is 
slowly elaborated into an independent   
concept4 ,as many words in ancient      
languages have an undefined meaning1 and
 lend themselves to various purposes    
according to the various intentions of  
the speakers1 the names of the gods also
 share in this elastic and plastic      
character of ancient speech4 ,there are 
passages where ,parganya means cloud1   
there are passages where it means rain4 
,there are passages where ,parganya     
takes the place which elsewhere is      
filled by ,dyaus1 the sky1 or by ,indra1
 the active god of the atmosphere4 ,this
 may seem very wrong and very           
unscientific to the scientific          
mythologist4 ,but it cannot be helped4  

,it is the nature of ancient thought and
 ancient language to be unscientific1   
and we must learn to master it as well  
as we can1 instead of finding fault with
 it1 and complaining that our           
forefathers did not reason exactly as we
 do4  ,there are passages in the ,vedic 
hymns where ,parganya appears as a      
supreme god4 ,he is called father1 like 
,dyaus1 the sky4 ,he is called a s u r  
a1 the living or life-giving god1 a name
 peculiar to the oldest and the greatest
 gods4 ,one poet says1#bcd ,he rules as 
god over the whole world2 all creatures 
rest in him2 he is the life 7atma7 of   
all that moves and rests4  ,surely it is
 difficult to say more of a supreme god 
than what is here said of ,parganya4    
,yet in other hymns he is represented as
 performing his office1 namely that of  
sending rain upon the earth1 under the  
control of ,mitra and ,varun1 who are   
then considered as the highest lords1   
the mightiest rulers of heaven and      
earth4#bce  ,there are other verses1    

again1 where parganya occurs with hardly
 any traces of personality1 but simply  
as a name of cloud or rain4  ,thus we   
read3#bcf ,even by day the ,maruts 7the 
storm-gods7 produce darkness with the   
cloud that carries water1 when they     
moisten the earth4 ,here cloud is       
parganya1 and it is evidently used as an
 appellative1 and not as a proper name4 
,the same word occurs in the plural     
also1 and we read of many parganyas or  
clouds vivifying the earth4#bcg  ,when  
,devapi prays for rain in favor of his  
brother1 he says3#bch ,o lord of my     
prayer 7,brihaapati71 whether thou be   
,mitra or ,varuna or ,pushan1 come to my
 sacrifice6 ,whether thou be together   
with the ,adityas1 the ,vasus or the    
,maruts1 let the cloud 7parganya7 rain  
for ,santanu4  ,and again3 ,stir up the 
rainy cloud 7parganya74  ,in several    
places it makes no difference whether we
 translate parganya by cloud or by rain1
 for those who pray for rain1 pray for  
the cloud1 and whatever may be the      

benefits of the rain1 they may nearly   
all be called the benefits of the cloud4
 ,there is a curious hymn1 for instance1
 addressed to the frogs who1 at the     
beginning of the rains1 come forth from 
the dry ponds1 and embrace each other   
and chatter together1 and whom the poet 
compares to priests singing at a        
sacrifice1 a not very complimentary     
remark from a poet who is himself       
supposed to have been a priest4 ,their  
voice is said to have been revived by   
parganya1 which we shall naturally      
translate by rain1 though1 no doubt1 the
 poet may have meant1 for all we know1  
either a cloud1 or even the god         
,parganya himself4  ,i shall try to     
translate one of the hymns addressed to 
,parganya1 when conceived as a god1 or  
at least as so much of a god as it was  
possible to be at that stage in the     
intellectual growth of the human        
race4#bci       #a4 ,invoke the strong  
god with these songs6 praise            
,parganya1 worship him with veneration6 

for he1 the roaring      bull1          
scattering drops1 gives seed-fruit to   
plants4       #b4 ,he cuts the trees    
asunder1 he kills evil spirits2 the     
whole world trembles before his mighty  
weapon4 ,even the      guiltless flees  
before the powerful1 when ,parganya     
thundering strikes down the evil-doers4 
#c4 ,like a charioteer1 striking his    
horses with a whip1 he      puts forths 
his messenger of rain4 ,from afar arise 
the      roarings of the lion1 when     
,parganya makes the sky full of         
rain4       #d4 ,the winds blow1 the    
lightnings#bdj fly1 plants spring       
up1 the sky pours4 ,food is produced for
 the whole world1      when ,parganya   
blesses the earth with his seed4        
#e4 ,o ,parganya1 thou at whose work the
 earth bows down1      thou at whose    
work hoofed animals are scattered1 thou 
at      whose work the plants assume all
 forms1 grant thou to us thy      great 
protection6       #f4 ,o1 ,maruts1 give 
us the rain of heaven1 make the streams 

of the strong horse run down6 ,and come 
thou hither with thy      thunder1      
pouring out water1 for thou 7,o         
,parganya7 art the      living god1 thou
 art our father4       #g4 ,do thou     
roar1 and thunder1 and give             
fruitfulness6 ,fly      around us with  
thy chariot full of water6 ,draw forth  
thy      water-skin1 when it has been   
opened and turned downward1 and      let
 the high and the low places become     
level6       #h4 ,draw up the large     
bucket1 and pour it out2 let the        
streams pour forth freely6 ,soak heaven 
and earth with      fatness6 and let    
there be a good draught for the cows6   
#i4 ,o ,parganya1 when roaring and      
thundering thou killest      the        
evil-doers1 then everything rejoices1   
whatever lives on      earth4       #aj4
 ,thou hast sent rain1 stop now6 ,thou  
hast made the      deserts passable1    
thou hast made plants grow for food1 and
      thou hast obtained praise from    
men4  ,this is a ,vedic hymn1 and a very

 fair specimen of what these ancient    
hymns are4 ,there is nothing very grand 
and poetical about them1 and yet1 ,i    
say1 take thousands and thousands of    
people living in our villages1 and      
depending on rain for their very life1  
and not many of them will be able to    
compose such a prayer for rain1 even    
though three thousand years have passed 
over our heads since ,parganya was first
 invoked in ,india4 ,nor are these      
verses entirely without poetical        
conceptions and descriptions4 ,whoever  
has watched a real thunderstorm in a hot
 climate will recognize the truth of    
those quick sentences3 the winds blow1  
the lightnings fly1 plants spring up1   
the hoofed cattle are scattered4 ,nor is
 the idea without a certain drastic     
reality1 that ,parganya draws a bucket  
of water from his well in heaven1 and   
pours out skin after skin 7in which     
water was then carried7 down upon the   
earth4  ,there is even a moral sentiment
 perceptible in this hymn4 ,when the    

storms roar1 and the lightnings flash   
and the rain pours down1 even the       
guiltless trembles1 and evil-doers are  
struck down4 ,here we clearly see that  
the poet did not look upon the storm    
simply as an outbreak of the violence of
 nature1 but that he had a presentiment 
of a higher will and power which even   
the guiltless fears2 for who1 he seems  
to say1 is entirely free from guilt8    
,if now we ask again1 ,who is ,parganya8
 or ,what is ,parganya8 we can answer   
that parganya was meant originally for  
the cloud1 so far as it gives rain2 but 
as soon as the idea of a giver arose1   
the visible cloud became the outward    
appearance only1 or the body of that    
giver1 and the giver himself was        
somewhere else1 we know not where4 ,in  
some verses ,parganya seems to step into
 the place of ,dyaus1 the sky1 and      
,prithivi1 the earth1 is his wife4 ,in  
other places1#bda however1 he is the son
 of ,dyaus or the sky1 though no thought
 is given in that early stage to the    

fact that thus ,parganya might seem to  
be the husband of his mother4 ,we saw   
that even the idea of ,indra being the  
father of his own father did not startle
 the ancient poets beyond an exclamation
 that it was a very wonderful thing     
indeed4  ,sometimes ,parganya does the  
work of ,indra1#bdb the ,jupiter        
,pluvius of the ,veda2 sometimes of     
,vayu1 the wind1 sometimes of ,soma1 the
 giver of rain4 ,yet with all this he is
 not ,dyaus1 nor ,indra1 nor the        
,maruts1 nor ,vayu1 nor ,soma4 ,he      
stands by himself1 a separate person1 a 
separate god1 as we should say--nay1 one
 of the oldest of all the ,aryan gods4  
,his name1 parganya1 is derived from a  
root parg1 which1 like its parallel     
forms pars and parsh1 must 7,i think7   
have had the meaning of sprinkling1     
irrigating1 moistening4 ,an interchange 
between final g1 s1 and sh1 may1 no     
doubt1 seem unusual1 but it is not      
without parallel in ,sanskrit4 ,we have1
 for instance1 the roots ping1 pingere2 

pish1 to rub2 pis1 to adorn 7as in      
pesas1 ,greek3 poikilos1 etc472 mrig1 to
 rub1 mrish1 to rub out1 to forget2     
mris1 mulcere4  ,this very root mrig    
forms its participle as mrish-ta1 like  
yag1 ishta1 and vis1 vishta2 nay there  
are roots1 such as druh1 which          
optionally take a final lingual or      
guttural1 such as dhrut and dhruk4#bdc  
,we may therefore compare parg in       
parganya with such words as prishata1   
prishati1 speckled1 drop of water2#bdd  
also parsu1 cloud1 prisni1 speckled1    
cloud1 earth2 and in ,greek ,greek3     
prox7o71 ,greek3 perknos1 etc4#bde  ,if 
derived from parg1 to sprinkle1         
,parganya would have meant originally he
 who irrigates or gives rain4#bdf  ,when
 the different members of the ,aryan    
family dispersed1 they might all of     
them1 ,hindus as well as ,greeks and    
,celts1 and ,teutons and ,slaves1 have  
carried that name for cloud with them4  
,but you know that it happened very     
often that out of the commonwealth of   

their ancient language1 one and the same
 word was preserved1 as the case might  
be1 not by all1 but by only six1 or     
five1 or four1 or three1 or two1 or even
 by one only of the seven principal     
heirs2 and yet1 as we know that there   
was no historical contact between them1 
after they had once parted from each    
other1 long before the beginning of what
 we call history1 the fact that two of  
the ,aryan languages have preserved the 
same finished word with the same        
finished meaning1 is proof sufficient   
that it belonged to the most ancient    
treasure of ,aryan thought4  ,now there 
is no trace1 at least no very clear     
trace1 of ,parganya1 in ,greek1 or      
,latin1 or ,celtic1 or even in          
,teutonic4 ,in ,slavonic1 too1 we look  
in vain1 till we come to that almost    
forgotten side-branch called the        
,lettic1 comprising the spoken          
,lituanian and ,lettish1 and the now    
extinct ,old ,prussian4 ,lituania is no 
longer an independent state1 but it was 

once1 not more than six centuries ago1 a
 ,grand ,duchy1 independent both of     
,russia and ,poland4 ,its first ,grand  
,duke was ,ringold1 who ruled from      
#abce1 and his successors made          
successful conquests against the        
,russians4 ,in #acfh these grand dukes  
became kings of ,poland1 and in #aefi   
the two countries were united4 ,when    
,poland was divided between ,russia and 
,prussia1 part of ,lituania fell to the 
former1 part to the latter4 ,there are  
still about one million and a half of   
people who speak ,lituanian in ,russia  
and ,prussia1 while ,lettish is spoken  
by about one million in ,curland and    
,livonia4  ,the ,lituanian language even
 as it is now spoken by the common      
people1 contains some extremely         
primitive grammatical forms--in some    
cases almost identical with ,sanskrit4  
,these forms are all the more curious1  
because they are but few in number1 and 
the rest of the language has suffered   
much from the wear and tear of          

centuries4  ,now in that remote         
,lituanian language we find that our old
 friend ,parganya has taken refuge4     
,there he lives to the present day1     
while even in ,india he is almost       
forgotten1 at least in the spoken       
languages2 and there1 in ,lituania1 not 
many centuries back might be heard among
 a ,christianized or nearly             
,christianized people1 prayers for rain1
 not very different from that which ,i  
translated to you from the ,rig-,veda4  
,in ,lituanian the god of thunder was   
called ,perkunas1#bdg and the same word 
is still used in the sense of thunder4  
,in ,old ,prussian1 thunder was         
percunos1 and in ,lettish to the present
 day perkons is thunder1 god of         
thunder4#bdh  ,it was1 ,i believe1      
,grimm who for the first time identified
 the ,vedic ,parganya with the ,old     
,slavonic ,perun1 the ,polish ,piorun1  
the ,bohemian ,peraun4 ,these words had 
formerly been derived by ,dobrovsky and 
others from the root peru1 ,i strike4   

,grimm 7,teutonic ,mythology1 ,engl4    
transl41 p4 #aga7 showed that the fuller
 forms ,perkunas1 ,pehrkons1 and        
,perkunos existed in ,lituanian1        
,lettish1 ,old ,prussian1 and that even 
the ,mordvinians had adopted the name   
,porguini as that of their thunder-god4 
,simon ,grunau1 who finished his        
chronicle in #aeba1 speaks of three     
gods1 as worshipped by the ,old         
,prussians1 ,patollo1 ,patrimpo1 and    
,perkuno1 and he states that ,perkuno   
was invoked for storm's sake1 that they 
might have rain and fair weather at the 
proper time1 and thunder and lightning  
should not injure them4#bdi  ,the       
following ,lituanian prayer has been    
preserved to us by ,lasitzki3#bej       
,check thyself1 ,o ,percuna1 and do not 
send misfortune on my      field6 and ,i
 shall give thee this flitch4  ,among   
the neighbors of the ,lets1 the         
,esthonians1 who1 though un-,aryan in   
language1 have evidently learned much   
from their ,aryan neighbors1 the        

following prayer was heard1#bea         
addressed by an old peasant to their god
 ,picker or ,picken1 the god of thunder 
and rain1 as late as the seventeenth    
century4#beb       ,dear ,thunder 7woda 
,picker71 we offer to thee an ox that   
has      two horns and four cloven      
hoofs2 we would pray thee for our       
ploughing and sowing1 that our straw be 
copper-red1 our      grain              
golden-yellow4 ,push elsewhere all the  
thick black      clouds1 over great     
fens1 high forests1 and wildernesses4   
,but      unto us1 ploughers and sowers1
 give a fruitful season and      sweet  
rain4 ,holy ,thunder 7poeha ,picken71   
guard our      seed-field1 that it bear 
good straw below1 good ears above1      
and good grain within4#bec  ,now1 ,i say
 again1 ,i do not wish you to admire    
this primitive poetry1 primitive1       
whether it is repeated in the ,esthonian
 fens in the seventeenth century of our 
era1 or sung in the valley of the ,indus
 in the seventeenth century before our  

era4 ,let aesthetic critics say what    
they like about these uncouth poems4 ,i 
only ask you1 ,is it not worth a great  
many poems1 to have established this    
fact1 that the same god ,parganya1 the  
god of clouds and thunder and lightning 
and rain1 who was invoked in ,india a   
thousand years before ,india was        
discovered by ,alexander1 should have   
been remembered and believed in by      
,lituanian peasants on the frontier     
between ,east ,prussia and ,russia1 not 
more than two hundred years ago1 and    
should have retained its old name       
,parganya1 which in ,sanskrit meant     
showering1 under the form of ,perkuna1  
which in ,lituanian is a name and a name
 only1 without any etymological meaning 
at all2 nay1 should live on1 as some    
scholars assure us1 in an abbreviated   
form in most ,slavonic dialects1 namely1
 in ,old ,slavonic as ,perun1 in ,polish
 as ,piorun1 in ,bohemian as ,peraun1   
all meaning thunder or thunderstorm8#bed
  ,such facts strike me as if we saw the

 blood suddenly beginning to flow again 
through the veins of old mummies2 or as 
if the ,egyptian statues of black       
granite were suddenly to begin to speak 
again4 ,touched by the rays of modern   
science the old words--call them mummies
 or statues--begin indeed to live again1
 the old names of gods and heroes begin 
indeed to speak again4  ,all that is old
 becomes new1 all that is new becomes   
old1 and that one word1 ,parganya1      
seems1 like a charm1 to open before our 
eyes the cave or cottage in which the   
fathers of the ,aryan race1 our own     
fathers--whether we live on the ,baltic 
or on the ,indian ,ocean--are seen      
gathered together1 taking refuge from   
the buckets of ,parganya1 and saying1   
,stop now1 ,parganya2 thou hast sent    
rain2 thou hast made the deserts        
passable1 and hast made the plants to   
grow2 and thou hast obtained praise from
 man4         99       99       99      
99       99  ,we have still to consider 
the third class of gods1 in addition to 

the gods of the earth and the sky1      
namely the gods of the highest heaven1  
more serene in their character than the 
active and fighting gods of the air and 
the clouds1 and more remote from the    
eyes of man1 and therefore more         
mysterious in the exercise of their     
power than the gods of the earth or the 
air4  ,the principal deity is here no   
doubt the bright sky itself1 the old    
,dyaus1 worshipped as we know by the    
,aryans before they broke up into       
separate people and languages1 and      
surviving in ,greece as ,zeus1 in ,italy
 as ,jupiter1 ,heaven-father1 and among 
the ,teutonic tribes as ,tyr and ,tiu4  
,in the ,veda we saw him chiefly invoked
 in connection with the earth1 as       
,dyava-prithivi1 ,heaven and ,earth4 ,he
 is invoked by himself also1 but he is a
 vanishing god1 and his place is taken  
in most of the ,vedic poems by the      
younger and more active god1 ,indra4    
,another representative of the highest  
heaven1 as covering1 embracing1 and     

shielding all things1 is ,varuna1 a name
 derived from the root var1 to cover1   
and identical with the ,greek ,ouranos4 
,this god is one of the most interesting
 creations of the ,hindu mind1 because  
though we can still perceive the        
physical background from which he rises1
 the vast1 starry1 brilliant expanse    
above1 his features1 more than those of 
any of the ,vedic gods1 have become     
completely transfigured1 and he stands  
before us as a god who watches over the 
world1 punishes the evil-doer1 and even 
forgives the sins of those who implore  
his pardon4  ,i shall read you one of   
the hymns addressed to him3#bee         
,let us be blessed in thy service1 ,o   
,varuna1 for we always      think of    
thee and praise thee1 greeting thee day 
by day1      like the fires lighted on  
the altar1 at the approach of the       
rich dawns4    #b4       ,o ,varuna1 our
 guide1 let us stand in thy keeping1    
thou      who art rich in heroes and    
praised far and wide6 ,and you1         

unconquered sons of ,aditi1 deign to    
accept us as your      friends1 ,o gods6
    #c4       ,aditya1 the ruler1 sent  
forth these rivers2 they follow the     
law of ,varuna4 ,they tire not1 they    
cease not2 like birds      they fly     
quickly everywhere4    #d4       ,take  
from me my sin1 like a fetter1 and we   
shall increase1      ,o ,varuna1 the    
spring of thy law4 ,let not the thread  
be cut      while ,i weave my song6 ,let
 not the form of the workman break      
before the time6    #e4       ,take far 
away from me this terror1 ,o ,varuna2   
,thou1 ,o      righteous king1 have     
mercy on me6 ,like as a rope from a     
calf1 remove from me my sin2 for away   
from thee ,i am not      master even of 
the twinkling of an eye4    #f4         
,do not strike us1 ,varuna1 with weapons
 which at thy will      hurt the        
evil-doer4 ,let us not go where the     
light has      vanished6 ,scatter our   
enemies1 that we may live4    #g4       
,we did formerly1 ,o ,varuna1 and do    

now1 and shall in      future also1 sing
 praises to thee1 ,o mighty one6 ,for on
      thee1 unconquerable hero1 rest all
 statutes1 immovable1 as      if        
established on a rock4    #h4           
,move far away from me all              
self-committed guilt1 and may ,i        
not1 ,o king1 suffer for what others    
have committed6 ,many      dawns have   
not yet dawned2 grant us to live in     
them1 ,o      ,varuna4    #i4  ,you may 
have observed that in several verses of 
this hymn ,varuna was called ,aditya1 or
 son of ,aditi4 ,now ,aditi means       
infinitude1 from dita1 bound1 and a1    
not1 that is1 not bound1 not limited1   
absolute1 infinite4 ,aditi itself is now
 and then invoked in the ,veda1 as the  
,beyond1 as what is beyond the earth and
 the sky1 and the sun and the dawn--a   
most surprising conception in that early
 period of religious thought4 ,more     
frequently1 however1 than ,aditi1 we    
meet with the ,adityas1 literally the   
sons of ,aditi1 or the gods beyond the  

visible earth and sky--in one sense1 the
 infinite gods4 ,one of them is ,varuna1
 others ,mitra and ,aryaman 7,bhaga1    
,daksha1 ,amsa71 most of them abstract  
names1 though pointing to heaven and the
 solar light of heaven as their first1  
though almost forgotten source4  ,when  
,mitra and ,varuna are invoked together1
 we can still perceive dimly that they  
were meant originally for day and night1
 light and darkness4 ,but in their more 
personal and so to say dramatic aspect1 
day and night appear in the ,vedic      
mythology as the two ,asvins1 the two   
horsemen4  ,aditi1 too1 the infinite1   
still shows a few traces of her being   
originally connected with the boundless 
,dawn2 but again1 in her more personal  
and dramatic character1 the ,dawn is    
praised by the ,vedic poets as ,ushas1  
the ,greek ,eos1 the beautiful maid of  
the morning1 loved by the ,asvins1 loved
 by the sun1 but vanishing before him at
 the very moment when he tries to       
embrace her with his golden rays4 ,the  

sun himself1 whom we saw reflected      
several times before in some of the     
divine personifications of the air and  
the sky and even of the earth1 appears  
once more in his full personality1 as   
the sun of the sky1 under the names of  
,surya 7,helios71 ,savitri1 ,pushan1 and
 ,vishnu1 and many more4  ,you see from 
all this how great a mistake it would be
 to attempt to reduce the whole of      
,aryan mythology to solar concepts1 and 
to solar concepts only4 ,we have seen   
how largely the earth1 the air1 and the 
sky have each contributed their share to
 the earliest religious and mythological
 treasury of the ,vedic ,aryans4        
,nevertheless1 the ,sun occupied in that
 ancient collection of ,aryan thought1  
which we call ,mythology1 the same      
central and commanding position which1  
under different names1 it still holds in
 our own thoughts4  ,what we call the   
,morning1 the ancient ,aryans called the
 ,sun or the ,dawn2 and there is no     
solemnity so deep to a rightly-thinking 

creature as that of the ,dawn4 7,these  
are not my words1 but the words of one  
of our greatest poets1 one of the truest
 worshippers of ,nature--,john ,ruskin47
 ,what we call ,noon1 and ,evening1 and 
,night1 what we call ,spring and        
,winter1 what we call ,year1 and ,time1 
and ,life1 and ,eternity--all this the  
ancient ,aryans called ,sun4 ,and yet   
wise people wonder and say1 ,how curious
 that the ancient ,aryans should have   
had so many solar myths4 ,why1 every    
time we say ,good-morning1 we commit a  
solar myth4 ,every poet who sings about 
the ,may driving the ,winter from the   
field again commits a solar myth4 ,every
 ,christmas number of our               
newspapers--ringing out the old year and
 ringing in the new--is brimful of solar
 myths4 ,be not afraid of solar myths1  
but whenever in ancient mythology you   
meet with a name that1 according to the 
strictest phonetic rules 7for this is a 
sine qua non71 can be traced back to a  
word meaning sun1 or dawn1 or morning1  

or night1 or spring or winter1 accept it
 for what it was meant to be1 and do not
 be greatly surprised1 if a story told  
of a solar eponymos was originally a    
solar myth4  ,no one has more strongly  
protested against the extravagances of  
comparative mythologists in changing    
everything into solar legends1 than ,i  
have2 but if ,i read some of the        
arguments brought forward against this  
new science1 ,i confess they remind me  
of nothing so much as of the arguments  
brought forward1 centuries ago1 against 
the existence of ,antipodes6 ,people    
then appealed to what is called ,common 
,sense1 which ought to teach everybody  
that ,antipodes could not possibly      
exist1 because they would tumble off4   
,the best answer that astronomers could 
give1 was1 ,go and see4 ,and ,i can give
 no better answer to those learned      
skeptics who try to ridicule the        
,science of ,comparative ,mythology--,go
 and see6 that is1 go and read the      
,veda1 and before you have finished the 

first ,mandala1 ,i can promise you1 you 
will no longer shake your wise heads at 
solar myths1 whether in ,india1 or in   
,greece1 or in ,italy1 or even in       
,england1 where we see so little of the 
sun1 and talk all the more about the    
weather--that is1 about a solar myth4   
,we have thus seen from the hymns and   
prayers preserved to us in the          
,rig-,veda1 how a large number of       
so-called ,devas1 bright and sunny      
beings1 or gods1 were called into       
existence1 how the whole world was      
peopled with them1 and every act of     
nature1 whether on the earth or in the  
air or in the highest heaven1 ascribed  
to their agency4 ,when we say it        
thunders1 they said ,indra thunders2    
when we say1 it rains1 they said        
,parganya pours out his buckets2 when we
 say1 it dawns1 they said the beautiful 
,ushas appears like a dancer1 displaying
 her splendor2 when we say2 it grows    
dark1 they said ,surya unharnesses his  
steeds4 ,the whole of nature was alive  

to the poets of the ,veda1 the presence 
of the gods was felt everywhere1 and in 
that sentiment of the presence of the   
gods there was a germ of religious      
morality1 sufficiently strong1 it would 
seem1 to restrain people from committing
 as it were before the eyes of their    
gods what they were ashamed to commit   
before the eyes of men4 ,when speaking  
of ,varuna1 the old god of the sky1 one 
poet says3#bef      ,varuna1 the great  
lord of these worlds1 sees as if he were
     near4 ,if a man stands or walks or 
hides1 if he goes to lie     down or to 
get up1 what two people sitting together
 whisper     to each other1 ,king       
,varuna knows it1 he is there as the    
third4#beg ,this earth too belongs to   
,varuna1 the ,king1 and     this wide   
sky with its ends far apart4 ,the two   
seas 7the sky     and the ocean7 are    
,varuna's loins2 he is also contained in
     this small drop of water4 ,he who  
should flee far beyond the     sky1 even
 he would not be rid of ,varuna1 the    

,king4#beh ,his     spies proceed from  
heaven toward this world2 with thousand 
eyes they overlook this earth4 ,king    
,varuna sees all this1     what is      
between heaven and earth1 and what is   
beyond4 ,he has     counted the         
twinklings of the eyes of men4 ,as a    
player throws     down the dice1 he     
settles all things 7irrevocably74 ,may  
all     thy fatal snares which stand    
spread out seven by seven and           
threefold1 catch the man who tells a    
lie1 may they pass by     him who speaks
 the truth4  ,you see this is as        
beautiful1 and in some respects as true1
 as anything in the ,psalms4 ,and yet we
 know that there never was such a ,deva1
 or god1 or such a thing as ,varuna4 ,we
 know it is a mere name1 meaning        
originally covering or all-embracing1   
which was applied to the visible starry 
sky1 and afterward1 by a process        
perfectly intelligible1 developed into  
the name of a ,being1 endowed with human
 and superhuman qualities4  ,and what   

applies to ,varuna applies to all the   
other gods of the ,veda and the ,vedic  
religion1 whether three in number1 or   
thirty-three1 or1 as one poet said1     
three thousand three hundred and        
thirty-nine gods4#bei ,they are all but 
names1 quite as much as ,jupiter and    
,apollo and ,minerva2 in fact1 quite as 
much as all the gods of every religion  
who are called by such appellative      
titles4  ,possibly1 if any one had said 
this during the ,vedic age in ,india1 or
 even during the ,periklean age in      
,greece1 he would have been called1 like
 ,sokrates1 a blasphemer or an atheist4 
,and yet nothing can be clearer or      
truer1 and we shall see that some of the
 poets of the ,veda too1 and1 still     
more1 the later ,vedantic philosopher1  
had a clear insight that it was so4     
,only let us be careful in the use of   
that phrase it is a mere name4 ,no name 
is a mere name4 ,every name was         
originally meant for something2 only it 
often failed to express what it was     

meant to express1 and then became a weak
 or an empty name1 or what we then call 
a mere name4 ,so it was with these names
 of the ,vedic gods4 ,they were all     
meant to express the ,beyond1 the       
,invisible behind the ,visible1 the     
,infinite within the ,finite1 the       
,supernatural above the ,natural1 the   
,divine1 omnipresent1 and omnipotent4   
,they failed in expressing what1 by its 
very nature1 must always remain         
inexpressible4 ,but that ,inexpressible 
itself remained1 and in spite of all    
these failures1 it never succumbed1 or  
vanished from the mind of the ancient   
thinkers and poets1 but always called   
for new and better names1 nay calls for 
them even now1 and will call for them to
 the very end of man's existence upon   
earth4  ,,footnotes3  ,footnote #bba3   
,muir1 iv4 p4 #bji  ,footnote #bbb3     
,muir1 iv4 p4 #bad4  ,footnote #bbc3    
,hibbert ,lectures1 p4 #cjg4  ,footnote 
#bbd3 ,x4 #afh1 #c1 #d4  ,footnote #bbe3
 ,see ,kaegi1 ,rig-,veda1 p4 #fa4       

,footnote #bbf3 ,rig-,veda ,,ii4 #ac1   
#ab2 ,,iv4 #ai1 #f4  ,footnote #bbg3    
,joshua x4 #ac4  ,footnote #bbh3        
,rig-,veda ,,iv4 #cj1 #c2 ,x4 #ach1 #c4 
,footnote #bbi3 ,l4 c4 ,,viii4 #cg1 #c4 
,footnote #bcj3 ,l4 c4 ,,viii4 #gh1 #e4 
,footnote #bca3 ,i am very strongly     
inclined to regard these names as       
,kushite or ,semitic2 ,hermes1 from     
,hebrew3 ,cherem1 the sun2 ,dionysos1   
from dyan1 the judge1 and nisi1 mankind2
 ,orpheus1 from ,orfa1 the ,arabic name 
of ,edessa2 ,prometheus1 from pro and   
manthano1 to learn4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote 
#bcb3 ,muir1 iv4 p4 #bc4  ,footnote     
#bcc3 ,ibid4 p4 #adb4 ,an excellent     
paper on ,parganya was published by     
,buehler in #ahfb1 ,orient und          
,occident1 vol4 i4 p4 #bad4  ,footnote  
#bcd3 ,rig-,veda ,,vii4 #aja1 #f4       
,footnote #bce3 ,rig-,veda ,v4 #fc1     
#c-f4  ,footnote #bcf3 ,l4 c4 ,i4 #ch1  
#i4  ,footnote #bcg3 ,l4 c4 ,i4 #afd1   
#ea4  ,footnote #bch3 ,l4 c4 ,x4 #ih1   
#a4  ,footnote #bci3 ,rig-,veda ,v4 #hc4

 ,see ,buehler1 ,orient und ,occident1  
vol4 i4 p4 #bad2 ,zimmer1 ,altindisches 
,leben1 p4 #dc4  ,footnote #bdj3 ,both  
,buehler 7,orient und ,occident1 vol4 i1
 p4 #bbd7 and ,zimmer 7,z4 f4 ,d4 ,a4   
vii4 p4 #afi7 say that the lightning is 
represented as the son of ,parganya in  
,rig-,veda ,,vii4 #aja1 #a4 ,this seems 
doubtful4  ,footnote #bda3 ,rig-,veda   
,,vii4 #ajb1 #a4  ,footnote #bdb3 ,l4 c4
 ,,viii4 #f1 #a4  ,footnote #bdc3 ,see  
,max ,mueller1 ,sanskrit ,grammar1 ,sec4
 #agd1 #aj4  ,footnote #bdd3 ,cf4 ,gobh4
 ,grihya ,s4 ,,iii4 #c1 #ae1            
vidyut--stanayitnu--prishiteshu4        
,footnote #bde3 ,uggvaladatta1 in his   
commentary on the ,unadi-sutras1 iii4   
#ajc4 admits the same transition of sh  
into g in the verb prish1 as the etymon 
of parganya4  ,footnote #bdf3 ,for      
different etymologies1 see ,buehler1    
,orient und ,occident1 i4 p4 #bad2      
,muir1 ,original ,sanskrit ,texts1 v4 p4
 #adj2 ,grassmann1 in his ,dictionary to
 the ,rig-,veda1 s4 v42 ,zimmer1        

,zeitscrift fuer ,deutsches ,alterthum1 
,neue ,folge1 vii4 p4 #afd4  ,footnote  
#bdg3 ,in order to identify ,perkunas   
with ,parganya1 we must go another step 
backward1 and look upon g or g1 in the  
root parg1 as a weakening of an original
 k in park4 ,this1 however1 is a        
frequent phonetic process4 ,see         
,buehler1 in ,benfey's ,orient und      
,occident1 ii4 p4 #gag4  ,footnote #bdh3
 ,lituanian perkun-kulke1 thunder-bolt1 
perkuno gaisis1 storm4 ,see ,voelkel1   
,die lettischen ,sprachreste1 #ahgi1 p4 
#bc4  ,footnote #bdi3 ,perkuno1 war der 
dritte ,abgott und man ihn anruffte um's
 ,gewitters willen1 damit sie ,regen    
haetten und schoen wetter zu seiner     
,zeit1 und ihn der ,donner und blix kein
 schaden thett4 ,cf4 ,gottesides bei den
 alten ,preussen1 ,berlin1 #ahgj1 p4    
#bc4 ,the triad of the gods is called   
,triburti1 ,tryboze2 l4 c4 p4 #bi4      
,footnote #bej3 ,grimm1 ,teutonic       
,mythology1 p4 #age2 and ,lasitzki      
7,lasicius7 ,joannes ,de ,russorum1     

,moscovitarum et ,tartarorum religione1 
sacrificiis1 nuptiarum et funerum ritu1 
,spirae ,nemetum1 #aehb2 idem ,de ,diis 
,samagitarum4  ,footnote #bea3 ,grimm1  
l4 c4 p4 #agf1 quoting from ,joh4       
,gutslaff1 ,kurzer ,bericht und         
,unterricht von der falsch heilig       
genannten ,baeche in ,liefland          
,woehhanda1 ,dorpat1 #afdd1 pp4         
#cfb-cfd4  ,footnote #beb3 ,in modern   
,esthonian ,pitkne1 the ,finnish        
,pitcainen7874  ,footnote #bec3 ,on     
foreign influences in ,esthonian        
stories1 see ,ehstniche ,maerchen1 von  
,t4 ,kreutzwald1 #ahfi1 ,vorwort 7by    
,schiefner71 p4 iv4  ,footnote #bed3    
,grimm suggests in his ,teutonic        
,mythology that ,parganya should be     
identified with the ,gothic fairguni1 or
 mountain4 ,he imagines that from being 
regarded as the abode of the god it had 
finally been called by his name4        
,fergunna and ,virgunia1 two names of   
mountains in ,germany1 are relics of the
 name4 ,the name of the god1 if         

preserved in the ,gothic1 would have    
been ,fairguneis2 and indeed in the ,old
 ,norse language ,fioergynn is the      
father of ,frigg1 the wife of ,odin1 and
 ,fioergynnior1 the ,earth-goddess1 is  
mother of ,thor4 ,professor ,zimmer     
takes the same view4 ,grimm thinks that 
the ,greeks and ,romans1 by changing f  
into h1 represented ,fergunni by        
,hercynia1 and1 in fine1 he traces the  
words berg and burg back to             
,parganya4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #bee3    
,rig-,veda ,,ii4 #bh4  ,footnote #bef3  
,atharva-,veda ,,iv4 #af4  ,footnote    
#beg3 ,psalm cxxxix4 #a1 #b1 ,o ,lord1  
thou hast searched me and known me4     
,thou knowest my downsitting and mine   
uprising1 thou understandest my thought 
afar off4  ,footnote #beh3 ,psalm       
cxxxix4 #i1 ,if ,i take the wings of the
 morning1 and dwell in the uttermost    
parts of the sea2 even there shall thy  
hand lead me1 and thy right hand shall  
hold me4  ,footnote #bei3 ,rig-veda     
,,iii4 #i1 #i2 ,x4 #eb1 #f4             

,,lecture ,,vii4  ,,veda ,,and          
,,vedanta4   ,i do not wonder that ,i   
should have been asked by some of my    
hearers to devote part of my last       
lecture to answering the question1 how  
the ,vedic literature could have been   
composed and preserved1 if writing was  
unknown in ,india before #ejj ,b4,c41   
while the hymns of the ,rig-,veda are   
said to date from #aejj ,b4,c4          
,classical scholars naturally ask what  
is the date of our oldest ,,mss4 of the 
,rig-,veda1 and what is the evidence on 
which so high an antiquity is assigned  
to its contents4 ,i shall try to answer 
this question as well as ,i can1 and ,i 
shall begin with a humble confession    
that the oldest ,,mss4 of the           
,rig-,veda1 known to us at present1 date
 not from #aejj ,b4,c41 but from about  
#aejj ,a4,d4  ,we have therefore a gap  
of three thousand years1 which it will  
require a strong arch of argument to    
bridge over4  ,but that is not all4     
,you may know how1 in the beginning of  

this century1 when the age of the       
,homeric poems was discussed1 a ,german 
scholar1 ,frederick ,august ,wolf1 asked
 two momentous questions3       #a4 ,at 
what time did the ,greeks first become  
acquainted with      the alphabet and   
use it for inscriptions on public       
monuments1 coins1 shields1 and for      
contracts1 both public      and         
private8#bfj       #b4 ,at what time did
 the ,greeks first think of using       
writing      for literary purposes1 and 
what materials did they employ      for 
that purpose8  ,these two questions and 
the answers they elicited threw quite a 
new light on the nebulous periods of    
,greek literature4 ,a fact more firmly  
established than any other in the       
ancient history of ,greece is that the  
,ionians learned the alphabet from the  
,phenicians4 ,the ,ionians always called
 their letters ,phenician letters1#bfa  
and the very name of ,alphabet was a    
,phenician word4 ,we can well understand
 that the ,phenicians should have taught

 the ,ionians in ,asia ,minor a         
knowledge of the alphabet1 partly for   
commercial purposes1 i4e4 for making    
contracts1 partly for enabling them to  
use those useful little sheets1 called  
,periplus1 or ,circumnavigations1 which 
at that time were as precious to sailors
 as maps were to the adventurous seamen 
of the middle ages4 ,but from that to a 
written literature1 in our sense of the 
word1 there is still a wide step4 ,it is
 well known that the ,germans1          
particularly in the ,north1 had their   
,runes for inscriptions on tombs1       
goblets1 public monuments1 but not for  
literary purposes4#bfb ,even if a few   
,ionians at ,miletus and other centres  
of political and commercial life        
acquired the art of writing1 where could
 they find writing materials8 and still 
more important1 where could they find   
readers8 ,the ,ionians1 when they began 
to write1 had to be satisfied with a    
hide or pieces of leather1 which they   
called diphthera1 and until that was    

brought to the perfection of vellum or  
parchment1 the occupation of an author  
cannot have been very agreeable4#bfc    
,so far as we know at present the       
,ionians began to write about the middle
 of the sixth century ,b4,c42 and1      
whatever may have been said to the      
contrary1 ,wolf's dictum still holds    
good that with them the beginning of a  
written literature was the same as the  
beginning of prose writing4  ,writing at
 that time was an effort1 and such an   
effort was made for some great purpose  
only4 ,hence the first written skins    
were what we should call ,murray's      
,handbooks1 called ,periegesis or       
,periodos1 or1 if treating of           
sea-voyages1 ,periplus1 that is1        
guide-books1 books to lead travellers   
round a country or round a town4        
,connected with these itineraries were  
the accounts of the foundations of      
cities1 the ,ktisis4 ,such books existed
 in ,asia ,minor during the sixth and   
fifth centuries1 and their writers were 

called by a general term1 ,logographi1  
or ,greek3 logioi or ,greek3            
logopoioi1#bfd as opposed to ,greek3    
aoidoi1 the poets4 ,they were the       
forerunners of the ,greek historians1   
and ,herodotus 7#ddc ,b4,c471 the       
so-called father of history1 made       
frequent use of their works4  ,the whole
 of this incipient literary activity    
belonged to ,asia ,minor4 ,from ,guides 
through towns and countries1 literature 
seems to have spread at an early time to
 ,guides through life1 or philosophical 
dicta1 such as are ascribed to          
,anaximander the ,ionian 7#faj-edg      
,b4,c4#bfe71 and ,pherekydes the ,syrian
 7#edj ,b4,c474 ,these names carry us   
into the broad daylight of history1 for 
,anaximander was the teacher of         
,anaximenes1 ,anaximenes of ,anaxagoras1
 and ,anaxagoras of ,perikles4 ,at that 
time writing was a recognized art1 and  
its cultivation had been rendered       
possible chiefly through trade with     
,egypt and the importation of papyros4  

,in the time of ,a,eschylos 7#ejj       
,b4,c47 the idea of writing had become  
so familiar that he could use it again  
and again in poetical metaphors1#bff and
 there seems little reason why we should
 doubt that both ,peisistratos 7#ebh    
,b4,c47 and ,polykrates of ,samos 7#ebc 
,b4,c47 were among the first collectors 
of ,greek manuscripts4  ,in this manner 
the simple questions asked by ,wolf     
helped to reduce the history of ancient 
,greek literature to some kind of order1
 particularly with reference to its     
first beginnings4  ,it would therefore  
seem but reasonable that the two first  
questions to be asked by the students of
 ,sanskrit literature should have been3 
#a4 ,at what time did the people of     
,india become acquainted      with an   
alphabet8       #b4 ,at what time did   
they first use such alphabet for        
literary purposes8  ,curiously enough1  
however1 these questions remained in    
abeyance for a long time1 and1 as a     
consequence1 it was impossible to       

introduce even the first elements of    
order into the chaos of ancient         
,sanskrit literature4#bfg  ,i can here  
state a few facts only4 ,there are no   
inscriptions to be found anywhere in    
,india before the middle of the third   
century ,b4,c4 ,these inscriptions are  
,buddhist1 put up during the reign of   
,asoka1 the grandson of ,kandragupta1   
who was the contemporary of ,seleucus1  
and at whose court in ,patalibothra     
,megasthenes lived as ambassador of     
,seleucus4 ,here1 as you see1 we are on 
historical ground4 ,in fact1 there is   
little doubt that ,asoka1 the king who  
put up these inscriptions in several    
parts of his vast kingdom1 reigned from 
#bei-bbb ,b4,c4  ,these inscriptions are
 written in two alphabets--one written  
from right to left1 and clearly derived 
from an ,aramaaean1 that is1 a ,semitic 
alphabet2 the other written from left to
 right1 and clearly an adaptation1 and  
an artificial or systematic adaptation1 
of a ,semitic alphabet to the           

requirements of an ,indian language4    
,that second alphabet became the source 
of all ,indian alphabets1 and of many   
alphabets carried chiefly by ,buddhist  
teachers far beyond the limits of       
,india1 though it is possible that the  
earliest ,tamil alphabet may have been  
directly derived from the same ,semitic 
source which supplied both the          
dextrorsum and the sinistrorsum         
alphabets of ,india4  ,here then we have
 the first fact--viz4 that writing1 even
 for monumental purposes1 was unknown in
 ,india before the third century ,b4,c4 
,but writing for commercial purposes was
 known in ,india before that time4      
,megasthenes was no doubt quite right   
when he said that the ,indians did not  
know letters1#bfh that their laws were  
not written1 and that they administered 
justice from memory4 ,but ,nearchus1 the
 admiral of ,alexander the ,great1 who  
sailed down the ,indus 7#cbe ,b4,c471   
and was therefore brought in contact    
with the merchants frequenting the      

maritime stations of ,india1 was        
probably equally right in declaring that
 the ,indians wrote letters on cotton   
that had been well beaten together4     
,these were no doubt commercial         
documents1 contracts1 it may be1 with   
,phenician or ,egyptian captains1 and   
they would prove nothing as to the      
existence in ,india at that time of what
 we mean by a written literature4 ,in   
fact1 ,nearchus himself affirms what    
,megasthenes said after him1 namely that
 the laws of the sophists in ,india were
 not written4 ,if1 at the same time1 the
 ,greek travellers in ,india speak of   
mile-stones1 and of cattle marked by the
 ,indians with various signs and also   
with numbers1 all this would perfectly  
agree with what we know from other      
sources1 that though the art of writing 
may have reached ,india before the time 
of ,alexander's conquest1 its employment
 for literary purposes cannot date from 
a much earlier time4  ,here then we are 
brought face to face with a most        

startling fact4 ,writing was unknown in 
,india before the fourth century before 
,christ1 and yet we are asked to believe
 that the ,vedic literature in its three
 well-defined periods1 the ,mantra1     
,brahmana1 and ,sutra periods1 goes back
 to at least a thousand years before our
 era4  ,now the ,rig-,veda alone1 which 
contains a collection of ten books of   
hymns addressed to various deities1     
consists of #ajag 7#ajbh7 poems1 #aj1ehj
 verses1 and about #aec1hbf words4#bfi  
,how were these poems composed--for they
 are composed in very perfect metre--and
 how1 after having been composed1 were  
they handed down from #aejj before      
,christ to #aejj after ,christ1 the time
 to which most of our best ,sanskrit    
,,mss4 belong8  ,entirely by memory4#bgj
 ,this may sound startling1 but--what   
will sound still more startling1 and yet
 is a fact that can easily be           
ascertained by anybody who doubts it--at
 the present moment1 if every ,,ms4 of  
the ,rig-,veda were lost1 we should be  

able to recover the whole of it--from   
the memory of the ,srotriyas in ,india4 
,these native students learn the ,veda  
by heart1 and they learn it from the    
mouth of their ,guru1 never from a      
,,ms41 still less from my printed       
edition--and after a time they teach it 
again to their pupils4  ,i have had such
 students in my room at ,oxford1 who not
 only could repeat these hymns1 but who 
repeated them with the proper accents   
7for the ,vedic ,sanskrit has accents   
like ,greek71 nay1 who1 when looking    
through my printed edition of the       
,rig-,veda1 could point out a misprint  
without the slightest hesitation4  ,i   
can tell you more4 ,there are hardly any
 various readings in our ,,mss4 of the  
,rig-,veda1 but various schools in      
,india have their own readings of       
certain passages1 and they hand down    
those readings with great care4 ,so1    
instead of collating ,,mss41 as we do in
 ,greek and ,latin1 ,i have asked some  
friends of mine to collate those ,vedic 

students1 who carry their own ,rig-,veda
 in their memory1 and to let me have the
 various readings from these living     
authorities4  ,here then we are not     
dealing with theories1 but with facts1  
which anybody may verify4 ,the whole of 
the ,rig-,veda1 and a great deal more1  
still exists at the present moment in   
the oral tradition of a number of       
scholars who1 if they liked1 could write
 down every letter1 and every accent1   
exactly as we find them in our old      
,,mss4 ,of course1 this learning by     
heart is carried on under a strict      
discipline2 it is1 in fact1 considered  
as a sacred duty4 ,a native friend of   
mine1 himself a very distinguished      
,vedic scholar1 tells me that a boy1 who
 is to be brought up as a student of the
 ,rig-,veda1 has to spend about eight   
years in the house of his teacher4 ,he  
has to learn ten books3 first1 the hymns
 of the ,rig-,veda2 then a prose        
treatise on sacrifices1 called the      
,brahmana2 then the so-called           

,forest-book or ,aranyaka2 then the     
rules on domestic ceremonies2 and       
lastly1 six treatises on pronunciation1 
grammar1 etymology1 metre1 astronomy1   
and ceremonial4  ,these ten books1 it   
has been calculated1 contain nearly     
#cj1jjj lines1 each line reckoned as    
thirty-two syllables4  ,a pupil studies 
every day during the eight years of his 
theological apprenticeship1 except on   
the holidays1 which are called          
non-reading days4 ,there being #cfj days
 in a lunar year1 the eight years would 
give him #bhhj days4 ,deduct from this  
#chd holidays1 and you get #bdif working
 days during the eight years4 ,if you   
divide the number of lines1 #cj1jjj1 by 
the number of working days1 you get     
about twelve lines to be learned each   
day1 though much time is taken up1 in   
addition1 for practising and rehearsing 
what has been learned before4  ,now this
 is the state of things at present1     
though ,i doubt whether it will last    
much longer1 and ,i always impress on my

 friends in ,india1 and therefore       
impress on those also who will soon be  
settled as civil servants in ,india1 the
 duty of trying to learn all that can   
still be learned from those living      
libraries4 ,much ancient ,sanskrit lore 
will be lost forever when that race of  
,srotriyas becomes extinct4  ,but now   
let us look back4 ,about a thousand     
years ago a ,chinese of the name of     
,i-tsing1 a ,buddhist1 went to ,india to
 learn ,sanskrit1 in order to be able to
 translate some of the sacred books of  
his own religion1 which were originally 
written in ,sanskrit1 into ,chinese4 ,he
 left ,china in #fga1 arrived at        
,tamralipti in ,india in #fgc1 and went 
to the great ,college and ,monastery of 
,nalanda1 where he studied ,sanskrit4   
,he returned to ,china in #fie1 and died
 in #gjc4bga  ,in one of his works which
 we still possess in ,chinese1 he gives 
an account of what he saw in ,india1 not
 only among his own co-religionists1 the
 ,buddhists1 but likewise among the     

,brahmans4#bgb  ,of the ,buddhist       
priests he says that after they have    
learned to recite the five and the ten  
precepts1 they are taught the #djj hymns
 of ,matriketa1 and afterward the #aej  
hymns of the same poet4 ,when they are  
able to recite these1 they begin the    
study of the ,sutras of their ,sacred   
,canon4 ,they also learn by heart the   
,gatakamala1#bgc which gives an account 
of ,buddha in former states of          
existence4 ,speaking of what he calls   
the islands of the ,southern ,sea1 which
 he visited after leaving ,india1       
,i-tsing says3 ,there are more than ten 
islands in the ,south ,sea4 ,there both 
priests and laymen recite the           
,gatakamala1 as they recite the hymns   
mentioned before2 but it has not yet    
been translated into ,chinese4  ,one of 
these stories1 he proceeds to say1 was  
versified by a king 7,kie-zhih7 and set 
to music1 and was performed before the  
public with a band and                  
dancing--evidently a ,buddhist mystery  

play4  ,i-tsing then gives a short      
account of the system of education4     
,children1 he says1 learn the forty-nine
 letters and the #aj1jjj compound       
letters when they are six years old1 and
 generally finish them in half a year4  
,this corresponds to about #cjj verses1 
each sloka of thirty-two syllables4 ,it 
was originally taught by ,mahesvara4 ,at
 eight years1 children begin to learn   
the grammar of ,panini1 and know it     
after about eight months4 ,it consists  
of #ajjj slokas1 called ,sutras4  ,then 
follows the list of roots 7dhatu7 and   
the three appendices 7khila71 consisting
 again of #ajjj slokas4 ,boys begin the 
three appendices when they are ten years
 old1 and finish them in three years4   
,when they have reached the age of      
fifteen1 they begin to study a          
commentary on the grammar 7,sutra71 and 
spend five years on learning it4 ,and   
here ,i-tsing gives the following advice
 to his countrymen1 many of whom came to
 ,india to learn ,sanskrit1 but seem to 

have learned it very imperfectly4 ,if   
men of ,china1 he writes1 go to ,india1 
wishing to study there1 they should     
first of all learn these grammatical    
works1 and then only other subjects2 if 
not1 they will merely waste their labor4
 ,these works should be learned by      
heart4 ,but this is suited for men of   
high quality only4444 ,they should study
 hard day and night1 without letting a  
moment pass for idle repose4 ,they      
should be like ,confucius1 through whose
 hard study the binding of his ,yih-king
 was three times cut asunder1 being worn
 away2 and like ,sui-shih1 who used to  
read a book repeatedly one hundred      
times4 ,then follows a remark1 more     
intelligible in ,chinese than in        
,english3 ,the hairs of a bull are      
counted by thousands1 the horn of a     
unicorn is only one4  ,i-tsing then     
speaks of the high degree of perfection 
to which the memory of these students   
attained1 both among ,buddhists and     
heretics4 ,such men1 he says1 could     

commit to memory the contents of two    
volumes1 learning them only once4  ,and 
then turning to the heretics1 or what we
 should call the orthodox ,brahmans1 he 
says3 ,the ,brahmanas are regarded      
throughout the five divisions of ,india 
as the most respectable4 ,they do not   
walk with the other three castes1 and   
other mixed classes of people are still 
further dissociated from them4 ,they    
revere their ,scriptures1 the four      
,vedas1 containing about #ajj1jjj       
verses4444 ,the ,vedas are handed down  
from mouth to mouth1 not written on     
paper4 ,there are in every generation   
some intelligent ,brahmans who can      
recite those #ajj1jjj verses4444 ,i     
myself saw such men4  ,here then we have
 an eye-witness who1 in the seventh     
century after ,christ1 visited ,india1  
learned ,sanskrit1 and spent about      
twenty years in different monasteries--a
 man who had no theories of his own     
about oral tradition1 but who1 on the   
contrary1 as coming from ,china1 was    

quite familiar with the idea of a       
written1 nay1 of a printed literature3  
and yet what does he say8 ,the ,vedas   
are not written on paper1 but handed    
down from mouth to mouth4  ,now1 ,i do  
not quite agree here with ,i-tsing4 ,at 
all events1 we must not conclude from   
what he says that there existed no      
,sanskrit ,,mss4 at all at his time4 ,we
 know they existed4 ,we know that in the
 first century of our era ,sanskrit     
,,mss4 were carried from ,india to      
,china1 and translated there4 ,most     
likely therefore there were ,,mss4 of   
the ,veda also in existence4 ,but       
,i-tsing1 for all that1 was right in    
supposing that these ,,mss4 were not    
allowed to be used by students1 and that
 they had always to learn the ,veda by  
heart and from the mouth of a properly  
qualified teacher4 ,the very fact that  
in the later law-books severe           
punishments are threatened against      
persons who copy the ,veda or learn it  
from a ,,mss41 shows that ,,mss4        

existed1 and that their existence       
interfered seriously with the ancient   
privileges of the ,brahmans1 as the only
 legitimate teachers of their sacred    
scriptures4  ,if now1 after having heard
 this account of ,i-tsing1 we go back   
for about another thousand years1 we    
shall feel less skeptical in accepting  
the evidence which we find in the       
so-called ,pratisakhyas1 that is1       
collections of rules which1 so far as we
 know at present1 go back to the fifth  
century before our era1 and which tell  
us almost exactly the same as what we   
can see in ,india at the present moment1
 namely that the education of children  
of the three twice-born castes1 the     
,brahmanas1 ,kshatriyas1 and ,vaisyas1  
consisted in their passing at least     
eight years in the house of a ,guru1 and
 learning by heart the ancient ,vedic   
hymns4  ,the art of teaching had even at
 that early time been reduced to a      
perfect system1 and at that time        
certainly there is not the slightest    

trace of anything1 such as a book1 or   
skin1 or parchment1 a sheet of paper1   
pen or ink1 being known even by name to 
the people of ,india2 while every       
expression connected with what we should
 call literature1 points to a literature
 7we cannot help using that word7       
existing in memory only1 and being      
handed down with the most scrupulous    
care by means of oral tradition4  ,i had
 to enter into these details because ,i 
know that1 with our ideas of literature1
 it requires an effort to imagine the   
bare possibility of a large amount of   
poetry1 and still more of prose1        
existing in any but a written form4 ,and
 yet here too we only see what we see   
elsewhere1 namely that man1 before the  
great discoveries of civilization were  
made1 was able by greater individual    
efforts to achieve what to us1          
accustomed to easier contrivances1 seems
 almost impossible4 ,so-called savages  
were able to chip flints1 to get fire by
 rubbing sticks of wood1 which baffles  

our handiest workmen4 ,are we to suppose
 that1 if they wished to preserve some  
songs which1 as they believed1 had once 
secured them the favor of their gods1   
had brought rain from heaven1 or led    
them on to victory1 they would have     
found no means of doing so8 ,we have    
only to read such accounts as1 for      
instance1 ,mr4 ,william ,wyatt ,gill has
 given us in his ,historical ,sketches  
of ,savage ,life in ,polynesia1#bgd to  
see how anxious even savages are to     
preserve the records of their ancient   
heroes1 kings1 and gods1 particularly   
when the dignity or nobility of certain 
families depends on these songs1 or when
 they contain what might be called the  
title-deeds to large estates4 ,and that 
the ,vedic ,indians were not the only   
savages of antiquity who discovered the 
means of preserving a large literature  
by means of oral tradition1 we may learn
 from ,caesar1#bge not a very credulous 
witness1 who tells us that the ,druids  
were said to know a large number of     

verses by heart2 that some of them spent
 twenty years in learning them1 and that
 they considered it wrong to commit them
 to writing--exactly the same story     
which we hear in ,india4  ,we must      
return once more to the question of     
dates4 ,we have traced the existence of 
the ,veda1 as handed down by oral       
tradition1 from our days to the days of 
,i-tsing in the seventh century after   
,christ1 and again to the period of the 
,pratisakhyas1 in the fifth century     
before ,christ4  ,in that fifth century 
,b4,c4 took place the rise of ,buddhism1
 a religion built up on the ruins of the
 ,vedic religion1 and founded1 so to    
say1 on the denial of the divine        
authority ascribed to the ,veda by all  
orthodox ,brahmans4  ,whatever exists1  
therefore1 of ,vedic literature must be 
accommodated within the centuries       
preceding the rise of ,buddhism1 and if 
,i tell you that there are three periods
 of ,vedic literature to be             
accommodated1 the third presupposing the

 second1 and the second the first1 and  
that even that first period presents us 
with a collection1 and a systematic     
collection of ,vedic hymns1 ,i think you
 will agree with me that it is from no  
desire for an extreme antiquity1 but    
simply from a respect for facts1 that   
students of the ,veda have come to the  
conclusion that these hymns1 of which   
the ,,mss4 do not carry us back beyond  
the fifteenth century after ,christ1    
took their origin in the fifteenth      
century before ,christ4         99      
99       99       99       99  ,one fact
 ,i must mention once more1 because ,i  
think it may carry conviction even      
against the stoutest skepticism4  ,i    
mentioned that the earliest inscriptions
 discovered in ,india belong to the     
reign of ,king ,asoka1 the grandson of  
,kandragupta1 who reigned from #bei-bbb 
before ,christ4 ,what is the language of
 those inscriptions8 ,is it the         
,sanskrit of the ,vedic hymns8          
,certainly not4 ,is it the later        

,sanskrit of the ,brahmanas and ,sutras8
 ,certainly not4 ,these inscriptions are
 written in the local dialects as then  
spoken in ,india1 and these local       
dialects differ from the grammatical    
,sanskrit about as much as ,italian does
 from ,latin4  ,what follows from this8 
,first1 that the archaic ,sanskrit of   
the ,veda had ceased to be spoken before
 the third century ,b4,c4 ,secondly1    
that even the later grammatical         
,sanskrit was no longer spoken and      
understood by the people at large2 that 
,sanskrit therefore had ceased1 nay1 we 
may say1 had long ceased to be the      
spoken language of the country when     
,buddhism arose1 and that therefore the 
youth and manhood of the ancient ,vedic 
language lie far beyond the period that 
gave birth to the teaching of ,buddha1  
who1 though he may have known ,sanskrit1
 and even ,vedic ,sanskrit1 insisted    
again and again on the duty that his    
disciples should preach his doctrines in
 the language of the people whom they   

wished to benefit4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,and now1 when the
 time allotted to me is nearly at an    
end1 ,i find1 as it always happens1 that
 ,i have not been able to say one half  
of what ,i hoped to say as to the       
lessons to be learned by us in ,india1  
even with regard to this one branch of  
human knowledge only1 the study of the  
origin of religion4 ,i hope1 however1 ,i
 may have succeeded in showing you the  
entirely new aspect which the old       
problem of the theogony1 or the origin  
and growth of the ,devas or gods1       
assumes from the light thrown upon it by
 the ,veda4 ,instead of positive        
theories1 we now have positive facts1   
such as you look for in vain anywhere   
else2 and though there is still a       
considerable interval between the ,devas
 of the ,veda1 even in their highest    
form1 and such concepts as ,zeus1       
,apollon1 and ,athene1 yet the chief    
riddle is solved1 and we know now at    
last what stuff the gods of the ancient 

world were made of4  ,but this theogonic
 process is but one side of the ancient 
,vedic religion1 and there are two other
 sides of at least the same importance  
and of even a deeper interest to us4    
,there are in fact three religions in   
the ,veda1 or1 if ,i may say so1 three  
naves in one great temple1 reared1 as it
 were1 before our eyes by poets1        
prophets1 and philosophers4 ,here too we
 can watch the work and the workmen4 ,we
 have not to deal with hard formulas    
only1 with unintelligible ceremonies1 or
 petrified fetiches4 ,we can see how the
 human mind arrives by a perfectly      
rational process at all its later       
irrationalities4 ,this is what          
distinguishes the ,veda from all other  
,sacred ,books4 ,much1 no doubt1 in the 
,veda also1 and in the ,vedic           
ceremonial1 is already old and          
unintelligible1 hard1 and petrified4    
,but in many cases the development of   
names and concepts1 their transition    
from the natural to the supernatural1   

from the individual to the general1 is  
still going on1 and it is for that very 
reason that we find it so difficult1 nay
 almost impossible1 to translate the    
growing thoughts of the ,veda into the  
full-grown and more than full-grown     
language of our time4  ,let us take one 
of the oldest words for god in the      
,veda1 such as d e v a1 the ,latin deus4
 ,the dictionaries tell you that d e v a
 means god and gods1 and so1 no doubt1  
it does4 ,but if we always translated d 
e v a in the ,vedic hymns by god1 we    
should not be translating1 but          
completely transforming the thoughts of 
the ,vedic poets4 ,i do not mean only   
that our idea of ,god is totally        
different from the idea that was        
intended to be expressed by d e v a2 but
 even the ,greek and ,roman concept of  
gods would be totally inadequate to     
convey the thoughts imbedded in the     
,vedic d e v a4 ,d e v a meant          
originally bright1 and nothing else4    
,meaning bright1 it was constantly used 

of the sky1 the stars1 the sun1 the     
dawn1 the day1 the spring1 the rivers1  
the earth2 and when a poet wished to    
speak of all of these by one and the    
same word--by what we should call a     
general term--he called them ,d e v a s4
 ,when that had been done1 ,d e v a did 
no longer mean the ,bright ones1 but the
 name comprehended all the qualities    
which the sky and the sun and the dawn  
shared in common1 excluding only those  
that were peculiar to each4  ,here you  
see how1 by the simplest process1 the ,d
 e v a s1 the bright ones1 might become 
and did become the ,d e v a s1 the      
heavenly1 the kind1 the powerful1 the   
invisible1 the immortal--and1 in the    
end1 something very like the ,greek3    
theoi 7or dii7 of ,greeks and ,romans4  
,in this way one ,beyond1 the ,beyond of
 ,nature1 was built up in the ancient   
religion of the ,veda1 and peopled with 
,devas1 and ,asuras1 and ,vasus1 and    
,adityas1 all names for the bright      
solar1 celestial1 diurnal1 and vernal   

powers of nature1 without altogether    
excluding1 however1 even the dark and   
unfriendly powers1 those of the night1  
of the dark clouds1 or of winter1       
capable of mischief1 but always destined
 in the end to succumb to the valor and 
strength of their bright antagonists4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,we now come to the second nave of the  
,vedic temple1 the second ,beyond that  
was dimly perceived1 and grasped and    
named by the ancient ,rishis1 namely the
 world of the ,departed ,spirits4#bgf   
,there was in ,india1 as elsewhere1     
another very early faith1 springing up  
naturally in the hearts of the people1  
that their fathers and mothers1 when    
they departed this life1 departed to a  
,beyond1 wherever it might be1 either in
 the ,east from whence all the bright   
,devas seemed to come1 or more commonly 
in the ,west1 the land to which they    
seemed to go1 called in the ,veda the   
realm of ,yama or the setting sun4 ,the 
idea that beings which once had been1   

could ever cease to be1 had not yet     
entered their minds2 and from the belief
 that their fathers existed somewhere1  
though they could see them no more1     
there arose the belief in another       
,beyond1 and the germs of another       
religion4  ,nor was the actual power of 
the fathers quite imperceptible or      
extinct even after their death4 ,their  
presence continued to be felt in the    
ancient laws and customs of the family1 
most of which rested on their will and  
their authority4 ,while their fathers   
were alive and strong1 their will was   
law2 and when1 after their death1 doubts
 or disputes arose on points of law or  
custom1 it was but natural that the     
memory and the authority of the fathers 
should be appealed to to settle such    
points--that the law should still be    
their will4  ,thus ,manu says 7,,iv4    
#agh73 ,on the path on which his fathers
 and grandfathers have walked1 on that  
path of good men let him walk1 and he   
will not go wrong4  ,in the same manner 

then in which1 out of the bright powers 
of nature1 the ,devas or gods had       
arisen1 there arose out of predicates   
shared in common by the departed1 such  
as p i t r i s1 fathers1 p r e t a1 gone
 away1 another general concept1 what we 
should call ,manes1 the kind ones1      
,ancestors1 ,shades1 ,spirits1 or       
,ghosts1 whose worship was nowhere more 
fully developed than in ,india4 ,that   
common name1 ,p i t r i s or ,fathers1  
gradually attracted toward itself all   
that the fathers shared in common4 ,it  
came to mean not only fathers1 but      
invisible1 kind1 powerful1 immortal1    
heavenly beings1 and we can watch in the
 ,veda1 better perhaps than anywhere    
else1 the inevitable1 yet most touching 
metamorphosis of ancient thought--the   
love of the child for father and mother 
becoming transfigured into an           
instinctive belief in the immortality of
 the soul4  ,it is strange1 and really  
more than strange1 that not only should 
this important and prominent side of the

 ancient religion of the ,hindus have   
been ignored1 but that of late its very 
existence should have been doubted4 ,i  
feel obliged1 therefore1 to add a few   
words in support of what ,i have said   
just now of the supreme importance of   
this belief in and this worship of      
ancestral spirits in ,india from the    
most ancient to the most modern times4  
,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 who has done so 
much in calling attention to            
ancestorship as a natural ingredient of 
religion among all savage nations1      
declares in the most emphatic           
manner1#bgg that he has seen it implied1
 that he has heard it in conversation1  
and that he now has it before him in    
print1 that no ,indo-,european or       
,semitic nation1 so far as we know1     
seems to have made a religion of the    
worship of the dead4 ,i do not doubt his
 words1 but ,i think that on so         
important a point1 ,mr4 ,herbert        
,spencer ought to have named his        
authorities4 ,it seems to me almost     

impossible that anybody who has ever    
opened a book on ,india should have made
 such a statement4 ,there are hymns in  
the ,rig-,veda addressed to the         
,fathers4 ,there are full descriptions  
of the worship due to the ,fathers in   
the ,brahmanas and ,sutras4 ,the epic   
poems1 the law books1 the ,puranas1 all 
are brimful of allusions to ancestral   
offerings4 ,the whole social fabric of  
,india1 with its laws of inheritance and
 marriage1#bgh rests on a belief in the 
,manes--and yet we are told that no     
,indo-,european nation seems to have    
made a religion of the worship of the   
dead4  ,the ,persians had their         
,fravashis1 the ,greeks their ,greek3   
eidola1 or rather their ,greek3 theoi   
patrooi and their ,greek3 daimones1     
,greek3 esthloi1 epichthonioi1 phylakes 
thneton anthropon2     hoi rha          
phylassousin te dikas kai schetlia erga1
     eera hessamenoi pante phoitontes   
ep' aian1     ploutodotai 7,hesiodi     
,opera et ,dies1 vv4 #abb-abf72bgi      

while among the ,romans the ,lares      
familiares and the ,divi ,manes were    
worshipped more zealously than any other
 gods4#bhj ,manu goes so far as to tell 
us in one place 7,,iii4 #bjc73 ,an      
oblation by ,brahmans to their ancestor 
transcends an oblation to the deities2  
and yet we are told that no             
,indo-,european nation seems to have    
made a religion of the worship of the   
dead4  ,such things ought really not to 
be1 if there is to be any progress in   
historical research1 and ,i cannot help 
thinking that what ,mr4 ,herbert        
,spencer meant was probably no more than
 that some scholars did not admit that  
the worship of the dead formed the whole
 of the religion of any of the          
,indo-,european nations4 ,that1 no      
doubt1 is perfectly true1 but it would  
be equally true1 ,i believe1 of almost  
any other religion4 ,and on this point  
again the students of anthropology will 
learn more1 ,i believe1 from the ,veda  
than from any other book4  ,in the ,veda

 the ,pitris1 or fathers1 are invoked   
together with the ,devas1 or gods1 but  
they are not confounded with them4 ,the 
,devas never become ,pitris1 and though 
such adjectives as d e v a are sometimes
 applied to the ,pitris1 and they are   
raised to the rank of the older classes 
of ,devas 7,manu ,,iii4 #aib1 #bhd1     
,yagnavalkya ,i4 #bfh71 it is easy to   
see that the ,pitris and ,devas had each
 their independent origin1 and that they
 represent two totally distinct phases  
of the human mind in the creation of its
 objects of worship4 ,this is a lesson  
which ought never to be forgotten4  ,we 
read in the ,rig-,veda1 ,,vi4 #eb1 #d3  
,may the rising ,dawns protect me1 may  
the flowing ,rivers protect me1 may the 
firm ,mountains protect me1 may the     
,fathers protect me at this invocation  
of the gods4 ,here nothing can be       
clearer than the separate existence of  
the ,fathers1 apart from the ,dawns1 the
 ,rivers1 and the ,mountains1 though    
they are included in one common         

,devahuti1 however1 or invocation of the
 gods4  ,we must distinguish1 however1  
from the very first1 between two        
classes1 or rather between two concepts 
of ,fathers1 the one comprising the     
distant1 half-forgotten1 and almost     
mythical ancestors of certain families  
or of what would have been to the poets 
of the ,veda1 the whole human race1 the 
other consisting of the fathers who had 
but lately departed1 and who were still1
 as it were1 personally remembered and  
revered4  ,the old ancestors in general 
approach more nearly to the gods4 ,they 
are often represented as having gone to 
the abode of ,yama1 the ruler of the    
departed1 and to live there in company  
with some of the ,devas 7,rig-,veda     
,,vii4 #gf1 #d1 devanam sadhamadah2     
,rig-,veda ,x4 #af1 #a1 devanam         
vasanih74  ,we sometimes read of the    
great-grandfathers being in heaven1 the 
grandfathers in the sky1 the fathers on 
the earth1 the first in company with the
 ,adityas1 the second with the ,rudras1 

the last with the ,vasus4 ,all these are
 individual poetical conceptions4#bha   
,yama himself is sometimes invoked as if
 he were one of the ,fathers1 the first 
of mortals that died or that trod the   
path of the ,fathers 7the pitriyana1 ,x4
 #b1 #g7 leading to the common sunset in
 the ,west4#bhb ,still his real         
,deva-like nature is never completely   
lost1 and1 as the god of the setting    
sun1 he is indeed the leader of the     
,fathers1 but not one of the ,fathers   
himself4#bhc  ,many of the benefits     
which men enjoyed on earth were referred
 to the ,fathers1 as having first been  
procured and first enjoyed by them4     
,they performed the first sacrifices1   
and secured the benefits arising from   
them4 ,even the great events in nature1 
such as the rising of the sun1 the light
 of the day and the darkness of the     
night1 were sometimes referred to them1 
and they were praised for having broken 
open the dark stable of the morning and 
having brought out the cows1 that is1   

the days 7,x4 #fh1 #aa74bhd ,they were  
even praised for having adorned the     
night with stars1 while in later writing
 the stars are said to be the lights of 
the good people who have entered into   
heaven4#bhe ,similar ideas1 we know1    
prevailed among the ancient ,persians1  
,greeks1 and ,romans4 ,the ,fathers are 
called in the ,veda truthful 7satya71   
wise 7suvidatra71 righteous 7ritavat71  
poets 7kavi71 leaders 7pathikrit71 and  
one of their most frequent epithets is  
somya1 delighting in ,soma1 ,soma being 
the ancient intoxicating beverage of the
 ,vedic ,rishis1 which was believed to  
bestow immortality1#bhf but which had   
been lost1 or at all events had become  
difficult to obtain by the ,aryans1     
after their migration into the          
,punjab4#bhg  ,the families of the      
,bhrigus1 the ,angiras1 the             
,atharvans#bhh all have their ,pitris or
 ,fathers1 who are invoked to sit down  
on the grass and to accept the offerings
 placed there for them4 ,even the name  

of ,pitriyagna1 sacrifice of the        
,fathers1 occurs already in the hymns of
 the ,rig-,veda4#bhi  ,the following is 
one of the hymns of the ,rig-,veda by   
which those ancient ,fathers were       
invited to come to their sacrifice      
7,rig-veda ,x4 #ae73bij       #a4 ,may  
the ,soma-loving ,fathers1 the lowest1  
the highest1      and the middle1 arise4
 ,may the gentle and righteous ,fathers 
who have come to life 7again71 protect  
us in these      invocations6       #b4 
,may this salutation be for the ,fathers
 to-day1 for those      who have        
departed before or after2 whether they  
now dwell in      the sky above the     
earth1 or among the blessed people4     
#c4 ,i invited the wise ,fathers 444 may
 they come hither      quickly1 and     
sitting on the grass readily partake of 
the      poured-out draught6       #d4  
,come hither to us with your help1 you  
,fathers who sit on      the grass6 ,we 
have prepared these libations for you1  
accept      them6 ,come hither with your

 most blessed protection1 and      give 
us health and wealth without fail6      
#e4 ,the ,soma-loving ,fathers have been
 called hither to their      dear viands
 which are placed on the grass4 ,let    
them      approach1 let them listen1 let
 them bless1 let them protect      us6  
#f4 ,bending your knee and sitting on my
 right1 accept all      this sacrifice4 
,do not hurt us1 ,o ,fathers1 for any   
wrong      that we may have committed   
against you1 men as we are4       #g4   
,when you sit down on the lap of the red
 dawns1 grant      wealth to the        
generous mortal6 ,o ,fathers1 give of   
your      treasure to the sons of this  
man here1 and bestow vigor here      on 
us6       #h4 ,may ,yama1 as a friend   
with friends1 consume the      offerings
 according to his wish1 united with     
those old      ,soma-loving ,fathers of 
ours1 the ,vasishthas1 who arranged     
the ,soma draught4       #i4 ,come      
hither1 ,o ,agni1 with those wise and   
truthful      ,fathers who like to sit  

down near the hearth1 who thirsted      
when yearning for the gods1 who knew the
 sacrifice1 and who      were strong in 
praise with their songs4       #aj4     
,come1 ,o ,agni1 with those ancient     
fathers who like to      sit down near  
the hearth1 who forever praise the gods1
 the      truthful1 who eat and drink   
our oblations1 making company      with 
,indra and the gods4       #aa4 ,o      
,fathers1 you who have been consumed by 
,agni1 come      here1 sit down on your 
seats1 you kind guides6 ,eat of the     
offerings which we have placed on the   
turf1 and then grant      us wealth and 
strong offspring6       #ab4 ,o ,agni1  
,o ,gatavedas1#bia at our request thou  
hast      carried the offerings1 having 
first rendered them sweet4      ,thou   
gavest them to the ,fathers1 and they   
fed on their      share4 ,eat also1 ,o  
god1 the proffered oblations6       #ac4
 ,the ,fathers who are here1 and the    
,fathers who are not      here1 those   
whom we know1 and those whom we know    

not1 thou      ,gatavedas1 knowest how  
many they are1 accept the well-made     
sacrifice with the sacrificial portions6
       #ad4 ,to those who1 whether      
burned by fire or not burned by         
fire1 rejoice in their share in the     
midst of heaven1 grant      thou1 ,o    
,king1 that their body may take that    
life which they      wish for6#bib      
,distinct from the worship offered to   
these primitive ancestors1 is the       
reverence which from an early time was  
felt to be due by children to their     
departed father1 soon also to their     
grandfather1 and great-grandfather4 ,the
 ceremonies in which these more personal
 feelings found expression were of a    
more domestic character1 and allowed    
therefore of greater local variety4  ,it
 would be quite impossible to give here 
even an abstract only of the minute     
regulations which have been preserved to
 us in the ,brahmanas1 the ,srauta1     
,grihya1 and ,samayakarika ,sutras1 the 
,law-books1 and a mass of later manuals 

on the performance of endless rites1 all
 intended to honor the ,departed4 ,such 
are the minute prescriptions as to times
 and seasons1 as to altars and          
offerings1 as to the number and shape of
 the sacrificial vessels1 as to the     
proper postures of the sacrificers1 and 
the different arrangements of the       
vessels1 that it is extremely difficult 
to catch hold of what we really care    
for1 namely1 the thoughts and intentions
 of those who first devised all these   
intricacies4 ,much has been written on  
this class of sacrifices by ,european   
scholars also1 beginning with           
,colebrooke's excellent essays on ,the  
,religious ,ceremonies of the ,hindus1  
first published in the ,asiatic         
,researches1 vol4 v4 ,calcutta1 #agih4  
,but when we ask the simple question1   
,what was the thought from whence all   
this outward ceremonial sprang1 and what
 was the natural craving of the human   
heart which it seemed to satisfy1 we    
hardly get an intelligible answer       

anywhere4 ,it is true that ,sraddhas    
continue to be performed all over ,india
 to the present day1 but we know how    
widely the modern ceremonial has        
diverged from the rules laid down in the
 old ,sastras1 and it is quite clear    
from the descriptions given to us by    
recent travellers that no one can       
understand the purport even of these    
survivals of the old ceremonial1 unless 
he understands ,sanskrit and can read   
the old ,sutras4 ,we are indeed told in 
full detail how the cakes were made     
which the ,spirits wore supposed to eat1
 how many stalks of grass were to be    
used on which they had to be offered1   
how long each stalk ought to be1 and in 
what direction it should be held4 ,all  
the things which teach us nothing are   
explained to us in abundance1 but the   
few things which the true scholar really
 cares for are passed over1 as if they  
had no interest to us at all1 and have  
to be discovered under heaps of rubbish4
  ,in order to gain a little light1 ,i  

think we ought to distinguish between-- 
#a4 ,the daily ancestral sacrifice1 the 
,pitriyagna1 as one      of the five    
,great ,sacrifices 7,mahayagnas72       
#b4 ,the monthly ancestral sacrifice1   
the      ,pinda-pitri-yagna1 as part of 
the ,new and ,full-moon      sacrifice2 
#c4 ,the funeral ceremonies on the death
 of a householder2       #d4 ,the       
,agapes1 or feasts of love and charity1 
commonly      called ,sraddhas1 at which
 food and other charitable gifts        
were bestowed on deserving persons in   
memory of the deceased      ancestors4  
,the name of ,sraddha belongs properly  
to this      last class only1 but it has
 been transferred to the second      and
 third class of sacrifices also1 because
 ,sraddha formed      an important part 
in them4  ,the daily ,pitriyagna or     
,ancestor-worship is one of the five    
sacrifices1 sometimes called the ,great 
,sacrifices1#bic which every married man
 ought to perform day by day4 ,they are 
mentioned in the ,grihya-sutras 7,asv4  

,,iii4 #a71 as ,devayagna1 for the      
,devas1 ,bhutayagna1 for animals1 etc41 
,pitriyagna1 for the ,fathers1          
,brahmayagna1 for ,brahman1 i4e4 study  
of the ,veda1 and ,manushyayagna1 for   
men1 i4e4 hospitality1 etc4  ,manu      
7,,iii4 #gj7 tells us the same1 namely1 
that a married man has five great       
religious duties to perform3       #a4  
,the ,brahma-sacrifice1 i4e4 the        
studying and teaching of      the ,veda 
7sometimes called ,ahuta74       #b4    
,the ,pitri-sacrifice1 i4e4 the offering
 of cakes and      water to the ,manes  
7sometimes called ,prasita74       #c4  
,the ,deva-sacrifice1 i4e4 the offering 
of oblations to      the gods 7sometimes
 called ,huta74       #d4 ,the          
,bhuta-sacrifice1 i4e4 the giving of    
food to living      creatures 7sometimes
 called ,prahuta74       #e4 ,the       
,manushya-sacrifice1 i4e4 the receiving 
of guests      with hospitality         
7sometimes called ,brahmya huta74#bid   
,the performance of this daily          

,pitriyagna1 seems to have been         
extremely simple4 ,the householder had  
to put his sacred cord on the right     
shoulder1 to say ,svadha to the         
,fathers1 and to throw the remains of   
certain offerings toward the south4#bie 
,the human impulse to this sacrifice1 if
 sacrifice it can be called1 is clear   
enough4 ,the five great sacrifices      
comprehended in early times the whole   
duty of man from day to day4 ,they were 
connected with his daily meal4#bif ,when
 this meal was preparing1 and before he 
could touch it himself1 he was to offer 
something to the gods1 a ,vaisvadeva    
offering1#big in which the chief deities
 were ,agni1 fire1 ,soma the ,visve     
,devas1 ,dhanvantari1 the kind of       
,a,esculapius1 ,kuhu and ,anumati       
7phases of the moon71 ,pragapati1 lord  
of creatures1 ,dyava-prithivi1 ,heaven  
and ,earth1 and ,svishtakrit1 the fire  
on the hearth4#bih  ,after having thus  
satisfied the gods in the four quarters1
 the householder had to throw some      

oblations into the open air1 which were 
intended for animals1 and in some cases 
for invisible beings1 ghosts and such   
like4 ,then he was to remember the      
,departed1 the ,pitris1 with some       
offerings2 but even after having done   
this he was not yet to begin his own    
repast1 unless he had also given        
something to strangers 7atithis74  ,when
 all this had been fulfilled1 and when1 
besides1 the householder1 as we should  
say1 had said his daily prayers1 or     
repeated what he had learned of the     
,veda1 then and then only was he in     
harmony with the world that surrounded  
him1 the five ,great ,sacrifices had    
been performed by him1 and he was free  
from all the sins arising from a        
thoughtless and selfish life4  ,this    
,pitriyagna1 as one of the five daily   
sacrifices1 is described in the         
,brahmanas1 the ,grihya and             
,samayakarika ,sutras1 and1 of course1  
in the legal ,samhitas4 ,rajendralal    
,mitra#bii informs us that orthodox     

,brahmans to this day profess to observe
 all these five ceremonies1 but that in 
reality only the offerings to the gods  
and manes are strictly observed1 while  
the reading is completed by the         
repetition of the ,gayatri only1 and    
charity and feeding of animals are      
casual and uncertain4  ,quite different 
from this simple daily ancestral        
offering is the ,pitriyagna or          
,pinda-pitriyagna1 which forms part of  
many of the statutable sacrifices1 and1 
first of all1 of the ,new and ,full-moon
 sacrifice4 ,here again the human motive
 is intelligible enough4 ,it was the    
contemplation of the regular course of  
nature1 the discovery of order in the   
coming and going of the heavenly bodies1
 the growing confidence in some ruling  
power of the world which lifted man's   
thoughts from his daily work to higher  
regions1 and filled his heart with a    
desire to approach these higher powers  
with praise1 thanksgiving1 and          
offerings4 ,and it was at such moments  

as the waning of the moon that his      
thoughts would most naturally turn to   
those whose life had waned1 whose bright
 faces were no longer visible on earth1 
his fathers or ancestors4 ,therefore at 
the very beginning of the ,new-moon     
sacrifice1 we are told in the           
,brahmanas#cjj and in the               
,srauta-sutras1 that a ,pitriyagna1 a   
sacrifice to the ,fathers1 has to be    
performed4 ,a ,karu or pie had to be    
prepared in the ,dakshinagni1 the       
southern fire1 and the offerings1       
consisting of water and round cakes     
7pindas71 were specially dedicated to   
father1 grandfather1 and                
great-grandfather1 while the wife of the
 sacrificer1 if she wished for a son1   
was allowed to eat one of the cakes4#cja
  ,similar ancestral offerings took     
place during other sacrifices too1 of   
which the ,new and ,full-moon sacrifices
 form the general type4  ,it may be     
quite true that these two kinds of      
ancestral sacrifices have the same      

object and share the same name1 but     
their character is different2 and if1 as
 has often been the case1 they are mixed
 up together1 we lose the most important
 lessons which a study of the ancient   
ceremonial should teach us4 ,i cannot   
describe the difference between these   
two ,pitriyagnas more decisively than by
 pointing out that the former was       
performed by the father of a family1 or1
 if we may say so1 by a layman1 the     
latter by a regular priest1 or a class  
of priests1 selected by the sacrificer  
to act in his behalf4 ,as the ,hindus   
themselves would put it1 the former is a
 grihya1 a domestic1 the latter a       
srauta1 a priestly ceremony4#cjb  ,we   
now come to a third class of ceremonies 
which are likewise domestic and         
personal1 but which differ from the two 
preceding ceremonies by their occasional
 character1 ,i mean the funeral1 as     
distinct from the ancestral ceremonies4 
,in one respect these funeral ceremonies
 may represent an earlier phase of      

worship than the daily and monthly      
ancestral sacrifices4 ,they lead up to  
them1 and1 as it were1 prepare the      
departed for their future dignity as    
,pitris or ,ancestors4 ,on the other    
hand1 the conception of ,ancestors in   
general must have existed before any    
departed person could have been raised  
to that rank1 and ,i therefore preferred
 to describe the ancestral sacrifices   
first4  ,nor need ,i enter here very    
fully into the character of the special 
funeral ceremonies of ,india4 ,i        
described them in a special paper1 ,on  
,sepulture and ,sacrificial ,customs in 
the ,veda1 nearly thirty years ago4#cjc 
,their spirit is the same as that of the
 funeral ceremonies of ,greeks1 ,romans1
 ,slavonic1 and ,teutonic nations1 and  
the coincidences between them all are   
often most surprising4  ,in ,vedic times
 the people in ,india both burned and   
buried their dead1 and they did this    
with a certain solemnity1 and1 after a  
time1 according to fixed rules4 ,their  

ideas about the status of the departed1 
after their body had been burned and    
their ashes buried1 varied considerably1
 but in the main they seem to have      
believed in a life to come1 not very    
different from our life on earth1 and in
 the power of the departed to confer    
blessings on their descendants4 ,it soon
 therefore became the interest of the   
survivors to secure the favor of their  
departed friends by observances and     
offerings which1 at first1 were the     
spontaneous manifestation of human      
feelings1 but which soon became         
traditional1 technical1 in fact1 ritual4
  ,on the day on which the corpse had   
been burned1 the relatives 7samanodakas7
 bathed and poured out a handful of     
water to the deceased1 pronouncing his  
name and that of his family4#cjd ,at    
sunset they returned home1 and1 as was  
but natural1 they were told to cook     
nothing during the first night1 and to  
observe certain rules during the next   
day up to ten days1 according to the    

character of the deceased4 ,these were  
days of mourning1 or1 as they were      
afterward called1 days of impurity1 when
 the mourners withdrew from contact with
 the world1 and shrank by a natural     
impulse from the ordinary occupations   
and pleasures of life4#cje  ,then       
followed the collecting of the ashes on 
the #aath1 #acth1 or #aeth day of the   
dark half of the moon4 ,on returning    
from thence they bathed1 and then       
offered what was called a ,sraddha to   
the departed4  ,this word ,sraddha1     
which meets us here for the first time1 
is full of interesting lessons1 if only 
properly understood4 ,first of all it   
should be noted that it is absent1 not  
only from the hymns1 but1 so far as we  
know at present1 even from the ancient  
,brahmanas4 ,it seems therefore a word  
of a more modern origin4 ,there is a    
passage in ,apastamba's ,dharma-sutras  
which betrays1 on the part of the       
author1 a consciousness of the more     
modern origin of the ,sraddhas3#cjf     

,formerly men and gods lived together in
 this world4 ,then the     gods in      
reward of their sacrifices went to      
heaven1 but men     were left behind4   
,those men who perform sacrifices in the
     same manner as the gods did1 dwelt 
7after death7 with the     gods and     
,brahman in heaven4 ,now 7seeing men    
left behind7 ,manu     revealed this    
ceremony which is designated by the word
     ,sraddha4  ,sraddha has assumed    
many#cjg meanings1 and ,manu1#cjh for   
instance1 uses it almost synonymously   
with pitriyagna4 ,but its original      
meaning seems to have been that which is
 given with sraddha or faith1 i4e4      
charity bestowed on deserving persons1  
and1 more particularly1 on ,brahmanas4  
,the gift was called sraddha1 but the   
act itself also was called by the same  
name4 ,the word is best explained by    
,narayana in his commentary on the      
,grihya-sutras of ,asvalayana 7,,iv4    
#g71 ,sraddha is that which is given in 
faith to ,brahmans for the sake of the  

,fathers4#cji  ,such charitable gifts   
flowed most naturally and abundantly at 
the time of a man's death1 or whenever  
his memory was revived by happy or      
unhappy events in a family1 and hence   
,sraddha has become the general name for
 ever so many sacred acts commemorative 
of the departed4 ,we hear of ,sraddhas  
not only at funerals1 but at joyous     
events also1 when presents were bestowed
 in the name of the family1 and         
therefore in the name of the ancestors  
also1 on all who had a right to that    
distinction4  ,it is a mistake therefore
 to look upon ,sraddhas simply as       
offerings of water or cakes to the      
,fathers4 ,an offering to the ,fathers  
was1 no doubt1 a symbolic part of each  
,sraddha1 but its more important        
character was charity bestowed in memory
 of the ,fathers4  ,this1 in time1 gave 
rise to much abuse1 like the alms       
bestowed on the ,church during the      
,middle ,ages4 ,but in the beginning the
 motive was excellent4 ,it was simply a 

wish to benefit others1 arising from the
 conviction1 felt more strongly in the  
presence of death than at any other     
time1 that as we can carry nothing out  
of this world1 we ought to do as much   
good as possible in the world with our  
worldly goods4 ,at ,sraddhas the        
,brahmanas were said to represent the   
sacrificial fire into which the gifts   
should be thrown4#caj ,if we translate  
here ,brahmanas by priests1 we can      
easily understand why there should have 
been in later times so strong a feeling 
against ,sraddhas4 ,but priest is a very
 bad rendering of ,brahmana4 ,the       
,brahmanas were1 socially and           
intellectually1 a class of men of high  
breeding4 ,they were a recognized and1  
no doubt1 a most essential element in   
the ancient society of ,india4 ,as they 
lived for others1 and were excluded from
 most of the lucrative pursuits of life1
 it was a social1 and it soon became a  
religious duty1 that they should be     
supported by the community at large4    

,great care was taken that the          
recipients of such bounty as was        
bestowed at ,sraddhas should be         
strangers1 neither friends nor enemies1 
and in no way related to the family4    
,thus ,apastamba says3#caa ,the food    
eaten 7at a ,sraddha7 by persons related
 to the giver is a gift offered to      
goblins4 ,it reaches neither the ,manes 
nor the ,gods4 ,a man who tried to curry
 favor by bestowing ,sraddhika gifts1   
was called by an opprobrious name1 a    
,sraddha-mitra4#cab  ,without denying   
therefore that in later times the system
 of ,sraddhas may have degenerated1 ,i  
think we can perceive that it sprang    
from a pure source1 and1 what for our   
present purpose is even more important1 
from an intelligible source4  ,let us   
now return to the passage in the        
,grihya-sutras of ,asvalayana1 where we 
met for the first time with the name of 
,sraddha4#cac ,it was the ,sraddha to be
 given for the sake of the ,departed1   
after his ashes had been collected in an

 urn and buried4 ,this ,sraddha is      
called ekoddishta1#cad or1 as we should 
say1 personal4 ,it was meant for one    
person only1 not for the three          
ancestors1 nor for all the ancestors4   
,its object was in fact to raise the    
departed to the rank of a ,pitri1 and   
this had to be achieved by ,sraddha     
offerings continued during a whole year4
 ,this at least is the general1 and1    
most likely1 the original rule4         
,apastamba says that the ,sraddha for a 
deceased relative should be performed   
every day during the year1 and that     
after that a monthly ,sraddha only      
should be performed or none at all1 that
 is1 no more personal ,sraddha1#cae     
because the departed shares henceforth  
in the regular ,parvana-sraddhas4#caf   
,sankhayana says the same1#cag namely   
that the personal ,sraddha lasts for a  
year1 and that then the ,fourth is      
dropped1 i4e4 the great-grandfather was 
dropped1 the grandfather became the     
great-grandfather1 the father the       

grandfather1 while the lately ,departed 
occupied the father's place among the   
three principal ,pitris4#cah ,this was  
called the ,sapindikarana1 i4e4 the     
elevating of the departed to the rank of
 an ancestor4  ,there are here1 as      
elsewhere1 many exceptions4 ,gobhila    
allows six months instead of a year1 or 
even a ,tripaksha1#cai i4e4 three       
half-months2 and lastly1 any auspicious 
event 7vriddhi7 may become the occasion 
of the ,sapindikarana4#cbj  ,the full   
number of ,sraddhas necessary for the   
,sapindana is sometimes given as        
sixteen1 viz41 the first1 then one in   
each of the twelve months1 then two     
semestral ones1 and lastly the          
,sapindana4 ,but here too much variety  
is allowed1 though1 if the ,sapindana   
takes place before the end of the year1 
the number of sixteen ,sraddhas has     
still to be made up4#cba  ,when the     
,sraddha is offered on account of an    
auspicious event1 such as a birth or a  
marriage1 the fathers invoked are not   

the father1 grandfather1 and            
great-grandfather1 who are sometimes    
called asrumukha1 with tearful faces1   
but the ancestors before them1 and they 
are called nandimukha1 or joyful4#cbb   
,colebrooke1#cbc to whom we owe an      
excellent description of what a ,sraddha
 is in modern times1 took evidently the 
same view4 ,the first set of funeral    
ceremonies1 he writes1 is adapted to    
effect1 by means of oblations1 the      
re-embodying of the soul of the         
deceased1 after burning his corpse4 ,the
 apparent scope of the second set is to 
raise his shade from this world1 where  
it would else1 according to the notions 
of the ,hindus1 continue to roam among  
demons and evil spirits1 up to heaven1  
and then deify him1 as it were1 among   
the manes of departed ancestors4 ,for   
this end1 a ,sraddha should regularly be
 offered to the deceased on the day     
after the mourning expires2 twelve other
 ,sraddhas singly to the deceased in    
twelve successive months2 similar       

obsequies at the end of the third       
fortnight1 and also in the sixth month1 
and in the twelfth2 and the oblation    
called ,sapindana on the first          
anniversary of his decease4#cbd ,at this
 ,sapindana ,sraddha1 which is the last 
of the ekoddishta sraddhas1 four funeral
 cakes are offered to the deceased and  
his three ancestors1 that consecrated to
 the deceased being divided into three  
portions and mixed with the other three 
cakes4 ,the portion retained is often   
offered to the deceased1 and the act of 
union and fellowship becomes            
complete4#cbe  ,when this system of     
,sraddhas had once been started1 it     
seems to have spread very rapidly4 ,we  
soon hear of the monthly ,sraddha1 not  
only in memory of one person lately     
deceased1 but as part of the            
,pitriyagna1 and as obligatory1 not only
 on householders 7agnimat71 but on other
 persons also1 and1 not only on the     
three upper castes1 but even1 without   
hymns1 on ,sudras1#cbf and as to be     

performed1 not only on the day of       
,new-,moon1 but on other days also1#cbg 
whenever there was an opportunity4      
,gobhila seems to look upon the         
,pindapitriyagna1 as itself a           
,sraddha1#cbh and the commentator holds 
that1 even if there are no pindas or    
cakes1 the ,brahmans ought still to be  
fed4 ,this ,sraddha1 however1 is        
distinguished from the other1 the true  
,sraddha1 called ,anvaharya1 which      
follows it1#cbi and which is properly   
known by the name of ,parvana ,sraddha4 
,the same difficulties which confront us
 when we try to form a clear conception 
of the character of the various         
ancestral ceremonies1 were felt by the  
,brahmans themselves1 as may be seen    
from the long discussions in the        
commentary on the ,sraddha-kalpa#ccj and
 from the abusive language used by      
,kandrakanta ,tarkalankara against      
,raghunandana4 ,the question with them  
assumes the form of what is pradhana    
7primary7 and what is anga 7secondary7  

in these sacrifices1 and the final      
result arrived at is that sometimes the 
offering of cakes is pradhana1 as in the
 ,pindapitriyagna1 sometimes the feeding
 of ,brahmans only1 as in the           
,nitya-sraddha1 sometimes both1 as in   
the ,sapindikarana4  ,we may safely say1
 therefore1 that not a day passed in the
 life of the ancient people of ,india on
 which they were not reminded of their  
ancestors1 both near and distant1 and   
showed their respect for them1 partly by
 symbolic offerings to the ,manes1      
partly by charitable gifts to deserving 
persons1 chiefly ,brahmans4 ,these      
offertories varied from the simplest1   
such as milk and fruits1 to the         
costliest1 such as gold and jewels4 ,the
 feasts given to those who were invited 
to officiate or assist at a ,sraddha    
seem in some cases to have been very    
sumptuous1#cca and what is very         
important1 the eating of meat1 which in 
later times was strictly forbidden in   
many sects1 must1 when the ,sutras were 

written1 have been fully recognized at  
these feasts1 even to the killing and   
eating of a cow4#ccb  ,this shows that  
these ,sraddhas1 though1 possibly of    
later date than the ,pitriyagnas1 belong
 nevertheless to a very early phase of  
,indian life4 ,and though much may have 
been changed in the outward form of     
these ancient ancestral sacrifices1     
their original solemn character has     
remained unchanged4 ,even at present1   
when the worship of the ancient ,devas  
is ridiculed by many who still take part
 in it1 the worship of the ancestors and
 the offering of ,sraddhas have         
maintained much of their old sacred     
character4 ,they have sometimes been    
compared to the communion in the        
,christian ,church1 and it is certainly 
true that many natives speak of their   
funeral and ancestral ceremonies with a 
hushed voice and with real reverence4   
,they alone seem still to impart to     
their life on earth a deeper            
significance and a higher prospect4 ,i  

could go even a step further and express
 my belief1 that the absence of such    
services for the dead and of ancestral  
commemorations is a real loss in our own
 religion4 ,almost every religion       
recognizes them as tokens of a loving   
memory offered to a father1 to a mother1
 or even to a child1 and though in many 
countries they may have proved a source 
of superstition1 there runs through them
 all a deep well of living human faith  
that ought never to be allowed to       
perish4 ,the early ,christian ,church   
had to sanction the ancient prayers for 
the ,souls of the ,departed1 and in more
 southern countries the services on ,all
 ,saints' and on ,all ,souls' ,day      
continue to satisfy a craving of the    
human heart which must be satisfied in  
every religion4#ccc ,we1 in the ,north1 
shrink from these open manifestations of
 grief1 but our hearts know often a     
deeper bitterness2 nay1 there would seem
 to be a higher truth than we at first  
imagine in the belief of the ancients   

that the souls of our beloved ones leave
 us no rest1 unless they are appeased by
 daily prayers1 or1 better still1 by    
daily acts of goodness in remembrance of
 them4#ccd  ,but there is still another 
,beyond that found expression in the    
ancient religion of ,india4 ,besides the
 ,devas or ,gods1 and besides the       
,pitris or ,fathers1 there was a third  
world1 without which the ancient        
religion of ,india could not have become
 what we see it in the ,veda4 ,that     
third ,beyond was what the poets of the 
,veda call the ,r i t a1 and which ,i   
believe meant originally no more than   
the straight line4 ,it is applied to the
 straight line of the sun in its daily  
course1 to the straight line followed by
 day and night1 to the straight line    
that regulates the seasons1 to the      
straight line which1 in spite of many   
momentary deviations1 was discovered to 
run through the whole realm of nature4  
,we call that ,rita1 that straight1     
direct1 or right line1 when we apply it 

in a more general sense1 the ,law of    
,nature2 and when we apply it to the    
moral world1 we try to express the same 
idea again by speaking of the ,moral    
,law1 the law on which our life is      
founded1 the eternal ,law of ,right and 
,reason1 or1 it may be1 that which makes
 for righteousness both within us and   
without4#cce  ,and thus1 as a thoughtful
 look on nature led to the first        
perception of bright gods1 and in the   
end of a ,god of light1 as love of our  
parents was transfigured into piety and 
a belief in immortality1 a recognition  
of the straight lines in the world      
without1 and in the world within1 was   
raised into the highest faith1 a faith  
in a law that underlies everything1 a   
law in which we may trust1 whatever     
befall1 a law which speaks within us    
with the divine voice of conscience1 and
 tells us this is rita1 this is right1  
this is true1 whatever the statutes of  
our ancestors1 or even the voices of our
 bright gods1 may say to the            

contrary4#ccf  ,these three ,beyonds are
 the three revelations of antiquity2 and
 it is due almost entirely to the       
discovery of the ,veda that we1 in this 
nineteenth century of ours1 have been   
allowed to watch again these early      
phases of thought and religion1 which   
had passed away long before the         
beginnings of other literatures4#ccg ,in
 the ,veda an ancient city has been laid
 bare before our eyes which1 in the     
history of all other religions1 is      
filled up with rubbish1 and built over  
by new architects4 ,some of the earliest
 and most instructive scenes of our     
distant childhood have risen once more  
above the horizon of our memory which1  
until thirty or forty years ago1 seemed 
to have vanished forever4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,only a  
few words more to indicate at least how 
this religious growth in ,india         
contained at the same time the germs of 
,indian philosophy4 ,philosophy in      
,india is1 what it ought to be1 not the 

denial1 but the fulfilment of religion2 
it is the highest religion1 and the     
oldest name of the oldest system of     
philosophy in ,india is ,v e d a n t a1 
that is1 the end1 the goal1 the highest 
object of the ,veda4  ,let us return    
once more to that ancient theologian who
 lived in the fifth century ,b4,c41 and 
who told us that1 even before his time1 
all the gods had been discovered to be  
but three gods1 the gods of the ,earth1 
the gods of the ,air1 and the gods of   
the ,sky1 invoked under various names4  
,the same writer tells us that in       
reality there is but one ,god1 but he   
does not call him the ,lord1 or the     
,highest ,god1 the ,creator1 ,ruler1 and
 ,preserver of all things1 but he calls 
him ,a t m a n1 ,,the ,,self4 ,the one  
,atman or ,self1 he says1 is praised in 
many ways owing to the greatness of the 
godhead4 ,and then he goes on to say3   
,the other gods are but so many members 
of the one ,atman1 ,self1 and thus it   
has been said that the poets compose    

their praises according to the          
multiplicity of the natures of the      
beings whom they praise4  ,it is true1  
no doubt1 that this is the language of a
 philosophical theologian1 not of an    
ancient poet4 ,yet these philosophical  
reflections belong to the fifth century 
before our era1 if not to an earlier    
date2 and the first germs of such       
thoughts may be discovered in some of   
the ,vedic hymns also4 ,i have quoted   
already from the hymns such passages    
as#cch--,they speak of ,mitra1 ,varuna1 
,agni2 then he is the heavenly bird     
,garutmat2 that which is and is one the 
poets call in various ways2 they speak  
of ,yama1 ,agni1 ,matarisvan4  ,in      
another hymn1 in which the sun is       
likened to a bird1 we read3 ,wise poets 
represent by their words the bird who is
 one1 in many ways4#cci  ,all this is   
still tinged with mythology2 but there  
are other passages from which a purer   
light beams upon us1 as when one poet   
asks3#cdj      ,who saw him when he was 

first born1 when he who has no bones    
bore him who has bones8 ,where was the  
breath1 the blood1 the     ,self of the 
world8 ,who went to ask this from any   
that knew     it8  ,here1 too1 the      
expression is still helpless1 but though
 the flesh is weak1 the spirit is very  
willing4 ,the expression1 ,he who has   
bones is meant for that which has       
assumed consistency and form1 the       
,visible1 as opposed to that which has  
no bones1 no body1 no form1 the         
,invisible1 while breath1 blood1 and    
self of the world are but so many       
attempts at finding names and concepts  
for what is by necessity inconceivable1 
and therefore unnamable4  ,in the second
 period of ,vedic literature1 in the    
so-called ,brahmanas1 and more          
particularly in what is called the      
,upanishads1 or the ,vedanta portion1   
these thoughts advance to perfect       
clearness and definiteness4 ,here the   
development of religious thought1 which 
took its beginning in the hymns1 attains

 to its fulfilment4 ,the circle becomes 
complete4 ,instead of comprehending the 
,one by many names1 the many names are  
now comprehended to be the ,one4 ,the   
old names are openly discarded2 even    
such titles as ,pragapati1 lord of      
creatures1 ,visvakarman1 maker of all   
things1 ,dhatri1 creator1 are put aside 
as inadequate4 ,the name now used is an 
expression of nothing but the purest and
 highest subjectiveness--it is ,a t m a 
n1 the ,self1 far more abstract than our
 ,e g o--the ,self of all things1 the   
,self of all the old mythological       
gods--for they were not mere names1 but 
names intended for something--lastly1   
the ,self in which each individual self 
must find rest1 must come to himself1   
must find his own true ,self4  ,you may 
remember that ,i spoke to you in my     
first lecture of a boy who insisted on  
being sacrificed by his father1 and who1
 when he came to ,yama1 the ruler of the
 departed1 was granted three boons1 and 
who then requested1 as his third boon1  

that ,yama should tell him what became  
of man after death4 ,that dialogue forms
 part of one of the ,upanishads1 it     
belongs to the ,vedanta1 the end of the 
,veda1 the highest aim of the ,veda4 ,i 
shall read you a few extracts from it4  
,yama1 the ,king of the ,departed1 says3
      ,men who are fools1 dwelling in   
ignorance1 though wise in     their own 
sight1 and puffed up with vain          
knowledge1 go round     and round1      
staggering to and fro1 like blind led by
 the     blind4      ,the future never  
rises before the eyes of the careless   
child1 deluded by the delusions of      
wealth4 ,this is the     world1 he      
thinks2 there is no other2 thus he falls
 again and     again under my sway 7the 
sway of death74      ,the wise1 who by  
means of meditating on his ,self1       
recognizes the ,old 7the old man within7
 who is difficult to     see1 who has   
entered into darkness1 who is hidden in 
the     cave1 who dwells in the abyss1  
as ,god1 he indeed leaves joy     and   

sorrow far behind4      ,that ,self1 the
 ,knower1 is not born1 it dies not2 it  
came     from nothing1 it never became  
anything4 ,the ,old man is     unborn1  
from everlasting to everlasting2 he is  
not killed1     though the body be      
killed4      ,that ,self is smaller than
 small1 greater than great2 hidden      
in the heart of the creature4 ,a man who
 has no more desires     and no more    
griefs1 sees the majesty of the ,self by
 the grace     of the creator4          
,though sitting still1 he walks far2    
though lying down1 he     goes          
everywhere4 ,who save myself is able to 
know that ,god1     who rejoices1 and   
rejoices not8      ,that ,self cannot be
 gained by the ,veda2 nor by the        
understanding1 nor by much learning4 ,he
 whom the ,self     chooses1 by him     
alone the ,self can be gained4      ,the
 ,self chooses him as his own4 ,but he  
who has not first     turned away from  
his wickedness1 who is not calm and     
subdued1     or whose mind is not at    

rest1 he can never obtain the ,self1    
even by knowledge4      ,no mortal lives
 by the breath that goes up and by the  
breath     that goes down4 ,we live by  
another1 in whom both repose4      ,well
 then1 ,i shall tell thee this mystery1 
the eternal word     7,brahman71 and    
what happens to the ,self1 after        
reaching     death4      ,some are born 
again1 as living beings1 others enter   
into     stocks and stones1 according to
 their work1 and according to     their 
knowledge4      ,but he1 the ,highest   
,person1 who wakes in us while we are   
asleep1 shaping one lovely sight after  
another1 he indeed is     called the    
,light1 he is called ,brahman1 he alone 
is called     the ,immortal4 ,all worlds
 are founded on it1 and no one goes     
beyond4 ,this is that4      ,as the one 
fire1 after it has entered the world1   
though one1     becomes different       
according to what it burns1 thus the    
,one     ,self within all things1       
becomes different1 according to         

whatever it enters1 but it exists also  
apart4      ,as the sun1 the eye of the 
world1 is not contaminated by the       
external impurities seen by the eye1    
thus the ,one ,self within     all      
things is never contaminated by the     
sufferings of the     world1 being      
himself apart4      ,there is one       
eternal thinker1 thinking non-eternal   
thoughts2     he1 though one1 fulfils   
the desires of many4 ,the wise who      
perceive ,him within their ,self1 to    
them belongs eternal life1     eternal  
peace4#cda      ,whatever there is1 the 
whole world1 when gone forth 7from      
,brahman71 trembles in his breath4 ,that
 ,brahman is a great     terror1 like a 
drawn sword4 ,those who know it1 become 
immortal4      ,he 7,brahman7 cannot be 
reached by speech1 by mind1 or by the   
eye4 ,he cannot be apprehended1 except  
by him who says1 ,he     is4      ,when 
all desires that dwell in the heart     
cease1 then the     mortal becomes      
immortal1 and obtains ,brahman4         

,when all the fetters of the heart here 
on earth are broken1     when all that  
binds us to this life is undone1 then   
the     mortal becomes immortal--here my
 teaching ends4  ,this is what is called
 ,vedanta1 the ,veda-end1 the end of the
 ,veda1 and this is the religion or the 
philosophy1 whichever you like to call  
it1 that has lived on from about #ejj   
,b4,c4 to the present day4 ,if the      
people of ,india can be said to have now
 any system of religion at all--apart   
from their ancestral sacrifices and     
their ,sraddhas1 and apart from mere    
caste-observances--it is to be found in 
the ,vedanta philosophy1 the leading    
tenets of which are known1 to some      
extent in every village4#cdb ,that great
 revival of religion1 which was         
inaugurated some fifty years ago by     
,ram-,mohun ,roy1 and is now known as   
the ,brahma-,samag1 under the leadership
 of my noble friend ,keshub ,chunder    
,sen1 was chiefly founded on the        
,upanishads1 and was ,vedantic in       

spirit4 ,there is1 in fact1 an unbroken 
continuity between the most modern and  
the most ancient phases of ,hindu       
thought1 extending over more than three 
thousand years4  ,to the present day    
,india acknowledges no higher authority 
in matters of religion1 ceremonial1     
customs1 and law than the ,veda1 and so 
long as ,india is ,india1 nothing will  
extinguish that ancient spirit of       
,vedantism which is breathed by every   
,hindu from his earliest youth1 and     
pervades in various forms the prayers   
even of the idolater1 the speculations  
of the philosopher1 and the proverbs of 
the beggar4  ,for purely practical      
reasons therefore--,i mean for the very 
practical object of knowing something of
 the secret springs which determine the 
character1 the thoughts and deeds of the
 lowest as well as of the highest among 
the people in ,india--an acquaintance   
with their religion1 which is founded on
 the ,veda1 and with their philosophy1  
which is founded on the ,vedanta1 is    

highly desirable4  ,it is easy to make  
light of this1 and to ask1 as some      
statesmen have asked1 even in ,europe1  
,what has religion1 or what has         
philosophy1 to do with politics8 ,in    
,india1 in spite of all appearances to  
the contrary1 and notwithstanding the   
indifference on religious matters so    
often paraded before the world by the   
,indians themselves1 religion1 and      
philosophy too1 are great powers still4 
,read the account that has lately been  
published of two native statesmen1 the  
administrators of two first-class states
 in ,saurashtra1 ,junagadh1 and         
,bhavnagar1 ,gokulaji and               
,gaurisankara1#cdc and you will see     
whether the ,vedanta is still a moral   
and a political power in ,india or not4 
,but ,i claim even more for the         
,vedanta1 and ,i recommend its study1   
not only to the candidates for the      
,indian ,civil ,service1 but to all true
 students of philosophy4 ,it will bring 
before them a view of life1 different   

from all other views of life which are  
placed before us in the ,history of     
,philosophy4 ,you saw how behind all the
 ,devas or gods1 the authors of the     
,upanishads discovered the ,atman or    
,self4 ,of that ,self they predicated   
three things only1 that it is1 that it  
perceives1 and that it enjoys eternal   
bliss4 ,all other predicates were       
negative3 it is not this1 it is not     
that--it is beyond anything that we can 
conceive or name4  ,but that ,self1 that
 ,highest ,self1 the ,paramatman1 could 
be discovered after a severe moral and  
intellectual discipline only1 and those 
who had not yet discovered it were      
allowed to worship lower gods1 and to   
employ more poetical names to satisfy   
their human wants4 ,those who knew the  
other gods to be but names or           
persons--personae or masks1 in the true 
sense of the word--pratikas1 as they    
call them in ,sanskrit--knew also that  
those who worshipped these names or     
persons1 worshipped in truth the        

,highest ,self1 though ignorantly4 ,this
 is a most characteristic feature in the
 religious history of ,india4 ,even in  
the ,bhagavadgita1 a rather popular and 
exoteric exposition of ,vedantic        
doctrines1 the ,supreme ,lord or        
,bhagavat himself is introduced as      
saying3 ,even those who worship idols1  
worship me4#cdd  ,but that was not all4 
,as behind the names of ,agni1 ,indra1  
and ,pragapati1 and behind all the      
mythology of nature1 the ancient sages  
of ,india had discovered the ,atman--let
 us call it the objective ,self--they   
perceived also behind the veil of the   
body1 behind the senses1 behind the     
mind1 and behind our reason 7in fact    
behind the mythology of the soul1 which 
we often call psychology71 another      
,atman1 or the subjective ,self4 ,that  
,self too was to be discovered by a     
severe moral and intellectual discipline
 only1 and those who wished to find it1 
who wished to know1 not themselves1 but 
their ,self1 had to cut far deeper than 

the senses1 or the mind1 or the reason1 
or the ordinary ,ego4 ,all these too    
were ,devas1 bright apparitions--mere   
names--yet names meant for something4   
,much that was most dear1 that had      
seemed for a time their very self1 had  
to be surrendered1 before they could    
find the ,self of ,selves1 the ,old     
,man1 the ,looker-on1 a subject         
independent of all personality1 an      
existence independent of all life4      
,when that point had been reached1 then 
the highest knowledge began to dawn1 the
 ,self within 7the ,pratyagatman7 was   
drawn toward the ,highest ,self 7the    
,paramatman71 it found its true self in 
the ,highest ,self1 and the oneness of  
the subjective with the objective ,self 
was recognized as underlying all        
reality1 as the dim dream of            
religion--as the pure light of          
philosophy4  ,this fundamental idea is  
worked out with systematic completeness 
in the ,vedanta philosophy1 and no one  
who can appreciate the lessons contained

 in ,berkeley's philosophy1 will read   
the ,upanishads and the ,brahmasutras1  
and their commentaries without feeling a
 richer and a wiser man4  ,i admit that 
it requires patience1 discrimination1   
and a certain amount of self-denial     
before we can discover the grains of    
solid gold in the dark mines of ,eastern
 philosophy4 ,it is far easier and far  
more amusing for shallow critics to     
point out what is absurd and ridiculous 
in the religion and philosophy of the   
ancient world than for the earnest      
student to discover truth and wisdom    
under strange disguises4 ,some progress1
 however1 has been made1 even during the
 short span of life that we can         
remember4 ,the ,sacred ,books of the    
,east are no longer a mere butt for the 
invectives of missionaries or the       
sarcasms of philosophers4 ,they have at 
last been recognized as historical      
documents1 ay1 as the most ancient      
documents in the history of the human   
mind1 and as palaeontological records of

 an evolution that begins to elicit     
wider and deeper sympathies than the    
nebular formation of the planet on which
 we dwell for a season1 or the organic  
development of that chrysalis which we  
call man4  ,if you think that ,i        
exaggerate1 let me read you in          
conclusion what one of the greatest     
philosophical critics#cde--;and         
certainly not a man given to admiring   
the thoughts of others--says of the     
,vedanta1 and more particularly of the  
,upanishads4 ,schopenhauer writes3      
,in the whole world there is no study so
 beneficial and so     elevating as that
 of the ,upanishads4 ,it has been the   
solace     of my life--it will be the   
solace of my death4#cdf         99      
99       99       99       99  ,i have  
thus tried1 so far as it was possible in
 one course of lectures1 to give you    
some idea of ancient ,india1 of its     
ancient literature1 and1 more           
particularly1 of its ancient religion4  
,my object was1 not merely to place     

names and facts before you1 these you   
can find in many published books1 but1  
if possible1 to make you see and feel   
the general human interests that are    
involved in that ancient chapter of the 
history of the human race4 ,i wished    
that the ,veda and its religion and     
philosophy should not only seem to you  
curious or strange1 but that you should 
feel that there was in them something   
that concerns ourselves1 something of   
our own intellectual growth1 some       
recollections1 as it were1 of our own   
childhood1 or at least of the childhood 
of our own race4 ,i feel convinced that1
 placed as we are here in this life1 we 
have lessons to learn from the ,veda1   
quite as important as the lessons we    
learn at school from ,homer and ,virgil1
 and lessons from the ,vedanta quite as 
instructive as the systems of ,plato or 
,spinoza4  ,i do not mean to say that   
everybody who wishes to know how the    
human race came to be what it is1 how   
language came to be what it is1 how     

religion came to be what it is1 how     
manners1 customs1 laws1 and forms of    
government came to be what they are1 how
 we ourselves came to be what we are1   
must learn ,sanskrit1 and must study    
,vedic ,sanskrit4 ,but ,i do believe    
that not to know what a study of        
,sanskrit1 and particularly a study of  
the ,veda1 has already done for         
illuminating the darkest passages in the
 history of the human mind1 of that mind
 on which we ourselves are feeding and  
living1 is a misfortune1 or1 at all     
events1 a loss1 just as ,i should count 
it a loss to have passed through life   
without knowing something1 however      
little1 of the geological formation of  
the earth1 or of the sun1 and the moon1 
and the stars--and of the thought1 or   
the will1 or the law1 that govern their 
movements4  ,,footnotes3  ,footnote     
#bfj3 ,on the early use of letters for  
public inscriptions1 see ,hayman1       
,journal of ,philology1 #ahgi1 pp4 #ada1
 #adb1 #aej2 ,hicks1 ,manual of ,greek  

,historical ,inscriptions1 pp4 #a seqq4 
,footnote #bfa3 ,herod1 7v4 #ei7 says3  
,i saw ,phenician letters on certain    
tripods in a temple of the ,ismenian    
,apollo at ,thebes in ,boeotia1 the most
 of them like the ,ionian letters4      
,footnote #bfb3 ,munch1 ,die ,nordisch  
,germanischen ,voelker1 p4 #bdj4        
,footnote #bfc3 ,herod4 7v4 #eh7 says3  
,the ,ionians from of old call ,greek3  
byblos diphtherai1 because once1 in     
default of the former1 they used to     
employ the latter4 ,and even down to my 
own time1 many of the barbarians write  
on such diphtherae4  ,footnote #bfd3    
,hekataeos and ,kadmos of ,miletos 7#ebj
 ,b4,c471 ,charon of ,lampsakos 7#ejd   
,b4,c471 ,xanthos the ,lydian 7#dfc     
,b4,c471 ,pherekydes of ,leros 7#dhj    
,b4,c471 ,hellanikos of ,mitylene 7#dej 
,b4,c471 etc4  ,footnote #bfe3 ,lewis1  
,astronomy1 p4 #ib4  ,footnote #bff3    
,see ,hayman1 ,journal of ,philology1   
#ahgi1 p4 #aci4  ,footnote #bfg3 ,see   
,m4 ,m41 ,history of ,ancient ,sanskrit 

,literature1 pp4 #dig seqq41 ,on the    
,introduction of ,writing in ,india4    
,footnote #bfh3 ,m4 ,m41 ,history of    
,ancient ,sanskrit ,literature1 p4 #eae4
  ,footnote #bfi3 ,m4 ,m41 ,hibbert     
,lectures1 p4 #aec4  ,footnote #bgj3    
,learning was anciently preserved by    
memory4 ,the ,jewish1 or rather         
,chaldaic ,kabala1 or ,tradition was not
 written for many centuries4 ,the       
,druids of ancient ,britain preserved   
their litanies in the same way1 and to a
 ,bard a good memory was indispensable1 
or he would have been refused           
initiation4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #bga3   
,see my article on the date of the      
,kasika in the ,indian ,antiquary1      
#ahhj1 p4 #cje4  ,footnote #bgb3 ,the   
translation of the most important       
passages in ,i-tsing's work was made for
 me by one of my ,japanese pupils1 ,k4  
,kasawara4  ,footnote #bgc3 ,see ,bunyiu
 ,nanjio's ,catalogue of the ,chinese   
,tripitaka1 p4 #cgb1 where ,aryasura1   
who must have lived before #dcd ,a4,d41 

is mentioned as the author of the       
,gatakamala4  ,footnote #bgd3           
,wellington1 #ahhj4  ,footnote #bge3 ,de
 ,bello ,gall4 vi4 #ad2 ,history of     
,ancient ,sanskrit ,literature1 p4 #ejf4
  ,footnote #bgf3 ,see ,de ,coulanges1  
,the ,ancient ,city1 ,book ,i4 ,,ii4 ,we
 find this worship of the dead among the
 ,hellenes1 among the ,latins1 among the
 ,sabines1 among the ,etruscans2 we also
 find it among the ,aryas of ,india4    
,mention is made of it in the hymns of  
the ,rig-,veda4 ,it is spoken of in the 
,laws of ,manu as the most ancient      
worship among men4444 ,before men had   
any notion of ,indra or of ,zeus1 they  
adored the dead2 they feared them1 and  
addressed them prayers4 ,it seems that  
the religious sentiment began in this   
way4 ,it was perhaps while looking upon 
the dead that man first conceived the   
idea of the supernatural1 and to have a 
hope beyond what he saw4 ,death was the 
first mystery1 and it placed man on the 
track of other mysteries4 ,it raised his

 thoughts from the visible to the       
invisible1 from the transitory to the   
eternal1 from the human to the divine4  
,the sacred fire represented the        
ancestors1 and therefore was revered and
 kept carefully from profanation by the 
presence of a stranger4--,a4 ,w4        
,footnote #bgg3 ,principles of          
,sociology1 p4 #cac4  ,footnote #bgh3   
,the ,hindu ,law of ,inheritance is     
based upon the ,hindu religion1 and we  
must be cautious that in administering  
,hindu law we do not1 by acting upon our
 notions derived from ,english law1     
inadvertently wound or offend the       
religious feelings of those who may be  
affected by our decisions4--,bengal ,law
 ,reports1 #ajc4  ,footnote #bgi3       
,earth-wandering demons1 they their     
charge began1     ,the ministers of good
 and guards of man2     ,veiled with a  
mantle of aerial light1     ,o'er       
,earth's wide space they wing their     
hovering flight4  ,footnote #bhj3       
,cicero1 ,de ,leg4 ,,ii4 #i1 #bb1       

,deorum manium jura sancta sunto2 nos   
leto datos divos habento4  ,footnote    
#bha3 ,see ,atharva-,veda ,,xviii4 #b1  
#di4  ,footnote #bhb3 ,rig-,veda ,x4    
#ad1 #a-b4 ,he is called ,vaivasvata1   
the solar 7,x4 #eh1 #a71 and even the   
son of ,vivasvat 7,x4 #ad1 #e74 ,in a   
later phase of religious thought ,yama  
is conceived as the first man           
7,atharva-,veda ,,xviii4 #c1 #ac1 as    
compared with ,rig-,veda ,x4 #ad1 #a74  
,footnote #bhc3 ,rig-,veda ,x4 #ad4     
,footnote #bhd3 ,in the ,avesta many of 
these things are done by ,ahura-,mazda  
with the help of the ,fravashis4        
,footnote #bhe3 ,see ,satapatha         
,brahmana ,i4 #i1 #c1 #aj2 ,,vi4 #e1 #d1
 #h4  ,footnote #bhf3 ,rig-,veda ,,viii4
 #dh1 #c3 ,we drank ,soma1 we became    
immortal1 we went to the light1 we found
 the gods2 ,,viii4 #dh1 #ab4  ,footnote 
#bhg3 ,rig-,veda ,,ix4 #ig1 #ci4        
,footnote #bhh3 ,l4 c4 ,x4 #ad1 #f4     
,footnote #bhi3 ,l4 c4 ,x4 #af1 #aj4    
,footnote #bij3 ,a translation          

considerably differing from my own is   
given by ,sarvadhikari in his ,tagore   
,lectures for #ahhj1 p4 #cd4  ,footnote 
#bia3 ,cf4 ,max ,mueller1 ,rig-,veda1   
transl4 vol4 i4 p4 #bd4  ,footnote #bib3
 ,in a previous note will be found the  
statement by ,professor ,de ,coulanges1 
of ,strasburg1 that in ,india1 as in    
other countries1 a belief in the        
ancestral spirits came first1 and a     
belief in divinities afterward4         
,professor ,mueller cites other         
arguments which might be employed in    
support of such a theory4 ,the name of  
the oldest and greatest among the       
,devas1 for instance1 is not simply     
,dyaus1 but ,dyaush-pita1               
,heaven-,father2 and there are several  
names of the same character1 not only in
 ,sanskrit1 but in ,greek and ,latin    
also4 ,jupiter and ,zeus ,pater are     
forms of the appellation mentioned1 and 
mean the ,father in ,heaven4 ,it does   
certainly look as though ,dyaus1 the    
sky1 had become personal and worshipped 

only after he had been raised to the    
category of a ,pitri1 a father2 and that
 this predicate of ,father must have    
been elaborated first before it could   
have been used1 to comprehend ,dyaus1   
the sky1 ,varuna1 and other ,devas4     
,professor ,mueller1 however1 denies    
that this is the whole truth in the     
case4 ,the ,vedic poets1 he remarks1    
believed in ,devas--gods1 if we must so 
call them--literally1 the bright ones2  
,pitris1 fathers2 and ,manushyas1 men1  
mortals4 7,atharva-,veda1 ,x4 #f1 #cb47 
,who came first and who came after it is
 difficult to say2 but as soon as the   
three were placed side by side1 the     
,devas certainly stood the highest1 then
 followed the ,pitris1 and last came the
 mortals4 ,ancient thought did not      
comprehend the three under one concept1 
but it paved the way to it4 ,the mortals
 after passing through death became     
,fathers1 and the ,fathers became the   
companions of the ,devas4  ,in ,manu    
there is an advance beyond this point4  

,the world1 all that moves and rests1 we
 are told 7,manu ,,iii41 #bja71 has been
 made by the ,devas2 but the ,devas and 
,danavas were born of the ,pitris1 and  
the ,pitris of the ,rishis4 ,originally 
the ,rishis were the poets of the       
,vedas1 seven in number2 and we are not 
told how they came to be placed above   
the ,devas and ,pitris4 ,it does not1   
however1 appear utterly beyond the power
 to solve4 ,the ,vedas were the         
production of the ,rishis1 and the      
,pitris1 being perpetuated thus to human
 memory1 became by a figure of speech   
their offspring4 ,the ,devas sprung from
 the ,pitris1 because it was usual to   
apotheosize the dead4 ,our ancestors    
desired1 says ,cicero1 that the men who 
had quitted this life should be counted 
in the number of gods4 ,again1 the      
conception of patrons or ,pitris to each
 family and tribe naturally led to the  
idea of a ,providence over all2 and so  
the ,pitri begat the ,deva4 ,this       
religion preceded and has outlasted the 

other4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote #bic3        
,satapatha ,brahmana ,,xi4 #e1 #f1 #a2  
,taitt4 ,ar4 ,,ii4 #aa1 #aj2 ,asvalayana
 ,grihya-sutras ,,iii4 #a1 #a2          
,paraskara ,grihya-sutras ,,ii4 #i1 #a2 
,apastamba1 ,dharma-sutras1 translated  
by ,buehler1 pp4 #dg seq4  ,footnote    
#bid3 ,in the ,sankhayana ,grihya 7,i4  
#e7 four ,paka-yagnas are mentioned1    
called ,huta1 ahuta1 prahuta1 prasita4  
,footnote #bie3 ,asv4 ,grihya-sutras ,i4
 #c1 #aj4  ,footnote #bif3 ,manu ,,iii4 
#aag-aah4  ,footnote #big3 ,l4 c4 ,,iii4
 #he4  ,footnote #bih3 ,see ,des        
,coulanges1 ,ancient ,city1 ,i4 #c4     
,especially were the meals of the family
 religions acts4 ,the god the sacred    
fire presided there4 ,he had cooked the 
bread and prepared the food2 a prayer1  
therefore1 was due at the beginning and 
end of the repast4 ,before eating1 they 
placed upon the altar the first fruits  
of the food2 before drinking1 they      
poured out a libation of wine4 ,this was
 the god's portion4 ,no one doubted that

 he was present1 that he ate and drank2 
for did they not see the flame increase 
as if it had been nourished by the      
provisions offered8 ,thus the meal was  
divided between the man and the god4 ,it
 was a sacred ceremony1 by which they   
held communion with each other4444 ,the 
religion of the sacred fire dates from  
the distant and dim epoch when there    
were yet no ,greeks1 no ,italians1 no   
,hindus1 when there were only ,aryas4   
,when the tribes separated they carried 
this worship with them1 some to the     
banks of the ,ganges1 others to the     
shores of the ,mediterranean4444 ,each  
group chose its own gods1 but all       
preserved as an ancient legacy the first
 religion which they had known and      
practiced in the common cradle of their 
race4  ,the fire in the house denoted   
the ancestor1 or pitri1 and in turn the 
serpent was revered as a living fire1   
and so an appropriate symbol of the     
,first ,father4--,a4 ,w4  ,footnote     
#bii3 ,taittiriyaranyaka1 ,preface1 p4  

#bc4  ,footnote #cjj3 ,masi masi vo     
'sanam iti sruteh2 ,gobhiliya ,grihya   
sutras1 p4 #ajee4  ,footnote #cja3 ,see 
,pindapitriyagna1 von ,dr4 ,o4 ,donner1 
#ahgj4 ,the restriction to three        
ancestors1 father1 grandfather1 and     
great-grandfather1 occurs in the        
,vagasaneyi-samhita1 ,,xix4 #cf-cg4     
,footnote #cjb3 ,there is1 however1     
great variety in these matters1         
according to different sakhas4 ,thus1   
according to the ,gobhila-sakha1 the    
,pinda ,pitriyagna is to be considered  
as smarta1 not as srauta                
7pinda-pitriyagnah khalv asmakkhakhayam 
nasti72 while others maintain that an   
agnimat should perform the smarta1 a    
srautagnimat the srauta ,pitriyagna2 see
 ,gobhiliya ,grihya-sutras1 p4 #fga4 ,on
 page #ffg we read3 anagner             
amavasyasraddha1 nanvaharyam ity        
adaraniyam4  ,footnote #cjc3 ,ueber     
,todtenbestattung und ,opfergebraeuche  
im ,veda1 in ,zeitschrift der ,deutschen
 ,morgenlaendischen ,gesellschaft1 vol4 

ix4 #ahef4  ,footnote #cjd3 ,asvalayana 
,grihya-sutras ,,iv4 #d1 #aj4  ,footnote
 #cje3 ,manu ,v4 #fd-fe4  ,footnote     
#cjf3 ,buehler1 ,apastamba1 ,sacred     
,books of the ,east1 vol4 ii41 p4 #ach2 
also ,sraddhakalpa1 p4 #hij4 ,though the
 ,sraddha is prescribed in the          
,gobhiliya ,grihya-sutras1 ,,iv4 #d1    
#b-c1 it is not described there1 but in 
a separate treatise1 the ,sraddha-kalpa4
  ,footnote #cjg3 ,as meaning the food1 
sraddha occurs in sraddhabhug and       
similar words4 ,as meaning the          
sacrificial act1 it is explained1       
yatraitak khraddhaya diyate tad eva     
karma sraddhasabdabhidheyam4 ,pretam    
pitrims ka nirdisya bhogyam yat priyam  
atmanah sraddhaya diyate yatra tak      
khraddham parikirtitam4 ,gobhiliya      
,grihya-sutras1 p4 #hib4 ,we also read  
sraddhanvitah sraddham kurvita1 let a   
man perform the sraddha with faith2     
,gobhiliya ,grihya-sutras1 p4 #ajec4    
,footnote #cjh3 ,manu ,,iii4 #hb4       
,footnote #cji3 ,pitrin uddisya yad     

diyate brahmanebhyah sraddhaya tak      
khradd ham4  ,footnote #caj3 ,apastamba 
,,ii4 #af1 #c1 ,brahmanas tv            
ahavaniyarthe4  ,footnote #caa3 ,l4 c4  
p4 #adb4  ,footnote #cab3 ,manu ,,iii4  
#ach1 #adj4  ,footnote #cac3 ,asv4      
,grihya-sutras ,,iv4 #e1 #h4  ,footnote 
#cad3 ,it is described as a vikriti of  
the ,parvana-sraddha in ,gobhiliya      
,grihya-sutras1 p4 #ajaa4  ,footnote    
#cae3 ,one of the differences between   
the acts before and after the           
,sapindikarana is noted by              
,salankayana3--,sapindikaranam yavad    
rigudarbhaih pitrikriya ,sapindikaranad 
urdhvam dvigunair vidhivad bhavet4      
,gobhiliya ,grihya-sutras1 p4 #icj4     
,footnote #caf3 ,gobhiliya              
,grihya-sutras1 p4 #ajbc4  ,footnote    
#cag3 ,grihya-sutras1 ed4 ,oldenberg1 p4
 #hc4  ,footnote #cah3 ,a pratyabdikam  
ekoddishtam on the anniversary of the   
deceased is mentioned by ,gobhiliya1 l4 
c4 p4 #ajaa4  ,footnote #cai3 ,gobhiliya
 ,grihya-sutras1 p4 #ajci4  ,footnote   

#cbj3 ,sankh4 ,grihya1 p4 #hc2 ,gobh4   
,grihya1 p4 #ajbd4 ,according to some   
authorities the ekoddishta is called    
nava1 new1 during ten days2 navamisra1  
mixed1 for six months2 and purana1 old1 
afterward4 ,gobhiliya ,grihya-sutras1 p4
 #ajbj4  ,footnote #cba3 ,gobhiliya1 l4 
c4 p4 #ajcb4  ,footnote #cbb3           
,gobhiliya1 l4 c4 p4 #ajdg4  ,footnote  
#cbc3 ,life and ,essays1 ii4 p4 #aie4   
,footnote #cbd3 ,colebrooke adds that in
 most provinces the periods for these   
sixteen ceremonies1 and for the         
concluding obsequies entitled           
,sapindana1 are anticipated1 and the    
whole is completed on the second or     
third day2 after which they are again   
performed at the proper times1 but in   
honor of the whole set of progenitors   
instead of the deceased singly4 ,it is  
this which ,dr4 ,donner1 in his learned 
paper on the ,pindapitriyagna 7p4 #aa71 
takes as the general rule4  ,footnote   
#cbe3 ,see this subject most            
exhaustively treated1 particularly in   

its bearings on the law of inheritance1 
in ,rajkumar ,sarvadhikari's ,tagore    
,law ,lectures for #ahhj1 p4 #ic4       
,footnote #cbf3 ,gobhiliya              
,grihya-sutras1 p4 #hib4  ,footnote     
#cbg3 ,l4 c4 p4 #hig4  ,footnote #cbh3  
,see p4 #fff1 and p4 #ajjh4 ,grihyakarah
 pindapitriyagnasya sraddhatvam aha4    
,footnote #cbi3 ,gobhila ,,iv4 #d1 #c1  
itarad anvaharyam4 ,but the commentators
 add anagner amavasyasraddham1          
nanvaharyam4 ,according to ,gobhila     
there ought to be the ,vaisvadeva       
offering and the ,bali offering at the  
end of each ,parvana-sraddha2 see       
,gobhiliya ,grihya-sutras1 p4 #ajje1 but
 no ,vaisvadeva at an ekoddishta        
sraddha1 l4 c4 p4 #ajbj4  ,footnote     
#ccj3 ,l4 c4 pp4 #ajje-ajaj2            
,nirnayasindhu1 p4 #bgj4  ,footnote     
#cca3 ,see ,burnell1 ,the ,law of       
,partition1 p4 #ca4  ,footnote #ccb3    
,kalau tavad gavalambho mamsadanam ka   
sraddhe nishiddham1 ,gobhilena tu       
madhyamashtakayam vastukarmani ka       

gavalambho vihitah1 mamsakarus          
kanvashtakyasraddhe2 ,gobhiliya         
,grihya-sutra1 ed4 ,kandrakanta         
,tarkalankara1 ,vignapti1 p4 #h4        
,footnote #ccc3 ,it may be seriously    
doubted whether prayers to the dead or  
for the dead satisfy any craving of the 
human heart4 ,with us in the ,north1 a  
shrinking from open manifestations of   
grief has nothing whatever to do with   
the matter4 ,those who refuse to engage 
in such worship believe and teach that  
the dead are not gods and cannot be     
helped by our prayers4 ,reason1 not     
feeling1 prevents such worship4--,,am4  
,,pubs4  ,footnote #ccd3 ,a deeper idea 
than affection inspired this custom4    
,every kinsman was always such1 living  
or dead2 and hence the service of the   
dead was sacred and essential4 ,the     
,sraddhas were adopted as the           
performance of such offices4 ,there were
 twelve forms of this service3 #a4 ,the 
daily offering to ancestors4 #b4 ,the   
sraddha for a person lately deceased1   

and not yet included with the pitris4   
#c4 ,the sraddha offered for a specific 
object4 #d4 ,the offering made on       
occasions of rejoicing4 #e4 ,the sraddha
 performed when the recently-departed   
has been incorporated among the ,pitris4
 #f4 ,the sraddha performed on a        
parvan-day1 i4e41 new moon1 the eighth  
day1 fourteenth day1 and full moon4 #g4 
,the sraddha performed in a house of    
assembly for the benefit of learned men4
 #h4 ,expiatory4 #i4 ,part of some other
 ceremony4 #aj4 ,offered for the sake of
 the ,devas4 #aa4 ,performed before     
going on a journey4 #ab4 ,sraddha for   
the sake of wealth4 ,the sraddhas may be
 performed in one's own house1 or in    
some secluded and pure place4 ,the      
number performed each year by those who 
can afford it varies considerably2 but  
ninety-six appears to be the more       
common4 ,the most fervent are the twelve
 new-moon rites2 four ,yuga and fourteen
 ,manu rites2 twelve corresponding to   
the passages of the sun into the        

zodiacal mansions1 etc4--,a4 ,w4        
,footnote #cce3 ,see ,hibbert ,lectures1
 new ed4 pp4 #bdc-bee4  ,footnote #ccf3 
,the same concept is found in the       
,platonic ,dialogue between ,sokrates   
and ,euthyphron4 ,the philosopher asks  
the diviner to tell what is holy and    
what impiety4 ,that which is pleasing to
 the gods is holy1 and that which is not
 pleasing to them is impious promptly   
replies the mantis1 ,to be holy is to be
 just1 said ,sokrates2 ,is the thing    
holy because they love it1 or do they   
love it because it is holy8 ,euthyphron 
hurried away in alarm4 ,he had          
acknowledged unwittingly that holiness  
or justice was supreme above all gods2  
and this highest concept1 this highest  
faith1 he dared not entertain4--,a4 ,w4 
,footnote #ccg3 ,in ,chinese we find    
that the same three aspects of religion 
and their intimate relationship were    
recognized1 as1 for instance1 when      
,confucius says to the ,prince of ,sung3
 ,honor the sky 7worship of ,devas71    

reverence the ,manes 7worship of        
,pitris72 if you do this1 sun and moon  
will keep their appointed time 7,rita74 
,happel1 ,altchinesische                
,reichsreligion1 p4 #aa4  ,footnote     
#cch3 ,rig-,veda ,i4 #afd1 #df2 ,hibbert
 ,lectures1 p4 #caa4  ,footnote #cci3   
,rig-,veda ,x4 #aad1 #e2 ,hibbert       
,lectures1 p4 #cac4  ,footnote #cdj3    
,rig-,veda ,i4 #afd1 #d4  ,footnote     
#cda3 ,greek3 ,tu de phronema tou       
pneumatos zoe kai eirene4 ,see also     
,ruskin1 ,sesame1 p4 #fc4  ,footnote    
#cdb3 ,major ,jacob1 ,manual of ,hindu  
,pantheism1 ,preface4  ,footnote #cdc3  
,life and ,letters of ,gokulaji         
,sampattirama ,zala and his views of the
 ,vedanta1 by ,manassukharama ,suryarama
 ,tripathi4 ,bombay1 #ahha4  ,as a young
 man ,gokulaji1 the son of a good       
family1 learned ,persian and ,sanskrit4 
,his chief interest in life1 in the     
midst of a most successful political    
career1 was the ,vedanta4 ,a little     
insight1 we are told1 into this         

knowledge turned his heart to higher    
objects1 promising him freedom from     
grief1 and blessedness1 the highest aim 
of all4 ,this was the turning-point of  
his inner life4 ,when the celebrated    
,vedanti anchorite1 ,rama ,bava1 visited
 ,junagadh1 ,gokulaji became his pupil4 
,when another anchorite1 ,paramahansa   
,sakkidananda1 passed through ,junagadh 
on a pilgrimage to ,girnar1 ,gokulaji   
was regularly initiated in the secrets  
of the ,vedanta4 ,he soon became highly 
proficient in it1 and through the whole 
course of his life1 whether in power or 
in disgrace1 his belief in the doctrines
 of the ,vedanta supported him1 and made
 him1 in the opinion of ,english        
statesmen1 the model of what a native   
statesman ought to be4  ,footnote #cdd3 
,professor ,kuenen discovers a similar  
idea in the words placed in the mouth of
 ,jehovah by the prophet ,malachi1 i4   
#ad3 ,for ,i am a great ,king1 and my   
name is feared among the heathen4 ,the  
reference1 he says1 is distinctly to the

 adoration already offered to ,yahweh by
 the people1 whenever they serve their  
own gods with true reverence and honest 
zeal47,a#a7 ,even in ,deuteronomy the   
adoration of these other gods by the    
nations is represented as a dispensation
 of ,yahweh4 ,malachi goes a step       
further1 and accepts their worship as a 
tribute which in reality falls to       
,yahweh--to ,him1 the ,only ,true4 ,thus
 the opposition between ,yahweh and the 
other gods1 and afterward between the   
one true ,god and the imaginary gods1   
makes room here for the still higher    
conception that the adoration of ,yahweh
 is the essence and the truth of all    
religion4 ,hibbert ,lectures1 p4 #aha4  
,a#a3 ,there is1 we believe1 not the    
slightest authority for reading ,malachi
 in this way2 any reader of the ,old    
,testament is competent to judge for    
himself4--,,am4 ,,pubs4  ,footnote #cde3
 ,the author's enthusiasm has carried   
him beyond bounds4 ,the weight to be    
given to ,schopenhauer's opinion        

touching any religious subject may be   
measured by the following quotation3    
,the happiest moment of life is the     
completest forgetfulness of self in     
sleep1 and the wretchedest is the most  
wakeful and conscious4--,,am4 ,,pubs4   
,footnote #cdf3 ,sacred ,books of the   
,east1 vol4 i1 ,the ,upanishads1        
translated by ,m4 ,m42 ,introduction1 p4
 lxi4         99       99       99      
99       99     ,,index4   ,a4  ,,abba  
,seen river1 #aib4  ,,abraiaman1 #gd4   
,,abu ,,fazl1 on the ,hindus1 #ge4      
,,active side of human nature in        
,europe1 #abj4  ,,aditi1 meaning of1    
#bae4  ,,aditya1 #aeh4  ,,adityas1 #bae4
  ,,adrogha1 #hc4  ,,aerial ,,gods1     
#afh4  ,,afghanistan1 #aei2             
inhabitants of1 #ahi4  ,,agni1 god of   
fire1 #afg4  ,,agni-,,ignis1 fire1 #da2 
as a terrestrial deity1 #aie4           
,,aitareya ,,brahmana1 on heaven and    
earth1 #age4  ,,alexander ,,the ,,great1
 #cg2   changes the name of a river1    
#aia4  ,,all-,,sacrifice1 the1 #he4     

,,alphabet1 the1 whence derived1 #hf2   
,ionian and ,phoenician1 #bbb2   two    
used  in ,asoka's inscription1 #bbe4    
,,amitabha worship1 #ajf4  ,,anaxagoras1
 his doctrine1 #agg4  ,,ancestors1      
spirits of1 #bch2   worship of1 #bci4   
,,animism1 #acj4  ,,aurita1 #hc4        
,,archaeological survey of ,india1 #bf4 
,,arrian1 on the ,hindus1 #gc2   rivers 
known to1 #aia4  ,,aryans1 the1 our     
intellectual relatives1 #cc2   seven    
branches of1 #da2   found in ,sanskrit  
literature1 #aaf2   religion of1 #afa4  
,,asmi1 ,i am1 #dc4  ,,asoka1 king1 #if2
   adopts ,buddhism1 #ajf2   author of  
the first inscriptions1 #bbe2   language
 of the same1 #bcd4  ,,astronomy1       
ancient1 in ,india1 #aad2   in the      
,veda1 #aej2   in ,china1 #aea4         
,,atman1 the ,self1 #bfe4  ,,avataras of
 ,vishnu1 three1 #aec4   ,b4            
,,babylonian division of time1 #cf2     
influences on ,vedic poems1 #ade2   on  
,vedic astronomy1 #adg2   zodiac1 #aeh4 
,,barzoi1 #aad4  ,,bastian1 on the      

,polynesian myths1 #afi4  ,,bengal1 the 
people of1 #ee2   villages of1 #fe2     
schools in1 #hj4  ,,bengali1 #afa4      
,,bhagavadgita1 #bgb4  ,,bhagavat1      
supreme lord1 #bgb4  ,,bimetallic       
currency1 #cg4  ,,bhishma1 death of1    
#hc4  ,,bible1 the1 ,sanskrit words in1 
#bh2   and the ,jewish race1 #adj4      
,,bibliographical survey of ,india1     
#ajb4  ,,books read by ancient nations  
compared with modern1 #acg4  ,,bopp1 his
 comparative grammar1 #df4  ,,brahma    
sacrifice1 #bdi4  ,,brahma ,samaj1 of   
india1 #afc4  ,,brahmana1 #afb4         
,,brahmanas1 on truth1 #hd2   as a      
class1 #bef4  ,,buddha and the popular  
dialects1 #if4  ,,buddhism1 chief source
 of our fables1 #bg2   striking         
coincidences with ,christianity1 #ajh2  
its rise1 #bcd4  ,,burnouf1 #aae4   ,c4 
,,cabul river1 #aib4  ,,caesar1 on the  
,druids and their memorizing1 #bcc4     
,,canaan1 #adj4  ,,carlyle1 his opinion 
of historical works1 #af4  ,,caste1     
origin of1 #aag2   in the laws of ,manu1

 #aag2   in the ,rig-,veda1 #aag4       
,,cat1 the domestic1 its original home1 
#db4  ,,china1 origin of the name1 #aea2
   chronicles of1 #ajd2   lunar stations
 of1 #aej2   aspects of religion1 #bfd4 
,,christian religion1 the1 and the      
,jewish race1 #ce4  ,,civil service     
examinations1 ,indian1 #bj4  ,,climatic 
influences on morals and social life1   
#abj4  ,,coins of ,india1 #bf4          
,,colebrooke',s religious ceremonies1   
#bdg4  ,,commercial honor in ,india1    
#hb4  ,,commerce between ,india and     
,syria in ,solomon's time1 #bh4         
,,commercial writing1 #bbe4             
,,confucius1 a hard student1 #bcj4      
,,conquerors of ,india1 #cj4            
,,coulanges1 ,professor1 his opinion on 
religious beliefs1 #bde4                
,,cunningham',s ,ancient ,geography of  
,india1 #aib4  ,,cylinders of ,babylon1 
#aci4   ,d4  ,,dacoits1 #gi4  ,,darwin1 
#ada4  ,,dawn1 the1 #agc4               
,,dayananda',s introduction to the      
,rig-,veda1 #ajd4  ,,deluge1 the1 #aec2 

in ,hindu literature1 #aed2   not       
borrowed from the ,old ,testament1 #aeg2
   its natural origin1 #aei4  ,,departed
 spirits1 #bcg2   honors paid to1 #bdj2 
ceremonies to1 #bdf4  ,,deva1 #aei2     
the meaning of1 #bcf4  ,,devapatnis1    
wives of the gods1 #afd4  ,,devapi',s   
prayer for rain1 #bjd4  ,,development of
 human character in ,india and ,europe1 
#aah4  ,,dialects in ,asoka's time1     
#ajf4  ,,diphthera1 #bbb4  ,,divi       
,manes1 #bdj4  ,,donkey1 in the lion's  
skin1 #bg2   in the tiger's skin1 #bh4  
,,druids1 their memory1 #bcc4  ,,dyaus  
and ,zeus1 #bac4   ,e4  ,,eabani1 #aeh4 
,,east1 the1 our original home1 #di4    
,,ecliptic1 ,indian1 #aec4  ,,education 
of the human race1 #ajg4  ,,education in
 ,india1 by training the memory1 #bcb4  
,,egyptian hieroglyphics preserved in   
the alphabet1 #cf4  ,,elphinstone1      
,mountstuart1 his opinion of the        
,hindus1 #gg4  ,,english officers in    
,india1 #fi4  ,,english oriental        
scholars1 a list of1 #bb4  ,,eos and    

,ushas1 #bja4  ,,esthonian prayer to    
,picker1 the god of thunder1 #baa4      
,,euripides1 on the marriage of heaven  
and earth1 #agg4  ,,examinations1 work  
produced at1 #bj4   ,f4  ,,fables1      
migration of1 #bg4  ,,falsehood1 no     
mortal sin1 five cases of1 #hi4         
,,fathers1 ,hymn to the1 #bda4          
,,finite1 the1 impossible without the   
infinite1 #abf4  ,,fire1 names for1 #da2
   as a civilizer1 #aie2   a terrestrial
 deity1 #aie2   why worshipped1 #aif4   
,,five nations1 the1 #aag4  ,,five      
sacrifices1 religious duties1 #bdi4     
,,fravashis1 in ,persia1 #bdj4          
,,frederick the ,great1 #cd4  ,,friar   
,jordanus1 opinion of ,hindu character1 
#ge4  ,,funeral ceremonies1 #bdh2   an  
earlier worship1 #beb2   striking       
coincidences1 #bec2   burial and        
cremation1 #bec4   ,g4  ,,gainas1       
language of1 #ig4  ,,galileo1 his       
theory1 #ace4  ,,ganges1 sources of1    
#if2   its tributaries1 #ahg4  ,,gataka1
 #cj4  ,,gathas1 #ajg4  ,,gautama allows

 a lie1 #hh4  ,,germany1 study of       
,sanskrit in1 #bb4  ,,gems1 the nine1   
#aad4  ,,gill1 ,rev4 ,w41 myths and     
songs of the ,south ,pacific1 #afi2     
savage life in ,polynesia1 #bcc4  ,,gods
 in the ,veda1 their testimony for      
truth1 #hc2   the number of1 #afd2      
river gods and goddesses1 #afg2   made  
and unmade by men1 #ahb2   growth of a  
divine conception in the human mind1    
#aih4  ,,golden ,,rule1 the1 #ib4       
,,goethe',s ,west-oestlicher ,divan1    
#bb4  ,,gokulaji1 the model native      
statesman1 #bga4  ,,grassman1           
translation of ,sanskrit words1 #ahc4   
,,greek alphabet1 age of1 #bba4  ,,greek
 literature1 its study and use1 #bc2    
when first written1 #bbb4  ,,greek      
deities1 their physical origin1 #abi4   
,,greek philosophy our model1 #ch4      
,,greek and ,latin1 similarity between1 
#dj4  ,,grimm1 identification of        
,parganya and ,perun1 #baj4  ,,growth of
 ancient religions1 #abh4  ,,grunau on  
old ,prussian gods1 #baj4               

,,guide-,,books1 ,greek1 #bbc4          
,,gymnosophists1 ,indian1 #abc4   ,h4   
,,hardy1 his ,manual of ,buddhism1 #ig4 
,,hastings1 ,warren1 and the ,darics1   
#baf2   opinion of ,hindu character1    
#gi4  ,,hebrew religion1 foreign        
influences in1 #ade4  ,,heber1 ,bishop1 
opinion of the ,hindus1 #gi4  ,,heaven  
and ,earth1 #afi2   ,maori legend of1   
#agc2   ,vedic legends of1 #age2        
,greek legends of1 #agf2   epithets for1
 in ,veda1 #agh2   as seen by ,vedic    
poets1 #agh4  ,,henotheism1 #aff4       
,,herodotus1 #bbc4  ,,hindus1 truthful  
character of1 #eb2   the charge of their
 untruthfulness refuted1 #ec2   origin  
of the charge1 #ed2   different races   
and characteristics of1 #ee2   testimony
 of trustworthy witnesses1 #ee2   their 
litigiousness1 #fj2   their treatment by
 ,mohammedan conquerors1 #gb2   reason  
for unfavorable opinion of1 #gf2   their
 commercial honor1 #hb2   their real    
character transcendent1 #abf2   their   
religion1 #abg2   sacrifices and        

priestly rites1 #adh2   knowledge of    
astronomy1 #aec2   first acquainted with
 an alphabet1 #bbd4  ,,hindustani1 #ie4 
,,hiranyagharba1 #afd4  ,,history1 its  
object and study1 #cd2   its true sense1
 #dd4  ,,hitopadesa1 fables of1 #aaj4   
,,hottentot river names1 #ahh4          
,,homeric ,,hymns1 #adj2   heaven and   
earth in the1 #agf4  ,,human ,mind1     
study of1 ,india important for1 #cc4    
,,humboldt ,alexander von1 on ,kalidasa1
 #aaj4  ,,hydaspes1 #aib4  ,,hydraotis1 
or ,hyarotis1 #aia4  ,,hypasis1 or      
,hyphasis1 #aia4   ,i4  ,,ida1 #aef4    
,,idrisi1 on the ,hindus1 #gd4  ,,ijjar1
 ,april-,may1 #aeh4  ,,india1 what it   
can teach us1 #ai2   a paradise1 #bd2   
its literature a corrective1 #bd2   past
 and present aspects of1 #be2   its     
scientific treasures1 #be2   a          
laboratory for all students1 #cb2   its 
population and vast extent1 #adb4       
,,indra1 god of the wind1 the ,vedic    
,jupiter1 #hc2   the ,aryan guide1 #aaf2
   the god of the thunderstorm1 #afh2   

as creator1 #ahj2   the principal god of
 the ,veda1 #aih2   peculiar to ,india1 
#bja4  ,,indus1 ,the river1 #afg4       
,,infinite1 ,the1 #abf4  ,,inner ,life1 
,influence of ,indian literature upon   
our1 #bd4  ,,inscriptions in ,india1    
#bbe4  ,,ionians1 ,the1 their alphabet1 
#bbb2   first writing1 #bbc4            
,i-,,tsing1 his visit to ,india1 #bbi2  
his account of ,buddhist priests1 #bbi2 
of education1 #bcj2   of perfection of  
memory1 #bca2   of ,brahmans1 #bca4     
,,izdubar1 or ,nimrod1 the poem of1     
#aeh4   ,j4  ,,jehovah1 #bjj4  ,,jews1  
,the1 as a race1 #cf2   their religion  
as related to ,oriental religions1 #cf2 
necessary to a study of the ,christian  
religion1 #ce2   the beginning and      
growth of their religion1 #abh4         
,,jones1 ,sir ,william1 his voyage to   
,india1 #di2   his dreams become        
realities1 #ej4  ,,joshua',s battle1    
#bjj4  ,,journals1 ,sanskrit1 now       
published in ,india1 #ih4  ,,judgment of
 ,solomon1 #cj4  ,,junagadh1 #bga4      

,,jupiter1 #bja4  ,,jumna1 the river1   
#aij4  ,,jurisprudence in ,india1 #cj4  
,,justice of the ,indians1 #gd4   ,k4   
,,kalidasa1 the poet1 his age1 #aaj2    
plays of1 #aaa4  ,,kamal-,,eddin        
,abd-errazak1 on the ,hindus1 #ge4      
,,kausika1 punished for truthfulness1   
#hi4  ,,kanishka1 the ,saka king1 #ajf4 
,,kanjur1 the women and the child in    
the1 #bi4  ,,kathaka1 or reader1 #aeh4  
,,kathenotheism1 #aff4  ,,keshub        
,chunder ,sen1 his grandfather1 #ei4    
,,kinas1 or ,chinese1 #aea4  ,,koran1   
oaths on1 #gj4  ,,krumu1 #ahe4          
,,kshatriyas1 #bcb4  ,,ktesias1 on the  
justice of the ,indians1 #gb4  ,,ktisis1
 #bbc4  ,,kubha1 #ahe4  ,,kullavagga1   
quotation from the1 #if4  ,,kuenen1     
,professor1 on worship of ,yahweh1 #bgb4
   ,l4  ,,ladak1 #aib4  ,,lakshmana1    
#hf4  ,,lares familiares in ,rome1 #bdj4
  ,,lassen1 #aea4  ,,law books of       
,india1 #cj4  ,,life1 ,indian and       
,european views of1 #aba2   beautiful   
sentiments of1 from ,hindu writings1    

#abd2   a journey1 #abj4  ,,law of      
,nature1 #bfc4  ,,laws of ,manu1 #aaa4  
,,liberal1 ,the1 ,keshub ,chunder ,sen's
 organ1 #ii4  ,,liberal education1 the  
elements of1 #ch4  ,,lightning1 son of  
,parganya1 #bje4  ,,literature1 written1
 #bbd4  ,,lituania1 #bji2   its         
language1 #bji2   its god of rain1 #baj2
   prayer to the same1 #baa4            
,,logographi1 #bbc4  ,,lost ,tribes1    
,the1 of ,israel1 #aei4  ,,ludlow on    
village schools in ,india1 #hj4         
,,ludwig1 translation of ,sanskrit      
words1 #ahg4  ,,lunar stations1 #aej4   
,,lunar zodiac1 #adg4   ,m4             
,,mahabharata1 an epic poem1 speaks for 
the truth1 #hh2   yet recited1 #ii4     
,,mahmud of ,gazni1 #gb4  ,,maine1 ,sir 
,henry1 #fe4  ,,malcolm1 ,sir ,john1 on 
the ,hindus1 #ee4  ,,mana1 ,a golden1   
#adf4  ,,manavas1 ,the laws of1 on      
evil-doers1 #ic4  ,,mangaia1 #agj4      
,,manning1 ,judge1 #agc4  ,,manu1 his   
code of laws1 #cj2   their true age1    
#aaa2   his connection with the deluge1 

#aee4  ,,manuscripts1 the first         
collectors of1 #bbd4  ,,maori ,genesis1 
#agc4  ,,maruts1 the storm-gods1 #aii4  
,,maui1 son of ,ru1 #aga2   legend of1  
#aga2   its origin1 #agc4  ,,megasthenes
 on village life1 #fe2   on ,hindu      
honesty1 #gb4  ,,melanippe1 #agg4       
,,memory1 power of1 #bcb4  ,,metamorphic
 changes in religions1 #abh4  ,,mill1   
,history of ,india1 #ei2   estimate of  
,hindu character1 #fj4  ,,mina1 its     
weight1 #abe4  ,,mitra1 #aef2   invoked1
 #bae4  ,,modern ,sanskrit literature1  
#ajg4  ,,mohammedans1 their opinion of  
the ,hindus1 #ge2   the number of sects1
 #gf2   treatment of ,hindus1 #ij4      
,,monotheism in the ,veda1 #afd4        
,,morality1 our1 ,saxon1 #ch4  ,,moral  
depravity in ,india1 #ic4  ,,munro1     
,thomas1 ,sir1 opinion of ,hindus1 #fa4 
,m,ue,l,l,e,r1 ,max1 his teachers1 #de2 
intercourse with ,hindus1 #ha2   opinion
 of their character1 #hb4   ,n4         
,,nakshatras1 ,the twenty-seven1 #adh4  
,,nakta and ,nyx1 #bja4  ,,nala1 #aaj4  

,,native scholars1 #ha4  ,,nearchus1    
#bbe4  ,,new and ,full-,moon            
,sacrifices1 #beb4  ,,new ,testament1   
,revised ,edition1 #ada4  ,,newspapers1 
,sanskrit1 #ih4  ,,nine gems or         
classics1 #aae4  ,,northern conquerors1 
#ajf4  ,,numerals in ,sanskrit1 #df4    
,o4  ,,oath1 ,taking an1 in village     
communities1 #fh2   its understanding by
 the ,hindus1 #fi2   fear of punishment 
connected with1 #gj4  ,,old ,testament1 
#adj4  ,,ophir1 #bh4  ,,orange ,river1  
#ahh4  ,,oriental ,,scholars1 names and 
work hardly known1 #bb4  ,,orissa1 #if4 
,,orme1 #fj4  ,,orpheus and ,ribhu1     
#bja4  ,,os1 oris1 #dd4  ,,oude1 #ahi4  
,,ouranos1 #bac4   ,p4  ,,pahlavi1      
translation of the ,pankatantra into1   
#aae4  ,,palestine1 #cc4  ,,pali        
dialect1 #ajg4  ,,pandits1 #eg2         
,professor ,wilson on the1 #eh4         
,,panini1 #bcj4  ,,pankatantra1 #aad4   
,,papyros1 #bbd4  ,,parganya1 #bjb2     
hymn to1 #bje2   derivation of name1    
#bjg4  ,,parvana ,sraddha1 #bfj4        

,,periegesis1 #bbc4  ,,periodos1 #bbc4  
,,periplus1 or circumnavigations1 #bbb4 
,,perjury1 common in ,india1 #ga4       
,,perkons1 thunder1 #baj4  ,,perkuna1   
#bab4  ,,perkunas1 ,lituanian god of    
thunder1 #baj4  ,,perkuno1 #bab4        
,,persians1 what we owe to1 #cf4        
,,petersburgh ,dictionary1 #ahc4        
,,phoenicians1 what we owe to1 #cf2     
their letters1 #bbb4                    
,,pinda-,,pitriyagna1 #bea4  ,,pipal    
tree1 #ej4  ,,pitris1 the fathers1 #bci2
   invoked1 #bda4                       
,,pitriyagna-,,sacrifices1 #bdh4        
,,plato1 #adb4  ,,pliny1 ,indian rivers 
known to1 #aia4  ,,political            
communities1 #ca4  ,,polytheism1 the    
kind of1 in the ,veda1 #afe4            
,,positivist sentiments of a ,brahman1  
#hg4  ,,primitive man1 #acc4  ,,prayers 
for rain1 #bje2   for the dead1 #bfb4   
,,prometheus and ,pramantha1 #aie4      
,,proto-,,aryan language1 #dc4          
,,ptolemy1 #cf4  ,,pumice-,,stone1 #aga4
  ,,punjab1 the1 rivers of the1 #ahc4   

,,puranas1 #afb4   ,r4  ,,raghu1 #hf4   
,,rajendralal ,mitra1 on sacrifices1    
#bea4  ,,rama1 on truth1 #hg4  ,,rama   
,,bava1 the anchorite1 #bga4            
,,ramayana1 the plot of1 #hf2   yet     
recited1 #ii4  ,,rawlinson1 ,sir ,henry1
 #aeh4  ,,readers not numerous in       
ancient or modern times1 #ada4          
,,recitation of the old epics in ,india1
 #ii4  ,,religion1 its home in ,india1  
#ca2   our debt to ,oriental religions1 
#cf2   its transcendent character1 #abf2
   metamorphic changes in1 #abh2   began
 in trust1 not in fear1 #aig4  ,,remusat
 on the ,goths1 #ajd4  ,,renaissance    
period in ,india1 #aaj4  ,,revival of   
religion in ,india1 #bgj4  ,,ribhu and  
,orpheus1 #bja4  ,,rig-,,veda1 editions 
of1 now publishing1 #ih2   known by     
heart1 #ii2   a treasure to the         
anthropologist1 #acd2   character of its
 poems1 #adc2   its religion primitive1 
#add2   compliment to the author for his
 edition of1 #afc2   the number of hymns
 in1 #afc2   age of the oldest          

manuscripts1 #bba2   total number of    
words in1 #bbh2   how transmitted1 #bca4
  ,,ringold1 ,duke of ,lituania1 #bji4  
,,rishis1 ,the ,vedic1 #afh2   question 
of earth's origin1 #ahj2   their        
intoxicating beverage1 #bdc4  ,,rita1   
the third ,beyond1 #bfc4  ,,rivers1 as  
deities1 #ahb2   hymn to1 #ahc2   names 
of1 in ,india1 #ahe4  ,,river systems of
 ,upper ,india1 #ahh4  ,,robertson',s   
,historical ,disquisitions1 #fj4  ,,ru1 
the sky-supporter1 #agj2   his bones1   
#aga2   why pumice-stone1 #agc4         
,r,ue,c,k,e,r,t',s ,weisheit der        
,brahmanen1 #bb4  ,,rudra1 the howler1  
#aii4   ,s4  ,s1 pronounced as h1 in    
,iranic languages1 #ahi4  ,,sacrifices1 
priestly1 #adh2   daily and monthly1    
#bdh4  ,,sakas1 invasion of the1 #ajd4  
,,sakuntala1 her appeal to conscience1  
#ij4  ,,sanskrit language1 its study    
differently appreciated1 #ba2   use of  
studying1 #bc2   its supreme importance1
 #ci2   its antiquity1 #dj2   its family
 relations1 #dj2   its study ridiculed1 

#de2   its linguistic influence1 #df2   
its moral influence1 #dg2   a dead      
language1 #if2   early dialects of1 #if2
   still influential1 #ig2   scholars'  
use of1 #ih2   journals in1 #if2   all  
living languages in ,india draw their   
life from1 #ajj4  ,,sanskrit literature1
 human interest of1 #ie2   the          
literature of ,india1 #ii2   manuscripts
 existing1 #ajb2   divisions of1 #ajd2  
character of the ancient and the modern1
 #ajg2   known in ,persia1 #aac2   a new
 start in1 #aae2   its study very       
profitable1 #bge4  ,,satapatha          
,brahmana1 #ia4  ,,schopenhauer1 on the 
,upanishads1 #bgc4  ,,seasons1 how      
regulated1 #adh4  ,,self-,,knowledge1   
the highest goal of the ,veda1 #abe4    
,,sindhu1 the ,indus river1 #ahc2       
address to1 #ahd2   meaning of1 #ahi4   
,,sleeman1 ,colonel1 his rambles and    
recollections1 #fj2   his life in       
village communities1 #fc2   his opinion 
of ,hindus1 #fg4  ,,solar myths1 #baf4  
,,solomon',s judgment compared1 #bi4    

,,spencer1 ,herbert1 on ancestor        
worship1 #bci2   his misstatement       
corrected1 #bdj4  ,,sraddhas1 or ,love  
,feasts1 #bdh2   to the departed1 #bed2 
their source1 #beg2   their number1     
#beh2   striking resemblance1 #bfa4     
,,sudas1 #bjj4  ,,sun1 the central      
thought in ,aryan mythology1 #baf4      
,,surya1 god of the sun1 #afh4   ,t4    
,,tamil1 #ie4  ,,tane-,,mahuta1         
forest-god1 #agd4  ,,taras1 the stars1  
#aea4  ,,terrestrial gods1 #afi4        
,,teutonic mythology1 #aff4  ,,theogony1
 #bce4  ,,thorr1 #aff4  ,,three beyonds1
 #bbj4  ,,thsin dynasty1 #aeb4  ,,thugs1
 #fc4  ,,tortoise1 the story of the1    
#aed4  ,,towers of ,silence1 #bb4       
,,towns1 names of1 in ,india1 #ahi4     
,,troy1 siege of1 #agb4  ,,truth1 root  
meaning in ,sanskrit1 #hb4              
,,truthfulness1 a luxury1 #ia4          
,,turanian invasion1 #ajd4  ,,two women 
and child1 story of1 #bi4  ,,tyr and    
,tin1 #bac4   ,u4  ,,ugvis1 ,lithuanian1
 #da4  ,,universities1 the object of    

their teaching1 #ai4  ,,untruthfulness  
of the ,hindus1 #ec4  ,,upanishads1     
#bfg2   their beauty1 #bgc4  ,,uranos   
and ,varuna1 #bja4  ,,urvasi1 #aaj4     
,,ushas and ,eos1 #bjb4  ,,uttarapaksha1
 #acf4   ,v4  ,,vaga1 #ahc2   as plural1
 #ahd4  ,,vaisvadeva1 offering1 #bdi4   
,,vaisya1 a1 #afb4  ,,vak1 wife of      
,vata1 #afe4  ,,valmiki1 the poet1 #ajj4
  ,,varahamihara1 #aab4  ,,varuna1 #aef2
   hymns to1 #bjd4  ,,vasishtha1 on     
righteousness1 #ic4  ,,vata1 the wind1  
#bjj2   and ,wotan1 #bja4  ,,veda1 their
 antiquity1 #aja2   silly conceptions1  
#aah2   religion of1 #abi2   necessary  
to the study of man1 #acc2   objections 
to1 #ace2   native character of1 #aei2  
lessons of1 #afa2   use of their study1 
#afb2   character of their poetry1 #ahb2
   knowledge of ,god progressive in1    
#aid2   their hymns1 a specimen1 #bje2  
their gods1 number of1 #bai2   meaning  
of their names1 #bbj2   three periods in
 their literature1 #bcd2   three        
religions in1 #bcf4  ,,vedic ,mythology1

 its influence1 #bg2   contrasts1 #afi4 
,,veda-,,end1 #bfg4  ,,vedanta          
philosophy1 #bfe2   the present religion
 in ,india1 #bfi2   its prevalence1     
#bgj2   commended to students1 #bga2    
its highest knowledge1 #bgc4  ,,vidala1 
cat1 #db4  ,,viharas1 or colleges1 the  
ancient1 #bf4  ,,vikramaditya1 #aaj2    
his varied experience1 #aac4  ,,village 
communities in ,india1 #fd2   large     
number of1 #fe2   morality in1 #fg4     
,,visvakarman1 #aeg4  ,,vyasa1 the poet1
 #ajj4   ,w4  ,,warriors1 native and    
foreign1 #aaf4  ,,waters1 divers gods of
 the1 #afg4  ,,weasel and the woman1    
#bh4  ,,wilson1 ,prof41 on the ,hindus1 
#eg4  ,,witnesses1 three classes of1    
#fi4  ,,wolf1 ,f4 ,a41 his questions1   
#bba2   his dictum1 #bbc4  ,,workingmen1
 #aaf4  ,,worship of the dead1 #bdj4    
,,wotan and ,vata1 #bja4  ,,writing     
unknown in ancient ,india1 #bbf4   ,x4  
,,xanthos1 the ,lydian1 #bbc4   ,y4     
,,yag1 ishta1 #bjh4  ,,yagnadattabadha1 
#aaj4  ,,yagnavalkya1 on virtue1 #ib4   

,,yahweh1 worship of1 #bgb4  ,,yama1    
lord of the departed1 #he2   on         
immortality1 #hf2   invoked1 #bdb2   as 
the first man1 #bdb2   dialogue on      
death1 #bfg4  ,,yaska1 division of the  
,vedic gods1 #afh4  ,,yueh-,,chi1 ,the1 
and the ,goths1 #ajd4   ,z4  ,,zeus1    
#abi2   the survivor of ,dyaus1 #bac2   
the interval between1 #bce4  ,,zeus1    
,dyaus1 and ,jupiter1 #aih4  ,,zimmer1  
,prof41 on polytheism1 #aff2            
translation of ,sanskrit words1 #ahe4   
,,zodiacal signs1 known to ,sanskrit    
astronomers1 #aad4  ,,zodiac1 ,the      
,babylonian1 #adg4  ,,zoroastrianism1   
#ca4         99       99       99       
99       99     ,,books ,,in  ,,the     
,,standard ,,library4  ,,their          
,,sterling ,,worth4  ,,opinions ,,of    
,,critics4   ,i4  ,life of ,cromwell4   
,,new ,,york ,,sun3  ,mr4 ,hood's       
biography is a positive boon to the mass
 of readers1 because it presents a more 
correct view of the great soldier than  
any of the shorter lives published1     

whether we compare it with ,southey's1  
,guizot's1 or even ,forster's4          
,,pacific ,,churchman1 ,san ,francisco3 
,the fairest and most readable of the   
numerous biographies of ,cromwell4      
,,good ,,literature1 ,new ,york3  ,if   
all these books will prove as fresh and 
readable as ,hood's ',cromwell1' the    
literary merit of the series will be as 
high as the price is low4  ,,new ,,york 
,,daily ,,graphic3  ,hood's ',cromwell' 
is an excellent account of the great    
,protector4 ,cromwell was the heroic    
servant of a sublime cause4 ,a complete 
sketch of the man and the period4       
,,christian ,,union1 ,new ,york3  ,a    
valuable biography of ,cromwell1 told   
with interest in every part and with    
such condensation and skill in          
arrangement that prominent events are   
made clear to all4  ,,school ,,journal1 
,new ,york3  ,mr4 ,hood's style is      
pleasant1 clear1 and flowing1 and he    
sets forth and holds his own opinion    
well4  ,,episcopal ,,recorder1          

,philadelphia3  ,an admirable and able  
,life of ,oliver ,cromwell1 of which we 
can unhesitatingly speak words of       
praise4  ,,new ,,york ,,telegram3  ,full
 of the kind of information with which  
even the well-read like to refresh      
themselves4  ,,indianapolis ,,sentinel1 
,ind43  ,the book is one of deep        
interest4 ,the style is good1 the       
analysis searching1 and will add much to
 the author's fame as an able           
biographer4  ,,the ,,workman1           
,pittsburgh1 ,pa43  ,this book tells the
 story of ,cromwell's life in a         
captivating way4 ,it reads like a       
romance4 ,the paper and printing are    
very attractive4  ,,new ,,york ,,herald3
  ,the book is one of deep interest4    
,the style is good1 the analysis        
searching4   ,,ii4  ,science in ,short  
,chapters4   ,,journal ,,of ,,education1
 ,boston3  ',science in ,short          
,chapters' supplies a growing want among
 a large class of busy people1 who have 
not time to consult scientific          

treatises4 ,written in clear and simple 
style4 ,very interesting and            
instructive4  ,,academy1 ,london1       
,england3  ,mr4 ,williams has presented 
these scientific subjects to the popular
 mind with much clearness and force4 ,it
 may be read with advantage by those    
without special scientific training4    
,,religious ,,telescope1 ,dayton1 ,ohio3
  ,it is historic1 scientific1 and racy4
 ,a book of intense practical thought1  
which one wishes to read carefully and  
then read again4  ,,new ,,york ,,school 
,,journal3  ,a volume of handy science1 
not only interesting as an abstract     
subject1 but valuable for its clear     
expositions of every-day science4 ,of   
,professor ,williams as an authority    
upon such subjects1 it is unnecessary to
 comment4 ,he already has a fame as a   
scientific writer which needs no        
recommendation4  ,,pall ,,mall          
,,gazette1 ,london1 ,england3  ,original
 and of scientific value4  ,,graphic1   
,london3  ,clear1 simple1 and           

profitable4  ,,canada ,,baptist1        
,toronto3  ,a rich book at a            
marvellously low price4 ,the style is   
sprightly and simple4 ,every chapter    
contains something we all want to know4 
,,newark ,,daily ,,advertiser1 ,n4,j43  
,as an educator this book is worth a    
year's schooling1 and it will go where  
schools of a high grade cannot          
penetrate4 ,for such a book twenty-five 
cents seems a ridiculous sum4  ,j4,w4   
,,bashford1 ,auburndale1 ,mass43  ,a    
marvellous book1 as fascinating as      
,dickens1 to be consulted as an         
authority along with ,britannica1 and   
even fuller of practical hints than the 
latter's articles4 ,i do not know how   
you can print its #cjj pages for #be    
cents4  ,,american1 ,philadelphia3  ,mr4
 ,williams' work is a practical         
compendium4   ,,iii4  ,the ,american    
,humorist4   ,,commercial ,,gazette1    
,cincinnati1 ,ohio3  ,it is finely      
critical and appreciative2 exceedingly  
crisp and unusually entertaining from   

first to last4  ,,christian             
,,intelligencer1 ,new ,york3  ,a book of
 pleasant reading1 with enough sparkle  
in it to cure any one of the blues4     
,,congregationalist1 ,boston3  ,they are
 based upon considerable study of these 
authors1 are highly appreciative in     
tone1 and show a perceptivity of        
,american humor which is yet a rarity   
among ,englishmen4  ,,salem ,,times1    
,mass43  ,no writer in ,england was1 in 
all respects1 better qualified to write 
a book on ,american ,humorists than     
,haweis4  ,,christian ,,journal1        
,toronto3  ,we have been specially      
amused with the chapter on poor ,artemus
 ,ward1 which we read on a railway      
journey4 ,we fear our fellow-passengers 
would think something ailed us1 for     
laugh we did1 in spite of all attempts  
to preserve a sedate appearance4        
,,occident1 ,san ,francisco3  ,this book
 is pleasant reading1 with sparkle      
enough in it--as the writer is himself a
 wit--to cure one of the 'blues4'       

,,danbury ,,news1 ,conn43  ,mr4 ,haweis 
gives a brief bibliographical sketch of 
each writer mentioned in the book1 an   
analysis of his style1 and classifies   
each into a distinct type from the      
others4 ,he presents copious extracts   
from their works1 making an entertaining
 book4  ,,central ,,baptist1 ,st4       
,louis3  ,a perusal of this volume will 
give the reader a more correct idea of  
the character discussed than he would   
probably get from reading their         
biographies4 ,the lecture is analytical1
 penetrative1 terse1 incisive1 and      
candid4 ,the book is worth its price1   
and will amply repay reading4  ,,school 
,,journal1 ,new ,york3  ,terse and brief
 as the soul of wit itself4             
,,indianapolis ,,sentinel1 ,indiana3    
,it presents1 in fine setting1 the wit  
and wisdom of ,washington ,irving1      
,oliver ,w4 ,holmes1 ,james ,r4 ,lowell1
 ,artemus ,ward1 ,mark ,twain1 and ,bret
 ,harte1 and does it con amore4  ,,the  
,,mail1 ,toronto1 ,ont43  ,rev4 ,h4 ,r4 

,haweis is a writer too well-known to   
need commendation at our hands for1 at  
least1 his literary style4 ,the general 
result is that not a page repels us and 
not a sentence tires4 ,we find ourselves
 drawn pleasantly along in just the way 
we want to go2 all our favorite points  
remembered1 all our own pet phrases     
praised1 and the good things of each    
writer brought forward to refresh one's 
memory4 ,in fine1 the book is a most    
agreeable companion4  ,,lutheran        
,,observer1 ,philadelphia3  ,the        
peculiar style1 the mental character1   
and the secret of success1 of each of   
these prominent writers1 are presented  
with great clearness and discrimination4
   ,,iv4  ,lives of ,illustrious        
,shoemakers4   ,,western ,,christian    
,,advocate1 ,cincinnati3  ,when we first
 took up this volume we were surprised  
that anybody should attempt to make a   
book with precisely this form and title4
 ,but as we read its pages we were far  
more surprised to find them replete with

 interest and instruction4 ,it should be
 sold by the scores of thousands4       
,,presbyterian ,,observer1 ,baltimore3  
,the writer of this book well           
understands how to write biography--a   
gift vouchsafed only to a few4  ,,new   
,,york ,,herald3  ,the sons of ,st4     
,crispin have always been noted for     
independence of thought in politics and 
in religion2 and ,mr4 ,winks has written
 a very readable account of the lives of
 the more famous of the craft4 ,the book
 is quite interesting4  ,,danbury       
,,news1 ,conn43  ,the ,standard ,library
 has been enriched by this addition4    
,,literary ,,world1 ,london3  ,the pages
 contain a great deal of interesting    
material--remarkable episodes of        
experience and history4  ,,boston       
,,globe3  ,a valuable book1 containing  
much interesting matter and an          
encouragement to self-help4  ,,christian
 ,,standard1 ,cincinnati3  ,it will     
inspire a noble ambition1 and may redeem
 many a life from failure4  ,,christian 

,,secretary1 ,hartford1 ,conn43         
,written in a sprightly and popular     
manner4 ,full of interest4              
,,evangelical ,,messenger1 ,cleveland3  
,everybody can read the book with       
interest1 but the young will be         
specially profited by its perusal4      
,,leicester ,,chronicle1 ,england3  ,a  
work of the deepest interest and of     
singular ability4  ,,commercial         
,,gazette1 ,cincinnati3  ,one of the    
most popular books published lately4    
,,central ,,methodist1 ,kentucky3  ,this
 is a choice work--full of fact and     
biography4 ,it will be read with        
interest1 more especially by that large 
class whose awl and hammer provide the  
human family with soles for their feet4 
,,the ,,western ,,mail1 ,england3       
,written with taste and tact1 in a      
graceful1 easy style4 ,a book most      
interesting to youth4  ,,christian      
,,guardian1 ,toronto3  ,it is a capital 
book4  ,,evangelical ,,churchman1       
,toronto3  ,this is a most interesting  

book1 written in a very popular style4  
,v4  ,flotsam and ,jetsam4   ,,saturday 
,,review1 ,eng43  ,amusing and readable 
444 ,among the successful books of this 
order must be classed that which ,mr4   
,bowles has recently offered to the     
public4  ,,new ,,york ,,world3  ,this   
series of reflections1 some philosophic1
 others practical1 and many humorous1   
make a cheerful and healthful little    
volume1 made the more valuable by its   
index4  ,,central ,,methodist1          
,cattlesburgh1 ,ky4  ,this is a romance 
of the sea1 and is one of the most      
readable and enjoyable books of the     
season4  ,,lutheran ,,observer1 ,phil43 
,the cargo on this wreck must have been 
above all estimate in value4 ,how much  
',jetsam' there may be we cannot tell1  
but what we have seen is all ',flotsam1'
 and will float and find its way in     
enriching influence to a thousand hearts
 and homes4  ,,new ,,york ,,herald3  ,it
 is a clever book1 full of quaint       
conceits and deep meditation4 ,there is 

plenty of entertaining and original     
thought1 and ',flotsam and ,jetsam' is  
indeed worth reading4  ,,christian      
,,advocate1 ,nashville1 ,tenn43  ,many  
of the author's comments are quite      
acute1 and their personal tone will give
 them an additional flavor4  ,,methodist
 ,,recorder1 ,pittsburgh1 ,pa43  ,in    
addition to the charming incidents      
related1 it fairly sparkles with fresh  
and original thoughts which cannot fail 
to interest and profit4  ,,good         
,,literature1 ,new ,york3  444 ,never   
fails to amuse and interest1 and it is  
one of the pleasantest features of the  
book that one may open it at a venture  
and be sure of finding something        
original and readable4  ,,herald ,,and  
,,presbyter1 ,cincinnati1 ,ohio3  ,his  
manner of telling the story of his      
varied observations and experiences1    
with his reflections accompanying1 is so
 easy and familiar1 as to lend his pages
 a fascination which renders it almost  
impossible to lay down the book until it

 is read to the end4  ,,new ,,york      
,,ledger3  ,it is quite out of the usual
 method of books of travel1 and will be 
relished all the more by those who enjoy
 bits of quiet humor and piquant        
sketches of men and things on a yachting
 journey4  ,,new ,,york ,,star3  ,not   
too profound for entertainment1 and yet 
pleasantly suggestive4 ,a volume of     
clever sayings4  ,,christian            
,,secretary1 ,hartford1 ,conn43  ,it is 
a book well worth reading1444 full of   
thought4  ,,presbyterian ,,journal1     
,philadelphia3  ,a racy1 original1      
thoughtful book4 ,on the slight thread  
of sea-voyaging it hangs the terse      
thoughts of an original mind on many    
subjects4 ,the style is so spicy that   
one reads with interest even when not   
approving4  ,,christian ,,intelligencer1
 ,new ,york3  ,no one can spend an hour 
or two in ,mr4 ,bowles' gallery of      
graphic pen-pictures without being so   
deeply impressed with their originality 
of conception and lively1 spicy         

expression1 as to talk about them to    
others4   ,,vi4  ,the ,highways of      
,literature4   ,,national ,,baptist1    
,phila43  ,a book full of wisdom2       
exceedingly bright and practical4       
,,pacific ,,churchman1 ,san ,francisco3 
,the best answer we have seen to the    
common and most puzzling question1      
',what shall ,i read8' ,scholarly and   
beautiful4  ,,danbury ,,news3  ,its     
hints1 rules1 and directions for reading
 are1 just now1 what thousands of people
 are needing4  ,,christian ,,witness1   
,newmarket1 ,n4,h43  ,clear1 terse1     
elegant in style4 ,a boon to young      
students1 a pleasure for scholars4      
,,new ,,york ,,herald3  ,mr4 ,david     
,pryde1 the author of ',highways of     
,literature2 or1 ,what to ,read1 and    
,how to ,read1' is an erudite ,scotchman
 who has taught with much success in    
,edinburgh4 ,his hints on the best books
 and the best method of mastering them  
are valuable1 and likely to prove of    
great practical use4  ,,new ,,york      

,,tablet3  ,this is a most useful and   
interesting work4 ,it consists of papers
 in which the author offers rules by    
which the reader may discover the best  
books1 and be enabled to study them     
properly4   ,,vii4  ,colin ,clout's     
,calendar4   ,,leeds ,,mercury1         
,england3  ,the best specimens of       
popular scientific expositions that we  
have ever had the good fortune to fall  
in with4  ,,new ,,york ,,nation3  ,the  
charm of such books is not a little     
heightened when1 as in this case1 a few 
touches of local history1 of customs1   
words1 and places are added4  ,,american
 ,,reformer1 ,new ,york3  ,there        
certainly is no deterioration in the    
quality of the books of the ,standard   
,library4 ,this book consists of short  
chapters upon natural history1 written  
in an easy1 fascinating style1 giving   
rare and valuable information concerning
 trees1 plants1 flowers1 and animals4   
,such books should have a wide          
circulation beyond the list of regular  

subscribers4 ,some will criticise the   
author's inclination to attribute the   
marvellous things which are found in    
these plants1 animals1 etc41 to a long  
process of development rather than to   
,divine agency4 ,but the information is 
none the less valuable1 whatever may be 
the process of these developments4      
,a ,,great ,,sacrifice4  ,young's       
,analytical ,concordance  ,,reduced ,,to
 #b4ej1  ,,for ,a ,,limited ,,time4     
,dr4 ,young cannot endure to have this1 
the great work of his life1 judged by   
the unauthorized editions with which the
 ,american market is flooded4 ,these    
editions1 he feels1 do his work and the 
,american public great injustice4  ,that
 ,americans may be able to see the work 
as printed under his eye and from his   
own plates1 he will sell some thousands 
of copies at  ,a ,great ,pecuniary      
,sacrifice4  ,the sale at the reduced   
prices will begin ,march #a1 #ahhc1 and 
will continue until the thousands of    
copies set apart for this sale are      

exhausted4 ,this is the authorized1     
latest revised and unabridged           
edition--in every respect the same type1
 paper1 binding1 etc41 as we have sold  
at the higher prices4  ,it is a burning 
shame that the great life-work of one of
 the most eminent scholars1 a work      
pronounced in both ,europe and ,america 
as one of the most laborious and        
important that this century has         
produced1 embracing nearly #aajj large  
quarto pages1 each larger and containing
 more matter than ,webster's ,unabridged
 ,dictionary1 should prove a great      
financial loss to its author6  ,this    
great work is selling in ,england at #i1
 and is now imported and sold in        
,america at #b4ej66  ,orders will be    
filled in the order received up to the  
time of the exhaustion of the stock4    
,young's ,great ,concordance4  ,,do     
,,not ,,be ,,deceived4  ,there is but   
one authorized and correct edition of   
,young's ,concordance sold in ,america4 
,every copy of this edition has on the  

title-page the words ,authorized        
,edition1 and at the bottom of the page 
the imprint  ,,new ,,york3 ,,funk       
,,wagnalls4 ,,edinburgh3 ,,george ,,adam
 ,,young  ,,company4  ,all copies1 no   
matter by whom sold1 that have not these
 words printed on the title-page are    
printed on the bungling plates made by  
the late ,american ,book ,exchange4     
,dr4 ,,young says3 ,this unauthorized   
,american edition is an outrage on the  
,american public1 and on me1 containing 
gross errors4  ,,rev4 ,,dr4 ,,john      
,,hall says3  ,dr4 ,robert ,young's     
,analytical ,concordance is worthy of   
the lifetime of labor he has spent upon 
it4 ,i deeply regret that his natural   
and just expectation of some return from
 its sale on this side of the ocean is  
not realized2 and ,i hope the sense of  
justice to a most painstaking author    
will lead to the choice by many         
purchasers of the edition which ,dr4    
,young approves--that of ,messrs4 ,,funk
  ,,wagnalls1 with whom ,dr4 ,young     

cooperates in bringing out here the best
 edition4  ,,new ,,york4  ,,john ,,hall4
  ,do not be deceived by                
misrepresentations4 ,insist that your   
bookseller furnish you the ,authorized  
edition4   ,,reduced ,,prices3  #aajj   
quarto pages 7each larger than a page in
 ,webster's ,unabridged ,dictionary71   
,cloth1                                 
#b #ej  ,sheep                          
#d #jj  ,french im4 morocco             
#d #ej  ,sent post-free4  ,,funk        
,,wagnalls1 #aj  #ab ,dey ,street1 ,new 
,york4         99       99       99     
99       99