NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS 
 SYSTEMS, 
 
 HINDUISM. 
 
 BY 
 
 MONIER WILLIAMS, M.A., D.C.L., 
 
 HON. DOCTOR IN LAW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA ; 
 
 HON. MEMBER OF THE BOMBAY ASIATIC SOCIETY ; 
 BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. 
 
 WITH MAP. 
 
 PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
 
 THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION 
 
 APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PRCTMpTING > 
 
 CHRIST LAV. KNOV'L^.DGE. 
 
 '. SIXTH t.HO'JOANl>;" 
 
 LONDON: 
 SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORIES .' 
 
 77, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LINCOLN*S-INN FIELDS J 
 
 4, ROYAL EXCHANGE; 48, PICCADILLY 
 
 AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 
 New York : Pott, Young, & Co. 
 1878. . 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 CtfAP. PAGE 
 
 7l. INTRODUCTORY i 
 
 ,11. THE VEDIC HYMNS 17 
 
 /III. THE BRAHMANAS AND THE SACRIFICIAL SYS- 
 TEM 33 
 
 7. THE UPANISHADS AND BRAHMANICAL PHILO- 
 SOPHY f .. 43 
 
 v/V". BRAHMANICAL LAW, DOMESTIC USAGES, AND 
 
 CASTE 53 
 
 v#T. THE BUDDHISTIC MOVEMENT, AND ITS INFLU- 
 ENCE ON BRAHMANISM 72 
 
 vVII. DEVELOPMENT OF HINDUISM, AND THE DOC- 
 TRINE OF TRIPLE MANIFESTATION 83 
 
 , VIII. DEVELOPMENT OF 'SAIVISM, VAISHNAVISM, AND 
 
 THE DOCTRINE OF INCARNATION 97 
 
 IX. THE DOCTRINE OF FAITH, AS DEVELOPED IN 
 
 THE PURANAS AND TANTRAS 115 
 
 &. MEprEVAL AND.'MOJDERH SECTS 134 
 
 j3fr. MODERN CARTES '../...'..!...' 151 
 
 ;I,DQE-WORSjHIB, 'SA.CRED OBJECTS, 
 &L'AG;ES;A ; N.D 4 T^M 4 ES % ..\ 165 
 
 APPENDIX : 
 
 DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE Six SCHOOLS OF 
 
 PHILOSOPHY 18 
 
 ECLECTIC SCHOOL THE BHAGAVAD-GITA 206 
 
 JAINISM 221 
 
 THE CARVAKAS 224 
 
 INDEX .. 228 
 
HINDUISM. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 THAT part of the great Aryan race which immigrated 
 from Central Asia, through Persia, into India, settled 
 first in the districts near the river Sindhu (now called 
 the Indus). 
 
 The Persians pronounced this word Hindhu, and 
 named their Aryan brethren Hindus. The Greeks, 
 who probably gained their first ideas of India from 
 the Persians, dropped the hard aspirate, and called 
 the Hindus 'Ii/c)o/. 
 
 After the Hindu Aryans had spread themselves 
 over the plains of the Ganges, the Persians gave the 
 name Hindustan, or ' abode of the Hindus/ to the 
 whole district between the Panjab and Benares, and 
 this name is commonly used, especially by the 
 Musalmans, for a still more extended region, as far 
 as the Vindhya mountains, and even, less correctly, 
 for other parts of India. 
 
 The classical name for India, however, as usually 
 employed in Sanskrit literature and recognized by the 
 whole Sanskritic races, is Bhdrata or Bhdrata-varsha 
 (sometimes Bharata-khanda or Kumarikd-khanda] , 
 
 r* f\ 1" f* C\ O 
 
' the country of Bharata,' a king who appears to 
 have ruled over a large extent of territory in ancient 
 times. Manu's name for the whole central region 
 between the Himalaya and Vindhya mountains is 
 Aryavarta, ' abode of the Aryans/ and this is also a 
 classical appellation for that particular portion of 
 India. Another name for the whole of India, occur- 
 ring in Sanskrit poetry, is Jambu-dvlpa. Strictly, 
 however, this last is merely a poetical name for the 
 whole earth, of which India was thought to be the 
 most important part. 
 
 The population of India amounts to at least 
 240 millions. So immense an assemblage of beings 
 does not, of course, form one nation. India is almost 
 a continent, like Europe. From the earliest times its 
 richness has attracted successive immigrants and 
 invaders from over-populated and poorer regions, 
 Asiatic and European. Its inhabitants differ as much 
 as the various continental races, and speak languages 
 equally distinct. 
 
 First came the primitive immigrants some Scy- 
 thian, some Mongolian in their origin and all falling 
 under the general head of what are called Turanian 
 races, who, migrating from Central Asia and the steppes 
 of Tartary and Tibet, entered India by successive 
 incursions many of them through the passes 
 adjoining the Panjab in the North-west, and others 
 through those North-eastern mountain-ravines which 
 mark the course of the river Brahma-putra. 
 
 The great Dravidian race of the South of India 
 (probably symbolized by the Ravanas and Vibhishanas 
 of epic poetry) represents the most powerful of these 
 
HINDUISM. 3 
 
 early immigrants, and must not be confounded with 
 the more uncivilized aboriginal tribes, inhabiting the 
 hills and the jungles of India, and symbolized in 
 poetry by monkeys. 
 
 Next descended on the plains of Hindustan the 
 first overflowings of the mighty tide of Aryan immi- 
 gration, caused by the rapid growth and expansion of 
 that primeval family, who called themselves Arya, or 
 6 noble/ and spoke a language the common source 
 of Sanskrit, Prakrit, Zand, Persian, and Armenian in 
 Asia ; and of the Hellenic, Italic, Keltic, Teutonic, 
 and Slavonic languages in Europe. Starting at a 
 later period than the primitive Turanian races, but, 
 like them, from some part of the tableland of Central 
 Asia probably the region surrounding the sources of 
 the Oxus, near Bokhara they separated into distinct 
 nationalities and peopled Europe, Persia, and India. 
 The Hindu Aryans, after detaching themselves from 
 the Persian branch of the family, settled themselves 
 down as agriculturists (probably at some period 
 between 2000 and 1500 years B.C.) in the districts 
 surrounding the Indus, the five rivers of the Pan- 
 jab, and the sacred Sarasvati these seven rivers 
 being called Sapta Sindhu (in Zand, Hapta Hendu). 
 Thence, after a time, they overran by successive 
 irruptions the plains of the Ganges, and spread them- 
 selves over the region called Aryavarta, occupying 
 the whole of Central India, and either coalescing 
 with, and, so to speak, Aryanizing the primitive 
 inhabitants they found there, or driving all who 
 resisted them to the south and to the hills. They 
 were the first promoters of that moral and intellectual 
 
4 HINDUISM. 
 
 progress and civilization in India, of which the 
 Dravidian immigrants were the pioneers. 
 _ But India, even after its occupation by the great 
 Aryan race, yielded itself up an easy prey to every 
 powerful invader. According to Herodotus, it was 
 subjugated by Darius Hystaspes. This conquest 
 probably occurred about 500 years B.C. It must 
 have been very partial, and did not extend beyond 
 the plains of the Indus, including the Panjab 
 f and Sindh. It was probably followed by consider- 
 1 able subsequent trade and traffic between Persia and 
 India; and to this commercial intercourse may be 
 I due the introduction into India of many new ideas 
 religious and philosophical and perhaps, also, of 
 the Phoenician alphabet, with which that of some 
 of the Asoka edicts and inscriptions (about 250 B.C.) 
 is now generally thought to be connected. 
 
 The expedition of Alexander the Great to the 
 banks of the Indus, about 327 B.C., is a better 
 authenticated fact. To this invasion is due the first 
 trustworthy information obtained by Europeans con- 
 cerning the nortn-westerly portion of India and the 
 region of the five rivers, down which the Grecian 
 troops were conducted in ships by Nearchus. Me- 
 gasthenes, who was the ambassador of Seleukos 
 Nikator (Alexander's successor, and ruler over the 
 whole region between the Euphrates and Indus, 
 B.C. 312) at the court of Candra-gupta (Sandro- 
 kottus), in Pataliputra (Pataa, or IlaX//3o0pa), during 
 a long sojourn in that city collected further informa- 
 tion, of which Strabo, Pliny, Arrian, and others 
 availed themselves. 
 
HINDUISM. 5 
 
 The next immigrants, after a long interval, were the 
 Parsls. This small tribe of Persians were driven from 
 their native land by the Muhammadan conquerors 
 under the Khallf Omar in the seventh century of our 
 era. Adhering to the ancient religion of Persia, which 
 resembled that of the Veda (viz. the worship of one 
 God, symbolized by and manifested in the elements, 
 especially fire), and bringing with them the records 
 of their faith, the Zand-Avasta l of their prophet Zo- 
 roaster, they settled down in the neighbourhood of 
 Surat about noo years ago, and became great mer- 
 chants and shipbuilders. For two or three centuries 
 we know little of their history. Their religion pre- 
 vented them from making proselytes, and they never 
 multiplied within themselves to any extent, nor did 
 they amalgamate with the Hindu population, so that 
 even now their number only amounts to about seventy 
 thousand. Nevertheless, from their busy, enterprising 
 habits, in which they emulate Europeans, they form 
 an important section of the population of Bombay 
 and Western India. 
 
 Then came the Muhammadans (Arabs, Turks, Af- 
 ghans, Moguls, and Persians), who entered India at dif- 
 ferent times. They now number forty-one millions, or 
 about one-sixth of the entire population ; but a large 
 
 1 More properly Avastd-Zand, text and commentary. The 
 term Zand, which meant commentary, was afterwards applied to 
 the language in which the Pars! sacred books were written. 
 This Zand language is only separated by a short interval from 
 that of one set of the cuneiform inscriptions, which again was 
 closely followed by Pahlavi. 
 
6 HINDUISM. 
 
 number of them are descendants of Hindus converted 
 to Islam. Although they became politically supreme, 
 they were never able to supplant the Hindus, as these 
 had done their predecessors. Moreover, it was the 
 policy of the Muhammadan conquerors to bend in 
 many points to the prejudices of their Indian subjects. 
 Hence the Muslims of India became to some extent 
 Hinduized, and in language, habits, and character took 
 from the Hindus more than they imparted. 
 
 Nor has the Hindu element lost its ascendency in 
 India, notwithstanding the accession of European in- 
 gredients from Portugal, Holland, Denmark, France, 
 and finally England. Albeit the English have spread 
 themselves over the whole country, and achieved a 
 political supremacy greater than that which once be- 
 longed to the Musalmans, yet they have blended far 
 less with the inhabitants. Oil and water do not keep 
 more distinct than do the rulers and the ruled at pre- 
 sent in India. The great bulk of the population is 
 still essentially Hindu, and the moral influence of 
 what may be called the Indo-Aryan race is still para- 
 mount. Nevertheless, this race by no means forms 
 one united nation. Differences distinguish it, as great 
 as those which once divided and still distinguish 
 European Aryans. 
 
 Many causes have combined to produce such di- 
 versities. The Indo-Aryans entered India by suc- 
 cessive incursions, so that the earlier arrivals differ 
 from the later as widely as Greeks and Romans from 
 Kelts and Teutons. Then, variety of climate has had 
 its effect in modifying character. Moreover, contact 
 with the non-Aryan aboriginal races and with Mu- 
 
HINDUISM. 7 
 
 hammadans and Europeans has affected the Aryans 
 variously in different parts of India. 
 
 As to the non-Aryan races, these also present great 
 differences. They are now generally divided into the 
 two classes of Dravidians and Kolarian aborigines, 
 both of which races belong to the division of the 
 world's inhabitants loosely called Turanian ; but the 
 first, as already hinted, are by far the most important, 
 from their having attained an independent civilization, 
 and from their having become either wholly or par- 
 tially Hinduized in religion, manners, and usages, 
 while the Kolarians continue still in their uncivilized 
 aboriginal condition. 
 
 Reckoning, therefore, Aryans and non- Aryans, and 
 taking difference of speech as marking and perpe- 
 tuating separation of populations, though not as ne- 
 cessarily determining distinction of race, we are able 
 to distinguish fourteen separate peoples in India, 
 constituting what might almost be called fourteen 
 separate nationalities. The following are the fourteen 
 different languages which mark them : 
 
 1. Hindi, which we may calculate as spoken by 
 about one hundred million persons in Hindustani' 
 proper, including the High Hindi and the Muham- 
 madan form of it (mixed with Persian and Arabic, 
 called Hindustani), and various other Hindi dialects, 
 such as Braj, Kanauji, Mewari, Old Purbi, Awadhi, 
 Bhojpuri, and the Marwarl of the district of Jodhpur 
 (the most extensive of all the Rajput states), which 
 last dialect is perhaps chiefly deserving of notice. 
 
 2. Bengali, spoken by about thirty-six millions in 
 Bengal. 
 
8 HINDUISM. 
 
 3. Mar at hi, spoken by about fifteen millions in 
 Maharashtra in the Dekhan, including a dialect of it 
 in the Konkan, known as Konkam. 
 
 4. Gujarat i, spoken by about seven millions in 
 Gujarat. 
 
 5. Panjdbi, spoken by about twelve millions in the 
 Panjab. 
 
 6. Kdsmlrl, by nearly two millions in Kasmir. 
 
 7. Sindht, spoken by about two millions in Sindh. 
 
 8. Oriya, spoken by about five millions in Orissa. 
 The foregoing eight belong to distinct divisions of 
 
 the Aryan race, which may be called Indo-Aryan. 
 
 Next, taking the non- Aryans, we have six other differ- 
 ences of race, which we may also mark by the names 
 of their languages. In the first place, the four great 
 Dravidian races (numbering nearly forty-six million 
 persons), as follows : 
 
 9. Tamil, spoken by about fifteen millions, begin- 
 ning with the northern portion of Ceylon, and extend- 
 ing from Cape Comorin northward along the south 
 of Travancore, and what is called the Karnatic that 
 is, along the southern part of the Coromandel coast 
 to about a hundred miles north of Madras. 
 
 10. Malay dlam, almost a dialect of Tamil, spoken 
 by nearly four millions in Travancore and along the 
 southern portion of the Malabar coast. 
 
 11. Telugu, called from its softness the Italian of 
 India, spoken by nearly sixteen millions, from a line 
 north of Madras, along the northern part of the Core- 
 man del coast, or Northern Circars, and over part of 
 the Nizam's territory. 
 
 12. Kanarese, spoken by rather more than nine 
 
HINDUISM. 9 
 
 i s a s in Mysore, in the southern portion of the 
 ty Presidency, in Kanara, and part of the 
 Malabar coast. 
 
 There are two semi-cultivated Dravidian dialects, 
 viz. the Tulu, spoken in a small district of Kanara, 
 and the Koorg or Kodagu, spoken by only 150,000 
 persons in the hill district to the west of Mysore, 
 which scarcely merit enumeration as languages. 
 
 Then comes the chief uncultivated Dravidian lan- 
 guage, viz. 
 
 13. Gond, spoken by nearly two million abori- 
 gines, 1 divided into clans, some of whom are almost 
 savages ; while others are comparatively civilized, 
 inhabiting Gondwana in the central provinces. The 
 language of the Gond race has been lately system- 
 atized and expressed in Devanagarl characters. 
 
 The other uncultivated Dravidian dialects, viz. 
 Oraon, Rajmahal, Khond, Toda and Kota, belong 
 to insignificant tribes rather than to races. 
 
 Lastly come the wholly uncultivated and barbarous 
 non-Aryan and non-Dravidian dialects, called, 
 
 14. Kolarian, belonging to the Kols, inhabiting 
 the plateau of Chota Nagpur and numbering more 
 than three millions. They speak about seven rude 
 dialects, of which the best known are those of the 
 Kols, the Juangs (the most primitive tribe in all 
 India), the Santals, the Mundas, and the Hos. 
 
 In the above enumeration are not reckoned the 
 
 1 It does not follow that the Gonds are Dravidian because 
 their language is so, any more than that the Cornish people are 
 of the English race because they have adopted our language. 
 Dr. Caldwell is my authority for most of these numbers. 
 
10 HINDUISM. 
 
 languages which belong, so to speak, to tl\ons m 
 fringe of India proper, e.g. the Pashtu or Pakhtu of 
 Afghanistan, the Nepali or Nepalese of Nepal, the 
 Asamese of Asam, the Burmese of British Burmah, 
 and the Sinhalese of Ceylon ; besides more than 
 sixty dialects spoken by tribes inhabiting the moun- 
 tains of Nepal, Bhutan, and Asam (some of them 
 coming under what are called the Himalaic family, 
 and many of them more or less connected with Tibe- 
 tan), making at least one hundred languages and 
 dialects, cultivated and uncultivated, in the whole of 
 India. 
 
 But, besides the separation caused by difference of 
 race and language, the divisions and subdivisions 
 of the classes of society within each of the more 
 civilized and cultivated of these several populations 
 crystallized more rapidly in India than in Europe, and 
 with far harder lines of demarcation. Even in dis- 
 tricts where the Hindus are called by one name, and 
 make use of one speech, caste regulations have ope- 
 rated to break them up into an infinite number of 
 independent communities, each priding itself on main- 
 taining its individuality and exclusiveness. 
 
 The question then arises how such differences of 
 race, language, and social usages have affected reli- 
 gious creed. It is remarkable that with all their 
 diversities the Hindu populations throughout India 
 have a religious faith which, preserved as it is in one 
 language and one literature, furnishes a good evi- 
 dence of the original unity of the Indo-Aryan immi- 
 grants, while it faithfully reflects the present diversi- 
 fied character of the vast country in which it prevails. 
 
HINDUISM. 1 1 
 
 It is a creed based on an original, simple, pantheistic 
 doctrine, but branching out into an endless variety 
 of polytheistic superstitions. Like the sacred fig-tree 
 of India, which from a single stem sends out innu- 
 merable branches destined to descend to the ground 
 and become trees themselves, till the parent stock is 
 lost in a dense forest of its own offshoots, so has 
 this pantheistic creed rooted itself firmly in the 
 Hindu mind, and spread its ramifications so luxu- 
 riantly that the simplicity of its root-dogma is lost in 
 an exuberant outgrowth of monstrous mythology. 
 
 That we may at once briefly formulate this lead- 
 ing dogma, we cannot do better than give its own 
 formula of three words, as stated by its own philo- 
 sophers, thus, Ekam eva advitlyam, ' There is but 
 one Being, no second ' ; nothing really exists but the 
 one Universal Spirit called Brahman, and whatever 
 appears to exist independently is identical with that 
 Spirit. This is the uncompromising creed of true 
 Brahmanism. This, according to the orthodox Hindu 
 philosophy, is the only true Veda. This, at least 
 according to the belief of the generality of educated 
 Hindus, is the only true knowledge to which the Veda 
 leads. 
 
 Popular Hinduism, on the other hand, though 
 supposed to accept this creed as the way of true 
 knowledge (Jndna-mdrga) which it admits to be the 
 highest way of salvation, adds to it two other inferior 
 
 i st. Belief in the efficacy of sacrifices, rites, 
 penances, and austerities, which is the Karma-marga, 
 * way of works.' 
 
12 HINDUISM. 
 
 2nd. Faith in personal deities, which is the Bhakti- 
 marga, ' way of faith and devotion ' (the term bhakti 
 corresponding to the Upasana of the Upanishads). 
 
 Moreover, to account for its polytheism, idol-wor- 
 ship, and system of caste distinctions, popular Hin- 
 duism, supposes that the one Supreme Being amuses 
 himself by illusory appearances ; that he manifests 
 himself variously, as light does in the rainbow ; and 
 that all visible and material objects, good and bad, 
 including gods, demons, demi-gods, good and evil 
 spirits, human beings and animals, are emanations 
 from him, and are ultimately to be reabsorbed into 
 his essence. 
 
 Hence it may easily be surmised that the road con- 
 necting the true knowledge and the popular doctrine 
 must have many windings. And it may with truth be 
 asserted that no description of Hinduism can be ex- 
 haustive which does not touch on almost every reli- 
 gious and philosophical idea that the world has ever 
 known. 
 
 Starting from the Veda, Hinduism has ended in 
 embracing something from all religions, and in pre- 
 senting phases suited to all minds. It is all-tolerant, 
 all-compliant, all-comprehensive, all-absorbing. It has 
 its spiritual and its material aspect, its esoteric and 
 exoteric, its subjective and objective, its rational and 
 irrational, its pure and its impure. It may be compared 
 to a huge polygon, or irregular multilateral figure. It 
 has one side for the practical, another for the severely 
 moral, another for the devotional and imaginative, 
 another for the sensuous and sensual, and another 
 for the philosophical and speculative. Those who rest 
 
HINDUISM. 13 
 
 in ceremonial observances find it all-sufficient ; those 
 who deny the efficacy of works, and make faith the 
 one requisite, need not wander from its pale; those 
 who are addicted to sensual objects may have their 
 tastes gratified ; those who delight in meditating on 
 the nature of God and man, the relation of matter 
 and spirit, the mystery of separate existence, and the 
 origin of evil, may here indulge their love of specula- 
 tion. And this capacity for almost endless expansion 
 causes almost endless sectarian divisions even among 
 the followers of any particular line of doctrine. 
 
 In unison with its variable character and almost / 
 universal receptivity, the religious belief of the Hindus 
 has really no single succinct designation. Looking at 
 it in its pantheistic aspect, we may call it Brahmanism ; 
 in its polytheistic development, Hinduism ; but these 
 are not names recognized by the natives. 
 
 If, then, such all-comprehensive breadth and di- 
 versity are essential features of Hinduism, is it pos- 
 sible to give a concise description of it which shall be 
 intelligible and satisfactory? Only one guide to its 
 intricacies exists. 
 
 India, though it has, as we have seen, about one 
 hundred spoken dialects, has only one sacred lan- 
 guage and only one sacred literature, accepted and 
 revered by all adherents of Hinduism alike, however 
 diverse in race, dialect, rank, and creed. That lan- 
 guage is Sanskrit, and that literature is Sanskrit litera- 
 ture the only repository of the Veda or ' knowledge* 
 in its widest sense ; the only vehicle of Hindu theo- 
 logy, philosophy, law, and mythology; the only mirror 
 K which all the creeds opinions, customs, and usages 
 c 
 
14 HINDUISM. 
 
 of the Hindus are faithfully reflected ; and (if we may 
 be allowed a fourth metaphor) the only quarry whence 
 the requisite materials may be obtained for improv- 
 ing the vernaculars, or for expressing important reli- 
 gious and scientific ideas. 
 
 In Europe literature changes with language. Each 
 modern dialect has its own literature, which is the 
 best representative of the present religious, social, and 
 intellectual condition of the people. To know the 
 Italians, we need not study Latin, when their modern 
 literature is at our command. But the literature of 
 the Hindu vernacular dialects (except, perhaps, that 
 of Tamil) is scarcely yet deserving of the name. In 
 most cases, it consists of mere reproductions of the 
 Sanskrit. To know the Hindus, to understand their 
 past and present condition, to reach their very heart 
 and soul, we must study Sanskrit literature. It is, in 
 truth, even more to India than classical and patristic 
 literature was to Europe at the time of the Reforma- 
 tion. It gives a deeper impress to the Hindu mind, 
 so that every Hindu, however unlettered, is uncon- 
 sciously affected by it. 
 
 There are, however, certain portions of Sanskrit 
 literature which are, par excellence, sacred, and these 
 fall under the two grand heads of Sruti and Smriti. 
 
 Sruti 'that which is directly heard or revealed' 
 includes the three portions of the Veda, viz. Man- 
 tra, Brahmana, and Upanishad, the last being the 
 source of the Darsanas or systems of philosophy. 
 
 It is equivalent to direct revelation, and is believed 
 to have no human author. 
 
 Smriti, 'that which is remembered and handed 
 
HINDUISM. . 15 
 
 down by tradition/ though believed to be founded on 
 this direct revelation, is thought to have been delivered 
 
 by human authors. In its widest acceptation Smriti ^ j 
 
 may be said to denote almost the whole of Post-Vedic 
 literature, under four heads : (A) the six Vedangas 
 (viz., i. the Kalpa, or Srauta-sutras, which are rules 
 for applying the Mantra and Brahmana to Vedic 
 sacrifices ; 2. Siksha, or the science of pronuncia- 
 tion ; 3. Chandas, or metre ; 4. "Niruktcty or exposi- 
 tion of the Veda; 5. Vyakarana, or grammar; 6. ^ , 
 Jyotisha, or astronomy) ; (B) the Smarta-sutras, under 
 the two divisions of Grihya-sutras, or rules relating 
 to domestic rites ; and Samayacarika-sutras, relating 
 to conventional usages ; (c) the Dharma-sastras, or 
 'Law-books,' especially the laws of Manu, Yajna- 
 valkya, and other so-called inspired lawgivers, sup- 
 posed to have grown out of the Smarta-sutras ; (D) the 
 Bhakti-sastras, including the Itihasas, or ' legendary 
 poems/ viz., the great epic poem called Maha- 
 bharata, and the other great epic called Ramayana 
 (though the latter is rather a Kdvya by a known 
 human author, than an Itihasa, attributed to super- 
 human authorship) ; and including also the eighteen 
 Purdnas, or ancient legendary histories, with their 
 train of eighteen Inferior Puranas ( Upapurdnas\ and 
 subsequent Tantras. 
 
 Although it is not part of our present plan to ; 
 describe in detail all these divisions of Sanskrit litera- 
 ture, yet to understand the various phases through 
 which Hinduism has passed, it is essential to have 
 some knowledge of the principal works under four 
 departments viz., I. The three portions of the Veda, 
 
1 6 HINDUISM. 
 
 Mantra, Brahmana, and Upanishad. II. The Dar- 
 sanas, or systems of philosophy. III. The Dharma- 
 sastras. IV. The Bhakti-sastras. The principal 
 works under these four heads are the best exponents 
 of the different periods of development through which 
 the Hindu religious mind has passed, and which, 
 together, make up Hinduism. The hymns of the 
 Veda are the expression of that early stage of reli- 
 gious progress which may be called physiolatry ; the 
 Brahmanas represent ritualism and sacrifice; the 
 Upanishads and Darsanas represent rationalistic and 
 pantheistic philosophy ; Manu, Yajnavalkya, and the 
 law-books represent caste and domestic usages ; the 
 Itihasas, Puranas, and Tantras represent the principle 
 of faith in and devotion to personal gods. No ac- 
 i count of Hinduism can be satisfactory which is not 
 i accompanied with translations of occasional passages 
 from some of these representative works. 
 
HINDUISM. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE VEDIC HYMNS (Mantras). 
 
 THE word Veda (meaning ' knowledge 7 ) is a term 
 applied to divine unwritten knowledge, imagined to 
 have issued like breath from the self-existent Being j 
 called Brahman, and thought to be itself self-existent, i 
 Hence the \ eda is not unfrequently itself called 
 Brahman, which word may mean either 'the uni- 
 versally diffused essence/ or else ' the spirit of devo- 
 tion permeating the human mind ' or ' divine spiritual 
 knowledge.* 
 
 This divine knowledge was also connected with 
 Sabda, or articulate sound (thought to be eternal), 
 and hence sometimes regarded as an eternal voice 
 (vac) heard by certain holy men calie4 Rishis ; or, 
 again, as eternal words actually seen by them as well 
 as heard. 1 By them the Divine knowledge thus super- 
 naturally received through the ear and eye was trans- 
 mitted, not in writing, but by constant oral repetition, 
 through a succession of teachers, who claimed to 
 be its rightful recipients, and were thence called 
 Brdhmans, that is to say, the repositories both of 
 the divine word, and of the spirit of devotion or prayer. 
 
 1 Hence Rishi is said to be for Drishi, Avhich is from the root 
 dris, 'to see.* Of course, this is a mere fanciful Iheory. The 
 poets themselves frequently hint that the Mantras are their own 
 composition. 
 
1 8 HINDUISM. 
 
 Be it noted that we have here a theory of inspira- 
 tion higher even than that advanced by Muhammad 
 in explaining the origin of the Kuran. We may also 
 note that this idea of an external supernatural reve- 
 lation is at the very root of Hinduism, and is, indeed, 
 ingrained in the whole Hindu system. The first 
 idea, however, was not that of a -written or book 
 revelation. It is very true that revealed knowledge 
 was ultimately written down, but even then the 
 reading of it was not encouraged. 
 
 Our first step, therefore, in attempting a description 
 of Hinduism must be to give some notion of the 
 tents of the Veda. To clear the ground; we begin by 
 separating it into the following three quite distinct 
 subdivisions, all three coming under the general head 
 of Sruti, l that which is. heard or revealed.' 
 
 1. Mantra, prayer and praise, embodied in texts, 
 and metrical hymns. 
 
 2. Brdhmana. or ritualistic precept and illustra- 
 tion written jn prose. 
 
 3. Upanishad, mystical or secret doctrine, appended 
 to the aforesaid Brahmana, and written in prose and 
 occasional verse. 
 
 To' begin with the Mantra portion. By Mantra 
 (literally, 'the instrument of conveying thought 1 ) is 
 meant any inspired speech or sacred text. 
 
 The term is usually applied to those prayers, invo- 
 cations, and hymns which were addressed to certain 
 deifications of the forces of nature, and ultimately 
 arranged in five Samhitas or collections. Though 
 some of the hymns were the property of the Aryan 
 race before they separated, they must have been 
 
HINDUISM. 19 
 
 collected and handed down to us from a period 
 after the Indian branch of the great Indo-European 
 race had finally settled down in the Pan jab and 
 Northern India. Sanskrit literature, embracing as it ' 
 does nearly every branch of knowledge, is entirely * 
 deficient in one department. It is wholly destitute 
 of trustworthy historical records. Hence, little or 
 nothing is known of the lives of ancient Indian 
 authors, and the date of their most celebrated works 
 cannot be fixed with certainty. A fair conjecture, 
 however, may be arrived at by comparing the most 
 ancient with the more modern compositions, and 
 estimating the period of time required to effect the 
 changes of structure and idiom observable in the 
 language. In this manner we may be justified in 
 assuming that the hymns of the Veda were probably 
 composed by a succession of poets at different dates 
 between i^oo and 1000 years B.C. 
 
 Though very unequal in poetical merit, and con- 
 taining many tedious repetitions and puerilities, they 
 are highly interesting and important, as embodying 
 some of the earliest religious conceptions of the 
 Hindus, and throwing light on the earliest history 
 and social condition of the Indo- Aryan race. 
 
 They are comprised in five principal Samhitas, or 
 collections of Mantras, called respectively Ric, Yajus 
 (containing two Samhitas, Taittirija and Vajasaneyin), 
 Saman, and Atharvan. Of these, the Samhita of the 
 Ric or Rig-veda, containing 1017 hymns, is the oldest 
 and most important. It is a collection of songs in praise 
 of the personified elements. It is not arranged for 
 any ritual purposes, and it includes hymns, many of 
 
 
20 HINDUISM. 
 
 which may have been sung by our Aryan forefathers 
 before they settled in India. 
 
 The Atharva-veda, on the other hand, is generally 
 held to be the most recent, and is, perhaps, the most 
 interesting collection. Though some of its hymns 
 are mere repetitions of those in the Rig-veda, it 
 deserves to be called a separate original collection. 
 It had its origin in the growth of a superstitious belief 
 in the power of evil demons, and its verses, including 
 those introduced from the Rig-veda, are used in the 
 present day as magical spells and incantations for 
 imprecating or averting evils. 
 
 The two so-called Samhitas or collections of the 
 Yajur-veda or Sacrificial Veda (viz. the Taittirlya and 
 Vajasaneyin or Black and White Yajus), borrow 
 largely from the Rig-veda, and are merely hymns and 
 texts arranged for use at sacrifices, the necessity for 
 which arose after the complicated sacrificial system 
 had been elaborated. 
 
 The Sama-veda again is merely a reproduction of 
 parts of the Rig-veda, transposed and arranged for 
 the Soma ceremonies performed by priests called 
 Udgatris, as the Yajur-veda was for the sacrifices 
 performed by Adhvaryu priests. 1 The greatest num- 
 ber of its verses are taken from the ninth Mandala 
 of the Rig-veda, which is in praise of the Soma plant. 
 
 1 Manu, iv. 123, says : "The Rig-veda has the gods for its 
 deities ; the Yajur-veda has men for its objects ; the Sama-veda 
 has the Pitris or spirits of departed ancestors, therefore its sound 
 is impure." This semblance of impurity is said to be the result 
 of its association with deceased persons, and its repetition at a 
 time of mourning. 
 
HINDUISM. 21 
 
 To what deities, then, did the Vedic poets address 
 their prayers and hymns ? 
 
 This is an interesting inquiry, for these were pro- 
 bably the very deities worshipped under similar 
 names by our Aryan progenitors in tjieir primeval 
 home somewhere on the table-land of Central Asia. 
 The answer is, they worshipped those physical forces 
 before which all nations, if guided solely by the light 
 of nature, have in the early period of their life in- 
 stinctively bowed down, and before which even the 
 more civilized and enlightened have always been 
 compelled to bend in awe and reverence, if not in I 
 adoration. Their religion was what may be called in: 
 one word physiolatry. 
 
 To our Aryan forefathers in their Asiatic home 
 God's power was exhibited in the forces of nature 
 even more strikingly than to ourselves. Lands, houses, 
 flocks, herds, men, and animals were more frequently 
 than in Western climates at the mercy of winds, fire, 
 and water, and the sun's rays possessed a potency 
 quite beyond the experience of any European 
 country. We cannot be surprised, then, that these 
 forces were regarded as actual manifestations either 
 of one deity in different moods or of separate rival 
 deities contending for supremacy. Nor is it won- 
 derful that these mighty agencies should have been 
 at first poetically personified, and afterwards, when 
 invested with forms, attributes, and individuality, 
 worshipped as distinct gods. It was only natural, 
 too, that a varying supremacy and varying honours 
 should have been accorded to each deified force to 
 the air, the rain, the storm, the sun, or fire accord- 
 
22 HINDUISM. 
 
 ing to the special atmospheric influences to which 
 particular localities were exposed, or according to the 
 seasons of the year when the dominance of each was 
 to be prayed for or deprecated. 
 
 This was the religion represented in the Vedas, and 
 was probably the primitive creed of the Indo-Aryans 
 about twelve or thirteen centuries before Christ. The 
 first forces deified seem to have been those mani- 
 fested in the sky and air. These were at first gene- 
 ralized under one simple but rather vague personifica- 
 tion, as was natural in the earliest attempts at giving 
 shape to religious ideas. In the Veda this unity 
 soon diverged into various ramifications. Only a few 
 of the hymns appear to contain the simple conception 
 of one divine self-existent Being, and even in these 
 the idea of one God present in all nature is somewhat 
 nebulous and undefined. Perhaps the most ancient 
 and beautiful deification was that of Dyaus, ' the 
 sky/ as Dyaush-pitar, ' Heavenly Father ' (the Zeus 
 or Ju-piter of the Greeks and Romans). Then, closely 
 connected with Dyaus, was a goddess Aditi, ' the 
 Infinite Expanse/ conceived of subsequently as the 
 mother of all the gods. Next came a development 
 of the same conception called Varuna, ' the Investing 
 Sky/ said to answer to Ahura Mazda, the Ormazd of 
 the ancient Persian (Zand) mythology, and to the 
 Greek Qvpavoe, but a more spiritual conception, leading 
 to a worship which rose to the nature of a belief in 
 the great Harrip riptiv blr rolg ovpavolg. This Varuna, 
 again, was soon thought of in connection with another 
 vague personification called Mitra (= the Persian 
 Mithra), ' god of day.' After a time these imper- 
 
HINDUISM. 23 
 
 sonations of the celestial sphere were felt to be too 
 vague to suit the growth of religious ideas in ordi- 
 nary minds. Soon, therefore, the great investing 
 firmament was resolved into separate cosmical enti- 
 ties with separate powers and attributes. First, the 
 watery atmosphere, personified under the name of 
 Indra, ever seeking to dispense his dewy treasures, 
 though ever restrained by an opposing force or spirit 
 of evil called Vritra ; and, secondly, the wind, thought 
 of either as a single personality named Vayu, or as a 
 whole assemblage of moving powers coming from 
 every quarter of the compass, and impersonated as 
 Maruts, or ' Storm-gods/ At the same time the 
 once purely celestial Varuna became relegated to a 
 position among seven secondary deities of the heavenly 
 sphere called Adityas (afterwards increased to twelve, 
 and regarded as diversified forms of the sun in the 
 several months of the year), and subsequently to a 
 dominion over the waters when they had left the air 
 and rested on the earth. 
 
 Of these separately deified physical forces by far 
 the most favourite object of adoration was the deity 
 supposed to yield the dew and rain. Indra is the 
 Jupiter Pluvius of early Indian mythology, and he 
 is the principal divinity of Vedic worshippers, if, at /./ 
 least, the mere number of prayers and hymns ad- x 
 dressed to him is to be taken as an indication of his 
 superiority. 
 
 What, however, could rain effect without the aid of 
 heat ? a force the intensity of which must have im- 
 pressed an Indian mind with awe. Hence, the second 
 great god of Vedic worshippers arid the most important 
 
24 HINDUISM. 
 
 in connection with sacrificial rites, is Agni (Latin, 
 Ignis], ' the god of fire.' Even Surya, ' the sun ' (Greek, 
 ?;/\(oc), who is generally the first and most important 
 god in all Pagan systems as the supposed source of 
 heat, generation, and growth, was sometimes regarded 
 by the Hindus as another form of fire, a manifestation 
 of the same divine energy in the heavens. 
 
 These three, Indra, Agni, and Surya constitute the 
 Vedic chief triad of gods. 
 
 Another deity, Ushas, ' goddess of the dawn/ the 
 rjwQ of the Greeks, was naturally connected with the 
 sun, and regarded as daughter of the sky. Two 
 other deities, the Asvins, were fabled as twin sons of 
 the Sun (by his wife Asvini), ever young and hand- 
 some, travelling in a golden car, and precursors of 
 Ushas the dawn. They are sometimes called Dasras, 
 as divine physicians, ' destroyers of diseases 7 ; some- 
 times Nasatyas, as ' never untrue/ They appear to 
 have been personifications of two luminous points or 
 rays, imagined to precede the break of day. 
 
 And here, it should be stated, that the earth, under 
 the name of Prithivi, 'the broad one/ receives a 
 certain share of honour as one of the primitive god- 
 desses of the Veda, beint, thought of as the mother 
 of all beings. Moreover, various deities were regarded 
 as the progeny resulting from the fancied union of 
 earth with Dyaus, 'heaven/ just as much of the 
 later mythology may be explained by a supposed 
 blending of the male and female principles in nature. 
 But it is remarkable that as religious worship became 
 of a more selfish character, the earth, being more 
 evidently under man's control, and not seeming to 
 
HINDUISM. 25 
 
 need propitiation so urgently as the more uncertain 
 air, fire, and water, lost importance, and was rarely 
 adored in prayer or hymn. 
 
 If to the foregoing enumeration of the gods of the 
 Veda be added the name of Yama, the god of de- 
 parted spirits, and the appointed judge and punisher 
 of the dead, the principal deities to whom the 
 Mantras of the Vedic hymns were addressed, will 
 then have been stated. 
 
 It should be observed that the native commenta-* 
 ries on the Veda often allude to thirty-three gods* 
 which number is also mentioned in the Rig-veda\ 
 (I. 34, ii ; I. 45, 2). This is a multiple of three,', 
 which is a sacred number constantly appearing in the ; 
 Hindu religious system. 1 It is probable, indeed, 
 that although the Tri-murti is not named in the Vedic 
 hymns, yet the Veda is the real source of this Triad 
 of personifications, afterwards so conspicuous in 
 Hindu mythology. This much, at least, is clear, 
 that the Vedic poets exhibited a tendency to group 
 all the forces and energies of nature under three 
 heads, and the assertion that the number of the gods 
 was thirty-three, amounted to saying that each of the 
 three leading personifications was capable of eleven 
 modifications. There can be no doubt that a change 
 of name in Hindu mythology does not necessarily 
 imply the creation of a new deity. Indra, Vayu, 
 the Maruts and Rudras, appear to have been all forms 
 
 1 For example, there are three Vedas, three Margas or ways 
 of salvation, three Gunas or fetters of the soul, three principal 
 castes, three eyes in Siva's forehead, three objects of human 
 pursuit, three worlds, &c. 
 
26 HINDUISM. 
 
 and modifications of each other, and these with dif- 
 ferent names in the later mythology were gathered 
 into the one personification Siva. Similarly, Surya, 
 the sun, had various forms, such as Adityas ; and 
 one of these, named Vishnu, in the Rig-veda, led 
 to the second member of the Tri-murti, while Agni, 
 fire or heat, the great generator of life, who is 
 called in the Rig-veda ' father of the sacrifice/ and 
 is himself said to have a triple essence, and was appa- 
 rently often identified by his worshippers with the 
 Supreme Being, easily passed into the first member 
 of the Tri-murti, Brahma, or when the worship of 
 Brahma seemed to give place to that of SiVa, into 
 one aspect of this latter deity. 
 
 The following are free translations (taken from 
 6 Indian Wisdom ; ) of portions of the most remarkable 
 hymns in the Rig-veda. The first (Mandala, x. 129) 
 attempts to describe the mystery of creation thus : 
 
 In the beginning there was neither nought nor aught ; 
 
 Then there was neither sky nor atmosphere above. 
 
 What then enshrouded all this teeming universe ? 
 
 In the receptacle of what was it contained ? 
 
 Was it enveloped in the gulf profound of water ? 
 
 Then was there neither death nor immortality ; 
 
 Then there was neither day, nor night, nor light, nor darkness, 
 
 Only the Existent One breathed calmly, self-contained. 
 
 Nought else but he there was nought else above, beyond. 
 
 Then first came darkness hid in darkness, gloom in gloom ; 
 
 Next all was water, all a chaos indiscrete, 
 
 In which the One lay void, shrouded in nothingness. 
 
 Then turning inwards, he by self-developed force 
 
 Of inner fervour and intense abstraction, grew. 
 
 First in his mind was formed Desire, the primal germ 
 
 Productive, which the Wise, profoundly searching, say 
 
 Is the first subtle bond, connecting Entity 
 
 With Nullity. 
 
HINDUISM. 27 
 
 In this hymn we perceive the first dim outline of 
 the remarkable idea that the Creator willed to pro- 
 duce the universe through the agency and co-opera- 
 tion of a female principle an idea which afterwards 
 acquired more definite shape in the supposed mar- 
 riage of heaven and earth before alluded to. The 
 same idea assumed a character of its own in the 
 Sankhya philosophy (as we shall see hereafter), and 
 gathered such strength subsequently that every prin- 
 cipal deity in the later mythology has his feminine 
 counterpart, who shares the worship paid to the male 
 god, and who sometimes receives the greater homage 
 of the two. That this idea is not fully developed in 
 the Rig-veda is proved by the fact that with the 
 exception of Aditi, Ushas, and Prithivi, most of the 
 goddesses are insignificant. The wives of the chief' 
 gods, such as Indrani, Agnayi, Asvini, Varunani, 
 &c., are not associated with their husbands as objects 
 of worship, and even Lakshml and Sarasvati, though 
 named, are not adored. 1 
 
 The next specimen is from the i2ist hymn of thei 
 ist Mandala. Like the preceding, it furnishes a good|| 
 argument for those who maintain that the originalj|J 
 faith of the Hindus was monotheistic : 
 
 What god shall we adore with sacrifice ? 
 Him let us praise, the golden child that rose 
 In the beginning, who was born the lord 
 
 1 In the Sama-veda (viii. p. 420) the idea is more fully ex- 
 pressed : * * He felt not delight, being alone. He wished another, 
 and instantly became such. He caused his own self to fall in 
 twain, and thus became husband and wife. He approached 
 her, and thus were human beings produced." 
 
28 HINDUISM. 
 
 The one sole lord of all that is who made 
 
 The earth, and formed the sky, who giveth life, 
 
 Who giveth strength, whose bidding gods revere, 
 
 Whose hiding-place is immortality, 
 
 Whose shadow, death ; who by his might is king 
 
 Of all the breathing, sleeping, waking world. 
 
 Where'er let loose in space, the mighty waters 
 
 Have gone, depositing a fruitful seed, 
 
 And generating fire, there he arose 
 
 Who is the breath and life of all the gods, 
 
 Whose mighty glance looks round the vast expanse 
 
 Of watery vapour source of energy, 
 
 Cause of the sacrifice the only God 
 
 Above the gods. 
 
 Here follow portions of other hymns to Varuna, 
 and to the Vedic triad, Indra, Agni, and Surya : 
 
 The mighty Varuna, who rules above, looks down 
 
 Upon these worlds, his kingdom, as if close at hand. 
 
 When men imagine they do ought by stealth, he knows it. 
 
 No one can stand, or walk, or softly glide along, 
 
 Or hide in dark recess, or lurk in secret cell, 
 
 But Varuna detects him, and his movements spies. 
 
 Two persons may devise some plot, together sitting, 
 
 And think themselves alone ; but he, the king is there 
 
 A third and sees it all. His messengers descend 
 
 Countless from his abode, for ever traversing 
 
 This world, and scanning with a thousand eyes its inmates. 
 
 Whate'er exists within this earth, and all within the sky, 
 
 Yea, all that is beyond, king Varuna perceives. 
 
 The winkings of men's eyes are numbered all by him : 
 
 He wields the universe as gamesters handle dice. 
 
 Indra, twin-brother of the god of fire, 
 When thou wast born, thy mother Aditi, 
 Gave thee, her lusty child, the thrilling draught 
 Of mountain-growing Soma source of life 
 And never-dying vigour to thy frame. 
 
HINDUISM. 29 
 
 Thou art our guardian, advocate, and friend, 
 A brother, father, mother all combined. 
 Most fatherly of fathers, we are thine, 
 And thou art ours. Oh ! let thy pitying soul 
 Turn to us in compassion when we praise thee, 
 And slay us not for one sin or for many. 
 Deliver us to-day, to-morrow, every day. 
 Vainly the demon 1 dares thy might ; in vain 
 Strives to deprive us of thy watery treasures. 
 Earth quakes beneath the crashing of thy bolts. 
 Pierced, shattered lies the foe his cities crushed, 
 His armies overthrown, his fortresses 
 Shivered to fragments ; then the pent-up waters, 
 Released from long imprisonment, descend 
 In torrents to the earth, and swollen rivers, 
 Foaming and rolling to their ocean-home, 
 Proclaim the triumph of the Thunderer. 
 
 Agni, thou art a sage, a priest, a king, 
 
 Protector, father of the sacrifice. 
 
 Commissioned by us men, thou dost ascend 
 
 A messenger, conveying to the sky 
 
 Our hymns and offerings. Though thy origin 
 
 Be threefold, now from air, and now from water, 
 
 Now from the mystic double Arani, 
 
 Thou art thyself a mighty god, a lord, 
 
 Giver of life and immortality, 
 
 One in thy essence, but to mortals three ; 
 
 Displaying thine eternal triple form, 
 
 As fire on earth, as lightning in the air, 
 
 As sun in heaven. Thou art the cherished guest 
 
 Tn every household father, brother, son, 
 
 Friend, benefactor, guardian, all in one. 
 
 Deliver, mighty lord, thy worshippers, 
 
 Purge us from taint of sin, and when we die, 
 
 Deal mercifully with us on the pyre, 
 
 1 The demon Vritra. See p. 23. 
 D 2 
 
30 HINDUISM. 
 
 Burning our bodies with their load of guilt, 
 But bearing our eternal part on high 
 To luminous abodes and realms of bliss, 
 For ever there to dwell with righteous men. 
 
 Behold the rays of Dawn, like heralds, lead on high 
 
 The Sun, that men may see the great all-knowing god. 
 
 The stars slink off like thieves, in company with Night, 
 
 Before the all-seeing eye, whose beams reveal his presence, 
 
 Gleaming like brilliant flames, to nation after nation. 
 
 Surya, with flaming locks, clear-sighted god of day, 
 
 Thy seven ruddy mares bear on thy rushing car. 
 
 With these thy self-yoked steeds, seven daughters of thy chariot, 
 
 Onward thou dost advance. To thy refulgent orb, 
 
 Beyond this lower gloom, and upward to the light 
 
 Would we ascend, O Sun, thou god among the gods. 
 
 We may add a few verses from the celebrated 
 Purusha-sukta, one of the most recent hymns of 
 the Rig-veda (Mandala, x. 90). It will serve to 
 illustrate the gradual sliding of Hindu monotheism 
 into pantheism, and the first foreshadowing of the 
 idea of sacrifice, as well as the institution of caste, 1 
 which for so many centuries has held India in bond- 
 age : 
 
 The embodied spirit has a thousand heads, 
 
 A thousand eyes, a thousand feet, around 
 
 On every side enveloping the earth, 
 
 Yet filling space no larger than a span. 
 
 He is himself this very universe ; 
 
 He is whatever is, has been, and shall be ; 
 
 He is the lord of immortality. 
 
 All creatures are one-fourth of him, three-fourths 
 
 1 This hymn (generally admitted to be a comparatively modern 
 production) is the only hymn in the Rig-veda which alludes to 
 the distinctions of caste. 
 
HINDUISM. 31 
 
 Are that which is immortal in the sky. 
 
 From him, called Purusha, was born Viraj, 
 
 And from Viraj was Purusha produced, 
 
 Whom gods and holy men made their oblation. 
 
 With Purusha as victim, they performed 
 
 A sacrifice. W T hen they divided him, 
 
 How did they cut him up ? What was his mouth ? 
 
 What were his arms ? and what his thighs and feet ? 
 
 The Brahman was his mouth, the kingly soldier 
 
 Was made his arms, the husbandman his thighs, 
 
 The servile Sudra issued from his feet. 
 
 Be it observed, in conclusion, that the above ex- 
 amples would, if taken alone, encourage a very false 
 estimate of the merits of the Vedic Mantras. Although 
 the majority of the Hindus believe that the several 
 Samhitas of the Veda, and especially that of the Rig- 
 veda, contain all that is good, great, and divine, yet 
 these collections of hymns will be found, when taken 
 as a whole, to abound more in puerile ideas than 
 in striking thoughts and lofty conceptions. Nor will 
 they be found to support any of those objectionable 
 practices, superstitions, and opinions of the present 
 day for which they were once, through ignorance of 
 their contents, supposed to be an authority. The 
 Vedic hymns contain no allusion to the doctrine of 
 transmigration of souls, which is a conspicuous cha- 
 racteristic of the Hindu creed in the later system.; 
 Nor do they afford any sanction to the prohibition 
 of widow -marriages, the encouragement of child- 
 marriages, the iron rules of caste, and the interdiction 
 of foreign travel. Nor is there in them any evidence 
 that the personifications of the forces of nature were 
 represented by images or symbols carved out of wood 
 
$2 HINDUISM. 
 
 or stone. On the contrary, it may be taken as almost 
 certain that there were no idols and no temples to 
 hold images in Vedic times. 
 
 That the social condition of the people was by no 
 means low, and that they had attained to some 
 degree of civilization, may be inferred from various 
 allusions in the hymns. It is evident that the chief 
 riches of the newly-arrived Indo- Aryans consisted in 
 flocks and herds ; that they understood the principles 
 of agriculture ; that they were able to build towns 
 and fortified places ; that they had some knowledge 
 of various arts and sciences and of working in metals ; 
 that they engaged in philosophical speculations ; that 
 they had rulers ; that they were separated into classes, 
 though they were not yet divided off by hard lines of 
 caste ; that polygamy existed, though monogamy was 
 the rule ; that they killed animals for sacrifices ; that 
 they were in the habit of eating animal food, and did 
 not even object to the flesh of cows ; that they were 
 fond of gambling, and indulged in intoxicating 
 beverages. 
 
 We may also gather that just as the children of 
 Israel found the land of Canaan pre-occupied by 
 Hittites,_ Perizzites, and Philistines, so the immi- 
 grating Aryans, when they advanced into India, found 
 the soil held by Scythian and aboriginal races, vari- 
 ously called Dasyus, Anaryas, Nishadas, and Dravidas, 
 who, from long exposure to the Indian sun, and per- 
 haps from intermarriage with even more primitive and 
 (as some believe) Negroid aboriginal tribes, had become 
 almost as dark-complexioned as Africans. 
 
HINDUISM. 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE BRAHMANAS AND THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM. 
 
 HAVING thus endeavoured to explain the nature of ( 
 the Vedic hymns, we now turn to the second division 
 of the Veda called Brahmana, which, in relation to 
 the rise of Brahmanical authority, the elaboration 
 of the idea of sacrifice, and the development of the 
 ritual, is more important than the Mantra portion. 
 
 What, then, are the Brahmanas ? 
 
 They are intended, as their name implies, for the 
 Brahmans, and especially for their use in conducting 
 the complicated sacrificial ceremonies. Just as the 
 Mantras are the representatives of the nature-worship 
 of the Rishis which was developed in the Panjab, so 
 the Brahmanas are the exponents of the ritualism of 
 the Brahmans, developed when they had settled in 
 North-western Hindustan. 
 
 Their chief aim is to serve as guides or directories 
 for the employment of the Mantras at sacrifices. But 
 they do more than this. They speculate as to the 
 meaning and effect of using particular verses and 
 metres, and give explanations of the origin, import, 
 and conduct of the sacrifices, frequently intermixing 
 illustrations in the shape of legends and old stories. 1 
 The rambling discursiveness of these compositions 
 
 .e oldest of which may have been written in the 
 
34 HINDUISM. 
 
 seventh century B.C.) made them practically useless 
 as directories to the ritual until they themselves were 
 furnished with guides in the form of Sutras or apho- 
 ristic rules. 1 
 
 Each of the Samhitas, or collections of Mantras, 
 has its own Brahmanas. Thus the Rig-veda has the 
 Aitareya-brahmana (perhaps the oldest) and the Kau- 
 shitaki (or Sankhyayana)-brahmana. The two collec- 
 tions of the Yajur-veda have the Taittiriya-brahmana 
 and the ^atapatha-brahmana, which last, belonging 
 to the Vajasaneyi-samhita, is perhaps one of the most 
 complete of these productions. The Sama-veda has 
 eight Brahmanas, of which the two best known are 
 the Praudha (= Panca-vinsa, Tandya) and the Shad- 
 vinsa. The Atharva-veda has the Gopatha-brahmana. 
 
 Though much of the matter of these treatises is 
 little better than the silliest sacerdotalism, yet they 
 furnish valuable materials to any one interested in 
 tracing the rise and progress of Brahmanism, and the 
 development of its sacrificial system. 
 
 We may observe that the division of the people 
 into the four great classes of Brahmanas ^ priests ; 
 
 1 These were called Kalpa or Srauta-sutras. Others, which 
 were guides to domestic ceremonies, were called Smarta or 
 Grihya-sutras (see p. 15). The word Sutra is derived from 
 the root siv, ' to sew,' and means ' a string of rules/ A Siitra 
 should properly be expressed with the utmost possible brevity. 
 It is frequently nothing but a few suggestive memorial words 
 used like algebraic signs, and unintelligible without a key. In 
 later times, Sutra works are merely collections of formulated 
 precepts, adapted to serve as manuals to particular systems of 
 teaching, whether in ritual, philosophy, law, or grammar. 
 
HINDUISM. 35 
 
 KshatriyaS) soldiers ; Vaisyas, agriculturists ; and 
 Sudras, servants, as foreshadowed in the Purusha- 
 sukta of the Rig-veda (see p. 30), was at this period 
 more thoroughly established, though the rules of 
 caste as laid down in the laws of Manu (see p. 57) 
 were not yet generally in force. It may be noted, - 
 too, that the Brahmanas express belief in a future j 
 state more positively than the Mantras. They assert k .. 
 that a recompense awaits all beings in the next world 
 according to their conduct in this. But the doctrine 
 of transmigration, which became afterwards an essen- 
 tial element of Hinduism, is not yet fully deve- 
 loped, though hinted at in the Satapatha-brahmana 
 (xi. 6. i. i). 1 
 
 One of the most remarkable ideas to be found in the 
 Brahmanas is that the gods were merely mortals till 
 they extorted immortality from the Supreme Being by 
 sacrifices and austerities. This is expressed in theji 
 following free translation of a passage of the Sata- 
 patha-brahmana : 
 
 The gods lived constantly in dread of Death 
 The mighty Ender so with toilsome rites 
 They worshipped and repeated sacrifices 
 Till they became immortal. Then the Ender 
 Said to the gods, ' As ye have made yourselves 
 Imperishable ; so will men endeavour 
 To free themselves from me ; what portion then 
 Shall I possess in man ? ' The gods replied, 
 ' Henceforth no being shall become immortal 
 In his own body ; this his mortal frame 
 
 1 Animals and plants are described as revenging, in a future 
 state of existence, injuries inflicted on them by men in this life. 
 
36 HINDUISM. 
 
 Shalt thou still seize ; this shall remain thy own. 
 He who through knowledge or religious acts 
 Henceforth attains to immortality 
 Shall first present his body, Death, to thee.' 
 
 And again in the Taittiriya-brahmana, ' By means 
 of the sacrifice the gods obtained heaven.' 
 
 But a still more remarkable conception is that first 
 found in the Purusha-sukta of the Rig-veda, already 
 quoted, which represents the gods as sacrificing 
 Purusha, the primeval Male, supposed to be coeval 
 with the Creator. 
 
 This idea is even more remarkably developed in 
 the Tandya-brahmanas thus : 
 
 ' The lord of creatures (prajd-fati) offered himself 
 a sacrifice for the gods/ 
 
 And again, in the Satapatha-brahmana, ' He who, 
 knowing this, sacrifices with the Purusha-medha, or 
 sacrifice of the primeval male, becomes everything/ 
 
 Surely, in these mystical allusions to the sacrifice of 
 a representative man, we may perceive traces of the 
 original institution of sacrifice as a divinely-appointed 
 ordinance typical of the one great voluntary sacrifice 
 of the Son of God for the sins of the world. 1 
 
 Whether they point to the actual sacrifice of human 
 beings as part of the early Indo-Aryan system, admits 
 of question. Doubtless the practice of human sacri- 
 fice was eventually introduced ; and both children 
 
 1 Professor Banerjea (p. 204 of his * Arian Witness ') thinks 
 that it would not be easy to account for the genesis of such an 
 idea, except on the assumption of some primitive tradition of 
 the * Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.' 
 
HINDUISM. 37 
 
 and adults were immolated as victims at the altars of 
 the bloody goddess Kali in her numerous local forms. 
 Such sacrifices were once regarded as the only means 
 of propitiating her on occasions of great public cala- 
 mities, when she was supposed to send blight, disease, 
 and pestilence ; and for a long period they continued 
 to be secretly, if not openly, perpetrated in certain 
 districts of India. They were, at any rate, extensively 
 prevalent among the wild and uncultivated Dravi- 
 dian and aboriginal tribes ; many of whose practices 
 were adopted by the Hindus, and contributed largely 
 to mould the Vedic religion into its subsequent 
 form. 
 
 That human sacrifice was not at least unknown 
 at the time the Aitareya-brahmana was composed is 
 indicated by the story of ^unahsepha, of which the 
 following is the briefest possible epitome : 
 
 King Hariscandra had no son ; he then prayed to Varuna, 
 promising, that if a son were born to him, he would sacrifice 
 the child to the god. Then a son was born to him called 
 Rohita. When Rohita was grown up, his father one day told 
 him of the vow he had made to Varuna and bade him prepare 
 to be sacrificed. The son objected to be killed, and ran away 
 from his father's house. For six years he wandered in the 
 forest and at last met a starving Brahman. Him he persuaded 
 to sell one of his sons named Sunahsepha, for a hundred cows. 
 This boy was bought by Rohita and taken to Hariscandra and 
 about to be sacrificed to Varuna as a substitute for Rohita, 
 when, on praying to the gods with verses from the Veda, he 
 was released by them. 
 
 Nevertheless, it is clear from the following passage 
 in the same Brahmana that the sacrifice of huma 
 beings was really so repugnant to Aryan instincts 
 
38 HINDUISM. 
 
 that it did not long retain the direct sanction of the 
 \ Brahmans : 
 
 The gods killed a man for their victim. But from him thus 
 killed, the part which was fit for a sacrifice went out and entered 
 a horse. Thence, the horse became an animal fit for being 
 sacrificed. The gods then killed the horse, but the part of it 
 for being sacrificed went out of it and entered an ox. The 
 gods then killed the ox, but the part of it fit for being sacrificed 
 went out of it and entered a sheep. Thence it entered a goat. 
 The sacrificial part remained for the longest time in the goat ; 
 thence, it became pre-eminently fit for being sacrificed ! 
 
 This passage indicates that whatever the actual 
 practice may have been the desire of the Brahmans 
 was to abolish human sacrifice, and substitute in its 
 place the sacrifice of animals, four kinds of which are 
 enumerated horses, oxen, sheep, and goats, in the 
 regular order of their fitness for immolation accord- 
 ing to some inherent efficacy in each class. 1 It is 
 remarkable that in Vedic times, even a cow (called 
 anustaraiu), was sometimes killed, 3 and goats, as is 
 well known, are still sacrificed to the goddess Kali. 
 
 In the Rig-veda, the Asva-medha or ' horse-sacri- 
 fice/ is made an important ceremony, and hymns 162 
 and 163 in Mandala I. were used at this rite, which 
 was regarded as the chief of all animal sacrifices. 
 
 Indeed, it is essential to a clear comprehension of 
 ;Brahmanism and Hinduism, that the exact nature and 
 
 1 In the Vajasaneyi-Samhita of the White Yajur-veda two 
 hundred and ten different kinds of victims for sacrifice are 
 enumerated. In Manu, v. 42, it is stated that animals duly sacri- 
 ficed are conveyed to heavenly mansions. 
 
 2 The killing of a cow and burning it with the body of a de- 
 ceased person is described by Asvalayana. 
 
HINDUISM. 39 
 
 meaning of sacrifice, as employed by the Hindus, 
 should be impressed on the mind at the very outset 
 The idea of the need of sacrificial acts of some kind, is, 
 ingrained in their whole system. It is one of the earliest, , 
 that appears in Indian religious works, and no literature 
 not even the Jewish contains so many words relating 
 to sacrifice as Sanskrit. But the oldest form of Vedic 
 sacrifice was not piacular. It consisted in the mere 
 dedication of offerings of food to the gods. This was 
 generally done by oblations of butter, &c., in fire, or 
 by pouring out libations of the juice of the Soma plant, 
 which were supposed to nourish and exhilarate the 
 deities, especially Indra. 1 In fact, one object of a 
 Hindu's sacrifices and oblations, whether in Vedic or 
 post-Vedic times, has always been, and still continues 
 to be, the supposed actual nourishment of the gods, 
 by the aroma or essence of the substances offered ; 2 
 food being regarded as a necessity of their being. 3 
 Thus, in the Vishnu-purana we read, < By sacrifices 
 the gods are nourished/ 
 
 1 There are two Sanskrit roots for ' to sacrifice ' : hu ( = an 
 older dhu *= Qv) and yaj. The first is restricted to oblations of 
 clarified butter in fire ; the latter, which means ' to worship/ is 
 applied to sacrificing generally. Besides these two roots, the 
 root su is used for offering libations with the juice of the Soma. 
 
 2 The spirits of departed ancestors are also supposed to be 
 refreshed and nourished by libations of water, and offerings of 
 food (Manu, iii. 237). 
 
 3 Sleep seems also necessary to them. From a particular 
 day in the month Ashadha to a particular day in Karttika the 
 gods are supposed to sleep. Vishnu wakes up on the eleventh 
 day of the light half of Karttika. Indra is said to rise on the 
 new moon of Asvina, celebrated as Sakrotthdna ; and before 
 Durga is worshipped at the autumnal Durga-puja she must be 
 
40 HINDUISM. 
 
 But the idea of expiation was gradually introduced 
 even in Vedic times. The sacrificer was mystically 
 identified with the victim, which was regarded as 
 the ransom for sin, and the instrument of its annul- 
 ment. In the Tandya-brahmana, we read, 
 
 O thou limb- of the victim now consigned to the fire, thou art 
 the expiation for sins committed by the gods, by the fathers 
 (our deceased ancestors), by men, by ourselves. Whatever sin 
 we have committed, sleeping or waking, knowing or unknowing, 
 thou art the expiation for that. 
 
 And here we have to note a third object of sacrifice. 
 Besides the wish to nourish the gods with the savour 
 of the material substances offered, and besides the 
 desire for expiation, resulting from substituted suffer- 
 ng, the sacrificer might have a third aim. It was 
 Delieved possible by sacrifice to acquire super-human 
 power, and to wrest from the gods any desired boon, 
 or object of ambition, however difficult of attainment. 
 This could also be effected through the practice of 
 austerities, but wealthy individuals who had large re- 
 sources in money and priests at command, relied more 
 on the efficacy of particular sacrifices (such as the 
 Jyotishtoma, Agnishtoma, Vajapeya, &c.), elaborately 
 conducted by Brahmans with the punctilious obser- 
 vance of a complicated ritual, and the distribution of 
 largesses to the officiating priests. According to the 
 popular creed, a hundred horse-sacrifices so conducted, 
 exalted the sacrificer to the rank of a powerful deity, 
 and even entitled him to displace Indra himself from 
 
 awaked, and a ceremony called Bodhana, 'arousing of the 
 goddess,' takes place. On the other hand, one of the charac- 
 teristics of the gods is said to be that they never wink. 
 
HINDUISM. 41 
 
 the dominion of heaven. Hence, the very gods for 
 whose nourishment and propitiation sacrifices were 
 intended, were thought to be jealous of over-zeal dis- 
 played by pious individuals in multiplying sacrificial 
 rites, and were even said to put impediments in their 
 way. Nevertheless, in spite of such supposed oppo- 
 sition to excessive piety, the number of sacrificers and 
 sacrifices of all kinds, increased in India. 
 
 In fact, for the whole Brahmana period of Hinduism : 
 (probably from 800 to 500 B.C.), the need of pro- ] 
 pitiatory offerings through the oblation of food in 
 fire and immolation of animals remained a central 
 doctrine of Brahmanism. Thousands of animals were 
 killed every day. The land was saturated with blood 
 The greater the number of the sacrifices and the more 
 elaborate the ritual, the greater the need for a more 
 complete organization of priests. In this manner the 
 whole Brahmanical sacrificial system, of which the 
 Brahmana portion of the Veda is the expression and 
 exponent, was overdone. People became wearied and 
 disgusted with sacrifices, sacrificers, and sacrificing 
 priests. 
 
 Then, about five centuries before our era, the 
 reformer Buddha appeared, and about contempor- 
 aneously with him various Brahman sages, stimulated 
 by his example and perhaps by that of others who 1 
 preceded him, 1 thought out what are called the or- \ 
 thodox systems of Hindu philosophy. The bolder 
 reformers found ready listeners when they began to 
 
 1 There is no reason for supposing that the Buddha was the 
 first freethinker and philosopher that India produced. He him- 
 self taught that other Buddhas had preceded him. 
 
42 HINDUISM. 
 
 preach the impossibility of vicarious suffering; the 
 transmigration of souls ; the necessity that every man 
 i should suffer himself, and in his own person, for his 
 own sins, either in this or future lives ; the unity of 
 all being ; the identity of the human soul with the 
 Divine, and the consequent absurdity of caste-distinc- 
 tions. All idea of the need of propitiatory sacrifice 
 was by them rejected; for when every man was 
 believed to be a part of God, what necessity was there 
 that God should propitiate Himself? If a portion of 
 the One Universal Soul chose for a time to ignore 
 itself, to enclose itself in a body, to fetter itself with 
 actions and their inevitable results, the consequent 
 suffering could only be borne by itself in its passage 
 through numerous existences, and there could be no 
 release no final emancipation till action ceased,and 
 the consciousness of identity with the one universal soul 
 returned. Hence the gradual diminution of animal 
 sacrifices throughout India, except at the altars of 
 the fierce goddess Kali or Durga, who is supposed 
 to delight in blood, and, if satiated by the immolation 
 of goats and buffaloes, to abstain from causing further 
 destruction. But at no other temples are victims now 
 killed, and even such propitiatory slaughtering of 
 t animals is utterly repugnant to the present feelings 
 /and opinions of the educated Hindus. Such was 
 the great revolution effected by Buddha and the 
 ; ; Brahman philosophers together. 
 
 It will be necessary to give fuller consideration to 
 the new ideas thus introduced into Brahmanism. But 
 before describing them more in detail, we must first 
 glance at the third or Upanishad portion of the Veda, 
 which was really the source whence they sprang. 
 

 HINDUISM. 43 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE UPANISHADS AND BRAHMANICAL PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 THE third division of the Veda is called Upanishad,' " 
 which implies something that underlies the surface. 
 The doctrine contained in these treatises does in fact 
 lie under the whole Hindu system. Not only are the 
 Upanishads as much Sruti, or 'revelation' as the 
 Mantra and Brahmana portion of the Veda, but they 
 are practically the only part of the Veda much studied 
 and appealed to by educated Hindus in the present 
 day. 
 
 To understand this, we must bear in mind that 
 Indian authorities separate the Veda into two divisions. 
 The first is called Karma-kdnda, ' the department of 
 works.' This embraces both Mantra and Brahmana, 
 and is for that vast majority of persons who are unable 
 to conceive of religion, except as a process of laying 
 up merit by prayers, sacrifices, rites, and austerities. 
 For these the one God assumes various forms, to any 
 of which worship may be addressed and honour paid* 
 
 The second is called Jnana-kaqda 'the depart-l 
 ment of knowledge.' This is taught in the Upanishads, 
 and is for that select few who are capable of under! 
 standing the true doctrine. 
 
 We have already seen (p. n) that the creed of the 
 man who is said to possess the true knowledge is 
 singularly simple. He believes that there is but one 
 
 E 
 
44 HINDUISM. 
 
 real Being in the universe, which Being also consti- 
 tutes the universe. 
 
 This pantheistic doctrine is everywhere traceable 
 in some of the more ancient Upanishads, though often 
 'wrapped up in mysticism and allegory. A list of 
 about 150 of these treatises is given, most of which 
 are written in prose with occasional variations in verse. 
 The absence of historical records in India makes it 
 impossible to fix the date of any of them with more 
 certainty than that of the Mantras. Their style is, 
 however, less archaic, and not very different from that 
 of classical Sanskrit. Some of the more ancient are 
 probably as old as the sixth century B.C. These 
 are appended to the Aranyakas certain chapters of 
 the Brahman as, so awe-inspiring and profound, that 
 they were required to be read in the solitude of forests. 
 Properly each Brahmana had its Aranyakas ; but the 
 philosophical ideas they contained were so mixed up 
 with extraneous subjects, that the chapters called 
 Upanishads were added with the object of investi- 
 gating more definitely such abstruse problems as the 
 origin of the universe, the nature of the deity, the 
 nature of the human soul, and the reciprocal con- 
 nexion of spirit and matter. 
 
 The names of the ten most important Upanishads 
 are the tta (actually attached to the 4oth chapter of 
 the Vajasaneyi-samhita 1 ), Kena, and Chandoqya (of 
 the Sama-veda), and Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Maii- 
 dukya (of the Atharva-veda), Brihad-aratiyaka (at- 
 
 1 I was told by a great Pandit that this was the only Upan- 
 ishad entitled to be called apaurusheya, i. e. not written by 
 
 men. 
 
HINDUISM. 45 
 
 tached to the atapatha-brahmana), Aitareya (belong- 
 ing to the Rig-veda), Taittiriya (belonging to the black 
 Yajur-veda). 
 
 It is interesting to trace the rudiments of the later 
 philosophy amid the labyrinth of mystical ideas and 
 puerile conceits which bewilder the reader of the 
 Upanishads. They are the link connecting the 
 Brahmanas with the Darsanas or regular philosophical 
 systems, their connexion with the former being shown 
 by the frequent allusions to sacrificial rites. But they 
 rise to a far higher level than the Brahmanas ; and 
 in some of them striking thoughts, original ideas, and 
 lofty language redeem the absurdities of the mysticism. \ 
 
 The following literal translation of part of the Isa 
 Upanishad (regarded as one of the most important) 
 will afford a good example of the pantheistic doctrines 
 of Brahmanism, as they first emerge in this portion of 
 Indian sacred literature : 
 
 Whate'er exists within this universe 
 Is all to be regarded as enveloped 
 By the great Lord, as if wrapped in a vesture. 
 There is one only Being who exists 
 Unmoved, yet moving swifter than the mind ; 
 Who far outstrips the senses, though as gods 
 They strive to reach him ; who himself at rest 
 Transcends the fleetest flight of other beings ; 
 Who, like the air, supports all vital action. 
 He moves, yet moves not ; he is far, yet near ; 
 He is within this universe. Whoe'er beholds 
 All living creatures as in him and him 
 The universal Spirit as in all, 
 Henceforth regards no creature with contempt. 
 
 We now pass on to a brief notice of the actual 
 E 2 
 
46 HINDUISM. 
 
 systems of philosophy. These are not regarded as 
 part of ruti or Revelation. 
 
 They are sometimes called the Shat astras or ' Six 
 Instruments of True Teaching/ sometimes the Shad 
 Darsanas, or ' Six Demonstrations of Truth. 'They had 
 not shaped themselves into separate schools at the 
 period when we may suppose the present version of 
 Manu's law-book to have been drawn up in the fifth 
 Century B.C. As, however, the six Darsanas grew di- 
 irectly out of the Upanishads, and as most of their 
 (doctrines preceded, or were contemporaneous with 
 the compilation of Manu's laws, the names of the six 
 schools may here be enumerated. 
 
 They are, i. The Nydya, founded by Gotama. 
 2. The Vaiseshika, by Kanada. 3. The Sdnkhya, by 
 Kapila. 4. The Yoga, by Patanjali. 5. The Mint- 
 dnsd, by Jaimini. 6. The Veddnta, by Badarayana 
 or Vyasa. 
 
 They were delivered in Sutras or aphorisms, which 
 are held to be the basis of all subsequent teaching 
 under each head (see note p. 34). 
 
 The date of the composition of these aphorisms 
 cannot be settled with certainty. Nor is it possible 
 to decide when the six schools were finally systema- 
 tized, nor which of the six preceded the other. Some 
 of them are dualistic (affirming the co-existence of 
 two eternal principles) ; some non-dualistic (insisting 
 on the unity of all being). Their distinctive features 
 are explained in the Appendix. Our present concern 
 is with those lines of metaphysical speculation which 
 preceded the formulation of distinct philosophical 
 creeds. 
 
HINDUISM. 47 
 
 It seems tolerably certain that about five or six cen- 
 turies before the commencement of the Christian era, 
 a mighty stir took place in thinking minds throughout 
 the then civilized world. Thus, when Buddha arose 
 in India, Greece had her great philosophical thinker 
 in Pythagoras, Persia in Zoroaster, and China in 
 Confucius. Men began to ask themselves earnestly 
 such questions as What am I? Whence have I 
 come? Whither am I going? How can I explain my 
 consciousness of personal existence? What is the 
 relationship between my material and immaterial 
 nature ? What is this world in which I find my- 
 self? How can I explain the deepest mystery of 
 nature the history of creation ? Did a wise, good, 
 and all-powerful Being create the world out of nothing? 
 or did it evolve itself out of an eternal germ ? or did 
 it come together by a fortuitous concurrence of eternal 
 atoms ? If created by a Being of infinite wisdom, how 
 can I account for the inequalities of condition in it 
 good and evil, happiness and misery? Has the creator 
 form, or is he formless ? Has he any qualities or none ? 
 
 Certainly in India no satisfactory solution of ques- 
 tions such as these was to be found in the prayers and 
 hymns of the ancient Indo- Aryan poets, which, though 
 ealled Veda or ' knowledge ' by the Brahmans, did 
 not even profess to furnish any real knowledge on 
 these points, but merely gave expression to the first 
 gropings of the human mind, searching for truth by 
 the uncertain light of natural phenomena. 
 
 Nor did the ritualistic Brahmanas contribute any- 
 thing to the elucidation of such topics. They merely 
 encouraged the growth of a superstitious belief in the 
 
48 HINDUISM. 
 
 efficacy of sacrifices, and fostered the increasing 
 dependence of the multitude on a mediatorial caste 
 of priests, supposed to be the constituted medium of 
 communication between men and gods. Still these 
 momentous questions pressed for solution, and the 
 Jninds of men finding no rest in mere traditional 
 ^revelation, and no satisfaction in mere external rites, 
 turned inwards, each thinker endeavouring to think 
 ./out for himself the great problems of life by the aid 
 of his own reason. Hence were composed the mysti- 
 cal Upanishads already described. Be it remembered 
 that these treatises were not regarded as antagonistic 
 to revelation, but rather as complementary of it. They 
 were held to be an integral portion of the Veda, and 
 even its loftiest utterance the apex to which all 
 previous revelation tended. Probably the simple fact 
 was, that as it was found impossible to preclude the 
 Kshatriyas and other inferior classes from rationalistic 
 inquiry, the Brahmans, with their usual astuteness, 
 determined on making it their own, and dignifying its 
 first development in the Upanishads with the title of 
 Veda. 
 
 Brahmanism and rationalistic philosophy, therefore, 
 advanced hand in hand. Any Brahman might become 
 a philosopher, provided he gave a nominal assent to 
 the Veda. But if a Kshatriya free-thinker, like Buddha, 
 asserted that any one might be a teacher of philosophy, 
 or might gain emancipation for himself, irrespectively 
 of the Veda or of the Brahmans, he was at once 
 denounced as an infidel. 
 
 Such unbelieving free-thinkers soon became numer- 
 ous in India. For, in truth, a process of action and 
 
HINDUISM. 49 
 
 reaction has marked the whole course of Hinduism. 
 The heretical Buddhistic movement (more fully de- 
 scribed in chapter vi.) was nothing but a natural 
 reaction from the tyranny of Brahmanism and caste. 
 It was like the return swing of a pendulum to which 
 an impulse was given by one great and enlightened 
 man. It was a rebound from excessive intolerance to 
 the broadest tolerance. It was the name for unfettered 
 religious thought asserting itself without fear of con- 
 sequences. 
 
 The orthodox schools of philosophy, on the other 
 hand, were the homes of those rationalists who 
 sacrificed honesty at the shrine of Brahmanical 
 respectability. These schools went through the form 
 of acknowledging the authority of the Veda. Yet 
 two at least of the six, which taught the eternal 
 distinctness of spirit and matter, viz. the Vaiseshika 
 and Sankhya, proceeded almost to the same length 
 with Buddhism, even to the practical ignoring of a 
 supreme intelligent creator. 
 
 Leaving these points to be explained more fully in 
 
 the Appendix, let us briefly trace the common lines 
 
 of philosophical thought growing directly out of the 
 
 Upanishads. This common creed is clearly indicated 
 
 in Manu's law-book, and even at the present day may be 
 
 detected underlying the faith of most thinking Hindus, 
 
 to whatever sect or system they may nominally belong. 
 
 This common philosophical creed, then, asserts : jf 
 
 i. The eternity of the soul, both retrospectively 
 
 and prospectively. 
 
 Note that soul is regarded as of two kinds : a. the supreme 
 soul (variously called Paramdtman, Brahman, Puri4sha ) cr^.); 
 
50 HINDUISM. 
 
 b. the personal individual soul of living beings, called Jivatman. 
 If any entity is eternal it can have had no beginning or it must 
 have an end. Hence souls both supreme and individual, whether 
 they be regarded as different or identical, have always existed 
 and must ever exist. 
 
 (2. The eternity of the matter or substance out of 
 which the universe has been evolved. 
 
 Note that this evolution may take place, according to some 
 materialists, from gross particles of matter ; or, as in the ortho- 
 dox Vedanta system, immediately from soul itself. This is a 
 result of that fixed dogma of a Hindu philosopher's belief nd~ 
 vastuno vastusiddhih, ex nihilo nihil fit, nothing can be pro- 
 duced out of nothing. 
 
 3. The soul, though itself abstract thought and 
 /knowledge, can only exercise thought, consciousness, 
 
 sensation, and cognition, and indeed can only act and 
 will when connected with external objects of sensation, 
 I invested with some bodily form, and joined to mind 
 (manas). 
 
 For observe that mind is an internal organ of sense, a sort of 
 inlet of thought into the soul, belonging only to the body, 
 and quite as distinct from the soul as any external organ of the 
 body. 
 
 4. The union of soul and body is productive of 
 Bondage, and, in the case of human souls, of misery. 
 
 For note that the soul, so united, becomes conscious of personal 
 existence and individuality, and is capable of receiving impres- 
 sions pleasurable or painful. Then it commences acting ; but all 
 action, good or bad, leads to bondage because it entails a con- 
 sequence, according to the maxim Avatyam eva bhoktavyani 
 kritam karma tubhahibham, ' When an action, good or bad, has 
 been committed, its fruit must of necessity be eaten. ' Hence- 
 
HINDUISM. 51 
 
 if an act be good it must be rewarded, and if bad it must be 
 punished. 
 
 5. In order to accomplish the working out of the 
 consequences, or ripenings of acts (karma-vipakcf), 
 the soul must be removed to a place of reward or 
 punishment, which reward or punishment, however, is 
 neither full and effectual nor final. 
 
 For observe that the heavens of the Hindu system are only 
 steps on the road to final beatitude, and the hells, though places 
 of terrible torture, 1 are merely temporary purgatories. 
 
 The soul must leave these and return to corporeal 
 existence, migrating into higher, intermediate, and 
 lower forms, according to its shades of merit or de- 
 merit, and as it progresses towards emancipation from 
 separate existence, passing through th~ four stages of 
 bliss called salokya, living in the same heaven with 
 God, samipya, nearness to God, sarupya, assimilation 
 to the likeness of God, till the great end of sdyujya, 
 or complete union with the Supreme, has been 
 attained. 
 
 6. The transmigration of the soul, through an\ 
 innumerable succession of bodies, 2 is the true ex-; 
 planation of the existence of evil in the world. 
 
 For note that misery, disease, depravity, inequality of fortune, 
 and diversity of character, good or bad, are simply the conse- 
 quences of acts done by each soul of its own free will in former 
 
 1 Twenty-one in number. See note 2 to p. 66 of ' Indian 
 Wisdom.' ( Allen & Co.) 
 
 2 The popular theory is that every being must pass through 
 eighty-four lakhs of births, a lakh being one hundred thousand. 
 
52 HINDUISM. 
 
 bodies, which acts exert on that soul an irresistible power, very 
 significantly called Ad-risk fa 9 because felt and 'not seen.' Hence 
 the soul has to bear the consequences of its own actions only, 
 being tossed hither and thither by a force set in motion by itself, 
 but which can never be guarded against, because its operation 
 depends on deeds committed in former lives quite beyond 
 control, and even unremembered. 
 
 From a consideration of the above six essential 
 Clements of Brahmanical philosophy we find that its 
 great aim is to teach men to abstain from action of 
 every kind, good or bad ; as much from liking as from 
 disliking, as much from loving as from hating, and 
 even from indifference. Actions are therfetters of the 
 embodied soul, which when it has shaken off, it will 
 lose all sprse of individual personality and return to 
 the condition vf simple soul. This constitutes Prama 
 or true knowle4gt- ; this is the summum bonum of 
 Brahmanism ; this is the only real bliss the loss of 
 separate identity by complete absorption (sdyujya) 
 into the Supreme and only really existing Being, who 
 is whollvunfettered by action, and without qualities of 
 any Yvr^Kirguna)^ and called sac-'cid-ananda} because 
 he is pure life (with nothing, however, to live for), 
 pure thought (with nothing to think about), pure 
 joy (with nothing to rejoice about).' 
 
 1 This is the trinity of Brahmanical philosophy. 
 
HINDUISM. 53 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BRAHMANICAL LAW, DOMESTIC USAGES, AND CASTE. 
 
 HAVING traced the first rise and development of 
 Brahmanical philosophy, we shall be better prepared 
 to enter on that phase of Brahmanism which resulted 
 from the growth of scepticism, viz. the substitution 
 of social and domestic usages, varying according to ', 
 caste and tribe, in place of public ritual and sacrifices.) 
 
 Of this period, the Grihya-sutras, and the Dharma- 
 3astras, or law-books of Manu and of Yajnavalkya, 
 are the best exponents. 
 
 The Grihya-sutras are collections of aphoristic rules, 
 which are only distinguished from the ^rauta-sutras of 
 the Kalpa-Vedanga (see p. 15) because they do not 
 relate to rauta or Vedic sacrifices so much as to 
 domestic rites. The law-book of Manu, which may 
 be assigned in its present form to about the fifth 
 century B.C., is a metrical version of the traditional 
 observances of a tribe of Brahmans called Manavas, 
 who probably belonged to a school of the black Yajur- 
 veda and lived in the north-west of India, not far from 
 Delhi, which observances were originally embodied 
 in their Grihya-sutras. To these Sutras many precepts 
 on religion, morality, and philosophy were added by 
 an author or authors unknown, the whole being col- 
 lected in more recent times by a Brahman or Brah- 
 
54 HINDUISM. 
 
 mans, who, to give weight and dignity to the collection, 
 assigned its authorship to the mythical sage Manu. 
 
 Without attempting to determine the real authorship 
 or to settle the exact date of the present compilation, 
 we may safely affirm that the well-known collection 
 of precepts commonly called ' the code of Manu ' is 
 perhaps the oldest and most sacred Sanskrit work 
 after the Veda and its rauta-sutras. Although 
 standing in a manner at the head of Smriti, or post- 
 Vedic literature, it is connected with the Veda through 
 these Sutras, as the philosophical Darsanas are through 
 the Upanishads. Even if not the oldest of post-Vedic 
 writings, it is certainly the most interesting, both as 
 presenting a picture of the usages, manners, and in- 
 tellectual condition of an important part of the Hindu 
 race at a remote period, and as revealing the exagge- 
 rated nature of the rules by which the Brahmans sought 
 to perpetuate an organized caste-system in subordina- 
 tion to themselves. At the same time, it is in other 
 respects perhaps one of the most remarkable books 
 that the literature of the whole world can offer, and 
 some of its moral precepts are worthy of Christianity 
 itself. 
 
 The compilation as now presented to us is an irre- 
 gular compendium of rules which were probably in 
 force in a particular part of India for a long period 
 of time, and were handed down orally. It is tolerably 
 certain that the whole of India was never under one 
 government. Some few powerful monarchs are known 
 to have acquired sovereignty over very extensive terri- 
 tories, and were then called C'akra-vartins ; but we 
 must not suppose that the term f Code,' as applied to 
 
HINDUISM. 55 
 
 Mann's law-book, is intended to denote a systematic 
 arrangement of laws actually prevalent over the whole 
 of such territories. In later times it became the basis 
 of Hindu jurisprudence, but it was long before it 
 worked its way to acceptance with the entire Hindu 
 community ; and although this law-book has now 
 secured for itself a degree of reverence throughout 
 the whole of India, only second to that accorded to 
 the Veda, it was, without doubt, originally a mere 
 local collection. 
 
 It will be found that, after eliminating the purely 
 religious and philosophical precepts, the greater 
 number of its rules fall under the following four 
 heads : 
 
 1. Acara, 'immemorial practices/ which are described as 
 Sad-acdra, ' approved practices/ sanctioned by the Veda and by 
 Smriti, if they are those which prevailed between the two sacred 
 rivers, Sarasvati and Drishadvati, in the region called Brahma- 
 varta. These, in fact, include all the observances of caste, re- 
 garded as constituting the highest law and highest religion. 
 
 2. Vyavahara, * practices of law and government,' embrac- 
 ing the procedure of legal tribunals, rules of judicature and 
 civil and criminal law. 
 
 3. Prayat-citta, * penitential exercises,' comprehending rules 
 of expiation. 
 
 4. Karma-phala, ' consequences of acts,' especially as involv- 
 ing repeated births through numberless existences, until the 
 attainment of final beatitude. 
 
 Since the precepts under these four heads were 
 framed by men who were Brahmans of the Manava 
 school, it is only natural that they should have especial 
 reference to the life of Brahmans, the regulations for 
 which engross six books, and are besides introduced 
 
5 6 HINDUISM. 
 
 everywhere throughout the other six. But as the Brah- 
 man could not be supported in his pretensions without 
 the strong arm of the Kshatriya, or military class, a 
 large portion of the work is devoted to the definition of 
 the Kshatriya' s duties and an exaggerated delineation 
 of the kingly character and office ; while the Vaisyas 
 or agriculturists, and Sudras or servants, though 
 essential to Manu's Caturvarnya or fourfold social 
 system, as well as the mixed classes, are little noticed. 
 Here is an epitome of the twelve books : 
 
 After an account of the creation of the world in the first 
 book, the four stages of a Brahman's life are the only subjects 
 treated of in regular order in the second, third, fourth, fifth, 
 and sixth books, four books being devoted to the duties of the 
 religious student and married householder, and the sixth book 
 treating of the last two stages of anchorite and religious mendi- 
 cant. 
 
 The seventh and eighth books propound the rules of govern- 
 ment, principally, of course, for the guidance of the second 
 great class or Kshatriyas, from which the king was chosen. The 
 ninth book contains precepts on the subject of women, hus- 
 band and wife, their offspring and the law of inheritance and 
 division of property, with additional rules for kings, and a few 
 precepts relative to the two remaining principal castes. It also 
 describes the employments to which the several classes are 
 restricted, and states the occupations permitted to Brahmans, 
 Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and S'udras in times of exigency and dis- 
 tress. The eleventh book gives rules of expiation, both for the 
 sins of the present life especially sins against caste and for 
 the effects of offences committed in previous bodies, as shown 
 in congenital diseases, &c. The twelfth continues the subject 
 of the recompenses or consequences of acts, good or bad, as 
 leading to reward in heaven or punishment in various hells, and 
 to triple degrees of transmigration. It closes with directions as 
 to the best means of obtaining final beatitude and absorption 
 into the universal essence. 
 
HINDUISM. 57 
 
 The simplicity of Manu's organization of classes, if 
 it be not merely theoretical, bears witness to the great 
 antiquity of a portion of the code. According to 
 Book X. 3, 4, there are only four pure classes, as 
 follow : 
 
 The Brahman, tfte Kshatriya, and the Vaisya constitute the 
 three twice-born classes (as receiving a second spiritual birth 
 through investiture with the sacred thread) ; the S'udra is once- 
 born, and constitutes the fourth class ; there is no fifth class. 
 From priority of birth, from superiority of origin (in being 
 sprung from the mouth of the Creator), from possession of the 
 Veda (i.e. from the right of repeating, teaching, and expound- 
 ing it), and from a distinction in the reception of the sacrificial 
 thread (as the most important of the] twelve Sanskaras or puri- 
 ficatory rites) the Brahman is the lord of all classes. 
 
 A Brahman, whether learned or unlearned, is a mighty 
 divinity, just as fire is a mighty divinity, whether consecrated or 
 unconsecrated (ix. 317). 
 
 In the tenth book, however, we have a more developed 
 social system depicted, and a number of mixed castes are de- 
 scribed as resulting from the intermarriage of the pure classes. 
 They have a variety of names, such as Murdhavasikta, Md- 
 hishya, Karana or Kdya-stha, Ambashtha or Vaidya, Ayogava, 
 Dhigvana, Pukkasa, Canddla, and are restricted to particular 
 occupations. 
 
 The superiority of the Brahmans in the Hindu 
 lawyer's scheme is the hinge on which the whole 
 social system turns. 
 
 The Brahmans are supposed to constitute the greatj 
 central body, around which all other classes and orders: 
 of beings revolve like satellites. Not only are they 
 invested with divine dignity, but they are bound 
 together by the most stringent rules ; while the^other.^ 
 three classes of soldiers, agriculturists, and servants 
 
5 HINDUISM. 
 
 are made powerless for combined resistance by equally 
 stringent regulations, one class being separated from 
 fhe other by insurmountable barriers. 
 
 It was found indeed necessary to conciliate the 
 Kshatriya class. The most exalted eulogies were 
 lavished on kings ; but Brahmans were to act as their 
 advisers, and to have much of the judicial authority 
 and interpretation of the laws in their own hands, and 
 were always theoretically superior in rank a circum- 
 stance which led in the end to jealousies, feuds, and 
 bloody contests between the first two classes. Certain 
 privileges also naturally fell to the Vaifyas, and both 
 they and the Kshatriyas were equally with the Brah- 
 mans entitled to the appellation Dvi-ja, l twice born.' 
 Their whole status, however, depended upon various 
 domestic rites, to the due conduct of which the super- 
 intendence of Brahmans was indispensable. 
 
 In short, the distinction of caste and the inherent 
 superiority of one class over the three others were 
 thought to be as much a law of nature and a matter 
 of divine appointment as the creation of separate 
 classes of animals, with insurmountable differences of 
 physical constitution, such as elephants, lions, horses, 
 and dogs. 
 
 When the increase of the Brahmanical class com- 
 pelled the secularization of many of its members, 
 they were allowed to engage in the occupations of 
 the other classes. Practice and theory then became 
 very different, and in later times caste distinctions 
 (separated the Brahmans themselves, so that separate 
 [tribes adopted separate usages. It is essential, how- 
 lever, that the original theory of the life of a Brahman 
 
HINDUISM. 59 
 
 as laid down by Manu should be clearly understood. 
 It may be described as follows : 
 
 Every Brahman had to pass through four Asrarnas, , 
 or conditions of life; that is to say, his life was 
 divided into four periods according as he became 
 successively, i. Unmarried student (brahma-carin)\ 
 2. Married householder (griha-stha) ; 3. Anchorite 
 (vdnaprastha) ; 4. Religious devotee (bhikshu or fa- 
 rivrajaka or sannyasiri). 
 
 As unmarried student the young Brahman was to 
 reside with his preceptor until he had gained a 
 thorough knowledge of the three Vedas. He was 
 to go through twelve Sanskaras or ' purificatory 
 rites/ which purify a man from the taint of sin 
 derived from his parents, and are enjoined with cer- 
 tain variations on all the three first classes alike. 
 They are as follow : 
 
 I. Garbhddhdna or garbha-lambhana, ' ceremony on con- 
 ception ' ; 2. Punsavana, on the first indication of a living 
 male's conception ; 3. Simantonnayana, arranging the parting 
 of the mother's hair in the fourth, sixth, or eighth month of 
 pregnancy ; 4. Jdta-karman, touching an infant's tongue with 
 honey and ghi thrice at birth ; 5- Ndma-karana, giving a 
 name on the tenth or twelfth day after birth ; 6. Nishkramana, 
 taking out the child in the fourth month to see the sun; 
 7. Anna-prdsana, feeding it with rice between the fifth and 
 eighth month ; 8. C'uddkarman, or "caula, tonsure of the hair, 
 except one lock, on the crown of the head, in the third year ; 
 9. Upanayana, induction into the order of a twice-born man by 
 investiture with the sacred cord ; 10. Ketdnta, cutting off the 
 hair, performed on a Brahman in his sixteenth year, on a Ksha- 
 triya in his twenty-second, on a Vaisya in his twenty- fourth ; 
 Ji. Samdvartana, solemn return home after completing a course 
 F 
 
60 HINDUISM. 
 
 of study with a preceptor; 12. Vivaha, marriage, which com- 
 pletes the purification and regeneration of the twice-born. 
 
 Of the above rites i, 2, 3, and 10, are little 
 observed. The other eight are more worthy of 
 attention; 8 and 9 are of considerable legal im- 
 portance even in the present day, and 7 is still 
 practised ; 7 and 12 are said to be the only rites 
 allowed to Sudras, and the 1 2th, Vivaha, ' marriage/ 
 is a religious duty incumbent on all persons alike. 
 
 Other Sanskaras practised in some parts of India, are men- 
 tioned, such as Karna-vedha, * boring the ears ' ; and occa- 
 sionally the imparting of the Savitri or sacred Vedic text, com- 
 monly called Gayatri, which ought to be performed at Upana- 
 yana^ is reserved for a separate ceremony four days later. 
 
 One of the most important of the above Sanskaras 
 is certainly Upanayana^ induction into the order of 
 a twice-born man by investiture with the sacred cord.' 
 This rite is enjoined for a Brahman in his eighth 
 year, for a Kshatriya in his eleventh, and for a Vaisya 
 in his twelfth, though the time may be extended in 
 each case. 
 
 The sacred cord, which is generally a thin coil of three 
 threads, commonly called Yajnopavlta, is worn over 
 the left shoulder, and allowed to hang down diago- 
 nally across the body to the right hip. The wear- 
 ing of it by the three twice-born classes is the mark 
 of their second spiritual birth. There was some 
 difference in the kind of thread worn, according to 
 the class of the wearer, thus : 
 
 The sacred cord of a Brahman must be of cotton so as to be 
 put on over his head in a coil of three threads ; that of a 
 Kshatriya, of hemp ; that of a Vaisya, of wool. 
 
 The ceremony of induction begins by the youth's 
 
HINDUISM. 6 1 
 
 standing opposite the sun, and walking thrice round 
 the fire. The Guru then consecrates the Yajnopavita 
 by repeating the Gayatri ten times. Then, girt with 
 the thread, the youth asks alms from the assembled 
 company, to indicate that he undertakes to provide 
 himself and his preceptor with food. The Guru 
 then initiates him into the daily use of the sacred 
 Savitri prayer (called Gayatri, because it is in the 
 three-measured Gayatri metre), preceded by three 
 suppressions of breath, the triliteral syllable Om and 
 the three Vyahritis, or mystical words, Bhur, 
 Bhuvah, Svar, and admits him to the privilege of 
 repeating the three Vedas, and of performing other 
 religious rites, none of which are allowed before 
 investiture. The Gayatri prayer (Rig-veda, iii. 62, 
 10) may be thus translated : 
 
 Let us meditate (or, we meditate) on that excellent glory of 
 the divine Vivifier. May he enlighten (or stimulate) our under- 
 standings. [Tat savitur varcnyam bhargo devasya dfumahi, 
 dhiyo yo nah pra'codayat. ] 
 
 This prayer is repeated, or muttered, with the aid 
 of a rosary 1 (japa-mdla) five, ten, twenty-eight, or 
 even one hundred and eight times at the two 
 Sandhyas of sunrise and sunset ; and those who aim 
 at great sanctity repeat it at the three Sandhyas, or 
 divisions of the day, sunrise, noon, and sunset. The 
 right of investiture is concluded by the binding on 
 of a girdle (mekhald\ made of Munja grass. 
 
 1 According to whether a man is a Vaishnava or S'aiva, 
 rosaries made either of Tulasi wood or Rudraksha berries are 
 employed. The Vaishnava rosaries contain 108 beads, while 
 the S'aiva have either 32 Rudraksha berries or that number 
 doubled. 
 
 F 2 
 
62 HINDUISM. 
 
 The young Brahman is then a Brahma- can, or 
 unmarried bachelor, and is supposed to reside with 
 his preceptor till he has acquired a knowledge of the 
 Veda. He is every day to bathe ; to offer oblations of 
 water to the gods, holy sages, and departed ancestors ; 
 and to feed the sacred fire with fuel. But he is 
 forbidden to perform the regular Sraddha offerings 
 to deceased persons till his studentship is completed. 
 He is to abstain from meat, perfumes, unguents, sen- 
 suality, wrath, covetousness, dancing, music, gambling, 
 detraction of others, falsehood, impurity of all kinds, 
 and is never to injure any being. At the end of his 
 studentship the young Brahman is to perform the 
 proper Sanskara ceremony called Samavartana with 
 the prescribed ablutions (sndna) on the occasion of his 
 solemn return to his own home ; T soon after which he 
 is obliged to take a wife and to become a householder 
 (Grihastha). As to marriage, the following directions 
 are given by Manu : 
 
 Eight forms of marriage are enumerated, viz. , Brahma, Daiva, 
 Arsha, Prdjdpatya, Asura, Gandharva, Rakshasa, and Paisdca. 
 Of these, the first four are the most approved for a Brahman, 
 but the first is practically the only one now in use. The 
 Gandharva marriage ('from affection without any nuptial rite '), 
 and Rakshasa ( * marrying a girl carried off as a prize in war ') 
 were allowable for Kshatriyas ; the Asura and Paisaca were 
 prohibited. 
 
 In modem times marriage ceremonies last for several days, 
 
 : In the present day the residence of the young Brahman 
 with a preceptor is not enforced, so that the ceremonies of 
 Upanayana and Samavartana are made to succeed each other 
 within a day or two, or may even take place on the same day. 
 
HINDUISM. 63 
 
 and are accompanied with great festivities. They cannot be 
 commenced till the Jyotishi, or family astrologer, has fixed the 
 auspicious day and hour. The bride is given away by her 
 father or his representative at her own home. Perhaps the most 
 important parts of the ceremony are the Saptapadi 1 or the 
 leading of the bride three times round the sacred fire each 
 time in seven steps the offering of the burnt oblation (homa} 
 by the bridegroom, the binding together of the bride and bride- 
 groom by a cord passed round their necks, and the tying to- 
 gether of their dresses. The rite is of course commenced by the 
 worship of the god Ganes'a, who wards off the obstacles by which 
 all undertakings are liable to be thwarted through the malice 
 of evil demons. 
 
 After marriage, which, as we have already seen, is 
 one of the twelve Sanskaras, and a religious duty in- 
 cumbent on all, the married Brahman is to perform 
 every day all the domestic duties of a householder, 
 and especially the five Maha-yajnas, or great acts of 
 worship;' viz. : 
 
 I. Brahma-yajna, * worship of Brahman,' performed byre- 
 petition of the Veda ; 2. Pitri-yajna, ' worship of departed 
 ancestors ' by daily offerings of water and by periodical S'raddha 
 ceremonies ; 3. Diva-yajna, ' worship of the gods ' by morning 
 and evening oblations in fire, &c. ; 4. J3huta~yajna, ' worship of 
 all beings/ including good and evil spirits, animals, &c., by 
 scattering rice grains, &c., on the ground outside the door for 
 animals to devour ; 2 5 . Manushya-yajna, ' worship of men,' per- 
 formed by hospitality to guests. 
 
 Some of these must be regularly performed at the three San- 
 dhyas, or at sunrise, mid-day, and sunset. 
 
 1 See 'Indian Wisdom,' p. 199. 
 
 2 This offering is called bali, and is made with a particular 
 mantra, part of which is as follows : ' Om to the Visvadevas, 
 to the universal gods, to men, beasts, birds, reptiles, the 
 
64 HINDUISM. 
 
 In all Hindu systems diet is a most important sub- 
 ject, for food is supposed not only to affect the blood, 
 but the whole character, moral and religious. The 
 food a man eats must be ceremonially (not chemi- 
 cally) pure, or he instantly becomes degraded. This 
 doctrine has been carried to such a point in modern 
 times, that the preservation of caste depends in great 
 part on strict adherence to the rules laid down on the 
 subject of food, its preparation, and the persons in 
 whose company it is eaten (see chap. xi.). Manu's 
 chief directions are as follow : 
 
 The eating of flesh and of fish 1 by twice-born men is, as a 
 general rule, prohibited, the drinking of spirituous liquor is 
 included among the five great sins (the other four being the 
 killing of a Brahman, stealing gold from a Brahman, adultery 
 with the wife of a religious teacher, and association with any 
 one guilty of these crimes), and many other kinds of food, such 
 as garlic, onions, leeks, mushrooms, and carnivorous birds are 
 forbidden. But it is a proof of the antiquity of Manu's code 
 that it permits the eating of meat, and even the drinking of 
 wine on certain solemn occasions (Manu, v. 56), and that it 
 directs flesh meat to be eaten at particular S'raddhas (iii. 12, 3 ; 
 iv. 131). 
 
 With regard to the householder's wife and the con- 
 dition of women as depicted by Manu, we may observe 
 that their position is one of entire subordination, 
 
 Siddhas, the Yakshas, the Daityas, Pretas, Pisacas, trees, and 
 whoever desires to have food receive this ball from me. Om, 
 may the ants, worms, insects, and whoever are hungry, being 
 imprisoned in corporeal frames, receive this food offered by me. 
 Om to the Bhutas and all beings, be satisfied with the bali 
 scattered by me. Om to the crows, to the twin dogs, S'yama 
 and S'avala, to the dogs, to the Candalas, &c. 
 
 1 Some tribes of Briihmans are now permitted to eat fish. 
 
HINDUISM. 65 
 
 amounting in theory to a complete abnegation of 
 what in these days would be called ' women's rights/ 
 
 A Brahman who has been in succession a Brahma- 
 'carl and Grihastha ought properly to pass through 
 two other stages of existence as a Vanaprastha or 
 hermit, and as a Bhikshu or Sannyasin ; i. e. a reli- 
 gious devotee who has given up all worldly con- 
 nections. But these are not now obligatory. 
 
 As to. death, the filial piety of the Hindus is no- 
 tably manifested in the importance attached to funeral 
 rites and to Sraddhas. These must be distinguished 
 from each other. Funeral rites (antyeshtt) are aman- 
 gala, ' inauspicious/ while Sraddhas are mangala, 
 6 auspicious.' To understand this it should be borne 
 in mind that when a man dies, his sthuia-sanra, or 
 ' gross body/ is burned 1 (this being in ract the 
 antya ishti, last sacrifice offered in fire), but his soul 
 cannot quit the gross body without a vehicle of some 
 kind. This vehicle is the linga-sarira or 'subtile 
 body/ sometimes described as angushtha-inafrb, 'of 
 the size of a thumb/ invested in which the deceased 
 man remains hovering near the burning-ground. He 
 is then in the condition of a simple individual soul 
 invested with a subtile body, and is called &preta, i.e. 
 a departed spirit or ghost. He has no real body 
 capable of enjoying or suffering anything, and is 
 consequently in a restless, uncomfortable plight. 
 Moreover, while in this condition he is held to be an 
 
 1 Infants under two years old, however, must be buried, not 
 burnt See 'Indian Wisdom/ p. 302. Great ascetics (Sanny- 
 asis) and holy men (Sadhus) are also generally buried, and 
 their tombs called Samadhis. 
 
66 HINDUISM. 
 
 impure being, and all the relations who celebrate his 
 funeral rites are held to be impure also until the first 
 Sraddha is performed. Furthermore, if he dies away 
 from his kindred, who alone can perform the funeral 
 ceremonies, and who are perhaps unaware of his 
 death, and unable therefore to perform them, he 
 becomes a pisa'ca, or foul wandering ghost, disposed 
 to take revenge for its misery upon all living creatures 
 by a variety of malignant acts. 
 
 The object, then, of the antyeshti, or funeral rites, 
 which are celebrated for ten days after death, is not 
 only to soothe or give sdnti by libations of conse- 
 crated water to the troubled spirit, but to furnish the 
 preta with an intermediate body, between the linga or 
 ' subtile ' and the sthula or ' gross body ; with a 
 body, that is to say, which is capable of enjoying or 
 suffering, and which is composed of gross particles, 
 though not of the same kind as the earthly gross 
 body. 
 
 In this manner only can the fret a obtain gati, or 
 ' progress ' onward, either through the temporary 
 heaven, or else through the temporary hells (which 
 as we have seen are not places of eternal punishment 
 but merely purgatories) to other births and ultimate 
 emancipation. The following is a brief account of 
 the more modern funeral ceremonies and subsequent 
 Sraddhas. 
 
 On the first day after death zpinda, or round ball (generally 
 of some kind of flour or of rice and milk), is offered with libations 
 of water, &c., on which the preta is supposed to feed, and 
 which endows it with the rudiment or basis of the requisite 
 body, whatever that basis may be. Next day another pinda is- 
 offered with water, &c., which gives it, perhaps, limbs, such as 
 arms and legs. Then it receives hands, feet, &c. This goes 
 
HINDUISM. 67 
 
 on for ten days, and the offering of the pinda on the tenth day 
 gives the head. No sooner does the preta obtain a complete 
 body than it becomes a pitri y when, instead of being regarded 
 as impure, it is held to be a (leva, or * deity, ' and practically 
 worshipped as such in the trdddha ceremonies, the first of which 
 takes place on the nth day after death. Hence, a sraddha is 
 not a funeral ceremony, but a pitri-yajna, or worship of departed 
 ancestors, which worship, however, is something different from 
 pujd to a god. It is performed by making offerings of round 
 balls of rice, flour, &c., with accompaniments of sacred grass, 
 flowers, and sprinklings of water, and with repetitions of 
 mantras and texts from the Sama-veda, the whole ceremonial 
 being conducted, not in a temple, but at any sacred spot, such 
 as the margin of a river, or even in private houses. The cere- 
 mony is continued at stated periods with a view to accelerate 
 the gati or ' progress ' of the pitris onwards to heaven, and then 
 through the various stages of bliss before described (see p. 51). 
 The efficacy of Sraddhas, performed at Gaya (see pp. 176, 177), 
 is this, that wherever in this progress onwards departed rela- 
 tives may have arrived, the S'raddhas take them at once to 
 Vaikuntha, or Vishnu's heaven. 
 
 The departed relatives especially entitled to benefit 
 by the Sraddha rites are as follows : 
 
 I. Father, grandfather, great grandfather ; 2. Mother, 
 mother's father and grandfather ; 3. Stepmother, if any ; 4. 
 Father's mother, grandmother, and great grandmother ; 5. 
 Father's brothers ; 6. Mother's brothers ; 7. Father's sisters ; 
 8. Mother's sisters ; 9. Sisters and brothers ; 10. Fathers-in-law. 
 An eleventh person is sometimes added, viz. the family spiritual 
 teacher {guru). 
 
 ^raddhas are of various kinds, and performed at 
 various times, such as Nitya, regular; Parvana, at parti- 
 cular changes of the moon ; Ekoddishta> on special 
 occasions and with reference to particular persons. 
 These ceremonies with those at birth (see p. 59) and 
 death, at investiture with the sacred \hi&&(upanayana) 
 and marriage (vivaha) already described, constitute 
 
68 HINDUISM. 
 
 in the present day the most important religious rites 
 among the Hindus. 
 
 Some Sraddhas especially those first performed 
 after the termination of the funeral rites are ac- 
 companied with much feasting and costly gifts to the 
 Brahmans invited to assist at their celebration, and 
 some are actually commuted for this feeding and 
 feasting of Brahmans. 1 
 
 The performance of the first Sraddha is more 
 particularly marked by largesses of all kinds, and 
 sometimes, it is said, costs a rich man a sum equiva- 
 lent to several thousand pounds. It should take place 
 on the eleventh day, or the day after mourning expires, 
 and then at least once a month for twelve successive 
 months, this monthly (mdsika) ceremony being called 
 byManu Anvdhdrya. Afterwards it must be performed 
 annually (Sdmvatsarika) on all anniversaries of a 
 father's death. The following should be noted : 
 
 The offering of the Pinda, or ball of rice, &c., to deceased 
 fathers at a S'raddha is of great importance in regard to the 
 Hindu law of inheritance. It furnishes the principal evidence 
 of kinship, on which the title to participate in the patrimony is 
 founded, no power of making wills being recognized in Manu, 
 or any other authoritative code of Hindu jurisprudence. The 
 
 1 Many S'raddhas certainly appear to have more reference to 
 the living than to the dead, and others seem to be performed by 
 a process of feeding and feeing Brahmans (Brahmana-santar- 
 pana), who are supposed to represent the Pitris. Some of these 
 are called Hasta-traddha, Hiranya-sraddha, Amanna-sraddha, 
 D<idhi-traddha y Naudi-traddha. The last is a homage paid to 
 ancestors before performing such joyous ceremonies as marriage, 
 investiture with the sacred thread (upaxayana), and birth cere- 
 monies. 
 
HINDUISM. 69 
 
 Gotra, or family, is in fact a corporate body bcund together by 
 what may be called Sapindadxvp and Samanodaka&\\> . All 
 who offer the ball of rice (pinda) and water (iidaka) together 
 are Sapindas and Samdnodakas to each other, and a kind of 
 intercommunication and interdependence is thus continually 
 maintained between the dead and living members of a family, 
 extending to three generations on both sides. 
 
 As regards transmigration, Manu declares that 
 the triple order of the passage of the soul through 
 the highest, middle, and lowest stages of existence 
 results from good or bad acts, words, and thoughts 
 produced by the influence of the three Gunas, Sattva, 
 Rajas, and Tamas (see p. 1 94 of the Appendix) ; and that 
 for sins of act, a man takes a vegetable or mineral form; 
 for sins of word, the form of a bird or beast ; for sins of 
 thought, that of a man of the lowest caste. A triple 
 self-command in thought, word, and deed leads to 
 emancipation from all births, and final beatitude. 
 
 A few specimens of Manu's moral precepts are 
 here subjoined : 
 
 Daily perform thine own appointed work 
 
 Unweariedly ; and to obtain a friend 
 
 A sure companion to the future world 
 
 Collect a store of virtue like the ants 
 
 Who garner up their treasures into heaps ; 
 
 For neither father, mother, wife, nor son, 
 
 Nor kinsman, will remain beside thee then, 
 
 When thou art passing to that other home 
 
 Thy virtue will thy only comrade be (iv. 238, 239). 
 
 Single is every living creature born, 
 
 Single he passes to another world, 
 
 Single he eats the fruits of evil deeds, 
 
 Single, the fruit of good ; and when he leaves 
 
 His body like a log or heap of clay 
 
 Upon the ground, his kinsmen walk away ; 
 
70 HINDUISM. 
 
 Virtue alone stays by him at the tomb, 
 
 And bears him through the dreary trackless gloom 
 
 (iv. 240, 242). 
 
 Depend not on another, rather lean 
 Upon thyself; trust to thine own exertions. 
 Subjection to another's will gives pain ; 
 True happiness consists in self-reliance (iv. 160). 
 
 Strive to complete the task thou hast commenced ; 
 
 Wearied, renew thy efforts once again ; 
 
 Again fatigued, once more the work begin ; 
 
 So shalt thou earn success and fortune win (ix. 300) 
 
 | There are at least nineteen other well-known codes 1 
 ; besides that of Manu. Of these the best-known is 
 that of Ydinavalkya, which, with its most celebrated 
 commentary the Mitakshara by Vijnandvara, is now 
 the principal authority of the School of Benares and 
 Middle India. It seems originally to have emanated 
 from a school of the White Yajur-veda in Mithila or 
 North Behar, just as we have seen that the code of 
 the Mananvas did from a school of the Black Yajur- 
 veda. Book i. 2 makes the author say : 
 
 The chief of devout sages (Yajnavalkya), dwelling in Mithila, 
 having reflected for a moment, said to the Munis, ' Listen to 
 the laws which prevail in the country where the black antelope 
 is found.' (cf. Manu, ii. 23.) 
 
 The following may be noted concerning Yajnaval- 
 kya's work : 
 
 It is much more concise than that of Manu, being all com- 
 prised in three books instead of twelve, which circumstance 
 leads to the inference that it has suffered even more curtailment 
 at the hands of successive revisers of the original text than the 
 Code of the Manavas. Like that code it seems to have been 
 preceded by a Vriddha and a Vrihat version, and like that code, 
 
 See * Indian Wisdom,' p. 21 1, 304. 
 
HINDUISM. 7 1 
 
 the whole work, as we now possess it, is written in the ordi- 
 nary Sloka metre. The first book is chiefly on social and 
 caste duties (dcdra) ; the second is mainly on administrative 
 judicature and civil and criminal law (vyavahdra) ; the third is 
 principally on devotion, purification, expiation, penance (prdyaf- 
 cilta,}, c. The Mitakshara commentary follows the same 
 arrangement, and is divided also into three parts. 
 
 Although Yajnavalkya's code must have repre- 
 sented the customs and practices prevalent in a dis- 
 trict (Mithila) situated in a more easterly part of 
 India, yet nearly every precept in the first book, and 
 a great many in the second and third, have their 
 parallels in similar precepts occurring throughout the 
 code of the Manavas. 
 
 Nevertheless, it represents a later stage of Hindu develop- 
 ment. Its arrangement is much more systematic. It presents 
 fewer repetitions and inconsistencies, and less confusion of re- 
 ligion, morality, and philosophy, with civil and criminal law. 
 As to the date of Yajnavalkya's law-book, it has been con- 
 jecturally placed in the middle of the first century of our era. 
 The period of its first compilation cannot, of course, be fixed 
 with certainty, but internal evidence clearly indicates that the 
 present redaction is much more recent than that of Manu's 
 law-book. 
 
 Two verses from Yajnavalkya's code literally 
 translated are here subjoined as specimens : 
 
 The success of every action depends on destiny and on a 
 man's own effort ; but destiny is evidently nothing but (the 
 result) of a man's act in a former state of existence (i. 348; 
 cf. Manu, vii. 205). 
 
 Some expect the whole result from destiny or from the inhe- 
 rent nature (or force of a thing) ; some expect it from the lapse 
 of time ; and some from a man's own effort ; other persons of 
 wiser judgment expect it from a combination of all these 
 0- 349). 
 
72 HINDUISM. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE BUDDHISTIC MOVEMENT, AND ITS INFLUENCE 
 ON BRAHMANISM. 
 
 A BRIEF account of the contact and conflict of Bud- 
 dhism with Brahmanism, and of the introduction of 
 Buddhistic ideas into the religious creed of the 
 Brahmans, is essential to an accurate delineation of 
 { Hinduism. And here we are able to feel that 
 * chronologically at least we are not groping our way 
 through a region of mere conjecture. We seem at 
 last to have planted our feet on a firmer stand- 
 point. Our story assumes more of the character of 
 history. The date usually fixed for Buddha's death 
 is 543 B.C. Whether this precise year for one of 
 the greatest epochs in the religious history of the 
 human race can be accepted is doubtful, but it is 
 tolerably certain that Buddhism arose in Behar and 
 Eastern Hindustan about five centuries B.C., and 
 that it spread with great rapidity, not by force of 
 arms, or coercion of any kind, like Muhammadanism, 
 ' but by the sheer persuasiveness of its doctrines. 
 
 The first tolerably trustworthy date in Indian his- 
 tory is the era of C'andra-gupta ( ~ Sandrokottus l ) 
 
 1 The minister of Candra-gupta was the celebrated and 
 crafty Brahman C'anakya, the author of many well-known 
 precepts o government and polity. In the political drama 
 
HINDUISM. 73 
 
 the founder of the Maurya dynasty, who, after making 
 himself master of Pataliputra (Palibothra, Patna) and 
 the kingdom of Magadha (Behar), extended his domi- 
 nion over all Hindustan, and presented a determined 
 front towards Alexander's successor Seleukos Nikator, 
 the date of the commencement of whose reign was 
 about 312 B.C. When the latter contemplated in- 
 vading India from his kingdom of Bactria, so effectual 
 was the resistance offered by C'andra-gupta that the 
 Greek thought it politic to form an alliance with the 
 Hindu king, and sent his own countryman Mega- 
 sthenes as an ambassador to reside at his court. 
 
 To this circumstance we owe the first authentic 
 account of Indian manners, customs, and religious 
 usages by an intelligent observer who was not a 
 native, and this narrative of Megasthenes, preserved 
 by Strabo, furnishes a basis on which we may found 
 a fair inference that Brahmanism and Buddhism 
 existed side by side in India on amicable terms in 
 the fourth century B.C. There is even ground for 
 believing that King C'andra-gupta himself was in 
 secret a Buddhist, though in public he paid homage 
 to the gods of the Brahmans ; at any rate, there 
 can be little doubt that his successor Asoka did for 
 Buddhism what Constantine did for Christianity 
 gave an impetus to its progress by adopting it as his 
 own creed. Buddhism, then, became the state reli- f 
 gion, the national faith of the whole kingdom ofl 
 
 called Mudra-rakshasa, ' Signet-ring Rakshasa,' he is repre- 
 sented as having effected the death of King Nanda and secured 
 the accession of C'andra-gupta to the throne. 
 
74 HINDUISM. 
 
 } Magadha, and therefore of a great portion of 
 
 ( India. 
 
 This As'oka is by some regarded as identical with 
 C'andra-gupta ; at any rate, their characters and much 
 of their history are similar. He is probably the same 
 as King Priyadarsi, whose edicts on stone pillars 
 enjoining Dharma, or the practice of virtue and uni- 
 versal benevolence, are scattered over India from 
 Katak in the east and Gujarat in the west to Alla- 
 habad, Delhi, and Afghanistan on the north-west. 
 
 What then is Buddhism ? It is certainly not Brah- 
 manism, yet it arose out of Brahmanism, and from 
 the first had much in common with it. Brahmanism 
 and Buddhism are closely interwoven with each other, 
 yet they are very different from each other. Brah- 
 manism is a religion which may be described as all 
 theology, for it makes God everything, and everything 
 God. Buddhism is no religion at all, and certainly 
 no theology, but rather a system of duty, morality, and 
 benevolence, without real deity, prayer, or priest. 
 
 The name Buddha is simply an epithet meaning 
 e the perfectly enlightened one/ or rather one who, 
 by perfect knowledge of the truth, is liberated from 
 all existence, and who, before his own attainment of 
 Nirvana, or ' extinction/ reveals to the world the 
 method of obtaining it. 
 
 The Buddha with whom we are concerned was only 
 the last of a series of Buddhas who had appeared in 
 previous cycles of the universe. 
 
 He was born at Kapila-vastu, a city and kingdom 
 at the foot of the mountains of Nepal, his father 
 Suddhodana being the king of that country, and his 
 
HINDUISM. 75 
 
 mother Mdya-devi being the daughter of King Su- 
 prabuddha. Hence he belonged to the Kshatriya 
 class, and the name of his tribe was Sakya, while 
 his name of Gautama (or Gotama) was that of his 
 family. He is said to have arrived at supreme know- 
 ledge under the Bodhi tree, or * tree of wisdom ? ] 
 (familiarly called ' the Bo tree 5 ), at Gaya, in Behar 
 (Magadha). The year 588 B.C., usually given for this 
 event, cannot be trusted. He probably commenced 
 propagating the new faith at Benares about 500 B.C. 
 
 We have already pointed out that Buddhism was a | 
 protest against the tyranny of Brahmanism and caste. 
 According to the Buddha, all men are equal. All ' 
 men, too, he taught, must suffer in their own persons 
 either in the present life, or in future lives, the conse- 
 quences of their own acts. All atoning sacrifice, there- 
 fore, became meaningless and useless. The penalty 
 of sin could not be transferred to another it could 
 only be borne by the sinner himself, just as the reward 
 of virtue could only be enjoyed by the virtuous man 
 himself. To this end men might be degraded to the 
 condition of the lower animals, of insects, and even 
 inanimate objects, or they might rise in the scale of 
 being, and thus expiate or be recompensed for their 
 acts. Hence, of course, all infliction of suffering on 
 animals was prohibited. In the edicts of Asoka the 
 
 1 This tree aPlpal still exists behind the old Buddhist temple 
 near Gaya ; or, rather, a tree which is said to be the actual tree 
 is perpetuated there by constantly planting new trees in the de- 
 cayed stem of the old. I saw the tree myself' in the beginning 
 of 1876. Some of the Burmese Buddhists who had come to 
 greet the Prince of Wales, were then meditating under the tree. 
 G 
 
76 HINDUISM. 
 
 greatest tenderness towards them was enjoined, even 
 to their medical treatment, if sick or diseased. 
 
 Moreover, as actions, good or bad, lead to repeated 
 existences, the great end and object of every man was 
 to attain non-existence (nirvana) by self-mortification, 
 austerity (tapas\ and the suppression of all action. 
 
 Here, then, we have five marked features of Bud- 
 dhism : i. disregard of all caste distinctions; 2. abo- 
 lition of animal sacrifice and of vicarious suffering ; 
 
 3. great stress laid on the doctrine of transmigration ; 
 
 4. great importance assigned to self-mortification, 
 austerity, and abstract meditation, as an aid to the 
 suppression of all action ; 5. concentration of all 
 human desires on the absolute extinction of all being. 
 
 There is still a sixth, which is perhaps the most 
 noteworthy of all ; viz. that the Buddha recognized no 
 supreme deity. The only god, he affirmed, is what 
 man himself can become. 
 
 A Buddhist, therefore, never really prays, he only 
 
 1 meditates on the perfections of the Buddha and the 
 
 hope of attaining Nirvana; though practically he is 
 
 subject to an all-powerful god a god to be got rid of 
 
 as soon as possible in Karman ' act/ 
 
 Nor can he have any theological creed. His only 
 confession of faith is, * I have recourse to ' (or ' place 
 my trust in ') f Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha ' to 
 the Buddha, the Law, and the Congregation of Priests. 
 These three are sometimes called the three gems, and 
 constitute a sort of Buddhistic trinity. 
 
 With regard to Sangha and Dharma we may remark 
 that convocations or assemblies of priests or monks 
 seem to have been common in early Buddhism. 
 
HINDUISM. 77 
 
 It is said that three synods, or conferences, were 
 held after the Buddha's death, to settle the sacred 
 canon of scripture, which was afterwards comprised 
 in three collections called the Tri-pitaka or ' three 
 baskets/ consisting of: i. Sutra, the discourses of the 
 Buddha ; 2. Dharma, the duties of the masses of the 
 people (sometimes called Abhi-dharma, though this 
 term should be restricted to the philosophical doctrines 
 taught as a supplement to Dharma) ; 3. Vinaya, rules 
 of discipline for the priests. 
 
 To enter upon a detailed description of the 
 Buddhist Dharma is not part of our plan. We must 
 confine ourselves to the briefest possible summary 
 of its doctrines and precepts. 
 
 Four great truths are supposed to have been re- 
 vealed to Buddha as the first result of his long period 
 of abstract meditation. These together constitute 
 what is commonly called the ' Law or doctrine of the 
 Wheel/ They are : 
 
 I. Suffering exists wherever there is life. 2. Suffering is 
 caused by desire. 3. Release from suffering depends on the sup- 
 pression of desire and extinction of being (nirvdn . 4. Nir- 
 vana can only be obtained by following the paths pointed out 
 by the Buddha of the period, who has achieved supreme know- 
 ledge in each cycle of the universe and who reveals to the 
 world the method of obtaining it. These paths are eight in 
 number, four of them, viz. right vision, right thoughts, right 
 words, and right actions, being applicable to all men ; the other 
 four being reserved for ascetics only. 
 
 These others are right living as a recluse, right application 
 to the study of the law, right memory in recollecting the law, 
 and right meditation. 
 
 Hence, it is clear, that the Buddha regarded men / 
 
 G 2 
 
78 HINDUISM. 
 
 as divided into two classes ; the first, who are still 
 attached to a worldly life, are called Upasakas or 
 r laymen.' The second, who by self-mortification are 
 Vbent on being delivered from it, are called S'ramanas, 
 ' ascetics,' or ' priests/ and, if they wander from place 
 to place, Bhikshus or Parivrajakas, ' religious mendi- 
 cants.' They are only priests in the sense of being 
 teachers. Of priests in the strict sense the Buddhist 
 religion has none ; for where there is no god, there can 
 be no need of propitiation, or even of prayer, though 
 a short form of words is repeated, or written down 
 and turned in a wheel, 1 as a kind of charm against 
 diseases and malignant demons, and as having, like 
 other acts, a kind of mechanical efficacy. Both 
 classes of men laymen and ascetics must equally 
 practise Dharma, l virtue/ to avoid greater misery, 
 either in future births, or in one of the 136 hells; 
 for the passing through repeated births, even in the 
 most degraded forms of life, is not sufficient punish- 
 ment for the effacement of demerit, without the 
 endurance of terrific torments in numerous hells. 
 There are ten negative prohibitions, and eighteen 
 positive injunctions. Of the prohibitions five are for 
 all j viz., Kill not. Steal not. Commit no adultery. 
 Lie not. Drink no strong drink. 
 
 The other five are for ascetics or priests ; viz., Eat 
 no food, except at stated times. Abstain from dances, 
 theatres, songs, and music, Use no ornaments or 
 perfumes. Use no luxurious beds. Receive no gold 
 nor silver. _^ 
 
 1 The form is Om manipadme hum, ' Om ! the jewel in the 
 lotus ! Amen ! ' Or else Amitdya Om, ' Om ! to the im- 
 measurable One. 7 
 
HINDUISM. 79 
 
 Of the eighteen positive injunctions there are six 
 perfections of conduct (Pdramitds) 1 incumbent on 
 all, viz : 
 
 I. Charity or benevolence (ddnd). 2. Virtue or moral good- 
 ness (/z/tf). 3. Patience and forbearance (kshdntt). 4, Forti- 
 tude (virya). 5. Meditation (dhyana). 6. Knowledge (prajna). 
 Of these that which especially characterizes Buddhism is the 
 perfection of benevolence displayed towards all living beings. 
 
 Even self-sacrifice for the good of animals and 
 inferior creatures of all kinds is a duty. 
 
 It is recorded of the Buddha himself, that in former 
 existences he frequently gave himself up as a sub- 
 stituted victim in the place of doves and other innocent 
 creatures, to satisfy the appetites of hawks and beasts 
 of prey ; and on one occasion meeting with a famished 
 tigress unable to feed her cubs, he was so overcome 
 with compassion that he sacrificed his own body to 
 supply the starving family with food. 
 
 Besides these six positive injunctions for all, there 
 are twelve others incumbent on ascetics, viz. : 
 
 I. To dress only in coats of rags. 2. To have a coat in 
 three pieces sewn together with the owner's own hands. 3. To 
 cover the coat of rags with a yellow cloak. 4. To eat only one 
 meal daily. 5. Never to eat after noon. 6. To live only on 
 food collected from door to door in a wooden bowl. 7- To 
 live for part of the year in woods and jungles. 8. To have no 
 other shelter but the leaves of trees. 9. To have no other fur- 
 niture but a carpet. 10. To sit, and not to lie down, on this 
 carpet during sleep. II. To sit with no other support than the 
 trunk of a tree. 12. To frequent cemeteries and burning- 
 grounds every month for meditation on the vanity of life. 
 
 \ 
 
 Leading to the shore of Nirvana. 
 
8o HINDUISM. 
 
 These rules of conduct include many secondary 
 precepts ; for instance, not only is untruthfulness 
 prohibited, but all bad language ; not only is patience 
 enjoined, but the bearing of injuries, resignation under 
 misfortune, humility, repentance, and confession of 
 sin to one another. This last was required to be 
 practised by all priests or ascetics twice a month, and, 
 it is said, that King Asoka enjoined on his subjects a 
 great quinquennial expiatory ceremony for the prac- 
 tice of confession and almsgiving. 1 
 
 There remains the question what has been the 
 probable influence of the Buddhistic movement on 
 Brahmanism? The answer is Brahmanism has 
 taken from Buddhism the abolition of sacrifices, great 
 tenderness towards animal life, great intensity of 
 belief in the doctrine of transmigration, and in the 
 efficacy of tapas or self-mortification as a source of 
 power in accelerating progress towards final eman- 
 cipation. 2 
 
 It has even received from Buddhism a tendency to 
 recognize caste as an evil, or at least as an imperfec- 
 tion to be got rid of under certain circumstances and 
 on certain occasions. It is an admitted fact that, 
 
 1 One of these great ceremonies was witnessed by the Chinese 
 pilgrim and traveller, Hiouen Thsang, at Nalanda. See 
 Wheeler's 'History of India,' vol. iii. p. 275. (See also the 
 Rev. J. Robson's 'Hinduism, and its Relations to Chris- 
 tianity.') 
 
 2 Hinduism has borrowed ideas from Buddhism in many 
 minor points, such as the veneration for the footprints of divine 
 and holy personages. Notably, too, it has fixed its Tirthas at 
 many places held sacred by the Buddhists, such as Gaya. 
 
HINDUISM. 8 1 
 
 although caste in the end has always reasserted itself, 
 various Vaishnava and Saiva reformers T and founders 
 of sects, have imitated Buddha in requiring their 
 followers to drop caste-distinctions ; and it is well 
 known that at the meetings of Sdktas or Tantrikas, 
 (see p. 122) and at certain sacred places of pilgrimage 
 (such as Purl in Orissa, and Tripati), caste, so far at 
 least as the eating of food is concerned, is for a time 
 entirely laid aside. 2 In short, Brahmanism and Bud- 
 dhism appear to have blended, or as it were, melted 
 into each other, after each had reciprocally parted 
 with something, and each had imparted something. At 
 any rate it may be questioned whether Buddhism was 
 ever forcibly expelled from any part of India by direct 
 persecution, except, perhaps, in a few isolated centres 
 of Brahmanical fanaticism, such as the neighbourhood 
 of Benares. Even in Benares the Chinese traveller 
 Hiouen Thsang, found Brahmanism and Buddhism 
 flourishing amicably side by side in the 7th century 
 of our era. 3 In the South of India the Buddha's 
 doctrines seem to have met with acceptance at an 
 early date ; and Ceylon was probably converted as 
 
 1 The Lingaits of the South of India have theoretically no 
 caste among themselves. They say we all belong to a fifth 
 caste. The same may be said of the Vaishnavas of Bengal, 
 followers of Caitanya, of various orders of ascetics and other 
 sects. See Chapter X. 
 
 2 In some parts of India the very name for caste is Bhram, 
 ' error, ' and the temple of Jagannath is a temple of Concord for 
 all castes. 
 
 3 At Ellora the three series of Buddhistic, Brahmanical, and 
 Jain caves all run into each other, as if they co-existed. 
 
82 HINDUISM. 
 
 early as B.C. 240, soon after the third Buddhist council 
 held under King Asoka. In other parts of India 
 there was probably a period of Brahmanical hostility, 
 and perhaps of occasional persecution ; but eventually 
 Buddhism was taken by the hand, and drawn back 
 into the Brahmanical system by the Brahmans them- 
 selves who met it halfway, and ended by boldly 
 adopting the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu. 
 This has always been the astute policy of the Brah- 
 jmans of India. They have perceived the power of 
 I compromise, and overcome opposition by wise conces- 
 Isipns and partial adaptations. It is thus that they have 
 always enticed dissenters back to their caste-system 
 It was thus that they became Buddhists to the 
 Buddhists that they might win the Buddhists. Only a 
 small section of the Buddhist community resisted all 
 conciliation, and these are probably represented by 
 the present sect of Jains (see p. 221 of the Appendix). 
 Be the actual state of the case as it may, nothing 
 -can be clearer than the fact that Buddhism has djs- 
 i appeared from India (the island of Ceylon being 
 
 / excepted), and that it has not done so without having 
 largely contributed towards the moulding of Brah- 
 
 I manism into the Hinduism of the present day. 
 
HINDUISM. 83 
 
 CHAPTER VII, 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF HINDUISM AND THE DOCTRINE 
 OF TRIPLE MANIFESTATION (Tri-murti). 
 
 THE period marked by the disappearance of BuddhisnV 
 out of India is sometimes called the ' Revival of Brah- 1 
 manism.' If this term be adopted, then Sankaracarya, ' 
 one of the strictest and most learned of Brahmans, 
 and a noted philosopher who flourished in the South 
 of India about the end of the seventh or beginning 
 of the eighth century, 1 ought to be called the great 
 Revivalist preacher. Brahmanism, however, never re- 
 vived in its purity, and long before the time of Sankara 
 had degenerated. The term Brahmanism is more 
 properly restricted to the purely pantheistic and not 
 necessarily idolatrous system evolved by the Brahmans 
 out of the half-monotheistic, half-pantheistic religion 
 of the Veda. 
 
 This system which was fully developed in the 
 Vedanta philosophy, and is commonly called Advaita 
 Non-dualism, insists, as we have seen, on the unity of 
 all being. 
 
 But it has also other characteristics. It may be 
 described as in one sense the most self-annihilating 
 
 1 He is said to have revived the worship of S'iva, and is de- 
 scribed by some as an incarnation of S'iva. Others deny his 
 preference for the god S'iva, and make him out to have been 
 rather a Vaishnava in his religious proclivities. 
 
84 HINDUISM. 
 
 system in the world, for it asserts that there can be 
 no real self (dtman) existing separately from the one 
 self-existent Supreme Self, sometimes called Paramdt- 
 man, sometimes Brahman, and that when by the act 
 of that Self the individuated spirits of men are 
 allowed for a time an apparent separate existence, the 
 aim of such spirits should be to be blended once more 
 with the one Eternal Self in entire self-annihilation. 
 A Brahman who holds this doctrine thinks the reli- 
 gion of the Christian, who is conscious of severance 
 from God, and yearns for reunion with Him, and yet 
 does not wish his own self-consciousness to be merged 
 in God, a very selfish kind of creed, compared with 
 his own. It is evident, however, that there may be 
 more real selfishness in the self-annihilating creed. 
 For whatever may be said about the bliss of complete 
 union (sdyujya) with the Supreme Spirit, the true 
 aim of Brahmanism, pure and simple, is not so much 
 extinction of self, as extinction of personal existence 
 for the sake of release from the troubles of life, and 
 from the consequences of activity. 
 
 The term Hinduism, on the other hand, best ex- 
 ! presses Brahmanism after it had degenerated to wit, 
 that complicated system of polytheistic doctrines and 
 caste-usages which has gradually resulted out of the 
 mixture of Brahmanism and Buddhism, with the non- 
 Aryan creeds of Dravidians and aborigines. Hence 
 Hinduism is something very different from Brahmanism, 
 though the one is derived from the other. Hinduism 
 is like a huge irregular structure which has spread 
 itself over an immense surface by continual additions 
 and accretions. Its present aspect is that of an ancient 
 
HINDUISM. 85 
 
 overgrown fabric, with no apparent unity of design 
 patched, pieced, restored and enlarged in all direc- 
 tions, inlaid with eveiy variety of idea, and, although 
 looking as if ready at any moment to fall into ruins, 
 still extending itself so as to cover every hole and 
 corner of available ground, and still held together, 
 and kept in its place, because supported by a hard 
 foundation of Brahmanism and caste. It is only, 
 however, by the practice of a kind of universal tolera- 
 tion and receptivity carried on through more than 
 two thousand years that Hinduism has arrived at its 
 present condition. 1 It has first borne with and then 
 accepted, and so to speak, digested and assimilated V 
 something from all creeds. It has opened its doors '\ 
 to all comers on the two conditions of admitting the 
 spiritual supremacy of the Brahmans ; and conform- 
 ing to certain caste-rules about food, intermarriage, and 
 professional pursuits. ^ In this manner it has adopted 
 much of the Fetishism of the Negrito aborigines 
 of India ; it has stooped to the practices of various 
 hill tribes, and has not scrupled to encourage the 
 adoration of the fish, the boar, the serpent, rocks, 
 stones, and trees ; it has borrowed ideas from the 
 various cults of the Dravidian races, and it may even 
 owe something to Christianity. Above all, it has j 
 appropriated, as we have seen, nearly every doctrine I 
 
 1 Moor, in his * Pantheon ' (p. 402), tells us that a learned 
 Pandit once observed to him that the English were a new 
 poople, and had only the record of one Avatara, but the Hindus 
 were an ancient people, and had accounts of a great many, and 
 that if the Puranas were examined, they would probably be 
 found to record the incarnation of Christ. 
 
86 HINDUISM 
 
 , jof Buddhism except its atheism, its denial of the eter- 
 nity of soul, arid its levelling of caste-distinctions. 
 
 Of course it will be held that in investigating the 
 causes of the development of Hinduism, and its capa- 
 city for almost universal adaptation, we are bound in 
 fairness to examine it from the standpoint of the Hin- 
 dus themselves ; we ought to go to the Hindu's own 
 authorities ; we must appeal to the Veda, the Upani- 
 shads and the philosophical works founded on them. 
 
 What then have we already learnt about the creeds 
 inculcated by these books ? We know that they teach 
 pantheism pure and simple. But they do more, they 
 propound a most subtle theory of evolution and 
 development. 
 
 Their doctrine is, that the one sole, self-existing 
 Supreme Self, the only really existing Essence, the 
 one eternal Germ of all things, delights in infinite ex- 
 pansion, in infinite manifestations of itself, in infinite 
 creation, dissolution, and re-creation, through infinite 
 varieties and diversities of operation. 
 
 This is, so to speak, the preamble of Hinduism, and 
 it is stated with great poetical power in a celebrated 
 hymn of the Rig-veda, part of which has been trans- 
 lated at page 26. 
 
 The very name ' Brahman ' (neut. from root brih, ' to 
 grow') given to the Eternal Essence, is expressive of 
 this growth, this expansion, this universal development 
 and diffusion. 
 
 Hence, all visible form is an emanation from God, 
 and hence, to begin with the lowest visible objects, 
 stones, rivers, mountains, plants, trees, animals, and 
 men these are but steps in the infinite evolution of 
 
HINDUISM. 87 
 
 his being. Hence, also a series of higher forms of 
 existence, such as demigods, good and evil spirits, 
 inferior gods, superior gods, is traceable upwards in 
 an ascending scale from man, till three principal 
 divine personages, each associated with a consort, to 
 show that male and female, man and wife, are ever 
 indissolubly united as the sources of reproduction 
 are reached. These three gods are the first and highest 
 manifestations of the Eternal Essence, and are typi- 
 fied by the three letters composing the mystic syllable 
 OM or A UM. They constitute the well-known Tri- 
 murti or Triad of divine forms which characterizes 
 Hinduism. 
 
 It is usual to describe these three gods as Creator, 
 Preserver, and Destroyer, but this gives a very in- 
 adequate idea of their complex characters. Nor does 
 the conception of their relationship to each other 
 become clearer when it is ascertained that their func- 
 tions are constantly interchangeable, and that each 
 may take the place of the other, according to the 
 sentiment expressed by the greatest of Indian poets > 
 Kalidasa (Kumara-sambhava, Griffith, vii. 44) : 
 
 In those three Persons the one God was shown 
 Each first in place, each last not one alone ; 
 Of S'iva, Vishnu, Brahma, each may be 
 First, second, third among the blessed Three. 1 
 
 Nor does the doctrine of Tri-murti derive much 
 
 There is a well-known Tri-murti sculptured out of the rock 
 in the caves of Elephanta, at Bombay. Three majestic heads 
 are represented springing out of one body. The triangle ( 7V/- 
 kona) is used by the Hindus to symbolize this triune coequality. 
 
88 HINDUISM. 
 
 elucidation from the mystical explanation given of it 
 by Indian philosophers, who assert that the Eternal, 
 self-existent Spirit willed to invest himself with the 
 three Curias, or binding qualities of matter ; to wit, 
 with that of activity (rajas) in order to become a male 
 person, Brahma (nom. case, masc.) the Creator, with 
 that of goodness (sattvd), to become Vishqu, the Per- 
 vader, Maintainer, and Preserver of the universe when 
 created, with that of darkness (tamas\ to become 
 Rudra, the Destroyer of the same universe when dis- 
 solved; 1 these three divine personages being themselves 
 subject to the universal law of dissolution at the end 
 of a Kalpa or aeon of time, when they all three again 
 become simple Soul (Kevalatman). 
 
 In real fact the idea of aTri-murtior triple personi- 
 fication was developed gradually, and as it grew, 
 received numerous accretions. It was first dimly 
 shadowed forth and vaguely expressed in the Rig-veda, 
 where, as we have seen a triad of principal gods, 
 Agni, Indra, and Surya (see p. 24), is recognized, 
 Indra being often identified or associated with Vayu, 
 and with Rudra, and with the Maruts or storm-gods. 
 
 Besides these, a god Vishnu is sometimes named 
 in the Veda, as a manifestation of the solar energy; 
 and the point which distinguishes him from the 
 others is his striding over the seven worlds in three 
 paces (see p. 101). 
 
 1 As Vishnu appears to be connected with the day, sun, and 
 light, so S'iva in some of his attributes seems to be associated 
 with the close of day, the moon, and darkness. See the ac- 
 count of the three Gunas under the description of the Sankhya 
 philosophy in the Appendix at the end of this volume (p. 194). 
 
HINDUISM. 89 
 
 Subsequently he takes a foremost place among 
 the twelve Adityas, or distinct forms of the sun in the 
 ' twelve months of the year (see p. 23). In the 
 Brahmanas he is identified with sacrifice ( Yq/na), 
 and once described as a dwarf (Vamana ; Satapatha- 
 brahmana xiv. i. i, 6, i. 2, 55). 
 
 In Manu's law-book, on the other hand, which 
 stands at the head of Smriti (see p. 14), there is 
 nothing to support the theory of a triad of presiding 
 deities ; although Brahman, the universal Soul, is 
 represented as unfolding his essence in the form of 
 Brahma, the creator of all things ; and other visible 
 manifestations of the Deity are recognized as in the 
 Veda. Vishnu and Hara (= &va) are certainly 
 mentioned once (xii. 121), but only as present in the 
 human body, the former imparting movement to its 
 muscles, the latter bestowing strength. 
 
 Probably the second phase of the doctrine of 
 triple manifestation was about contemporaneous with 
 the progress of the Buddhistic movement. The 
 Vedic Agni, the personification of creative heat, with 
 a little extension of his attributes and functions, 
 passed into the god Brahma, the creator ; while the 
 sun-god, Vishnu, and the storm-god, Rudra, with a 
 slight change in their functions but without change 
 in their names, became respectively the world- 
 upholder and world-dissolver. At first, however, the 
 doctrine was not sufficiently developed to satisfy the 
 cravings of the human heart for a religion of faith 
 and love of faith in a personal God, and of respon- 
 sive love for a God sympathizing with and loving his 
 creatures. Nor was there sufficient to meet the 
 
QO HINDUISM. 
 
 demands of two other constituent parts of man's 
 complex nature, for a religion of worldly activity on 
 the one hand, and of austerity and self-suppression on 
 the other. 
 
 The idea, therefore, of Brahma the creator was 
 soon expanded. He was regarded in other aspects, 
 both as a personification of all manifested matter, 1 
 and as the Lord and Father of all beings (Prajapati). 
 In this latter character he is represented in the Veda 
 as having sacrificed himself for the good of his crea- 
 tures (see p. 36), and it is remarkable that, although 
 Brahma is now only worshipped in one principal place 3 
 in India (Pushkara, near Ajmir), yet many places are 
 held sacred because supposed to be consecrated by 
 sacrifices performed by him after the act of creation. 
 
 But this was not all. He was made to possess a 
 double nature, or, in other words, two characters 
 one quiescent, the other active. The active was 
 called his akti, and was personified as his wife, or 
 the female half of his essence. The Sakti of the 
 creator ought properly to represent the female 
 creative capacity, but the idea of the blending of the 
 male and female principles in creation seems to have 
 been transferred to Siva and his Sakti Parvati. Brahma 
 with his four faces was then connected with the utter- 
 ance of the four Vedas, and the worship which was 
 his due was transferred to the Brahmans, regarded as 
 his peculiar offspring and, as it were, his mouth-pieces ; 
 
 1 To denote the gravity of matter, the Vahana, or vehicle on 
 which the god Brahma is supposed to ride, is a Hansa or goose. 
 
 2 I was told, when travelling in India, that there is one other 
 place (Idur) where homage is paid to Brahma. 
 
HINDUISM. 91 
 
 while his consort Sarasvati, once a river-goddess, was 
 regarded as the goddess of speech and learning, and 
 inventress of the Sanskrit language and letters. 1 
 
 Again, the idea of a separate divine person 
 Vishnu whose functions were those of pervading, / 
 upholding, and preserving, was also soon expanded,/ V * 
 and easily spread into numerous ramifications. It 
 was from this idea that the doctrine of incarnation, 
 to which we shall refer at greater length in the next 
 chapter, was ultimately evolved. Moreover, a Sakti, 
 or wife, called Lakshml, goddess of good fortune, was 
 assigned to this second person of the Triad. 
 
 Thirdly. Inasmuch as destruction necessarily leads 
 to re-creation and reproduction, the idea of the god 
 Kudra was also easily extended, so that a great 
 variety of names, attributes, and functions, properly 
 belonging to other deities, were gathered under this 
 third person of the Triad. 2 
 
 1 The river Sarasvati was to the earlier Hindus what the 
 Ganges was to the later : she was infused with divinity, and 
 her influence permeated the writers of the Vedic hymns ; she is 
 sometimes identified with the Vedic goddess, Vac, speech, and 
 invoked, as the patroness of science. Sarasvati-puja is per- 
 formed on the Sri-pancamt, the name of a festival kept on the 
 fifth of the light half of Magha, on which day books and writing 
 implements are held sacred, and not used (see p. 182). 
 
 2 He has certainly a few more names than Vishnu, one thou- 
 sand and eight being specified in the 69th chapter of the 
 S'iva-purana, and in the I7th chapter of the Anusasana-parvan 
 of the Maha-bharata. The latter book, however, also gives a 
 thousand names of Vishnu. Of course many of the names of 
 S'iva are merely epithets descriptive of his attributes; e.g., 
 Vihjetvara, * lord of the universe ' ; Tri-locana, ' three -eyed ' ; 
 
 Nila-kantha, * blue-throated,' his neck being blue, through the 
 H 
 
92 HINDUISM. 
 
 He has, at least, three quite distinct characters, each 
 of which has a female or active energizing counterpart 
 (Sakti}. 
 
 In the first place, as Rudra, or Mahakala, he is the 
 destroying and dissolving power of nature ; when he 
 is either a personification of all matter resolving itself 
 into its constituent elements, or of Kala, 'Time/ 
 the great Dissolver 1 ; the more active principle of 
 destruction being assigned to his consort Kali. 
 
 Then, in the second place, as S'iva, Sadd-siva, 
 Sankara, S'ambhu the eternally blessed one, or 
 causer of blessings he is the eternal reproductive 
 power of nature, perpetually restoring and reproducing 
 itself after dissolution, under which mysterious cha- 
 racter he is often identified with the eternal creative 
 essence 2 and even with the great impersonal eternal 
 spirit, as the one great God (Mahd-deva) and supreme 
 Lord (Isvaraf. Hence in this character he is 
 rather represented by a symbol (the linga and yoni 
 combined 4 ) than by any human personification; and 
 
 stain of the poison produced at the churning of the ocean, and 
 swallowed by him ; Kapalin, l wearing skulls ' ; Candra- 
 Sekhara, ' moon-crested ' ; Girifa t ' lord of the hills ' ; Ganga- 
 dhara, 'supporter of the Ganges,' which was supposed to issue 
 from Vishnu's foot on the matted locks of Siva, who thus broke 
 its fall before it descended on the Himalaya. 
 
 1 At the caves of Ellora, which I have lately visited, his form 
 is wonderfully carved to represent the skeleton figure of Death. 
 
 2 Sometimes S'iva is said to manifest himself under eight 
 forms ether, air, fire, water, earth, the sun, the moon, and the 
 sacrificing priest. 
 
 3 When the word Isvara occurs at the end of a compound, it 
 generally denotes S'iva. 
 
 4 Probably reproductive energy is denoted by his vehicle or 
 companion the bull. 
 
HINDUISM. 93 
 
 temples to hold this symbol, which is of a double 
 form to express the blending of the male and female 
 principles in creation, are probably the most numerous 
 of any temples now to be seen in India. There 
 can be no doubt, in fact, that the supreme creative 
 power is still universally worshipped throughout India, 
 under the name of Siva, and his Sakti, Jagan-matri, 
 mother of the world, instead of Brahma and Saras- 
 vati; if, indeed, it be not probable that the first 
 person of the Triad is really the great god, whose 
 functions are implied by the linga and yoni, though 
 his name has been changed and his office and cha- 
 racter mixed up with those of the third person. 
 
 Then, in the third place, this third member of the 
 Tri-murti is the great representative Yogi and Tapasvi, 
 who has attained the highest perfection in medita- 
 tion and austerity, and is thence called Mahayogl. In 
 this character he appears as an austere naked ascetic 
 (Dig-ambara), with body covered with ashes and 
 matted hair (Dhurjati), abiding fixed and immovable 
 (sthdnu) in one spot, teaching men by his own 
 example the power to be acquired by mortification 
 of the body, suppression of the passions, and abstract 
 contemplation, as leading to the loftiest spiritual 
 knowledge, and ultimately to union with the great 
 spirit of the universe. 
 
 This third character of the third person of the 
 Triad seems to have been a later invention of the 
 Brahmans to take the place of the Buddha 1 the 
 
 1 I noticed in more than one place, while travelling in India, 
 that idols which were once evidently images of Buddha, now do 
 duty as images of S'iva. 
 
 H 2 
 
94 HINDUISM. 
 
 memory of whose personal example as a self-denying 
 ascetic they sought thus to neutralize. In this 
 character of the representative ascetic, as in that of 
 the Reproducer, he is also sometimes called the 
 ' Blessed one ' (Siva). 
 
 There are yet two other characters of the third 
 person of the Triad, which seem to have been as- 
 signed to him by the Brahmans to satisfy the religious 
 instincts of the aboriginal tribes, and serve as substi- 
 tutes for their wild demoniacal gods. In the first of 
 these, which is a modification and adaptation derived 
 from his first character of dissolver of the universe, 
 he is the terrible destroyer (Bhairavd) delighting in 
 destruction for its own sake, though it should be 
 noted that this malignant character is more connected 
 with his wife Kali, than with himself. In this 
 character he is also called Bhutesvara, ' lord of spirits 
 or demons/ and is depicted as haunting cemeteries 
 and burning-grounds wearing serpents for garlands, 
 and a string of skulls for a necklace, 1 sometimes 
 surrounded with troops (gand) of imps and spirits 
 (bhuta), and sometimes trampling on rebellious demons 
 who have acquired too great power. 
 
 His fifth character is the entire reverse of ascetical. 
 In this he is a sort of representative free-liver, a wild 
 jovial god, fond of dancing and drink, living in the 
 
 1 Sometimes he has a tiger's skin, and he is often associated 
 with a tiger, as his wife Durga is borne on that animal. 
 Sometimes he has an elephant's skin on his shoulders, which 
 once belonged to a demon said to have been killed by him. 
 He is also associated with an antelope, and sometimes carries 
 a kind of drum called damaru, and a staff with a skull at the 
 top called Khatvanga. 
 
HINDUISM. 95 
 
 Himalaya mountains with his wife, often dancing with 
 her the Tandava dance, and surrounded with dwarf- 
 ish, buffoon-like troops (gatid) of attendants, who, like 
 their master, are excited by drinking. This is the 
 character in which he is worshipped by Tantrikas. 
 
 And here we may observe that in every one of his 
 characters the consort of Siva is not only his counter- 
 part, but generally represents an intensification of his 
 attributes. 
 
 As destructress she is Kdlz, as reproducer she is 
 symbolized by the Yont, or she is the type of beauty 
 in Umd, or she is the mother of the universe in 
 fagan-mdtri. She has also her forms as a female 
 ascetic (yogint), as a malignant being delighting in 
 blood (Bhairavl Durga\ and as a mountaineer 
 (Parvati). 
 
 We have thus made good our assertion that the 
 third member of the Tri-murti, and his consort do, in 
 fact, represent the gathering together, and unifying in 
 one personality numerous attributes, properties, and 
 functions belonging to various deities and various 
 divine forces. 
 
 The destructive energies of the atmosphere exhi- 
 bited in wind and storm, and personified in the Veda 
 as Vayu, Rudra, and the Maruts ; the all-consuming 
 potency of time ; the fertilizing properties present in 
 dew and rain ; the almighty agencies operating in 
 creation once personified as Brahma; the same agencies 
 operating in re-creation and reproduction; the power of 
 asceticism once exhibited in the Buddha ; the grace 
 of perfect beauty supposed to be specially present in 
 Sri or Lakshmi ; the mysterious efficacy of magic and 
 illusion (mdya) ; the terrific agencies and operations 
 
96 HINDUISM. 
 
 of demons and spirits, and finally the all-pervading 
 influence of the impersonal soul of the universe all 
 these have been collected and centralized in one 
 god, whose chief name is the ' Blessed one ' (Siva), 
 whose person is supposed to be half male and half 
 female, and whose triple eye and trident probably 
 symbolize his combining the attributes of the Triad 
 in himself. 1 
 
 1 These may denote his triple character of Destroyer, Re- 
 producer, and Contemplative Ascetic, as the five faces with 
 which he is sometimes represented may denote his fivefold 
 character. Or may these five faces be connected with the five 
 Samhitas of the Veda ? Some think his three eyes refer to time, 
 present, past, and future, the crescent moon on his head also 
 symbolizing his power over the measurement of time. 
 
HINDUISM. 97 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF SAIVISM, VAISHNAVISM AND THE 
 DOCTRINE OF INCARNATION. 
 
 A WORSHIPPER of the god Siva, as described in the 
 last chapter is called a Saiva, and the preference given 
 to the worship of this god may, for convenience, be 
 called Saivism. On the other hand, a worshipper of 
 Vishnu is called a Vaishnava, and the preference given 
 to the adoration of any of the forms of Vishnu may 
 conveniently be called Vaishnavism. 
 
 It is scarcely too much to say that the creeds indi- 
 cated by these two terms Saivism and Vaishnavism (see 
 pp. n, 12) constitute the very life and soul of modern 
 Hinduism. Moreover, it should be clearly under- 
 stood that Saivism and Vaishnavism are not opposite 
 or incompatible creeds. They represent different 
 lines of religious thought, like the differences which 
 prevail in Europe ; such lines being quite allowable 
 within the limits of one and the same system. SaivaS 
 and Vaishnavas do in fact acquiesce to a certain 
 extent in each other's views, but each lays an exagge- 
 rated stress on particular doctrines (see pp. 11, 12); 
 and these differences eventually led to a temporary 
 antagonism. Even in the present day, when universal 
 toleration is the rule, Saivas and Vaishnavas like to 
 maintain their distinct characteristics, which they 
 exhibit conspicuously to the eye by the sectarian mark 
 
98 HINDUISM. 
 
 on their foreheads, made with red, yellow, and white 
 pigments ; the mark of the Vaishnavas being two per- 
 pendicular strokes meeting below in a curve, which 
 denote the footprint of Vishnu, while that of the 
 Saivas consists of three horizontal lines, made with 
 white or grey ashes (vibhuti). The Vaishnava mark 
 is called Urdhva-pundra, the 6aiva is called Tri- 
 puvidra. 
 
 Although the worship of iva is prevalent every- 
 where throughout India, no temples being so common 
 as those which enshrine his symbol (the lingam), and 
 although all classes of the Hindus, and especially the 
 Saktas, or worshippers of the female principle (S'aktf), 
 pay him the highest respect as husband of the goddess, 
 variously called Kali, Durga, Jagad-dhatri, Matri, &c., 
 yet those who select the male god iva as their chosen 
 divinity that is to say, the divinity in whose mantra 
 they are initiated, and to whom they look for special 
 aid in the attainment of salvation are comparatively 
 insignificant in number. 1 They are chiefly religious 
 mendicants, Yogis, Gosains, or Gosavins, Sannyasls, 
 or, as they are often improperly called, Fakirs. 
 
 In fact, the third member of the Tri-murti, whether 
 as Destroyer, or as Reproducer and Creator, or as 
 chief of ascetics, is too impersonal and too severe a 
 god for the multitude. He occupies too lofty a posi- 
 tion above ordinary mortals. He is a stern divinity, 
 
 1 Dr. Rajendralala Mitra, in his ' Antiquities of Orissa ' (p. 
 137-138), says that it is the office of the Guru to initiate a 
 disciple in the secret Mantra of the particular god he elects for 
 his salvation, and that there is scarcely one in a hundred Gurus 
 whose vocation is to impart the Mantra of S'iva. 
 
HINDUISM. 99 
 
 to be approached with awe, and propitiated with reve- 
 rence and fear, rather than with faith, trust, and love. 
 This will be clear from the description in the pre- 
 ceding chapter. It is also shown by the sort of worship 
 performed at his shrines. 
 
 In all the temples of Vishnu, Krishna, and Rama 
 the chief daily ceremony, after washing and dress- 
 ing the idol, and burning lights and incense be- 
 fore it, consists in offering it food of some kind, 
 boiled rice, grain cooked and uncooked, sweetmeats, 
 fruit, &c., on the essence of which the deity is sup- 
 posed to feed, as if he were in need of nourishment 
 like a human being, while the remains (called prasdda 
 or maha-prasadd) are consumed by his worshippers. 
 Moreover, the idols of these gods are constantly deco- 
 rated with flowers and costly ornaments, especially on 
 festive occasions. But in the case of &va, who, in 
 one of his characters, is the chief of ascetics, no food 
 is generally offered (except, perhaps at some centres 
 of worship, such as those of Benares and Bhuvanes- 
 vara). The daily ceremonials are of an austerely 
 simple kind. Water from a sacred river is poured 
 on his symbol, with perhaps a few oblations of flowers, 
 but often there is nothing presented by worship- 
 pers but the Vilva leaf; 1 and it is remarkable that 
 even in cases when food is offered to this divinity it 
 is not allowed to be eaten by his votaries, according 
 to the Brahmanical rule, " leaves, flowers, fruit, and 
 
 1 The leaf of the Vilva or Bel tree is typical of S'iva's attri- 
 outes, because triple in form. This plant is also said to be 
 pervaded by the presence of his wife Durga. 
 
100 HINDUISM. 
 
 water become unfit to be consumed after being con- 
 secrated to Siva." 1 
 
 It is clear, therefore, that a more personal, and so 
 to speak, human god than Siva was needed for the 
 mass of the people, a god who could satisfy the yearn- 
 ings of the human heart for a religion of faith (bhakti) 
 a god who could sympathize with and condescend 
 to human wants and necessities. Such a god was 
 found in the second member of the Tri-murti. It 
 was as Vishnu that the Supreme Being was supposed 
 to exhibit his sympathy with human trials, and his 
 love for the human race. 
 
 If Siva is the great god (Maha-devd) of the Hindu 
 Pantheon to whom adoration is due from all indis- 
 criminately, Vishnu is certainly its most popular deity. 
 He is the god selected by far the greater number of 
 individuals as their saviour, protector, and friend, who 
 rescues them from the power of evil, interests himself 
 in their welfare, and finally admits them to his heaven 
 ( Vaikuntha). But it is not so much Vishnu in his 
 own person as Vishnu in his incarnations, that effects 
 all this for his votaries. 
 
 Hinduism is like a drama in which the plot is clearly 
 traceable, but in which the acts are numerous, &nd in 
 which each succeeding act is more diversified and 
 sensational than that which precedes. In the act 
 which has now opened upon us, the scenes are con- 
 tinually shifting. We have, in fact, arrived at that 
 | phase of Hinduism when the doctrine of Tri-murti is 
 almost lost sight of in the prominence given to the 
 
 1 Agrahyam S iva-naivedyam pattram pushpam phalam jalam. 
 
HINDUISM,:, ig>, 
 
 various incarnations of the second member of the\ 
 Triad. 
 
 It is probable that the primary idea of a god Vishnu 
 (from root vish or vis, to ' pervade '), permeating and 
 infusing his essence into material objects, might have 
 been connected with the personification of the infinite 
 heavenly space, just as the idea of the god Brahma 
 was with that of actual manifested matter. 
 
 In the Rig-veda, as we have seen, Vishnu is pro- 
 bably a form of the sun or penetrating solar ray, and , 
 in a well-known hymn (i. 22, 16), still commonly used 
 by the Brahmans; 1 he is described as striding through 
 the seven regions of the universe 2 in three steps, and 
 enveloping all things with the dust (of his beams). 
 
 When the doctrine of the Tri-murti became fully 
 established and Vishnu had taken his place as the 
 second member of the Triad (see p. 91), he was 
 often, like Siva, identified by his worshippers with 
 the self-existent all-pervading Spirit, and under this 
 aspect seems to have been associated with the watery 
 element diffusing itself everywhere before the creation 
 of the world. 
 
 In Manu (i. 10) the Supreme Spirit is called 
 Narayana, as moving on the waters ; in harmony with 
 which idea Vishnu is often represented in sculptures, 
 
 1 According to Dr. Rajendralala Mitra, it is the holiest Mantra 
 still recited at S'raddhas and marriage rites. 
 
 2 There are seven lower regions, viz., Atala, Vitala, Sntala, 
 Rasdtala, Taldtala, Mahdtala and Pdtdla; above which are the 
 seven Lokas or worlds, called Bhur (the earth), Bhuvar, Svar, 
 Mahar, Janar, Tapar, and Brahma, or Satya. Sometimes the 
 first three of these, the earth (Bhu), atmosphere (Bhuvar), and 
 heavens (Svar), are supposed to comprehend all the worlds. 
 
, ; , ', .HINDUISM. 
 
 images, and pictures as Narayana in human form, 
 reposing on the thousand-headed serpent Sesha, and 
 floating on the waters. 1 
 
 But whether Vishnu be connected with light, with 
 heat, or with water, it is evident that the idea conveyed 
 is that of a divine Pervader, infusing his essence for 
 special functions into created things, animate and in- 
 animate ; for example, into rivers, such as the Ganges ; 
 into trees and plants, such as the Tulsl ; into animals, 
 such as a fish, a tortoise, a boar ; and lastly into men. 
 
 Probably the definite shape given by the Brahmans 
 to the doctrine of human incarnation, was due to their 
 perception of the fact that the success of Buddhism 
 was in great part due to the reverence the Buddha 
 inspired by his own personal character. He practised 
 honestly what he preached enthusiastically. He was 
 sincere, energetic, earnest, self-sacrificing, and devoted. 
 Adherents gathered in thousands round the person of 
 the consistent preacher, and the Buddha himself 
 became the real centre of Buddhism. When he died, 
 he ceased to exist. He became, according to his own 
 doctrine, utterly annihilated ; but the remains of his 
 burnt body were enshrined as relics in various parts 
 of India, and his memory was worshipped almost as 
 earnestly as his person had been revered. The mere 
 memory of a great man, however, cannot retain its 
 hold on the affections of a people through many 
 generations. The Brahmans saw this. They knew 
 that the religious cravings of the great mass of the 
 
 1 A lotus, on which is seated Brahma, the Creator, is repre- 
 sented as issuing from the navel of the god, while the goddess 
 Lakshml, Vishnu's wife, chafes her husband's feet. 
 
HINDUISM. 103 
 
 Hindus could not long be satisfied with the worship 
 of relics, or with homage paid to a being held to be 
 extinct. In all probability, soon after the death of 
 Buddha (about the 4th century B.C.), they elaborated 
 their scheme for supplying the people with real 
 objects of faith and adoration out of their own epic 
 poems, the Ramayana and Maha-bharata. The 
 great Kshatriya dynasties were made to trace back 
 their origin through Brahmanical sages to the Sun-god 
 and the Moon-god, 1 while the great heroes, Rama 
 and Krishna, were declared to be not really Kshatriyas 
 or even human beings, but incarnations of the god 
 Vishnu. 
 
 And here be it noted that the idea of incarnation, 
 like every other idea in religion, morality, and science, 
 when manipulated by the Brahmans, was by them 
 subtilized, distorted, and exaggerated. Hence the 
 incarnations (Avatdra) of Vishnu which were under- 
 taken reasonably enough for preserving the world 
 when in pressing emergencies, especially when in 
 danger of ruin from some undue acquisition of power 
 on the part of evil demons, are said to be of five 
 kinds and degrees. 
 
 u/, the full human incarnation, as that of Krishtia ; 
 <2.ndly, the partial human incarnation, consisting 
 of half the god's essence, as in the Rama of the 
 Ramayana, commonly called Rama-candra; 3^/K, 
 the quarter incarnation, as in Rama's brother Bharala, 
 
 1 As Vishnu is connected with Surya, the Sun, so S'iva is 
 connected with Soma, the Moon, who is a male deity in Hindu 
 mythology. One name for the god S'iva is moon-crested 
 (see pp. 92, 96). 
 
104 HINDUISM. 
 
 
 the incarnation consisting of an eighth of 
 the god's essence, as in Rama's two other brothers, 
 Lakshmana and 6atrughna ; and $thly, the infusion of 
 divine virtues or qualities into ordinary men, animals, 
 and inanimate objects. 1 
 
 Vishnu's ten principal incarnations 2 may be briefly 
 described as follows : 
 
 I. Matsya, ' the fish.' In this, Vishnu became a fish to save 
 Manu, the progenitor of the human race, from the universal 
 deluge. This Manu was not the grandson of Brahma and reputed 
 author of the law-book, but the seventh Manu, or Manu of the 
 present period, called Vaivasvata. He is represented as con- 
 ciliating the favour of the Supreme Being by his austerities in 
 an age of universal depravity. Hence, like Noah, he was 
 miraculously warned of the coming deluge, and was commanded 
 to build a ship and go on board with the seven Rlshis, or 
 patriarchs, and the seeds of all existing things. The flood 
 came, Manu went on board, and Vishnu took the form of a 
 fish with a horn on its head, to which the ship was fastened by 
 a cable. The ship was then drawn along by the fish and secured 
 to a high crag till the flood had passed. 
 
 Another account of this incarnation makes Vishnu, after 
 rescuing Manu, destroy a demon named Hayagriva, who, while 
 Brahma was asleep at the end of a Kalpa, stole the Vedas, and 
 
 1 Often in modern times, men whose lives have been 
 made remarkable by any peculiar circumstances, have been 
 canonized after death, and held to be partial incarnations of the 
 deity. Again, not only are many animals and different kinds 
 of stones held to be permeated by the divine presence at all 
 times, but there were special occasions on which Vishnu took 
 the form of animals to rescue the world in great emergencies, 
 as in the first three Avataras enumerated above. 
 
 The Bhagavata-purana gives twenty-two incarnations of 
 Vishnu. 
 
HINDUISM. IOS 
 
 thereby caused mankind to fall into the depths of ignorance and 
 impiety. 
 
 A third account in the Vana-parvan of the Mahabharata (line 
 12,746), makes the fish an incarnation of the god Brahma. 
 
 2. Kurma, 'the tortoise/ In this he descended to aid in 
 recovering and producing certain valuable articles, some of 
 which were supposed to have been lost during the deluge. For 
 this purpose he stationed himself as a tortoise at the bottom of 
 the sea of milk, 1 that his back might serve as a pivot for the 
 mountain Mandara, around which the gods and demons twisted 
 the great serpent Vasuki. They then stood opposite to each ^TT' 
 other, and using the snake as a rope and the mountain as a 
 churning-stick, churned the ocean of milk for the production of 
 fourteen precious and typical things. I. The Amrita, or 
 
 &* 
 
 nectar conferring immortality. 2. Dhanvantari, the phy- 
 sician of the gods, holder of the cup of Amrita. 3. Lakshmi 
 or S'rz, goddess of good fortune and beauty. 4. Surd, goddess 
 of wine. 5. C'andra, the moon. 6. Rambha, a nymph, proto- 
 type of a lovely, amiable woman. 7. iTccaih-travas, a won- 
 derful horse, prototype of the race of horses. 8. Kaustubha, a 
 wonderful jewel. 9. Fdrijdta, a tree yielding all desires. 10. 
 Surabhi, the cow of plenty. n. Airdvata, a wonderful 
 elephant, prototype of the elephant race. 12. Sankha, a shell, 
 supposed, when blown as a horn, to insure victory. 13. Dhanus, 
 an unerring bow. 14. Visha, poison. 
 
 3. Vardha, ' the boar. ' In this form (symbolical of strength), 
 Vishnu descended to deliver the world from the power of a 
 demon called Hiranyaksha, who had seized the earth and 
 carried it down into the lowest depths of the sea. Vishnu, as a 
 boar, dived into the abyss, and after a contest of a thousand 
 years, slew the monster and raised the earth. In earlier legends 
 the universe is represented as a mass of water, and the earth, 
 being submerged, was upheaved by the tusks of the divine 
 boar. 
 
 1 This is one of the seven concentric circular seas surrounding 
 the seven concentric circular continents of the earth (see ' Indian 
 Wisdom,' p. 419). 
 
106 HINDUISM. 
 
 It is remarkable that the first three incarnations are all con- 
 nected with the tradition of a universal deluge. 
 
 4. Nara-sinha, 'the man-lion.' In this, Vishnu assumed the 
 shape of a creature, half man, half lion, to deliver the world 
 from the tyranny of a demon called Hiranya-kasipu, who had 
 obtained a boon from Brahma that he should not be slain by 
 either god or man or animal. Hence he became so powerful 
 that he usurped the dominion of the three worlds, and appro- 
 priated the sacrifices made to the gods. When his pious son 
 Prahlada praised Vishnu, the demon tried to destroy the boy, 
 but Vishnu appeared out of a pillar in the form Nara-sinha and 
 tore Hiranya-kasipu to pieces. 
 
 These four first incarnations are said to have taken place in 
 the Satya or first age of the four ages of the world. 
 
 5. Yam ana, 'the dwarf.' In the second or Treta age, Vishnu 
 descended as a dwarf to deprive the demon Bali (who resembles 
 Havana and Kansa in the stories of Rama and Krishna) of the 
 dominion of the three worlds. Vishnu presented himself before 
 him as a diminutive man, and solicited as much land as he 
 could step in three paces. When his request was granted, he 
 strode in two steps over heaven and earth, but out of com- 
 passion left the lower world, Patala (see p. 101, note 2) in the 
 demon's possession. 
 
 6. Parafu-tdma, 'Rama with the axe.' In this, Vishnu was 
 born, as the son of the Brahman Jamad-agni and descendant of 
 Bhrigu, in the second age, to prevent the Kshatriyas from arro- 
 gating dominion over the Brahmanical caste. Parasu-rama is 
 said to have cleared the earth twenty-one times of the whole 
 Kshatriya class. 
 
 7. Rama (commonly called Rama-candra, ' the mild or moon- 
 like Rama '), the hero of the Ramayana, son of King Dasaratha 
 of the Solar race, and therefore a Kshatriya. Vishnu took this 
 form at the close of the second or Treta age, to destroy the 
 demon Ravana (see p. no). 
 
 8. Krishna, ' the dark god,' the most popular of all the later 
 -deities of India. This incarnation of Vishnu at the end of the 
 JDvapara or third age of the world, as the eighth son of Vasu- 
 deva and Devaki, of the Lunar race, was for the destruction of 
 
HINDUISM. 107 
 
 the tyrant Kansa, the representative of the principle of evil, 
 corresponding to Ravana in the previous incarnation. 
 
 The details of the later life of Krishna have been interwoven 
 with the later portions of the Maha-bharata, but they do not 
 belong to the plot, and they might be omitted without impairing 
 its unity. He is certainly not the hero of the great epic. He 
 appears as a great chief who takes the part of the real heroes 
 the Pandavas and his claims to deification are often disputed. 
 His earlier days and juvenile feats, though not found in the 
 oldest parts of the Maha-bharata, may be gathered from the 
 Hari-vansa and Puranas, especially the tenth book of the Bha- 
 gavata-purana, from which we learn as follows : 
 
 Vasu-deva (a descendant of the Yadu who, with Puru, as sons 
 of Yayati, formed the two branches of the Lunar dynasty) had 
 two wives, Rohim and Devaki. The latter had eight sons, of 
 whom the eighth was Krishna. It was predicted that one of 
 Jhese would kill Kansa, king of Mathura, and cousin of Devaki. 
 ] le therefore imprisoned Vasu-deva and his wife, and slew their 
 first six children. The seventh, Bala-rama, was abstracted 
 from Devaki's womb, transferred to that of Rohim, and thus 
 saved. The eighth was Krishna, born with black skin, and the 
 mark called S'ri vatsa on his breast. 1 His father, Vasu-deva, 
 escaped from Mathura with the child, and, favoured by the 
 gods, found a certain herdsman named Nanda, whose wife, 
 Yasoda, had just given birth to a daughter whom Vasudeva 
 conveyed to Devaki, after substituting his own son in its 
 place. Nanda took the infant Krishna and settled first in 
 Gokula or Vraja, and afterwards in Vrindavana, where Krishna 
 and Bala-rama grew up together, roaming in the woods, and 
 joining in the sports of the herdsman's sons. While still a boy, 
 Krishna destroyed the serpent Kaliya, and lifted up the moun- 
 tain Govardhana on his finger to shelter the Gopis from the wrath 
 of Indra, who, enraged because Krishna had instigated them 
 to the worship of Govardhana, tried to destroy them by a deluge. 
 He is described as sporting constantly with these Gopis, the wives 
 
 1 The date of his birth is kept as a great festival by the 
 Hindus, and called Janmdshtaim (see the chapter on the 
 festivals, p. 183). 
 
IO8 HINDUISM. 
 
 and daughters of the cowherds, of whom eight were his favourites, 
 especially Radha. Krishna built Dvaraka in Gujarat, and 
 thither transported the inhabitants of Mathura after killing Kansa. 
 According to some, Krishna is not an incarnation of Vishnu, 
 but Vishnu himself ; in which case Bala-rama, ' the strong 
 Rama/ born at the end of the Dvapara or third age of the 
 world, as son of Vasu-deva and Devaki, and elder brother of 
 Krishna, is sometimes substituted for Krishna, as the eighth 
 incarnation of Vishnu. 
 
 9. Buddha. The adoption of Buddha as an incarnation of 
 Vishnu was really owing to the desire of the Brahmans to effect 
 a compromise with Buddhism (see p. 82). The reason some 
 give for this incarnation is that Vishnu assumed the form of the 
 great sceptical philosopher, in the fourth age of the world, that 
 he might delude Daityas, demons, and wicked men, and lead 
 them to bring destruction on themselves by despising the Veda, 
 and neglecting caste-duties and denying the existence of the 
 gods. But the simple fact was that the Brahmans adopted 
 Buddha as some of them are now adopting Christ, and making 
 Him out to be an incarnation of Vishnu. 
 
 10. Kalki or Kalkin, who is yet to appear at the close of the 
 fourth or Kali age (when the world has become wholly de- 
 praved) for the final destruction of the wicked, for the re- 
 establishment of righteousness upon the earth, the renovation 
 of aH'creation, and the restoration of a new age of purity (satya- 
 yuga) . According to some, he will be revealed in the sky, seated 
 on a white horse, with a drawn sword blazing like a comet. 
 From the fact of the horse playing an important role in this 
 incarnation, it is sometimes called Atvavatara. Some of the 
 degraded classes of India comfort themselves in their present 
 abject condition by looking to Kalki as their future deliverer 
 and the restorer of their social position. 
 
 Before concluding the subject of incarnation, we 
 may observe that Vishnu is the only member of the 
 Tri-murti who can be said to have infused his essence 
 into actual flesh and blood for the salvation of the 
 
HINDUISM. 109 
 
 world in tknes of peril and calamity. Sometimes 
 there are allusions in the epic poems and Puranas to 
 Avataras of Brahma and Siva, but these are generally 
 not so much incarnations undergone for the love of 
 human beings, as various forms or manifestations of 
 one or the other of these deities, especially of Siva. 
 
 For example, there is a form of Siva (sometimes 
 described as his incarnation, sometimes as his son) 
 called Virabhadra. He is said to have been created 
 from Siva's mouth, to take vengeance on the sage 
 Daksha, who had omitted to invite Siva and his wife 
 to a great sacrifice, at which all the other gods were 
 present. He is depicted as fierce and terrific, with a 
 thousand heads, eyes, feet, and clubs. There are also 
 eight Bhairavas, all terrific forms of Siva, and some- 
 times called his incarnations. Again, there are eleven 
 Rudras, regarded as manifestations of his destroying 
 nature, and certain beings called Vatukas, which are 
 his youthful or child-manifestations. Finally, in his 
 female counterpart Durga, he is supposed to have 
 assumed an innumerable variety of different forms for 
 the destruction of demons, and the support of the 
 world. These, however, more properly belong to 
 another phase of Hinduism described in the next 
 chapter. 
 
 Since the two great epic poems, the Ramayana and 
 the Maha-bharata, were the sources whence the doc- 
 trine of incarnation was first evolved by the Brahmans, 
 and since the latter is especially important as furnish- 
 ing the greater part of the matter of the subsequent 
 Puranas, it will be well to conclude this chapter with 
 a brief summary of their contents. 
 
110 HINDUISM. 
 
 The approximate pre-Brahmanical and pre-Bud- 
 dhistic versions of the two poems may be fixed at 
 about 500 B.C., and their first orderly completion in 
 their Brahmanized form may possibly have taken 
 place in the case of the Ramayana, about the end 
 of the 4th or beginning of the 3rd century B.C., and 
 in the case of the Maha-bharata still later. 
 
 The Ramayana (that is Rama-ayana, the goings 
 of Rama, the 7th incarnation of Vishnu for the de- 
 struction of the demon Ravana), held most sacred, 
 and equally revered by Vaishnavas and Saivas, is 
 believed to be a poem (kavya), by a human yet in- 
 spired author, Valmlki. It consists of about twenty- 
 four thousand stanzas, arranged in seven books, which 
 narrate the story of Rama-candra, whose name is a 
 household word throughout all India, as follow : 
 
 The first of these (called Bdla-kdnda) describes the boyhood 
 of Rama. Dasaratha, king of Ayodhya, of the Solar dynasty, 
 had no son, a serious calamity in India. A horse-sacrifice, 
 therefore, was performed to propitiate the gods. Four sons 
 were then born from the three wives of Dasaratha ; the eldest, 
 Rama, possessing half the nature of Vishnu, from Kausalya ; 
 the second, Bharata, possessing a fourth part, from Kaikeyi ; 
 and the other two, Lakshmana and S'atru-ghna, sharing the 
 remaining quarter between them, from Sumitra. While yet a 
 stripling, Rama was taken to the court of Janaka, king of 
 Mithila or Videha. He had a wonderful bow, and had given 
 out, that the man who could bend it should win his beautiful 
 daughter Sita. Rama bent the bow, and Sita thus became his 
 wife ; and she remained his one wife the type of wife-like 
 devotion. The second (called Ayodhyd-kdndd] describes the 
 transactions in Ayodhya and the banishment of Rama by his 
 father, king Dasaratha, through the jealousy of Kaikeyi, who 
 wished her own son to become the heir-apparent. The third 
 (called Aranya-kdndd] narrates the events in the forest abode of 
 
HINDUISM. Ill 
 
 Rama after his banishment, including the carrying off of Sita 
 by the demon Ravana, king of Ceylon. The fourth (called 
 Kishkindhyd'kdndd] details the occurrences at Kishkindhya, 
 the capital city of Sugriva, the monkey-king who was Rama's 
 ally in his expedition against Ceylon for the recovery of Sita. 
 The fifth (called Sundara-kdnda, t the beautiful section ') gives 
 an account of the miracles by which the passage of the straits 
 and the arrival of the invading armies in Lanka (Ceylon) were 
 effected. The sixth (called Yuddha-kanda} describes the actual 
 war with Ravana in Lanka, the victory over his armies and 
 his destruction by Rama, the recovery of Sita, the return to 
 Ayodhya, the reunion of the four brothers, and final coronation 
 of Rama. The seventh (called Uttara-kdnda) recounts the 
 concluding events of the history of Rama after his coronation on 
 returning to Ayodhya his sensitiveness to the gossip and scandal 
 of the citizens, his consequent banishment of Sita to the hermit- 
 age of Valmiki, notwithstanding the absolute certainty of her 
 blameless conduct during her captivity in Ravana's palace ; the 
 birth of his twin sons, Kusa and Lava, in the hermitage ; his 
 final reunion with her and translation to heaven. All this 
 supplement to the story has been dramatized by Bhava-bhuti in 
 his Uttara-rama-caritra, and the whole previous history in his 
 Maha-vira-caritra. 
 
 Let us now pass to the Maha-bharata, probably by 
 far the longest epic poem that the world has ever 
 produced. It is called an Itihasa or ' sacred history/ 
 but is really a collection of Itihasas a vast cyclo- 
 paedia or thesaurus of Hindu traditions, legendary 
 history, ethics, and philosophy, which afterwards 
 became the source of many of the Puranas. It seems 
 to have passed through several stages of construction 
 and reconstruction, until finally arranged and reduced 
 to orderly written shape by a Brahman or Brahmans, 
 whose names have been purposely concealed, because 
 the work is held to be too sacred to have been com- 
 
112 HINDUISM. 
 
 posed by any human author, and is therefore attributed 
 to the divine sage Vyasa. 
 
 The entire work consists of about 220,000 lines, in 
 eighteen Parvans or sections, as follow : 
 
 The 1st, called Adi-parvan, describes how the two brothers, 
 Dhrita-rashtra and Pandu, of the Lunar dynasty, are brought up 
 by their uncle Bhishma, who conducted the government of the 
 kingdom of Hastinapura near Delhi, and how Dhrita-rashtra, 
 who is blind, has one hundred bad sons commonly called the 
 Kuru princes by his wife Gandhari ; and how the two wives of 
 Pandu Pritha (or KuntI) and Madn have five good sons, called 
 the Pandavas or Pandu princes. The eldest, Yudhi-shthira, is 
 the Hindu ideal of excellence a pattern of justice and integrity. 
 Bhima, the second, is a type of brute courage and strength. 
 Arjuna, the third, rises more to the European standard of per- 
 fection. He may be regarded as the real hero of the Maha- 
 bharata, of undaunted bravery, yet generous and tender-hearted. 
 Nakula and Sahadeva, the fourth and fifth, who are twins, are 
 both amiable, noble-minded, and spirited. The eldest of 
 Dhrita-rashtra's sons, called Dur-yodhana, is the type of every- 
 thing evil. 
 
 II. Sabha-parvan, describes the great Sabha or ' assembly of 
 princes ' at Hastina-pura, when Yudhi-shthira, the eldest of the 
 five Pandavas is persuaded to play at dice with S'akuni, and 
 loses his title to the kingdom. The five Pandavas and Draupadi, 
 their wife, are required to live for twelve years in the woods. 
 
 III. Vana-parvan, narrates the life of the Pandavas in the 
 Kamyaka forest. This is one of the longest books, and full of 
 episodes, such as the story of Nala and that of the Kiratarjumya. 
 
 IV. Virdta-parvan, describes the thirteenth year of exile, and 
 the adventures of the Pandavas who lived for that year disguised . 
 in the service of King Virata. 
 
 V. Udyoga-parvan, recounts the preparations tor war on the 
 side of both Pandavas and Kauravas, the former being de- 
 termined to recover their kingdom. Krishna and Bala-rama, 
 who were relations of the contending parties, resolve not to 
 fight, but Krishna consented to act as Arjuna's charioteer. 
 
HINDUISM. 113 
 
 VI . Bhishma-parvan, describes how both armies join battle on 
 Kuru-kshetra, a plain north-west of Delhi. The Kauravas are 
 commanded by Bhishma, who falls transfixed with arrows by 
 Arjuna, but lingers for some time. 
 
 VII. Drona-paruan , describes how the Kuru forces are com- 
 manded by Drona, and how numerous battles take place. 
 Drona falls in a fight with Dhrishta-dyumna (son of Drupada). 
 
 VIII. Karna-patvan, tells how the Kurus are led by Kama; 
 how other battles occur, in which Arjuna kills Karna. 
 
 IX. Salya-parvan, relates how S'alya is made general of the 
 Kuru army, and how numerous concluding battles take place, 
 and only three of the Kuru warriors, with Duryodhana, are left 
 alive. Bhima and Duryodhana then fight with clubs, and 
 Duryodhana the chief and eldest of the Kurus is struck down. 
 
 X. Sauptika-parvan, describes how the three surviving Kurus 
 make a night attack on the camp of the Pandavas, and kill all 
 their army, but not the five Pandavas. 
 
 XI. Strt-parvan, describes the lamentations of Queen 
 Gandhari and the other wives and women over the bodies of 
 the slain heroes. 
 
 XII. S'dnti-parvan, recounts the coronation of Yudhi-shthira 
 in Hastina-pura. To calm his spirit, troubled with the slaughter 
 of his kindred, Bhishma, still alive, instructs him at great length 
 in the duties of kings, and gives rules for adversity and rules for 
 attaining final emancipation. 
 
 XIII. Anutasana-parvan, continues Bhishma's discourse. 
 Precepts and wise advice on all subjects are given ; such as the 
 duties of kings, liberality, fasting, eating, &c., mixed up with 
 tales, moral and religious discourses, and metaphysical disquisi- 
 tions. At the conclusion of his long sermon Bhishma dies. 
 
 XIV. Ahjamedhika-parvan, tells how Yudhi-shthira, having 
 assumed the government, performed an Asva-medha, or ' horse- 
 sacrifice, '_in token of his supremacy. 
 
 XV. Atramavdsika-parvan, narrates how the old blind king, 
 Dhrita-rashtra, with his queen Gandhari, and with KuntI, 
 mother of the Pandavas, retires to a hermitage in the woods. 
 After two years a forest conflagration takes place, and they im- 
 molate themselves in the fire to secure heaven and felicity. 
 
114 HINDUISM. 
 
 XVI. Mausala-parvan, narrates the death of Krishna and 
 Balarama, their return to heaven, the submergence of Krishna's 
 city, Dvaraka, by the sea, and the self-slaughter in a fight with 
 clubs (musala) of Krishna's family, the Yadavas, through the 
 curse of some Brahmans. 
 
 XVII. Mahaprasthanika-parvan> describes the renunciation of 
 their kingdom by Yudhi-shthira and his four brothers, and 
 their departure towards Indra's heaven in Mount Meru. 
 
 '^N\\\.Svargdrohanika-parvan t narrates the ascent and ad- 
 mission to heaven of the five Pandavas, their wife Draupadi, 
 and kindred. 
 
 The supplement, or Harivan^a-parvan^ a later addition, 
 recounts the genealogy and birth of Krishna and the details of 
 his early life. 
 
HINDUISM. 115 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE DOCTRINE OF FAITH (bhdktt) AS DEVELOPED IN 
 THE PURANAS AND 
 
 THE period of the Epic poems was not marked by 
 much rivalry between the worshippers of the three 
 members of the Tri-murti. Brahma, Vishnu, and 
 Siva were at first regarded as different names for 
 the one universal eternal essence, manifesting itself 
 variously. Their attributes and functions were con- 
 stantly interchanged without any necessary antagonism. 
 After a time the doctrine of incarnation received 
 definite shape, and the heroes of the Epic poems were 
 deified as incarnations of Vishnu. It was not, how- / 
 ever, till a comparatively recent period that strifes / 
 and jealousies arose between the followers of Vishnu \ 
 and iva, and of their incarnations and manifesta- ! 
 tions, each god being identified with the Supreme/ 
 Being by his worshippers. The Puranas were then 
 written for the express purpose, as we have seen, of 
 exalting one deity or the other to the highest position, 
 while other books, called Tantras, were composed to 
 give prominence to the worship of the female counter- 
 part of &va. Moreover, the doctrine of bhakti, orf 
 ' salvation by faith/ which existed to a certain extent! 
 from the earliest times, and which was fully pro- 
 pounded in the Bhagavad-gita, a philosophical episode 
 
1 1 6 HINDUISM. 
 
 of the Maha-bharata, (see the Appendix p. 206, for a 
 full description of this celebrated episode), and reduced 
 to a system by a writer called andilya in his Bhakti- 
 
 Jsutras, became in the Puranas and Tantras exagge- 
 \rated and perverted. The most complete devotion to 
 the personal deities, Krishna and Rama was enjoined 
 by the Vaishnavas, while the aktas claimed the same 
 for Durga. Furthermore, an absolute belief in the 
 most extravagant miracles, alleged to have been 
 worked by these deities, and an unreasoning accept- 
 ance of every monstrous detail of their legendary 
 history, were insisted on ; while the relationship of 
 the human soul to the divine was described in the 
 language of human love, and illustrated with images 
 and allegories, suggestive of conjugal union, and even 
 of sexual and adulterous passion. 
 
 The Puranas and Tantras are the true exponents 
 of these two last and most corrupt phases of popular 
 Hinduism, on which account both sets of books are 
 sometimes called a fifth Veda especially designed for 
 
 , the masses of the people and for women. 
 
 In order to invest the former with a sacred character, 
 a fictitious antiquity was given to them by naming 
 them Purana, ' ancient tradition/ and assigning their 
 compilation to the ancient sage Vyasa, the supposed 
 arranger of theVedas and Maha-bharata, and founder 
 of the Vedanta philosophy. The work called Vayu- 
 purana is perhaps one of the oldest of this class of 
 writings ; but an earlier date can scarcely be assigned 
 to it than the 6th century of our era. 
 
 The Puranas, then, must be carefully distinguished 
 from the Itihasas (seep. in). It is true that the 
 
HINDUISM. I J 7 
 
 latter furnish the raw material for the composition of 
 the Puranas, but, notwithstanding this relationship, 
 the two classes of works are very different. The 
 Itihasas are the legendary histories of heroic men 
 before they were actually deified, whereas the Puranas 
 are properly the history of the same heroes converted 
 into positive gods, and made to occupy the highest 
 position in the Hindu Pantheon. 
 
 Strictly, every Purana is supposed to treat of five 
 topics : i. The creation of the universe ; 2. It$ 
 destruction and re-creation ; 3. The genealogy of 
 gods and patriarchs ; 4. The reigns and periods o 
 the Manus ; 5. The history of the Solar and Lunar; 
 races of kings. And on this account the oldest native; 
 lexicographer gives Parica-lakshaqa, ' characterized! 
 by five subjects/ as a synonym of Purana. The fact 
 that very few of the Puranas now extant answer to 
 this title, and that the abstract given in the Matsya- 
 purana of the contents of all the others does not 
 always agree with the extant works, either in the sub- 
 jects described, or in number of verses enumerated, 
 proves that, like the Ramayana and Maha-bharata, 
 they were preceded by more ancient works. In the 
 Bhagavata-purana, six original collections are specially 
 declared to have been taught by Vyasa to six sages, 
 his pupils, and these six collections may have formed 
 the bases of the present works ; those which relate to 
 Brahma being sometimes called Rajasa Puranas 
 (from his own peculiar Guna rajas, see p. 88) ; those 
 which exalt Vishnu being designated Sdttvika (from 
 his Guna sattva) and those which prefer iva being 
 styled Tdmasa (from his Guna tamas\ 
 

 Il8 HINDUISM. 
 
 The following are the names of the eighteen Puranas 
 according to the above three divisions : 
 
 I. The Rajasa Puranas, or those which relate to Brahma, 
 are : I. Brahma y 2. Brahmdnda, 3. Brahma-vaivarta, 4. Mar- 
 kandeya, 5. Bhavishya, 6. Vdmana. 
 
 II. The Sattvika Puranas, or those which relate to Vishnu, 
 are : I. Vishnu, 2. Bhdgavata, 3. Ndradiya, 4. Garuda, 5. 
 Padma, 6. Vdrdha. These six are usually called Vaishnava 
 Puranas. 
 
 ill. The Tamasa, or those which glorify S'iva, are : 1. S'ivd, 
 2. Linga, 3. Skanda, 4. Agni, 5. Matsya, 6. Kiirma. These 
 six are usually styled S'aiva Puranas. For the ' Agni,' the 
 ancient Purana called * Vdyu ' is often substituted. 
 
 Although it is certainly convenient to group the 
 eighteen Puranas in these three divisions/ in accord- 
 ance with the theory of the Tri-murjti or triple mani- 
 festation, it must not be supposed that the six so- 
 called Rajasa Puranas are devoted to the exclusive 
 exaltation of Brahma, or the Tamasa to that of Siva. 
 The real god of the Puranas may be said to be 
 Vishnu, since all the Puranas are more or less con- 
 cerned with his various forms and incarnations. 
 Moreover, underlying the teaching of all of them 
 may be discerned the one grand pantheistic doctrine, 
 generally found at the root of Hindu theology 
 whether Vedic or Puranic the doctrine expressed in 
 the formula ekam eva advitlyam (see p. n).- 
 
 Furthermore, interwoven with the radically pan- 
 theistic and Vedantic texture of these compositions, 
 tinged as it is with other philosophical ideas (especially 
 the Sankhyan doctrine of Prakriti), and diversified as 
 it is with endless fanciful mythologies, theogonies, 
 
HINDUISM. 119 
 
 cosmogonies, and mythical genealogies, we have a 
 whole body of erroneous teaching on nearly every 
 subject of knowledge. 
 
 Of all the eighteen Puranas, the Markandeya is 
 the least sectarian, while the Bhagavata is by far the 
 most celebrated. Perhaps the next best known is 
 the Vishnu. 
 
 Of the Markandeya, which is one of the oldest 
 probably as old as the 8th century of our era, part is 
 in* praise of Brahma, and part of Vishnu. A section 
 of Ihis Purana, called the Devi-mahatmya or C'andi- 
 mahatmya, is repeated at the great autumnal festival 
 in honour of Durga (see p. 183). It is devoted to . 
 the praise of Durga, the chief Devi or goddess (stand- 
 ing alone wkhout a husband), and of her victory over 
 the demons, especially the buffalo demon Mahishasur. 
 
 The Bhagavata-purana is in twelve sections or books. 
 
 Parikshit, king of Hastina-pura, and grandson of Ar- 
 juna, was condemned, in consequence of a curse, to die 
 by the bite of a snake in seven days, and therefore went 
 to the banks of the Ganges to prepare for death. 
 There he was visited by certain sages, among whom 
 was Suka, who answered his inquiry as to the best 
 way for preparing for death by relating the Bhagavata- 
 purana, as he received it from Vyasa. 
 
 Its most important book is the tenth, which narrates 
 the early life of Krishna, an abstract of which has 
 already been given at p. 107. 
 
 The following story, freely translated and slightly 
 amplified from the 8gih chapter of this book, affords 
 a good example of the view taken by the Bhagavata- 
 purana (and, indeed, by most of the Puranas) of the 
 
j,I20 HINDUISM. 
 
 comparative excellence of the three members of the 
 Tri-murti : 
 
 A dispute arose among the sages as to which of the three 
 gods was greatest ; so they applied to the great Bhrigu, one of 
 the ten Maharshis, or primeval patriarchs created by the first 
 Manu, to determine the point. He undertook to put all three 
 gods to a severe test, and went first to Brahma ; on approaching 
 whom he purposely omitted an obeisance. Upon this the god's 
 anger blazed terribly forth ; but, restraining it, he was. at length 
 pacified. Next he repaired to the abode of S'iva, in Kailasa, 
 and omitted to return the god's salutation. The vindictive 
 deity was enraged, his eyes flashed fire, and he raised his trident 
 to destroy the sage ; but the god's wife, Parvati, fell at his feet, 
 and by her intercession appeased him. Lastly, he repaired to 
 Vaikuntha, the heaven of Vishnu, whom he found asleep with 
 his head on his consort Lakshmi's lap. To make a trial of 
 his forbearance, he boldly gave the god a kick on his breast, 
 which awoke him. Instead of showing anger, however, 
 Vishnu arose, and on seeing Bhrigu, asked his pardon for not 
 having greeted him on his first arrival. Next, he expressed 
 himself highly honoured by the sage's blow (which he declared 
 had imprinted an indelible mark of good fortune on his breast), 1 
 and then inquired tenderly whether his foot was hurt, and pro- 
 ceeded to rub it gently. * This, ' said Bhrigu, ' is the mightiest 
 god ; he overpowers by the most potent of all weapons gentle- 
 ness and generosity.' 
 
 Of all the eighteen Puranas the Vishnu-purana 
 conforms most nearly to the epithet panca-laksha^a. 
 The great sage Parasara is supposed to relate it to 
 his disciple Maitreya. It is in six books, and is, of 
 course, dedicated to the exaltation of Vishnu, whom it 
 
 1 This mark is called the S'nvatsa. In some forms of 
 Vishnu or Krishna, such as that called Vitho-ba (worshipped at 
 Pandharpur) it is represented as a real footmark. 
 
HINDUISM. 121 
 
 identifies with the Supreme Being. Here is ? ,n epi- 
 tome of the six books : 
 
 The first book treats of the creation of the universe ; the 
 peopling of the world and the descent of mankind from seven 
 or nine patriarchs, sons of Brahma ; the destruction of the 
 universe at the end of a Kalpa and its re-creation ; and the 
 reigns of kings during the first Manvantara. The second book 
 describes the various worlds, heavens, hells, and planetary 
 spheres, and gives the formation of the seven circular con- 
 tinents and concentric oceans. The third book describes the 
 arrangement of the Vedas,Itihasas, and Puranas by Vyasa, and 
 the institution and rules of caste, in which it follows and re- 
 sembles Manu. The fourth book gives lists of kings and 
 dynasties. The fifth book is devoted to the life of Krishna. 
 The sixth and last book describes the deterioration of mankind 
 during the four ages of the world called Krita, Treta, Dva- 
 para, and Kali ; the destruction of the world by fire and water, 
 and its dissolution at the end of a Kalpa or JEon. (comprising 
 4,320,000,000 years). 
 
 The above is a bare outline of the contents of the 
 Vishnu-purana, which is encyclopedical, like the others, 
 and is full of wild philosophical speculations and 
 curious legends. 
 
 The following account of the Kali, or fourth age of 
 the world the age of universal degeneracy is from 
 book vi. i : 
 
 Hear what will happen in the Kali age. 
 The usages and institutes of caste, 
 Of order and of rank, will not prevail, 
 Nor yet the precepts of the triple Veda. 
 Religion will consist in wasting wealth ; 
 In fasting and performing penances 
 At will ; the man who owns most property 
 And lavishly distributes it, will gain 
 
122 HINDUISM. 
 
 'Dominion over others ; noble rank 
 
 Will give no claim to lordship ; self-willed women 
 
 Will seek their pleasure, and ambitious men 
 
 Fix all liici: hopes on riches gained by fraud. 
 
 The women will be fickle and desert 
 
 Their beggared husbands, loving them alone 
 
 Who give them money. Kings instead of guarding 
 
 Will rob their subjects, and abstract the wealth 
 
 Of merchants, under plea of raising taxes. 
 
 Then in the world's last age the rights of men 
 
 Will be confused, no property be safe, 
 
 No joy and no prosperity be lasting. 
 
 There are eighteen Upa-puraiias, or ' secondary 
 Puranas/ subordinate to the eighteen principal 
 Puranas, of which the names only need be given, 
 as follow : 
 
 I. Sanatkumara, 2. Narasinha or Nrisinha, 3. Ndradiya 
 or Vrihan-naradtya, 4. Siva, 5. Durvasasa, 6. Kapila, 7. 
 Mdnava, 8. Aufanasa, 9. Vdiuna, 10. Kalika, II. S'dmba, 12. 
 Nandi, 13. Saura, 14. Pdrdtara, 15. Aditya, 16. Mdheh>ara 9 
 17. Bhdgavata (for Bhargava ?), 18. VdUshtha. In another 
 list the Nandd, Siva-dharma, Brahmdnda and Kdurma are 
 substituted for some of the above. 
 
 Let us now turn to the Tantras, and consider the 
 system they inculcate, which for convenience may be 
 called Tantrism, or, from the ^aktas who follow it, 
 aktism. 
 
 Although some of the Puranas and Upa-puranas, 
 such as the Skanda, Brahma-vaivarta, and Kalika, do 
 in real truth teach Tantrika doctrines by promoting 
 the worship of Prakriti and Durga, yet it is also true 
 
 (that the Tantras represent a phase of Hinduism gene- 
 rally later than that represented by the Puranas. 
 
HINDUISM. 123 
 
 Indeed, Tantrism, or Saktism, is Hinduism arrived \ 
 at its last and worst stage of medieval development. \ 
 
 As the most conspicuous god of the Puranas is 
 Vishnu with his incarnations, so the most prominent 
 deity of the Tantras is Siva with his manifestations, || 
 more especially in the innumerable forms of hisi 
 female counterpart. 1 
 
 We have already noted that the principal Hindu 
 deities are supposed to possess a double nature, or 
 two characters one quiescent, the other active, and 
 that the active, called his S'akti, is personified as his ) 
 wife, or as the female half of his essence, represented, * 
 as we shall see presently, on his left side. Be it now 
 observed that, just as the male god Siva gathered 
 under his own personality the attributes and functions 
 of all the principal gods, and became * the great god ' 
 (Mahd-deva) that is, the most lofty and severe god 
 of the Hindu Pantheon, so his female counterpart 
 became ' the one great goddess ; (devi^ maha-devi), 
 who required more propitiation than any other 
 goddess, and to a certain extent represented all 
 other female manifestations of the Tri-murti, and 
 absorbed all their functions. 2 For this reason even 
 the wives of Brahma and Vishnu were said to be her 
 daughters. According to the Vayu-purana, not only 
 
 1 It must not, however, he forgotten that there are a few 
 Vaishnava Tantras which substitute Radha, the favourite wife 
 of Krishna, for Durga, wife of S'iva. 
 
 2 Kulluka (Manu, ii. l) says, Srutir dvividhd vaidiki tdn- 
 trikl "ca^ 'revelation is twofold, Vedic and Tantrik.' Besides 
 the name Agama there are two other names, Ydmala and 
 Ddmara applied to certain classes of Tantras. 
 
 K 
 
124 HINDUISM. 
 
 was Siva himself of a twofold nature, male and female, 
 but his female nature also became twofold, one half 
 Asita, or white, and the other half Stia, or black, 
 each of these again becoming manifold. The white, 
 or mild nature, became separated into the Saktis, 
 called Umd, Gauri, Lakshmt, Sarasvati, &c. ; the 
 black, or fierce nature, into those called Durgd, Kail 
 C'andl, C'dmuqdd, &c. In short, all the other Saktis 
 seem to have been included by the Saktas under the 
 Sakti or energy of Siva, which eventually developed 
 into innumerable separate manifestations and personi- 
 fications of all the forces of nature, physical, physio- 
 logical, moral, and intellectual. These forces, or 
 rather the deified personalities presiding over them, 
 were grouped in separate classes, such as Mdtris 
 or Mdtrikds, ' divine mothers ' ; Yogzms, ' goddesses 
 endowed with magical powers/ &c. They are too 
 numerous to be separately named, various classifica- 
 tions having been adopted for the sake of disposing 
 the female manifestations of Siva, like the male 
 incarnations of Vishnu (see p. 103), under different 
 degrees of participation in the divine essence ; such 
 as the full (purna-sakti, mula-prakriti\ the partial 
 (ansa-rupini\ the still more partial (kald-rupini\ and 
 the partial of the partial (kaldnsa-rupiifi] ; the lowest 
 including mortal women in various degrees, from 
 Brahman women downwards, who are all worshipped 
 as forms of the divine mother upon earth. 1 There 
 are, however, certain principal female personifications 
 
 1 In the case of the Vaishnava Tantras, Radha, wife ol 
 Krishna, represents the full manifestation, and the Gopis the 
 partial. 
 
HINDUISM. 125 
 
 which it will be well to specify ; for just as the Vaish- 
 navas worship ten chief male incarnations of the god 
 Vishnu, so the Saktas worship ten chief female mani- 
 festations of the god Siva, or rather of his Sakti or 
 energy. They are called Mahavidyas, as sources 
 of supreme knowledge, or of the knowledge which 
 confers supreme power ; and their names are as 
 follow : 
 
 I. Kali (sometimes called S'yama). 2. Tdrd, represented as- 
 a stouter figure than Kali, with legs in a different attitude. 
 3. Siddha-vidya. 4. Mdtangi. 5. Bhairavi. 6. Chinna-mas- 
 takd 9 represented as a naked headless goddess standing upon 
 a human couple and holding in one hand a blood-stained 
 scimitar and in the other her own severed head, which drinks- 
 the warm blood gushing from her headless trunk. 7. Shodah 
 (sometimes called Tripura). 8. Bhuvanehwn (sometimes 
 called Manjughosha). 9. Dhumavati. 10. Vagala or Bagala 
 (sometimes called Bagala-mukhi). The last four are milder 
 incarnations. 
 
 Besides these, there are principal Matris, Yoginis, 
 &c., too numerous to be specified. 1 
 
 In fact, this phase of Hinduism may be described 
 as a kind of worship of force, branching out into; 
 endless modifications and correlations, though why 
 these should be regarded as female deities rather', 
 than as male is not at first sight clear. 
 
 In all probability the Tantrika doctrine owes its 
 
 1 Some lists give seven, some eight, nine, sixteen, fifty-two 
 chief Matris ; some upwards of a hundred. The Yoginls are 
 sometimes represented as created by Durga, sometimes as 
 forms of that goddess ten millions in number. Again, accord- 
 ing to some, there are only eight chief Yoginls, according to 
 others sixty-five. 
 
 K 2 
 
126 HINDUISM. 
 
 development to the popularizing of the Sankhya 
 theory of Purusha, the primeval male or supreme 
 soul of the universe, and Prakriti, the active pro- 
 ducing principle, each distinct from the other, yet 
 each uniting in the act of creation. In harmony 
 with this idea the images of the 'great god ; Siva 
 sometimes represent him (see p. 96) as Ardha-ndri, 
 that is, a being consisting of two halves, the male half 
 being on his right side, and the female on his left. 
 
 It may easily be imagined that a creed like this 
 /[was likely to degenerate into impure doctrines, and 
 ithat result was actually brought about; for those 
 ;who applied the principle of faith (bhakti) to the 
 : double nature of the deities, finally resolved them- 
 selves into two classes, the first called Dakshind- 
 cdrins, 'right-hand worshippers/ who make the 
 Puranas their real Veda (nigama). These are de- 
 voted (bhakta) to Siva, Vishnu, Krishna, and their 
 wives, but merely in their characters of gods and 
 goddesses, not with any undue preference for the 
 female divinity, and not with any implication of 
 impure ideas ; the second called Vamacdrins, ' left- 
 hand worshippers/ who are followers of the Kaulo- 
 panishad, and make that Upanishad and the Tantras 
 their own peculiar Veda (dgama). These devote 
 themselves to the worship of the female counterpart 
 of the deities, to Durga rather than Siva, to Radha 
 rather than Krishna, and to Sita rather than Rama ; 
 but especially to Durga, not as Siva's wife, but as 
 the goddess who presides over two quite distinct 
 operations, the intercourse of the sexes and the 
 acquisition of magical powers. 
 
HINDUISM. 127 
 
 And here be it noted, that just as Buddhism was 
 the expression of a natural effort to break through 
 the restraints of caste in one direction, so Saktism or 
 Tantrism was an effort in another the one ending in 
 asceticism, the other in licentiousness. 
 
 The rites, or rather orgies of the left-hand wor- 
 shippers, presuppose the meeting of men and women 
 of all castes in the most unrestrained manner on 
 terms of perfect equality. 1 They are carried on in 
 secret, and are said to require the use of some of the 
 five Makaras; namely, i. Madya, wine; 2. Mans a, 
 flesh ; 3. Matsya, fish ; 4. Mudra, parched grain ; 2 
 5. Maithuna, sexual union. 3 Each of the above 
 is again subdivided into five. But the object of 
 these worshippers is not merely to break through the 
 restraint of caste and give themselves up to licen- 
 tious practices. They also aim at acquiring magical ] 
 and mystical powers by the use, or abuse, of Mantras,/ 
 and what are called Vijas, Nyasas, and Yantras. 
 
 1 The circle they form at their meetings is called cakra, and 
 the verse cited as the authority for the temporary suppression of 
 caste at these meetings is as follows : Prdpte hi Bhairave cakre 
 sarve varrm dvijottamdh Nivritte Bhairave cakre sarve varndk 
 prithak prithak. " On enrering the circle of Bhairava, all castes 
 are on an equality with the best of the twice-born ; on leaving 
 it, they are again separated into castes." 
 
 2 This g^ain is eaten like dry biscuit with the wine and spi- 
 rituous liquor. The term Mudrd is also used in Tantrism to 
 denote mystical intertwinings of the fingers so as to form sym- 
 bolical figures. 
 
 3 The union of the actual man and woman in the religion of 
 the Tantrikas, or left-hand worshippers, takes the place of the 
 Linga and Yoni in that of the right-hand worshippers. 
 
128 HINDUISM. 
 
 With regard to the Mantras, it should be observed 
 that a Mantra with the Tantrikas loses its character 
 of a divinely inspired prayer addressed to a deity 
 (see p. 1 8). It is generally, indeed, a text from the 
 Veda, but rather from the Atharva-veda collection 
 than from the three others, and instead of a prayer 
 or invocation, becomes a spell or charm, the very 
 sound of which, if properly uttered and repeated 
 .according to prescribed formularies, has, in itself, a 
 mystical power for good or evil. 
 
 As to the Vijas, these are mystical letters or 
 syllables employed for brevity to denote the root 
 (mula), or essential part of a Mantra, the name of 
 the deity to whom it may be addressed, or some 
 part of the body over which that deity presides. For 
 example : 
 
 Am is said to denote S'iva, U Vishnu, Hrim the sun, Lam 
 the earth, Nam the mind, Dham both the goddess Bhuvanesvarl 
 and the tongue, Nam both the goddess Annapurna and the nose, 
 Pam the ear, &c. 
 
 And here, be it observed, that the proper location 
 or application of the several letters of the alphabet 
 to the several parts of the body, as symbols of the 
 Saktis or Matrikas who preside over those parts is 
 called Nyasa, and plays an important part in the 
 Tantrik worship. Sound is held to be eternal and 
 co-existent with the deity (according to the Mimansa 
 aphorism, Sab do yonitvdd Brahma). Hence the 
 letters of the alphabet being the ultimate instru- 
 ments by which sounds are uttered and thoughts 
 expressed, are considered to possess supernatural 
 attributes, and to have in themselves a mystical and 
 
HINDUISM. 129 
 
 mysterious efficacy. They are supposed to represent 
 the several Matrikas, or Saktis (forces), which sustain 
 the corporeal organs, and govern the vital functions. 
 Let a man only acquaint himself with the proper 
 pronunciation and application both of the Mantras 
 and of their Vijas, or radical letters, and he acquires 
 the power of working prodigies to any extent he 
 pleases. 1 
 
 As to the Yantras these are mystical diagrams 
 generally combinations of triangular figures, like the 
 inverted triangles of the Freemasons supposed to 
 possess occult powers. Each of the Saktis has a 
 Yantra assigned to her, which Yantras are sometimes 
 placed in the centre of representations of lotuses, 
 the Vija of the goddess being also inscribed a cer- 
 tain number of times on each petal. 
 
 From the foregoing statement it will justly be 
 inferred that the Tantras are generally mere manuals 
 of mysticism, magic, and superstition of the worst 
 and most silly kind. 
 
 Theoretically, however, they are very different, 
 and, as a matter of fact, they are not all of this cha- 
 racter. There are about sixty-four original Tantras, 
 and a large number of other Tantrik works, generally 
 written in the form of a dialogue between the god 
 Siva and his wife. None of the actual Tantras have, 
 as yet, been printed or translated in Europe. Prac- 
 
 1 There are certain Brahmans called Mantra-sastris who 
 make this their peculiar business. Hence the saying that * all 
 the universe is subject to the gods, the gods are subject to the 
 Mantras, and the Mantras to the Brahmans. Therefore, the 
 Brahmans are the gods of the universe.' 
 
130 HINDUISM. 
 
 tically, they constitute a fifth Veda (in place of the 
 Puranas), for the Saktas, or worshippers of the female 
 divine energy (S'akti) of the male gods, on which 
 account the name Agama is sometimes given to the 
 original Tantras to distinguish them from Nigama, a 
 name only applied to the Vedas and Puranas. 
 
 Every Tantra ought, like a Purana, to treat of five 
 subjects; namely, i. The Creation; 2. The destruc- 
 tion of the world ; 3. The worship of the gods ; 4. 
 The attainment of all objects, especially of eight 
 superhuman powers (stddhi) ; 5. The four modes of 
 union with the Supreme Spirit (see p. 51). Very few 
 conform even partially to this rule. Most of them 
 are mere hand-books for the use of practisers of a 
 kind of witchcraft, which to Europeans appears so 
 ineffably absurd that the possibility of any persons 
 believing in it seems in itself almost incredible. 
 Whole Tantras teach nothing but what may be called 
 the science of employing unmeaning sounds for 
 acquiring magical power over friends, and for de- 
 stroying enemies and rivals. 
 
 Some give collections of spells suitable for making 
 people enamoured, for destroying sight, for producing 
 or preventing diseases, for injuring crops, for alchemy 
 (rasayana). Others explain the most effectual modes 
 of worshipping the Saktis, Mahavidyas, Matris, 
 Yoginis, Vatukas, or by whatever name the innumer- 
 able manifestations of Siva and his wife may be 
 called. Others simply describe the Yantras, Vijas, 
 and Mudras (intertwinings of the fingers) belonging 
 to each manifestation, the places suited for the wor- 
 ship of each, the names of trees and plants sacred to 
 
HINDUISM. 131 
 
 each, or permeated by each, and the days of the 
 year allotted to each. Some few touch on nearly 
 every conceivable topic of human knowledge, and 
 contain here and there really interesting matter. 
 
 So little is known about the composition of these 
 mystical writings that it is not possible to decide at 
 present as to which are the most ancient, and still 
 less as to the date to be assigned to any of them. 
 They are all said to be founded on the Kaulopanishad. 
 It may, however, be taken for granted that the extant 
 treatises are, like the extant Puranas, founded on older 
 works ; and if the oldest known Purana is not older 
 than the sixth or seventh century, an earlier date can 
 scarcely be attributed to the oldest known Tantra. 
 Perhaps the Rudra-yamala is one of the most de- 
 servedly esteemed and most encyclopedic in its 
 teaching. 1 Others are the Sakti-sangama, Visva-sara, 
 Mafia-nirvana, Vira, Kulaniava (or text-book of the 
 Kaulas), S'ydma-rahasya, S arada - tilaka, Uddlsa, 
 Kamakhya, Vishnu-yamala. 
 
 Full as the above works are of doubtful symbolism, 
 they are not necessarily full of impure allusions, 
 though the teaching contained in the best of them 
 unquestionably tends towards licentiousness. When 
 they are better known, their connection with a distorted 
 view of the Sankhyan philosophy, and with some of the 
 corrupt forms of Buddhism,will probably be made clear. 
 
 There are also works called Vaishnava Tantras, 
 such as the Gautamiya and the Sanat-kumara, but 
 
 1 It is said to consist of 100,000 verses. A section of it, 
 called Jati-mala, treating of caste, has been printed at Calcutta, 
 
132 HINDUISM. 
 
 even in these Siva is the narrator and his wife the 
 supposed listener. Moreover their teaching, which 
 makes Radha, the wife of Krishna, take the place of 
 Durga as the chief object of adoration, has the same 
 tendency as that of the other Tantras, and equally 
 Leads to licentiousness. 
 
 It may be well to give some idea of what this 
 Tantrik teaching really is, by a specimen of the 
 directions given for performing the rite called Bhuta- 
 suddhi, a rite the aim of which is to expel the evil 
 spirits whose presence would interfere with the due 
 performance of subsequent ceremonies. The direc- 
 tions are here abridged from a native work on the 
 Durga-puja of Bengal. ! 
 
 Holding a scented flower, anointed with sandal, on the left 
 temple, repeat Om to the Gurus, Om to Ganesa, Om to Durga. 
 Then with Omphat rub the palms with flowers, and clap the 
 hands thrice over the head, and by snapping the fingers towards 
 ten different directions, secure immunity from the evil spirits. 
 Next utter the Mantra Ram> sprinkle water all around, and 
 imagine this water as a wall of fire. Let the priest identify 
 himself with the animal spirit (jivatmait) abiding in man's 
 breast, in the form of the tapering flame of a lamp, and conduct 
 it by means of the Sushumna nerve through the six spheres 
 within the body upwards to the Divine Spirit. Then medi- 
 tate on the twenty-four essences in nature ; viz. the five cardinal 
 elements, the five external organs of sense, the five organs of 
 action, with those of self-consciousness and self-cogitation or 
 egoism. 
 
 Conceive in the left nostril the Mantra Yam, declared to be 
 the Vija or root of wind ; repeat it sixteen times while drawing 
 air by the same nostril ; then close the nose and hold the 
 breath, and repeat the Mantra sixty-four times. 
 
 1 The author's name is Pratdpa-candra Ghosha. 
 
HINDUISM. 133 
 
 Then meditate on Matrika, and say, * Help me, goddess of 
 speech ' : Am to the forehead, Am to the mouth, /;;/ to the 
 right eye, Im to the left eye, Um to the right ear, Um to the 
 left ear, Im to the right cheek, Im to the left cheek, Em to the 
 upper lip, Aim to the lower lip, Om to the upper teeth, Aum to 
 the lower teeth, Tarn, Tham> Dam, Dham, and Nam to the 
 several parts of the left leg, Pam to the right side, Pham to the 
 left, Bam to the back, Mam to the stomach, Yam to the heart, 
 Ram to the right shoulders, Lam to the neck-bone, Vam to the 
 left shoulders, Sam from the heart to the right leg, Ham from 
 the heart to the left leg, Ksham from the heart to the mouth. 
 
134 HINDUISM. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MEDIEVAL AND MODERN SECTS. 
 
 IN the previous chapters we have endeavoured to 
 trace briefly the progress of Hinduism, and have 
 followed it to the last stage of its development in 
 medieval times to its darkest and worst phase, 
 Saktism or Tantrism. It is believed that six or seven 
 hundred years ago Saktism was universally prevalent 
 throughout the greater part of India, as indeed it 
 still is in Bengal and many other extensive districts. 
 This general degradation of religion through what is 
 called the left-hand form of worship or devotion to 
 the female counterpart of Siva led to the springing 
 up of various reforming sects, and to them we must 
 now turn our attention. It is a subject which opens 
 out an almost unbounded field on which to expatiate, 
 and volumes might be written before exhausting it. 
 
 I Our limited space, however, restricts us to a brief 
 notice of some of the chief sects ; and at the very 
 outset we are met by a difficulty as to what is meant 
 by a Hindu sect ? 
 
 The term is sometimes applied in a general way 
 to five classes of worshippers, viz. the Vaishnavas, 
 S'aivas, and S'dktas, with the Sauras, Sun-worshippers, 
 and Gaqapatyas, adorers of Ganapati (Ganesa), the lord 
 of the troops of devils. But the greater number of 
 
HINDUISM. 135 
 
 Hindus are worshippers of Vishnu, Siva or their Sak- 
 tis ; and although many display special preference for 
 one or the other, many also pay homage to all these 
 deities equally, without belonging to particular sects. 
 
 Moreover, all good Hindus adore the sun (Suryd) 
 daily, and scarcely any religious rite is performed 
 without homage being paid to him or Mantras being 
 addressed to him, while only a few persons here and 
 there are specially initiated into his Mantra, or select 
 him for their special saviour. Again, all Hindus 
 worship the god Ganesa, as the remover of obstacles at 
 the commencement of every undertaking ; some of his 
 forms (such as Dhundhi-raja at Benares) receiving 
 special worship at solitary places. In fact, the systems 
 we have styled Vaishnavism, Saivism, and Saktism, 
 with Sun-worship and Ganesa-worship, constitute, so 
 to speak, the chief staple of ordinary Hinduism. 
 
 Evidently, therefore, it must lead to confusion 
 of thought if these five names are used to express 
 sectarian separation from the every-day belief and 
 practice of the bulk of the Hindu people. But 
 we may legitimately employ the term ' sect ' to 
 designate separate societies or communities within 
 the two leading systems of Vaishnavism and Saivism 
 separate divisions, in fact, of these systems them- 
 selves, originated by particular revivalist leaders for 
 the enforcement of greater strictness of devotion to 
 the Hindu gods, whose worship had degenerated 
 through the influence of Buddhism, or for the 
 propagation of their own peculiar ideas in morals 
 and philosophy. Such divisions are called Sam- 
 pradayas, as representing the peculiar traditionary 
 
130 HINDUISM. 
 
 doctrine originated by such teachers, and handed 
 down from generation to generation. 
 
 One most noticeable feature in the Sampradayas 
 founded by these reformers has been the exaggera- 
 tion of the principle of faith and love (bhakti\ so 
 that even caste was subordinated to it ; in other words, 
 the making devotion to Krishna (Vishnu) or Siva, but 
 especially an enthusiastic love for the former, a bond 
 of union stronger than all social distinctions. 
 
 Those who made every other duty give way to this 
 religious passion called themselves, not Vaishnavas or 
 Saivas, but Bhaktas. They made songs, music, 
 dancing, and waving of lights (arti), take the place 
 of the old Vedic Mantras, substituted vernacular 
 prayers for those in Sanskrit, and paid special adora- 
 tion to the images of Krishna. Moreover, they be- 
 lieved that for the attainment of beatitude it was 
 necessary to pass through five stages : i . That of 
 S'dnti, or calm contemplation of the deity ; 2. That 
 of Ddsya, or servitude; 3. That of Sakhya, or 
 friendship ; 4. That of Vdtsalya, or filial affection ; 
 and 5. That of Madhurya, or tender love. 
 
 In the practice of this Bhakti they knew no dis- 
 tinction of caste. 
 
 There seems, indeed, to have been a general desire 
 on the part of the leaders of religious thought in India 
 to follow the example of the great Buddha in his 
 efforts to deliver the people from the tyranny of caste 
 rules. At any rate they saw that the popularity of the 
 doctrines they inculcated depended on their attract- 
 ing adherents from all ranks, high and low. Hence, 
 most of the great religious revivalists proclaimed the 
 
HINDUISM. 137 
 
 social equality of all who enrolled themselves in the 
 same society, as worshippers of the same deity. But 
 just as Buddhism ultimately fell back into Brahmanism, 
 so has every movement in the direction of equality and 
 fraternity ended by a return, more or less complete, 
 to the original condition of subjection to Brahmanical 
 authority and obedience to the law of caste distinc- 
 tions. 
 
 In all likelihood the Brahmanical revival under 1 
 ' -/ - 
 
 Sankaracarya (to whom allusion has already been 
 
 made) was nothing but a reaction towards caste. 
 It probably originated in the desire of the Brahmans 
 to make some counter-demonstration against the 
 Buddhistic movement. 6ankara himself was a strict^ 
 Brahman and a great teacher of the Vedanta philo- 
 sophy. He was therefore a strenuous upholder of the 
 Advaita doctrine (see p. 83), and although his fol- 
 lowers, who are very numerous in the South of India, 
 sometimes call themselves Saivas, they more generally 
 style themselves Smartas, as claiming to adhere 
 strictly to Smriti. Sankara is said to have been a 
 native of Kerala (Malabar), and to have flourished 
 about the end of the 7th or beginning of the 8th 
 century. He led an erratic, controversial life, and 
 is thought by some to have inculcated the preferential 
 worship of the god iva, as identified with the Supreme 
 Being, of whom some declare him to have been an 
 incarnation. Tradition also makes him the founder 
 of a Saiva sect of ascetics, called the DasnamI Dan dins, 
 ' ten named mendicants,' so called because divided 
 into ten classes. 
 
 Others again maintain that Sankara had a prefer- 
 
HINDUISM. 
 
 ence for Vaishnavism. But, as a Vedantist, he 
 really had no preference either for Siva or Vishnu. 
 He is the reputed author of a vast number of 
 treatises and commentaries on the Vedanta philo- 
 sophy (including the Atma-bodha and Ananda-lahari). 
 His learning and sanctity were in such repute that 
 he was held to have worked various miracles ; 
 amongst others, animating the dead body of a king 
 Amaru, so as to be able to argue with the wife of a 
 Brahman, named Mandana. 1 
 
 Let us now notice briefly, and, if possible, in 
 chronological order, six principal divisions of Vaish- 
 navism founded by leaders who lived at different 
 epochs. They may be distinguished from each other 
 by the names of their founders, thus, 
 
 i. The Nimbarkas. 2. The Rdmdnujas. 
 
 3. The Mad hv deary as. 4. The Rdmdnandas. 
 
 5. The Vallabhdcdryas. 6. The C ait any as. 
 
 Of course, the common link of all these sects is 
 their belief in the supremacy of Vishnu. Their differ- 
 ence consists in the character assigned to that god, in 
 the practices and usages founded thereon by the 
 leader to which each sect owes its origin, in the 
 philosophical doctrines taught by that leader, and in 
 distinctive sectarian marks (p. 98). 
 
 i. To begin with the Nimbarkas (vulgarly called 
 Nimdndis\ perhaps the least important of the six 
 
 1 His object is supposed to have been to become the husband 
 of the king's widow for a time, that he might learn by expe- 
 rience how to argue on amatory subjects with the wife of the 
 Brahman. This is described in the celebrated poem, Amaru- 
 fataka, to which a mystical interpretation is given. 
 
HINDUISM. 139 
 
 Vaishnava sects, but the first in chronological 
 order. 
 
 The founder's name was Nimbarka or Nimbaditya, 
 and is generally supposed to have been identical with 
 the astronomer, Bhaskaracarya, who is thought to 
 have flourished in the i2th century. 
 
 Others regard him as an actual incarnation of the 
 Sun-god, undertaken for the revival of religion and 
 the suppression of heresy. 
 
 The adherents of this sect possess few characteristic pecu- 
 liarities. They worship Krishna and Radha conjointly, and 
 their chief scriptural authority is the Bhagavata-purana (see 
 p. 1 19). Although Nimbarka is said to have written a commen- 
 tary on the Veda, this sect is not possessed of any literature of 
 their own, the want of which they attribute to the destruction 
 of their books at Mathura, in the time of Aurangzib. 
 
 This sect is distinguished by two perpendicular 
 yellowish lines, made of Goplcandana earth, drawn 
 from the root of the hair to the commencement of each 
 eyebrow, and there meeting in a curve, to represent 
 the footprint of Vishnu. A second curve is some- 
 times added below. 
 
 It should be noted here, that the poet Jayadeva, 
 who is thought to have lived in the 1 2th century, may 
 be said to have followed Nimbarka in promoting the 
 doctrine of devotion to Krishna, by his celebrated 
 poem called Glta-govinda, in which are described the 
 loves of Krishna and the Gopis as typical of the 
 longing of the human soul for union with the divine. 1 
 
 1 The late Dr. Adam Clarke appears to have been struck 
 with the resemblance of this mystical poem to the Song of 
 Solomon. See his Commentary. 
 L 
 
140 HINDUISM. 
 
 ] 2. The Ramanujas. These come next in order of 
 time, and are a most important sect in the South of 
 India. 
 
 They were founded by the celebrated reformer 
 Ramanuja, who was born at Sri Parambattur (about 26 
 miles west of Madras), and is known to have studied 
 at Conjeveram, and to have resided at Sri Rangam, 
 near Trichinopoly. He probably flourished about the 
 middle or latter part of the i2th century. The chief 
 doctrine he promulgated was, that Vishnu is the 
 Supreme Being, that he was before all worlds, and 
 was the cause and creator of all things. 
 
 This sect has two grand subdivisions : I. The Vadagalais, 
 or Northern School of Ramanujas; 2. The Tengalais, or 
 Southern School. The difference in their doctrines is something 
 the same as that of Arminian and Calvinist. In philosophy 
 they both belong to the Advaita, or non-dualistic school ; but 
 with this difference, that Ramanuja, although he affirmed the ulti- 
 mate oneness of man's soul with God's, declared that they could 
 not be united in this life. This doctrine he called Vifisht^ 
 ddvaita. One peculiarity of the sect consists in the scrupulous 
 preparation and privacy of their meals. Another peculiarity 
 of the Ramanujas is that they never allow mustachios on the 
 upper lip. Moreover, they often have the cakra and other 
 symbols of Vishnu branded on their arms. 
 
 The frontal mark of both subdivisions of this sect 
 consists of two perpendicular white lines drawn from 
 the root of the hair to the commencement of each 
 eyebrow, and meeting below in a curve. A central 
 perpendicular reddish line is added to represent 
 Lakshmi ; and, in the case of the Tengalais, the white 
 line is extended halfway down the nose, and the whole 
 is supposed to represent the two feet of Vishnu. 
 
HINDUISM. 141 
 
 3. The Mddhvas, or Madhvacdryas, are Vaishnavas, 
 but are not so important a sect as the last. 
 
 They were -founded by the sage Madhva, or Madh- 
 vacarya, otherwise called Ananda-tlrtha and Purna- 
 prajna, who was a strenuous opponent of Sankara- 
 carya's Advaita system of philosophy. He is said to 
 have been born about the year 1200, and to have 
 been educated in a convent at Anantesvar. 
 
 Many of the disciples of this sect live in Mathas, or monas- 
 teries. Many of them are also simply philosophers, the school 
 established by Madhva being called Dvaita, dualism, in oppo- 
 sition to the A-dvaita school, upheld by S'ankaracarya, and 
 followed by the Smartas. The Dvaita school of Madhva 
 asserts that God is supreme, yet essentially different from the 
 human soul, and from the material world, both of which have a 
 real and eternally distinct existence. 
 
 The frontal mark of this sect, who are chiefly found 
 in the South of India, consists of two thin perpendicu- 
 lar lines meeting below in a curve, like those of the 
 Ramanujas, but the colour is red (instead of white), 
 .and the central perpendicular line is black, being 
 generally made with the charcoal from incense burnt 
 before the idols of Vishnu. 
 
 4. The Rdmanandas (often called Ramanandis), 
 are sometimes confounded with the Ramanujas, from 
 whom they differ very slightly. Indeed, Ramananda, 
 the founder, was . a disciple of Ramanuja, and a 
 teacher of substantially similar doctrines. 
 
 He flourished at Benares about the beginning of the 1 4th 
 century. His followers are numerous in Gangetic India, 
 especially around Agra. They worship Vishnu under the form of 
 Rama-candra with his consort Sita. Their favourite work 
 is the Bhakta-mala, and their sectarian marks resemble those of 
 L 2 
 
142 HINDUISM. 
 
 the Ramanujas. Their founder taught that all distinction of 
 caste among the Vairagis and ascetic orders ought to be 
 abolished. 
 
 Ramananda had twelve disciples, among whom the 
 most celebrated was a remarkable reformer named 
 Kabir, who probably lived about the end of the i4th 
 century. 
 
 This Kabir became the founder of a distinct sect. 
 He assailed idolatry with great boldness, and ridi- 
 culed the religious practices of his fellow-countrymen,, 
 though he allowed adoration to be paid to Vishnu or 
 Rama, as names for one god. He promulgated a high 
 moral code, declaring that life was a sacred gift of 
 God, and that the blood of men or animals ought 
 never to be shed by his creatures. He laid great stress 
 on truthfulness, and advocated retirement from the 
 world for the attainment of control over the passions. 
 
 It is supposed that Nanak Shah, the founder of the 
 Sikh religion, who was born in the Panjab, near 
 Lahore, and in the reign of Babar about the year 1500. 
 attempted a compromise between Hinduism and 
 Islam, was indebted to his predecessor Kabir, for his 
 pantheistic opinions, and some of the other ideas 
 which characterize his system. 1 His order of ascetics 
 (corresponding to Sannyasis and Vairagis), are called 1 
 Udasls. 
 
 5. The Vallabha'caryas form a very important sect 
 in Bombay, Gujarat, and Central India. 
 
 1 The Adi-grantha, ' first book/ which embodies his system, 
 and is the bible of the Sikhs (prohibiting idol-worship, and 
 teaching the unity of the Godhead pantheistically) was promul- 
 gated about the time of our Reformation. 
 
HINDUISM. 143 
 
 Their founder, Vallabhacarya, is said to have been 
 born in the forest C'amparanya in 1479, an( ^ i g regarded 
 by his followers as an incarnation of Krishna. 
 Various miraculous stories are fabled about him. 
 For instance, his intelligence is alleged to have been so 
 great that when he commenced learning at the age of 
 seven, he mastered the four Vedas, the six systems of 
 Philosophy, and the eighteen Puranas in four months. 
 
 After such precocity we need not wonder that at the age of 
 twelve he had formulated his teaching, and commenced travelling 
 to propagate his doctrines. When he reached the court of Krish- 
 nadeva, king of Vijayanagar, he was invited to a public dis- 
 putation with the S'aivas, in which he succeeded so well that he 
 was elected chief Acarya of the Vaishnavas. He then travelled for 
 nine years through different parts of India, and finally settled in 
 Benares, where he composed seventeen works ; among which 
 was the * Bhagavata-tika-subhodhim,' or commentary on the 
 Bhagavata-purana, which last work, especially its tenth book 
 (see p. 107), is the chief authoritative source of the doctrines of 
 the sect. In philosophy he maintained Vedantist doctrines, and 
 called his system Suddhddvaita^ 'pure non-dualism,' to distin- 
 guish it from the Vi&shtddvaita of Ramanuja. Vallabhacarya 
 died at Benares, or, according to his followers, was transported 
 to heaven while performing his ablutions in the Ganges. 
 
 Vallabhacarya left behind him eighty-four disciples 
 who dispersed themselves throughout India and 
 disseminated his doctrines. But the real successor 
 to the Gadi (=gaddl) or Chair of Vallabhacarya 
 was his second son, Vitthalnath, sometimes called 
 GosainjI from his having settled at Gokul, near 
 Muttra (Mathura). This Vitthalnath had seven sons, 
 each of whom established a Gaddi in different parts 
 of India, especially in Bombay, Kutch, Kattiwar, 
 and Malwa, and particularly among the merchants 
 
144 HINDUISM. 
 
 and traders called Ban'as and Bhatias. The influ- 
 ence of Vallabhacarya's successors became so great 
 that they acquired the title of Maharaja, the name 
 Gosain (for Gosvamin lord of cows an epithet of 
 Krishna) being sometimes added. 
 
 / Vallabhacarya's system is called Pushti-marga ' the 
 way of eating, drinking, and enjoying oneself; that is 
 to say, worshipping the deity, not with fasting, self- 
 denial, self-mortification, and penitence, but with in- 
 dulgence of the natural appetites and enjoyment of the 
 good things of the world. The god worshipped is the 
 Krishna form of Vishnu with his wives the Gopis or 
 cowherdesses. But their idol is generally one repre- 
 senting Krishna in his childhood, till his twelfth year. 
 According to the purer Vaishnava faith Krishna's love 
 for the Gopis, and especially for his favourite Radha, 
 is to be explained allegorically, as symbolizing the 
 longing of the human soul for the Supreme. But the 
 Vallabhacaryas interpreted it in a gross and material 
 sense. Hence their devotion to Krishna and his 
 wives degenerated into the most corrupt practices, and 
 their system became rotten to the core. Their men 
 had brought themselves to believe that they must as- 
 similate themselves to female Gopis in doing homage 
 to their god, and the Maharajas or spiritual chiefs, 
 the successors of Vallabhacarya, were to dress like 
 women in order to commend themselves to Krishna. 
 But far more than this, these Maharajas had come to 
 be regarded as representatives of Krishna upon earth, 
 and it was even believed by many that they were 
 divine beings incarnations of the god. Hence in the 
 temples, where the Maharajas did homage to the 
 
HINDUISM. 145 
 
 idols, men and women did homage to the Ma- 
 harajas, prostrating themselves at their feet, offer- 
 ing them incense, fruits, and flowers, and waving 
 lights before them, as the Maharajas themselves did 
 before the images of the gods. One mode of wor- 
 shipping the idols was by swinging them. Hence, 
 women worshipped the Maharajas by swinging them 
 also in swings. The Pan-suparl ejected from their 
 mouths and the leavings of their food were eagerly 
 devoured by their devotees, who also drank the water 
 rinsed from their garments, and called C'aranamrita, 
 ' feet nectar.' 
 
 But infinitely worse than all this it was believed 
 that the best mode of propitiating them was by minis- 
 tering to their sensual appetites. Body, soul, and 
 property (tan, man, dhaii) were to be wholly made 
 over to them by their disciples, and their women were 
 taught to believe that highest bliss would be secured 
 to themselves and their families by the caresses of 
 Krishna's representatives. 
 
 It was this utter corruption of the Vaishnava faith 1 
 that led to a modern Puritan movement under a 
 reformer Svami-Narayan, whose followers now num- 
 ber from 150,000 to 200,000 persons. They are 
 chiefly found in Gujarat, though a few are scat-j 
 tered here and there in the Deccan. Elsewhere in 
 India they are unknown. They are presided over by- 
 two spiritual chiefs, the alleged successors of Svami- 
 Narayan, and who like those of the Vallabhacaryas, 
 are styled Maharajas, their full title being, however, 
 Maharajadhiraja. One of them is settled at Wartal, 
 the other at Ahmedabad, the former taking the pre- 
 
146 HINDUISM. 
 
 cedence, from the superior importance of the temple 
 and monastery of which he is head. 
 
 Svami-Narayan, who took the name of Sahajananda 
 Svami (corrupted into Sejananda), was not a native 
 of Gujarat. He was born in 1780 A.D., at Chapai, 
 a town in Oudh, about sixty kos to the north-east of 
 Lucknow, and died about forty-six years ago, when 
 he was forty-nine years old. 
 
 Living in Gujarat, he soon became stirred in spirit by the 
 sensuality of the Vallabhacaryas. To counteract their licenti- 
 ous practices, Svami-Narayan, who, to a natural leaning towards 
 Uddsa and asceticism, joined all the energy of a great reformer, 
 made chastity and purity of life the keynote of all his teaching, ' 
 and ended by boldly asserting that he himself, and not Valla- 
 bhacarya, was the true incarnation of Krishna, and that the god, 
 in order to restore the Vaishnava faith to its former purity, had 
 descended in his person as a Brahmacarl, or Brahman under a 
 vow of continence. 
 
 6. The Caitanyas. This sect is peculiar to Bengal 
 and Orissa, where it is of great importance and well 
 known. 
 
 The founder, C'aitanya, was born about 1485, and 
 regarded as an incarnation of Krishna. At the age 
 of twenty-four he became an ascetic, and travelled to 
 Jagannath, in Orissa, where he taught Vaishnava 
 doctrines. 
 
 He remained twelve years at Katak, engaged in intense medi- 
 
 1 Their code of instructions is of a very pure and lofty cha- 
 racter. It is comprised in a little work called S' iksha-patrl, a 
 copy of which, with a commentary in Gujarat! and Sanskrit, 
 was presented to me by the Maharaja of Wartal on the occasion 
 of my visit to the temple and monastery at that place, over which 
 he presides. 
 
HINDUISM. 147 
 
 tation on Krishna. But this was not his only occupation. He 
 insisted on the importance of singing (sankirtana) and dancing, 
 as well as of contemplation, to fit the mind for ecstatic com- 
 munion with the deity, and his followers often swooned away 
 in their fits of religious emotion. He was himself subject to fits 
 of religious ecstasy, and died during one of them whilst bathing 
 in the sea near Purl. After his death he was canonized, and 
 declared to have been an incarnation of Krishna. 
 
 C'aitanya's disciples soon spread themselves over 
 Bengal. They hold that Krishna is the Supreme 
 Being, and that bhakti or faith in him is more effi- 
 cacious than knowledge, than subjugation of the 
 passions, than meditation (yoga), than charity, virtue, 
 or anything usually deemed most meritorious. All 
 castes become by such faith equally pure, and all 
 castes are equally admissible into the sect. Their 
 chief ritual consists in constantly repeating the name 
 Krishna. A great many treatises have been written 
 in support of their tenets, which are highly esteemed 
 in Bengal. 
 
 Besides the above-described six principal sects of 
 Vaishnavas, there are many others of less importance ; 
 such as the followers of VMthaloi Vitho-ba (a form of 
 Krishna) 1 worshipped more especially at Pandharpur 
 in Maha-rashtra, and the favourite of the celebrated 
 Marathi poet Tukarama ; the followers of Dddu 
 (Dadu-pathins\ a famous ascetic who lived at Jaipur 
 about A.D. 1600 ; the Mirabais a subdivision of the 
 Vallabhacaryas founded by Mirabai, the wife of the 
 Rana of Udaipur ; and several others. 
 
 1 The images of this form of Krishna generally represent him 
 and his wife with their hands resting on their hips. 
 
HINDUISM. 
 
 With regard to the so-called Saiva sects, there are 
 a large number of Saivas in the South of India, called 
 Lingo-vats (commonly Linga-its and Jangamas), as 
 wearing the Linga on their persons. They v/ere 
 founded by a leader named Vrishabha, who taught 
 the suppression of all caste distinction:;, and the use- 
 lessness of all Brahmanical rites. This sect bury 
 \instead of burning their dead. Another so called 
 Saiva sect, the Pdsupatas (worshippers of Siva in 
 his character of Pasu-pati, lord of the soul, called 
 paiu\ base their philosophical doctrines on a system 
 called Siva-siddhanta. 
 
 Saiva ascetics are properly called Sannyasis, but 
 they are often confounded with other orders of 
 ascetics, called Vairagis (supposed to be properly 
 Vaishnavas), Gosains, Yogis, &c. The following are 
 other orders : 
 
 The Paramahansas, or the highest order of Yogis, who are 
 solely occupied with meditating on Brahma ; l the Aghorins or 
 Aghora-pathins, who propitiate S'iva by revolting austerities ; 
 the Urdkva-bahiis, who extend one or both arms over the head 
 and hold them in that position for years ; the Akasa-mukhins, 
 who keep their necks bent back looking up at the sky ; the 
 , Dandins, or mendicant staff-bearers, a subdivision of whom has 
 been already described as founded by S'ankaracarya (see p. 137). 
 
 Having thus noted the principal divisions of 
 Vaishnavas and Saivas, which owe their origin to the 
 great leaders of religious thought and practice in 
 medieval and modern times, we cannot conclude this 
 
 1 This is the highest order of ascetics. The theory is that a 
 Yogi who aims at perfection ought to go through six courses of 
 austerity of twelve years each. In the last he is called a 
 Parama-hansa. 
 
HINDUISM. 149 
 
 part of our subject without glancing at the opinions^ 
 of the Brahmas, or members of the various modern 
 theistical societies (Samajas) now springing up in 
 various parts of India. Their first founder was a 
 well-known Brahman, named Raja Ram Mohun Roy, 
 a man of great ability, born near Burdwan, in 1774. 
 He was the first Hindu reformer that arose after the 
 establishment of the British Raj in India. 
 
 Besides exerting himself for the abolition of Sati 
 (commonly called Suttee, or the burning of Indian 
 widows with their deceased husbands), and the promo 
 tion of native education, he preached everywhere pure 
 monotheism, endeavouring to prove that the idolatry 
 of the Hindus was contrary to the practice of their 
 ancestors, and to the precepts of the Veda ; but he 
 used the Indian name Brahma for the Supreme 
 Being, and called the society he founded the JBrahma- 
 samdj, or Society of God. Its doctrines were in fact 
 founded on a monotheistic interpretation of the Veda. 
 
 After the death of Ram Mohun Roy, his friend 
 Dvaraka Nath Tagore, a man of great weight and 
 influence, gave his support to the Brahma-samaj, but 
 it languished without a leader till his son Debendra 
 Nath Tagore formed the nucleus of a new community, 
 now called the Adi Samaj, or first church. This 
 society publicly renounced idolatry, and declared 
 their belief in the one God as defined in the Vedanta. 
 Then a third great leader arose, Keshab C'andra Sen 
 who has recently visited England. He rejects en- 
 tirely the Hindu system, including the Vedanta. 
 His society is called the Progressive or New Samaj 
 (Niitana). Their creed may be described as u a belief 
 
150 HINDUISM. 
 
 in the Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of 
 mankind," and its theology might be well expressed 
 by the first part of the first Article of the Church of 
 England : " There is but one living and true God 
 everlasting, without body, parts, or passions, of infinite 
 power, wisdom and goodness, the maker and preserver 
 of all things." 
 
 Other forms of theistical Samaj exist in India ; for 
 example, one called the Prarthana Samaj or Prayer 
 Society, at Bombay. These have the Vedanta formula 
 Ekam evddvitlyam (see p. n) inscribed over the en- 
 trance to their house of prayer, recently erected. 
 Moreover, a new Brahman reformer named Daya- 
 nanda, has recently appeared, and is attracting many 
 adherents in the West of India. He is engaged in 
 writing a new commentary to the Rig-veda, which he 
 interprets monotheistically, and his society is called 
 the Arya-samaj. 
 
 We must acknowledge with thankfulness the good 
 these theistical societies are doing by their uncom- 
 promising opposition to idolatry, fanaticism, supersti- 
 tion, and caste. They are the present protestants of 
 India. 
 
 Nevertheless it is to be feared that, with the 
 exception of the Progressive Samaj of Calcutta, they 
 are not altogether free from a suspicion of pantheistic 
 proclivities. 
 
 
HINDUISM. 15! 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 MODERN CASTES. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the constant efforts of great 
 religious leaders in India to deliver their fellow- 
 countrymen from the tyranny of caste, the power of | 
 caste has always in the end recovered its ascendency. j 
 It might almost indeed be inferred from the influence 
 exerted by caste-rules on the daily life of the Hindus 
 that the whole of their religion was centred in caste- 
 observances, and that Hinduism and caste were con- \ 
 vertible terms. And, in point of fact, strictness in ' 
 the maintenance of caste is the only real test of 
 Hinduism exacted by the Brahmans of the present 
 day. In matters of mere faith, Hinduism is (as we 
 have seen) all-tolerant and all-receptive. No persoii 
 who is not born a Brahman can become one, but anjl 
 person can be admitted into the lower ranks of Hin-* 
 duism who will acknowledge the supremacy of the 
 Brahmans and obey the rules of caste. So long as 
 a man holds to his caste, he is at liberty to hold any 
 opinions he likes, even to accepting the doctrines of 
 Christianity. 
 
 Perfection is alone attained by him 
 
 Who swerves not from the business of his caste. 1 
 
 Caste, as a social institution, exists, of course, in 
 
 1 See the Bhagavad - Gita, quoted in the appendix of this 
 volume (p. 209). 
 
152 HINDUISM. 
 
 all countries, and in England operates with no slight 
 potency. We believe in a close connection between 
 blood and breeding ; and, although we do not go so 
 far as to hold that different grades of society have 
 different coloured skins (according to the original 
 Hindu theory), yet we have a difficulty in admitting 
 that a man who is not a gentleman by birth can ever 
 be made one by training. With us, however, caste is 
 not a religious institution. On the contrary, our 
 religion, though it sanctions differences of rank, 
 teaches us that class -distinctions ought to be laid 
 aside in the worship of God, and that there is no 
 respect of persons with Him. Nor with us does 
 caste prevent a certain amount of social union, inter- 
 course, interchange of ideas, and even intermarriage, 
 between the various classes of society ; nor does it, as 
 
 (in India, operate to merge the individual in the cor- 
 porate body, to set class against class, to prevent the 
 lower rising to the upper, and to make national union 
 impossible. On the contrary, with us all ranks and 
 orders so run into each other and blend imperceptibly 
 together, that it becomes impossible to separate them 
 into sharply-defined strata, or to say where the upper 
 ends and the middle or lower begins. 
 
 Very different is ths caste theory of the Hindus. 
 The doctrine of Manu was (see pp. 57, 58) that the 
 deity created distinct kinds of men, as he created 
 varieties of animals ; and that Brahmans, Kshatriyas, 
 Vaisyas, and Madras were born and must remain from 
 birth to death distinct from each other. A Brahman, 
 however, could have four wives, and marry a woman 
 belonging to any of the three lower castes. Inter- 
 marriage could also take place between members of 
 
HINDUISM. IS3 
 
 all the four classes, or again, between the mixed 
 castes which resulted from such intercourse. In this 
 way it happened that, although no man could himselt 
 enter a caste higher or lower than his own, he might 
 by the act of marriage lead to the formation of a new 
 mixed caste, to which a distinct occupation was as- 
 signed. It was thus, in fact, that new mixed castes were 
 constantly created, and even castes of the lowest grade 
 were derived from the highest by occasional perpe- 
 tration of what was held to be a great abomination 
 the marriage of a ^udra father with a woman of a 
 superior caste. For example, a Candala, or hunter of 
 animals, living in holes, who was the most degraded 
 of mortals and not allowed to perform ^raddhas for 
 his own ancestors, had a Brahman mother and Sudra 
 father ; and the Ayogava, or carpenter, who was also 
 utterly despised, was half Vaisya, half udra. Again, 
 the S'va-paka, dog-feeder, who was a public execu- 
 tioner and compelled to live outside villages, was half 
 Kshatriya, half Sudra. 
 
 The only caste that has retained its purity to any I 
 extent is that of the Brahmans, though examples 
 of pure Kshatriyas may be found among the Rajputs, ' 
 and some pure Vaisyas probably exist among the 
 Baniahs, or traders and shopkeepers. Moreover, 
 instead of Mann's mixed castes, arising from the 
 permissible intermarriage of the pure castes, we 
 have an almost endless number of what may 
 called trade-castes, resulting chiefly from associations 
 of men engaged in the same occupations, which are 
 being constantly created, and in which exclusiveness 
 and restrictions in regard to social intercourse and 
 intermarriage are enforced far more strictly than in the 
 
154 HINDUISM. 
 
 original pure castes of ancient times. Many of these 
 trade-unions resemble the guilds of artisans once 
 common in Europe, and have numerous sub-castes 
 under them. 1 Each society keeps aloof from the 
 other, and shuts itself up in its own independence. 
 And yet, within each caste, individual independence 
 is impossible, because no individual can act alone, 
 but only in conjunction with his caste-fellows. 
 
 Probably, the original idea of caste was, that 
 difference of complexion, or skin-colour (varna), 
 marked a natural separation between the grades of 
 society. The early immigrants found parts of India 
 occupied by Negroid aborigines, almost as dark as 
 Africans ; and they themselves, by intermarriage with 
 the primitive tribes (some of them afterwards called 
 Sudras), and again by further intermarriage among 
 themselves, lost their original fairness of complexion. 
 Hence subsequent immigrants arriving in India, and 
 finding those already settled there as cultivators of 
 the soil (vaisyas) more dark-coloured than themselves, 
 claimed a superiority of rank based upon greater 
 purity of blood, which purity, they believed, could 
 only be maintained by strict prohibitions against 
 intermarriage with the lower classes. We may in this 
 way account for the origin of the higher castes of 
 Brahmans and Kshatriyas. Soon a theory was ad- 
 vanced that food had an important effect on the 
 preservation of blood-purity, and strict regulations 
 about eating and drinking came into force. As time 
 went on, still further safeguards were elaborated. 
 
 1 In the North-west, the Kayasth, or writer caste, has twelve 
 subdivisions, and similarly, the Barhal, or carpenter caste, has 
 seven sub-castes, none of which can eat together. 
 
HINDUISM. 155 
 
 Even contact with the skin of persons of inferior 
 caste was thought likely to cause contamination. 
 Hence, only men of the same caste were allowed to 
 eat together and work together ; and when a death 
 occurred, no man could be carried to the burning- 
 ground except by his own caste-fellows. These rules 
 have multiplied almost endlessly .among the almost 
 endless divisions of modern caste ; but it will be 
 observed that, however numerous and intricate such 
 rules have become, they still affect a man chiefly in 
 the four matters of marriage, food, professional occu- 
 pation, and funeral rites. 
 
 As to the first of these, intermarriage between ^ 
 different castes, which in Manu's time was permissible! f 
 is now altogether prohibited, and a kind of endogamy\ I 
 or marriage within a limited circle of caste-associates, 
 leading to many objectionable results, is enforced, not 
 only in each caste, but even generally in every sub- 
 caste. For example, there are, it is said, eighty-four 
 sub-castes of Brahmans in Gujarat which are not 
 allowed to intermarry, and in many of these there are 
 more males than females. 1 
 
 In regard to the second point, of ' food/ the rules 
 are more strict than in Manu's time, not merely as to 
 the kind of food, but also as to the mode of its pre- 
 paration, and the persons with whom it is eaten. All 
 the higher classes agree in abstaining from animal 
 food, the eating of which, although formerly permitted 
 on certain occasions, is now regarded as a sin. Again, 
 
 ' 
 
 The sub- castes of the Kayasths cannot intermarry except 
 rith the highest of the twelve. 
 
 M 
 
156 HINDUISM. 
 
 all classes, high and low, hold it to be not only a sin, 
 but an act of downright impiety, to eat the flesh of 
 oxen. 1 Even to sit in the presence of an Englishman 
 while engaged in eating beef, is not only sinful, but 
 produces feelings of disgust far greater than an 
 Englishman would feel in sitting next to a Chinaman 
 while satisfying his appetite with a meal of boiled rats. 
 The sacredness and inviolability of the cow and ox 
 is in real truth a universally applicable test of modern 
 orthodox Hinduism. 
 
 So also it is not merely a breach of social propriety, 
 but an offence against religion, for a man of high caste 
 to eat food prepared by one of inferior caste ; or for 
 members of different castes to eat together. 2 An im- 
 portant distinction, however, in regard to eating toge- 
 ther is made between food cooked with water and dry 
 food. The former consists of boiled rice, dal, &c., or 
 of coarse baked cakes, and this kind of food, which 
 contains no ghl, is eaten by all castes apart from 
 each other, after washing their hands and feet, and 
 removing part of their clothing. On the other 
 hand, dry food comprehends not only all dry eatables 
 and fruit, but also food cooked with ghl, as well as 
 
 1 Happily for the Hindus, the cow which supplies them with 
 their only animal food milk and butter and the ox, which 
 helps to till their ground, were declared sacred at an early 
 period. Had it not been so } this useful animal might have been 
 exterminated in times of famine. What is now a superstition 
 had its origin, like some other superstitions, in a wise foresight. 
 
 2 Contrast St. Paul, I Cor. v. II "Now I have written unto 
 you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother 
 be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a 
 drunkard, or an extortioner ; with such an one no not to eat" 
 
HINDUISM. 157 
 
 sweetmeats ; and this may be eaten without remov- 
 ing any garments, without washing, and in company 
 with other castes. 
 
 To understand the process by which such ideas 
 have acquired strength, and become absolutely domi- x 
 nant, it maybe well to bear in mind that every Hindu A 
 has a tendency to confuse the relationship between \ 
 matter and spirit. Indian philosophers assert that 
 matter is illusory, or that it has no real existence 
 distinct from spirit, which is the only true entity. 1 
 Hence a Hindu is convinced that inanimate material 
 substances may be animated with powerful spiritual 
 forces, and that such forces may exert a mysterious 
 influence on the well-being of the immaterial part 
 of his nature. It is therefore more important that 
 water and food should be religiously than chemically 
 pure. Every orthodox Hindu is perfectly persuaded 
 that the dirtiest water, if taken from a sacred stream 
 and applied to his body, either externally or inter- 
 nally, will purify his soul. Consequently he will L 
 either baihe in it or drink it with avidity ; whereas V 
 the purest water is supposed to cause external and v l 
 internal taint if accepted from a person of low v 
 caste. Similarly he believes that the purest food if ^ 
 touched by a person of low caste, or by a European 
 (Mlecchd) will, if eaten, contaminate his blood, and 
 that such contamination will affect his character and 
 prospects in this world and the next. Even the 
 approach of a person of low caste, or no caste, or his 
 shadow falling on food during its preparation, is 
 
 1 There is no proper philosophical word in Sanskrit for 
 matter, unless it be /a/a, opposed to cetana spirit. 
 M 2 
 
158 HINDUISM. 
 
 thought to impart a taint which makes the most whole- 
 some meal unfit to be eaten. 
 
 With regard to the third point affected by caste, 
 viz. professional pursuits, it should be observed that 
 Brahmans alone are allowed free liberty of engaging 
 in the occupations of other castes. Formerly only 
 six acts were permitted to a strict Brahman, viz., 
 repetition of the Veda (adhyayana), teaching it to 
 others (adhyapana), sacrificing (yajana), assisting at 
 sacrifices (ydjana), giving (ddna), and receiving gifts 
 (fratigraha). But even in Manu's time Brahmans 
 might under certain circumstances become soldiers, 
 or live by agriculture, keeping cattle, or trade (Manu, 
 x. 80-82, 101, 102 ; ix. 319). In the present day they 
 are often cooks, and they may engage in any indus- 
 trial arts not involving contamination and degra- 
 dation. 
 
 The other castes are generally restricted to one 
 occupation, but the names of the castes are not 
 always a guide to the nature of their employments, 
 these latter having sometimes in process of time 
 become changed. 
 
 Indeed it is by opening its arms to receive associa- 
 tions of men engaged in the same art or trade that 
 Hinduism, which is not in theory a proselyting creed, 
 is continually extending itself. Any body of men, 
 pursuing the same occupation, may form themselves 
 into a kind of trade-union, and the Brahmans will 
 admit them into the pale of their religion, the sole 
 conditions being that they bind themselves not to 
 intermarry with other castes, and accept the supremacy 
 of the Brahmans and the sacredness of the cow or ox. 
 
HINDUISM. 159 
 
 The fourth and last point affected by caste, is the 
 performance of funeral rites, and of Sraddhas in honour 
 of the dead. This interesting subject has been already 
 noticed (see p. 65). We have only space to state further 
 that considerable variation in the performance of such 
 ceremonies prevails everywhere throughout India, and 
 that all diversities of usage in this matter depend 
 upon difference of caste, and of sub-caste, and even 
 sometimes of groups of families. 
 
 It only remains for us to enumerate some of the 
 more important divisions and subdivisions of caste 
 now found in India. 1 
 
 To begin with the Eiahaaass who are still religiously 
 above all other castes, and are still in their own 
 estimation, and in that of bigoted Hindus, the ' lords 
 of creation ' by a kind of divine right. They are 
 rirHpnl tribri, rhvrT- 
 
 The northern division of Brahmans (sometimes called Gaudd] 
 has five tribes under it, according to the proper abode, viz., the 
 Kdnyakubja (Kanauj), Sdrasvata (North-west), Gauda (Bengal 
 and Delhi), Maithila (North Behar), Utkala (Orissa). The 
 southern division (called Drdvida} has also five; viz., the Maha- 
 rashtra (Marathi districts), Taiitnga (Telugu), Drdvida (Tamil), 
 Karndta (Karnatic), and Gurjara (Gujarat). The first tribe of 
 the northern division, viz. the Kdnyakubja^ or Kanauj, is again 
 numerously subdivided, and especially into one hundred and 
 fifty-six tribes, of which one hundred are called Vdrendra, and 
 fifty-six Rddha or Rdrh (from Radha, a district in the west of 
 Bengal). Of the former, eight, and of the latter six, are re- 
 garded as Kulina, or noble. The six Kulina Rarh tribes are 
 Banerjea,Mukhurjea, C'atuijea, Garguli, Goshala, and Kanjalala. 
 
 - 
 
 The Rev. M. A. Sherring, of Benares, has published a 
 ful work on this subject, which is my chief authority here. 
 
l6o HINDUISM. 
 
 Again, all tribes of Brahmans are divided into 
 Gotras or groups of families, according as they are 
 supposed to be derived from one or other of the seven 
 mythical sages, Bhrigu, Angiras, Atri, Visvamitra, 
 (Kausika), Kasyapa, Vasishtha, and Agastya. These 
 seven sets of Gotras are again subdivided into others 
 too numerous to mention. 1 
 
 Again, Brahmans are still further classified according 
 
 to their supposed particular line of study, or extent of 
 
 1 learning ; as, for example, whether a man knows the 
 
 ^Rig-veda alone (Rigveda-sakhi), or the Yajur-veda 
 
 ( Yajurveda-sakhl\ or two Vedas (dvi-vedl, commonly 
 
 called Dobe), or three Vedas (tri-vedl, commonly 
 
 Tiverl), or four Vedas (catur-vedi commonly Chaube), 
 
 or some particular branch (S'dkha) of one of the Vedas 
 
 or its Sutras, or whether he is generally a learned man 
 
 (Pandita). Other titles are the result of difference of 
 
 -occupation ; as, for instance, 
 
 The S'rotriya who performs Vedic ceremonies ; the Ydjnika, 
 who performs the Sanskaras ; the Vaidika y who recites the 
 Veda ; the Sdstrl who explains the law-books ; the Paurdnika 
 who recites the Puranas ; the Jyotisha, who knows astronomy, 
 and settles the calendar ; the Mahd-brdhmana or Mahd-pdtra 
 (in some places called Acdrya\ who arranges the ceremonies at 
 times of death and mourning ; the Gangd-putra, who sits near 
 the Ganges and guides the pilgrims at Benares ; the Gayd-wdl, 
 who superintends the pilgrims at Gaya ; the Praydg-wdl, who 
 does the same at Allahabad ; the Ojhd exerciser of demons ; the 
 last five of whom are Brahmans of an inferior order, and some 
 are regarded with contempt by high-caste Brahmans. 
 
 The Rajputs, who represent the ancient Kshatriya, 
 military and royal caste, and come next to the Brah- 
 mans, are also divided into numerous tribes or clans, 
 
 1 There are eighty-four subdivisions in Gujarat alone. 
 
HINDUISM. l6l 
 
 too numerous to be detailed. The original occupa- 
 tion of this caste was twofold that of governing and 
 that of fighting, and even now many of the soldiers 
 in our Sepoy (sipd/ii) regiments are Rajputs, while even 
 with the spread of British power, a few Rajput princes 
 remain in India, and are permitted to retain a certain 
 amount of kingly authority. We may instance as ex- 
 amples, the Maharajas of Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaipur, 
 Rewah, Bikanir. These claim to belong to the 
 ancient Solar dynasty (Surya-vansa). Others, such as 
 the Maharajas of Jaisalmir and Karowll, claim to be 
 descended from the Lunar line (Soma-vansa). 
 
 A less pure order of Kshatriyas are t\\ejats or Jats 
 (not properly entitled to the name of Rajput), who 
 are numerous in Rajputana and the Panjab. At the 
 head of them comes the Maharaja of Bhartpur. They 
 are often great landowners, and often they and the 
 Rajputs are simple agriculturists. They have nu- 
 merous sub-divisions. Other clans allied to them 
 are the Gujars, who are also generally agriculturists. 
 Perhaps, however, one of the chief tribes of agricul- 
 turists and tillers of the soil is a mixed class called 
 Kumbl (or Kunbl, or Kurml, probably connected 
 with Sanskrit root kristi), extensively found over 
 large districts of Hindustan proper and Central India. 
 
 It is clear, therefore, that even Rajputs, Jats, and 
 other modern castes may represent the ancient Vais- 
 yas, who were originally the great class of agriculturists 
 the men who settled down (root vis) on the soil as 
 husbandmen and cultivators. In fact, very few of the 
 
 1 They claim to be descended from Krishna, of the Yadu 
 branch of the Lunar line. 
 
1 62 HINDUISM. 
 
 present so-called Vaisya caste have anything to do 
 with agriculture. Some of them may be of tolerably 
 pure descent, but they are generally merchants, shop- 
 keepers, and traders, forming tribes called Banias or 
 Baniyas (Sanskrit bariik), Bhatiyas, &c., many of 
 whom are Vaishnavas, and many Jains in their creed. 
 A large class of traders are called Khatrls, which name 
 probably shows that they are descended from the 
 ancient Kshatriyas, and in certain privileges, such as 
 that of wearing the sacred thread (commonly called 
 faneo-=.yajnopavita)) and repeating the Gayatrl and 
 parts of the Veda, these Khatrl traders who are often 
 shopkeepers, dealers in cloth, silk, lace, &c., come 
 nearer to the ancient Kshatriyas than the Rajputs, 
 who claim to represent them. 1 
 
 Other important classes of traders who claim Vaisya 
 descent are the Agarwalas of North-western and 
 Central India (mostly Jains in religion), the Oswals 
 of Gujarat (also found at Benares), the Bandarwars, 
 the Rastozis, the Banjaras (wandering merchants), &c. 
 The above mercantile and trading communities con- 
 stitute the most enterprising and enlightened, as well 
 as the best-educated of all the Indian castes (not ex- 
 cepting the Brahmans), and it is from this source that 
 a strong middle-class capable of creating and fostering 
 a sound healthy public opinion one of the greatest 
 of India's needs may one day be derived. 
 
 Another enterprising and educated class are called 
 
 1 Rajput boys also wear the sacred cord, but they are not 
 invested with it till marriage, whereas the Khatris receive it at 
 eight years of age. In some parts of India, Kathaks (musicians), 
 Sutars (carpenters), Sonars (goldsmiths), Bhatiyas and Kaseras 
 (braziers), also wear the Janeo. 
 
HINDUISM. 163 
 
 Kayasthas or writers, who claim to have had a 
 Brahman progenitor named C'itra-gupta. They come 
 next in rank to the Vaisya or trading communities, and 
 are by some affirmed to be pure Sudras, though they 
 are much above those lower classes now called Sudras. 
 The members of this caste (who are often vulgarly 
 called Kaits) discharge most important duties in the 
 government law-courts and other offices. They are 
 lawyers, clerks, accountants, keepers of registers, &c., 
 and are generally most intelligent and well-informed. 
 
 There are at least twelve sub-castes of Kayasthas, di- 
 vided in Bengal into eleven clans, named GQ$(ghosha\ 
 Bose (vasu), Mitra, De, Datt, Kor, Palit, Das, Sen, 
 Singh, Guha. Furthermore, in Bengal there is a caste 
 called Vaidya or Baidya, ( medical ; (^Ambashtha, 
 Manu, x. 8), which comes next in rank to the Brahman. 
 
 It will not be possible for us to enumerate all the 
 castes formed by associations of men engaged in 
 various employments, trades, arts, industrial and 
 menial occupations. Some of the commonest are the 
 following 
 
 Bhats or C'arans, reciters of poetry at weddings, &c. (or in 
 praise of Rajput princes, &c. ) ; Kathaks, professional musi- 
 cians (these play on various musical instruments and teach 
 singing and dancing to prostitutes, for no respectable women 
 either sing or dance, and even bad women seldom play on 
 instruments) ; Sonars (suvarna-kdra), goldsmiths, a subdivision 
 of whom are the Ratha-kdras, who claim to be a Brahman 
 race ; Lohdrs [loha-kdra], blacksmiths ; Barkens or Siitars 
 (sulra-dhdra], carpenters, sometimes employed as smiths ; Tantis 
 (tantrin], weavers, who also manufacture Kim-khab (properly 
 the Persian Kam-khwdb, and vulgarly Kinkeb), or cloth inter- 
 woven with gold and silver thread (there is also a weaver caste 
 called Kolis] ; Kaserds (kansa-kdra), braziers or workers in 
 
164 HINDUISM. 
 
 brass, copper, &c. ; Tells (tailin], oilmen ; Kumbhdrs or Kum- 
 hars (Kumbha-kara\ potters ; Dhobls (dhdvaka}, washermen, 
 (no Hindu, however poor, washes his own clothes ; this opera- 
 tion must be performed by the Dhobi caste, who are generally 
 known by their donkeys) ; Malts, gardeners ; Londrls (lavana- 
 kdrin\ preparers of salt ; Rangdrls (ranga-kdriri), dyers ; 
 Halwdis, confectioners ; Dirzls, tailors (who, when Muhamma- 
 dans, are euphemistically called Khalifas or Caliphs) ; Ndus 
 (ndpita} or Hajjdms, barbers (who are also go-betweens in 
 arranging marriages) ; Ahlrs, herdsmen ; Kahdrs^ palankin- 
 bearers ; Malldhs^ boatmen ; Pd3is y village watchmen. To 
 the above may be added unclean castes, such as Camdr (carma- 
 kdra) or Moas, leather-cutters and shoemakers ; Mihtars or 
 Bhangls^ sweepers or scavengers ; Doms, cane chair-makers (these 
 are the lowest of the low ; they are often employed as street- 
 sweepers and in furnishing wood and fire for the burning of 
 dead bodies) ; Killls, labourers ; this last name is rather appli- 
 cable to any labourer than to a caste, being derived from a 
 Dravidian word, and meaning * one who receives (daily) wages 
 
 It is satisfactory to know that, although it is too 
 true that caste is still the very life and soul of Hindu- 
 ism, and although this very caste is not without 
 certain good points and advantages, yet some of its 
 most vexatious rules are gradually giving way under 
 the pressure of steam, electricity, and European influ- 
 ence. Many years ago a Brahman who accidentally 
 touched leather would have had to choose between 
 public expiation or degradation, and expulsion from 
 caste, whereas in 1870 a Uriya Brahman held the 
 post of sub-inspector of police in Purl itself, within 
 the very shadow of Jagannath, although a leather 
 belt formed part of his uniform. 1 
 
 1 Hunter's Orissa, vol. ii. p. 147. 
 
HINDUISM. 165 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MODERN IDOL-WORSHIP, SACRED OBJECTS, HOLY 
 PLACES AND TIMES. 
 
 No account of Hinduism can pretend to complete- 
 ness without some notice of its modern idol-worship, 
 and of its numerous minor deities, semi-divine beings, 
 consecrated objects, holy places, and seasons. 
 
 Hinduism assigns no limit to the ever-increasing I 
 number of its deified existences, and we may safely] 
 affirm that there is no country in the world where so II 
 many shrines dedicated to gods and goddesses under j 
 different forms, images, symbols, and names, meet/ 
 the eye as in India. In large towns temples are 
 reckoned by hundreds, and even by thousands. 
 
 First, there are temples to the principal deities) 
 described in the previous chapters of this volume 
 to jMva_ and his symbol (the linga), toJVishnu, to 
 Krishna, to Rama, and to their respective wives 
 Durga, Lakshmi, Radha, Slta, under different forms, 
 and names. Then, there are occasional shrines! 
 containing images of divine heroes, such as Yudhi-l 
 shthira, Arjuna, Bhima (see p. 112), and of divine 
 Rishis, such as Bharadvaja, &e. Everywhere are 
 seen images of the god Ganesa, or Ganapati, son 
 of Siva and Durga. He is lord of the troops of 
 mischievous and malignant imps who are supposed 
 to cause obstacles and difficulties, and is therefore 
 
1 66 HINDUISM. 
 
 invoked at the commencement of all undertakings. 
 His bloated, dwarfish, and distorted appearance, 
 which is like that of the Ganas of Siva over whom 
 he presides, indicates sensuality and love of good 
 living, while his elephant's head is said to typify 
 a combination of wisdom, or, perhaps, rather, of 
 cunning and sagacity. 
 
 Again, shrines to the other son of Siva, Skanda or 
 Karttikeya, the leader or general of Diva's armies or 
 troops of demons, are very common in the sou.h of 
 India. He is there called Subrahmanya. 
 
 Next are found all over India shrines dedicated to 
 |the Monkey-god Hanuman, the devoted ally of the 
 great Rama in his conflict with the Rakshasas of the 
 South of India (see p. in). His images are smeared 
 with the sacred colour vermilion, to denote the esti- 
 mation in which he is held, and the universal admira- 
 tion of his devotion as a model faithful servant. After 
 the great war, and the subjugation of Ravana, king 
 of Ceylon, Rama is said to have made over to Hanu- 
 man a great portion of the Deccan (i.e. Dakshina, or 
 south country, sometimes called Rama-kshetra, and 
 sometimes Dandakaranya), of which Hanuman and 
 his followers became the principal colonizers. Hence 
 idols of the monkey-leader are found in (and often 
 outside) every village of the Marathi country. 
 
 Then in some towns, such as Benares, besides the 
 principal shrines there are temples of the Nava- 
 grahah, nine planets, that is of the Sun-god (Surya), 
 Moon-god (C'andra), Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, 
 Saturn, Rahu (dragon's-head, or ascending node of 
 the moon, and cause of eclipses), and Ketu (dragon's- 
 
HINDUISM. 167 
 
 tail), which, with the Nakshatras (see p. 180), consti- 
 tute a formidable galaxy of deities whose favour must 
 be conciliated before marriages and other auspicious 
 events can be successfully accomplished, with many 
 special shrines, such as those of Anna-purnd, the 
 goddess of plenty ; S'ttald, the goddess of small-pox ; 
 Bhairava-ndtha or Datida-paqi, a sort of deified police 
 magistrate, and others too numerous to describe. 
 
 Again, carved stone images of the following well- 
 known deities of the Hindu Pantheon are not un- 
 common : 
 
 Indra, god of the atmosphere ; Varuna, god of the ocean ; 
 
 Kuverdt god of wealth ; Kama, god of love ; Bala-rdma, the 
 
 Hindu Hercules ; Parahi-rdma, a deified Brahman who is 
 
 especially connected with the Konkan (called from him Para- 
 
 hirdma-kshetra) and sometimes regarded as the god of the 
 
 Konkanastha Brahmans ; Yama, god and judge of the dead. 
 
 But shrines dedicated to their honour are unusual. 1 
 
 Nor are certain groups (gaya) of gods honoured 
 
 with special shrines. The following, however, are 
 
 reverenced : 
 
 The ten Vibua-devas ; the eight Vasus (forms of fire or light) ; 
 the eleven Rudras (see p. 25) ; the twelve Adityas (see p. 23) ; 
 the Sadhyas, celestial beings of peculiar purity ; the Siddhas, 
 semi-divine beings of great perfection. 
 
 But the idol-worship of the towns by no means 
 represents the common cultus of the rural districts of 
 India. No village is too small, no locality too little 
 frequented to be without its own peculiar religious 
 symbols. At the tops of hills, in groves, on every 
 
 1 I have never met with shrines to Indra, Varuna, Kuvera, 
 or Yama, though their images often stand in the galleries of 
 temples, or are carved on the walls of caves. 
 
1 68 HINDUISM. 
 
 high place, and almost under every rock and stately 
 tree, are to be seen, if not finished temples, at least 
 rough idols or simple blocks of stone and wood, con- 
 secrated to local deities by patches of red paint, and 
 bearing witness to the belief of the inhabitants in the 
 presence of presiding gods and goddesses. There 
 is, in truth, a strange mixture of aboriginal fetishism 
 with Brahmanical pantheism in the popular religion 
 of the mass of the Hindu people. Everything 
 great and useful everything strange, monstrous, 
 and unusual, whether good or evil, is held to be 
 permeated by the presence of divinity. It is not 
 merely all the mighty phenomena and forces of the 
 universe all the most striking manifestations of 
 almighty energy that excite the awe and attract the 
 reverence of the ordinary Hindu. There is not an 
 object in earth or heaven which he is not prepared 
 to worship rocks, stocks, and stones, trees, pools, 
 and rivers, his own implements of trade, 1 the ani- 
 mals he finds most useful, the noxious reptiles he 
 fears, men remarkable for any extraordinary quali- 
 ties, for great valour, sanctity, virtue, or even vice ; 
 good and evil demons, ghosts and goblins, the spirits 
 of departed ancestors, an infinite number of semi- 
 human, semi-divine existences inhabitants of the 
 seven upper and the seven lower worlds each and 
 all of these come in for a share of divine honour or a 
 tribute of more or less adoration. Verily, the 
 Hindu Pantheon has a place for everybody and 
 
 1 Every trade, profession, and calling has its tutelary divinity. 
 Even the Thugs claimed the goddess Kali as their presiding 
 goddess, in whose honour they murdered their victims. 
 
HINDUISM. 169 
 
 everything. The deities already described are merely 
 the occupants of its most conspicuous niches. To 
 attempt an exhaustive enumeration of its minor gods 
 and goddesses would be a hopeless task, and to count 
 the ever-multiplying army of its martyrs, saints, and 
 sages, would be a simple impossibility. New shrines 
 are continually springing up to receive the remains of 
 holy men or ascetics examples of extraordinary sanc- 
 tity, or of some peculiar manifestation of the divine 
 energy who, after death, are canonized and deified. 1 
 
 With regard to animals, plants, and stones, we can 
 only indicate those most generally revered. 
 
 Of all animals the cow is th^ mngj- sarrpH T> A* 
 typifies the all-yielding earth. It is the chief source/ 
 of nourishment of every Hindu. All agricultural 
 labour depends on the ox, for no such animal as a 
 cart-horse exists in India. There is a typical ' cow 
 of plenty' (Kdma-dhemi) supposed to yield all de- 
 sired objects images of which are commonly sold iii 
 the bazaars, and bought as objects of reverence ; and 
 the letting loose of a bull (vrishctsarga) properly 
 stamped with the symbol of Siva in sacred cities 
 like Benares and Gaya, that it may be tended and re- 
 verenced by pious persons, is a highly meritorious act. 
 
 Serpents, also, are divine animals ; they are 
 emblematical of eternity, and are often associated 
 with the gods, especially Siva. Moreover, a curious 
 
 1 Such men are generally buried, not burnt, and their tombs 
 resorted to by hundreds of pilgrims. Tombs containing the 
 ashes of Satis, or women who have burnt themselves with the 
 bodies of their deceased husbands, are also common everywhere 
 in India, and greatly revered. 
 
1 70 HINDUISM. 
 
 race of serpents, half human, half divine, called 
 Nagas, is supposed to exist in the regions under the 
 earth. They are ruled over by three principal ser- 
 pents, named Sesha, Vasuki, and Takshaka. Ac- 
 cording to some, this serpent race, however fabulous, 
 points to the former existence of a class of beings to 
 which the serpent that tempted Eve may have 
 belonged, before the sentence was pronounced by 
 which it became a creeping reptile. 
 
 Monkeys, a whole army of which aided Rama in 
 his conquest of Ceylon, are, of course, among the 
 most sacred of all animals. They are inviolable, and 
 never under any circumstances to be molested. 
 Swarms of them are encouraged to infest the vicinity 
 of temples and consecrated buildings, where they sub- 
 sist on the food offered to them by pious worshippers. 
 
 But not only animal life, plant life also is held 
 sacred, because thought to be permeated by divinity. 
 Perhaps the Tulsl plant (properly Tulasl\ or holy Basil, 
 is the most revered. It is sacred to Vishnu, and 
 even prayers are addressed to it, as if it were itself a 
 goddess. The marriage of the Tulsl with the god 
 Vishnu, or Krishna, is celebrated in every Hindu 
 family in the month Karttik. 
 
 V So also the Vilva (Bel) tree, with its triple leaf, is 
 sacred to Siva, with his triplemnctions. 
 
 The Pipal tree (Ficus religiosa) is another divine 
 tree. It is regarded as occupied by the god Brahma, 
 and is sometimes invested with the sacred thread as 
 if it were a real person. All the ceremonies ol 
 Upanayana are then performed over it. 
 
 No native will willingly cut down a Tulsl plant, or 
 
HINDUISM. 171 
 
 a Pipal tree, and the planting of these is always con- 
 sidered a religious and meritorious act. 
 
 The Asoka shrub is also sacred to Siva ; the Durba 
 grass to Ganesa; the Banyan tree to Kala or Time; the 
 Arka plant to Surya or the Sun. The ami or Acacia 
 is a goddess on her own account, and is supposed to 
 contain fire. The Custard-apple is called the fruit of 
 Sita (sitd-phala). The Kusa is a most sacred grass. 
 j Then as to stones. Black stones, called Salagrama, 
 f with markings like those of the ammonite, are wor- 
 shipped by the principal sects of Vaishnavas, as re- 
 presenting Vishnu ; also white agates as typifying Siva, 
 and red stones as symbolizing Ganesa. Certain coral- 
 like formations have also their religious value, and 
 are revered as significant of particular attributes of the 
 deity. The. Mahatmya or divine glory of these stones 
 is celebrated in the Padma-purana. 
 
 We pass on now to sacred places. A Hindu's 
 craving for some holy place of pilgrimage (tirthd), to 
 which he may hope to resort for a special blessing 
 more than once in a lifetime, is not satisfied by a 
 single Jerusalem, or a single Mecca. 
 
 India is studded with an increasing number of I 
 sacred places, from the very soil of which are supposed I 
 to exhale sanctity, salvation, and beatitude for the 
 benefit of thousands of pilgrims who annually visit 
 them. Pilgrimages to such spots (tlrtha-ydtra) are 
 generally performed as acts of faith and devotion for 
 the accumulation of religious merit, or to atone for 
 sins. 1 Sometimes, however, they are undertaken for 
 
 1 The pilgrims are often branded on their arms with a mark 
 'chap] of the tankha, gadd, cakra, padma, kirita or dhanus, to 
 N 
 
172 HINDUISM. 
 
 the performance of Sraddha ceremonies in honour of 
 departed ancestors, or for the recovery of some sick 
 person, 1 or to convey the burnt remains of the bodies 
 of deceased relations to some sacred shrine near a 
 river, the object being to scatter the ashes on the 
 purifying waters. 
 
 The multiplication of places of pilgrimage pro- 
 ceeded very rapidly. Rivers, as sources of fertility 
 land purification, were at an early date invested with a 
 sacred character. Every great river was supposed to 
 be permeated with the divine essence, and its waters 
 held to cleanse from all moral guilt and contamination. 
 | And as the Ganges was the most majestic, so it soon 
 I became the holiest and most revered of all rivers. 
 No sin too heinous to be removed, no character too 
 black to be washed clean by its waters. Hence the 
 countless temples with flights of steps lining its banks ; 
 hence the array of priests called ' Sons of the Ganges/ 
 sitting on the edge of its streams, ready to aid the 
 ablutions of conscience-stricken bathers, and stamp 
 them as white-washed when they emerge from its 
 waters. Hence also the constant traffic carried on in 
 transporting Ganges water in small bottles to all parts 
 of the country. 
 
 The confluence of the Ganges with the Jumna 
 
 serve as an evidence of their having accomplished a particular pil- 
 grimage. At Dvaraka nearly 5,000 persons are annually branded. 
 1 Colonel Sleeman records the case of a family of four persons 
 who walked about fourteen hundred miles with a sick boy, 
 carrying with them bottles of Ganges water to bathe the idol of 
 Jagannath in Orissa. The change of air cured the child, but the 
 family of course attributed the cure to the gratitude of the idol. 
 
HINDUISM. 173 
 
 (Yamuna) and Sarasvatl (supposed to flow under- 
 ground) at Allahabad (Prayaga) is one of the most 
 hallowed spots in all India. These three sacred 
 streams form a sort of Tri-murti, or trinity of rivers, 
 often personified as goddesses, and called Mothers. 
 Then other rivers, such as the Goddvarl (also called 
 Goda and Vriddha-ganga), Narbadd (properly Nar- 
 mada, also called Reva), Taptl (properly Tapati, also 
 called Tapl), Sdbarmatl (properly Sabhramati), Kistna 
 (properly Krishna), Vend, Sarayu, Tunga-bhadrd, and 
 Kdveri, became rivals of this original sacred triad. 
 Chapters, called Mahatmyas, extolling the virtue of 
 their waters, and describing their consecration by 
 gods and sages, were inserted in the Puranas. Thus, 
 the sacredness of the Godavari is said to have been 
 revealed by Rama (to the Rishi Gotama), and that of 
 the Sabarmati by Kasyapa. 
 
 And here we may note that the whole length ofv 
 the banks of all the chief rivers of India, from their] 
 source to the sea, is regarded as holy ground. To I 
 follow their course on foot is considered a highly 
 meritorious act. A pilgrim, for example, sets out 
 from the source of the Ganges, at Gangotrl, and 
 walks by the left bank of the river to its mouth, at 
 Ganga-sagara ; then, turning round, he proceeds by 
 the right side back to Gangotrl, whence he departed. 
 This is called Pradakshina, or Parikrama of the 
 river, and takgg six y^M^HTr-TTrrTSfnpli'sh. In the same 
 way a pilgrim starts from the source of the Narbada, 
 at Amara-kantak, a peak of the Vindhya chain in 
 Gondwana, and walks to the mouth, near Broach, 
 and back. This takes three years. The rivers Goda- 
 vari and Krishna require only two years for the same 
 
 N 2 
 
174 HINDUISM. 
 
 process. Of course, the merit accumulated is in 
 proportion to the time occupied in the pilgrimage 
 and the sacredness of the ground traversed. 
 
 But if rivers were believed to be pervaded by 
 divinity, and their waters held capable of purging 
 from all sin, it will not be matter of wonder that holy 
 cities, towns, and bathing-places (tlrthas) rapidly 
 arose on their banks. It was not difficult to stamp 
 such places with a sacred character. One or other of 
 the gods was described as connecting himself with 
 particular localities. Thus, the sanctity of Benares, 
 on the Ganges, was supposed to have been communi- 
 cated by the god Siva to his son Skanda (as recorded 
 in the Kasi-khanda of the Skanda-purana), and the 
 whole town therefore became sacred to the special 
 worship of Siva, who is alleged to have gone through 
 severe austerities in the neighbourhood. 
 
 This celebrated city of Benares, which has a popula- 
 tion of about 200,000, out of which at least 25,000 
 'are Brahmans, was probably one of the first to ac- 
 quire a fame for sanctity, and it has always main- 
 tained its reputation as the most sacred spot in all 
 India. Here, in this fortress of Hinduism, Brahmanism 
 displays itself in all its plenitude and power. Here 
 the degrading effect of idolatry is visibly demon- 
 strated as it is nowhere else except in the extreme 
 south of India. Here temples, idols, and symbols,, 
 sacred wells, springs, and pools, are multiplied be- 
 yond all calculation. Here every particle of ground 
 is believed to be hallowed, and the very air holy. 
 The number of temples is at least two thousand, 
 not counting innumerable smaller shrines. In the 
 principal temple of iva, called Visvesvara, are col- 
 
HINDUISM. 175 
 
 lected in one spot several thousand idols and sym- 
 bols, the whole number scattered throughout the city 
 being, it is thought, at least half a million. 
 
 Benares, indeed, must always be regarded as the/ 
 Hindu's Jerusalem. The desire of a pious man's 
 life is to accomplish at least one pilgrimage to what 
 he regards as a portion of heaven let down upon 
 earth ; and if he can die within the holy circuit of 
 the Pancakosi, stretching with a radius of ten miles 
 around the city, nay, if any human being die there, 
 be he Asiatic or European, no previously-incurred 
 guilt, however heinous, can prevent his attainment of 
 celestial bliss. 
 
 For a long time the river Ganges and the city 
 Benares occupied a position far above all other 
 rivers and all other sacred cities ; but as the Aryans 
 spread themselves from the north-west, eastward, 
 westward, and southward, the Brahmans who settled 
 down in other places naturally became jealous of the 
 monopoly enjoyed by those in Benares. If any 
 natural phenomenon a volcanic crater, a fissure in 
 the soil, a hot spring, a cavern or rock of peculiar 
 shape existed anywhere, it was pressed into the ser- 
 vice, and made to subserve the purposes of the priests. 
 A kind of free trade in the invention of myths for the 
 consecration of particular spots was thus introduced. 
 For instance, in Kattiwar there is a spring, the water 
 of which is said to have been formed from the per- 
 spiration of Krishna's body. So also many legends 
 were connected with the great idol Jagan-nath at Purl, 
 in Orissa, which is said to contain Krishna's bones. 
 
 New Mahatmyas were then composed and inserted 
 in some of the Puranas (often in the Skanda), making 
 
176 HINDUISM. 
 
 a god or holy sage reveal and extol the praises of a 
 particular spot intended to be elevated to a high 
 position among the consecrated places of India. 
 
 Place after place was declared consecrated ground. 
 Prayaga at Allahabad and Gaya probably achieved a 
 reputation for sanctity soon after Benares. Preachers 
 were sent all over India to recite the Mahatmyas 
 of innumerable rival localities. 
 
 To this day the priests of Benares, Gaya, Allahabad, 
 and other sacred places send agents to every town and 
 large railway station in India, who are commissioned 
 to persuade pilgrims to visit their own shrines. When 
 once a stream of pilgrims sets in a particular direction, 
 it very soon gathers strength. One devotee follows 
 another, and in this manner the fame of many new 
 places is established. Pandharpur, in the Dekhan, 
 which contains a shrine of Krishna called Vithoba 
 (celebrated by the Marathi poet Tukaram), is a city 
 which has in this way risen quite recently to importance. 
 
 At nearly every sacred place the number of shrines 
 to be visited and of ceremonies to be performed oc- 
 cupies many days, and no pilgrim can go through all 
 the duties required of him without the aid of the 
 Brahmans attached to the locality, who exact fees 
 even from the poorest, and receive large sums of 
 money from rich persons. At some sacred places 
 religious gatherings occur every year, at others after 
 certain intervals. The fullest often take place once 
 in twelve years, when the planet Jupiter enters a par- 
 ticular sign, 1 on which occasion the concourse of 
 
 * For example, at H arid war, when Jupiter enters the sign 
 
HINDUISM. 177 
 
 people is so enormous that loss of life sometimes 
 happens from overcrowding. Many think to enhance 
 the merit of their pilgrimages by imposing on them- 
 selves the most toilsome tasks on the road ; such, 
 for example, as advancing towards their destination 
 by continued prostrations of the body, or, as it is 
 termed, * measuring their lengths' for hundreds of 
 miles. 
 
 In some ancient texts only seven principal holy] 
 towns are enumerated ; viz. : I 
 
 Kan or Benares ; Mathurd or Muttra, the capital of Kansa, 
 conquered by Krishna, on the Jumna, near Agra ; Haridwdr 
 (or Maya), where the Ganges, descending from the Himalayas, 
 first enters the plains ; Ayodhyd (now Fyzabad), the ancient 
 capital of Rama-candra, near Lucknow ; Dvdrakd, the city 01 
 Krishna, in Gujarat ; Avantikd or Oujein ; and Kdncl or Con- 
 jevaram (i.e. Kdnci-puram}^ near Madras. 1 
 
 A 
 
 Again, in others, the chief sacred cities are de- 
 clared to be only three Benares, resorted to for self-! 
 mortification ; Praydga (Allahabad) for religious 
 shaving ; and Gay a for Sraddha ceremonies. At the 
 last place a footprint of Vishnu is the great object of 
 adoration. 
 
 Seven Sangamas, or river confluences all called 
 Prayagas are pronounced especially sacred : 
 
 That of the Ganges and Jumna, called Bhatta-prayaga ; ot 
 the Leti and Alaka-nanda, called Vishnu-prayaga ; of the 
 
 Aquarius (Kiimbha]^ at Prayaga when he enters Makara, and at 
 Tryambak when he enters Leo (Sinha). 
 
 1 There are said to be two Kancis, one called Vishnu -kancX 
 and the other S'iva-kanci. They are merely the two great 
 temples at either end of Conjevaram = Kanci-puram. 
 
178 HINDUISM. 
 
 Alaka-nanda and Nanda, called Nanda-prayaga ; of the Pindar 
 and Alaka-nanda, called Karna-prayaga ; of the Mandakim and 
 Alaka-nanda, called Rudra-prayaga ; of the Bhagirathi and 
 Mandakini, called Deva-prayaga ; of the Krishna and Vena, 
 called Dakshina-prayaga (in the Dekhan). 
 
 The sources, and sometimes the mouths, of these 
 and other rivers are always esteemed places of pil- 
 grimage ; for example : 
 
 Gango'rl, the source of the Ganges; Jumnotrt, of the Jumna; 
 Amara-kantak, in the Vindhya, of the Narbada; MahdbaUSvar^ 
 of the Krishna and Vena (Kistna) ; Tdfi-mula, of the Tapti, in 
 Berar ; Gangd-sdgara, the mouth of the Ganges. 
 
 Then there are four specially holy Dhamas or 
 residence of deities, viz. : 
 
 Jagan-nath) at Pun, in Orissa ; Dvdrakd ! (also one of the 
 seven holy towns before named) ; Badari-keddra or Badarl- 
 ndth, in the Himalayas (one of the sources of the Ganges) ; 
 Rdmesvara, on an island six miles from land, between India 
 and Ceylon. 
 
 And twelve sacred places containing celebrated 
 Lingas of Siva, viz. : 
 
 Somndth, in Kattiwar; Mallikdrjuna, on the 'Sri-saila moun- 
 tain, in the Karnatic ; Mahdkdla or MahdkdMvara. in Ujjayini 
 (Oujein), to the north of Indore ; Om-kdra, on an island in the 
 river Narbada ; Keddra or KeddreSvara, in the Himalayas ; 
 Bhima-tankara, at the source of the river Bhima, near Punah ; 
 Vitvandth) in Benares ; Tryambaka-ndth^ near Nasik, on 
 the Godavari ; Vaidya-ndth (or Vaijanath), about 100 miles 
 from Ahmednagar ; Ndgandth, or Ndgetvara, beyond Ahmed- 
 
 1 There are two Dvarakas at the distance of fourteen miles 
 from each other ; one is called Gomati Dvaraka, and the other, 
 Beyt. When the idol was removed from the former to Dakore, 
 a new one was placed in Gomati by S'ankaracarya, who has a 
 monastery there, while VaHabhacarya gave an idol to Beyt. 
 
HINDUISM. 179 
 
 hagar in the Nizam's dominions; Rdmandth or Ramesvara, 
 near Adam's Bridge, between India and Ceylon ; GhrishneS- 
 vara, at Ellora, near Aurungabad. 
 
 Five divine lakes (Sarovara), or holy tanks, are 
 also enumerated ; viz. : 
 
 Narayana, in Kutch ; Pushkara, in Ajmir ; Bindu, in Sidh- 
 pur, about 60 miles from Ahmedabad ; Pampa, in the Kar- 
 natic, and Mdnasa (commonly called Mana-sarovar), in the 
 Himalaya mountains. 
 
 There are also four celebrated shrines of god- 
 desses : 
 
 Mahd - lakshmi, at Kolapur ; Bhavam, near Sholapur ; 
 Renukd y at Matapura ; Yogeivarz, about 80 miles from Ah 
 mednagar. 
 
 And four monasteries of ankaracarya, one at 
 each extremity of India, viz. : 
 
 S' arada-matha, at Gomati Dvaraka ; Sringert-matha, in the 
 Karnatic, near Mysore; Jyotir-matha^ near Badari-nath, one of 
 the sources of the Ganges ; and Vardhana-matha, at Pun. 
 
 A few other well-known sacred places are : 
 
 C'itra-kotC) near Allahabad, the first abode of Rama and 
 Lakshmana after their exile from Ayodhya ; Prabhasa^ near 
 Somnath and Dvaraka, where Krishna's kinsmen, the Yadavas, 
 destroyed themselves ; Srl-ndth or Ndth-dvdr, near Udaipur 
 (the temple of which has an idol from Govardhana) ; Amara- 
 ndth> in Kasmir; Jvdld-mukhi, a small volcanic crater near 
 Amritsar, in the Panjab ; Ddkore, in Gujarat, celebrated for the 
 idol of Krishna (called Ran-chor) brought from Dvaraka. 
 
 Ndsik, on the Godavari, where Lakshmana cut off the nose 
 of the demon S'urpa-nakha ; Kuru-kshetra, near Delhi, where 
 the great battles of the Mahabharata were fought ; Rdja--t>ur, 
 near C'itra-kote, the residence of Tulsi-das ; Gadhadd, in Katti- 
 war, where the body of Svami-Narayana (see p. 145) was 
 
l8o HINDUISM. 
 
 burnt ; Pdlitdna (or Satrunjaya), a sacred hill of the Jains in 
 Kaitivvar; Amritsar, in the Panjab, the sacred city of the Sikhs. 
 
 It appears, then, that almost the whole "circle of 
 the sciences zoology, botany, mineralogy, and geo- 
 graphy is in India taken into the service of religious 
 superstition. Even astronomy and chronology are 
 utilized in the same way. If a full moon fall on a 
 Monday, this is an astronomical coincidence that must 
 be by all means turned to the best account. It is a 
 moment particularly favourable for charitable acts ; 
 and a gift of one rupee at such a time is equal to one 
 thousand at any other. 
 
 The Nakshatras twenty-seven constellations which 
 in Indian astronomy separate the moon's path into 
 twenty-seven divisions, as the signs of the Zodiac do 
 that of the sun into twelve are regarded as deities 
 who exert a vast influence on the destiny of men, not 
 only at the moment of their entrance into the world, 
 but during their whole passage through it. These 
 formidable constellations are consulted at births, mar- 
 riages, and on all occasions of family rejoicing, distress, 
 or calamity. No one undertakes a journey or any 
 important matter except on days which the aspect of 
 the Nakshatras renders lucky and auspicious. If any 
 constellation is unfavourable, it must by all means be 
 propitiated by a ceremony called Sdnti. 
 
 Much the same may be said of the supposed influ- 
 ence of the nine Grahas (see p. 166), all regarded as 
 planets. Similarly it is held that mysterious attributes 
 and properties attach to every month of the year and 
 every day of the month. The Mahatmyas, or reli- 
 
HINDUISM. l8l 
 
 gious excellence and value of months, such as Sra- 
 vana, Vaisakha, and especially of the intercalary 
 month (called Adhika-masa, Mala-masa, Purushot- 
 tama-masa}) have all been written and inserted in the 
 Puranas. When the intercalary month comes round 
 every third year, numerous preachers make the most 
 of their opportunity, and read its Mahatmya in the 
 streets of large towns, hoping thereby to stimulate the 
 generosity of the people, and extract large charitable 
 gifts. Certain sacred days at the changes of the moon 
 are called ' Parvans/ and a glance at the Hindu ca- 
 lendar is sufficient to show that no nation upon earth 
 rejoices in a longer list of holidays and festivals 
 (utsavd), qualified by fasts (upavasa), vigils (jagaraqd) 
 and seasons of mortification. Most of these festivals 
 and fasts are fixed for certain Tithis or lunar days, 
 each lunation or period of rather more than twenty- 
 seven days being divided into thirty Tithis, fifteen of 
 which during the moon's increase constitute the light 
 half of the month, and the other fifteen the dark half. 
 Some festivals, however, are regulated by the supposed 
 motions of the sun. The festivals and fasts most 
 commonly observed throughout the year may be enu- 
 merated as follows : 
 
 i. Makara-sankranti, or the commencement of the 
 sun's northern course in the heavens. On this day, 
 the first of the solar month Magha (about the begin- 
 ning of January), the sun having reached the most 
 southern point of the ecliptic (according to the Hindu 
 reckoning), begins his northern course (uttardyana\ 
 which he continues till the end of June. It is a 
 period of great rejoicing everywhere, and especially 
 
182 HINDUISM. 
 
 at Prayaga (Allahabad), the confluence of the Jumn c a 
 and Ganges, where a celebrated Mela (religious fair) 
 takes place. In the South of India this festival is 
 commonly called ' Pongal/ and is the commencement 
 of the Tamil year. Cattle are decorated with gar- 
 lands, led about in procession, treated with especial 
 veneration and exempted from labour. 
 
 2. S'n-pancami, on the 5th of the light half of Magha 
 {January-February), in honour of Sarasvatl (called Sri), 
 goddess of arts and learning. Implements of writing 
 and books are therefore worshipped (see pp. 90, 91). 
 
 3. Siva-ratri, in honour of Siva, held on the i4th 
 of the dark half of Magha (about the middle or end of 
 February). A strict fast is observed during the day, and 
 a vigil held at night, when the Linga is worshipped. 
 At this season many pilgrims flock to the places dedi- 
 cated to Siva. 
 
 4. Holi, now generally identified with the Dola- 
 ydtra or swinging festival, celebrated as a kind of 
 Hindu Saturnalia or Carnival, and very popular all 
 over India. It commences about ten days before 
 the full moon of Phalguna (February-March), but is 
 usually only observed for the last three or four days, 
 terminating with the full moon. During this festival 
 boys dance about in the streets, and the inhabitants 
 of the houses sprinkle the passers-by with red or 
 yellow powder, or play practical jokes. Towards the 
 close of the festival a bonfire is lighted and games 
 (representing the frolics of the young Krishna) take 
 place round the expiring embers. 
 
 5. Rama-navaml, the birthday of Rama-candra, on 
 the 9th of the light half of the month Caitra (March- 
 
HINDUISM. 183 
 
 April), kept by some as a strict fast. The temples of 
 Rama are illuminated, and the image of Rama adorned 
 with costly ornaments. The Ramayana is read in 
 the temples, and Nautches are kept up during the 
 night. 
 
 6. Ndga-paricaml, a festival in honour of the Nagas 
 (see p. 169), on the 5th day of the light half of 
 Sravana. 
 
 7. Krishna janmasht ami, the birthday of Krishna, 
 on the 8th of the dark half of the month Bhadra, 
 and in the south of Sravana (July- August), one ot 
 the greatest of all Hindu holidays. The months of 
 the Northern and Southern Brahmans differ in 
 Krishna-paksha. 
 
 8. Ganesa-caturthl, the birthday of Ganesa, on the 
 4th of the light half of the month Bhadra (August- 
 September). Clay figures of the deity are made, and 
 after being worshipped for two days, or in some cases 
 ten days, are thrown into water. 
 
 9. Durga-piija, or Nava-ratri, commencing on the 
 ist, and ending on the loth day of the light half of 
 Asvina (September-October). This festival, cele- 
 brated in Bengal and other parts of India, is supposed 
 to be connected with the autumnal equinox. It is held 
 in commemoration of the victory of Durga, wife of Siva, 
 over a buffalo-headed demon (Mahishdsur). Her image 
 is worshipped for nine days, and then cast into the water. 
 The tenth day is called Vijaya-dasaml, or Dasa-hara. 
 
 10. Rama-lila. On the day when the Bengalis 
 assign their images of Durga to the waters, the 
 Hindus of other provinces celebrate the Rama-lila,, 
 a dramatic representation of the carrying off of Sita, 
 
184 HINDUISM. 
 
 concluding with the death of Ravana (see p. in), of 
 which the Qth day of the Durga-puja is the anniversary. 
 
 11. Dlpdll or Dlvdll (properly Dlpavall\ ' the 
 feast of lamps/ on the last two days of the dark half 
 of AsVina (September-October), and the new moon 
 and four following days of Karttika, in honour of 
 Vishnu's wife Lakshmi, and of Siva's wife Bhavam 
 (Parvati). 
 
 12. Kdrtttka-purnima,\he full moon of the month 
 Karttika (October-November), a festival kept in honour 
 of Siva's victory over the demon Tripurasura. 
 
 We must now bring our account of Hinduism to a 
 close. We cannot hope to have succeeded in un 
 ravelling all the knots of an intricate subject. Suffi- 
 cient at least has been written to show that the 
 Hindus are a profoundly religious people. A religion 
 of some kind they must have a religion which will 
 stir the depths of the heart, and give room for the 
 exercise of faith and love. 
 
 The ancient fortress of Hinduism, with its four 
 sides, Monotheism, Pantheism, Dualism, and Poly- 
 theism, is everywhere tottering and ready to fall. 
 Let not Christianity undervalue its obligations to 
 education, which has, so to speak, served as a mighty 
 lever for upheaving the massive fabric of the Hindu 
 system. But the education we are giving in India 
 has little effect on the heart, and has certainly no 
 power to regenerate it. What then is to become of 
 the masses of the people when their ancient faith 
 sinks from beneath their feet ? Only two other homes 
 are before them a cold theism and a heart-stirring 
 Christianity. They are both already established in 
 
HINDUISM. 185 
 
 the soil of India. But Christianity is spreading its 
 boundaries more widely, and striking its foundations 
 more deeply. It appeals directly to the heart. It is 
 exactly suited to the needs of the masses of the people 
 of India. In Christianity alone is their true home. 
 
 But much has still to be done to convince them of 
 this. Of course, too much stress can scarcely be laid 
 on the degrading tendencies of idolatry. Yet there 
 are three points which ought to be still more forcibly 
 insisted on by our missionaries as distinguishing 
 Christianity from all other systems; first, the co- 
 ordination and union of the human and divine, of 
 man's work and God's work, as exhibited, for 
 example, in our Sacred Scriptures ; secondly, the 
 everlasting permanence and even intensification of 
 the personality of man as distinct from the per- 
 sonality of God; thirdly, the perfect personality of God 
 as revealed in Christ. As to the third point, it should 
 be made quite clear that Muhammadans, Hindus, 
 Buddhists, and Jains have nothing parallel to the great 
 truth of the perfect personality of the God-man Christ. 
 
 Let the proselyting Muslim proudly declare, when 
 confronted with the opponents of his own creed in 
 the bazaars of India, that he will meet his foe with 
 no other weapon than the sword of the Kuran. 
 Let the Hindu philosopher calmly intrench him- 
 self behind the Pantheism of his Veda, and the 
 theistical Brahma behind the strength of his dogma 
 that ' God is one/ while the infidel Jain looks 
 down with serene apathy from the heights of his 
 atheism on a, struggle to which he is indifferent. 
 Then let the Christian missionary, without despising 
 
1 86 HINDUISM. 
 
 the formidable Goliaths to which he is opposed, but 
 with the quiet confidence of a David in the strength 
 of his own weapons, go forth fearlessly with the 
 simple sling and stone of the Gospel in his hand and 
 do battle with his enemies, not forgetting to use the 
 Sword of the Spirit with its nine irresistible thrusts- 
 love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, 
 faith, meekness, temperance. 
 
 Much ground, indeed, has been already won by 
 the soldiers of the Cross ; but to secure a more 
 hopeful advance of Christianity throughout India, a 
 large accession to the missionary ranks of well- 
 trained men, thoroughly conversant with the sys- 
 tems against which they have to contend, and 
 prepared to live as well as preach the simple story 
 of the Gospel of Christ, is urgently needed. And 
 far more than this is needed for the complete 
 triumph of God's truth in India. Nothing less 
 is demanded of us Englishmen, to whose charge 
 the Almighty has committed the souls and bodies 
 of two hundred and forty millions of His creatures, 
 than that every man among us, whether clerical 
 or lay, should strive to be a missionary according to 
 the standard set up by the first great Missionary 
 Christ Himself. Let no lower standard of our 
 duty satisfy us. So will the good time arrive when 
 not only every ear shall have heard the good news of 
 the reconciliation of man to his Maker, but every 
 tongue also of every native of India from Cape 
 Comorin to the Himalaya mountains shall con- 
 fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
 the Father. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE SIX SCHOOL 
 OF PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 THE names of the Six Schools of Philosophy have 
 been already given, and the doctrines common to them 
 all briefly explained (see p. 46). No student of 
 Hinduism, however, and certainly no missionary, ought 
 to be satisfied without acquiring a clear and accurate 
 knowledge of the principal distinguishing characteristics 
 of the six philosophical schools. The more advanced 
 scholar will, of course, do well to study the original 
 Sutras in which the dogmas of each school are 
 enunciated. But a concise outline of each system 
 may be found useful by those who have not time to 
 make themselves Sanskritists. 
 
 In endeavouring to give a trustworthy sketch of 
 this difficult and intricate subject, it will be convenient , 
 to begin with the Nyaya of Gotama,with its supplement, (/ 
 the Vaiseshika, not because the Nyaya is first in order 
 of time, but because it is generally first studied, and much 
 of its terminology is adopted by the other systems. 
 
 { The Nyaya proper. 
 
 The word Nyaya signifies 'going into a subject/ 
 i.e. investigating it analytically. In this sense of 
 ' analysis,' the word Nyaya is exactly opposed to 
 Sankhyd, ' synthesis.' It is common to suppose that 
 the Nyaya is chiefly concerned with logic, but this is 
 merely one part of a single topic, the fact rather being 
 that this system was intended to furnish a correct 
 method of philosophical inquiry into all the objects and 
 o 
 
1 88 HINDUISM. 
 
 subjects of human knowledge, including, amongst others, 
 the process of reasoning and laws of thought. 
 
 /The Nyaya proper propounds in its first Sutra six- 
 een topics, the first of which is Pramdna, i. e. the 
 means or instrument by which Prama, or the right 
 measure of a subject, is to be obtained. The different 
 processes by which the mind arrives at true and 
 accurate knowledge are four ; viz. a. Pratyaksha, 
 ' perception by the senses'; b. Anumdna, 'inference' ; 
 c. Upamdna, ' comparison'; d'. Sabda, ' verbal authority,' 
 or ' trustworthy testimony,' including Vedic revelation. 
 
 The treatment of the second of these four, ' infer- 
 ence/ indicates that the Hindus have not, like other 
 nations, borrowed their logic from the Greeks. It is 
 divided into five Avayavas or ' members.' i. The 
 pratijna, or proposition (stated hypothetically). 2. The 
 hetu, or reason. 3. The uddharana, or example 
 (= major premiss). 4. The upanaya, or application 
 of the reason (= minor premiss). 5. The nigamana, 
 or conclusion, i. e. the proposition re-stated as proved. 
 This method of splitting an argument into five divisions 
 is thus illustrated : i. The hill is fiery ; 2. for it 
 smokes ; 3. whatever smokes is fiery, as a kitchen- 
 hearth; 4. this hill smokes; 5. therefore this hill is fiery. 
 
 Here we have a combination of enthymeme and 
 syllogism, which seems clumsy by the side of Aristotle's 
 conciser method ; but it possesses some advantages 
 when regarded not as a syllogism, but as a full and 
 complete rhetorical statement of an argument. 
 
 Perhaps the most noticeable peculiarity in the 
 Indian method, stamping it as an original and in- 
 dependent analysis of the laws of thought, is the use 
 of the curious terms Vydpti, ' pervasion ' ; Vydpaka, 
 6 pervader ' ; and Vydpya, ' to be pervaded/ These 
 terms are employed in making a universal affirmation, 
 or in affirming universal distribution ; as, for example, 
 ' Wherever there is smoke there is fire.' In such a 
 
APPENDIX. 189 
 
 case an Indian logician always expresses himself by 
 saying that there is an invariably pervading concomi- 
 tance of fire with smoke. Fire is therefore called the 
 pervader, and smoke the pervaded ; and the argument 
 would be thus briefly stated by a Naiyayiha : ' The 
 mountain has invariably fire-pervaded smoke, there- 
 fore it has fire. ; 
 
 The second topic of the Nyaya proper is Prameya, 
 i.e. the subjects of Prama, or the subjects about which 
 right knowledge is to be obtained. These are twelve : 
 viz. i. Soul (dtman). 2. Body (sarira). 3. Senses 
 (indriyd). 4. Objects of sense (arthd). 5. Understand- 
 ing or intellection (buddhi\ 6. Mind (manas). 7. Acti- 
 vity (pravritti). 8. Faults (dosha). 9. Transmigration 
 (pretya-bhavd). 10. Consequences or fruits (phala). 
 ii. Pain (duhkhd). 12. Emancipation (apavarga). 
 
 With regard to the fourteen other topics, they seem 
 to be not so much philosophical categories as an 
 enumeration of the regular stages through which a 
 controversy is likely to pass. In India argument 
 slides into wrangling disputation even more easily than 
 in Europe, and the remaining topics certainly illustrate 
 very curiously the captious propensities of a Hindu 
 disputant, leading him to be quick in repartee, and 
 ready with specious objections to the most conclusive 
 argument. 
 
 There is, first, the state of Samsaya, or ' doubt 
 about the point to be discussed/ Next, the Pray oj ana, 
 or ' motive for discussing it.' Next follows a Drish- 
 ianta, or ' example ' leading to the Siddhanta, or 
 'established conclusion/ Then comes an objector 
 with his Avayava, or ' argument split up/ as we have 
 seen, into five members. Next follows the Tarka or 
 ' refutation (reductio ad absurdum] of his objection/ 
 and the Niniaya, or ' ascertainment of the true state 
 of the case.' But this is not enough to satisfy a 
 Hindu's passion for disputation. Every side of a 
 o 2 
 
190 HINDUISM. 
 
 question must be examined every possible objection 
 stated and so a further Vdda, or ' controversy/ takes 
 place, which of course leads to Jalpa, ' mere wran- 
 gling/ followed by Vitayda, ' cavilling ' ; Hetv-abhasa, 
 ' fallacious reasoning ' ; C'hala, ' quibbling artifices ' ; 
 Jdti, 'futile replies'; and Nigraha-sthana, ' the putting 
 an end to all discussion/ by a demonstration of the 
 objector's incapacity for argument. 
 
 After enumerating these sixteen topics, Gotama 
 proceeds to show how false notions are at the root of 
 all misery. For from false notions comes the fault of 
 liking, disliking, or being indifferent to anything ; 
 from that fault proceeds activity ; from this mistaken 
 activity proceed actions involving either merit or 
 demerit, which merit or demerit forces a man to pass 
 through repeated births for the sake of its reward or 
 punishment. From these births proceeds misery, and 
 it is the aim of philosophy to correct the false notions 
 at the root of this misery. 
 
 o 'The Vaiseshika (supplement of the Nyaya). 
 
 The Vaiseshika may be called a supplement of the 
 Nyaya proper. It is attributed to a sage named 
 xyKariada (' atom-eater'), and is not so much a branch 
 |( of the Nyaya as a development of it, extending the 
 system to physical investigations, which it conducts 
 very imperfectly, it is true, and often with strange 
 fancies and absurd blunders, but, nevertheless, with 
 occasional exactness, and not unfrequently with sin- 
 gular sagacity. It is, perhaps, the most interesting of 
 all the systems, both from its more practical character 
 and from the parallels it offers to European philo- 
 I sophical ideas. It begins by arranging its inquiries 
 1 under seven Padarthas, or categories (/. e. enumera- 
 tion of certain general properties or attributes that 
 Vnay be predicated of existing things), which, as they 
 
APPENDIX. IQI 
 
 are more properly categories than the topics of tne i 
 Nyaya proper, are now the generally-received cate- 1 S 
 gories of the Naiyayikas. They are as follows : \ r 
 i. Substance (dravyd) ; 2. Quality or property (guy a) ; 
 3. Act or action (karmari) ; 4. Generality or community K 
 of properties (sdmdnya) ; 5. Particularity or indivi- / j 
 duality (visesha) ; 6. Coinherence or perpetual intimate / 
 relation (samavdya) ; 7. Non-existence, or negation / 
 of existence (abhdva). ' 
 
 Kanada, however, enumerated only six categories : 
 the seventh was added by later writers. 
 
 The seven categories have most of them sub- 
 divisions. Those of the first category, Dravya, sub- 
 stance, are nine, to wit earth, water, light, air, ether, 
 time, space, soul, and the internal organ or mind. 
 
 The first four of these nine, and the last (viz. Manas, 
 ' the mind ; ), are held to be atomic, and the first four 
 are both eternal and non-eternal ; non-eternal in their 
 various compounds, eternal in their ultimate atoms 
 to which they must be traced back. 
 
 As to the second category, Guna, ' quality/ there are 
 seventeen qualities inherent in the nine substances ; 
 viz. colour, savour, odour, tangibility, numbers, exten- 
 sions, individuality, conjunction, disjunction, priority, 
 posteriority, intellections, pleasure, pain, desire, aver- 
 sion, volitions. Seven others are said to be implied ; 
 viz. gravity, fluidity, viscidity, self-reproduction, merit, 
 demerit, and sound ; making twenty-four in all. 
 
 Sixteen of these qualities belong to material sub- 
 stances. The other eight viz. intellection, volition, 
 desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, merit, and demerit 
 are the properties of the soul. 
 
 The third category, Kantian, ' act/ consists of five 
 kinds of acts ; viz. elevation, depression, contraction, 
 dilatation, and motion; and the fourth, Sdmdnya, gene- 
 rality of proper ties, is said to be twofold; viz. higher and 
 lower generality, to wit, that of genus and of species. 
 
 The fifth category, Visesha, ' particularity/ belongs 
 
192 HINDUISM. 
 
 to the nine eternal substances of the first category, 
 all of which have an eternal ultimate difference, dis- 
 tinguishing each from the other. Hence the system 
 is called Vaiseshika. 
 
 The sixth category, Samavdya, ( coinherence/ is of 
 only one kind. It is the coinherence between a sub- 
 stance and its qualities, between atoms and what is 
 formed out of them, between a genus or species and its 
 individuals, between any object and the general idea 
 connected with it, and is thought to be a real entity. 
 . As to the seventh, Abhdva, ( non-existence/ four 
 kinds are specified ; viz. antecedent non-existence, 
 cessation of existence, mutual non-existence (as of a 
 jar in cloth), absolute non-existence. 
 
 In the Vaiseshika system the formation of the world 
 
 supposed to be effected by the aggregation of atoms. 
 These are innumerable and eternal, and are eternally 
 aggregated, disintegrated, and redisintegrated by the 
 power of Adrishta (see p. 51). An atom is defined 
 as ' something existing, having no cause, and eternal/ 
 It is, moreover, described as less than the least, in- 
 visible, intangible, indivisible, imperceptible by the 
 senses ; and each atom has a Visesha, or eternal essence 
 of its own. The combination of these atoms is first 
 into an aggregate of two. Three of them, again, are 
 supposed to combine into a particle, called Trasa- 
 renu, which, like a mote in a sunbeam, has just 
 sufficient magnitude to be perceptible. 
 
 With regard to a Supreme Being, the name of 
 Isvara, f Supreme Lord/ is introduced once into 
 Gotama's Sutras, but is not found in Kanada's. 
 
 Probably the belief of both was that the formation 
 of the world was simply the result of Adrishta, ' the 
 unseen force/ derived from the works or acts of a 
 previous world. This force becomes in Hindu phi- 
 losophy a kind of god, if not the only god. Later 
 Naiyayika writers, however, affirm the existence of a 
 Supreme Soul (paramatmaii), distinct from the living 
 
APPENDIX. 193 
 
 human Soul (jrvdtman)] and this Supreme Soul isj 
 described by them as eternal, immutable, omniscient,] 
 without form, all-pervading, all-powerful, and more-j 
 over as the framer of the universe. 
 
 Again, they hold the living individual souls of men 
 (jlvdtman) to be eternal, manifold, eternally separate 
 from each other, and distinct from the body, senses, 
 and mind, yet capable of apprehension, volition, de- 
 sire, aversion, pleasure, pain, merit, and demerit.; and 
 they hold them to be infinite, ubiquitous, and diffused 
 everywhere throughout space, so that a man's soul is as 
 much in England as in Calcutta, though it can only ap- 
 prehend and feel and act where the body happens to be. 
 
 The Nyaya idea of the mind (manas), which it calls, 
 an internal organ, is that it is like the soul, a Dravya, 
 or eternal substance. Instead, however, of being 
 diffused everywhere like the soul, it is atomic, like 
 earth, water, fire, and air. In fact, it can only admit 
 one thought at a time. If it were infinite like the 
 soul, all apprehensions and conceptions might be con- 
 temporaneous, which is impossible. 
 
 It is clear then that the Vaiseshika cosmogony is 
 dualistic in the sense of assuming the existence of 
 eternal atoms, side by side either with eternal souls, or 
 with the Supreme Soul of the universe. It is opposed 
 to any theory which would make an impure and evil 
 world spring from a pure and perfect spirit. Nor does 
 it undertake to decide positively what it cannot prove 
 dialectically the precise relation between soul and 
 matter. 
 
 5- The Sdnkhya. 
 
 The Sankhya philosophy, founded by a sage named 
 Kapila, though probably prior in date, is generally 
 studied next to the Nyaya, and is more categorically 
 dualistjc. It wholly repudiates the notion that impure \ 
 matter can originate from pure spirit, and, of course, I 
 denies that anything can be produced out of nothing. \ 
 
194 HINDUISM. 
 
 The following aphorisms propound its doctrine of 
 evolution : 
 
 " There cannot be production of something out of nothing ; 
 that which is not cannot be developed into that which is. The 
 production of what does not already exist (potentially) is impos- 
 sible, like a horn on a man ; because there must of necessity be 
 a material out of which a product is developed, and because 
 everything cannot occur everywhere at all times, and because 
 anything possible must be produced from something competent 
 to produce it." 
 
 In the Sankhya, therefore, instead of an analytical 
 I inquiry into the universe as actually existing, arranged 
 under topics and categories, we have a synthetical 
 system starting from an original primordial Tattva or 
 6 eternally existing essence, ' called Prakriti, ' that 
 which evolves, or produces, or brings forth (prakaroti) 
 everything else,' and described in the following 
 aphorisms : 
 
 "From the absence of a root in the root, the root of all things 
 is rootless." 
 
 " Even if there'be a succession of causes (one before the other), 
 there must be a halt at some one point ; and so Prakriti is only 
 a name for the primal source (of all productions)." 
 
 It should be noted, at the outset, that Prakriti, 
 though a subtle elementary essence, is yet itself sup- 
 posed to be made up of three constituent principles 
 or elementary substances in equipoise, called Gunas, 
 (from the word guna, a cord, because they bind the 
 soul with a triple bond), viz. goodness or purity 
 (sa&va), passion or activity (rajas), and darkness or 
 stolidity (tamos). These three Sankhyan Gunas are 
 constantly referred to in Indian literature, and it is 
 most important that the student of Hinduism should 
 endeavour to understand the ideas they convey. They 
 are by no means to be confounded with the Nyaya 
 Gunas (see p. 191). They are the actual substances or , 
 ingredients of which Prakriti is constituted, just as 
 trees are of a forest. Moreover, they are supposed 
 to make up the whole world of sense evolved out of 
 Prakriti, although in this case they are not conjoined 
 
APPENDIX. 195 
 
 in equal quantities, but in varying proportions, one or 
 other being in excess. 1 In the case of a man, they 
 make him divine and noble, thoroughly human and 
 selfish, or bestial and ignorant, according to the pre- 
 dominance of goodness, passion, or darkness respec- 
 tively. 
 
 This remarkable doctrine_ofthree. eternal principles^ 
 Sattvd) Rajas, and Tamas, may be called the San- 
 khyan trinity, just as the idea of Sac-cid-dnanda (see p. 
 52) maybe regarded as the trinity of the Vedantist. 
 
 Beginning, then, from the original eternal rootless 
 germ Prakriti, 2 (also called Pradhdna, chief one ; 
 Avyakta, unevolved ; Maya, power of illusion), the 
 Sankhya counts up (san-khyati) synthetically (whence 
 its name of ' synthetic enumeration ; ) twenty-three 
 other Tattvas or entities, all productions of the first, 
 and evolving themselves spontaneously out of it, as 
 cream out of milk, or milk out of a cow, while it 
 carefully distinguishes them all from a twenty-fifth, 
 Purusha, the soul, which is wholly in its own nature 
 destitute of Gunas, though liable to be bound by the 
 Curias of Prakriti. 
 
 The process is thus stated in the Sankhya-karika : 
 
 " The root and substance of all things (except soul) is Prakriti. 
 It is no production. Seven things produced by it are also pro- 
 ducers. Thence come sixteen productions (vikdra). Soul, the 
 twenty-fifth essence, is neither a production nor producer." 
 
 1 It cannot be too often repeated, that they are not to be con- 
 founded with the Nyaya Gunas. In fact, they are evidently rather 
 substances or principles than qualities, though guna also means 
 'quality'; and although such expressions as goodness, purity, 
 &c., convey more the notion of a quality than of a substance. 
 May not the whole idea have been suggested by the three forms 
 of matter ? At any rate, even modern chemists acknowledge a 
 kind of material triad of substances, solid, liquid, and gaseous. 
 
 2 The translation Nature, often given for this word, is alto- 
 gether misleading. Better equivalents would be such expres- 
 sions as Evolvent, Evolver, Producer, Originator, &c. 
 
196 HINDUISM. 
 
 The first production of the eternal Producer is 
 Buddhi or ( intelligence,' also termed Mahat, from its 
 being the Great source of the next producer, Ahan- 
 kdra, and the eleventh organ, Manas). Third in 
 order comes this Ahankara, the ' I-maker/ i. e. self- 
 consciousness, or the sense of individuality, which 
 produces the next five principles, called Tanmatras, 
 or ' subtle elementary particles/ These eight con- 
 stitute the producers. 
 
 Then follow the sixteen that are productions 
 ( Vikdrd) only. And first in order, as produced by 
 the Tanmatras, come the five grosser elements (mahd- 
 bhuta\ as follows : 
 
 I. Akasa, * ether,' with the distinguishing property or sub- 
 stratum of sound (which is the vishaya or object for a corre- 
 sponding organ of sense, the ear). 2. Vdyu, 'air,' with the 
 property of tangibility (which is the vishaya for the skin). 3. 
 Tejas or Jyotis, 'fire or light,' with the property of form or 
 colour (which is the vishaya for the eye). 4. Apas, ' water,' 
 with the property of taste (which is the vishaya for the tongue). 
 5. Prithivi, or bhumi, 'earth,' with the property of odour or 
 smell (which is the vishaya for the nose). 
 
 Each of these elements, after the first, has also the 
 property of the preceding besides its own. 
 
 Next follow the eleven organs produced, like the 
 Tanmatras, by the third producer, Ahan-kara. These 
 are the five organs of sense, the five organs of action, 1 
 and an eleventh organ standing between them, viz. 
 Manas, ' the mind/ which is regarded as an internal 
 organ of perception, volition, and action. The eight 
 producers, then, with the five grosser elements and 
 the eleven organs, constitute the true elements, and 
 constituent substance^ of the phenomenal world. As, 
 however, the most important of the producers, after 
 
 1 The buddhmdriyani) or organs of sense, are ear, skin, eye, 
 nose, tongue ; the karmendriyani, organs of action, are larynx,, 
 hand, foot, excretory and generative organs. 
 
APPENDIX. 197 
 
 the mere unintelligent original germ, is the third, 
 called Ahankara, i self-consciousness/ the Sankhya 
 appears to maintain that the whole world of sense is 
 practically created by the individual Ego, who is, 
 nevertheless, quite distinct from the soul, as this soul 
 is supposed to possess in itself no real consciousness 
 of separate individuality, though deluded by it. 1 
 
 But although Prakriti is the sole originator of 
 creation, yet, according to the pure Sankhya, it does 
 not create for itself, but rather for each individual 
 soul ; nor indeed does it create at all to any practical 
 purpose unless it comes into union with Purusha, 
 like a crystal vase with a flower. Souls, indeed, exist 
 eternally separate from each other, and from the 
 Evolver Prakriti, and with whatever form of body 
 they may be joined, they are held to be all intrinsic- 
 ally equal, and each retains its individuality, remainy 
 ing one and unchanged through all transmigration^. 
 But each separate soul is a witness of the act of a 
 separate creation without participating in the act. 
 It is a looker on, uniting itself with unintelligent 
 Prakriti, as a lame man mounted on a blind man's 
 shoulders, for the sake of observing the phenomena of 
 creation, which Prakriti herself is unable to observe. 
 
 It appears, too, that all Prakriti's performances are 
 solely for the benefit of soul, who receives her favours 
 ungratefully. Indeed the object of the Sankhya 
 system is to effect the liberation of Purusha or soul 
 from the fetters which bind it, in consequence of its 
 union with Prakriti. This is done by conveying the 
 Pramd, or correct knowledge of the twenty-four 
 constituent principles of creation, and rightly discrimi- 
 nating the soul from them ; its Pramdqas (see p. 188), 
 
 This idea of personal individual creation is what chiefly 
 distinguishes the Sankhya from the pantheism of the Vedanta, 
 which denies all real personal individuality. 
 
198 HINDUISM. 
 
 or ' means of obtaining the correct measure of exist- 
 ing things/ being reduced from four to three ; viz., 
 perception by the senses (dijishta), inference (anuwdna), 
 and credible assertion or trustworthy testimony (apia- 
 vacand). 
 
 No one can doubt that the Sankhyan view of the 
 oul is inferior to that of the Nyaya, which ascribes to 
 - 'it, when joined to mind, activity, volition, thought, and 
 
 ' M feeling. Obviously, too, the pure Sankhya is more 
 atheistical than the pure Nyaya ; for if the Creation 
 produced by the Evolver, Prakriti, has an existence 
 of its own independent of all connection with the 
 particular Purusha to which it is joined, there can 
 be no need of an intelligent Creator of the world, or 
 even of any superintending power. 
 
 Notwithstanding these atheistical tendencies, the 
 charge of unorthodoxy is evaded by a confession of 
 faith in the Veda. Some adherents of the Sankhya 
 maintain the existence of a supreme Soul, called 
 Hiranya-garbha, and of a general ideal phenomenal 
 universe with which that supreme Soul is connected, 
 and into which all the subcreations of inferior souls 
 are gathered. 
 
 It is remarkable that this singular theory of the rela- 
 tionship between spirit and matter, involving as it does 
 a strange jumble of physical and metaphysical subtle- 
 ties, has always had peculiar charms for the Hindu 
 mind. Not that the uneducated masses could make 
 anything of the mysticism of a primordial eternal germ 
 evolving out of itself twenty-three substances to form 
 a visible world for the soul, described as apathetic, 
 inactive, devoid of all qualities, and a mere indif- 
 ferent spectator ; but that ordinary men are only too 
 prone to accept any theory of the origin of the 
 universe which makes the acts of the Creator har- 
 monize with their own operations and the phenomena 
 which surround them. Even the most illiterate 
 
APPENDIX. 199 
 
 Hindu, therefore, was well able to understand and 
 adopt the idea of a universe proceeding from Pra- 
 kriti and Purusha as from father and mother. Indeed 
 the idea of a union between the female principle, 
 regarded as an energy or capacity (sakti) y and the 
 male principle, regarded as a generator, is, as we 
 have already seen (see p. 123), of great antiquity in 
 the Hindii system. 
 
 It is noteworthy that Buddhism, which represented 
 many of the more popular philosophical ideas of the J 
 Hindus, perhaps as early as the sixth century B.C., * 
 has more in common with the Sankhya philosophy 
 than with any of the other systems. 
 
 Even the cosmogony of Manu, although a com- 
 pound of various theories, presents a process of < 
 evolution very similar to that of the Sankhya. 
 
 Perhaps, however, the extreme popularity of the 
 Sankhyan idea of a union of two principles is best 
 shown by the later cosmogony and mythology. In 
 the Puranas and Tantras, the great repositories of 
 the popular Hindu creed, Prakriti becomes a real 
 mother of the universe, taking the form of female 
 personifications, who are regarded as the wives or 
 female energies and capacities (sakti) of the prin- 
 cipal male deities, to whom, on the other hand, the 
 name Purusha, in the sense of the Supreme Soul, or 
 primeval male, is sometimes applied. This is espe- 
 cially the case, as we have shown in chapter ix., with 
 the sakti, or female energy of Siva, worshipped by 
 vast numbers as the true ' mother of the universe/ 1 
 
 From the popularity of the Sanhkya and its in- 
 fluence on the later mythology we shall not be sur-i 
 prised to find that there is a common saying in India*) 
 
 1 This is the best explanation of the fact, that the shrines of 
 the linga and yoni are more common than any other through- 
 out Inciia. 
 
200 HINDUISM. 
 
 ('No knowledge equal to the Sankhya, no power 
 equal to the Yoga/ 
 
 if, The Yoga. 
 
 The Yoga, founded by Patanjali and regarded as 
 1 a branch of the Sankhya, is scarcely worthy of the 
 \ name of a separate system of philosophy. Yet it has 
 I undoubted charms for the naturally contemplative 
 \ and ascetical Hindu, and claims greater orthodoxy 
 I than the Sankhya proper, by directly acknowledging 
 \ the existence of a Supreme Being, 
 v In brief, the aim of the Yoga is to teach the means 
 I by which the human soul may attain complete union 
 a with the Supreme Soul. This fusion or blending 
 j of the individual spirit (jlvdtman) with Purusha, 
 'the universal Spirit/ may be effected even in the 
 body by the constant habit of keeping the mind in 
 its unmodified state a state clear as crystal when 
 uncoloured by contact with other substances, and 
 by the practice of complete suppression of the pas- 
 sions (vairdgya). The last condition of suppression 
 of all action is only to be achieved by meditation 
 on the Supreme Being, who is defined to be ' a Spirit 
 unaffected by works, having for one of his appel- 
 lations the mystical monosyllable Om.' Indeed the 
 repetition of Om is supposed to be all-efficacious in 
 giving knowledge of the Supreme and preventing 
 the obstacles to Yoga. The eight means of mental 
 concentration are as follows : 
 
 i._Yama, 'restraint.' 2. Niyama, 'religious observances.' 
 3. Asana, 'postures.' 4. Prdndydma, 'suppression of the 
 breath,' or 'breathing in a peculiar way.' 5. Pratyahara, 're- 
 straint of the senses.' 6. Dhdrana, 'steadying of the mind.' 
 7. Dhyana, 'contemplation.' 8. Samddhi, 'profound medita- 
 tion,' or a state of religious trance, which is most effectually at- 
 tained by such practices as fixing the eyes intently and inces- 
 santly on the tip of the nose, c. 
 
APPENDIX. 201 
 
 The Yoga system appears, in fact, to be a merei 
 contrivance for getting rid of all thought, or rather I 
 for concentrating the mind with the utmost intensity 
 upon nothing in particular. Ordinarily it is a strange | 
 compound of exercises, consisting in unnatural re- 
 straint, forced and painful postures, twistings and 
 contortions of the limbs, suppressions of the breath 
 undertaken apparently with no object except to 
 achieve complete vacuity of mind. Many Hindu 
 devotees and ascetics^ especially those who, as form- 
 ing a division of the Saiva sect, identify the austere 
 god Siva with the Supreme Being, are commonly 
 called Yogins or Yogis, the professed object of their 
 austerities being to effect union with the Deity. 
 
 6*T/ie Purva-Mimdnsd or Mlmdnsd. 
 
 The Mlmdnsd of Jaimini is sometimes connected 
 with the Vedanta, this latter being called the Uttara- 
 mlmdnsd or Brahma-mimdnsd, because founded on 
 the Upanishads, or latter part of the Vedas, while 
 Jaimini's system is styled either Purva-mlmdnsd, ' an 
 inquiry into the former portion of the Veda/ or 
 Karma-mimdnsa, ' an inquiry into the ritual of the 
 Veda,' because concerned with the Mantras and 
 Brahmanas only. It is more usual, however, to mark 
 the opposition of the two systems to each other by 
 calling the one Mlmansa, and the other Vedanta. 
 In real fact, the Mlmansa is not a branch of any I 
 philosophical system : it is rather a system of VedicJ 
 interpretation. Its aim is to solve the doubts andf 
 discrepancies in regard to Vedic texts, caused by then 
 discordant explanations of opposite scrlools ; and its' 
 only claim to the title of a philosophy consists in 
 its mode of interpretation. Its topics are arranged 
 according to particular categories (such as, authori- 
 tativeness, indirect precept, &c.), and treated according 
 
202 HINDUISM. 
 
 to a kind of logical method, commencing with the 
 proposition to be discussed, the doubt arising about 
 it, the Purva-paksha or prima facie and wrong view 
 of the question, the Utiara-paksha or refutation of 
 the wrong view, and the conclusion. 
 
 Its philosophical discussions amount to a kind of 
 critical commentary on the Brahmana or ritual portion 
 of the Veda ; and it differs from the Vedanta in 
 interpreting the Mantras according to the obvious 
 literal sense, and not any supposed occult meaning 
 underlying the text. Jaimini was, in real truth, the 
 opponent of both rationalism and theism. Not that 
 he denied a God, but the tendency of his teaching 
 was to allow no voice or authority to either reason or 
 God. The Veda was practically the only god. A 
 Supreme Being might exist, but was not necessary to 
 the system. The Veda, said Jaimini, is itself autho- 
 rity, and has no need of an authorizer. His first 
 aphorism states the whole aim and object of his 
 system, viz., a desire to know JDharma or duty, which 
 consists in the performance of the rites and sacrifices 
 prescribed by the Veda, because they are so-prescribed, 
 without reference to the will or approval of any per- 
 sonal god, for Dharma is itself the bestower of reward. 
 Some recent Mimansakas, however, maintain that 
 Dharma ought to be performed as an offering, to a 
 Supreme Being, and that it is to be so performed as 
 a means of emancipation. 
 
 Some singular speculations occur in Jaimini's system. 
 His belief in the inherent authority of the Veda, 
 independently of any divine Revealer, leads him to 
 assert its own absolute eternity, and he declares that 
 only eternally pre-existing objects are mentioned in 
 it. Other strange doctrines maintained by him are 
 that there is a perpetual connection between a word 
 and its sense, and that sound is eternal, or rather, 
 that an eternal sound underlies all temporary sound. 
 
APPENDIX. 203 
 
 We may add, in illustration of the notion of the 
 eternity of sound, that the Chinese have a saying : 
 6 The echoes of a word once uttered vibrate in space 
 to all eternity.' 
 
 fa. The Vedanta. 
 
 The Vedanta of Vyasa or Badarayana is, for con- 
 venience, placed last of the six orthodox systems ; 
 but on many accounts it ought to stand first. The 
 outline of its pantheistic creed is traceable, as we 
 have seen, in the Rig-veda, and it conforms more 
 closely than any other system to the doctrines pro- 
 pounded in the Upanishads, on which treatises indeed, 
 as forming the end of the Veda, it professes to be 
 founded. Moreover, it is the truest exponent of thek 
 habits of thought of thoughtful Hindus, as much inl 
 the most recent as in the most ancient times. The' 
 most celebrated teacher of this school of philosophy 
 was Sankaracarya (see p. 137), who was the great 
 reviver of Brahmanism, in opposition to unorthodox 
 Buddhism, about the end of the yth or beginning of 
 the 8th century of our era. 
 
 As the Nyaya has much in common with the prac- 
 tical philosophy of Aristotle, which gave to things 
 and individuals, rather than to ideas, a real existence, 
 50 the Vedanta offers many parallels to the idealism 
 of Plato. 
 
 A Vedantist's creed has the merit of extreme sim- 
 plicity, being comprised in the well-known formula of 
 three words from the C'handogya Upanishad (ekam 
 evddvitlyam, one only essence without a second), 
 or in the following : " Brahma exists truly, the world 
 falsely, the soul is only Brahma, and no other," or in 
 the following : " All this universe indeed is Brahma ; 
 from him does it proceed ; into him is it dissolved ; 
 5.i him it breathes. So let every one adore him 
 calmly." 
 
 p 
 
204 ' HINDUISM. 
 
 - / Here, then, we have presented to us a different 
 
 / view of the origin of the world. In the Nyaya it 
 
 [ proceeded from a concurrence of eternal atoms ; in 
 
 V the Sankhya from one original eternal element called 
 
 y< ' \ Prakriti ; both operating independently, though asso- 
 
 I dated with eternal souls, and, according to one view, 
 
 v ' I presided over by a supreme soul. But, injthe 
 
 /L Vedanta, there is really no material world at all^as 
 
 A distinct from the universal Soul. Hence, the doctrine 
 
 1 of this school is called A-dvaita, i non-dualism/ The 
 
 universe exists, but merely as a form of the one eternal 
 
 | Essence. 
 
 V Badarayana's first aphorism states the object of the 
 whole system in one word, viz., Brahma-jijnasa, ' the 
 desire of knowing Brahma' (neut). 
 
 In the second aphorism this Brahma is defined to 
 mean, < that from which the production of this universe 
 results.' 
 
 From other portions of the aphorisms it appears 
 that the one universal essence, called Brahma (not 
 Brahma), is to the external world what yarn is to 
 cloth, what milk to curds, what earth to a jar, what 
 gold to a bracelet. This Essence is both creator and 
 creation, actor and act. It is itself Existence, Know- 
 ledge, and Joy (Sac-dd-anandd)} but at the same 
 time, without parts, unbound by qualities, without 
 action, without emotion, having no consciousness, 
 such as is denoted by ' I ' and ' Thou,' apprehending 
 no person or thing, nor apprehended by any, having 
 neither beginning nor end, immutable, the only real 
 entity. 
 
 1 This is the Vedantist's trinity, corresponding: very remark- 
 ably, as Mr. Robson observes, with the Author of Existence (the 
 Father), the Source of Wisdom (Christ, the Word), and_ the 
 Source of Joy (the Holy Spirit) ; thus the Veda, the Vedanta, 
 and the Bhakti-sastras all point to the triple nature of the 
 Supreme Being. 
 
APPENDIX. 205 
 
 If this be true, then pure Being must be almost 
 identical with pure Nothing, so that the two extremes 
 of Buddhistic Nihilism and Vedantic Pantheism, 
 far as they profess to be apart, appear in the end 
 to meet. 
 
 The creed of the Vedantist does not necessarily 
 imply that the world is all Maya, 'mere illusion.' 
 A true Vedantist, though he affirms that Brahma 
 alone is real, allows a practical (vyavahdrikd) exist- 
 ence to souls, the world, and Isvara, as distinguished 
 from real (pdramdrthikd) and from illusory existence 
 (pratibhdsikd). How, indeed, can it be denied that 
 external things exist when we see them and feel 
 them at every instant ? But how, on the other hand, 
 can it be maintained that an impure world is evolved 
 from a pure spiritual essence ? To avoid this diffi- 
 culty, the Supreme Spirit is represented as ignoring 
 himself by a sort of self-imposed ignorance, in order 
 to draw out from himself, for his own amusement, 
 the separate individuated souls and various appear- 
 ances, which, although really parts of his own essence, 
 constitute the apparent phenomena of the universe. 
 Hence the external world, individual souls, and even 
 Isvara, the personal God, are all described as created 
 by a power which the Vedantist is obliged, for want 
 of a better solution of his difficulty, to call A-vi'dya, 
 generally translated ' Ignorance,' but perhaps better 
 rendered by ' False Knowledge/ or ' False Notion.' 
 
 Of this power there are two distinct forms of 
 operation, that of envelopment (dvarana), and that 
 of projection (vikshepd)\ which last projects on the 
 soul the appearance of a world, producing first the 
 five subtle elements, and drawing out from them 
 seventeen subtle bodies (comprising the five organs 
 of sense, the five organs of action, the five vital 
 airs, with buddhi and manas\ and the five gross 
 elements, as in the Sankhya. 
 p 2 
 
206 HINDUISM. 
 
 By reason of Avidya, then, the Jivatman, or living 
 soul of every individual, mistakes the world as well as 
 its own body and mind for realities, just as a rope in 
 a dark night might be mistaken for a snake. The 
 moment the personal soul is set free from this self- 
 imposed ignorance by a proper understanding of the 
 truth through the Vedanta philosophy, all the illusion 
 vanishes, and the identity of the Jivatman and of the 
 whole phenomenal universe with the Paramatman, 
 or Supreme Soul, is re-established. 
 
 It may be noted that in the Vedanta the living 
 soul of individuals, when separated off from the 
 Supreme Soul, is regarded as enclosed in a succes- 
 sion of cases (kosa) which envelop it, and, as it were, 
 fold one over the other, like the coats of an onion. 1 
 / Of course the Vedanta theory, if pushed to its 
 / ultimate consequences, must lead to the neglect of 
 all duties, religious and moral, of all activity, phy- 
 sical and intellectual, and of all self-culture. If 
 \ everything be God, then you and he and I must b e 
 \ one. Why should any efforts be made for the 
 \ advancement of self or for the good of others ? 
 \ Everything we have must be common property. 
 
 Eclectic School. The Bhagavad-Glta. 
 
 The Bhagavad-glta, 2 commented on by the great 
 Vedantic teacher Sankaracarya (see pp. 83, 203), may 
 
 1 These are called Vijnana-maya^ Mano-maya, Prdna-maya^ 
 Anna-maya, and a fifth is sometimes named Ananda-maya. 
 
 2 I am obliged to repeat here, as in some of the preceding 
 pages of this work, much of what I have already described in 
 the work called * Indian Wisdom,' for the simple reason that 
 it is essential to my present subject ; and I find myself unable 
 
 , to vary my descriptions without spoiling them. 
 
APPENDIX. 207 
 
 be regarded as representing the Eclectic school of 
 Indian philosophy. As the regular systems were 
 developments of the Upanishads, so the Eclectic 
 school is connected with those mystical treatises 
 through the Svetasvatara Upanishad. This last is 
 a comparatively modern Upanishad, but whether 
 it was composed before or after the Bhagavad-gita, 
 the design of both is evidently the same. They both 
 aim at reconciling the conflicting views of different 
 systems, by an attempt to engraft the Sankhya and 
 Yoga upon Vedanta doctrines. Although, therefore, 
 the order of creation and much of the cosmogony 
 of the Sankhya system are retained in both, the 
 sovereignty of the Supreme Soul of the universe 
 (Brahman, neut.) with which Krishna is identified, 
 as the source and end of all created things, and yet 
 wholly independent of all such creations, is asserted 
 by both. 
 
 The real author of the Bhagavad-gita is unknown. 
 Nor is it known when the work was inserted in the 
 Bhishma-parvan of the Maha-bharata, in which poem 
 it lies inlaid like a pearl, contributing, with other 
 numerous episodes, to the tesselated character of that 
 immense epic. 1 
 
 The author was probably an earnest Brahman 
 and nominally a Vaishnava, but really a philosopher 
 whose mind was cast in a broad mould. He is sup- 
 posed to have lived in India about the second or third 
 century of our era. Finding no rest for his spirit in 
 the extreme dogmatism of any one system of philo- 
 sophy, as commonly taught in his own time, much 
 less in the narrow-minded exclusiveness, and cor- 
 rupt forms of Brahmanism which surrounded him, 
 he was driven to construct an eclectic school of his 
 
 1 It commences at line 830 of the 25th chapter of the Parvan, 
 and ends at line 1,532. 
 
208 HINDUISM. 
 
 own. This he has done with great perspicuity and 
 beauty of language in the Bhagavad-glta, combining 
 various theories into one system, by interweaving, 
 so to speak, threads from the Sankhya, Yoga, and 
 Vedanta, so as to form a many-coloured woof of 
 thought, which is shot across a stiff warp of the doc- 
 trine of faith (bhaktt) in Krishna, and of stern devotion 
 to caste duties (dharma). Of these cross threads the 
 most conspicuous are those of the Sankhya, for which 
 the author of the Glta has an evident predilection. 
 As a necessary result of its composite character, the 
 work is, of course, full of inconsistencies. The whole 
 composition is skilfully thrown into the form of a 
 dramatic poem, something after the manner of the 
 book of Job or a dialogue of Plato. The speakers 
 are the two most important personages in the Maha- 
 bharata Arjuna and Krishna. Arjuna is, perhaps^ 
 the real hero of that epic. He is the bravest, and yet 
 the most tender-hearted of the five sons of Pandu. 
 The god Krishna, who is identified with Vishnu, and 
 in this philosophical dialogue is held to be the Supreme 
 Being himself, had taken form as the son of Devaki 
 and Vasudeva, who was brother of Kunti, wife of 
 Pandu. Hence the god was cousin of the sons of 
 Pandu, brother of Dhrita-rashtra, the sons of these 
 brothers being of course related as cousins to each 
 other. In the great war which arose between the two 
 families of Pandu and Dhrita-rashtra (see p. 112), repre- 
 senting two Kshatriya races contending for supremacy, 
 Krishna refused to take up arms on either side, but 
 consented to act as the charioteer of Arjuna, and to 
 aid him with his advice. At the commencement of 
 the Bhagavad-glta the two contending armies are 
 supposed to be drawn up in battle-array, when Arjuna 
 is struck with sudden compunction at the idea of 
 fighting his way to a kingdom through the blood of 
 his kindred, and asks Krishna's opinion as to his 
 
APPENDIX. 209 
 
 proper course of action. Krishna's reply is made the 
 occasion of the long philosophical dialogue, com- 
 monly called ' the Song of the Adorable One/ sup- 
 posed to contain the actual utterances of the god, 
 and venerated as one of the most sacred portions of 
 Indian literature, as it certainly is one of the most 
 beautiful. Undoubtedly the main design of the poem, 
 the sentiments expressed in which have exerted a 
 powerful influence throughout India for the last 
 1600 years, is to inculcate the doctrine of Bhakti, 
 to exalt the duties of caste above all other obligations, 
 including those of friendship and kindred. As 
 Arjuna belongs to the military caste, he is exhorted 
 to perform his appointed work as a soldier. Again 
 and again is he urged to fight, without the least 
 thought about consequences, and without the slightest 
 question as to the propriety of slaughtering his 
 relations. Hence we have the following sentiments 
 often repeated (III. 35, XVIII. 47, 48) : 
 
 Better to do the duty of one's caste, 
 
 Though bad and ill-performed and fraught with evil, 
 
 Than undertake the business of another, 
 
 However good it be. For better far 
 
 Abandon life at once than not fulfil 
 
 One's own appointed work ; another's duty 
 
 Brings danger to the man who meddles with it. 
 
 Perfection is alone attained by him 
 
 Who swerves not from the business of his caste. 
 
 The poem is divided into three sections, each con- 
 taining six chapters, the philosophical teaching in each 
 section being somewhat distinct. 
 
 The first section dwells chiefly on the benefits of 
 the Yoga system, pointing out, however, that the 
 asceticism and self-mortification of the Yoga ought 
 to be joined with action, and the performance of 
 caste duties, and winding up with a declaration that 
 the grand aim of all self-suppression is to attain that 
 
210 HINDUISM. 
 
 most desirable state which enables a man to annihilate 
 his own individuality, and see God in everything and 
 everything in God. Arjuna is comforted under the 
 distressing thought that he is about to kill his relations, 
 by an argument drawn from the eternal existence of 
 the soul, which is nobly expressed thus : 
 
 " The wise grieve not for the departed, nor for those who yet 
 survive. Never was the time when I was not, nor thou, nor 
 yonder chiefs, and never shall be the time when all of us shall 
 not be ; as the embodied soul in this corporeal frame moves 
 swiftly on through boyhood, youth, and age, so will it pass 
 through other forms hereafter be not grieved thereat. The 
 man whom pain and pleasure, heat and cold affect not, he is fit 
 for immortality. Whatever is not cannot be ; whatever is can 
 never cease to be. Know this the Being that spread this uni- 
 verse is indestructible. Who can destroy the Indestructible ? 
 These bodies that enclose the everlasting soul, inscrutable, im 
 mortal, have an end ; but he who thinks the soul can be de- 
 stroyed, and he who deems it a destroyer, are alike mistaken ; 
 it kills not, and is not killed ; it is not born, nor doth it 
 ever die ; it has no past nor future unproduced, unchanging, 
 infinite ; he who knows it fixed, unborn, imperishable, indis- 
 soluble, how can that man destroy another, or extinguish 
 ought below ? As men abandon old and threadbare clothes to 
 put on others new, so casts the embodied soul its worn-out 
 frame to enter other forms. No dart can pierce it ; flame cannot 
 consume it, water wet it not, nor scorching breezes dry it in- 
 destructible, incapable of heat or moisture or aridity, eternal, 
 all-pervading, steadfast, immovable, perpetual, yet impercep- 
 tible, incomprehensible, unfading, deathless, unimaginable." 
 
 In the second and sixth chapters the duty of Yoga 
 or < intense concentration of the mind on one subject' 
 (viz. the Supreme Being, here identified with Krishna), 
 till at last the great end of freedom from all thought, 
 perfect calm, and absorption in the Deity are obtained, 
 is enjoined with much force of language, as may be 
 seen from the following extracts : 
 
 That holy man who stands immovable, 
 As if erect upon a pinnacle, 1 
 
 Kiita-stha (VI. 8) may mean 'standing erect like a peak.' 
 
APPENDIX. 2 1 1 
 
 His appetites and organs all subdued, 
 
 Sated with knowledge secular and sacred, 
 
 To whom a lump of earth, a stone, or gold, 
 
 To whom friends, relatives, acquaintances, 
 
 Neutrals and enemies, the good and bad, 
 
 Are all alike, is called 'one yoked with God.' 
 
 The man who aims at that supreme condition 
 
 Of perfect yoking 2 with the Deity 
 
 Must first of all be moderate in all things, 
 
 In food, in sleep, in vigilance, in action, 
 
 In exercise and recreation. Then 
 
 Let him, if seeking God by deep abstraction, 
 
 Abandon his possessions and his hopes, 
 
 Betake himself to some secluded spot, 3 
 
 And fix his heart and thoughts on God alone. 
 
 There let him choose a seat, not high nor low, 
 
 And with a cloth or skin to cover him, 
 
 And Kusa grass beneath him, let him sit 
 
 Firm and erect, his body, head, and neck 
 
 Straight and immovable, his eyes directed 
 
 Towards a single point, 4 not looking round, 
 
 Devoid of passion, free from anxious thought, 
 
 His heart restrained, and deep in meditation. 
 
 E'en as a tortoise draws its head and feet 
 
 Within its shell, so must he keep his organs 
 
 Withdrawn from sensual objects. He whose senses 
 
 Are well controlled attains to sacred knowledge, 
 
 And thence obtains tranquillity of thought. 
 
 Without quiescence there can be no bliss. 
 
 E'en as a storm-tossed ship upon the waves, 
 
 So is the man whose heart obeys his passions, 
 
 Which, like the winds, will hurry him away. 
 
 Quiescence is the state of the Supreme. 
 
 He who, intent on meditation, joins 
 
 1 Tersely expressed in Sanskrit by sama-loshtasma-kdncana 
 (VI. 8). 
 
 2 I use these expressions as kindred words to the Sanskrit 
 ynikta and yoga. ' Joined' and 'junction' are also cognate 
 expressions. 
 
 3 Cf. Matt. vi. 6 : ' But thou, when thou prayest, enter into 
 thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father 
 which is in secret.' 
 
 4 The text (VI. 13) says, 'fixing his eyes on the tip of his 
 nose ' (samprekshya ndsikdgram}. 
 
212 HINDUISM. 
 
 His soul with the Supreme, is like a flame 
 That flickers not when sheltered from the wind. 
 
 In the second division of this poem the pantheistic 
 doctrines of the Vedanta are more directly inculcated 
 than in the other sections. Krishna here, in the 
 plainest language, claims adoration as one with the 
 great universal spirit, pervading and constituting the 
 universe. 
 
 The following are portions from different parts of 
 this section : 
 
 Whatever thou dost perform, whate'er thou eatest, 
 
 Whate'er thou givest to the poor, whate'er 
 
 Thou offerest in sacrifice, whate'er 
 
 Thou doest as an act of holy penance, 
 
 Do all as if to me, O Arjuna (IX. 27).* 
 
 I am the ancient Sage, without beginning, 
 
 I am the Ruler and the All-sustainer, 
 
 I am incomprehensible in form, 
 
 More subtle and minute than subtlest atoms ; 
 
 I am the cause of the whole universe ; 
 
 1 Compare I Cor. x. 31 : ' Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, 
 or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Dr. Lorinser, 
 expanding the views of Professor Weber and others concerning 
 the influence of Christianity on the legends of Krishna, thinks 
 that many of the sentiments of the Bhagavad-gita have been 
 directly borrowed from the New Testament, copies of which, 
 he thinks, found their way into India about the third century, 
 when he believes the poem to have been written. He even 
 adopts the theory of a parallel in the names of Christ and 
 Krishna. He does not, however, sufficiently bear in mind that 
 fragments of truth are to be found in all religious systems, how- 
 ever false, and that the Bible, though a true revelation, is still, 
 in regard to the human mind, through which the thoughts are 
 transfused, a thoroughly Oriental book, cast in an Oriental 
 mould, and full of Oriental ideas and expressions. Some of his 
 comparisons seem mere coincidences of language, which might 
 occur independently. Nevertheless, something may be said for 
 Dr. Lorinser's theory. His German translation (1869) is rich in 
 notes, pointing out parallels. ' See also the ' Indian Antiquary ' 
 for October, 1873. 
 
APPENDIX. 213 
 
 Through me it is created and dissolved ; 
 
 On me all things within it hang suspended, 
 
 Like pearls upon a string. 1 I am the light 
 
 In sun and moon, far, far beyond the darkness ; 2 
 
 I am the brilliancy in flame, the radiance 
 
 In all that's radiant, and the light of lights, 
 
 The sound in ether, fragrance in the earth, 
 
 The seed eternal of existing things, 3 
 
 The life in all, the father, mother, husband, 
 
 Forefather, and sustainer of the world, 
 
 Its friend and lord. I am its way 4 and refuge, 
 
 Its habitation and receptacle, 
 
 I am its witness. I am Victory 
 
 And Energy ; I watch the universe 
 
 With eyes and face in all directions turned. 
 
 I dwell, as Wisdom, in the heart of all. 
 
 I am the Goodness of the good, I am 
 
 Beginning, Middle, End, eternal Time, 
 
 The Birth, the Death of all. 5 I am the symbol A 
 
 Among the characters. I have created all 
 
 Out of one portion of myself. E'en those 
 
 Who are of low and unpretending birth, 6 
 
 May find the path to highest happiness, 
 
 If they depend on me ; how much more those 
 
 Who are by rank and penance holy Brahmans 
 
 And saintly soldier-princes like thyself. 
 
 Then be not sorrowful ; from all thy sins 
 
 I will deliver thee. 7 Think thou on me, 
 
 1 Compare Rom. xi. 36 : ' Of Him, and through Him, and 
 unto Him, are all things.' John i. 3 : * All things were made 
 by Him ; and without Him was not anything made that was 
 made.' 
 
 2 Compare I John i. 5 : ' God is light, and in Him is no 
 darkness at all.' 
 
 3 Compare John i. 3 : ' All things were made by Him. ' 
 
 4 Cf. John xiv. 6 : ' I am the way.' 
 
 5 Compare Rev. i. 17, 18 : ' I am the first and the last ; and 
 have the keys of hell and of death.' 
 
 6 The text states who these are; viz. women, Vaisyas, and 
 S'udras. This is significant in regard to the Hindu estimate of 
 the female sex. A woman's religion is thought to consist in 
 obedience, first to her father, and then to her husband, with 
 attention to domestic duties. 
 
 7 Cf. Matt. ix. 2 : ' Be of good cheer ; thy sins be forgiven 
 
214 HINDUISM 
 
 Have faith in me, adore and worship me, 1 
 And join thyself in meditation to me ; 
 Thus shalt thou come to me, O Arjuna ; 
 Thus shalt thou rise to my supreme abode, 
 Where neither sun nor moon hath need to shine, 
 For know that all the lustre they possess is mine. 2 
 
 We come now to Chapter XL, called ' the Vision (or 
 Revelation) of the Universal Form ' (visva-rupa-dar- 
 sana). Arjuna, filled with awe at the discovery of 
 the true nature of Krishna, acting as his charioteer, 
 addresses him thus : 
 
 Most mighty Lord supreme, this revelation 
 Of thy mysterious essence and thy oneness 
 With the eternal Spirit, clears away 
 The mists of my illusions. Show me then 
 Thy form celestial, most divine of men, 
 If haply I may dare to look upon it. 
 
 To this Krishna replies : 
 
 Thou canst not bear to gaze upon my shape 
 With these thy human eyes, O son of Pandu, 
 But now I gift thee with celestial vision ; ' 
 Behold me in a hundred thousand forms, 
 In phases, colours, fashions infinite. 
 
 Then follows the description of Krishna's super- 
 natural transformation : 3 
 
 thee.' A sense of original corruption seems to be felt by all 
 classes of Hindus, as indicated by the following prayer used after 
 the Gayatri by some Vaishnavas : 
 
 Pafio *ham papa-karmaham papatmd papa-sambhavah, 
 Trdhi mdm, pnndarikdksha swva-pdpa-hara Hcire^ 
 
 ' I am sinful, I commit sin, my nature is sinful, I am conceived 
 
 in sin ; 
 Save me, O thou lotus-eyed Hari, the remover of sin.' 
 
 1 Cf. Prov. xxiii. 26 : 'My son, give me thine heart.' 
 
 2 Cf. Rev. xxi. 23 : 'The city had no need of the sun, neither 
 of the moon, to shine in it ; for the glory of God did lighten it.' 
 
 3 The idea of this Dr. Lorinser considers borrowed from the 
 Gospel narrative of the transfiguration. It is certainly very in- 
 
APPENDIX. 2TS 
 
 Thus having said, the mighty Lord of all 
 
 Displayed to Arjuna his form supreme, 
 
 Endowed with countless mouths and countless eyes, 
 
 With countless faces turned to every quarter, 
 
 With countless marvellous appearances, 
 
 With ornaments, and wreaths, and robes divine, 
 
 With heavenly fragrance and celestial weapons. 
 
 It was as if the firmament were filled, 
 
 All in an instant with a thousand suns, 
 
 Blazing with dazzling lustre, so beheld he 
 
 The glories of the universe collected 
 
 In the one person of the God of gods. l 
 
 Arjuna with every hair on his body bristling with 
 awe, bows his head at this vision, and folding his 
 hands in reverence, gives utterance to a passionate 
 outburst of enthusiastic adoration, which is here 
 abridged : 
 
 I see thee, mighty Lord of all, revealed 
 
 In forms of infinite diversity. 
 
 I see thee like a mass of purest light, 
 
 Flashing thy lustre everywhere around. 
 
 I see thee crowned with splendour like the sun, 
 
 Pervading earth and sky, immeasurable, 
 
 Boundless, without beginning, middle, end, 
 
 Preserver of imperishable law, 
 
 The everlasting Man ; 2 the triple world 
 
 Is awe-struck at this vision of thy form, 
 
 Stupendous, indescribable in glory. 
 
 Have mercy, God of gods ; the universe 
 
 Is fitly dazzled by thy majesty, 
 
 Fitly to thee alone devotes its homage. 
 
 structive to contrast the simplicity of the Gospel scene : ' His 
 face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light' 
 (Matt. xvii. 2 ; Mark ix. 3). 
 
 1 In the Udyoga-parvan of the Maha-bharata (4419-4430) 
 Krishna reveals his form in the same way to the assembled 
 princes, who are obliged to close their eyes at the awful sight, 
 while the blind Dhrita-rashtra is gifted with divine vision that 
 he may behold the glorious spectacle (4437). 
 
 2 Sandtanah purushah (XI. 18) may be translated ' the eternal 
 Spirit.' 
 
2l6 HINDUISM. 
 
 At thy approach the evil demons flee, 
 
 Scattered in terror to the winds of heaven. 
 
 The multitude of holy saints ] adore thee 
 
 Thee, first Creator, 2 lord of all the gods, 
 
 The ancient One, 3 supreme Receptacle 
 
 Of all that is and is not, knowing all, 
 
 And to be known by all. Immensely vast, 
 
 Thou comprehendest all, thou art the All (XI. 40), 
 
 To thee earth's greatest heroes must return, 
 
 Blending once more with thy resplendent essence, 
 
 Like mighty rivers rushing to the ocean (XI. 28). 
 
 To thee be sung a thousand hymns of praise 
 
 By every creature and from every quarter, 
 
 Before, above, behind. Hail ! Hail ! thou All ! 
 
 Again and yet again I worship thee. 
 
 Have mercy, I implore thee, and forgive, 
 
 That I, in ignorance of this thy glory, 
 
 Presumed to call thee Friend ; and pardon too 
 
 Whate'er I have too negligently uttered, 
 
 Addressing thee in too familiar tones. 
 
 Unrivalled God of gods, I fall before thee 
 
 Prostrate in adoration, thou the Father 
 
 Of all that lives and lives not ; have compassion, 
 
 Bear with me, as a father with a son, 
 
 Or as a lover with a cherished one. 
 
 Now that I see thee as thou really art, 
 
 I thrill with terror ! Mercy ! Lord of lords, 
 
 Once more display to me thy human form, 
 
 Thou habitation of the universe. 4 
 
 Many other remarkable passages might be adduced 
 in connection with the first two divisions of the sub- 
 
 1 Cf. parts of the Te Deum. The Siddhas form a group (gana) 
 of semi-divine beings, supposed to possess great purity, called 
 Sadhyas in the earlier mythology (Manu, i. 22). Siddhas and 
 Sadhyas are sometimes confused, though here mentioned sepa- 
 rately (see p. 167). 
 
 2 Cf. John viii. 58 : 'Before Abraham was, I am.' 
 
 3 Puntshah puranah, 'the most ancient person ' (XI. 38). Cf. 
 Daniel vii. 9 : ' The Ancient of days did sit.' 
 
 4 XI. 45, 46. Dr. Lorinser compares the awe of our Lord's 
 disciples (Matt. xvii. 6): 'They fell on their face, and were 
 sore afraid.' Also of Simon Peter (Luke v. 8): 'When Simon 
 Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from 
 me ; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' 
 
APPENDIX. 217 
 
 ject matter of the Bhagavad-gita. The following may 
 be noted : 
 
 He who has brought his members under subjection, but sits 
 with foolish mind thinking in his heart of sensual things, is 
 called a hypocrite (III. 6. Cf. Matt. v. 28). 
 
 Many are my births that are past ; many are thine too, 
 O Arjuna. I know them all, but thou knowest them not 
 (IV. 5. Cf. John viii. 14). 
 
 For the establishment of righteousness am I bora from time 
 to time (IV. 8. Cf. John xviii. 37 ; I John iii. 3). 
 
 I am dearer to the wise than all possessions, and he is dear to 
 me (VI. 17. Cf. Luke xiv. 33 ; John xiv. 21). 
 
 The ignorant, the unbeliever, and he of a doubting mind 
 perish utterly (IV. 40. Cf. Mark xvi. 16). 
 
 In him are all beings, by him this universe was spread out 
 (VIII. 22. Cf. Acts xvii. 28). 
 
 Deluded men despise me when I have taken human form 
 (IX. ii. Cf. John i. 10). 
 
 In all the Vedas I am to be known (XV. 15. Cf. John v. 39). 
 
 As many uses as there are in a reservoir filled with waters 
 coming from all parts (for bathing, washing, or drinking), so 
 many does a knowing Brahman find in all the Vedas (II. 46). 
 
 There will be found an obvious similarity if we com- 
 pare with the last statement, which is certainly borne 
 out by the practice of the present day, the various 
 uses made of texts from our own sacred Scriptures 
 by persons who wish to find authority for extreme 
 opinions. 
 
 The next passage is suggestive of the doctrine that 
 the condition of the soul for a future state is deter- 
 mined before death : 
 
 Whatever a man's state of mind be at the moment when he 
 leaves the body, to that condition does he always go, being made 
 to conform to that (VIII. 6. Cf. Eccles. xi. 3). This is called 
 the dying Sanskara which delays the passage to heaven. 
 
 A similar passage occurs in the C'handogya Upani- 
 shad, as follows : 
 
 Man is a creature of intelligence (kratu-maya], whatever ideas 
 he forms in this life, he becomes so when he departs to another, 
 therefore he should reflect on God (III. 14, i). 
 
2l8 HINDUISM. 
 
 Subjoined is a paraphrase of another remarkable 
 passage of the Bhagavad-gita (XVI. 1216). It may 
 be compared with Luke xii. 17-20 : 
 
 Entangled in a hundred worldly snares, 
 
 Self-seeking men, by ignorance deluded, 
 
 Strive by unrighteous means to pile up riches. 
 
 Then, in their self-complacency, they say, 
 
 ' This acquisition I have made to-day, 
 
 That I will gain to-morrow ; so much pelf 
 
 Is hoarded up already, so much more 
 
 Remains that I have yet to treasure up. 
 
 This enemy I have destroyed, him also, 
 
 And others in their turn I will dispatch. 
 
 I am a lord ; I will enjoy myself ; 
 
 I'm wealthy, noble, strong, successful, happy ; 
 
 I'm absolutely perfect ; no one else 
 
 In all the world can be compared to me. 
 
 Now I will offer up a sacrifice, 
 
 Give gifts with lavish hand and be triumphant.' 
 
 Such men, befooled by endless, vain conceits, 
 
 Caught in the meshes of the world's illusion, 
 
 Immersed in sensuality, descend 
 
 Down to the foulest hell of unclean spirits. 
 
 A few lines from Chapter III. may be added, in 
 which Krishna exhorts Arjuna to energetic action by 
 an argument drawn from the example set by himself 
 in his own everlasting exertions for the good of the 
 world (cf. John v. 17). The order of the text is not 
 observed in the following version, and the sentiment 
 in lines 6, 7, is from Chapter II. 47 : 
 
 Perform all necessary acts, for action 
 Is better than inaction, none can live 
 By sitting still and doing nought ; it is 
 By action only that a man attains 
 Immunity from action. Yet in working 
 Ne'er work for recompense ; let the act's motive 
 Be in the act itself. Know that work 
 Proceeds from the Supreme. I am the pattern 
 For man to follow : know that I have done 
 
APPENDIX. 219 
 
 All acts already, nought remains for me 
 
 To gain by action, yet I work for ever 
 
 Unweariedly, and this whole universe 
 
 Would perish if I did not work my work (III. 19). 
 
 The third division of the poem, comprising the 
 last six chapters, aims particularly at interweaving 
 Sankhya doctrines with the Vedanta, though this is 
 done more or less throughout the whole work. It 
 accepts the doctrine of a supreme presiding spirit, 
 as the first source of the universe, and asserts that 
 both Prakriti and Purusha that is, the original eternal 
 element and soul both emanate from this Supreme 
 Being. Moreover, it maintains the individuality of 
 souls, and affirms that the body and all the world of 
 sense is evolved out of Prakriti by the regular. 
 Sankhyan process, through Buddhi, Ahan-kara, the 
 five subtile elements, the five grosser elements, and 
 the eleven organs, including mind. 
 
 Thus in XIII. 19, and in VII. 4-6, we read : 
 
 Learn that Prakriti and Purusha also are both of them with- 
 out beginning. And know that the Vikaras, or ' productions, * 
 and the Gunas are sprung from Prakriti. 
 
 Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, and egoism, 
 into these eight .is my Prakriti divided. This Prakriti is the 
 inferior one, but learn my superior Prakriti to be other than this. 
 Understand that all things are produced from this other Prakriti. 
 
 Again, in VII. 12-14, Krishna, speaking of the 
 three Gunas, says : 
 
 Know that all the three Gunas, whether Sattva, Rajas, or 
 Tamas, proceed only from me. I am not in them, but they 
 in me. 
 
 All this universe, deluded by these three conditions consisting 
 of the Gunas, does not recognize me, the imperishable Being, 
 superior to them all. 
 
 For this divine illusion (Mdyd, i.e. 'illusory creation'), 
 consisting of the three Gunas, caused by me, is difficult to be 
 passed over. Those only are delivered from it who have recourse 
 to me. 
 
 The eclecticism of the Bhagavad-glta will be suffi- 
 Q 
 
220 HINDUISM. 
 
 ciently apparent from these examples. Three or four 
 passages (taken from Chapter III. 27, Chapter XIII. 
 29, 31) will form a fit conclusion to the subject, as 
 they contain the gist of the whole argument, viz. that 
 it is Arj una's duty, as a soldier, to act like a soldier, 
 and to do the work of his caste, regardless of con- 
 sequences ; and that this may be done consistently 
 with adhesion to the Vedantic dogma of the soul's 
 real inactivity and state of passionless repose : 
 
 All actions are incessantly performed 
 
 By operation of the qualities 
 
 Of Prakriti ; deluded by the thought 
 
 Of individuality, the soul 
 
 Vainly believes itself to be the doer. 
 
 The soul existing from eternity, 
 
 Devoid of qualities, imperishable, 
 
 Abiding in the body, yet supreme, 
 
 Acts not, nor is by any act polluted. 
 
 He who perceives that actions are performed 
 
 By Prakriti alone, and that the soul 
 
 Is not an actor, sees the truth aright. 
 
 Krishna's last advice may be thus summed up : 
 
 Act then and do thine own appointed task, 
 
 In every action my assistance ask, 
 
 Do all with heart and soul absorbed in me, 
 
 So shait thougain thine end and be from trouble free. 
 
 Arj una's conclusion may be thus paraphrased : 
 
 Eternal One ! thy glory just beheld 
 Has all illusion from my soul dispelled ; 
 Now by thy favour is my conscience clear, 
 I will thy bidding do and fight without a fear. 
 
 This beautiful poem offers, as we have seen, 
 numerous parallels to passages in our own sacred 
 Scriptures. But if we examine the writings and re- 
 corded sayings of three great Roman philosophers, 
 Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, we shall 
 find them also full of similar resemblances, while there 
 
APPENDIX. 221 
 
 appears to be no ground whatever for supposing that 
 these eminent Pagan writers and thinkers derived any 
 of their ideas from either Jewish or Christian sources. 
 The fact is that we have not sufficient data for 
 determining how far the presence of corrupt forms of 
 Christianity in particular districts of India from early 
 times, has affected Hinduism. The Hindu system 
 is like a vast ocean which has received an infinite 
 number of streams, and all we can say is that into 
 some of these streams Christian tributaries, from tur- 
 bid springs, which have afterwards dried up, may 
 possibly have found their way and become absorbed. 1 
 
 Jainism. 
 
 Jainism is the only representative of Buddhistic 
 ideas now left in India, and has so much in common 
 with them that, having already glanced at the chief 
 features of Buddhism '(see Chapter VI.), we need only 
 notice a few of the distinctive traits of a system which 
 is certainly the near relation of Buddhism, if not its 
 actual descendant. 
 
 The Jamas, who are still found in great numbers 
 in various parts of India (especially on the western 
 coast), are divided into two principal sects : i. The 
 ^vetambaras, ' clothed in white garments ' ; 2. the Dig- 
 ambaras, ' sky-clad/ or l naked ' ; the latter, however, 
 wear coloured garments, except while eating. These 
 sects, though their doctrines rest on nearly the same 
 sacred books, called collectively Agamas, and classed 
 under the head of Angas, Upangas, &c.,- differ in 
 
 1 M. de Thevenot, who visited Agra in 1666, wrote that 
 'some affirm that there are 25,000 Christian families in Agra.' 
 In all probability, Shah Jahan employed only Europeans for his 
 arsenals, artillery, &c. See Sleeman's Rambles, vol. ii. p. 49. 
 
 2 According to Rajendralala Mitra, the Jaina scriptures are 
 
 Q 2 
 
222 HINDUISM. 
 
 some unimportant matters, such as the clothing or 
 non-clothing of their images, the number of their 
 heavens, &c. They both agree with the Buddhists in 
 rejecting the Veda of the Brahmans. The principal 
 point in the Jaina creed is the reverence paid to holy 
 men, who, by long discipline, have raised themselves 
 to divine perfection. The Jina, or ' conquering saint, 
 who has conquered all worldly desires ' (whence the 
 adjective Jaina, to denote a follower of the Jinas), is 
 with Jainas what the Buddha, or ' perfectly enlightened 
 saint, 7 is with Bauddhas. He is also called Jinesvara, 
 ' chief of the Jinas ' ; Arhat, < the venerable ' ; Tlrtha- 
 kara, l the saint who has made the passage of the 
 world ' ; Sarva-jna, ' omniscient ' ; Bhagavat, ' holy 
 one. 7 Time with Jainas proceeds in two eternally 
 recurring cycles of immense duration, defying all 
 human calculation : i. the Utsarpini or * ascend- 
 ing cycle'; 2. Avasarpini or 'descending cycle.' 
 Each of these had six stages. Those of the 
 Utsarpini period are bad-bad, bad, bad-good, good- 
 bad, good, good-good time. In the Avasarpini period, 
 the series begins with good-good and goes regularly 
 backwards. In the first cycle the age and stature of 
 men increase ; in the other decrease. We are now 
 
 comprised in fifty different works, collectively called the Sutras, 
 and sometimes the Siddhantas, and classed in two different 
 ways : 1st, under the two heads of Kalpa-sutra and Agama, five 
 works coming under the former, and forty-five under the latter 
 head. 2ndly, under eight different heads, viz. "i. eleven Angas ; 
 2. twelve Updngas ; 3. four Mula-sutra ; 4. five Kalpa-sutra; 5. 
 six Cheddas ; 6. ten Payannas ; 7. Nandi-sutra ; 8. Anuyoga- 
 dvdra-sutra. Some of them have a fourfold commentary, under 
 the names Tikd, Airyukti, Curnt, and Bhashya, constituting 
 with the original the fivefold (pancdnga) Sutra. They are partly 
 in Sanskrit, partly in Magadhi Prakrit, and the total of the fifty 
 works is said to amount to 600,000 S'lokas (see Notices of 
 Sanskrit MSS. No. VIII. p. 67). 
 
APPENDIX. 223 
 
 in the fifth stage of the Avasarpim, i.e. in ' bad ' time. 
 When the two cycles have run out, a Yuga or age is 
 accomplished. Twenty-four Jinas, or ' perfect saints,' 
 raised to the rank of gods, have appeared in the pre- 
 sent Avasarpim cycle, twenty-four in the past Utsar- 
 pinl, and twenty-four will appear in the future. The 
 idols representing them are always, like that of Buddha, 
 in a contemplative posture. The first Jina of the 
 present cycle lived 8,400,000 years, and attained a 
 stature equal to the length of 500 bows (dhanus). 
 The age and stature of the second were somewhat less ; 
 and so in a descending scale. The last two Jinas, 
 Parsva-natha and Maha-vlra, were probably real per- 
 sons, and are those principally revered by the Jainas 
 of the present day. In all likelihood the first founder 
 of the sect was Parsva-natha, and its first active 
 propagator Maha-vira. In the same cycle there have 
 lived twelve 'Cakra-vartins, ' universal emperors,' nine 
 divine personages called Bala-devas, nine called 
 Vasudevas, and nine others called Prativasudevas, 
 making a list of sixty-three divine persons in all. 
 
 With regard to the world, the Jainas affirm that, 
 being formed of eternal atoms, it has existed and will 
 exist eternally. They believe that it has three divi- 
 sions, viz. lower, middle, and upper, and that there are 
 numerous hells and heavens. All existing things are 
 arranged under the two great Tattvas of Jiva, ' living 
 soul/ and A-jiva, ' inanimate objects/ Of living 
 souls there are three kinds : a. Nitya-siddha, l ever 
 perfect/ as the Jina ; b. Muktatman, ' liberated soul ' ; 
 c. Baddhatman, ' bound soul/ or one bound by works 
 and worldly associations. Material objects are some- 
 times classed under a Tattva called Pudgala, and some 
 make seven, others nine Tattvas. 
 
 There are three ' gems/ which together effect the 
 soul's liberation (mokska) ; viz. a. right intuition, b. 
 right knowledge, c. right conduct. This last consists 
 
224 HINDUISM. 
 
 in observing five duties or vows of self-restraint, 
 thus : 
 
 I. Do not kill or injure. Strict Jainas carry this to so preposte- 
 rous an extreme that they strain water before drinking it, sweep 
 the ground with a brush before treading on it, never eat or drink 
 in the Hark, and sometimes wear muslin before their mouths to 
 prevent the risk of swallowing minute insects. Moreover, they 
 never eat figs or any fruit containing seed, nor will they even 
 touch flesh-meat with their hands. 2. Do not tell lies. 3. Steal 
 not. 4. Be chaste and temperate in thought, word, and deed. 
 5. Desire nothing immoderately. 
 
 There are two classes of Jainas, as of Buddhists ; 
 viz. Srdvakas y those who engage in secular occupa- 
 tions, and Yatis, monks or ascetics, who are required 
 to pluck out their hair or wear it cropped short. The 
 latter often congregate in Mathas or * monasteries/ 
 being called Sadhu when not monastic. 
 
 It should be noted that most Jainas have a sort 
 of modified belief in the Hindu gods, especially 
 Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and Ganesa, with their con- 
 sorts, as beings subordinated to the Jainas ; and 
 representations of these deities are sometimes observ- 
 able in the precincts of their temples. They are even 
 observers of caste practices, and claim to be regarded 
 as Hindus, though rejecting the Hindu Veda. In 
 Western India the priests of some Jaina temples are 
 said to be Brahmans. 
 
 / _ 
 The Carvakas. 
 
 , There is no such philosophical sect as that of the 
 Carvakas at present in India, but that a materialistic 
 school of thinkers so called once existed, and exercised 
 no slight influence on sceptical philosophy, is proved 
 by the frequent allusions to them in Indian writings. 
 No account of Hinduism, therefore, would be com- 
 plete without a brief statement of their opinions. 
 Nothing is known about C'arvaka, the founder of 
 
APPENDIX. 225 
 
 this materialistic school. He may be styled the Indian 
 Pyrrho or Epicurus, and his system is the worst form 
 of all heresies. On that account, perhaps, it was 
 honoured with the first place in Madhavacarya's com- 
 pendium of all the philosophical systems, called Sarva- 
 darsana-sangraha. In the Santi-parvan of the Maha- 
 bharata (1410, &c.) there is a story of a Rakshasa 
 named C'arvaka, who, in the disguise of a mendicant 
 Brahman, reviled Yudhishthira during his triumphant 
 entry into Hastina-pura, and uttered profane and 
 heretical doctrines He was, however, soon detected, 
 and the real Brahmans, filled with fury, killed him 
 on the spot. This legend may possibly rest on some 
 basis of fact. 
 
 The creed of the C'arvakas, who are sometimes 
 called Lokayatas or Lokayatikas, 1 is said to have 
 been derived from the Varhaspatya Sutras (Aphorisms 
 of Vrihaspati). They reject all the Pramanas, or 
 ( sources of true knowledge/ except Pratyaksha, ' per- 
 ception by the senses ' (see p. 188) ; they admit only 
 four Tattvas or ' eternal principles/ viz. earth, air, fire, 
 and water ; and from these intelligence (caitanya) is 
 alleged to be produced ; they affirm that the soul is 
 not different from the body ; and, lastly, they assert 
 that all the phenomena of the world are spontaneously 
 produced, without even the help of Adrishta (see 
 p, 51). Their views may be summed up with a ver- 
 sion of a passage in the Sarva-darsana-sangraha, 
 setting forth their opinions according to the supposed 
 teaching of Vrihaspati. The sentiments, it will be 
 perceived, are worthy of the most sceptical, material- 
 istic, and epicurean of European writers : 
 
 No heaven exists, no final liberation, 
 
 No soul, no other world, no rights of caste, 
 
 1 By some this name is given to a subdivision of the C'arvakas, 
 or the materialistic school. 
 
226 HINDUISM. 
 
 No recompense for acts ; the Agnihotra, 
 
 The triple Veda, triple self-command, l 
 
 And all the dust and ashes of repentance 
 
 These yield a means of livelihood for men 
 
 Devoid of intellect and manliness. 
 
 If victims slaughtered at a sacrifice 
 
 Are raised to heavenly mansions, 2 why should not 
 
 The sacrificer immolate his father ? 
 
 If offerings of food. can satisfy 3 
 
 Hungry departed spirits, why supply 
 
 The man who goes a journey with provisions ? 
 
 His friends at home can feed him with oblations. 
 
 If those abiding in celestial spheres 
 
 Are filled with food presented upon earth, 
 
 Why should not those who live in upper stories 
 
 Be nourished by a meal spread out below ? 
 
 While life endures, let life be spent in ease 
 
 And merriment ; 4 let a man borrow money 
 
 From all his friends and feast on melted butter. 
 
 How can this body when reduced to dust 
 
 Revisit earth ? and if a ghost can pass 
 
 To other worlds, why does not strong affection 
 
 For those he leaves behind attract him back ? 
 
 The costly rites enjoined for those who die 
 
 Are a mere means of livelihood devised 
 
 By sacerdotal cunning nothing more. 
 
 The three composers of the triple Veda 
 
 Were rogues, or evil spirits, or buffoons. 
 
 The recitation of mysterious words 
 
 And jabber 6 of the priests is simple nonsense. 
 
 1 Tri-danda, * control over thoughts, words, and actions, de- 
 noted by the three Dandas or staves carried by ascetics.' See 
 Manu, XII. 10, II. 
 
 2 See Manu, V. 42, and p. 38 of this volume. Cf. Maha- 
 bharata, Asvamedhika-parvan 793, &c. 
 
 3 This is a hit at the S'raddha, when (as we have explained at 
 p. 66) oblations of cakes and libations of water arc made to the 
 spirits of deceased fathers, grandfathers, and progenitors. 
 
 4 * Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die' (i Cor. xv. 
 32). Compare such Horatian precepts as Epod. xiii. 3, &c. 
 
 6 Two curious Vedic words, jarbhari and turphari, are given 
 in the text as specimens of what I suppose modern scoffers might 
 call * Vedic slang. They occur in Rig-veda X. 106, 6, and 
 
APPENDIX. 227 
 
 As a conclusion to our Appendix, we commend the 
 foregoing curious commentary on the religious system 
 of the Hindus by an enemy within their own camp, 
 to the special attention of the Christian Missionary 
 in India. The satirical spirit it evinces is very differ- 
 ent from that we have recommended, at the end of 
 our 1 2th chapter, as likely to be most effective in 
 contending with the Hydra Hinduism. 
 
 Nirukta XIII. 5. For their explanation, see Bohtlingk and Roth, 
 and my Sanskrit-English Dictionary (published by Macmillan & 
 Co. for the University of Oxford). 
 
PRONUNCIATION OF LETTERS IN WORDS OF 
 SANSKRIT ORIGIN. 
 
 VOWELS. 
 
 a 
 
 as in rural. 
 
 r* as in merrily. 
 
 a 
 
 , tor, father. 
 
 rl 
 
 marme. 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 mi. 
 
 
 
 prey. 
 
 T 
 
 > 
 
 pol/ce. 
 
 at 
 
 *sle. 
 
 u 
 
 
 foil. 
 
 o 
 
 go. 
 
 a 
 
 t 
 
 n/de. 
 
 au 
 
 Haus (German) 
 
 CONSONANTS. 
 
 kh ,, inborn. 
 
 g -un, do^; 
 
 gh ,. lt&ut 
 
 n before k or g> as in si;zk, siwg. 
 
 c as ch in rhuiv/j (rurr ). 
 
 ?^ as chh in chur^^ill. 
 
 / as in /et. 
 
 y/5 as dgeh in he^<?/5og (he//5og), 
 
 belore c andy, as in iwch, siwge. 
 
 / as in /rue. 
 
 M ,, an//^ill. 
 
 ^ ,, drum. 
 
 dh ,, repaired. 
 
 n ,, wowe. 
 
 / ,, wa/er (in Ireland). 
 
 />4 ,, nu/-/zook (but more dental). 
 
 d ,, dice (more like th in //fcis). 
 
 ^//4 ,, adhere (but more dental). 
 
 ,, wot, \n 
 
 p ,, /ut, si/. 
 
 / ,, U/y^ill. 
 
 M ,, a/^fcor. 
 
 wap, jaw. 
 
 red, year. 
 
 /ie. 
 
 z/ie (like w after consonants). 
 
 j-ure, session. 
 
 jir, hisj. 
 
 i.e. Visarga, or a distinctly audible aspirate. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ABHAVA (non-existence), 191, 
 
 192. 
 
 Abhidharma, 77- 
 Acara, 55, 71. 
 Acarya, 160. 
 Adhvaryu priests, 20. 
 Adi-gran tha of the Sikhs, 142 (n). 
 Adi-parvan, 1 1 2. 
 Aditi, 22. 
 
 Adityas, 23, 26 ; (twelve), 167. 
 A-drishta, 51, 192. 
 A-dvaita (non-dualism), 204. 
 Agarwalas, 162. 
 Ages (the four), 1 2 1. 
 Aghora-pathins, or Aghorins, 
 
 148. 
 
 Agnayi, 27. 
 Agni, 24. 
 Agni-purana, 118. 
 Agnishtoma sacrifice, 40. 
 Ahankara, 195, 197. 
 Ahirs (herdsmen), 164. 
 Akasa-mukhins, 148. 
 Alexander the Great, expedition 
 
 of, 4. 
 
 Allahabad. See Prayaga. 
 Amara-kantak, 178. 
 Amara-nath, 179. 
 Amritsar, 179, 1 80. 
 Ananda-tirtha, 140. 
 Animals (sacred), 169, 170. 
 Anna-prasana, 59. 
 
 Anna-purna (the goddess of 
 plenty), 166. 
 
 Antyeshti, ' funeral rites,' 65. 
 
 Anumana (inference), 188. 
 
 Anusasana-parvan, 113. 
 
 A ranya-kana, no. 
 
 Aranyakas, 44. 
 
 Ardha-nari, 126. 
 
 Arjuna, 112, 208. 
 
 Arka plant, 171. 
 
 Arsha form of marriage, 62. 
 
 Aryans, 3 ; language of, 3 ; set- 
 tlement of, 3. 
 
 Aryavarta (district), 2, 3. 
 
 Ascetics (Buddhist), 78; (Hin- 
 du), 147, 148. 
 
 Asoka (King), 73, 74; (inscrip- 
 tions), 4. 
 ,, (shrub), 171. 
 
 Asramas of a Brahman's life, 59- 
 
 Asramavasika->parvan, 113. 
 
 Asura form of marriage, 62. 
 
 Asva - medha, * horse - sacrifice, ' 
 
 _ 40. 
 
 Asvamedhika-parvan, 113. 
 
 AsvinI, 27. 
 
 Asvins, 24. 
 
 Atoms, 192. 
 
 Atharva-veda, 20. 
 
 Avantika (Oujein), 177. 
 
 Avasarpini (descending cycle), 
 
 222. 
 
230 
 
 HINDUISM. 
 
 Avayavas (members of a syllo- 
 gism), 1 88, 189. 
 Avidya, 205. 
 Avyakta, 195. 
 Awadhi dialect, 7. 
 Ayodhya, no, 177. 
 Ayodhya-kanda, no. 
 Ayogava, a mixed caste, 57, 153. 
 
 BADARAYANA, 46, 203. 
 Badari-kedara, or Badari-nath, 
 
 178. 
 
 Bahais (carpenters), 163. 
 Baladevas, 223. 
 Bala-kanda, no. 
 Bali, 63*(n. 2). 
 Bandarwars, 162. 
 Bangis (sweepers), 164. 
 Banias, or Baniyas, 162. 
 Banjaras, 162. 
 Banyan- tree, 171. 
 Benares, 174, 175, 177. 
 Bengali language, 7- 
 Bhagavad-gita, 206-221. 
 Bhagavata-purana, 118, 119, 120. 
 Bhairava ('Siva), 94. 
 Bhairava-natha, 166. 
 Bhairavi, 95. 
 Bhaktas, 136. 
 
 Bhakti, 115, 136, 208, 209. 
 Bhakti-marga, 12. 
 Bhakti-sastra, 15. 
 Bhakti-sutras, 1 1 6. 
 Bharata, I. 
 Bharata-khanda, I. 
 Bharata-varsha, I. 
 Bhaskaracarya, 139. 
 Bhatiyas, 162. 
 Bhats, 163. _ 
 Bhatta-prayaga, 177. 
 Bhava-bhuti, in. 
 Bhavani (a shrine), 179. 
 Bhavishya-purana, 118. 
 Bhikshu, ' religious devotee,' 59 ; 
 
 (Buddhist), 78. 
 Bhima, 112. 
 
 Bhima-sankara, 178. 
 Bhishma-parvan, 113. 
 Bhistis (water-carriers), 164. 
 Bhojpuri dialect, 7- 
 Bhur, 6l. 
 
 Bhuta-suddhi, 132. 
 Bhuta-yajna, 63. 
 Bhuvar, 61. 
 
 Bihistis (water-carriers), 164. 
 Bindu (a Sarovara), 179. 
 Bodhi-tree, 75. 
 Brahma. See Brahman. 
 Brahma (the god), 26, 87-90. 
 Brahma form of marriage, 62. 
 Brahma-carm, * unmarried stu- 
 dent,' 59. 
 
 Brahma-jijnasa, 204. 
 Brahman, 17, 204; the supreme 
 
 soul, 49 ; meaning of, 86. 
 Brahmana portion of the Veda, 
 
 14, 18, 33-38. 
 Brahmanda-purana, 118. 
 Brahmanism, 13 ; Buddhism and 
 
 Brahmanism contrasted, 74- 
 Brahmans (priests), 34, 56-63 ; 
 
 divisions of, 159. 
 Brahma-purana, 118. 
 Brahma Samaj, 149. 
 Brahma-yajna, 63. 
 Brahma- vaivarta-purana, 1 1 8. 
 Braj dialect, 7. 
 Buddha, 72, 74, 75 ; meaning 
 
 of, 74 ; incarnation of Vishnu, 
 
 108. 
 
 Buddhi (intellect), 196. 
 Buddhindriyani, 196 (n). 
 Buddhism, 72 ; and Brahmanism 
 
 contrasted, 74. 
 
 'CAITANYA, 146. 
 
 'Caitanyas, 138, 146, 147. 
 
 'Cakra-vartins, 54, 223. 
 
 'Camars (leather-cutters), 164. 
 
 'Camunda, 124. 
 
 'Canakya, 72 (n). 
 
 'Candala, a mixed caste, 57, 153. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 231 
 
 'Candi, 124. 
 
 'Candi-mahatmya, 119. 
 
 'Candra Sen (Keshab), 149. 
 
 'Candra-gupta, 4, 73, 74. 
 
 'Carvakas, 224. 
 
 Caste, 151-159. 
 
 Castes (the four), 56, 57, 152 ; 
 (modern divisions), 159; (ori- 
 gin of mixed castes), 152, 153. 
 
 Categories (seven), 190, 191. 
 
 'Caturvarnya, 56. 
 
 Caula, 59. 
 
 Ceylon, 82, ill. 
 
 'Chandas, 15. 
 
 'Citra-kote, 179. 
 
 Confluences (seven), 177, 178. 
 
 Confucius, 47. 
 
 Conjevaram, 177* 
 
 Cows, reverence for, 169. 
 
 'Cuda-karman, 59- 
 
 Custard-apple, 171. 
 
 DAIVA form of marriage, 62. 
 Dakore, 1 80. 
 Dakshinacarins, 126. 
 Dandakaranya (the Deccan), 1 66. 
 Danda-pani, 1 66. 
 Darsanas (systems of philosophy), 
 
 14, 46, 187-206. 
 Dasahara, 183. 
 Dasaratha, no. 
 Basra, 24. 
 Deccan, 1 66. 
 Deva-prayaga, 178. 
 Deva-yajna, 63. 
 Devi-mahatmya, 118. 
 Devi, 123. 
 Dhurjati, 93. 
 Dharma (caste duties), 77, 202, 
 
 208. 
 
 Dharma-sastra, 15. 
 Dhigvana, a mixed caste, 57. 
 Dhobis (washermen), 164. 
 Dhrita-rashtra, 112. 
 Diet, 64. 
 Digambara, 93, 221. 
 
 Dipali, or Divall, 184. 
 Dims (tailors), 164. 
 Dola-yatra, 182. 
 Doms (chair-makers), 164. 
 Dravida Brahmans, 159. 
 Dravidians, 2 ; language of, 8, 9. 
 Dravya (substance), 190, 191. 
 Drishadvati river, 55. 
 Drishtanta (example in logic), 
 
 '189. 
 
 Drona-parvan, 113. 
 Durba grass, 171. 
 Durga, 9_5, 124. 
 Durga-puja, 183. 
 Duryodhana, 1 12. 
 Dvapara age, 121. 
 Dvaraka, 114, 177, 178. 
 Dvi-ja, * twice-born, ' 58. 
 Dyaus, 22, 24. 
 Dyaush-pitar, 22. 
 
 EATING and drinking, 155-157. 
 
 FOOD, I55-IS7. 
 
 GADHADA, 180. 
 
 Gandharva form of marriage, 
 
 62. 
 
 Ganesa, 63, 165. 
 Ganesa-caturthi, 183. 
 Ganga-putra, 1 60. 
 Ganga-sagara, 173, 178. 
 Ganges, 172. 
 Gangotri, 173, 178. 
 Garbhadana, 59- 
 Garbha-lambhana, 59. 
 Garuda-purana, 118. 
 Gauda Brahmans, 159. 
 Gauri, 124. 
 Gautama, 75- 
 Gaya, _75, 176. 
 Gayatri, 61. 
 Gaya-wal, 160. 
 Ghrishnesvara, 179. 
 Gita-govinda, 139. 
 
232 
 
 HINDUISM. 
 
 Godavari river, 173. 
 Gods (thirty-three), 25. 
 Gond language, 9. 
 Gosain, 144. 
 Gosain ji, 143. 
 Gotama, 46, 75, 189. 
 Gotras, 160. 
 
 Grahas (nine planets), 180. 
 Griha-stha, ' householder,' 59. 
 Grihya-siitra, 15, 53. 
 Gujarat! language, 8. 
 Guna. (quality), 190, 191. 
 Gunas (three), 88, 194, 195. 
 Gurjara Brahmans, 159. 
 
 HAJJAMS (barbers), 164. 
 HalwaTs (confectioners), 164. 
 Hanuman, 166. 
 Hari-dwar, 177. 
 Harivansa-parvan, 114. 
 Hell, 51. 
 
 Hetu (reason in logic), 1 88. 
 Hindi language, 7. 
 Hindu, origin of name, 2. 
 Hinduism, 13, 1 6. 
 Hindustan, I. 
 Hindustani language, 7. 
 Hiouen Thsang, 81. 
 Hiranya-garbha, 198. 
 HoK festival, 182. 
 
 IDOL-WOBSHIP, 165. 
 
 Incarnations, 103 ; Vishnu's ten, 
 104-108. 
 
 India, different names of, I, 2 ; 
 population of, 2; immigra- 
 tions into, 2-6 ; conquests of, 
 4 ; fourteen languages of, 7- 
 9 ; sacred language of, 13. 
 
 Indra, 23, 167. 
 
 Indrani, 27. 
 
 Indus river, 2. 
 
 Investiture with the cord, 60, 61. 
 
 Is*vara, 205. 
 
 Itihasa, 15, III. 
 
 JAGAN-NATH, 175, 178. 
 
 Jagan-matri, 93, 95. 
 
 Jaimini, 46, 201. 
 
 Jaina, 222. 
 
 Jainism, 221-224. 
 
 Jambu-dvipa, 2. 
 
 Jangamas, 148. 
 
 Janma-htami, 183. 
 
 Jata-karman, 59. 
 
 Jats, or Jats, 161. 
 
 Jaya-deva, 139. 
 
 Jina, 222. 
 
 Jivatman, the individual soul, 
 
 50, 192, 200, 206. 
 Jnana-marga, 1 1. 
 Jumna river, 172. 
 Jumnotri, 178. 
 Jvala-mukhi, 179. 
 Jyotir-matha, 179. 
 Jyotisha, 15. 
 
 Jyotishi (family astrologer), 62. 
 Jyotishtoma sacrifice, 40. 
 
 KABIR, 141, 142. 
 
 Kahars (palanktn-bearers), 164. 
 
 Kala, 'Time,' 92. 
 
 Kali age, 121. 
 
 Kali (the goddess), 92, 95, 124, 
 
 125. 
 Kalki or Kalkin, incarnation of 
 
 Vishnu, 1 08. 
 Kalpa-sfttra, 15. 
 Kama (god of love), 167. 
 Kama-dhenu, 169. 
 Kanada, 46, 190. 
 Kanarese language, 8. 
 Kanauji dialect, 7. 
 Kanci (Konjeveram), 177. 
 Kanyakubja Brahmans, 159. 
 Kapila, 46, 193. 
 Kapila-vastu, 74. 
 Karana, a mixed caste, 57- 
 Karma-marga, 1 1. 
 Karman (act), 190, 191. 
 Karma-phala, 55. 
 Karma- vipaka, 51. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 23S 
 
 Karmendriyani, 196. 
 Karna-parvan, 113. 
 Karna-prayaga, 178. 
 Karnata Brahmans, 159. 
 Karna-vedha, 60. 
 Karttika-piirnima, 184. 
 Karttikeya, 167. 
 Kaseras (braziers), 163. 
 Kasi (Benares), 177. 
 Kasmlri language, 8. 
 Kathaks (musicians), 163. 
 Kaulopanishad, 131. 
 Kauravas, orKuru princes, 112, 
 
 113- 
 
 Kaveri river, 173. 
 Kavya, 15. 
 Kaya-stha, a mixed caste, 57, 
 
 163. 
 
 Kedara, or Kedaresvara, 178. 
 Kerala (Malabar), 137. 
 Kesanta, 59. 
 Ketu (the planet), 166. 
 Khatris, 162. 
 Khond language, 9. 
 Kishkindhya-kanda, ill. 
 Kistna river, 1 73. 
 Kodagu language, 9. 
 Kolarian language, 9. 
 Kolis (weavers), 163. 
 Konkani dialect, 8. 
 Kota language, 9. 
 Krishna, 208. 
 
 ,, ( incarnation ofVishnu), 
 
 1 06. 
 
 Krita age, 1 2 1. 
 
 Kshatriyas (soldiers), 35, 56, 57. 
 Kulis (coolies or labourers), 164. 
 Kumarika-khanda, I. 
 Kumbhars (potters), 164. 
 Kurma incarnation, 105. 
 Kurma-purana, 1 1 8. 
 Kuru princes, 112, 113. 
 Kuru-kshetra, 113, 179. 
 Kusa grass, 171. 
 Kuvera, 167. 
 
 LAKSHMT, 124. 
 
 Languages spoken in India, 7-9. 
 
 Lanka (Ceylon), in. 
 
 Linga, 92, 93, 165. 
 
 Linga-purana, 118. 
 
 Linga sarira, 65. 
 
 Lingavats, 148. 
 
 Lohars (blacksmiths), 163. 
 
 Lokayatas, or Lokayatikas, 225. 
 
 Lonaris (preparers of salt), 164. 
 
 MADHAVACARYA, 141. 
 Madhva, or Madhvacarya, 141. 
 Madhvacaryas, 138, 141. 
 Mahabalesvar, 178. 
 Maha-bharata, 15, 111-114. 
 
 ,, -bhiitas (five), 196. 
 
 ,, -brahman a, 160. 
 Maha-deva, 123. 
 Maha-devi, 123. 
 Mahakala, or Mahakalesvara, 
 
 178. 
 Maha-lakshmi (a shrine), 179. 
 
 ,, -patra, 1 60. 
 
 ,, -rashtra Brahmans, 159. 
 Mahat, 196. 
 Mahatmyas, 175. 
 Maha-vidyas ('en), 125. 
 
 -yajnas (five), 63. 
 Mahishya, a mixed caste, 57. 
 Maithila Brahmans, 159. 
 Makaras (five), 127. 
 Makara-sankranti festival, 181. 
 Malabar, 137. 
 Malayalam language, 8. 
 Malls (gardeners), 164. 
 Mallahs (boatmen), 164. 
 Mallikarjuna, 178. 
 Manas, 196. 
 
 Manasa (a Sarovara), 179. 
 Manavas, 53. 
 Mantra, 98. 
 
 ,, portion of the Veda, 14, 
 
 18. 
 
 Mantras, 127, 128. 
 Manu, code of, 53-69. 
 
234 
 
 HINDUISM. 
 
 Manushya-yajna, 63. 
 Markandeya-purana, 118. 
 Marriage, 155; eight forms of, 62. 
 Maruts (The), 23. 
 Matha (a monastery), 224. 
 Mathura (Muttra), 177. 
 Matris, or Matrikas, 124. 
 Matsya incarnation, 104. 
 Mausala-parvan, 114. 
 Maya (illusion), 195. 
 
 ,, (Haridwar), 177. 
 Megasthenes, 4, 73. 
 Mela (religious fair), 182. 
 Mewari dialect, 7. 
 Mihtars (sweepers), 164. 
 Mimansa system of philosophy, 
 
 46, 201-203. 
 Mitakshara, 70. 
 Mitra, 22. 
 Mocis, 1 6. 
 
 Mohun Roy (Raja Ram), 149. 
 Monkeys, 170. 
 Mudra, 127, 130. 
 Muhammadans, 5, 6. 
 Murdhavasikta, a mixed caste, 
 
 57- 
 Muttra, 177. 
 
 NAGA-NATH, orNagesvara, 179. 
 Naga-pancami, 183. 
 Nagas (serpents), 169. 
 Nakshatras (27 constellations), 
 
 180. 
 
 Nakula, 112. 
 Nama-karana, 59. 
 Nanak Shah, 142. 
 Nanda-prayaga, 178. 
 Naradiya-purana, 1 1 8. 
 Narayana, 101 ; (a Sarovara), 1 79. 
 Nara-sinha incarnation, 106. 
 Narbada river, 173. 
 Nasatya, 24. 
 Nasik, 179. 
 Nath-dvar, 1 80. 
 Naus (barbers), 164. 
 Nava-grahah (nine planets), 166. 
 
 Nava-ratri festival, 183. 
 Nepali language, 10. 
 Nigamana (conclusion in logic), 
 
 188. 
 
 Nimbarka, or Nimbaditya, 138. 
 Nimbarkas, 138, 139. 
 Nirnaya (in logic), 189. 
 Nirukta, 15. 
 Nishkramana, 59. 
 Non- Aryan races of India, 7. 
 Nyaya system of philosophy, 46, 
 
 187-190. 
 
 OJHA, 1 60. 
 
 Om (the mystical word), 87, 
 
 200. 
 
 Om-kara, 178. 
 Oraon language, 9. 
 Oriya language, 8. 
 Oswals, 162. 
 
 PADARTHAS (seven categories), 
 
 190. 
 
 Padma-purana, 1 1 8. 
 Paisaca form of marriage, 62. 
 Pakhtu language, 10. 
 Palitana, 1 80. 
 Pampa (a Sarovara), 179. 
 Panca-lakshana, 117. 
 Pandavas, or Pandu princes, 
 
 112. 
 
 Pandharpur, 120 (n), 147, 176. 
 Panjabi language, 8. 
 Parama-hansas, 148. 
 Paramatman, the Supreme Soul, 
 
 _49, 192, 206. 
 Paramitas (six), 79. 
 Parasu-rama, 167 ; incarnation 
 
 of, 1 06. 
 
 Parasurama-kshetra, 167. 
 Parikrama, 173. 
 Parikshit, 179. 
 
 Parivrajaka (a religious mendi- 
 cant), 59 ; (Buddhist), 78. 
 Parsis, 5. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 235 
 
 Parvan, 181. 
 
 Parvati, 95. 
 
 Pashtu language, 10. 
 
 Pasis (village watchmen), 164. 
 
 Pasupatas, 148. 
 
 Pasu-pati ('Siva), 148. 
 
 Patali-putra (Patna), 4, 73. 
 
 Patanjali, 46, 200. 
 
 Philosophy, six systems of, 45, 
 
 46, 187-206. 
 Pilgrimage, places of, 171-180; 
 
 why undertaken, 171, 172. 
 Pinda, 66, 68. 
 Pipal tree, 170. 
 Pitri-yajna, 63. 
 Places (sacred), 170-180. 
 Planets (temples of the nine), 
 
 1 66. 
 
 Pongal festival, 182. 
 Prabhasa, 179. 
 Pradakshina, 173. 
 Pradhana, 195. 
 Praja-pati, 90. 
 
 Prajapatya form of marriage, 62. 
 Prakriti, 194-199. 
 Prama (true knowledge), 52, 
 
 188, 197. 
 Pramanas (four), 188 ; (three), 
 
 197. 
 
 Prameya, 189. 
 Pratijna (logical proposition), 
 
 188. 
 
 Prativasudevas, 223. 
 Pratyaksha, 1 88. 
 Prayaga (Allahabad), 176; (a 
 
 confluence), 177. 
 Prayag-wal, 1 60. 
 Prayascitta, 55, 71. 
 Prayojana (in logic), 189. 
 Priests. See Brahmans. 
 Prithivi, 24. 
 
 Pukkasa, a mixed caste, 57* 
 Punsavana, 59. 
 Purana, 15, 115-122; subjects 
 
 treated of in a, 117. 
 Piirbi dialect, 7. 
 
 Purna-prajna, 140. 
 
 Purusha, the Supreme Soul, 49, 
 
 195, 200. 
 
 Purusha-sukta, 30. 
 Purva-mimansa, 20 1. 
 Purva-paksha, 202. 
 Pushkara (a Sarovara), 179. 
 Pushti-marga, 144. 
 Pythagoras, 47. 
 
 RAHU (the planet), 166. 
 
 Raja-pur, 1 80. 
 
 Rajas (the Guna), 88, 117, 194, 
 
 195- 
 
 Rajasa Puranas, 117, 118. 
 Rajmahal language, 9. 
 Rakshasa.form of marriage, 62. 
 Rakshasas, 1 66. 
 Ram Mohun Roy, 149. 
 Rama (incarnation of Vishnu), 
 
 106, no. 
 Rama-kshetra (the Deccan),, 
 
 166. 
 
 Ramananda, 141. 
 Ramanandas, 138, 141, 142. 
 Rama-nath, or Ramesvara, I79>. 
 Ramanuja, 139. 
 Ramanujas, 138, 140. 
 Ramayana, 15, 109-111. 
 Ramesvara, 178, 179. 
 Rangaris (dyers), 164. 
 Rastogis, 162. 
 Ravana, 2, no, in, 166- 
 Renuka (a shrine), 179. 
 Rig-veda, 19. 
 Rishis, 17. 
 
 Rivers, sacred, 172, 173. 
 Rosaries, 61. 
 Rudra, 92. 
 Rudra-prayaga, 178. 
 Rudras, 25, 167. 
 Rudra-yamala Tantra, 131. 
 
 R 
 
 SABARMATI river, 173. 
 'Sabda (verbal authority), 1 88. 
 Sabha-parvan, 1 1 2. 
 
236 
 
 HINDUISM. 
 
 Sac-cid-ananda, 52, 195, 204. 
 
 Sacrifices, human, 36, 37 ; of 
 animals, 38-41 ; of the Soma 
 plant, 39 ; abolition of ani- 
 mal, 42. 
 
 Sad-acara, 55. 
 
 Sadhyas, 167. 
 
 Sages (seven), 1 60. 
 
 Sahadeva, 112. 
 
 Sahajananda, 145* 
 
 Saiva, 97. 
 
 'Saivism, 97-100. 
 
 'Saktas, 98, 122-132. 
 
 'Sakti, 92, 123, 199. 
 
 'Saktism, 122-133. 
 
 'Salagrama stones, 171. 
 
 Salokya, 51. 
 
 'Salya-parvan, 113. 
 
 Samaj (Brahma), 149. 
 
 Samanodakas, 68. 
 
 Samanya (generality of pro- 
 perties), 190, 191. 
 
 Samavartana, 59, 62. 
 
 Samavaya (coinherence), 191. 
 
 Sama-veda, 20. 
 
 Samayacarika-sutra, 15. 
 
 'Sami tree, 171. 
 
 Samipya, 51. 
 
 Sampradayas, 135. 
 
 Samsaya (in logic), 189. 
 
 Sandhya, 63. 
 
 Sandilya, 116. 
 
 Sandrokottus ( ='Candra-gupta), 
 
 4, 72- 
 
 'Sankaracarya, 137, 203, 206. 
 Sankhya system of philosophy, 
 
 46, 193-200. 
 Sannyasin (religious devotee), 
 
 59, 65. 
 
 Sanskaras (twelve), 59. 
 Sanskrit (language), 13 ; litera- 
 ture), 13, 14. 
 'Santi-parvan, 113. 
 Sapincla, 69. 
 Saptapadi, 63. 
 'Sarada-matha, 179. 
 
 Sarasvata Brahmans, 159. 
 Sarasvati (river), 355, 95, note I, 
 172; (the goddess), 90, 124. 
 Sarayu river, 173. 
 Sarovara (divine lakes), 179. 
 Sarupya, 51. 
 
 Sarva-darsana-sangraha, 225. 
 'Sastri, 1 60. 
 Sati (Suttee), 149. 
 'Satrunjaya, 179. 
 Sattva (the Guna), 88, 117, 194, 
 
 195. 
 
 Sattvika Puranas, 117, 118. 
 Sauptika-parvan, 113. 
 Sayujya, 51, 52. 
 Sects (Hindu), 134, 135. 
 Seleukos Nikator, 4, 73. 
 'Sesha (the serpent), 170. 
 Shap-darsanas (six systems of 
 
 philosophy), 46. 
 'Siksha, 15. 
 'Siksha-patri, 146 (n). 
 'Siddhanta (in logic), 189. 
 
 Siddhas, 167. 
 
 Simantonnayana, 59. 
 
 Sindhi language, 8. 
 
 Sindhu river, I. 
 
 Sins (five great), 64. 
 
 'Sitala (the goddess of small- 
 pox), 1 66. 
 
 'Siva, 26, 87-96, 98. 
 
 'Siva-purana, 118. 
 
 'Siva-ratri,* 182. 
 
 Sita, TIO, in. 
 
 Skanda, 167. 
 
 Skanda-purana, 118. 
 
 Smarta-sutra, 15. 
 
 Smriti, 14. 
 
 Somnath, 178. 
 
 Sonars (goldsmiths), 163. 
 
 Soul, 49, 50. 
 
 'Sraddhas (funeral rites), 64-68. 
 
 'Sramanas (Buddhist ascetics), 
 
 7 8. ' 
 
 'Srauta-sutra, 15- 
 'Sravakas (Jaina), 224. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 2 37 
 
 Sri-nath, 180. 
 Sringeri-matha, 179. 
 'Sri-pancami, 182. 
 'Sri vatsa mark, 1 20 (n). 
 'Srotriya Brahman, 1 60. 
 'Sruti, 14, 18. 
 Stones (sacred), 171. 
 Stri-parvan, 113. 
 'Sudras 35, 56, 57. 
 Sundara-kanda, ill. 
 Surya, 24. 
 
 Siitars (carpenters), 163. 
 Sutra, 34 (n), 46. 
 
 ,, of Buddha, 77. 
 Svami-narayana, 145. 
 'Sva-paka, 153. 
 Svar, 61. 
 
 Svargarohanika-parvan, 114. 
 'Svtetambaras, 221. 
 Syllogism (logical), 188. 
 
 TAGORE, 149. 
 Tailinga Brahmans, 159. 
 Takshaka (the serpent), 170. 
 Tamas (theGuna), 88, 117, 194, 
 
 }9S- 
 
 Tamasa Puranas, 117, 118. 
 Tamil language, 8. 
 Tanmatras (five), 196. 
 Tantis (weavers), 163. 
 Tantra, 15. 
 Tantras, 122-132. 
 Tantrism, 122-133. 
 Tapi-mula, 178. 
 Tapti river, or Tap!, 173. 
 Tarka (refutation in logic), 189. 
 Tattva, 194. 
 Tells (oilmen), 164. 
 Telugu language, 8. 
 Tilaka mark, 98. 
 Tirthas, 171. 
 Tithi (a lunar day), 181. 
 Toda language, 9. 
 Transmigration of souls, 42, 68. 
 Treta age, 121. 
 
 Tri-murti (Vedic), 25 ; (later), 
 
 8 7-. 
 Tri-pitaka, 77. 
 
 Tri-pundra, 98. 
 Tryambaka-nath, 178. 
 Tukarama, 147, 176. 
 Tulsl plant, 170. 
 Tulu language, 9. 
 Turanian races, 2. 
 
 UDAHARANA (major premiss), 
 
 1 88. 
 
 Udasa, 146. 
 UdasT. 142. 
 Udgatri priests, 20. 
 Udyoga-parvan, 112. 
 Uma, 95, 124. 
 
 Upamana (comparison), 188. 
 Upanaya (minor premiss), 188. 
 Upanayana, 59, 60. 
 Upanishad portion of the Veda, 
 
 14, 1 8, 43-45- 
 Upa-purana, 15 ; (eighteen), 
 
 122. 
 
 Upasakas (Buddhist laymen), 78. 
 Urdhva-pundra, 98. 
 Ushas, 24. 
 
 Utkala Brahmans, 159. 
 Utsarpim (ascending cycle), 222. 
 Uttara-kanda, in. 
 Uttara-paksha, 202. 
 Uttara-mimansa, 201. 
 
 VATDIKA Brahman, 160. 
 Vaidya (a mixed caste), 57, 163. 
 Vaidya-nath, 178. 
 Vajapeya sacrifice, 40. 
 Vairagis, 142, 148. 
 Vaiseshika system of philosophy, 
 
 46, 190-193. 
 Vaishnava, 97. 
 Vaishnavism, 97. 
 Vallabhacarya, 142 ; disciples 
 
 of, 143. 
 
 Vallabhacaryas, 138, 142-146. 
 Valmiki, no. 
 
238 
 
 HINDUISM. 
 
 Vamacitrins, 126. 
 
 Vamana incarnation, 1 06. 
 
 Vamana-purana, 118. 
 
 Vana-parvan, 112. 
 
 Vanaprastha (anchorite), 59, 64. 
 
 Varaha incarnation, 105. 
 
 Varaha-purana, 118. 
 
 Vardhana-matha, 179. 
 
 Varuna, 22, 23, 28, 167. 
 
 Varunam, 27. 
 
 Vasuclcvas, 223. 
 
 Vasuki (the serpent), 170. 
 
 Vasus (eight), 167. 
 
 Vayu, 23. 
 
 Vayu-purana. 118. 
 
 Veda, meaning of, 17. 
 
 Vedangas (six), 15. 
 
 Vedanta system of philosophy, 
 
 46. 
 
 Vedas, 19, 20. 
 Vena river, 173. 
 Vljas, 127, 128. 
 Vijaya-dasami, 183. 
 Vikaras (sixteen), 196. 
 Vilva tree, 170. 
 Vinaya, 77. 
 Virata-parvan, 112. 
 Visesha (particularity), 190, 191. 
 Vishnu, the god, 87-91, 100- 
 
 108. 
 
 Vishnu-prayaga, 177. 
 Vishnu-purana, 118, 120-122. 
 Visva-devas (ten), 167. 
 
 Visva-nath, 178, 
 Vithoba, 120, (n), 147, 176. 
 Vivaha, 59. 
 Vritra, 23. 
 Vrishatha, 148. 
 Vyahritis (three), 6 1. 
 Vyapaka (in logic), 188. 
 Vyapti (in logic), 188. 
 Vyapya (in logic), 188. 
 Vyasa, 112, 116,146, 203. 
 Vyavahara, 55> 7 1 * 
 
 YAJNAVALKYA, code of, 70, 71. 
 
 Yajnika Brahman, 1 60. 
 
 Yajnopavita, 60. 
 
 Yajur-veda, 20. 
 
 Yama, 167. 
 
 Yantras (mystical diagrams), 
 
 129. 
 
 Yatis (Jaina), 224. 
 Yoga system of philosophy, 46, 
 
 200, 201. 
 Yoga (concentration of the 
 
 mind), 209, 210. 
 Yogesvari (a shrine), 179. 
 Yogin, or Yogi, 201. 
 Yogim, 95, 124. 
 Yoni, 95. 
 
 Yuddha-kanda, III. 
 Yudhishthira, 1 12. 
 
 Z AND- AVAST A, 5. 
 Zoroaster 5, 47. 
 
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