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 ESSAYS
ON THE

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

OF THE HINDUS

BY THE LATE

H. T. COLEBROOKE, ESQ.

A NEW EDITION.

LEIPZIG:
F. A. BROCKHAUS.

LONDON: WILLIAMS & NORGATE.

1858.
PRINTED BY B. G. TEUBNER ,
LEIPZIG.
 CONTENTS.

[NB. The figures placed between brackets denote the pages of the former edition (2 rols.
London 1837.) from which the following- essays are reprinted.]

Page
I. On the VEDAS or sacred writings of the HINDUS. [Vol. I.

pp. 9-113] 169

II. On the duties of a faithful HINDU widow [pp. 114122] . 70 75
III. On the religious ceremonies of the HINDUS ,
and of the
BRAHMENS especially, Essay I. [pp. 123 147] . . . . 76 91

IV. II. [pp. 148202] .... 92127

V. III. [pp. 203226] .... 128-142
VI. On the philosophy of the HINDUS. Part I. SANKHYA. [pp.

227-260] 143-164
VII. Part II. NYAYA-VAIS'ESHICA. [pp. 261 294] . 165187
VIII. III. MIMANSA. [pp. 295 324] . 188 207
IX. IV. VEDANTA. [pp. 325377] . 208242
X. V. ON INDIAN SECTARIES, [pp. 378419] . 243269
XI. Enumeration of Indian Classes. [Vol. II. pp. 177190] . 270279
XII. Observations on the sect JAINS. [Vol. II. pp. 191224] . 280301
XIII. On the origin and peculiar tenets of certain Muhammedan
sects. [Vol. II. pp. 225231] 302306
 I.

On the VEDAS, or SACRED WRITINGS of the Hindus.

[From the Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 369 476. Calcutta, 1805. 4to.J

IN the early progress of researches into Indian literature, it was

doubted whether the Vedas were extant; or, if portions of them were
still preserved, whether
any person, however learned in other respects,
might be capable of understanding their obsolete dialect. It was
believed too, that, if a Brdhmana really possessed the Indian scrip-
tures, his religious prejudices would nevertheless prevent his

imparting the holy knowledge to any but a regenerate Hindu. These

notions, supported by popular tales, were cherished long after the
Vedus had been communicated to DAKA SHUCOH, and parts of them
translated into the Persian language by him, or for his use.* The
doubts were not finally abandoned, until Colonel POLIER obtained
from Jeyepur a transcript of what purported to be a complete copy
of the Viidas, and which he deposited in the British Museum. About
the same time Sir ROBERT CHAMBERS collected at Benares numerous
fragments of the Indian scripture General MARTINE at a later
:
,

period obtained copies of some parts of it; and Sir WILLIAM JONES
,

was successful in procuring valuable portions of the Vedas, and in

** I have
translating several curious passages from one of them.
been still more fortunate in collecting at Benares the text and com-

mentary of a large portion of these celebrated books; and, without

waiting to examine them more completely- than has been yet practi-
cable I shall here attempt to give a brief explanation of what they
,

chiefly contain.
It is well known, that the original Veda is believed by the Hin-
dus to have been revealed by BRAHMA', and- to have been preserved
by tradition Until it was arranged in its present order by a sage,
,

who thence obtained the surname of VYA'SA, or VEDAVYA'SA: that is,

* Extracts have also, been translated into the Hindi

language; but it does
not,appear upon what occasion this version into the vulgar dialect was
made.
** See Preface to MENU vi. and the Works of Sir WILLIAM JONES,
, page
vol. vi.

1
compiler of the Vedas. He distributed the Indian scripture into
four parts, which are severally entitled Rich, Yajush, Sdman, and
ACharvana; and each of which bears the common denomination of
Veda.
Mr. WILKINS and Sir WILLIAM JONES were led, by the consideration
of several remarkable passages, to suspect that the fourth is more mo-
dern than the other three. It is certain that MENU, like others among
the Indian lawgivers, always speaks of three only, and has barely
alluded to the ACharvana* without however terming it a Veda. Pas-
sages of the Indian scripture itself seem to support the inference: for
the fourth Veda is not mentioned in the passage cited by me in a for-
mer essay** from the white Yajush',*** nor in the following text,
quoted from the. Indian scripture by the commentator of t\\*.Rich.
"The Rigveda originated from fire; the Yajurveda from air; and
"the Sdmaveda from the sun."f
Arguments in support of this opinion might be drawn, even from
popular dictionaries; for AMERASINHA notices only three Vedas, and
mentions the ACharvana without giving it the same denomination.
It is, however, probable, that some portion at least of i\\& ACharvana
is as ancient as the compilation of the three others and its name,
;

like theirs,anterior to VYA'SA'S arrangement of them: but the

is

same must be admitted in regard to the Ilihdsa and Purdnas, which

constitute a fifth Veda, as the ACharvana does a fourth.
It would indeed be vain to quote in proof of this point, the Pu-
, ,

rdnas themselves, which always enumerate four Vedas, and state

the Ilihdsa and Purdnas as a fifth; since the antiquity of some among
the Purdnas now extant is more than questionable, and the authen-
ticity of any one in particular does not appear to be as yet suffi-
ciently established. It would be as useless to cite the Manauca and

Tdpaniya Upanishads, in which the Afharva-veda is enumerated among

the scriptures and in one of which the number of four Vedas is ex-
,

pressly affirmed: for both these Upanishads appertain to the AChar-

vana itself. The mention of the sage AT'HARVAN in various places
throughout the Vedas ff proves nothing; and even a text of the Ya-

*
MENU, chap. 11, v. 33.
**
Essay Second, on Religious Ceremonies. See Asiatic Researches, vol.
vii. p. 251.
*** From the 31st chapter; which, together with the preceding chapter
(30th), relates to the Purushamed'ha, a type of the allegorical immolation of
NAKAYANA, or of BRAHMA in that character.
f MENU alludes to this fabulous origin of the Vedas (chap. 1. v. 23). His
commentator, MKDHA'TIT'HI, explains it by remarking, that the Rigveda opens
with a hymn to fire; and the Yajurvida with one in which air is mentioned.
But CULLUCAHHATTA has recourse to the renovations of the universe. "In one
Calpa, the Vedas proceeded from fire, air, and the sun; in another, from
HHAIIMA, at, his allegorical immolation."
ff Vide Vedas passim. .
 SACRED WRITINGS OF- THE HINDUS. O

jurveda,* where he is -named in contrast with the Rich, Yajush,

and Sdman, and their supplement or Brdhmana, is not Becisive.
But a very unexceptionable passage may be adduced, which the
commentator of the Rich has quoted for a different purpose from the
Ctfhdndogya Upanishad, a portion of the Sdman. In it, NA'REDA,
having solicited instruction from SANATCUMA'RA and being interro-
,
"I
gated by him as to the extent of his previous knowledge says , ,

have learnt the Rtgveda, the Yajurveda, the Sdmave'da, the ACharvanu,
[which the fourth, the Itihdsa and Purdna, (which are] a fifth,
is]
and [grammar, or] the Veda of Vedas, the obsequies of the manes,
the art of computation the knowledge of omens, the revolutions of
,

periods, the intention of speech [or art of reasoning] the maxims

,

of ethics, thedivine science [or construction of scripture], the sciences

appendant on holy writ [or accentuation, prosody, and religious
rites], the adjuration of spirits, the art of the soldier, the science
of astronomy, the charming of serpents, the science of demigods
[or music and mechanical arts]: all this have I studied; yet do I
only know the text, and have no knowledge of the soul. "**
From this, compared with other passages of less authority, and
with the received notions of the Hindus themselves, it appears, that
the Rich, Yajush, and Saman, are the three principal portions of the
Veda ; that the Afharvana is commonly admitted as a fourth and ;

that divers mythological poems, entitled Ilihdsa and Pur anas are ,

reckoned a supplement to the scripture, and as such, constitute a

fifth Veda.***
The true reason why the. three first Vedas are often mentioned
without any notice of the fourth, must be sought, not in their different

* In the
Taittiriya Upanishad.
** 1. I insert the whole passage, because
CK'hdndogya Upanishad, cb. 7, .

it contains an ample enumeration of the sciences. The names by which '

grammar and the rest are indicated in the original text are obscure; but the
annotations of SANCARA explain them. This, like any other portion of a
Veda where it is itself named (for a few other instances occur), must of course
be more modern than another part to which the name had been previously
.

assigned. It will hereafter be shown, that the Vedas are a compilation of

prayers, called mantras; with a collection of precepts and maxims, entitled
Brdhmafta, from which last portion the Upanishad is 'extracted. The prayers
are properly the Vedas, and apparently preceded the Brdhmana.
*** \vhen the
study of the Indian scriptures was more general than at
present especially among the Brdhmanas of Canydcubja learned priests de-
, ,

rived titles from the number of Vedas with which they were conversant. Since
every priest was bound to study one Veda no title was derived from the
,

fulfilment of that duty ;

but a person who had studied two Vedas was sur-
n&meft Dmivedi; one who was conversant with three, Trivedi; and one versed
in four, Cltalurvedi: as the mythological poems were only figuratively called
a Veda no distinction appears to have been derived from a knowledge of
them in addition to the four scriptures. The titles abovementioned have
become the surnames of families among the Brdhmens ofCanoj, and are cor-
rupted by vulgar into Dobe, Tindre, and Chaube.
pronunciation
1*
4 ON THE V^DAS, OR

origin and antiquity, but in the difference of their use and purport.
Prayers Employed at solemn rites, called yajnyas, have been placed
in the three principal Vedas those which are in prose are named
:

Yajush; such as are in metre are Denominated Rich: and some,

which are intended to be chanted, are called Sdman: and these
names, as distinguishing different portions of the Vedas, are anterior
to their separation in VYA'SA'S compilation. But the Atharvaiia not
being used at the religious ceremonies .abovementioned, and contain-
ing prayers employed at lustrations , at rites conciliating the dei-
ties and as imprecations on enemies is essentially different from
, ,

the other Vedas; as is remarked by the author" of an elementary

treatise on the classification of the Indian sciences.*
But different schools of priests have admitted some variations in
works which appear under the same title. This circumstance is
accounted for by the commentators on the Vedas, who relate the
following story taken from Purdnas and other authorities. VYASA
having compiled and arranged the scriptures theogonies and my-
, ,

thological poems, taught the several Vedas to as many disciples.:

viz. the Rich to PAILA, the Yajush to VAISAMPA'YANA, and the Sdman
to JAIMINI ; as also the Afharvana to SUMANTU and the Itihdsa and
.
,

Purdnas to SU'TA. These disciples instructed their respective pupils,

who becoming teachers in their turn ,
communicated the knowledge
to their own disciples; until at length, in the progress of succes-
sive instruction, so great variations crept into the text, or into the
manner of reading and reciting it, and into the no less sacred pre-
cepts for its use and application, that eleven hundred different
schools of. scriptural knowledge arose.
The several Sanhilds , or collections of prayers in each Veda as ,

received in these numerous schools or variations more or less 'con- ,

siderable, admitted by them either in the arrangement of the whole

text (including prayers and precepts), or in regard. to particular
constituted the 'Sac has or branches of each Veda.
1

portions of it ,

Tradition, preserved in the Purdnas, reckons sixteen Sanhitds of

the Rlgveda: eighty-six of the Yajush, or including those which
branched from a second revelation of this Veda , a hundred and
one and not less than a thousand of the Sdmaveda, besides nine of
;

the Afharvana. But treatises on the study of the Veda reduce the
'Sdc'hds of the Rich to five; and those of the Yajush, including both
revelations of it, to eighty six.**'
The progress by which
(to use the language of the Purdnas) the
tree of science put forth numerous branches is thus related. PAILA
its

taught the Rigveda, orBahvrich, to two disciples, BAHCALA andlNDRA-

*
MAD%USUDANA SARAswATi, in the Praftfhdnabheda.
** The authorities on which this is stated .are
chiefly the Vishnu purdna,
part 3, chap. 4, and the Vijeyavildsa on the study of scripture also the Cha-
;

ruhnvyuha, on the 'Snc'/ids of the fedas.

 SACRED WHITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 5

PRAMATJ. The first, also called BA'HCALI, was the edjtor of a San-
or collection of prayers, and a "Sac ha bearing his name still
1

hila,
subsists: it is said to have first branched into four schools; after-
wards INDRAPRAMATI communicated his knowledge
into three ethers.
to his own son MA'ND'UCEYA, by whom a Sanhild was compiled, and
from whom one of the 'Sdc'hds has derived its name. VEDAMITRA,
surnamed S'A'CALYA studied under the same teacher, and gave a
,

complete collection of prayers: it is still extant; but is said to have

given origin to five varied editions of the same text. The two other '

and principal 'Sdc'hds of the Rich are those of A'S'WALA'YANA and

SANC'HYA'YANA, or perhaps CAuSHiTAci: but the Vishnu purdna omits
them, and intimates, that SA'CAPU'RNI a pupil of INDRAPRAMATI,
,

gave the third varied edition from this teacher and was also the
,

author of the Nirucla: if so, he is the same with YA'SCA. His school
seems to have been subdivided by the formation of three others de-
rived from his disciples^
The Yajush or AcThtvaryu, consists of two different Vedas, which
have separately branched out into various 'Sdc'hds. To explain the
names by which both are distinguished it is necessary to notice a
,

legend, which is gravely related in the Purdnas and the commen-

taries on the Veda.
The Yajush, in its original form, was at first taught by VAISAMPA'-
YANA to twenty-seven pupils. .At this time, having instructed
YA'JNYAWALCYA , he appointed him to teach the Veda to other dis-
ciples. Being afterwards offended by the refusal of YA'JNYAWALCYA
to take on himself a share of , the sin incurred by VAIS'AMPA'YANA,
who had unintentionally killed his own sister's son the resentful
,

preceptor bade YA'JNYAWALCYA relinquish the science which he had

learnt.* He instantly disgorged it in a tangible form. The rest
of VAISAMPA'YANA'S disciples receiving his commands to pick up the
disgorged Veda, assumed the form of partridges, and swallowed these
texts which were soiled, and for this reason termed "black:" they
are also denominated Taitliriya, from liliiri, the name for a partridge.
YA'JNYAWALCYA, overwhelmed- with sorrow, had recourse to the
sun; and through the favour of that luminary obtained a new reve-
lation of the Yajush, which is called "white" or pure, in contradis-
tinction to the other, and is likewise named Vdjasaneyi, from a pat-
ronymic, as it should seem, of YA'JNYAWALCYA himself; for the Veda
" these
declares, pure texts, revealed by the sun are 'published by
,

YAJNYAWALCYA, the offspring of VA'JASANI. "** But, according to

the Vishnu purdna (3. 5. adfinem), the priests who studied the Yajush

* The Vishnu purdna par^t 3, chap. 5. A different motive of resentment is

,

assigned by others.
** Vrihad
Aranyacn ad calcem. The passage is cited by the commen-
tator on the Rigveda. In the index likewise, YAJNYAWALCYA is stated to
have received the revelation from the sun.
6 ON THE VEDAS ,
OR

are called Vgjins, because the sun, who revealed it, assumed the
form o'f a horse (ydjin).
I have cited this absurd legend, because it is referred to by the
commentators on the white Yajush. But I have yet found no allu-
sion to it in the Veda itself, nor in the explanatory table of contents.
On the. contrary, the index of the black Yajush gives a different
and more rational account. VAIS'AMPA'YANA, according to this autho-
rity,* taught the Yajurveda to YA'SCA, who instructed TITTIRI :**
from him UC'HA received it and communicated it to A'TREYA who
, ;

framed the 'Sdc'hd, which is named after him, and for which that in-
dex is arranged.
The white Yajush was taught by YA'JNYAWALCYA to fifteen pu-
pils,
who founded as many schools. The most remarkable of ,wlrich
are the 'Sdc'has of CANWA and MADHYANDINA; and next to them,
those of the Jd.bdlas, B'and' hay anas and Tdpaniyas. The other bran-
,

ches of the Yajush seem to have been arranged in several classes.

Thus the Characas, or students of a 'Sdc'hd, so denominated from the
teacher of
it CHARACA are stated as including ten subdivisions
, , ;

among which are the CaVhas, or djsciples of CAT'HA, a pupil of

VAISAMPA'YANA; as also the 'Srvetdsrvataras , Aupamcmyavas, and Mai-

irdyat'iiyas the last-mentioned comprehend seven others. In like

:

manner, the Taittiriyacas are in the first instance subdivided into

, ,

two, the Auc'hydyas and Chdnaiceyas; an4 these last are again sub-
divided into five, the Apaslambiyas, &c. Among them, A'PASTAMBA'S
'Sdc'hd is still subsisting; and so is A'TREYA'S among those which
branched from UC'HA: but the rest, or most of them, are become
rare, if not altogether obsolete.
SUMANTU, son of jAiMiNi studied the Sdmaveda or Cfthdndogya,
, ,

under his father: and his own son, SUCARMAN, studied under the
same teacher, but founded a different school; which was the origin
of two others, derived from his pupils, HIRANYANA'BHA and PAU-
SHYINJI, and thence branching into a thousand more for LOCA'CSHI,
:

CU^'HUMI and other disciples of PAUSHYINJI gave their names to

, ,

separate schools, which were increased by their pupils. The 'Sdtfhd

entitled Cau'fhumi still subsists. HIRANYANA'BHA, the other pupil of
SUCARMAN, had fifteen disciples, authors ofSanhitds, collectively
called the northern Sdmagas / and fifteen others, entitled the south-
ern Sdmagas : and CRITI, one of his pupils, had twenty-four disci-
ples, by wh'om, and by their followers, the other schools were
founded. Most of them are now lost; and, according to a legend,

*
CdnSdniecrama, verse 25. This index indicatorius is formed for the Alreyi
'Sdc'hd. Its author is CUNDINA, if the text (vers^ 27) be rightly interpreted.
** This
agrees with the etymology of the word Taittiriya; for according
to grammarians (see PANINI 4, iii. 102), the derivative here implies 'recited
by Tiltiri, though composed by a different person.
'
A similar explanation
is given by commentators on the Upanishads.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 7

were destroyed by the thunderbolt of INDRA. The principal 'Sdc'hd

now subsisting is that of Rdndyaniyas., including seven subdivisions;
one of which is entitled Caiifhumi, as above-mentioned, and com-
prehends six disti ct schools. That of the Talavacdras, likewise, is
extant, at least, in part: as will be shown in speaking of the
Upanishads. . ,

The ACharva-vedaw&a taught bysuMANTU to his pupil CABAND'HA,

who divided it between D^VADAKS'A and PAT'HYA. The first of
these has given name to ihe'Sdc'hd entitled Devadarsi; as PIPPALA'DA,
the last of his four disciples, has to the 'Sdc'hd of the Paippalddis.
Another branch of the Afharvana derives its appellation from S'AU-
NACA, the third of PAT'HYA'S pupils. The rest are of less note.
Si\ch is the brief history of the Veda deducible From the autho-
rities before cited. But those numerous 'Sdc'hds did not differ so
widely from ea'ch other, as might- be inferred from the mention of
an equal number of Sanhitds, or distinct collections of texts. In
general, the various schools of the same Veda seem to. have used
the same assemblage of prayers ; they differed more in their copies
of the precepts or Brdhmanas-, and some received into their canon
of scripture, portions which do not appear to have been acknowled-
ged by others. Yet the chief difference seems always to have been
the use of particular rituals taught in aphorisms (siilras) adopted by
each school; and these do not constitute a portion of the Veda, but,
like grammar and astronomy, are placed among its appendages.
It may be here proper to remark, that each Veda consists of two

parts, denominated the Mantras "and the Brdhmanas, or prayers and

precepts. The complete collection of the hymns, prayers, and invo-
cations, belonging to one .Veda, is entitled its Sanhitd. Every other
portion of Indian scripture is included under the general head of
diviqity (Brdhmana). This comprises precepts which inculcate reli-
gious duties, maxims which explain these precepts, and arguments
which relate to theology.* But, in the present arrangement of the
Vedas the portion which contains passages called Brdhmanas, in-
,

cludes many which are strictly prayers or Mantras. The theology

of the Indian scripture comprehending the argumentative portion
entitled Veddnla is contained in tracts denominated Upanishads, some
of which are portions of the Brdhmana properly so called others ,

are found only in a detached form, and one is a part of a Sanhitd

itself.

* The explanation here given is taken from the Prasfhdna bhcda.

 ON THE vl>AS, OR

On the RIGVEDA.
THE first Veda* contains mantras,
Sanhitd of the or prayers,
which most part are encomiastic, as the name of the Rigvedu
for the

implies.** This collection is divided into eight .parts (c'&wfia),

each of which is subdivided into as many lectures (cufhydyci).
Another mode of division also runs through the volume, distinguish-
ing ten books (man'dala) which are subdivided. into more than a
,

hundred chapters (anuvdca), and comprise a thousand hymns or in-

vocations (sucta). A further subdivision of more than, two thousand
sections (bargd) is common to both methods anS the whole contains
;

above ten thousand verses, or rather stanzas, of various measures.

On examining this voluminous compilation, a systematical arrange-
ment is readily perceived. Successive chapters, and even entire
books, comprise hymns of a single author; invocations, too, addres-
sed to the same deities, hymns relating to like subjects, and prayers
intended for similar occasions, are frequently classed tog'ether. This
requires explanation.
In a regular perusal of the Veda, which is enjoined to all priests,
and which is much practised by Mahrdltas and Telingas, the student
or reader is required to notice, especially, the author, subject, me-
tre, and purpose of each mantra, or invocation. To understand the
meaning of the passage is thought less important. The institutors
of the Hindu system have indeed recommended the study of the
sense ; but they have inculcated with equal strenuousness, and more
success, attention to the name of the Rishi or person by whom the
text was first uttered, the deity to whom it is addressed, or the sub-
ject to which it relates, and also its rhythm or metre, and its pur-
pose, or the religious ceremony at Avhich it should be used. The
practice of modern priests is conformable with these maxims. Like
the Koran among the Muhammedans the Veda is put into the hands
,

of children in the first period of their education; and continues

afterwards to be read by rote, for the sake of the words, without
comprehension of the sense.

*^I
have several copies of it, with the corresponding index for the Sdcalya
'Sac hat, and also an excellent commentary by SAYANACHARYA. In another
collection of mantras, belonging to the Asnialdyani'Sd&hd of this Veda, 1 find
the fiftst few sections of each lecture agree with the other copies but the
,

rest of the sections are omitted. I question whether it be intended as a'

complete copy for that 'Sdc'hd.
** Derived from the verb
rich, to laud; and properly signifying any pray-
er or hymn, in which & deity is praised. As those are mostly in verse the
,

term becomes also applicable to such passages of any Veda as are reducible
to measure, according to the rules of prosody. The first Veda in VYASA'S
,

compilation, comprehending most of these texts, is called the Rtgveda; or

as expressed in the Commentary on the Index, "because it abounds with
such texts (rfcA)."
 SACKEU WHITINGS OP THE HINDUS. 9

Accordingly the Veda is recited in various superstitious modes :

word by word, either simply disjoining them, or else repeating the

words alternately, backwards and forwards, once or oftener.- Copies
of the Rlgveda and Yajush (for the Sdmaveda is chanted only) are
prepared for these and other modes of recital, and are called Pada,
Crama, Ja'ta^Ghanq, &c. But the various ways of inverting the text
are restricted, as it should appear, to the principal Vedas that i.s,
to the original editions of the Rtgveda and- Yajush: while the subse-

quent editions, in which the text or the arrangement of it is varied,

being therefore deemed subordinate 'Sac has, should be repeated
1

only in a simple manner.

It seems here
necessary to justify my interpretation of what is
Rishi of a mantra.' The last term has been thought to
'
called the
.signify an incantation rather than a prayer: and, so far as super-
natural efficacy is ascribed to the mere recital of the words of a
mantra, that interpretation is
sufficiently accurate; and, as such, it

is
undoubtedly applicable to the unmeaning incantations of the
Mantra- sdslra, or Tantras and Agamasl But the origin of the term is
certainly different. Its derivation from a verb, which signifies 'to
speak privately,' is readily explained by the injunction for medita-
ting the text of the Veda, or reciting it inasdibly: and the import
of any mantra in the Indian scriptures is generally found to be a
prayer, containing either a petition to a deity, or else thanksgiving,
praise, and adoration.
The Rtshi or saint of a mantra is defined, both in the index of the
Rigveda and by commentators, he by whom it is spoken:' as the
c

c
Devald, or deity, is that which is therein mentioned.' In the index
c
to the Vdjasarieyi Yajurveda, the Rishi is interpreted the seer or
rememberer' of the text; and the Devoid is said to be 'contained in
the prayer; or [named] at the commencement of it; or [indicated as]
the deity, who shares the oblation or the praise.' Conformably
with these definitions, the deity that is lauded or supplicated in the
prayer is its Devoid but in a few passages which contain neither
; ,

petition nor adoration, the subject is considered as the deity that is

spoken of. For example, the praise of generosity is the Devoid of
many entire hymns addressed to princes,, from whom gifts were re-
ceived by the authors.
The Rishi, or speaker, is of course rarely -mentioned in the man-
tra itself: but in some instances he does name himself. A few pas-

sages, too, among the mantras of the Veda are in the form of dia-
logue; and, in stich cases, the discoursers were alternately consi-
dered as Rishi and Devald. In general, the person to whom the
passage was revealed, or according to another gloss, by whom its
use and application was first discovered,* is called the Rishi of that

* whom
Translating literally, "the Rhfii is he by the text was seen."
10 ON THE VEDAS, OR

mantra. He is evidently then the author of the prayer; notwithstand-

ing the assertions of the Hindus, with whom it is an article of their
creed, that the Vedas were composed Jby no human author. It must
be understood, therefore, that in affirming the primeval existence
of their scriptures, they deny these works to be the original com-
position of the editor (VYASA), but believe them, to have been gra-
dually revealed to inspired writers.
The names of the respective authors of each passage are preser-
ved in the Anucramani, or explanatory table of contents, which has
been handed down with the Veda itself, and of which the authority
'is
unquestioned.* According to this index VISWAMITRA is author of
,

all the hymns contained in the third book of the Rigveda; as BHA-
RADWA'JA is, with rare exceptions, the composer of those collected
in the sixth book; VASISHT'HA, in the seventh; GRITS AMADA, in the.
second; VA'MADEVA, in the fourth; and BUD'HA** and other descend-
ants of ATRI in the fifth. But, in the remaining books of this Veda,
,

the authors are more various; among these, besides AGASTYA,

CASYAPA SOn of MARICHI, ANGIRAS, JAMADAGNI SOU of BHRIGU,
PARA'S'ARA father of VYA'SA GOTAMA and his son NOD'HAS VRI-
, ,

HASPATI, NA'REDA, and other celebrated Indian saints, the most

conspicuous are CANWA and his numerous descendants ME'D'HA-
, ,

TIT'HI, &c. MAD'HUCH'HANDAS, and others among the posterity of

;

VIS'WA'MITRA S'UNAS'EP'HA son of AJIGARTA; CUTS A, HIRANYASTUYA,

;

SAVYA, and other descendants of ANGIRAS; besides many other

saints, among the posterity of personages abovementioned.
It is worthy of remark, that several persons of royal birth (for

instance, five sons of the king VRIHANGIR; and TRAYYARUNA and

TRASADASYU, who were themselves kings,) are mentioned among
the authors of the hymns which constitute this Veda: and the text
some places, actually points, and in others obviously alludes,
itself, in
to monarchs, whose names are familiar in the Indian heroic his-
tory. As this fact may contribute to fix the age in which .the Veda

PANINI (4.ii. 7)
employs the same term in explaining the import of deriva-
tives used as denominations of passages in scripture; and his commentators
concur with those of the Veda in the explanation here given. By liisfii is
generally meant the sup'posed inspired writer; sometimes, however, the
imagined inspirer is called the R ishi or saint of the text and at other times,
;

as above noticed, the dialogist r>r speaker of the sentence.

* It from a passage in the Vijeya vildsa as also from the Veda-
appears ,

fh'pa, or abridged commentary on the Vdjasaneyi, as well as from the index

itself, that CATYAYANA is 'the acknowledged author of the' index to the white
Vajush. That of the Rigveda is ascribed by the commentator to the same
CATYAYANA, pupil of SAUNAcA. The several indexes of the Veda contribute
to the preservation of the genuine text ; especially where the metre or the,
,

number of syllables, is stated, as is generally the case.

** First of the '
name, and progenitor of the race of kings called children
'
of the moon.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 11

was composed, I shall here notice such passages of this tendency

as have yet fallen under ray observation.
The sixth hymn of. the eighteenth chapter of the first book is
spoken by an ascetic named CACSHIVAT, in praise of the munificence
of SWANAYA, who had conferred immense gifts on him. The subject
is continued in the seventh hymn, and concludes with a very strange

dialogue between the king BHA'VAYAVYA and his wife ROMASA',

daughter of VRIHASPATI. It should be remarked, concerning CACSiii-
VAT, that his mother us'ic was bondmaid of king ANGA'S queen.
The eighth book opens with an invocation which alludes to a
singular legend. A'SANGA son of PLAY^GA and his successor on
, ,

the throne, was metamorphosed into a woman; but retrieved his sex"
through the prayers of M^D'HYA'TIT'HI, whom he therefore rewarded
most liberally. In this hymn he is introduced praising his own
munificence; and, towards the close of it, his wife &ASWATI, daugh-
ter of ANGIRAS, exults in his restoration to manhood.
The next hymns applaud the liberality of the kings VIBHINDU,
PACAST'HAMAN (son of CURAYA'NA), CURUNGA, CAS'U (son of CHEDI) ,

and TIRINDIRA (son of PARAS'U), who had severally bestowed splen-

did gifts on the respective authors of these thanksgivings. In the
third chapter of the same book the seventh hymn commends the
,

generosity of TRASADA'SYU, the grandson of MA'ND'HA'TRI. The fourth

chapter opens with an invocation containing praises of the liberality
of CHITRA; and the fourth hymn of the same chapter celebrates
VARU, son of SUSHA'MAN.
In the chapter of the tenth book there is a hymn to'w'ater,
first

spoken by king named siND'nuDwipA, the son of AMBARISHA. The

a
seventh chapter contains several passages,. from the fifteenth to the
eighteenth sucta, which allude to a remarkable legend. ASAMA'T;,
son or descendant of ICSHWA'CU , had deserted his former priests
and employed others: the forsaken Brdhmanas recited incantations
for his destruction his new priests, however, not only counteracted
:

their evil designs, but retaliated on them, and caused the death of
one of those Brdhmanas: the rest recited these prayers for their own
preservation, and for the revival of their companion.
The eighth chapter opens with a hymn which alludes to a story
respecting NA'BHA'N^DISHT'HA, son of MENU, who was excluded from
participation with his brethren in the paternal inheritance. The
legend itself is told in the Ailareya Brdhmatia,* or second portion
of the Rigveda.

Among other hymns by royal authors in the subsequent chapters

of the tenth book of the Sanhild, I remark one by MA'ND'HA'TRI, son
of YUVANA'S'WA, and another by s'lvi, son of US'INARA, a third by VA-

* In the second lecture and fourteenth section of the fifth book.

12 ON THK VEDAS, OR

SUMANAS, son of ROHIDASWA, and a fourth by PUATARDANA son of ,

DIVODA'SA, king of Cast.

'The deities invoked appear, on a cursory inspection of the Veda,
to be as various as the authors of the prayers addressed to them:
but, according to the most ancient annotations on the Indian scripture,
those numerous names of persons and things are all resolvable into
different titles of three deities, and ultimately of one god. The
Nig'hanti) or glossary of the Vedas, concludes with three lists of
names of deities the first comprising such as are deemed synonymous
:

with fire; the second, with air; and the third, with the sun.* In
the last part of the Niructa, which entirely relates to deities, it is
twice asserted that there are but three gods; Tisra e'va devatdk.' **
l 1

The further inference, that these intend but one deity, is supported
by many passages in the Veda and is very clearly and concisely
:

stated in the beginning of the index to the Rtgveda, on the authority

of the Niructa and of the Veda itself.
'
Yasya vdcyam sarishir; yd ieri'ochyate , sd de'vatd; yad acshara-
,

parimdnam ,
tach ctihando. Arfhepsava rishayo devatds ctihandobhir
abhyad'havan.
'
TTSRA EVA DEVAT A'H cshity antaricsha dyu sthdnd
-
;
- -
agnir vdynh ,

surya ily: evam vydhrilayah procld vyastdh: samastdndm prajdpatir.

'Oncdra sarvadevalyah, pdrameshChyo va, brdhmo, daivo va, dd'hydlmicas.
Tat tat sChdnd any as tad vibhutayah; carma prifhactwdd d'hi prilhag
abhttThdna stutayo bhavanty: ec'aiva vd mahdu dlma devatd sa surya .-

ily dchacshate ; sa hi sarva-bhtiCdtmd. Tad uciam rishind: "SURYA

A'TMA' JAGATAS TAST'HUSHAS CH'ETI.
" Tad vibhulayo nyd 'devatds.
1

Tad apy etad rishirC oclam: "INDRAM MITRAM VARUIJAM AGNIM A'HUR
Hi.
"
'
The any particular passage] is he whose speech it is ;
Rishi [of
and that which thereby addressed, is the deity [of the text] and
is :

the number of syllables constitutes the metre [of the prayer] Sages .

(Rtshis) solicitous of [attaining] particular objects ,

have approached
the Gods with [prayers composed in] metre.
'The deities are only three whose places are, the
:
earth, the inter-
mediate region, and heaven [namely] fire, air, and the sun. They
:

are pronounced to be [the deities] of the mysterious names*** sever-

*
Nig'han'ti, or first part of the Niructa, c. 5.
** In the second and third section of the twelfth
chapter or lecture, of
,

the glossary and illustrations of the Veda. The Niructa consists of three
parts. The first, a glossary, as above mentioned, comprises five short chap-
ters or lectures; the second, entitled Naigama, or the first half of the Niructa,
properly so called, consists of six long chapters and the third, entitled Dai-
;

vata, or second half of the proper Niructa, contains eight inore. The chapter
here cited is marked as the twelfth, including the glossary, or seventh exclu-
sive of it.
*** Bhur
bhuvah, and su-ar-, called the Vydhritis.
, See MENU c. 2, v. 76. ,

In the original text, the nominative case is here used for the genitive as is ;
 SACRED WRITINGS OP THK HINDUS.

ally ;
and (PRAJA'PATI) the lord of creaturesis
[the deity] of them
collectively. The
syllable 'Om intends every deity: it belongs to
(ParameshV hi) him who dwells in the supreme abode 5 it appertains
to (Brahme) the vast one; to (Deva) God; to (Adhyalma) the superin-
tending soul. Other deities belonging to those several regions are
portions of the [three] Gods; for they are variously named and
described on account f their different operations
,
but [in fact]
:

there is only one deity, THE GREAT SOUL (Mahdn alma). He is

called the sun; for he is the soul of all beings: [and] that is declared
by the sage, "the sun is the soul of (jagaf) what moves, and of
(las? hush} that which is fixed." Other deities are portions of him:
and that is expressly declared by the text:* "The wise call fire,
INDRA, MITRA, and VARUN'A;" &c. **
This passage of the Anucramani is partly abridged from the Ni-
ructa^(c. 12),and p'artly taken from the Brahmana of the Veda. It
shows (what is also deducible from texts of the Indian scriptures,
translated in the present and former essays), that the ancient Hindu
religion, as founded on the Indian scriptures, recognises but one
God, yet no1sufficiently discriminating the creature from the creator.
The subjects and uses of the prayers contained in the Veda, differ
more than the deities which are invoked, or the titles by which they
are addressed. Every line is replete with allusions to mythology,***
and-to the Indian notions of the divine nature and of celestial spirits.
For the innumerable ceremonies to be performed by a householder,
and still more, for those endless rites enjoined to hermits and as-
cetics, a choice of prayers is offered in every stage of the celebra-
tion. It may be here sufficient to observe, that INDRA, or the fir-

mament, fire, .the sun, the moon, water, air, the spirits, the atmos-
phere and the earth, are the objects most frequently addressed :

and the various and repeated sacrifices with fire, and the drinking

remarked by the Commentator on this passage. Such irregularities are fre-

quent in the Vedas themselves.
* Rishi here See HARADATTA, HHATTOJI, &c. and
signifies text (not sage).
PANINI, 3. ii. 186.
**
Niructa, c. 12, .4, ad finem. The remainder of the passage that is
here briery xsited by the author of the Index identifies fire with the great
,

and only* soul.

*** Not a
mythology which avowedly exalts deified heroes (as in the Pur-
dnas), but one which personifies the eleineuts and planets, and which peoples
heaven and the world below with various orders of beings.
I observe, however in many places the ground-work of
, legends which are
familiar in mythological poems such, for example, as the demon VRITRA slain
:

by INDRA, who is thence surnanfted VHITRAHAN but I do not remark any thing
;

that corresponds with the favourite legends of those sects which worship
either the Linffa or 'Sacti, or else RAMA or CRISHNA. I except some detached
portions, the genuineness of which appears doubtful: as will be sliown towards
the close of this essav.
14 ON THE V^DAS, OR

of the milky juice of the moon - plant or acid asclepias * furnish ,

abundant occasion for numerous prayers adapted to the many stages

of those religious ritesl I shal-1 therefore select for remark such
, ,

prayers as seem most singular, rather than such as might appear

the fairest specimens of this Veda.
In the fifteenth chapter of the first book there are two hymns
ascribed to CUTSA, and also to TRITA, son of- water. Three ascetics,
brothers it should seem, since they are named in another portion
of the Veda as (Aplya) sons of water (/>), were oppressed with thirst
while travelling in a sandy desert. At length they found d well,
and one of them descended into it and thence lifted water for his
companions but the ungrateful brothers stole his effects and left
;

him in the well, covering it with a heavy cart-wheel. In his distress

he pronounced the hymns in question. It appears from the text,
that CUTSA also was once in similar distress, and pronounced the
same or a similar invocation and, for this reason, the hymns Tiave
:.

been placed, by the compiler of the Veda, among those of which

CUTSA is the author.
The twenty- third chapter of the same book commences with a
dialogue between AGASTYA, INDRA, arid the MARUTS; and the remain-
der of that, with the whole of the twentyrfourth chapter, comprises
twenty-six hymns addressed by AGASTYA to those divinities, and to
the AS'WINS, fire, the sun, and some other deities. The last of these
hymns was uttered by AGASTYA, under the apprehension of poison,
and is directed by rituals to be used as an incantation against the
effects of venom. Other incantations applicable to the same pur-
,

pose, occur in various parts of the Veda- for example, a prayer by

VASISHT'HA for preservation from poison (book 7, ch. 3, 18).
The third book, distributed into five chapters,, contains invocations
by VIS'WA'MITRA son of GA'T'HIN and grandson of CUS'ICA. The last
,

hymn, or sucla, in this book, consists of six prayers, one of which

includes the celebrated Gdyatri. This remarkable text is repeated
more than once in other Ve'das; but since VISWA'MITRA is acknow-
ledged to be the Rishi to whom it was first revealed, it appears that
its proper and original place is in this hymn. I therefore subjoin
a translation of the prayer which contains it, as also the preceding
one (both of which are addressed to. the sun) for the sake of ex-
,

hibiting the Indian priest's confession of faith, with its context;

after having, in former essays, given more than one version of it

apart from the rest of the text. The other prayers contained in
the same sucta being addressed to other deities, are here omitted.
'This new and excellent praise of thee, splendid, playful, sun
(Ptishan) is offered
!
by us to thee. Be gratified by this my speech :

approach this craving mind, as a fond man seeks a woman. May

*
Soma-latd, Asclepias ucida, or Cynanchum viminale.
 SACRED WRITING S^ OF THE HINDUS. 15

that sun (Pushari) , who contemplates and looks into all worlds ,
be
our protector.
'LET US MEDITATE ON THE ADORABLE LIGHT OF THE DIVINE RULER
(Savilri):* MAY IT GUIDE OUR INTELLECTS. Desirous of food, we
solicit the gift of thesplendid sun (Sawlrfy, who should be studiously
worshipped. Venerable men, guided by the understanding, salute
the divine sun .(Saw'/r?) with oblations and praise.'
The two last hymns in the third chapter of the. 7th book are re-
markable, as being addressed to the guardian spirit of a dwelling-
house, and used as prayers to be recited with oblations on building
a house. The legend belonging to the second of these hymns is
singular: VASISHT'HA coming at night to the house of VARUNA, (with
the intention of sleeping there, say some but as others affirm, with
;

the design of stealing grain to appease his hunger after a fast of

three days,) was assailed by the house-dog. He uttered this prayer,'
or incantation, to lay aslee'p the dog, who was barking at and at-
tempting to bite him. A
literal version of the first of those hymns
is here subjoined :

'Guardian of this abode be acquainted with us ; be to us a whole-

!

some dwelling afford us what we ask of thee, and grant happiness

;

to our bipeds and quadrupeds.. Guardian of this house increase !

both us and our wealth. Moon while thou art friendly, may we,
!

with our kine and our horses, be exempted from decrepitude guard :

us as a father protects his offspring. Guardian of this dwelling !

may we be united with a happy, delightful, and melodious abode

afforded by thee: guard our wealth now under thy protection, or
yet in expectancy, and do thou defend us.'
The fourth hymn in the fourth chapter concludes with a prayer
to RUDRA, which being used with oblations after a fast of three days,
is supposed to ensure a happy life of a hundred In the sixth
years.
book three hymns occur, which being recited with worship to the
sun, are believed to occasion a fall of rain after the lapse of five
days. The two first are aptly addressed to a cloud; and the third
is so to frogs, because these had" croaked- while VASISHT'HA recited

the preceding prayers which circumstance he accepted as a good

,

omen.
The sixth chapter of the tenth book closes with two hymns the ,

prayer of which is the destruction of enemies, and which are used

at sacrifices for that purpose.
The seventh chapter opens with a hymn, in which SURYA', surnamed
SAVITRI, the wife of the moon,** is made the speaker; "as DA-

*
SAYANACHARYA, the commentator whose gloss is here followed, considers
thispassage to admit of two interpretations: 'the light, or Brahme, constitut-
ing the splendonr of the supreme ruler or creator of the universe,' or 'the
'
light, or orb, of the splendid snn.
** This is noticed in the Aitareya Brdhmana where the second
marriage ,
 16 ON THE V^DAS, OR

C8HINA, daughter of PRAJA'P ATI, and JUHU, daughter of BRAHMA', are-

in subsequent chapters.* A very .singular passage occurs in an-
other place, containing a dialogue between YAMA and his twin -sister
YAMUNA', whom he endeavours to seduce; but his offers are rejected
by her with virtuous expostulation.
Near the close of the tenth chapter, a hymn in a very different
style of composition is spoken by VACH daughter of AMBHRINA in
, ,

praise of herself as the supreme and universal soul.** Vdch, it

should be observed, signifies speech; and slje is the active power
of BRAHMA, proceeding from him. The following is a literal version
of this hymn, which is expounded by the commentator consistently
with the theological doctrines of the Vedas.
'I range with the Rudras with the Vasus , with the Adilyas and
, ,

with the Visrvadevas. I uphold both the sun and the ocean [MITRA
and VARUNA], the firmament [INDRA] and fire, and both the ASWINS.
I support the moon [SOMA] destroyer of Toes; and [the sun entitled]
TWASHTRI, PUSHAN, or BHAGA. I grant wealth to the honest votary
who performs sacrifices, offers oblations, and satisfies [the deities).

Me, who am the queen, the conferrer of wealth, the possessor of

knowledge and first of such as merit worship
,
the gods render,
,

universally, present everywhere, and pervader of all beings. He

who eats food through me, as he who sees, who breathes, or who
hears, through me, yetknows me not, is lost; hear then the. faith
which I Even I declare this self, who is worshipped
pronounce.
by gods and men I make strong whom I choose I make him Brahma,
:
;

holy and wise. For RUDRA I bend the bow, to slay the demon, foe
of BRAHMA; for the people I make war [on their foes] and I per- ;

vade heaven and earth. I bore the father on the head of this [uni-
versal mind], and my origin is in the midst of the ocean;*** and

lecture of the fourth book opens in this manner; 'PBAJAPATI gave his daugh-
ter, SURYA SAVITRI', to s6iiA, the king.'
The well known legend in the Purd-
nas, concerning the marriage of s6MA with the daughter of DACSHA, seems to
be founded on this story in the Vedas:
* In the introduction to the index with other goddesses,
, these, together

who are reckoned authors of holy texts, are enumerated and distinguished by
the appellation of Brahmevddini. An inspired writer is , in the masculine,
termed Brahmevddin.
** Towards the end of the Vrihad
dranyaca, VA'CH is mentioned as receiv-
ing a revelation from AMBHINI, who obtained it from the sun but here she
:

herself bears the almost similar patronymic, AMBHHINI.

***
Heaven, or the sky, is the father; as expressly declared in another
place: and the sky is produced from mind, according to one more passage
of the Vedas. Its birth is therefore placed on the head of the supreme mind.
The commentator suggests three interpretations of the sequel of the stanza:
'my parent, the holy Ambhrina, is in the midst of the ocean;' or, 'my ori-
gin, the sentient deity, is in waters, which constitute the bodies of the gods;'
or, 'the sentient god, who is in the midst of the waters, which pervade intel-
lect, is my origin.'
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 17

.therefore. do I pervade all beings, and touch this heaven with my

form. Originating all beings, I pass like the breeze; I am above
this heaven, beyond this earth; and what is the great one, that
ami.'
The tenth chapter closes with a hymn to night and the eleventh
;

begins with two hymns relative to the creation of the world. An-
other on this subject was translated in a former essay:* it is the
last hymn but one in the Rigveda, and the author of it is AG'HAMAR-
SHANA (a son of MAD'HUCH'HANDAS) from whom it takes the name
,

by which it is generally cited. The other hymns, of which a ver-

sion is here subjoined, are not ascribed to any ascertained author.
PRAJA'PATI, surnamed ParameshVhi^ and his son YAJNYA, are stated
as the original speakers. But of these names, one is a title of the
primeval spirit, and the other seems to allude to the allegorical im-
molation Of BRAHMA.
I. 'Then was there no entity, nor nonentity; no" world, nor
sky,
nor aught above it: nothing, any where, in the happiness of any one,
involving or involved: nor water, deep and dangerous. Death was
not; nor then was immortality; nor distinction of day or night.
But THAT** breathed without afflation, single with (SwacTha) her
who is sustained within him. Other than him, nothing existed [which]
since [has been]. Darkness there was; [for] this universe was en-
veloped with darkness, and WAS undistinguishable [like fluids mi-xed"
in] waters: but that mass, which was covered by the husk, was [at
length] produced by the poWer of contemplation. First desire was
formed in his mind: and that becajne the original productive seed;
which the wise, recognising it by the intellect in their hearts, distin-
guish, in nonentity, as the bond of entity.
'Did the luminous ray of these [creative acts] expand in the mid-
dle? or above? or below ? That productive seed at once became
providence [or sentient souls] and matter [or the elements] she,
,
:

who is sustained within himself,*** was inferior; and he, who heeds,
was superior.
'Who knows exactly, and who shall in this world declare, whence
and why this creation took place ? The gods are subsequent to the
production of this world then who can know whence it proceeded ?
:

* In the first
Essay on the Religious Ceremonies of the Hindus, Asiatic
Researches, vol. v. p. 361.
** The
pronoun (lad), thus emphatically used, is understood to intend the
Supreme Being, according to the doctrines of the Veddnla. When manifested
by creation, he is the entity (sat) while forms, being mere illusion, are non-
;

entity (asat). The whole of this hymn is expounded according to the recei-
ved doctrines of the Indian theology, or Peddnla. Darkness and desire (Tamas
and Cdmd) bear a distant resemblance to the Chaos and Eros of HESIOD.
Theog. v. 116. .
*** So Swad'hd is
expounded; and the commentator makes it equivalent
to Mdyd, or the world of ideas.
2
18 ON THE V^DAS, OK

or whence this varied world arose? or whether it uphold (itself], or

not? He who, in the highest heaven, is the ruler of this universe,
does indeed know, hut not another can possess that knowledge.
II. 'That victim who was wove with threads on every side, and
stretched by the lahours of a hundred and one gods the fathers, ,

who wove and framed and placed the warp and woof, dp worship.
The male spreads and encompasses this [web], and displays
[first]
it world and in heaven: these rays [of the creator] assembled
in this
at the altar and prepared the holy strains and the threads of the
, ,

warp.
'What was the size of that divine victim whom all the gods sacri-
ficed? What was his form? what the motive? the fence? the metre?
the oblation? and the prayer? First was produced the Gayatri joined
with fire; next the .sun (Saviln] attended by Ushtuh; then the splen-
did moon with Anush'tubh, and with prayers: while Vrihati accom-
panied the elocution of VJUHASPATI (or the planet JUPITER). Virdti
was supported by the sun and by water (MITRA and VARUNA); but
the [middle] portion of the day and Trish'tubh were here the attend-
ants of INDRA; Jagali followed all the gods: and by that [univer-
sal] sacrifice sages and men were formed.
4
When was completed, sages, and men, and
that ancient sacrifice
our progenitors, were by him formed. Viewing with an observant
mind this oblation, which primeval saints offered, I venerate them.
The seven inspired sages, with prayers and with thanksgivings, fol-
low the path of these primeval saints, and wisely practise [the per-
formance of sacrifices], as charioteers use reins [to guide their
steeds].'
Some parts of these hymns bear an evident resemblance to one
which has been before cited from the white Yajush,* and to which
I shall again advert in speaking of that Veda. The commentator
on the Rigveda quotes it to supply some omissions in this text. It
appears also, on the faith of his citations, that passages analogous
to these occur in the Tailliriyaca or black Yajush and also in the
, ,

Brdhmana of the Veda.

The hundred and one gods, who are the agents in the framing of
the universe, typified by a sacrifice, are, according to this commen-
tator, the years of BRAHMA'S life, or his afflations personified in the
form of ANGIRAS &c. The seven sages Avho instituted sacrifices
, ,

in imitation of the primeval type, are MARICHI and others. Gayatri,

Ushnih, &c. are names of metres, or of the various lengths of stanzas
and measure4 verses, in the Vedas.
The preceding quotations may be sufficient to show the 'style of
this part of the Veda, which comprehends the prayers and invocations.

* In the second
Essay on the Religious Ceremonies of the Hindus, Asiatic.
Researches, vol. vii. p. 251.
 SACRED WRITINGS OP THE HINDUS. 19

Another part belonging, as it appears, to the same Veda, is enti-

tled Aitareya Brdhmana. It is divided into eight books (panjicd),
each containing five chapters or lectures (rid'hydya), and subdivided
into an unequal number of sections (c'handa) , amounting in the
whole to two hundred and eighty-five. Being partly" in prose, the
number of distinct passages contained in those multiplied sections
need not be indicated.
For want either of a cojnplete commentary * or of an explanatory
** I cannot undertake from a
index, cursory perusal to describe the
whole contents of this part of the Veda. I observe, however, many
curious passages in it, especially towards the close. The seventh
book had treated of sacrifices performed by kings: the subject is
continued in the first four chapters of the eighth book and three of
;

these relate to a ceremony for the consecration of kings, by pouring

on their heads, while seated on a throne prepared for the purpose,
water mixed with honey, clarified butter, and spirituous liquor, as
well as two sorts of grass and the sprouts of. corn. This ceremony,
called Abhisheca, is celebrated on the accession of a king and sub-
;

sequently on divers occasions, as part of the rites belonging to cer-

tain solemn sacrifices performed for the attainment of particular
objects.
The mode of its celebration is the subject of the second chapter
of the eighth book, or thirty-seventh chapter, reckoned (as is done
by the commentator) from the beginning of the Ailareya. It contains
an instance, which is not singular in the Vedas, though it be rather
uncommon in their didatic portion of a disquisition on a difference
,

of opinion among inspired authors. 'Some,' it says, 'direct the

consecration to be completed with the appropriate prayer, but with-
out the sacred words ( Ft/ rtArfri's), which they here deem superfluous:
others, and particularly SAT VACAMA, son of JA'BA'LA, enjoin the com-
plete recitation of those words, for reasons explained at full length;
and UDDA'LACA, son of ARUNA, has therefore so ordained the perfor-
mance of the ceremony.'
The subject of this chapter is concluded by the following remark-
able passage. 'Well knowing all the [efficacy of consecration],
JAXAMEJAYA , son of PARicsHiT, declared '"Priests, conversant with
:

this ceremony, assist me, who am likewise apprised [of its benefits],
to celebrate the solemn rite. Therefore do I conquer [in single
combat], therefore do I defeat arrayed forces with an arrayed army :

neither the" arrow.s of the gods, nor those of men, reach me: I shall
live the full period of life; I shall remain master of the whole
earth." Truly, neither the arrows of the gods, nor those of men,

* I
possess three entire copies of the text, but a part only of the commen-
tary by S.AYANACHARYA.
** The index before-mentioned does not extend to this
part of the Veda.
2*
20 ON THE V1&DAS, OR

do reach him, whom well-instruct'ed priests assist in celebrating the

solemn rite: he lives the full period of life; he remains master of
the whole earth.'
The thirty-eighth chapter (or .third of the eighth book) describes
a supposed consecration of INDRA when elected by the go.ds to be
,

their king. It consists of similar, but more solemn rites; including,

among other peculiarities, a fanciful construction of his throne with

texts of the Veda; besides a repetition of the ceremony of conse-
cration in various regions, to ensure universal dominion. This last
part of the description merits to be quoted , on account of the geo-
graphical hints which it contains.
'After [his inauguration by PRAJA'PATI] the divine Vasus conse-
,

crated him in the eastern region with the same prayers in verse
,

and in prose, and with the same holy words [as before mentioned],
in thirty- one days, to ensure his just domination. Therefore [even
now] the several kings of the Prdchyas, in the East, are consecrated,
after 'the practice of the gods, to equitable rule (samrajyfi) and ,

*
[people] call those consecrated princes Samrdj.
'Next the divine Rudras consecrated him in the southern region,
with the same prayers in verse and in prose, and with the same holy
words, in thirty-one days, to ensure increase of happiness. There-
fore the several kings of the Satwats, in the south, are consecrated,
after the practice of the gods, to the increase of enjoyment (bhojytt),
and [people] name those consecrated princes Bhoja.
*Then the divine Adilyas consecrated him in the western region,
with, &c., to ensure sole dominion. Therefore the. several kings of the
Nichyas and Apdchyas in the West, are consecrated, &c. to sole
,

dominion, and [people] denominate them Swaraj.**

Afterwards all the gods ( Visrve devdh) consecrated him in the
'

northern 1'egion, with,-&c., to ensure separate domination. There-

fore the several [deities who govern the] countries of Ullara cum
and Ultara madra, beyond Himavat, in the North, are consecrated,
***
&c., to distinct rule ( Vairdjya), and [people] term them Viraj.
'Next the divine Sdd'hyas and Aplyas consecrated him, in this
middle, central, and present region, with, &c., for local dominion.
Therefore the several kings of Curu and Panchdla, as well as Va'sa
and Usinara, in the middle central and present region are conse-
, , ,

crated, &c., to sovereignty (?vy?/), and [people] entitle them Rdjd.

Lastly, the Mantis, and the gods named Angiras, consecrated him,
'

in the upper region , with , &c., to promote his attainment of the

s.upreme abode', and to ensure his mighty domination, superior rule,

* In the nominative
case, Samrfi't, Samrdtt, or Samrdl\ substituting in this
place a liquid letter, which is peculiar to the Veda and to the southern dia-
lects of India*, and which approaches in sound to the common /.
** In the nominative case
Swarttt, Smardd, or Swardl.
'*'**
In the nominative, t'irtft, Virda, or Viral.
 SACRED WRITINGS OP THE HINDUS. 21

independent power, and long reign: and therefore he became a

supreme deity (parame'shVhi) and ruler over creatures.
'Thus consecrated by that great inauguration, INDRA subdued
all conquerable
[earths], and won all worlds: he obtained over all
the gods supremacy, transcendent rank, and pre-eminence. Con-
quering in this world [belowj equitable domination, happiness, sole
dominion, separate authority, attainment of the supreme abode, sover-
eignty, mighty power, and superior rule; becoming a self-existent
being and independent ruler, exempt from [early] dissolution; and
reaching all [his] wishes in that celestial world; he became immor-
tal: he became immortal.'*

The thirty-ninth chapter is relative to a peculiarly solemn rite

performed in imitation of the fabulous inauguration of INDRA. It
is imagined that this celebration
becomes a cause of obtaining great
power and universal monarchy, and the three last sections of the
chapter recite instances of its successful practice. Though replete
with enormous and absurd exaggerations, they are here translated
at full length, as not unimportant, since many kings are-mentioned
whose names ate familiar in the heroic history of India.
VII. 'By this great inauguration similar to INDRA'S, TURA, son
.

of CAVASHA, consecrated JANAMEJAYA, son of PARICSHIT and there- ;

fore did JANAMEJAYA, son of PARICSHIT, subdue the earth complete-

ly all around, and traverse it every way, and perform the sacrifice
with a horse as an offering.
Concerning that solemn sacrifice this verse is universally chan-
'

ted. "In Asandivat, JANAMEJAYA bound [as>an offering] to the gods,

a horse fed with grain, marked with a white star on his forehead,
and bearing a green wreath round his" neck."
'By CHYAVANA, son ofBHRiou, consecrated SA'RYA'TA
this, &c.
sprung from the race of MENU; and therefore did he subdue, &c.
He became likewise a householder in the service of the gods.
'By &c. SGMAS'USHMAN, grandson of VA'JARATNA, consecrated
this,
S'ATA'NICA, son of SATRA'JIT; and therefore did he subdue, &c.
'By this, &c. PARVATA andNA'REDA consecrated A'MBA'SHT'HYA ;
and* therefore, &c.
By this, &c. PARVATA and NA'RED A consecrated YUD'HA'NS'RAUSHT'I,
'

grandson of UGRASENA and therefore, &c.

;

'By this, &c. CAS'YAPA consecrated VIS'WACARM^N son of BHIT-

,

VANA; and therefore did he subdue, &c.

'The earth, as sages relate, thus addressed him: " No mortal has
a right to give me awa yet thou,
; VIS'WACARMAN, son of BHUVA-

* In fhe didactic
portion of the Veda\ the last term in every chapter is
repeated , to indicate its conclusion. This repetition was not preserved in a
former quotation, from the necessity of varying considerably the order of the
words.
22 ON THE VEDAS, OR

NA, dost wish to do so. I will sink in the midst of the waters; and
vain has been thy promise to CASYAPA. "*
'By this, &c. VASISHT'HA consecrated SUDAS, son of PIJAVANA;
and therefore, c.

'By &c. SAMVARTA, son of ANGIRAS, consecrated MARUTTA,

this,
son of AVICSHIT; and therefore, &c.
'On that subject this verse is every where chanted: "The divine
Maruts dwelt in the house of MARUTTA, as his guards; and all the
gods" were companions of the son of AVICSHIT, whose every wish
was fulfilled."**
VIII. 'By this great inauguration, similar to INDRA'S, UDAMAYA,
.

son of ATRI, consecrated ANGA; and therefore did ANGA subdue the
earth completely all around, and traverse it every way, and perform
a sacrifice with a horse, as an offering.
'He, perfect in his person*, thus addressed [the priest, who was
busy on some sacrifice] "Invite me to this solemn rite, and I will
:

give thee [to complete it] holy man ten thousand elephants and
,
!

ten thousand female slaves."

'On that subject these verses are every where chanted: "Of the
cows, for which the sons of PRIYAM^D'HA assisted UDAMAYA in the
solemn rite, this son of ATRI gave them [every day], at noon, two
thousand each, out of a thousand millions!
"The son of VIROCHANA [ANGA] unbound and gave, -while his
priest performed the solemn sacrifice, eighty thousand white horses
fit for use.
'The son of ATRI bestowed in gifts ten thousand women adorned
with necklaces, all daughters of opulent persons, and brought from
various countries.
'While distributing ten thousand elephants in Avachalruca, the
holy son of ATRI grew tired, and dispatched messengers to finish
the distribution.
"A hundred [I give] to you;" "A hundred to you;" still the
holy man grew tired; and was at last forced to draw breath while
bestowing them by thousands.***
IX. 'By this great inauguration similar to INDRA'S, DIRG'HA-
.
,

TAMAS, son of MAMATA', consecrated BHARATA, the son of DUH-

SHANTA;* and therefore did BHARATA, son of DUHSHANTA, subdue
* So
great was the efficacy of consecration observes the commentator in
,

this place, that the submersion of the earth was thereby prevented, notwith-
standing this declaration.
** All was oving solemn inau-
this, observes the commentator, to his
guration.
***Itwas through the solemn inauguration of ANC.A that this priest was able
to give such great alms.This remark is by the commentator.
f So ttte name should be written, as appears from this passage of the
Veda; and not, as in copies of some of the Purdnas DUSHMANTA or DU- ,

8HYANTA.
 SACRED. WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 23

the earth completely all around, and traverse it every way, and
perform repeated sacrifices with horses as offerings.
'On- that subject too, these verses are every where chanted: "BHA-
RATA distributed in Mashndrn* a hundred and seven thousand
millions of black elephants with white tusks and decked with gold.
"A sacred fire was lighted for BHARATA, son of DUHSHANTA, in
Sdchfguna, at which a thousand Brdhmarias shared a thousand mil-
lions of cows apie.ce.
"BHARATA, son of DUHSHANTA, bound seventy-eight hprses [for
solemn rites] near the Yamuna, and fifty-five in Vrilrag'hha, on the
Gangd.
"Having thus bound a hundred and thirty -three horses fit for
sacred rites, the son of DUHSHANTA became pre-eminently wise, and
surpassed the prudence of [every rival] king.
"This great achievement of BHARATA, neither former nor later
persons [have equalled] the five classes of men have not attained
;

his feats, any more than a mortal [can reach] heaven with his
hands!"** '
w
'The holy VRIHADUCT'HA, taught this great inauguration by
saint,
DURMUC'HA king ofPanchdla; and therefore DURMUC'HA, thePdnchdla,
being a king, subdued by means of that knowledge the whole earth
around, and traversed it every way.***
"The son of SATYAHA.VYA, sprung from the race of VASISHT'HA,
communicated this great inauguration to ATYARA'TI, son of JANAN-
TAPA and therefore ATYARA'TI son of JANANTAPA being no king,
; , ,

[nevertheless] subdued by means of that knowledge the whole earth

anwnd, and traversed it every way.
'SA'TYAHAVYA, of the race of VASISHT'HA, addressed him, saying,
"Thou hast conquered the whole earth around; [now] aggrandize
me." ATYARA'TI, son of JANANTAPA, replied; "When I conquer
Ultara curu, then thou shalt be king of the earth, holy man and I !

Avill be
merely thy general." SA'TYAHAVYA rejoined; "That is the
land of the gods; no mortal can subdue it: thou hast been ungrate-
ful towards me, and therefore I resume from thee this [power]."
Hence the king SUSHMINA, son. of sivi, destroyer of foes,. slew ATYA-
RA'TI, who was [thus] divested of vigour and deprived of strength.
'Therefore let not a soldier be ungrateful towards the priest, who
is acquainted (with the form], and practises {the celebration, of this

* The several
manuscripts differ on this name of a country and having
;

no other information respecting it, I am not confident that I have selected

the best reading. This observation is applicable also to some other uncom-
mon names.
** All
this, says the commentator, shows the efficacy of inauguration.
*** It is here remarked in the
commentary, that a Brdhmaita, being incom-
petent to receive consecration, is however capable of knowing its form; the
efficacy of which knowledge is shown in this place.
24 ON THE VEDAS, OR

ceremony], lest he lose his kingdom and forfeit his life : lest he for-
'
feit his life.
To
elucidate this last story, it is necessary to observe that, before
the commencement
of the ceremony of inauguration , the priest
swears the soldier by a most solemn oath, not to injure him. A
similar oath, as is observed in this place by the commentator, had
been administered, previously to the communication of that know-
ledge to which ATYARA'TI owed his success. The priest considered
his 'answer as illusory and insulting, because Vliar a curu, being
north ef Meru, is the land of the gods, and cannot be conquered by
men. As this ungrateful answer was a breach of his oath, the
priest withdrew his power from him; and, in consequence, he was
slain by the foe.
The fortieth and ,chapter of the Ailarcya Brdhmanu relates
last ,

to the benefit of entertaining a Purohila, or appointed priest; the

selection of a proper person for that station and the mode of his
appointment by the king; together with the functions to be dischar-
ged by him. The last section describes rites to be performed, "under
the direction of such a priest, for the destruction of the king's ene-
mies. As it appears curious, the whole description is here trans-
lated; abridging, however, as in other instances, the frequent repe-
titions with which it abounds.
*Next then [is described] destruction around air (Brahme).* -Foes,
enemies, and rivals, perish around him, who is conversant with these
rites. That which [moves] in the atmosphere, is air (Brahme), around
which perish five deities, lightning, rain, the moon, the sun, and fire.
'Lightning having flashed, disappears behind rain:** it vanishes,
and none know [whither it is gone]. When a man dies, he vanishes;
and none know [whither his soul is gone]. Therefore, whenever
lightning perishes, pronounce this [prayer] ; "May my enemy perish :

may he disappear, and none know [where he is]." Soon, indeed,

none will know [whither he is gone].
'Rain having fallen, [evaporates and] disappears within the moon,
&c. When rain ceases, pronounce this [prayer], &c.
'The moon, at the conjunction, disappears within the sun, &c.
.When moon is dark, pronounce, &c.
the
&c. *** When the sun
'The sun, when setting, disappears in fire,
sets,pronounce, &c.
'Fire, ascending, disappears in air, &c. When fire is extinguish-
ed, pronounce, &c.
'These same -deities are again produced from this very origin.

*
So this observance is denominated, viz. Brahmanahparimarah.
**
Behind a cloud.
*
:

The
Taittiriya Yajurveda contains a passage which may sarve to explain
this notion; ' The sun, at eve, penetrates fire; and therefore fire is seen afar,
at night; for both are luminous.'
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 25

Fire is bora of
air; for, urged with force by the breath, it increases.
Viewing pronounce [this prayer], "May fire be revived: but not
it,
"
my foe be reproduced may he depart averted.
: Therefore does ,

the enemy go far away.

''The sun is born of fire.* Viewing it, say, "May the sun rise;
but not my foe be reproduced, &c."
'The moon is born of the SUB.** Viewing it, say, "May the
moon be renewed, &c."
'Rain is produced from the moon.*** .Viewing it, say, "May rain
be .produced, &c. "
'Lightning comers of rain. Viewing it, say,. "May lightning ap-
"
pear, &c.
'Such is destruction around air. MAITREYA, son of CUSHA'HU,
communicated these rites to SUTWAN, son of CIRIS'A, descended from
BHA'RGA. Five kings perished around him, and SUTWAN attained
greatness.
'The observance [enjoined] to him [who undertakes these rites,
is let him not sit down earlier than the foe; but stand,
as follows]:
while he thinks him standing. Let him not lie down earlier than
the foe; but sit, while he thinks him sitting. Let him not sleep
earlier than the foe but wake, while he thinks him waking. Though
;

his enemy had a head of stone, soon does he slay him he does slay :

him.'
Before I quit this portion of the Veda, I think it right to add, that
the close of the seventh book contains the mention of several mon-
archs, to whom the observance, there described, was taught by di-
vers sages. For a reason before - mentioned I shall subjoin the
,

names. They are VIS'WANTARA son of SUSHADMAN

, SAHADEVA, ;

son of SARJA, and his. son SOMACA BABHRU, son of DE\VA'VRID'HA,

;

BHIMA Of VIDARBHA, NAGNAJIT of GAND'HARA SANASRUTA of ARIN-

,

DAMA, RITUVID of JANACA J besides JANAMEJAYA and SUDA's who ,

have been also noticed in another place.

The Aitareya Aranyaca is another portion of the Kigveda. It com-
prises eighteen chapters or lectures unequally distributed in five
,

books (Aranyaca). The second, which is the'longest, for it con-

tains seven lectures,- constitutes with the third an Upanishad of this
Veda, entitled the Bahvrich Brahmana Upanishad; or more commonly,
the Ailare'ya, as having been recited by a sage named AiTAREYA.f

* At
night, as the commentator now observes, the snn disappears in re;
but re-appears thence next day. Accordingly, fire is destitute of splendour
by day, and the sun shines brighter.
** The
moon, as is remarked in the commentary , disappears within the
sun at the conjunction; but is reproduced from the sun on the first day of
the bright fortnight.
***
Here the commentator remarks Rain enters the lunar orb which con-
, ,

sists of water; and, at a subsequent time, it is reproduced from the mo^on.

f It is so affirmed by ANAXDATI'RT'HA in his notes: and he, and the" com-
26 ON THE VEDAS, OR

The four last lectures of that second Aranyaca are particularly cou-
sonaut to the theological doctrines of the Veddnla and are accord- ,

ingly selected by theologians of the Veddnla school as the proper

Aitareya Upanishad.* The following is literally translated from this
portion of the second Aranyaca. ,

The AITAREYA ARANYA. B. 2.

IV. Originally this [Universe] was indeed

.
'
SOUL only nothing;

else whatsoever existed, active [or inactive]. HE thought, "I will

create worlds:" thus HE created these [various] worlds; water,
light,mortal [beings], and the waters. That 'water,' is the [region]
above the heaven, which heaven upholds: the atmosphere com-
prises light the earth is mortal
;
and the regions below are " the
;

"
waters. **
'HE thought, "these are indeed worlds; I will create guardians
of worlds. " Thus HE drew from the waters, and framed, an embo-
died being.*** He viewed him; and of that being, so contemplated,
the mouth opened as an egg: from the mouth, speech issued; from
speech, fire proceeded. The nostrils spread; from the mostrils,

mentator ,
whom he annotates ,
state the original speaker of this Upanishad
to beMAHiDAsA, an incarnation of NARAYANA, proceeding from VISALA, son
of ABJA. He adds, that on-the sudden appearance of this deity at a solemn
celebratio'n, the whole assembly of gods and priests fainted, but at the inter-
cession of BRAHMA, they were revived; and after making their obeisance,
they were instructed in holy science. This Avatar a was called MAHIUASA,
because those venerable personages (Ma/iin) declared themselves his slaves

. In the concluding title of one transcript of this Aranya I tind it ascribed ,

to ASWALAYANA, probably by an error of the transcriber. On the other hand,

SAUNACA appears to be author of some texts of the Aranya; for "a passage
from the second lecture of the fifth (Ar. 5, lect. 2, 1 1) is cited as S'AUNACA'S,
.

by the commentator on the prayers of the Kigveda (lect. 1, 15). .

* and one of annotations on

I have two copies of SANCARA'S commentary ,

his gloss by NARAYANENDUA ; likewise a copy of SAYANA'S commentary on the

same theological tract, .and also on the third Aranyaca; besides annotations
by ANANDATI'RT'HA on a different gloss for the^ entire Upanishad. The con-
,

cluding prayer, or seventh lecture of the second Aranyaca, was omitted by

SANCAHA as sufficiently perspicuous; but is expounded by SAYAXA, whose
,

exposition is the same which is added by SANCARA'S commentator, and which

transcribers sometimes subjoin to SANCARA'S gloss.
As an instance of singular and needless frauds, I must mention that the ,

work of ANANUATIRT'IIA was sold to me, under a different title, as a comment-

ary on the Taitlirii/a sanhild of the Yajurveda. The running titles at the end
of each chapter had been altered accordingly. On examination I found it to
be a different, but valuable work; as above described.
** Ambhas
water, and dp as the waters. The commentators assign reasons
for these synonymous terms being employed, severally, to denote the regions
above the sky, and those below the earth.
*** a human
Turiislifi, form.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 27

breath passed from breath, air was propagated. The eyes opened
; ;

from the eyes, a glance sprung; from that glance, the sun was pro-
duced. The ears dilated: from the ears came hearkening; and
from that, the regions of space. The skin expanded: from the skin,
hair rose; from that grew herbs and trees. The breast opened;
from the breast, mind issued and from mind, the moon. The navel
;

burst: from the navel came deglutition;* from that, death. The
generative organ burst: thence flowed productive seed; whence
.waters drew their Origin.
'These deities, being thus, framed, fell into this vast ocean: and
to HIM they came with thirst and hunger: and HIM they thus ad-
dressed: "Grant us a [smaller] size, wherein abiding we may eat
food. V HE offered to them [the form of] a cow they said, "that is
:

not sufficient for us." HE exhibited to them [the form of] a horse :

they said, "neither is that sufficient for us." He showed them

the human form they exclaimed: "well done! ah! wonderful!"
:

Therefore man alone is [pronoun c.ed to be] "well formed."

'HE bade them occupy their respective places. Fire, becoming
speech, entered the mouth. Air, becoming breath, proceeded to the
nostrils. The sun becoming sight penetrated the eyes. Space
, ,

became hearing, and occupied the ears. Herbs and trees became
hair, and filled the skin. The moon, becoming mind, entered the
breast. Death, becoming deglutition, penetrated the navel; and
water became productive seed, and occupied the generative organ.
'Hunger and thirst addressed bim, saying, "Assign us [our
places]." HE replied: "You I distribute among these d-eities; and I
"
make you participant with them. Therefore is it ,
that to what-
ever deity an oblation is offered, hunger and thirst participate
with him.
'HE reflected, "These are worlds, and regents of worlds: for them
I will frame food." HE viewed the waters: from waters, so con-
templated, form issued; and food is form, which was so produced.
'Being thus framed, it turned away and sought to. flee. The
[primeval] man endeavoured to seize it by speech but could not ,

attain it by his voice: had he by voice taken it, [hunger] would be

satisfiedby naming food. He attempted t.o catch it by his breath,
but could not inhale it by breathing: had he by inhaling taken it,
[hunger] would be satisfied by smelling food. He sought to snatch
it a
by glance ,
but could not surprise it
by a look had he seized :

it
by the sight, [hunger] would be satisfied by seeing food. He
attempted to catch it by hearing, but could not hold it by listening :

had he caught it by hearkening, [hunger] would be satisfied by hear-

*
Apdna. From the analogy between the acts of inhaling and of swallowing ;

the latter is considered as a sort of breath or inspiration: hence the air drawn
in by deglutition is reckoned ono of five breaths or airs- inhaled into thebody.
28 ON THE VEDAS, OR

ing food. He endeavoured to seize it

by his skin, but could
not restrain it
by his touch: had he seized it'by contact, [hunger]
would be satisfied by touching food. He wished to reach it by the
mind, but c.ould not attain it by thinking: had he caught it l>y
thought, [hunger] would be satisfied by meditating on food. He
wanted to seize it by the generative organ but could not so hold ,

it; had he thus seized it [hunger] would be satisfied by emission.

,

Lastly, he endeavoured to catch it by deglutition; and thus he did

swallow it: that air; which is so drawn in, seizes food; and that-
very air is the bond of life.
'HE [the universal soul] reflected, "How can this [body] exist with-
out me?" He considered by which extremity he should pene-
trate. HE thought, "If [without me] speech discourse, breath inhale,
and sight view; if hearing hear, skin feel, and mind meditate; if
deglutition swallow, and the organ of generation perform its func-
tions; then, who am I?"
Parting the suture [simati] , HE penetrated by this route. That
'

opening is called the suture (vidrtti) and is the road to beatitude

(ndndana.}*
1
Of that soul, the places of recreation are three; and the modes
of sleep ,
as many. This (pointing to the right eye) is a place of re-
creation ; this (pointing to the throat) is [also] a situation of enjoy-

ment; this (pointing to the heart) is [likewise] a region of delight.

'
Thus born [as the animating spirit] , he discriminated the ele-
ments, [remarking] "what else [but him] can I here affirm [to
exist];" and he contemplated this [thinking] person,** the vast
***
expanse, [exclaiming] IT have I seen. Therefore 4s he named
IT-SEEING (IDAM-DRA): IT-SEEING is indeed his name: and him,
being IT-SEEING, they call, by a remote appellation, INDRA; for the
gods generally delight in the concealment [of their name]. The
gods delight in privacy, f
V. 'This [living principle] is first, in man, a fetus, or produc-
tive seed, which is the essence drawn from all the members [oT the

body] thus" the man nourishes himself'within himself. But when

:

he emits it into woman he procreates that [fetus] and such is its

,
:

first birth..
'
It becomes identified with the woman and being such, as is her
;

own body, it does not destroy her. She cherishes his ownself, ft

*
The Hindus believe that the soul, or conscious life, enters the body
through the sagittal suture; lodges in the brain; and may contemplate,
through the same opening, the divine perfections. Mind, or the reasoning
faculty, is reckoned to be an organ of the body, situated in the heart.
** Purusha.
***
Brahme, or the great one.
f Here, as at the conclusion of every division of an Upani/ihad, or of any
chapter in the didactic portion of the Vedas, the last phrase is repeated.
ff For the man is identified with the child procreated by him.
 SACRED WRITINGS OP THE HINDUS. 29

thus received within her; and,. as nurturing him she ought to be ,

cherished [by him]. The woman nourishes that felus: but he

previously cherished the child, *and further does so after its birth."
Since he supports the child before and after birth, he cherishes
himself: and that, for the perpetual succession of persons; for thus
are these persons perpetuated. Such*s his second birth.
'This [second] self becomes his representative for holy acts [of
religion] and that other [self] having fulfilled its obligations and
:
,

completed its period of life, deceases. Departing hence, he is born

again [in some other shape] and Such is his third birth.
:

'This was declared by the holy sage. "Within the womb, I have
recognised all the successive births of these deities. A -hundred
bodies, like iron chains, hold me down: yet, like a falcon, I swiftly
rise." Thus spoke VA'MAD.VA, reposingin the womb: and possess-

ing this [intuitive]

knowledge, he rose, after bursting that corporeal
confinement; and, ascending to the blissful region of heaven,*
he attained every wish and became immortal. He became immortal.
VI. '-What is this soul? that we may worship him. Which is
the soul? Is it that by which [a man sees]? by which he hears?
by which he smells odours? by which he utters speech? by which
he discriminates a pleasant or xinpleasant taste? Is it the heart [or
understanding]? or the mind [or will]? Is it sensation ? or power?
comprehension? or perception? or retention?
or discrimination ? or
or attention ? or application ? or haste [or pain] ? or memory ? or
assent? or determination? or animal action?** or wish? or desire?
'All those are only various names of apprehension. But' this
[soul consisting in the faculty of apprehension] is BRAHMA' he is
, ;

INDRA;- he is (PRAJA'PATI) the lord of creatures: these gods are he;

and so are the five primary elements, earth, air, the etherial fluid,
water, and light:*** these, and the same joined with minute-objects
and other seeds [of existence] and [again] other [beings] produced,
,

from eggs, or borne in wombs, or originating in hot moisture ,f or

springing from plants whether horses, or kine, or men, or elephants,
;

whatever lives,, and walks or flies, or whatever is immovable [as

herbs and trees] all that, is the eye of intelligence.
: On intellect
"

[every thing] is founded; the world is the eye of intellect, and in-
tellect is its foundation. Intelligence is (BRAHME) the great one.
*
Swarga, or place of celestial bliss.
**
Asu, the unconscious volition, which' occasions an act necessary to the
support of life, as breathing, &c.
**
BRAHMA (in the masculine gender) here denotes according to commen-
tators, the intelligent spirit, whose birth WHS hi the mundane egg; from
which he is named HIRANYAGARBHA. INDRA is the chief of the gods , or sub-
ordinate deities, meaning the elements and planets. PRAJAPATI is the first
embodied spirit, called VIRAJ, and described in the preceding part of this
extract. The gods are fire, and the rest as there stated.
f Vermin and insects are supposed to be generated from hot moisture.
30 ON THE VECAS, OK

By this [intuitively] intelligent soul that sage ascended from

4
,

the present world to the blissful region of heaven; and, obtaining

all his wishes, became immortal. "He became immortal.
VII. 'May my speech be founded on understanding, and my
mind be attentive to my utterance. Be thou manifested to me O ,

self-manifested [intellect]! For my sake [0 speech and mind!] ap-

proach this Veda. May what I have heard, be unforgotten: day
and night may I behold this which I have studied. Let me think
,

the reality: .let me speak the truth. May it preserve me; may it
preserve the teacher: me may it preserve; the teacher
may it pre-
serve the teacher may it preserve ; may it preserve the teacher.'*
;

On the CAUSHI'TACI.

Another Upanishad of this Veda appertaining to a particular

,

'Sdc'hd ofit, is named from that, and from the Brdhmana of which ,

it is an extract, Caushitaci Brdhmana Upanishad. From an abridg-

ment of it (for I have not seen the work at large), it appears to
contain two dialogues; one, in which INDRA instructs PRATARDANA.
in theology; and another, in. which AJA'TASATRU, king of CA'ST,
communicates divine knowledge to a priest named BALA'CI. A sim-
ilar conversation between thes'e two persons is found likewise in
the Vrihad dranyaca of the Yajurveda, as will be subsequently no-
ticed. Respecting the other contents of the Brdhmana from which
these dialogues are taken I have not yet obtained any satisfac-
,

tory information.
The abridgment above-mentioned occurs in a metrical paraphrase
of .twelve principal Upanishads in twenty chapters, by VIDYA'RANYA,
the preceptor of MA'DHAJ/A A'CHA'RYA. He expressly states Can-
shtlactas the name of a 'Sde'hd of the Rigveda.
The original of the Caushilaci was among the portions of the Veda
which Sir ROBERT CHAMBERS collected at Benares, according to a
list which he sent to me some time before his departure from India.
A fragment of an Upanishad procured at the same place by Sir WIL-
LIAM JONES, and given by him to Mr. BLAQUIERE, is marked in his
hand- writing, "The beginning of the Caushilaci.'''' In it the dialo-
gists are CHITRA, surnained CJA'NGA'YANI and SWE'TACE'TU, with his
,

father UDDA'LACA, son of ARU.NA.

I shall resume the consideration of this portion of the Rigveda,
whenever I have the good fortune to obtain the complete text .and
commentary, either oPthe Brdhmana, or of the Upanishad, which
bears this title.

* be the con-
This, like other prayers, is denominated a mantra though
,
it

clusion of an Upanisliad.
 SACKED WHITINGS OP THE HINDI'S. 31

On the. WHITE YAJURVEDA

The Vdjasaneyi, or white Yajush, is the shortest of the Vedas ; so
far as respects-the first and principal part, which comprehends the
mantras. The Sanhita ,
or collection of prayers and invocations be-
longing to this Veda, is comprised in forty lectures (atfhydya), une-
qually subdivided into numerous short sections (cantlica) each of ;

which, in general, constitutes a prayer or manlra. It is also divided,

like the Rigveda, into anuvdcas, or chapters. The number of anu-
vdcas, as they are stated at the close of the index to this Veda, appears
to be two hundred and
eighty -six: the number of sections, er
verses, nearly two thousand (or exactly 1987). But this includes
many repetitions of the same text in divers places. The lectures
are very unequal, containing from thirteen to a hundred and seven-
teen sections (candied).*
Though called the Yajurveda, it consists of
passages, some of
which are denominated while only the rest are strictly Yajush.
R~ich,
The first are, like the prayers of the ffigveda, in metre: the others
are either in measured prose, containing from one to a hundred and
six syllables; or such of them as exceed that length, are considered
to be prose reducible to no measure.
The Yajurveda relates chiefly to oblations and sacrifices, as the
name itself implies. ** The first chapter, and the greatest part of
the second, contain prayers adapted for sacrifices at the full and
change of the moon ; but the six last sectfons regard oblations to
the manes. The subject of the third chapter is the consecration
of a perpetual fire and the sacrifice of victims: the five next relate
chiefly to a ceremony called Agnish'toma, which includes that of
drinking the juice of the acid asclepias. The two following relate
to the Vdjapeya and Rdjasuya the last of which ceremonies involves
;

the consecration of a king. Eight chapters, from the eleventh

to the eighteenth, regard the sanctifying of sacrificial fire; and the

ceremony named Sautrdmani, which was the subject of the last

section- of the tenth chapter, occupies three other chapters, from
the nineteenth to the twenty - first. The prayers to be used at an
Astvamed'ha, or ceremony emblematic of the immolation of a horse
and other animals, by aking ambitious, of universal empire, are placed
in four chapters, from the twenty -second to the twenty -fifth.
The two next are miscellaneous chapters; the Saulrdmarii and As-
*
I have several copies of MA'D'IIYANOIJJA'S white Ynjush one of which is
,

accompanied by a commentary, entitled Vedadipa; the author of which, MA-

HI'D'HARA, consulted the commentaries of UVATA and MAD'HAVA, as he himself
informs us in his preface.
**
Yajush is derived from the verb yaj to worship or adore. Another
,

etymology is sometimes assigned: but this is most consistent with the subject;
viz. (yajnya) sacrifices, and (homo) oblations to fire.
32 ON THE VKDAS, OR

warned ha are completed in two others; and the Purushamed" ha or

1

ceremony performed as the type of the allegorical immolation of

NARA'YANA, .fills the thirtieth and thirty-first chapters. The three
next belong to the SarwimecCha, or prayers and" oblations for uni 1
versal success. A chapter follows on the PUrimed'ha, or obsequies
in commemoration of a deceased ancestor: and the last five chap-
ters contain such passages of this Veda, as are ascribed to DAD'H-
YACH, son or descendant of AT'HARVAN ftAir of them consist of prayers
:

applicable to various religious rites, as sacraments, lustrations,

penance, &c. and the last is restricted to theology.
" ;

Excepting these five chapters, most of the passages contained in

the preceding part of this collection of prayers are attributed to di-
vine personages many are ascribed to the first manifested being,
:

named PRAJA'PATI, PARAM^SHT'HI, or NA'RA'YANA PURUSHA; some are

attributed to SWAYAMBHU BRAHME ,
or the self-existent himself: the

reputed authors of the rest are YRIHASPATI, INDRA, VARUNA, and the
ASWINS except a few scattered passages, which are ascribed to
:

VASISHT'HA VISWAMITRA-, VAMADICVA MAD'HUCH'HANDAS M^D'HA-

, , ,

TIT'HI, and other human

and some texts, for which no
authors;
ftishi- is specified in the index, and which are therefore assigned

either to the sun (Vwaswal or Adilyci), as the deity supposed to

have revealed this Feda] or to YAJNYAWALCYA as the person ,

who received the revelation in the same manner as the unappro-

:

priated passages of the Rigveda are assigned to PRAJAPATI or

BRAHMA'.
Several prayers and hymns of the Yajurveda have been already
translated in former, essays,* and may serve as a sufficient example
of the style of its composition. I slrall here insert
only two pass-
ages, both remarkable. The first is the beginning of the prayers
of the Sarvamed'ha. It constitutes the thirty -second lecture, com-

prising two chapters '(anuvdca) and sixteeen verses.

'FIRE is THAT [original cause]; the sun is that; so is air; so is
the moon: such too is that pure BRAHME, and those waters, and
that lord of creatures. Moments [and other measures of time] pro-
ceeded from the effulgent person, whom none can apprehend [as
an object of perception] above, around, or in the midst. Of him,
,

whose glory is so great, there is no image: he it is who is celebra-

ted in various holy strains. ** Even he is the god who pervades
all regions he is the first born it is he, who is in the womb he,
: :
;

who born; and he, who will be produced: he, severally and uni-
is

versally, remains with [all] persons.

'HE, prior to whom nothing was born, and who became all beings;
himself the lord of creatures, with [a body composed- of] sixteen

*
On the Religious Ceremonies of the Hindus, As. Res., vol. v. and vii.
**
The text refers to particular passages.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 33

members, being deligbted by creation, produced the three lumina-

"
ries [the sun, the moon, and fire].
'To what God should we offer oblations, but to him who made
the fluid sky and solid earth, who 'fixed the solar orb (swar^) and
celestial abode (nuca\ and who framed drops [of rain] in the atmos-

phere? To what god should we offer oblations, but to him whom

heaven and earth mentally contemplate, while they are strengthen-
ed and embellished b'y offerings and illuminated by the sun risen
,

above them?.
1
The wise man view's that mysterious [being] , in whom the uni-
verse perpetually exists, resting on that sole support; In him, this
[world] is absorbed; from him it issues: in creatures, he is twined
and wove, with Various forms of existence. Let the wise man, who
is conversant with the
import of revelation,* promptly celebrate
that immortal being, the mysteriously existing and various abode;
he who knows its three states [its creation, continuance, and destruc-
tion], Which are involved in mystery, is father of the father. That
[BRAHME] in whom the gods attain immortality while they abide
, ,

in the third [or celestial] region, is our venerable parent, and the

providence which governs, all worlds.

'
Knowing the elements, discovering the worlds, and recognising
all regions and quarters [to be him], and worshipping [speech or re-

velation, who is] the first-born the votary pervades the animating
,

spirit of solemn sacrifice by means of [his own] soul. Recognising

heaven, earth, and sky [to be him], knowing the worlds, discovering
space and (swtir) the. solar orb [to be the same], he views that being:
he becomes that being; and is identified with him, on completing
the broad web of the-solemn sacrifice.
"For opulence and wisdom, I -solicit this wonderful lord of the
altar the friend of INDRA, most desirable [fire]
, may this oblation
:

be effectual. Fire make me, this day, wise by means of that wis-
!

dom which the gods and the fathers worship: be this oblation effi-
cacious. May VARUNA grant me wisdom; may fire and PRAJA'PATI
confer on me sapience may INDRA and air vouchsafe me know-
;

ledge; may providence give me understanding: be this oblation

happily offered! May the priest .and the soldier both share- my pros-
perity; the gods grant me supreme happiness: to thee, who
may
art that [felicity],be this oblation effectually presented !"
The next passage which I shall cite is a prayer to fire. **
'Thou art (samvatsara) the [first] year [of the cycle]: thou art
(parivatsara) the [second] year; thou art (iddvatsara) the [third] year;
thou art (idval vatsara) the [fourth] year; thou art (va1sura\ the
'-

* who
For the word Gand'harba is here interpreted as intending one investi-
gates holy writ.'
**
Ch. 27, 45th and last.
3
34 ON THE V^DAS, OR

fifth year: may mornings appertain to thee; may days and nights,
and fortnights,and months, and seasons, belong to thee; may (sam-
vatsard) the year be a portion of thee: to go, or to come, contract-
ing or expanding [thyself] tliou art winged, thought. Together
,

with that deity, remain thou firm like ANGIRAS.'

I have quoted this almost unmeaning passage, because it notices
the divisions of time which belong to the calendar of the Vedas, and
which are explained in treatises on that subject annexed to the sa-
cred volume under the title of Jyotish,
,
To this I shall again ad-
vert in a subsequent part of this essay. I shall here only observe,
with the view of accounting for the seeming absurdity of the text
now cited, 'that -fire, as in another place ,* sacrifice, is identified
with the year and with the -cycle, by reason of the near connexion
between consecrated fire and the regulation of time relative to 'reli-
gious rites; at which one is used, and which the other governs.
The fortieth and last chapter of this Veda is an Upanishad, as
/

before intimated : which is usually called Isdvdsyam from the two

,

initialwords; and sometimes Isdrfhydya, from the first word;

but the proper title is
'

Upanisharl of the Vdjasaneya sanhild." The 1

author; as before -mentioned, is DAD'HYACH, son or descendant of

AT'HARVAN.** A
translation of it has been published in the post-
humous works of Sir WILLIAM JONES.
The second part of this Veda, appertaining to the MdcChyandina
'Sd(fhd is entitled the 'SalapaCha Brdhmana-, and is much more copi-
ous than the collection of prayers. It consists of fourteen books
(cdntia) unequally distributed in two parts (bhdga):_ the first of
which contains ten books; and the second, onjy four. The number
of lectures (acChydytt) contained in each book varies and so does ;

that of the Brdhmanas, or separate precepts, in each lecture. Another

mode of division ,. by chapters (prapd'taca) also prevails through-
,

out the volume: and the distinction of Brdhrnanas, which are

again subdivided into short sections (candied,) is subordinate to both
modes of division.
The fourteen books which constitute this part of the Veda com-
prise a hundred lectures, corresponding to sixty- eight chapters.
The whole mimber of distinct articles entitled JBrdhmana is four

*
In the 'Satapafha Brdhmana, b. ii, cli. 1. The'reason here assigned is

expressly stated by the commentator.

**
. Besides MA^ID'HAHA'S gloss on this chapter, in his F'edadt'pa, I have the
separate commentary of S'ANCARA and one by BXLACRISHNANANDA , which con-
,

tains a clear and copious exposition of this Upanishad. He professes to ex-

pound it as it is received by botli the Ctinwa and Mdd'hyandina schools. Sir
WILLIAM JONES, in.his version of it, used SANCARA'S gloss; as appears from
a copy of that gloss- which he had carefully studied, and in which his hand-
writing appears in more than one place.
 SACRED WRITINGS OP THE HINDUS. 35

hundred and forty : the sections (candica) are also counted, and are
stated at 7624. *
The same order is observed in this collection of precepts concern-
ing religious rites, which had been followed in the arrangement of
the prayers belonging to them. The first and second books treat
of ceremonies on the full and change of th*e moon, the consecration
of the sacrificial fire &c. The third and fourth relate to the mode
,

of preparing the juice of the acid asclepias and other ceremonies

,

connected with it, as the Jyolish'toma &c." The fifth is confined to

,

the Vdjapeya-^nA Rdjasuya. The four next teach the consecration

of sacrificial fire: and the tenth, entitled Agni rahasya, shows the
benefits of these ceremonies. The three first books of the second
part are stated by the commentator** as relating to the Sautrdmani
and AswamecCha ; and the fourth, which is the last, belongs to theo-
logy. In the original, the thirteenth book is specially denomi-
nated AswamecThya] and the fourteenth is entitled Vrihad dranyaca.
The Astvamed ha and Purttshamed'ha celebrated in the manner
,

directed by this Veda, are not really sacrifices of horses and men.
In the first -mentioned ceremony, six hundred and nine animals of
various prescribed kinds, domestic and wild, including birds, fish,
and reptiles, are made fast, the tame ones, to twenty-one posts,
and the wild, in the intervals between the pillars and after cer- ; ,

tain prayers have been recited, the victims are let loose without >

injury. In the other, a hundred and eighty -five men of various

specified tribes, characters, and professions, are bound to eleven
posts ; and , after the hymn concerning the allegorical immolation
of NA'RA'YANA*** has been recited, ttase human victims are liberated
unhurt; and oblations of butter are made on the sacrificial fire.
This mode of performing the Aswamed'ha and Purushamed'ha, as
emblematic ceremonies, not <is real sacrifices, is taught in this Veda :

and the interpretation is fully confirmed by the rituals, f. andjby

cofnmfcntators on the Sanhitd and Brdhmana-, one of whom assigns
as the reason, 'because the flesh of victims which have been actu-
ally sacrificed at a Yajnya must be eaten by the persons who offer
the sacrifice: but a man cannot be allow.ed, much less required, to
<9> '-.
_
*
Mycopies of the text and of the cojiimentary. are both imperfect but ;

the deficiencies of one occur in places where the other is complete, and I
havebeen thus enabled to inspect cursorily the whote of this portion of the Vtda,
Among fragments of this Brdhmana comprising entire books, I have one
which agrees in the substance and purport with the second book of the
, ,

Mdd'hyandina 'Satapat'/ia, though differing much in the readings -of almost

every passage. probably belongs to a different 'Sdc'hd.
It
**
At the beginning of his gloss on the eleventh book.
***
See the second essay on the Religious Ceremonies of the Hindus, Asia-
ticResearches, vol. vii, p. 251.
f I particularly advert to a separate ritual of the Puruthamed'ha by'YAj-
NTAD^VA.
3*
36 . ON THE YEDAS, OK

eat human flesh.'* It may be hence inferred, or conjectured at

least, that human wore not authorised by the Veda itself;
sacrifices
but were either then abrogated, and an emblematical ceremony sub-
stituted in their place; or they must have been introduced in later
times, on the authority of certain Purdnas or Tantras, fabricated by
persons who, in this as in other matters, established many unjusti-
fiable practices, on the foundation of emblems and allegories which

they misunderstood'.
The horse, which is the subject of the religious ceremony called
Asrvamed'ha, is also avowedly an emblem of Virdf, or the primeval
and universal manifested being. In the last section of the Tailtiriya
Yajurveda, the various parts of the horse's body are described, as
division's of time and portions of the universe 'morning is his head
:
;

the sun, Iws eye; air, his breath; the moon, his ear; &c.' simi- A
lar passage in the'fourteenth book of the 'Satapafha brdhmana describes
the same allegorical horse, for" the meditation of such as cannot
perform an Aswamed'ha ; and the assemblage of living animals, con-
stituting an imaginary victim, at a real Astvamed'ha, equally repre-
sents the universal being according to the doctrines of the Indian"
scripture. It is not, however, certain, whether this ceremony did
no't also give occasion to the institution of another,
apparently not
authorised by the Vedas, in which a horse was actually sacrificed.
The Vrihad dranyaca, which constitutes the fourteenth book, of
ihe'Salapafha brdhmana, is the conclusion of the Vdjasaneyi, or white
Yajush. It consists of seven chapters, or eight lectures and the :

five last lectures in one arrangement, corresponding with the six

last lectures in the other, form a theological treatise entitled the
Vrihad Upanishad, or Vdjasaneyi brdhmana upanishad, but more com-
monly cited as the Vrihad dratiyaca.** The greatest part of it is
in dialogue, and YA'JNYAWALCYA
is tl\e principal speaker. As an
Upanishad, properly belongs to the Cdnrva 'Sdc'hd: at least,* it is
it

so cited by VIDYA'RANYA in his paraphrase of Upanishads befof e-

,

mentioned. There does not, however, appearto.be any material

variation in it, as received by the Mdd'hyandina school: unless in.
the divisions of chapters and sections, and in the lists of successive
teachers by whom it was handed down.jj;**
To convey some notion of the scope and style of this Upanishftd,

* Cited from
memory: I. read the passage several years ago, but I cannot
now recover it.
** Besides three
copies of the text and two transcripts of S'ANCARA'S com-
,

mentary, I have, also in duplicate, another very excellent commentary by

NITYANAND' ASKAMA, which is entitled Mitdcshard; and a metrical paraphrase
of'sANCARA's gloss by simdswAR'icHA'RYA, as well as annotations in prose by
ANANDA G1RI.
***
This is the Upanishad to which Sir WILLIAM JONES refers, in his preface
to the* translation of the Institutes of MENU, p. viii. (in Sir G. C. HAUGHTON'S
edition, p. xi.)
 SACRED WRITINGS OF T*HE "HINDUS. 37

I shall here? briefly indicate some of the most remarkable passages,

and chiefly those which have been paraphrased by VIDYA'RANYA.
A few others have been already cited a'nd the following appears
,

likewise to deserve notice.

Towards the beginning of the Vrikad dranyaca, a passage, con-
cerning the origin of fire hallowed for an Astvameif ha opens thus: t

'Nothing existed in this world before [the production of mind]: this

universe was encircled by death eager to devour; for death is the
devourer. He framed mind, being desirous of himself becoming
endued with a soul.'
Here the commentators explain death to be the intellectual being
who sprung from the golden mundane egg and the passage before :

cited from the Rlgveda,* where the primeval existence of death is

. denied t may be easily reconciled with this, upon the Indian ideas
of the periodical destruction and renovation of the world, and finally
of all beings but the supreme one.
The first selection by VIDYA'RANYA from this Upanishad, is the
fourth article (brdhmana) of the third lecture of the Vrihad dranyaca.
It is descriptive of VIRAJ, and begins thus :

'This [variety of forms} was, before [the production of body], soul,

bearing a human shape. Next, looking around,. that [primeval being]
saw noth'ing but himself; and he, first, said " I am I. " Therefore,
his name was "I:" and thence, even now, when called, [a man]
first answers "it is I, ""and then declares any other name which
appertains to him.
'Since he, being anterior to all this [which seeks supremacy], did
consume by fire all sinful [obstacles to his own supremacy] there- ,

fore does the man who knows this [truth], overcome him who seeks
to b'e before him.
'
He felt dread ;
and therefore ,
man fears when alone. But he
" Since
reflected, nothing exists besides myself, why should I fear ?"
Thus his terror departed from him; for what should he dreaJ, since
fearmust be of another?
'He felt not delight; and therefore, man delights not when alone.
He wished [the existence of] another; and instantly he became
such a,s is man and woman in mutual embrace. He caused this, his
own self, to fall in twain; and thus became a husband and a wife.
Therefore was this [body so separated'],
as it were an imperfect
,

moiety of himself: for so YA'JNYAWALCYA has pronounced it. This

blank, therefore, is completed by woman. He approached her;
and thence were human beings produced.
'She reflected, doubtingly;" "how can he, having produced me
from himself, [incestuously] approach me? I will now assume a
disguise." She became a cow ;
and the other became a bull ,
and

* 17.
Page
38 ON THE VEDAS, OR

approached her; and the issue were kine. She was changed into
a mare, and he into a stallion; one was turned into a female ass,
and the other into a male one thus did he again approach her
:^
;

and the one-hoofed kind was the offspring! She became a female
goat, and he a male one; she was an ewe, and he a ram: .thus he
approached her; and goats and sheep were the progeny. In this
manner did he create every existing pair whatsoever even to the ,

ants [and minutest insects].'

The sequel of this passage ie also curious but is too long to be
,

here inserted. The notion of VIRAJ dividing his own substance-

into male and female, occurs in more than one Purdtia. So does
that of an incestuous marriage and intercourse of the first MENU
with his daughter S'ATAHU'PA'; and the commentators on the Upanishad
understand that, legend to be alluded to in this place. But the .

institutes ascribed to MENU make VIRAJ to be the issue of such a

separa'tion of persons, and MENU himself to be his offspring.* There
is, indeed, as the reader may observe from the passage cited in
the present essay, much disagreement and consequent confusion,
in the gradation of. persons interposed- by Hindu theology between
the Supreme Being and the created world.
The author of the paraphrase before-mentioned has next selected
three dialogues from the fourth lecture or' chapter of the Vrihad
aranyaca. In the first, which begins the chapter and occupies three
articles (brdhmatias) a conceited and loquafcious priest named BA-
, ,

LA'CI (from his mother BALA'CA'), and GA'RGYA (from his ancestor

GARGA), visits AJA'TASATRU, king of Cast, and offers to communicate

to him the knowledge of GOD. The king bestows on him a liberal
recompense for the offer and the priest unfolds his doctrine, saying
'

he worships, or recognises, as GOD, the being who is 'manifest in

the sun him, who is apparent in lightning, in the etherial elements,
;

in air, in fire, in water, in a mirror, in the regions of space, in shade,

and in the soul itself. The king, who was, as it appears-, a well
instructed theologian refutes these several notions successively
, ;

and finding the priest remain silent, asks, "is that all you have to
say?" GA'RGYA replies, "that is all." Then, says the king, "that
is not sufficient for the knowledge of God." Hearing this, GARGYA
proposes to become his pupil. The king replies, "It would reverse
.established order, were a priest to attend a soldier in expectation
of religious instruction: but I wiU suggest the knowledge to you."
He takes him by the hand, and rising, conducts him to a place
where a man was sleeping. He calls the sleeper by various appel-
lations suitable to the priest's doctrine, but without succeeding in
awakening him: he then rouses the sleeper by stirring him; and
afterwards, addressing the priest, asks, "While that man was thus

*
See Sir W. JONES'S translation of MENU Ch. 1, v. 32 and 33.
. f
. SACKED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 39

asleep ,
where was his soul, which consists in intellect V and whence
came that soul when he was awakened V" GA'RGYA could
not solve
the question: and the king then proceeds to explain the nature of
soul .and niind according to the received notions of the Veddnta.
,

As it is not the purpose of this essay to consider those doctrines,

I shall not here insert the remainder of the dialogue.
The next, occupying a single article is a. conversation between ,

YA'JNYAWALCYA and his wife, MAITREY!. He announces to her his

intention of retiring from the civil world, requests her consent, and
proposes to divide his effects between her and his second wife,
CA'TYA'YANI. She asks , " Should I become immortal if this whole ,

earth full of riches , were mine?" "No, " replies YAJNYAWALCYA,

,

means of living, but immortality is not attained

"riches serve for the
through wealth." MAITREY! declares she has no use, then, for that
by which she may not becou.e immortal; and solicits from her hus-
band the communication of the knowledge which he possesses on ,

the means by which beatitude may be attained. YA'JNYAWALCYA

answers, "Dear wert thou to me, and a pleasing [sentiment] dost
thou make known: come, sit down; I will expound [that doctrine];
do thou endeavour to comprehend it." discourse follows, in which A
YA'JNYAWALCYA elucidates the notion, that abstraction procures im-
mortality; because affections are relative to the soul, which should
therefore be contemplated and considered in all objects, since- every
thing is soul for all general and particular notions are ultimately
;

resolvable, into one, whence all proceed, and in which all merge;
and that is identified with the supreme soul, through the knowledge
of which beatitude may be attained.
I shall select, as a- specimen of the reasoning in this dialogue,
a passage which is material on a different account; as it contains
an enumeration of the Vedas and of the various sorts of passages
,

which they^ comprise, and tends to confirm some observations hazard-

ed at the beginning of this essay.
'As smoke, and various substances, separately issue from fire
lighted with moist wood, so from .this great being were respired
the Rigveda, the Yajitrveda, the Sdmaveda, and the Afharvan and
Angiras the Itihdsa and Pur ana the sciences and Upajiishads the
; , ,

verses and aphorisms the expositions and illustrations .all these

, ,

were breathed forth by him. '

The commentators remark that four sorts of prayers (mantra]

,
.

and eight sorts' of precepts (brdhmana) are here stated. The fourth
description of prayers comprehends such as were revealed to, or
discovered by, AT'HARVAN and ANGIRAS: meaning the Afharvana
veda. The ftihdsa designates such passages in the second part of the
Vedas entitled Brdhmana, as narrate a story: for instance, that of
the nymph URVAS'I and the king PURURAVAS. The Purdna intends
those which relate to the creation and similar topics. "Sciences"
40 ON THE VEDAS, OR

are meant of religious worship "Verses" are memorial lines

: :

"Aphorisms" are short sentences in a concise style: ,, Expositions"

interpret such sentences and "Illustrations" elucidate the meaning
;

of the prayers.
It may not be superfluous- to observe in this place,- that the Ilihdsa
and Purdrias, here meant, are not the mythological poems bearing
the same title but certain passages of the Indian scriptures which
, ,

are interspersed among throughout that 'part of the Vedas

others,
called Brdhmana ,
and instances of which occur in more than one
quotation in the present essay.
The dialogue between YA'JNYAWALCYA andMAiTR^vi, above-men-
tioned, is repeated towards the close of the sixth lecture, with a
short and immaterial addition to its introduction. In this place it
is succeeded
by a discourse on the Unity of the soul said, towards ;

the conclusion, to have been addressed to the two Asrvins,-by DAD'H-

YACH, a descendant of AT'HARVAN.
The fourth lecture ends with a list of the teachers by whom ,

that and the three" preceding lectures were handed down, in suc-
cession, to PAUTIMASHYA. It begins with him, and ascends, through
forty steps, to AYASYA; or, with two more intervening persons, to
the Aswins ; and from them, to DAD'HYACH, AT'HARVAN, and MRITYU,
or- death; and, through other gradations of spirits, to-viRA'j; and

finally to BRAHME. The same list occurs again at the end of tire
sixth lecture-; and similar lists are found in the corresponding places
of this Upanishad, as arranged for the Mad'hyandina sac' ha. The
succession is there traced upwards from the reciter of it, who
,

speaks of himself in the first person, and from his immediate teacher
SAURYANA'YYA, to the same original rev-elation, through nearly the
same number of gradations. The difference is almost entirely
confined to the first ten or twelve names..*
The fifth and sixth lectures of this Upanishad have been para-
phrased, like the fourth, by the author beforementioned. They
consist of dialogues, in which YA'JNYAWALCYA is the chief discourse!'.
'JANACA, a king paramount,' or emperor of the race of Videhas,
was celebrating at great expense, a solemn sacrifice, at which the
Brdhmanas t>f Cum and Panchdla were assembled; and the king,
being desirous of ascertaining which of those priests was the most

* I do not find VYA'SA mentioned in either list; nor cart the surname Ptird-
sarya, which occurs more than once, be applied to him, for it is not his patro-
nymic, but a name deduced from the feminine patronymic Pdrd'sari, It
seems therefore questionable , whether any inference respecting the age of
the Vedas can be drawn from these lists, in the manner proposed by the late
Sir w. JONES in his preface to the translation of MNU(p. viii). The ana-
chronisms which I observe in them deter me from a similar attempt to de-
,

duce the age of this Veda from these and other lists which will be noticed
,

further on.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 41

learned and eloquent .theologian ,

ordered a .thousand cows to be
made fast in his stables, and their horns to be gilt with a prescribed
quantity of gold. He then addressed the priests, "whoever, among
you, O venerable Brdhmatias, is most skilled in theology, may take
the cows." The rest presumed not to touch the- cattle; but YA'JNYA-
WALCYA bade his pupil SA'MASRAVAS drive them to his home. He
did so and the priests were indignant that he should thus arrogate
;

to himself superiority. AS'WALA, who was the king's officiating

priest, asked him, "Art thou, O YA'JNYAWALCYA more skilled in !

theology than we are?" He replied, "I bow to the most learned;

but I was desirous of possessing the cattle."
This introduction is followed by a long dialogue, or rather by a
succession of dialogues, in which six other rival priests (besides a
learned female, named. GA'RGI, the daughter of VACHACRU) take part .

as antagonists of-YA'jNYAWALCYA; proposing questions to him, which

he answers; and, by refuting .their objections, silences them suc-
cessively. Each dialogue tills a single article (brahman(i) ; but the
controversy, is maintained by GA'RGI in two separate discussions;
and the contest between YA'JNYAWALCYA and VIDAGD'HA, stirnamed
S'A'CALYA in the ninth or last article of the fifth lecture concludes
, ,

in a singular manner.
YA'JNYAWALCYA proposes to his adversary 'an abstruse question,
and declares, "If thou dost not explain this unto me, thy head shall
drop off." 'S'A'CALYA (proceeds the text) could not explain it, and
his head did fall off; and robbers stole his bones, mistaking them
for some other thing.'
YA'JNYAWALCYA then asks the rest of his antagonists, whether
they have any question to ptopose , or are desirous that he should
propose any. They remain silent, and he addresses- them as follows:
'Man is indeed like a lofty tree his hairs are the leaves, and his'
:

skin the. cuticle- From his skin flows blood like juice from bark ,
:

it issues from his wounded

person, as juice from a stricken tree.
His flesh is the inner bark and the membrane, near the bones is
; ,

the white substance of the wood. * The bones within are the wood
.

kself, and marrow and pith are alike. If then a felled tree spring
anew from the .root from what root does mortal man grow again
,

when hewn down by death? Do not say, from prolific seed; for
that produced from the living person. Thus, a tree, indeed, also
is

springs from seed and likewise sprouts afresh [from the root] after
;

[seemingly] dying but -if the tree be torn up by the root ^ it doth
; ,

not grow, again. From- what root, then, does mortal man rise afresh,
when hewn down by death? [Do you answer] He was born [once
for all] ? No he is born [again.] and [I ask you] what is it that
;
:

produces him anew?"

*
Sndva and Cind'ta, answering to the periosteum and alburnum.
 42 ON THE V^DAS, OR

The priests,, thus .interrogated, observes the commentator, and

being unacquainted with the first cause, yielded the victoi'y to YA'J-
NYAWALCYA. Accordingly, the text adds a brief indication of the
first cause as intended by that question. 'BRAHME, who is intellect
with [the unvaried perception of] felicity, is the best path [to hap-
piness] for the generous votary, who knows him, and remains fixed
[in attention].'
The sixth lecture comprises two dialogues between YA'JNYAWALCYA
and the king JANACA, in which the saint communicates religious
instruction to the monarch, after inquiring from him the doctrines
which had been previously taught to the king by divers priests.
These are followed by a repetition of the, dialogue between YA'J-
NYAWALCYA and 'his wife MAITREYI, with scarcely a variation of a
,

single word, except the introduction as above'-mentioned. The

sixth lecture concludes with repeating the list of teachers, by whom, .

successively, this part of the Veda was taught.

Concerning the remainder of the Vrihad dranyaca I shall only
observe, that it is terminated by a list of teachers,- in which the tra-
dition of it is traced back from the son of PAUTIMA'SHI, through forty

steps, to YAJNYAWALCYA and from him, through twelve more, to the

;

sun. In copies belonging to the Mdd'hyandina 'Sdc'hd the list is

varied, interposing more gradations, with considerable difference in
the names, from the reciter who speaks in the first person, and his
teacher the son of BHA'RADWAJI
, , up to YAJNYAWALCYA beyond
,

whom both lists agree.

The copy belonging to the Cdnwa 'Sdc'hd subjoins a further list,
stated by the'commentators to be common to all the 'Sdc'hds of the
Vdjin, or Vdjasaneyi Yajitrveckt, and .to be intended for the tracing
of that Veda up to its original revelation. It begins from the son
of SANJivi,.who was fifth, descending from YA'JNYAWALCYA, in the
lists abovementioned ; and it ascends by ten steps, without any
mention of that saint, to TURA, surnamed CAVASHE'YA, who. had the
revelation from PRAJA'PATI, and he from BRAHME.
Before I proceed to the other Yajurveda, I think it necessary to
remark, that the Indian saint last-mentioned (TURA, son of CAVASHA.)
has been named in a former quotation from the Aitareya, as the
priest who consecrated JANAMEJAYA son of PARICSHIT. -It might,
,

at the first glance be hence concluded that he was contemporary

, ,

with the celebrated king who is stated in Hindu history to have

reigned at the beginning of the Cali age. But, besides the constant
uncertainty respecting Indian saints, who appear and re-appear in
heroic history at periods most remote, there is in this, as in many
other instances of the names of princes a source of confusion and
,

possible error, from the recurrence of the same name, with the addi-
tion even of the same patronymic, for princes remote from each
other. Thus, according to Purdiias, PARICSHIT, third son of CURU,
 SACRED WRITINGS ON THE HINDUS. 43

had a son named JANAMEJAYA; and he may be the person here meant,
rather than one of thesame name, who was the great grandson of
ARJUNA.

On tJie BLACK YAJUKVEDA.

THE Taitliriya, or black Yajush, is more copious (I mean in regard
to mantras) than the white Yajtfsh, but less so than the fiigveda.
Its Sanhild , or collection of prayers, is arranged in seven books

(ash'taca orcdnaa\ containing from five to eight lectures, or chapters

(acChydya, prasna, or prapd'taca). Each chapter, or lecture, is sub-
divided into sections (anuvdca), which are equally distributed in the
third and sixth books, but unequally in the rest. The whole num-
ber exceeds six hundred and fifty.
Another mode of division, by cdiidas, is stated in the index. In
this arrangement, each book (cdnaa) relates to a separate subject;
and .the chapters (prasna] comprehended in it are enumerated and
described. Besides this, in the Sanhild itself, the texts contained
in every section are numbered, and so are the syllables in each text.
.The first section (m'rte) in this collection of prayers, corresponds
with the first section (candied] in the white Yajush,* but all the. rest
differ, and so does the arrangement of the subjects. Many of the topics
are indeed alike in both Vcdas, but differently placed and differently
treated. Thus the ceremony called R djasuya occupies ouecdnda, cor-
responding with the eighth prasna o/the first book (ash'taca\ and is pre-
ceded by two cdiiaas, relative to the Vdjapeya and to the mode of its
celebration, which occupy fourteen sections in the preceding prasna.
Consecrated fire is the siibject of four cdnaas, which fill the fourth
and fifth books. Sacrifice (acThrvara) is noticed in the second and
third lectures of the first book, and in several lectures of the sixth.
The subject is continued in the seventh and 'last book, which treats
largely on the JyolisKtdma including the "forms of preparing" and
,

drinking the juice of.the acid Asclepias. The AswamecCha, Nrimed'ha,

and PitntnecCha, are severally treated of in their places; that is, in
the collection of prayers,** and in the second part of this Veda.
Other topics, introduced in different places, are numerous; but it
would be tedious *to specify them at large.
Among the Rlshis of the texts I observe no human authors. Nine
entire cdnfats ,according to the second arrangement indicated by

*
Translated in the first Essay on the Religious Ceremonies of the Hindus,
with the first verse in each of the three other Vedas. Asiatic Researches,
vol. v. p.-364.
**The prayers of the Aswamed'ha occur in the concluding sections, between
the twelfth section of the fourth chapter, and the end of the fifth chapter of
the seventh and last book.
44 ON THE V^DAS, OR

the index, appear to be ascribed. to PRAJA'PATI, or the lord of crea-

tures; as many to SOMA, or the mo.on; seven to AGNI, or fire; and
sixteen to all the gods. Possibly some passages may be allotted
by the commentators to their real authors though not pointed out
,

by the index for the Atreyi 'Sdc'hd. .

Several prayers from this Veda have been translated in former

essays.* Other very remarkable passages have occurred, on examin-
ing this collection of mantras.** The following, from the seventh
and last book *** is chosen as a specimen of the Taiitiriya Yajur-
,

veda. Like several before cited, it alludes to the Indian notions of

the creation; and, at the risk of sameness, I select passages rela-
tive to that topic, on account of its importance in explaining the
creed of the ancient Hindu religion. The present extract was re-
commended allusion to a mythological notion,
for selection by its
which apparently gave origin, to the story of the Vardha-avatdra,
and from which an astronomical period, entitled Calpa, has perhaps
been taken, f
'Waters [alone] there were; this world originally was water.
In it the lord of creation moved, having become air: he saw this
[earth]; and upheld it, assuming the form of a boar (vardhd): and
then moulded that [earth], becoming VIS'WACARMAN -the artificer of ,

the universe. It became celebrated (aprathata) and

conspicuous
(prifhivi); and therefore is that name (Prithivi) -assigned to the earth.
'The lord of creation meditated profoundly on the earth; and
created the gods, the Vasus-, Rudras, and Adilyas. Those gods ad-
dressed the lord -of "How can we form creatures?"
creation, saying,
He replied, "As
created you by profound contemplation (tapas),
I
so do you seek in devotion (tapas) the means of multiplying crea-
tures." He gave them consecrated fire saying, "With this sacri-
,

"
ficial fire perform devotions. With it they did perform austerities ;
and, in one year, framed a single cow. He gave her to the Vasus,
to the Rudr'as, and to the Adilyas, [successively], bidding them.
"Guard her.'-' The Vasus the Rudras, and the Adilyas, [severally]
,

guarded her; and she calved, for the Vasus three hundred and thirty-
three [calves] and [as many] for the Rudras and [the same number]
; \

for the Adilyas : thus was she the thousandth."

'They addressed the lord of creation, requesting him to direct

them in performing *a solemn act of religion with* a thousand [kine
for a gratuity]. He caused the Vasus to sacrifice with the Agni-
sh'toma and they conquered this world, and gave it [to the priests]
;
:

*
Asiatic Researches, vols. v.' and vii.
"*
I have several complete copies of the text, but only a part of the com-"
mentary by SAYANA.
***
. Book vii, Chapter 1, Section 5.
f One of the Calpas, or renovations of the universe, is denominated
Vdrdha.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. . . 45

he caused the Rudras to sacrifice with the Ucfhya- and they obtain-
ed the middle region and gave it away [for a sacrificial fee] he
,
:

caused the Adityas to sacrifice with the Aliralra; and they acquired
that [other] world, and gave it [to the priests for a gratuity].'
This extract may suffice. Its close, and the remainder of the
section bear allusion to certain religious ceremonies
,
at which a ,

thousand cows must be given to the officiating priests.

To the second part of this Veda* belongs an Aranya, divided,
like the Sanhild,into lectures (prasna), and again subdivided into
chapters (anuvdcaL containing texts, or sections, which are number-
ed, and in which the syllables have been counted. Here also a
division by cdnSa's, according to the different subjects, prevails.
The six first lectures, and their corresponding cdtiSas, relate to reli-

gious observances. The two next constitute three Upanishads] or,

as they are usually cited, two; one of which is commonly entitled
the .Tailliriyaca Vpanishad: the other is called the Ndrdyana, or, to
distinguish it from another belonging exclusively to iheAfharvaveda,
the great (Mahd, or Vrihan) Ndrdyana. They are- all admitted in
collections of theological treatises appendant on ihe-Afharvaria but :

the last-mentioned is there subdivided into two Upanishads.

For a further specimen of this Yajurveda, I shall only quote the
opening of the third and last chapter of the FantfWj or second Tait-
**
tiriyaca Upanishad, with the introductory chapter of the first.
'BHRIGU, the offspring of VARUNA, approached his father, saying,
"Venerable [father] make known to me Brahme."
! VARUNA pro-
p'ounded these: namely, food [or body], truth [or life], sight, hear-
ing, mind [or thought], and speech: and thus proceeded, "That
whence all beings are produced, that by which they live when born,
that towards which they tend, and that into which they pass, do
thou seek, [for] that is Brahme ."
'He meditated [in] devout contemplation; and having thought
profoundly, he recognised food [or -body] to be, Brahme: for all
beings are indeed produced from food ; when born , they live by
food; towards food they tend; they pass into food. This he com-
prehended; [but yet unsatisfied] he again approached his father
VARUNA, saying, "Venerable [father] make known to me Brahme."
VARUNA replied, "Seek the knowledge of Brahme by devout medi-
tation Brahme is
"
:
profound contemplation.

*
The Taiitiriya, like other Vedas , has its brdhmana t and Frequent quo-
tations from it occur in the .commentary OB the prayers, and in other places.
But I have not yet seen a complete copy of this portion of the Indian sacred
books. .

**
nse several copies of the entire Aranya with S'A'NCARA'S commentary
I ,

on the Taittiriya Upanishad, and annotations on his gloss by ANA.NDAJNYANA ;

besides separate copies of that, and of the Mahdndrdyana, and a commentary
on the Vdruni Vpanishad, entitled Laghu dipicd.
46 . ON THE V^DAS, OR '

'Having deeply meditated he discovered breath, [or life] to be

,

Brahme: for all these beings are indeed produced from breath;
when born they live by breath towards breath they tend they
, ; ;

pass into breath. This he understood: [but] again he approached

his father VARUNA, saying, "Venerable [father] make known to me !

Brahme." VARUNA replied, "Seek him by profound meditation:

Brahme is that."
He meditated in deep contemplation, and discovered intellect to
'

be Brahme: for all these beings are indeed produced from intellect:
when born, they Jive by intellect; towards intellect they tend and ;

they pass into intellect. This he understood: [but] again he came

to his father VARUNA, saying, "Venerable [father], make known to
me Brahme. " VARUNA replied, "Inquire by devout contemplation :

profound meditation is Brahme."

'He thought deeply; and having thus meditated [with] devout
contemplation, he knew Ananda [or felicity] to be Brahme: for all
these beings are indeed produced from pleasure; when born, they
live by joy; 'they tend towards happiness; they pass into felicity.
'Such is the science which was attained byBHRiau,. taught by
VARUNA, and founded on the supreme etherial spirit. He who
knows this, rests on the same support, is endowed with [abundant]
food and becomes [a blazing fire] which consumes food
, great he :

is
by progeny, by cattle, and by holy perfections, and great by
propitious celebrity.'
The above is the beginning of the last chapter of the Vdruni
Upanishad. I omit the remainder of it. The first Tailliriyaca Upani-
shad opens with the following prayer.
'May MITRA [who presides over the day] VARUNA [who governs ,

the night], -ARYAMAN [or the regent ef the sun and of sight] TNDRA , ,

who gives strength] VRIHAS.PATI [who rules the speech and under-
,

standing], and VISHNU, whose step is vast, grant us ease. [I] bow
to Brahme. Salutation unto thee air Even thou art Brahme,
,
!

present {to our apprehension]. Thee I will call, "present Brahme:'''

thee I will name, "the right one:" thee I will pronounce, "the true
one." May THAT [Brahme, the universal being entitled air], preserve
me; may that preserve the teacher: propitious be it..'*

On other UPANJSHADS of the YAJURVEDA.

1

Among the 'Sac has of the Yajurveda, one, entitled Mailrdyani,

furnishes an .Upanishad which bears the same denomination. An
** shows it to be a
abridged paraphrase of it, in verse dialogue in
,

*
I have inserted here, as in other places, between crotchets , snch illustra-
tions from the commentary as appear requisite to render the t'ext intelligible.
**
By VIDYA'RANYA. I hav not seen the original.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. .
47

which a sage, named S'A'CA'YANA, Communicates to the king, VRIHAD-

RAT'HA theological knowledge -derived from another sage called
, ,

MAITRA.
A different 'Sdc'hd of this Veda, entitled the CaVha, or Cd't'haca,
furnishes an Upanishad bearing that name, and which is one of those
most frequently cited by writers on the Veddnta. It is an extract
from a Srdhmana, and also occurs in collections of Upunishads, ap-
pertaining to the ACharvana.
S'W^TA'SWATARA, who has given his name to' one more 'Sac'ha of
the Yajurveda, from which an Upanishad is extracted, * is introduced
in it as teaching theology. This Upanishad, comprised in six chap-
ters or lectures (ad'hydya) is found in collections of theological
,

tracts appertaining to the ACharvaveda; but, strictly,, it appears to

belong exclusively to the Yajttsh.

On the SAMAVEDA.
A
peculiar degree of holinees seems to be attached, according to
Indian notions to the Sdmaveda if reliance may be placed on the
, ;

inference suggested by the etymology of its name, which indicates,

according to the derivation** usually assigned to it, the. efficacy of
this part of the VMas in removing sin. The prayers belonging to
itare, as before observed, composed in metre, and intended to be
chanted and their supposed efficacy is apparently ascribed to this
,

mode of uttering them.

Not having yet obtained a complete copy of this Veda, or of any

commentary on it, I cam only describe it

imperfectly, from such frag-
ments as I have been able to collect.
A
principal, if not the first, part of the Sdmaveda is that entitled
Archica. It comprises prayers among which I observe many that
,

constantly recur in rituals of Sdmavediya or CKhandoga priests, and

,

some of which have been translated in former essays.*** They

are here, arranged as appears from two copies of the Archica,^ in
six chapters (prapd'taca) subdivided into half chapters and into ,

sections (dasatf) ten in each chapter, and usually containing the

exact number often verses each. The. same collection of prayers,
in thesame order, but prepared for chanting, is distributed in seven-
teen chapters, under the title of the Grdmageya gdna.- That, at

*
In the^abridgment of it by VIDYARANYA this is the description given of
,
'

the 'Swetdswalara Upanishad. . .

**
From the root s/ui, convertible into so and *', and signifying 'to destroy."
The derivative is expounded as denoting something 'which destroys sin.'
*** Asiatic
Researches, vols. v. and vii.
f One of them dated nearly two centuries ago, in 1672 Samvat. This copy
exhibits the further title of Ck'hajidasi Sanfiitd.
48 ON THE VIDAS, OR

least, in the only copy which I have seen.

is its title But .rituals,
directing the same prayers to be chanted, employ the designation of
Archica gdna, among other terms applicable to various modes of
rhythmical recitation.
Another portion of the Sdmaveda arranged for- chanting bears
, ,

the title of Aranya gdna. Three copies of it,* which seem to agree
exactly, exhibit the same distribution into three chapters, which are
subdivided into half chapters and decades or sections like the ,

Archica above-mentioned.** But I have not yet found a plain

copy of it, divested of the additions made for guidance in chanting it.

The
additions here alluded to consist in prolonging the sounds
of vowels, and resolving diphthongs into two or more syllables, in-
serting likewise, in many places, other additional syllables besides ,

placing numerical marks for the management of the voice. Some

of tlie prayers being subject to variation in the mo'de of chanting
them, are repeated once or oftener, for the purpose of showing these
differences, and to most are prefixed the appropriate names of the
several passages.
Under the title of Arshaya Brdhmana , I have found what seems
to be an index of these two portions of the Sdmaveda for the names :

of the passages, or sometimes the initial words, are there enumerat-

ed in the same order in which they occur in the Grama geya, or
Archica followed by the Aranya gdna.
,
This index does not like ,

the explanatory tables of. the other Fedas, specify the metre of each
prayer, the deity addressed in it, and the occasion on which it should
be used, but only the Rishi, or author: and, from the variety of
names stated in some instances a conclusion may be drawn , that
,

the same texts are ascribable to more than one author.

It has been already hinted, that the modes of chanting the same

prayers are various and bear different appellations.

,
Thus the ,

rituals frequently direct certain -texts of this Veda to be first recited

simply, in a low voice according to the usual mode of inaudible utter-

ance of the Vedas and then to be similarly chanted in a particular
,

manner, under the designation of Archica gdna; showing, however,

divers variations and exceptions from that mode, under the distinct
appellation of Anirucla gdna.*** So, likewise, or nearly the same
passages ,
which are contained in the Archica and Grdmageya are ,

arranged in a different order, with further, variations as to the mode

of chanting them, in another collection named the Vha gdna.
From the comparison and examination of these parts of the Sdma-

* The most ancient of those in dated nearly three cen-

my possession is
turies ago, inJ587 Samvat.
'**
This Aranya comprises nearly three hundred verses (sdnian), or exactly
290. The Archica contains twice as 'many, or nearly 600.
*** 'f j ie ritual which is the chief authority for this remark is one by SA-
, ,

YANACHARYA, entitled Yajnyalantra Sud'-ttdnid'bi.

 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 49

veda, in which, so far as the collation of them has been carried, the
texts appear to be the same, only arranged in a different order, and
marked for a different mode of recitation I am led to think , that
,

other collections, under similar names,* may not differ more widely
from the Archica and Aranya above-mentioned: and that these may
possibly constitute the whole of that part of the Samaveda which ,

corresponds to the Sanhiuis of other Vedas.

Under the denomination of Brdhmana, which is appropriated to
the second part or supplement of the Veda, various works have been
received by different schools of the Samaveda. Four appear to be
extant; three of which have been seen by me, either complete or
in part. One is denominated Shaavinsa; probably from its contain-
ing twenty-six chapters. Another is called Adbhuta,or, at greater
length , Adbhnla Brdhmana. The only portion which I have yet
,

seen, of either, has the appearance of a fragment, and breaks off

at the close of the fifth chapter: both names are thei*e introduced,
owing, as it should seem, to some error; and I shall not attempt to
determine which of them it really belongs to. A
third Brdhmana
of this Veda is termed Panchavinsa' so named, probably, from the
number of twenty -five chapters comprised in it: and 1 conjecture
this to be the same with one in my possession not designated by

any particular title, but containing that precise number of chapters.

The best known among the Brdhmanas of the Samaveda, is that
entitled Tdnaya. It was expounded by SA'YANA'CHA'RYA; but a frag-
ment of the text with his commentary, including the whole of the
second book (panjicd) from the sixth to the tenth lecture is all
, ,

that I have been yet able to procure. This fragment relates to the
religious ceremony named Agnish'tuma. I do not find in it, nor in
other portions of the Samaveda before described, any passage, which
can be conveniently translated as a specimen of the style of this
Veda.
Leaving, then, the Manlras and Brdhmanas of the Sdmaveda, I
proceed to notice its principal Upanishad, which is one of the long-
est and most abstruse compositions bearing that title.
The Cfihdnddgya Upanishad contains eight chapters (prapd'tacas),
apparently extracted from some portion of the Brdhmana, in which
** The first and second not
they are numbered from three to ten. ,

being included in the Upanishad, probably relate to religious cererno-

* Sir ROBERT CHAMBERS'S copy of the Samaveda comprised four portions,

entitled Gdna, the distinct names of which, according to the list received
from him are Pigd/ia Arnd Vegann Ugdna and Uhya gana. The first of
, , , ,

these, I suspect to be the Aranya, written in that list, Arnd: the last seems
to be the same with that which is in my copy denominated Uha gdna.
**'! have several copies of the text, with the gloss of S'AXCARA, and annota-
tions on it by ANANDAJNYAXAGIRI besides the notes of VYASATIRT'HA on a
;

commentary lay A'NAXDATIRT'HA.

4
50 ON THE VEDAS, OR

nies. Thechapters are unequally subdivided into paragraphs or

sections; amounting, in all, to more than a hundred and fifty.
A
great part of the Cfrhdndogya* is in a didactic form: includ-

ing however, like most of the other Upanishads , several dialogues.

The beginning of one, between SANATCUMA'RA and NA'REDA, which
occupies the whole of the seventh chapter,** has already been
qxioted. The preceding chapter consists of two dialogues between
S'WETACETU, grandson of ARUNA, and his own father, UDDA'LACA, the
osn of ARUNA. These had been prepared in the fifth chapter, where
PRAVA'HANA son of JIVALA , convicts SWETACKTU of ignorance in
,

theology: and where that conversation is followed by several other

dialogues, intermixed with successive references for instruction.
The fourth chapter opens with a story respecting JA'NASRUTI, grand-
son of PUTRA; and, in this and the fifth chapter, dialogues, between
human beings, are interspersed with others, in which the interlocu-
tors are either divine or imaginary persons. The eighth or last
chapter contains a disquisition on the soul, in a conference between
PRAJA'PATI and INDRA.
I shall here quote, from this UpanisJiad, a single dialogue belong-
ing to the fifth chapter.

UPAMANYU, SATYAYAJNYA, issue of PU-

'PRA'ciliNASA'LA, SOn of
IATSHA, iNDRADYUMNA BHALEAVI .TANA descendant of
offspring of ,

SARCARACSHYA, and vuDiLA sprung from AS'WATARAS'WA being all ,

persons deeply conversant with holy writ, and possessed of great

dwellings, meeting together, engaged in this disquisition, "What
'

isour soul? and who is Srahrne?' 1 1

'These venerable persons reflected, "UJDDA'LACA, the son of

ARUNA, is well acquainted with the universal soul: let us immediate-
ly go to him." They Avent: but he reflected "These great and
,

very learned persons will ask me; and I shall not [be able] to com-
municate the whole [which they inquire]: I will at once indicate to
them another [instructor]." He thus addressed them, "AS'WAPATI,
the son. of CEC AYA, is well acquainted with the universal soul; let
Y

us now go to him."
"They all went; and, on their arrival, [the king] caused due
honours to be shown to them respectively: and, next morning,
civilly dismissed them ;[but, observing that they staid, and did not
accept his presents,] he thus spoke: "In my dominions, there is no
robber; nor miser; no drunkard; nor any one neglectful of a consccra-
'ted hearth; none ignorant; and no adulterer, nor adulteress. Whence
[can you havebeen aggrieved] ?" [As they did not state a complaint, ho

* Its
author, indicated by VYASATI'UT'JIA, is HAYAGRI'VA.
* That
is, the seventh of the extract which constitutes this Upanishad;
but the ninth, according to the mode of numbering the chapters in the book,
whence it is taken.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 51

thus proceeded :]
"I must be asked ,
venerable men !
[for what
you desire]." they made no request, he went
[Finding, that
on:] "As much as I shall bestow on each officiating priest, so much
will I also give to yon. Stay then, most reverend men." They
answered "It is indeed requisite to inform a person of the purpose
:

of a visit. Thou well knowest the universal soul; communicate

that knowledge unto us." He replied; "To-morrow I will declare
it to
you." Perceiving his drift, they, next day, attended him, bear-
ing [like pupils] logs of firewood. Without bowing to them, he thus
spoke :

"Whom O son of UPAMANYU?"

dost thou worship as the soul,
"Heaven," answered he, "0
venerable king !" "Splendid is that
[portion of the] universal self, which thou dost worship as the soul:
therefore, in thy family, is seen [the juice of the acid asclepias]
drawn, expressed, and prepared, [for religious rites] thou dost con- ;

sume food [as a blazing fire] and thou dost view a [son or other]
;

beloved object. Whoever worships this for the universal soul,

similarly enjoys food, contemplates a beloved object, and finds
religious occupations in his family. But this is [only] the head of
the soul. Thy "head had been lost," added the king, "hadst thou
not cometo me.
'He now turned to SATYAYAJNYA, the son of PULUSHA, saying,
"Whom dost thou worship as the soul, descendant of PRACHINA-
YOGA?" "The sun," answered he, "0 venerable king !" "Varied is
that [portion of the] universal self, which thou dost worship as the
soul; and, therefore, in thy family, many various forms are seen ;
a car yoked with mares, and treasure, together with female slaves,
surround thec ; thou dost consume food, and contemplate a pleasing
object. Whoever worships this, for the universal soul, has the same
enjoyments and finds religious occupations in his family.
,
But
this is only the eye of soul. Thou hadst been blind," said the king,
"hadst thou not come to me."
'He next addressed INDRADYUMNA, the son of BHALLAVI: "Whom
dost thou worship as the soul, O descendant of VYA'GHRAPAD." "Air,"
"
replied he O venerable king " "Diffused is that portion of the
,
!

universal self, which thou dost worship as the soul numerous offer- ;

ings reach thee; many tracts of cars follow thee thou dost con- :

sume food: thou viewcst a favourite object. Whoever worships

this, for the universal soul, enjoys food and contemplates a beloved
object: and has religious occupations in his family. But this is only
the breath of soul. Thy breath had expired," said the king, "hadst
thou not come to me."
'He next interrogated JAN A the son of S'ARCARA'CSIIYA "Whom
,
:

dost thou worship as the soul, O son of S'ARCARACSHYA?" "The

etherial element," said he, "0 venerable king!" "Abundant is
that universal self, whom thoii dost worship as the soul; and, there-
4*
52 ON THE VEDAS, OR

fore, thou likewise dost abound with progeny and wealth. Thou
dost consume food; thou viewest a favourite object. Whoever
worships this, for the universal soul, consumes food, and sees a
beloved object; and has religious occupations in his family. But
this is only the trunk of soul. Thy trunk had corrupted," said the
king, "hadst thou not come to me."
'He afterwards inquired of VUDILA, the son of ASWATARA'S'WA :

"Whom dost thou worship as the soul, O descendant of VYA'GHRA-

PAD?" "Water," said he, "0 venerable king!" "Rich is that uni-
versal self, whom thou dost worship as the soul; and, therefore,
art thou opulent and thriving. Thou dost consume food; thou
viewest a favourite object. Whoever worships this, for the universal
soul, partakes of similar enjoyments, contemplates as dear an ob-
ject, and has religious occupations in his family. But this is only
the abdomen of the soul. Thy bladder had burst," said the king,
"hadst thou not come to me."

'Lastly, he interrogated UDDAI.ACA, the son of ARUNA. "Whom

dost thou worship as the soul, descendant of GOTAMA?" "The
earth," said he, "O venerable king!" "Constant is that universal
self, whom thou dost worship as the soul: and, therefore, thou re-
mainest steady, with offspring and with cattle. Thou dost consume
food; thou viewest a favourite object. Whoever worships this, for
the universal soiil, shares like enjoyment, and views as beloved an
object, and has religious occupations in his family. But this forms
only the feet of the soul. Thy feet had been lame," said the king,
"hadst thou not come to me."

'He thus addressed them [collectively] "You consider this uni-

:

versal soul, as it were an individual being; and you partake pf

distinct enjoyment. But he who Avorships, as the universal soul,
,

that which is known by its [manifested] portions, and is inferred

[from consciousness], enjoys nourishment in all worlds, in all beings,
in all souls :his head is splendid like that of this universal
,

soul; his eye is similarly varied; his breath is equally diffused;

his trunk is no less abundant; his abdomen is alike full; and his
feet are the earth; his breast is the altar; his hair is the sacred
grass; his heart, the household fire; his mind, the consecrated
flame; and his mouth, the oblation.
"The food, which first reaches him, should be solemnly offered:
and the first oblation, which he makes, he should present with these
words: "Be this oblation to breath efficacious." Thus breath is
satisfied;and, in that, the eye is satiate; and, in the eye, the sun
iscontent; and, in the sun, the sky is gratified; and, in the sky,
heaven and the sun, and whatever is dependant, become replete:
and after that, ho himself [who eats] is fully gratified with offspring
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 53

and cattle; with vigour proceeding from food, and splendour aris-
ing from holy observances?*
"But whoever makes an oblation to fire, being unacquainted with
the universal soul, acts in the same manner, as one who throws live
coals into ashes while he
: who presents an oblation possessing
, ,

that knowledge, has made an offering in all worlds, in all beings,

in all souls. As the tip of dry grass, which is cast into the fire,
readily kindles; so are all the faults of that man consumed. He,
who knows this, has only presented an oblation to the universal soul,
even though he knowingly give the residue to a Chdnfldla. For,
on this point, a text is [preserved]: "As, in this world, hungry in-
fants press round their mother; so do all beings await the holy
oblation :
they await the holy oblation."
Another Upanishad of the Sdmaveda belongs to the 'Sdc'hd of the
Taiavacdras. " Cencshila " or "Ce'/m"
called, the
It is Upanishad,
,

from the word, or words, with which it opens: and, as appears from
SANCARA'S commentary,** this treatise is the ninth chapter (ad'hydya)
of the work, from which it is extracted. It is comprised in four
sections (c'handd). The form is that of a dialogue between instruc-
tors and their pupils. The subject is, as in other Upanishads a ,

disquisition on abstruse and mystical theology. I shall not make

any extract from it, but proceed to describe the fourth and last
Veda.

On (he AT'HARVA-VEDA.
The Sanhitd, or collection of prayers and invocations, belonging
to the Alharvatia, is comprised in twenty books (caii fat) ,
subdivided
into sections (anttvdca) hymns (sucla) and verses (rich). Another
,

mode of division by chapters (prapd'tacci) is also indicated. The

number of verses is stated at 6015; the sections exceed a hundred;
and the hymns amount to more than seven hundred and sixty. The
number of chapters is forty nearly.
A passage from this Veda was quoted by Sir w. JONES in his
essay on the literature of the Hindus?** and a version of it was
given, as a specimen of the language and style of the Afharvana.
That passage comprises the whole of the forty - third hymn of the

* Several similar
paragraphs, respecting four other oblations, so presented
to other inspirations of air are here omitted for the sake of brevity. The
,

taking of a mouthful, by an orthodox Hindu theologian, is considered as an

efficacious oblation:- and denominated Prdndgnihdtra.
** I have S'ANCARA'S
gloss, with the illustrations of his anno tutor, and the
ample commentary of CRISHNANAXDA: besides a separate gloss, with annota-
tions, on the similar Upanishad belonging to the ACharvaveJa
*** Asiatic
Researches, vol. i.
p. 347.
54 ON THE vriDAS, OR

nineteenth book.* In the beginning of the same book, I find

a hymn (numbered as the sixth) which is almost word for word the
same with that, which has been before cited from the thirty-first
chapter of the white Yajush.** Some of the versos are indeed trans-
posed, and here and there a word differs for example, it opens by
:

describing the primeval man (purusha) with a thousand arms, instead

of a thousand heads. The purport is, nevertheless, the same; and
it is needless, therefore, to insert a version of it in this place.

The next hymn, in the same book, includes an important passage.

It names the twenty-eight asterisms in their order, beginning with
Crtllicd: and seems to refer the solstice to the end oi'Asleshd, or

beginning of Maghd. I call it an important passage; first, because

it shows, that the introduction of the twenty-eighth asterism is as

ancient as the Afharva-veda and, secondly, because it authorises

;

a presumption, that the whole of that Veda, like this particular

hymn, may have been composed when the solstice was reckoned in
the middle, or at the end, ofAsleshd, *** and the origin of the Zodiac
was placed at the beginning of Crillicd. On the obvious conclusion,
respecting the age of the Veda, I shall enlarge in another place.
An incantation, which appears to be the same that is mentioned
by Sir w. JONES, f occurs in the fourth section of the nineteenth
book. It is indeed a tremendous incantation; especially three suctas,
or hymns, which are numbered 28, 29, and 30. A
single line will
be a sufficient specimen of these imprecations, in which, too, there
is much sameness.

'Destroy, sacred grass, ft my foes; exterminate my enemies;

annihilate all those, who hate me, precious gern !'
The Alharva-veda, as is well known, contains many forms of im-
precation for the destruction of enemies. But it must not be in-
ferred, that such is the chief subject of that Veda; since it also con-
tains a great number of prayers for safety and for the averting of
calamities: and, like the other Vedas, numerous hymns to the gods,
with prayers to be used at solemn rites and religious exercises, ex-
cepting such as are named Yajnya,
The GopaCha Brdhmana appears to belong to the second part of

* Sir w. JONES cites

it, as from the first book ; I suspect, that
,
in Colonel
POLIEK'S copy, the nineteenth book might stand first in the volume. It does
so, in General MARTINE'S transcript, though the colophon be correct. I have

another, arid very complete, copy of this Veda. General MARTINE'S which
,

I also possess, is defective; containing only the ten first arid the two last
books. An ancient fragment, also in my possession, does not extend beyond
the sixth.
** Asiatic
Researches, vol. vii. p. 251.
*** The middle of Asleshd, if the divisions be
twenty- seven, and its end,
when they are twenty-eight equal portions, give the same place for the colure.
f Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 348.
ft Darbha, Poa Cynosuroides.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 55

this Veda. Not having seen a commentary, nor an index, of this

work, I can only speak of it from a copy in my possession: this
contains five chapters (prapdtaca) with the date of the transcript*
,

and name of the transcriber, end of the fifth, as is usual in

at the
the colophon at the close of a volume.
The first chapter of this Gopafha Brdhmana traces the origin of
the universe from Brahme\ and it appears from the fourth section
of this chapter, that AT'HARVAN is considered as a Prajdpati appoin-
ted by Brahme to create and protect subordinate beings.
In the fifth chapter, several remarkable passages, identifying the
primeval person (ptirusfui) with the year (samvalsarcf), convey marked
allusions to the calendar. In one place (the fifth section), besides
stating the year to contain twelve or thirteen lunar months, the
subdivision of that period is pursued to 360 days; and, thence, to
10,800 mithurtas, or hours.
I proceed to notice the mostremarkable part of the ACharva-veda,
consisting of the theological treatises, entitled Upanishads which ,

are appendant on it. They are computed at fifty- two: but this
number completed by reckoning, as distinct Upanishads, different
is

parts of a single tract. Four such treatises, comprising eight Upa-

nishads, together with six of those before described as appertaining
to other Vedas are perpetually cited in dissertations on the Ve-
,

danta.** Others are either more sparingly, or not at all, quoted.

It may be here proper to explain what is meant by Upanishad.
In dictionaries, this term is made equivalent to Rehesya, which sig-
nifies mystery. This last term is, in fact, frequently employed by
MENU, and other ancient authors, whore the commentators under-
stand Upanishads to be meant. But neither the etymology, nor the
acceptation, of the word, which is now to be explained, has any
direct connexion with the idea of secrecy, concealment, or mystery.
Its proper meaning, according to S'ANCARA, SA'YANA, and all the
commentators, is divine science, or the knowledge of GOD: and,
according to the same authorities, it is equally applicable to theology
itself, and to a book in which this science is taught. Its derivation
is from the verb sad (shad-lri}, to
destroy, to move, or to weary, pre-
ceded by the prepositions upa near, and ni continually, or nis cer-
tainly. The sense, properly deducible from this etymology, accord-
ing to the different explanations given by commentators, invariably
points to the knowledge of the divine perfections and to the con-
,

sequent attainment of beatitude through exemption from passions.***

* It is dated at
Mat'liurd, in the year (Stimvat) 1732.
** The Cena and
Ch'hdnddgya from the Sdmavedtt; the Vrlhad dranyaca and
Isdedsya from the white 1'ajush, and the Taitliriyaca from the black Vnnish;
the Aitareya from the R'iyvetlii and the Cut'/m, J'rasna, Mundnca and Man-
;
.

flucya from {\\QACharvana. To these should be added, the Nrlsinlia tdpaniya.

*** S'ANCARA, and ANANUASRAMA on the Vrihad
dranyaca; as also the com-
56 ON THE VEDAS, OR

The whole of the Indian theologyis

professedly founded on the
Upanishads.* Those, which have heeu before described, have
been shown to be extracts from the Veda. The rest are also con-
sidered as appertaining to the Indian scripture it does not, how-
:

ever, clearly appear, whether they are detached essays, or have been
extracted from a Brdhmunu of the Afharva-veda. I have not found

any of them in the Sanhitd of the ACharvatm, nor in the GopaPha

Brdhmaria.
In the best copies of the fifty-two Upanishads** the first fifteen
are stated to have been taken from the Saunaciyas whose 'Sac ha
1

seems to be the principal one of the ACharva-veda. The remaining

thirty -seven appertain to various 'Sac* has, mostly to that of the
Paippalddis: but some of them, as will be shown, arejborrowed from
other Vedas.
The Mtfri&aca, divided into six sections unequally distributed in
two parts, is the first Upanishad of the Afharvana; and is also one
of the most important, for the doctrines which is contains. It has
been fully illustrated by S'ANCARA, whose gloss is assisted by the
annotations of A'NANDAJNYA'NA. The opening of this Upanishad,
comprising the whole of the first section, is here subjoined.
'BRAHMA' was first of the gods, framer of the universe, guardian
of the world. He taught the knowledge of GOD, which is the foun-
dation of all science, to his eldest son AT'HARVA. That holy science,
which BRAHMA' revealed AT'HARVAN,*** was communicated by him
to
to ANGIR, who transmitted it to SATYAVAHA, the descendant of BHA-

RADWA'JA; and this son of BHARADWA'JA imparted the traditional

science to ANGIRAS.
'
S'AUNACA, or the son of S'UNACA, a miglity householder, address-
ing ANGIRAS with due respect, asked, "What is it, venerable
sage, through which, when known, this universe is understood?"
'To him the holy personage thus replied: "Two sorts of science
must be distinguished; as they, who know GOD, declare: the supreme
science, and another. This other is the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the

meutaries on other Upanishads: especially S'ANCARA on the CuVhaca. Other

authors concur in assigning the same acceptation and etymology, to the word:
they vary, only, in the mode of reconciling the derivation with the sense.
* It is
expressly so affirmed in the Veddnta sura, v. 3.
** I
possess an excellent copy, which corresponds with one transcribed for
Mr. BLAQUIERE, from a similar collection of Upanishads belonging to the late
Sir w. JONES. In two other copies, which I also obtained at Benares, the
arrangement differs and several Upanishads are inserted the genuineness
, ,

of which is questionable while others are admitted, which belong exclusively

;

to the Yajurveda.
***SANCAKA remarks, that AT'HAKVA, or AT'HAKVAN, may have been the first
creature, in one of the many modes of creation, which have been practised
by
 SACRED WHITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 57

Sdtnaveda, the ACharva-veda'j* the rules of accentuation, the rites

of religion, grammar, the glossary and explanation of obscure terms,
prosody , and astronomy also the Ilihdsa and Purdna and logic,
:
;

with the rules of interpretation, and the system of moral duties.

"But the supreme science is that, by which this unperishable
[nature] is apprehended; invisible [or imperceptible, as is that na-
ture]: not to be seized; not to be deduced; devoid of colour; des-
titute of eyes and ears; without hands or feet, yet ever variously

pervading all: minute, unalterable; and contemplated by the wise

for the source of beings.
"As the spider spins and gathers back [its thread]; as plants
sprout on the earth; as hairs grow on a living person: so is this
universe, here, produced from the unperishable nature. By con-
templation, the vast one germinates from him food [or body] is pro-
;

duced; and thence, successively, breath, mind, real [elements],

worlds, and immortality arising from [good] deeds. The omniscient
is profound contemplation, consisting in the knowlege of him, who
knows all: and, from that, the [manifested] vast one, as well as

names, forms, and food, proceed and this is truth."

:

The Prasna, which is the second Upanishad, and equally import-

ant with the first, consists, like it, of six sections; and has been si-
milarly interpreted by SANCAKA and BALACRISHNA.** In this dialogue,
SUC&SA, the son of BHARADWA'JA, SATYACAMA, descended from sivr,
SAUKYAYANI, a remote descendant of the Sun, but belonging to the
family of GARGA, CAUS'ALYA, surnamed A'S WALA'YANA or son of ,

AS'WALA, VAIDARBHI of the race of BHUIGU, together with CABAND'HI

surnamed CA'TYA'YANA, or descendant of CATYA, are introduced as
seeking the knowledge of theology, and applying to PIPPALA'DA
for instruction. successively interrogate him concerning the
They
the nature of the gods
origin of creatures, the union of life with
,

body, and the connexion of thoughts with the soul.

The nine succeeding Upnnishads (from the 3d to the llth) are of
inferior importance,and have been left unexplained by the. writers
on the Veddnla, because they do not directly relate to the 'Sdriraca,
or theological doctrine respecting the soul,*** They are enumerated
in the margin, f
The Mdnflucya follows, and consists of four parts, each constituting
a distinct Upanishad. This abstruse treatise, comprising the most

* the prayers contained in the four Vcdas, disjoined from theo-

Meaning
logy.
*
r

I have several copies of the text, besides commentaries on both Upa-

nisliads.
*** This reason is
assigned by the annotator on SAXCABA'S gloss, at the be-
ginning of his notes on the Mundaca UpanishaJ.
f 3d Brahme-vidyd. 4th Cshuncd. 5t'i C/tulicii. Oth and 7th At'harva-
siras. 8ib Garbh'i. Oth Mahu. 10th Brahma. \\i\\Pidndgniliotra.
58 ON THE VEDAS, OR

material doctrines of the Veddnla has been elucidated by the la-

,

bours of GAUD APAD A, and SANCARA. GAUDAPA'DA'S commentary is

assisted by the notes of ANANDAG-IRI.
Among the miscellaneous Upanishads, the first thirteen (from the
16th to the 28th) have been left uncommented by the principal ex-
pounders of the Veddnla, for a reason before-mentioned. The names
of these Upanishads will be found in the subjoined note. *
The following six from (from the 29th to the 34th,) constitute the
Nnsinha Tdpaniya; five of them compose the Piirva Tdpaniya or ,

first part of the Upanishad so called and the last, and most import-
;

ant, is entitled Ultara Tdpaniya. It has been expounded by GAUD-

APA'DA as the first part (if not the whole Upanishad) has been by
,

SANCARA.** The object of this treatise appears to be the identifying

of NRISINHA with all the gods: but, so far as I comprehend its mean-
ing (for I have not sufficiently examined it to pronounce confi-
dently on this point,) the fabulous incarnation of VISHNU, in the shape
of a vast lion, doos not seem to be at all intended; and the name
of NRISINHA is applied to the divinity, with a superlative import,
but with no apparent allusion to that fable.
The two next Upanishads constitute the first and second parts of
the CdVhaca, or Valli, or Ca'fhavalU (for the name varies in different
copies). It belongs properly to the Yajurveda, as before mentioned ;

but it is usually cited from the ACharvana; and has been commented,
as appertaining to this Veda, by SANCARA, and by BA'LACRISHNA. ***
It comprises six sections, severally entitled Valli] but constituting
two chapters (ad'hydya], denominated Purva-valli and Uttara-valli.
The dialogue is supported by Mrityu, or death, and the prince NA-
'

CHICITAS, whom his father, VA'JASRAVASA, consigned toYAMA, being

provoked by the boy's importunately asking him, (through zeal,
however, for the success of a sacrifice performed to ensure universal
conquest,) "to whom wilt thou give me?" YAMA receives NA-
CHICETAS with honour, and instructs him in theology, by which beati-
tude and exemption from worldly sufferings may be attained, through
a knowledge of the true nature of the soul, and its identity with

* 18th Brahme-vindu. 19th Amrila-

16th Nila-rudra. 17th Ndda-vindu.
vinitu. 20th D'hydna-vindu. 21st Tejo-vindn. 22d ydgasicshd. 23d Yngn-
lalwa. 24th Sannydsa. 25th Arwwja or Anmiyoga. 26th Can'Vhasruti. 27th
Pinda. 28th Almd.
** I have several
copies of the text, and of GAUD'APAUA'S commentary ;

with a single transcript of -'ANGARA'S gloss on the five first of the treatises
entitled Tdpaniya.
*** The
commentary of SANCAKA is, as usual, concise and perspicuous and
:

that of BALACIUSHNA, copious but clear. Besides their commentaries, and

several copies of the text, together with a paraphrase by VIDYAKANYA I ,

have found this Upanishad forming a chapter in a Brdkmaria, which is marked

as belonging to the Sdmavcila, and which I conjecture to be the Panrliavirsa
Brdhmana of that Veda.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 59

the supreme Being. The doctrine is similar to that of other principal

Upatiis/iads.
The Cena Upanishad, is the thirty-seventh of the Af-
Ce'neshita, or
harvanti, and agrees, almost word for word, with a treatise bearing
the same title, and belonging to a 'Sdc'lid of the Sdmavcda. s ANGARA
has, however, written separate commentaries on both, for the sake
of exhibiting their different interpretations. * Both commentaries
have, as usual, been annotated.
A short Upanishad, entitled Ndrdyana, is followed by two others
(39th and 40th), which form the first and second parts of the Vrihan.
Ndrdyana. This corresponds, as before mentioned, with an Upani-
shad, bearing the same title, and terminating the Aranya of the Tuil-
liriya Yajurveda.
On the three subsequent Upanishads I shall offer no remarks;
they have not been commented among such as relate to the Veddnta;
and 1 have not ascertained whence they are extracted.**
Under the name of Anandavalli and Bhriguvalli, two Upanishads
follow (44th and 45th), which have been already noticed as extracts
from the Aranya of the black Yajush, distinguished by the titles of
Tailliriya and Vdruni.
The remaining seven Upanishads*** are unexplained by commen-
tators on the Veddnla. They are, indeed, sufficiently easy, not to
require a laboured interpretation but there is room to regret the
:

want of an ancient commentary, which might assist in determining

whether these Upanishads be genuine. The reason of this remark
will be subsequently explained.
Entertaining no doubts concerning the genuineness of the other
works, which have been here described, I think it nevertheless pro-
per to state some of the reasons, on which my belief of their au-
thenticity is founded. It appears necessary to do so , since a late
author has abruptly pronounced the Vedas to be forgeries.!
It has been already mentioned, that the practice of reading the

principal Vedas in superstitious modes, tends to preserve the genuine

text. Copies, prepared for such modes of recital, are spread in
various parts of India, especially Benares, Jeyenagar and the banks ,

of the Guddveri. Interpolations and forgeries have become imprac-

ticable since this usage has been introduced: and the Rigveda, and
both the Yajushes, belonging to the several 'Sdc'hds, in which that
custom has been adopted, have been, therefore, long safe from
alteration.

*
Here, as in other instances, I speak from copies in my possession.
** Their titles
are, 41st Sartfopanishatsdi-a. 42d ffansa. And 43d Para-
ma hansa.
*** 40th Gunidti. 47th 48th and 40th Rama Idpaniya, first
Cdfdyni-rudra.
and second parts. 50th Caivnlya. 51st Jdbuta. 52d Asrama.
f Mr. PINKERTON, in his Modern Geography, Vol. II.
60 ON THE VEDAS, OR

The explanatory table of contents, belonging to the several

Vedas also tends to ensure the purity of the text; since the sub-
,

ject and length of each passage are therein specified. The index,
again, is itself secured from alteration by more than one exposition
of its meaning, in the form of a perpetual commentary.
It is a received and well grounded opinion of the learned in India,
that no book is altogether safe from changes and interpolations
until have been commented but when once a gloss has been
it ;

published, no fabrication could afterwards succeed; because the

.perpetual commentary notices every passage, and, in general, ex-
plains every word.
Commentaries on the Vedas themselves exist which testify the ,

authenticity of the text. Some are stated to have been composed

in early times: I shall not,however, rely on any but those to which
I can with certainty refer. I have fragments of UVATA/S gloss; the

greatest part of SA'YANA'S on several Vedas; and a complete one by

MAHID'HARA on a single Veda. I also possess nearly the whole of
SANCARA'S commentary on the (IpanishadS; and a part of GAUDAPA'-
DA'S; with others, by different authors of less note.
The genuineness of the commentaries, again, is secured by a
crowd of annotators, whose works expound every passage in the
original gloss; and whose annotations are again interpreted by
others. This observation is particularly applicable to the most im-
portant parts of the Vedas, Avhich as is natural, are the most stu-
,

diously and elaborately explained.

The Nirucla, with its copious commentaries on the obsolete words
and passages of scripture, further authenticates the accuracy of the
text, as there explained. The references and quotations, in those
works, agree with the text of the Vedas, as we now find it.

The grammar of the Sanscrit language contains rules applicable

to the anomalies of the ancient dialect. The many and voluminous
commentaries on that, and on other parts of the grammar, abound in
examples cited from the Vedas: and here, also, the present text
is consonant to those ancient quotations.
Philosophical works, especially the numerous commentaries on
the aphorisms of the Mimansd and Ve'ddnta, illustrate and support
every position advanced in them, by ample quotations from the Ve-
das. The object of the Mimansd is to establish the cogency of pre-
cepts contained in scripture, and to furnish maxims for its .interpre-

tation; and, for the same purpose, "rules of reasoning, from which
a system of logic is deducible. The object of the Veddn'.a is to
illustrate the system of mystical theology taught by the supposed
revelation, and to show its application to the enthusiastic pursuit of
unimpassioned perfection and mystical intercourse with the divinily.
Both are closely connected with the Vedas: and here, likewise, the
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 61

authenticity of the text is

supported by ancient references and ci-
tations.
collections of aphorisms, by ancient authors, * on reli-
Numerous
gious ceremonies, contain, in every line, references to passages of
the Vedas. Commentaries on these aphorisms cile the passages at
greater length. Separate treatises also interpret the prayers used
at divers ceremonies. Rituals, some ancient, others modern, contain
a full detail of the ceremonial, with all the prayers which are to be
recited at the various religious rites for which they are formed.
Such rituals are extant, not only for ceremonies which are constantly
observed, but for others which are rarely practised; and even for
such as have been long since disused. In all, the passages taken
from the Vedas agree with the text of the general compilation.
The Indian legislators, with their commentators, and the copious
digests and compilations from their works, frequently refer to the
Vedas; especially on those points of the. law which concern religion.
Here also the references are consistent with the present text of the
Indian scripture.
Writers on ethics sometimes draw from the Vedas illustrations of
moral maxims, and quote from their holy writ passages at full length,
in support of ethical precepts. ** These quotations are found to
agree with the received text of the sacred books.
Citations from the Indian scripture occur in every branch of liter-
ature studied by orthodox Hindus. Astronomy, so far as it relates
to the calendar, has frequent occasion for reference to the Vedas.
Medical writers sometimes cite them and even annotators on pro-
;

fane poets occasionally refer to this authority, in explaining passa-

ges which contain allusions to the sacred text.
Even the writings of the heretical sects exhibit quotations from
the Vedas. I have met with such in the books of the Jainas, unattend-
ed by any indication of their doubting the genuineness of the ori-
ginal, though they do not receive its doctrines, nor acknowledge
its
***
cogency.
In all these branches of Indian literature, while perusing or con-

*
The Sutras of ASWALAYANA, SANC'HYAYANA, BAUDD'HAYANA, CATYAYANA, LA-
TAVANA, G6BHILA, APASTAMBA &C."
These, appertaining to various 'Sdc'/ids of the Vedas, constitute the calpa,
or system of religious observances. I have here enumerated a few only.
The list might be much enlarged, frQm my own collection; and still more so,
from quotations by various compilers: for the original works, and their com-
mentaries, as well as compilations from them, are very numerous.
** A work entitled Nili
manjari is an instance of this mode of treating moral
subjects.
*
The'Salapat'hfi Brdtunana, especially the 14th book, or Vrilmd dranyaca,
is repeatedly cited, with exact references to the numbers of the chapters and
sections, in a fragment of a treatise by a Jaina author, the communication
of which I owe to Mr. SPEKE, among other fragments collected by the late
Capt. HOARE, and purchased at the sale of that gentleman's library.
G2 ON THE VEDAS ,
OR

suiting the works of various .authors, I have found perpetual refer-

ences to the Vedas, and have frequently verified the quotations.
On ground I defend the authentic text of the Indian scripture,
this
as it is now
extant: and although the passages which I have so veri-
fied are few, compared with the great volume of the Vedas, yet I
have sufficient grounds to argue, that no skill in the nefarious arts
of forgery and falsification, could be equal to the arduous task of
fabricating large works, to agree with the very numerous citations,
pervading thousands of volumes, composed on diverse subjects, in
every branch of literature, and dispersed through the various nations
of Hindus, inhabiting Hindustan and the Dckhin.
If any part of what is now received as the Veda, cannot stand
the tost of such a comparison, it may be rejected, as at least doubt-
ful, if not certainly spurious. Even such parts as cannot be fully
confirmed by a strict scrutiny, must be either received with caution,
or be set aside as questionable. I shall point out parts of the fourth
Veda, which I consider to be in this predicament. But, with the
exceptions now indicated, the various portions of the Vedas, which
have been examined, are as yet free from such suspicion; and,
until they are impeached by more than vague assertion, have every
title to be admitted as genuine copies of books, which (however
little deserving of it) have been long held in reverence
by the
Hindus.
I am apprized that this opinion will find opponents, who are in-
clined to dispute the whole of Indian literature, and to consider it
all as consisting of forgeries, fabricated within a few
years, or, at
best in the last, few ages.
,
This appears to be grounded on asser-
tions and conjectures ,
which were inconsiderately hazarded, and
which have been eagerly received, and extravagantly strained.
In the first place, it should be observed, that a work must not be
hastily condemned as a forgery, because, on examination, it appears
not to have been really written by the person, whose name is usu-
ally coupled with quotations from it. For if the very work itself
show that it does not purport to be written by that person, the safe
conclusion is, that it was never meant to bo ascribed to him. Thus
the two principal codes of Hindu law are usually cited as MENU'S
and YA'JNYAWALCY-A'S: but in the codes themselves, those are dia-
logists, not authors: and the best commentators expressly declare
that these institutes were written by other persons than MENU and
YA'JNYAWALCYA. * The Siirya Sidd'hanla is not pretended to have
been written by MEYA: but he is introduced as receiving instruction
from a partial incarnation of the Sun ;
and their conversation con-

*VIJNYA'NAYOGI, also named viJNYANESWARA, who commented the institutes

which bear the name of YAJNYAWALCYA, states the text to be an abridg-
ment by a different author.
 SACRED WRITINGS OP THE HINDUS. 63

stitutes a dialogue, which is recited by another person in a different

company. The text of the Sdnc'hya philosophy, from which the
sect of BUDD'HA seems to have borrowed its doctrines, is not the
work of CAPILA himself, though vulgarly ascribed to him; but it
purports to be composed by ISWAKA CRISHNA; and he is stated to
have received the doctrine mediately from CAPILA, through succes-
sive teachers, after its publication by PANCHASIC'HA, who had boon
himself instructed by ASURI, the pupil of CAPILA*
To adduce more instances would be tedious they abound in :

every 'branch of science. Among works, the authors of which are

unknown, and which, therefore, as usual, are vulgarly ascribed to
some celebrated name, many contain undisguised evidence of a
more modern date. Such are those parts of Purdnas in winch the
prophetic style is assumed, because they relate to events posterior
to the age of the persons who are speakers in in the dialogue. Thus
BUDD'HA is mentioned under various names in the
Malsya, Vishnu,
Bhdgawtla , Garuda, Nrisinha, and other Purdnas. I must not. omit
to notice, that S'ANCARA'CHARYA, the great commentator on the abstrus-
est parts of the Vedas, is celebrated, in the Vrihnd (Tharma purdnu, *
as an incarnation of VISHNU; and GAUDAPA'DA is described, in the
'Sancara rijeya, as the pupil of S'UCA the son of VYA'SA.**
I do not mean to say, that forgeries are. not sometimes committed ;

or that books are not counterfeited, in whole or in part. Sir w.

JONES, Mr. BLAQUIERF, and myself have detected interpolations.
, ,

Many greater forgeries have been attempted some have for a time
:

succeeded, and been ultimately discovered: in regard to others,

detection has immediately overtaken the fraudulent attempt. A con-
spicuous instance of systematic fabrication, by which Captain WIL-
FORD was for a time deceived, has been brought to light, as has been
fully stated by that gentleman. But though SMmc attempts have
been abortive, others may doubtless have succeeded. I am myself
inclined to adopt an opinion supported by many learned Hindus,
who consider the celebrated 'Sri Bhagavala as the work of a gram-
marian, supposed to have lived about six hundred years ago.
In this, as in several other instances, some of winch I shall have
likewise occasion to notice, the learned among the Hindus have
resisted the impositions that have been attempted. Many others
might be stated , where no imposition has been cither practised or
* In the 78th
chapter of the 2d part. This is the Parana mentioned by
me with doubt in a former essay, (Asiatic Researches, vol. v. p. 53.) I have
since procured a copy of it.
**If this were not a fable, the real age of VYASA might be hence ascertained;
and, consequently, the period when the Vcdns were arranged in their present
form. GOVINDANAT'HA, the instructor of S'ANCARA, is stated to have been the
pnpil of GAUDAPADA and, according to tho traditions generally received in
;

the peninsula of India, S'ANCARA lived little more than eight hundred years
ago.
64 ON THE VEDAS, OR

intended. In Europe, as well as in the East, works are often pub-

lished anonymously, with fictitious introductions: and diverse com-
positions, the real authors of which are not known, have, on insuffi-
cient grounds, been dignified with celebrated names. To such
instances, which are frequent everywhere, the imputation of forgery
does not attach.
In Europe too literary forgeries have been committed both in
, , ,

ancient and modern times. The poems ascribed to ORPHEUS, are

generally admitted not to have been composed by that poet, if, in-
deed, he ever existed. NANI, or ANNTUS, of Viterbo, is now univers-
ally considered as an impostor ,notwithstanding the defence of his
publication, and of himself, by some among the learned of his age.
In our own country, and in recent times, literary frauds have been
not unfrequent. But a native of India, who should retort the charge,
and argue from a few instances, that the whole literature of Europe,
which is held ancient, consists of modern forgeries, would be justly
censured for his presumption.
We must not then indiscriminately condemn the whole literature
of India. Even Father HARDOUIN, when he advanced a similar
paradox respecting the works of ancient writers, excepted some com-
positions Of CICERO, VIROIL, HORACE, and PLINY.
It is necessary in this country as every where else, to be guarded

against literary impositions. But doubt and suspicion should not

be carried to an extreme length. Some fabricated works some ,

interpolated passages, will be detected by the sagacity of critics in

the progress of researches into the learning of the east: but the
greatest part of the books, received by the learned among the Hin-
dus, will assuredly be found genuine. I do not doubt that the Vedas,
of which an account has been here given, will appear to be of this
description.
In pronouncing them to be genuine, I mean to say, that they are
the same compositions, which, under the same title of Veda, have
been revered by Hindus for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
I think it probable, that they were compiled
by DWAIPA'Y AN A, the
person who is said to have collected them, and who is thence sur-
named Vydsa, or the compiler. I can perceive no difficulty in ad-
mitting, that those passages which are now ascribed to human authors,
either as the ffishis, or as the reciters of the text, were attributed
to the same persons, so long ago, as when the compilation was made;
and probably, in most instances, those passages were really com-
posed by the alleged authors. Concerning such texts as are assign-
ed to divine persons, according to Hindu mythology, it may be
fairly concluded, that the true writers of them were not known when
the compilation was made; and, for this reason, they were assigned
to fabulous personages.
The different portions which constitute the Vedas, must have been
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 65

written at various times. The exact period when they were com-
piled, or that in which the greatest part was composed, cannot be
determined with accui-acy and confidence from any facts yet ascer-
tained. But the country may; since many rivers of India are men-
tioned in more than one text; and, in regard to the, period, I incline
to think, that the ceremonies called Yajnya and the prayers to be
,

recited at those ceremonies, are as old as the calendar, which pur-

ports to have been framed for such religious rites.
To each Veda a treatise, under the title of Jyotish, is annexed,
which explains the adjustment of the calendar for the purpose of
,

fixing the proper periods for theperformance of religious duties.

It is adapted to the comparison of solar and lunar time with the

vulgar or civil year; and was evidently formed in the infancy of

astronomical knowledge. From the rules delivered in the treatises
which have examined,* it appears, that the cycle (Fwgr) there
I

employed, is a period of five years only. The month is lunar; but

at the end, and in the middle, of the quinquennial period, an inter-
calation is admitted by doubling one month. Accordingly, the
,

cycle comprises three common hinar years, and two, which contain
thirteen lunations each. The year is divided into six seasons; and
each month into half months. A complete lunation is measured by
thirty lunar days; some one of which must of course, in alternate
months, be sunk, to make the dates agree with the nycthemera. For
this purpose, the sixty-second day appears to be deducted:** and
thus the cycle of five years consists of 1860 lunar days, or 1830 nyct-
hemera; subject to a further correction, for the excess of nearly
four days above the true sidereal year but the exact quantity of
:

this correction, and the method of making it, according to this cal-
endar, have not yet been sufficiently investigated to be here stated.
The zodiac is divided ito twenty-seven asterisms, or signs, the first
of which, both in the Jyotish and in the Vedas, is CrlUicd, or the
Pleiads The place of the colures, according to these astronomical
treatises, will be forthwith mentioned: but none of them hint at a
motion of the equinoxes. The measure of a day by thirty hours, and
that of an hour by sixty minutes, are explained; and the method of
constructing a clepsydra is taught.
This ancient Hindu calendar, corresponding in its divisions of
time, and in the assigned origin of the ecliptic, with several pas-
sages of the Vedas, is evidently the foundation of that which after ,

successive corrections, is now received by the Hindus throughout

*
have peveral copies of one such treatise, besides a commentary on the
1

by an unknown author; which is accordingly assigned

Jytltish of the ftfyveda,
to a fabulous personage, S^SHANAGA.
** The Athenian
year was regulated in a similar manner; but, according
to GEMINI'S, it was the sixty third day, which was deducted. Perhaps this
-

Hindu calendar may assist in explaining the Grecian system ol'lnnar months.
5
66 ON THE VEDAS, OH

India. The progress of those corrections may be traced, from the

* to one of
cycle of five , sixty lunar years (which is noticed in
many popular treatises on the calendar, and in the commentary of
the Jyolisli); and thence, to one of sixty years of JUPITER; and, fi-
nally, to the greater astronomical periods of twelve thousand years of
the gods, and a hundred years of BRAHMA. But the history of Indian
astronomy is not the subject of this essay. I shall only cite, from
the treatises here referred to, a passage in which the then place of
the colures is stated.
'Srvar dcramele soma'rcau yadi sdcam savdsavau: sydl tadddiyngam,

may has, 'yanam hy udac.

tapas, suclo,
' 1

Prapadyete sravish't" hddau

suryachdndramasdv udac; sdrp'drtfhe
ddcshin'drcMS lu: mdcfha-srdvanayuh sadd.
1
Gharma-vrtdd'hir apdm prasChah, cshapd-hrdsa ndag galau:
, ,

'
dacshine (an viparyaslau, shun muhiirly ayanena lu.
The following is a literal translation of this remarkable passage,
which occurs in both the treatises examined by me.
'When the sun and moon ascend the sky together, being in the
constellation over which the Vasus preside then does the cycle ;

begin, and the [season] Mdgha, and the, [month] Tapas, and the bright
[fortnight], and the northern path.
'The sun and moon turn towards the north at the beginning of
'SravishVhd: but the sun turns towards the south in the middle of the
constellation over which the serpents preside; and this [his turn
towards the south, and towards the north], always [happens] in [the
months of] Mdgha and 'Srdvana.
'In the northern progress, an increase of day, and decrease of
night, take place,amounting to a prasfha (or 32 palas) of water: in
the southern, both are reversed (i. e. the days decrease and the
nights increase), and [the difference amounte] by the journey, to six
muhurlas." ** 1

'Sravish't' hd is given, in all the dictionaries of the Sanscrit language,

as another name of D'futnishVhd : and is used for it in more than

*
The treatises in question contain allusions to the Jiges of the world: but
without explaining, whether any, and what, specific period of time was as-
signed to each age. This cycle of five years is mentioned by the name of Yuga,
in PAKASARA'S institutes of law edited by SUVRATA and entitled Vi-ihat I'tird-
,

sara. It there (Ch. 12. v. 83. ^ stated, as the basis of calculation for larger
is

cycles: and that of 3600 years, deduced from one of sixty (containing twelve
simple ?/i//7A), is denominated the yuga of VACPATI whence the ytign of PRAJA-
;

NAT'HA, containing 216,000 years, is derived and twice that constitutes the
;

Caliyuga The still greater periods are afterwards described under the usual
names.
** I
cannot, as yet, reconcile the time here stated. Its explanation appears
to depend on the construction of the clepsydra which I do not well un-,

derstand; as the rule for its construction is obscure, and involves some
difficulties which remain yet unsolved.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 67

one passage of the Vedas. This is the constellation which is sacred

to the Vasus ; as Asleshd is to the serpents. The deities presiding
over the twenty-seven constellations, are enumerated in three other
verses of the Jyolish belonging to the Yajush and in several places
,

of the Vedas. The Jyolish of the Rich differs in transposing two of

them but the commentator corrects this as a faulty reading.
5

In several passages of the Jyolish, these names of deities are used

for the constellations over which they preside; especially one, which
states the situation of the moon, when the sun reaches the tropic, in
years other than the first of the cycle. Every where these terms
are explained, as indicating the constellations which that enumeration
allots to them.* Texts, contained in the Vedas themselves, confirm
the correspondence; and the connexion of Astvini and the Aswins is
indeed decisive.
Hence it clear, that D" hanishf hd and Asleshd are the constel-
is
1

lations meant; and that when this Hindu calendar was regulated,
the solstitial points were reckoned to be at the beginning of the one,
and in the middle of the other and such was the situation of those
:

cardinal points in the fourteenth century before the Christian era.

,

I formerly** had occasion to show from another passage of the

Vedas, that the correspondence of seasons with months, as there
stated and as also suggested in the passage now quoted from the
,

Jyolish, agrees with such a sitiaation of the cardinal points.

I now proceed to fulfil the promise of indicating such parts of the
fourth Veda as appear liable to suspicion. These are the remain-
ing detached Upanishads, which are not received into the best col-
lections of fifty-two theological tracts, belonging to the ACharva-ve'da ;
and even some of those which are there inserted, but which, so far
as my inquiries have yet reached, do not appear to have been com-
mented by ancient authors, nor to have been quoted in the old com-
mentaries on the Veddnla. Two of these Upanishads are particularly
suspicious one entitled Rama Idpaniya, consisting of two parts (Pnrva
:

and Ullara); and another called Gopdla tdpaniya, also comprising

two parts, of which one is named the Crishna Upanishad. The intro-
duction to the first of these works contains a summary, which agrees
in substance with the mythological history of the husband of SITA,
and conqueror of Lancd. The other exalts the hero of NaChurd.
Although the Rdma tdpaniya be inserted in all the collections of
Upanishads, which I have seen; and the Gopdla tdpaniya appear in
some, yet I am inclined to doubt their genuineness and to suspect ,

that they have been written in times, modern, when compared with
the remainder of the Vedas. This suspicion is chiefly grounded on
the opinion, that the sects, which now worship RA'MA and CRISHNA

* I think it needless to
quote the original of this enumeration.
** Asiatic
Researches, vol. vii. p. 283.
5*
68 ON THE VEDAS, OR

as incarnations of VISHNU, are comparatively new. I have not found,

in any other part of the Vedas, the least trace of such a worship.
The real doctrine of the whole Indian scripture is the unity of the
deity, in whom the universe is comprehended; and the seeming
polytheism which it and the stars, and
exhibits, offers the elements,
planets, as gods. The three principal manifestations of the divinity,
with other personified attributes and energies, and most of the other
gods of Hindu mythology, are indeed mentioned, or at least indi-
cated, in the Vedas. But the worship of deified heroes is no part
of that system nor are the incarnations of deities suggested in any
5

other portion of the text, which I have yet seen; though such are
sometimes hinted at by the commentators.
According to the notions, which I entertain of the real history of
the Hindu religion, the worship of RAMA, ami of CRISHNA, by the
Vaishiiavas, and that of MAHA'DE>A and BHAVA'Ni by the 'Saivas and
'Sdctas, have been generally introduced, since the persecution of the
BaudiVhas and Juinas. The institutions of the Vedas are anterior to
BUDD'HA whose theology seems to have been borrowed from the
,

system of CAPIEA, and whose most conspicuous practical doctrine is

stated to have been the unlawfulness of killing animals, which in
his opinion were too frequently slain for the purpose of eating their
flesh, under the pretence of performing a sacrifice or Yajnya. The
overthrow of the sect of BUDD'HA, in India, has not effected the full
revival of the religious system inculcated in the Vedas. Most of
what is there taught, is now obsolete and, in its stead, new orders
:

of religious devotees have been instituted; and new forms of reli-

gious ceremonies have been established. Rituals founded on the
Pur anas and observances borrowed from a worse source, the Tantrus,
)

have, in a great measure, antiquated the institutions of the Vedas.

In the of animals before the idols of *
particular, sacrificing CA'LI,
has superseded the less sanguinary practice of the Yajnya; and the
adoration of RA'MA and of CRISHNA has .succeeded to that of the ele-
ments and planets. If this opinion be well founded, it follows that
the Upanishads in question have probably been composed in later
times, since the introduction of those sects, which hold RA'MA and
GOPALA in peculiar veneration.
On the same ground, every Upanishad, which strongly favours the
doctrines of these sects, may be rejected, as liable to much suspicion.

* In
Bengal and the contiguous provinces thousands of kids and buffalo
, ,

calves are sacrificed before the idol, at every celebrated temple; and opu-
lent persons make a similar destruction of animals at their private chapels.
The sect which has adopted this system is prevalent in Bengal, and in many
other provinces of India: and the Sanguinary Chapter, translated from the
Called Purdna by Mr. BLAQUIEBE (Asiatic Researches, vol. v. p. 371), is one
among the authorities on which it relies. But the practice is not approved
by other sects of Hindus.
 SACRED WRITINGS OF THE HINDUS. 69

Such isthe AdnabocTha Upanishad, * in which CRISHNA is noticed by

the title of MAD'HUSUDANA , son of DEVACI and such
:
, also ,
is the

Sundarildpani,** which inculcates the worship of DEVI.

The remaining Upanishads do not, so far as I have examined
them, exhibit any internal evidence of a modern date. I state them
as liable to doubt, merely because I am not acquainted with any
external evidence of their genuineness.*** But it is probable, that
further researches may ascertain the accuracy of most of them, as
extracts from the Vedas; and their authenticity, as works quoted by
known authors. In point of doctrine they appear to conform with
the genuine Upanishads.
The preceding description may serve to convey some notion of
the Vedas. They are too voluminous for a complete translation of
the whole and what they contain would hardly reward the labour
;

of the reader; much less that of the translator. The ancient dialect
in which they are composed, and especially that of the three first
Vedas is extremely difficult and obscure: and, though curious, as
,

the parent of a more polished and refined language (the classical

Sanserif), its difficulties must long continue to prevent such an exami-
nation of the whole Vedas, as would be requisite for extracting
all that is remarkable and important in those voluminous works.
But they well deserve to be occasionally consulted by the oriental
scholar.

* I have seen but one

copy of it, in an Imperfect collection of the Upani-
shads. It is not inserted in other compilations , which nevertheless purport
to be complete.
**
According to the only copy that I have seen, it comprises five Upani-
shads, and belongs to the Athai-vaua; but the style resembles that of the
Tantras more than the Vedas. It is followed by a tract, marked as belong-
ing to the same Veda, and entitled Tripura Upanishad, or Traipuriya ; but
this differs from another bearing the similar title of Tripuri Upanishad, and
found in a different collection of theological treatises. I equally discredit
both of them although they are cited by writers on the Mantra sdslra (or
,

use of incantations) and although a commentary has been written on the

;

Tiipura by BHATTA BHASCARA.

*** The same observation is applicable to several Upanishads, which are
not inserted in the best collections, but which occur in others. For instance,
the Scanda, Caula, Gopichandana, Dar.sana. and Vajrasiichi. I shall not stop
to indicate a few questionable passages in some of these dubious tracts.
 II.

On the DUTIES of a FAITHFUL HINDU WIDOW.

[From the Asiatic Researches, vol. iv. p. 209 219. Calcutta, 1795. 4to.j

WHILE the light which the labours of the Asiatic Society have
thrown on the sciences and religion of the Hindus, has drawn the
attention of the literary world to that subject, the hint thrown out
by the President for rejecting the
authority of every publication
preceding the translation of the Gild, does not appear to have made
sufficient impression. Several late compilations in Europe betray
great want of judgment in the selection of authorities; and their
motley dress of true and false colours tends to perpetuate error; for
this reason it seems necessary on
every topic to revert to original
authorities, for the purpose of cancelling error or verifying facts alrea-
dy published and this object will no way be more readily attained,
;

than by the communication of detached essays on each topic, as it

may present itself to the Orientalist in the progress of his researches.
From this or any other motive for indulgence, should the follow-

ing authorities from Sanscrit books be thought worthy of a place in*

the next volume of the Society's Transactions, I shall be rewarded
for the pains taken in collecting them.

'Having first bathed, the widow, dressed in two clean garments,

and holding some cusa grass, sips water from the palm of her hand.
Bearing cusa and tila* on her hand, she looks towards the east or
north while the Brdhmana utters the mystic word 'On. Bowing to
,

NA'RA'YANA, she next declares:** "On this month, so named in such

a pacsha, on such a tiChi, I (naming herself and her family***) that
I may meet ARUNDHATI f and reside in Swarga; that the years of

my stay may be numerous as the hairs on the human body; that I

may enjoy with my husband the felicity of heaven, and sanctify my
* Sesamum.
** This declaration is called the
Sanculpa.
*** Golra, the
family or race. Four great families of Brdhmanas are now
extant, and have branched into many distinct races. Since the memorable
massacre of the Cshatriyds ,, by PARASU-KAMA , the Cshatriyds describe them-
selves from the same Gdtras as the Brdhmanas.
f Wife of Vasisht'ha.
 DUTIES OF A~ FAITHFUL WIDOW. 71

paternal and maternal progenitors, and the ancestry of my husband's

father ; that lauded by the Apsurases, I may be happy with my lord,
through the reigns of fourteen Indras; that expiation be made for
my husband's offences whether he has killed a Brdhmana, broken
,

the ties of gratitude, or murdered his friend, thus I ascend my hus-

band's burning pile. I call on you ye guardians of the eight re-
,

gions of the world; Sun and Moon! Air, Fire, .Ether,* Earth, and
Water! My own soul! YAMA! Day, Night, and Twilight! And thou,
Conscience, bear witness: I follow my husband's corpse on the
" ** '
funeral pile.
'Having repeated the Sanoalpa, she walks thrice round the pile;
and the Brahmana utters the following mantras :

ili
'0m\ Let these women, not to be widowed, good wives, adorned
with collyrium, holding clarified butter, consign themselves to the
fire. Immortal, not childless, nor husbandless, well adorned with
gems let them pass into fire whose original element is water."
, ,

(From the Rigvcda.}

lti
'0rn\ Let these faithful wives, pure, beautiful, commit them-
selves to the fire, with their husband's corpse. "
(APaurdnica mantra?)
'
With this benediction, and uttering the mystic Namo Namah, she
'
ascends the flaming pile.
While the prescribed ceremonies are performed by the widow,
the son, or other near kinsman, of the deceased, applies the first
torch, with the forms directed for funeral rites in the Grihya,*** by
which his tribe is governed.
The Sancalpa is evidently formed on the words of ANGIRAS :

"The wife who commits herself to the flames with her husband's
corpse, shall equal ARUNDHATi, and reside in Swarga-,

"Accompanying her husband, she shall reside so long in Swarga

as are the thirty-five millions of hairs on the human body.
"As the snake-catcher forcibly drags the serpent from his earth,

* Acasa.
** In several
publications the woman has been described as placing her-
self on the pile before it be lighted; but the ritual quoted is conformable to
the text of the Bhdyavala.
"When the corpse is about to be consumed in the saholaja, the faithful
wife who stood without, rushes on the fire. " NAKEDA to YUD'HISHT'HIRA,
announcing the death and funeral of DHBITARASHTRA. See Bhdgavata, book
i., ch. 13.
The saholaja isa cabin of grass or leaves, sometimes erected on the funeral
pile. "The shed on the funeral pile of &Muni is [called] parnotaja and sahd-
" See the
taja. vocabulary entitled Hdrdvali.
*** Extracts or
compilations from the sacred books, containing the parti-
cular forms for religious ceremonies , to be observed by the race or family
for whom that portion of the sacred writings has been adopted, which com-
poses their Grihya.
72 ON THE DUTIES

so, bearing her husband [from hell], with him she shall enjoy heaven-
ly bliss.
"Dying with her husband, she sanctities her maternal and pater-
nal ancestors; and the ancestry of him to whom she gave her vir-
ginity.
"Such a
wife, adoring her husband, in celestial felicity with him,
greatest, most admired,* with him shall enjoy the delights of heaven,
while fourteen INDRAS reign.
Though her husband had killed a Brdhmana,**- broken the
'*

ties of gratitude, or murdered his friend, she expiates the crime."

(ANGIRAS.)
Themanlrus are adopted on the authority of the Brahmc purdna.
"While the pile is preparing, tell the faithful wife of the greatest
duty of woman she is loyal and pure who burns herself with her hus-
;

band's corpse. Hearing this, fortified [in her resolution], and full of
affection she completes the Pilrtmedha ydga*** and ascends to
,
"
Swarga. (Brahme purdna.)
It held to be the duty of a widow to burn herself with her
is

husband's corpse; but she has the alternative,

" On the death of her
husband, to live as Brahmachdri, or commit
herself to the flames." (VISHNU.)
The austerity intended consists in chastity and in acts of piety ,

and mortification.
"The use of tdmbula, dress, and feeding off vessels of tutenague
is forbidden to the Yati, f the Brahmachdri, and the widow."
(PRACHE>AS.)
"The widow exceed one meal a day, nor sleep on a
shall never
bed; if she do so, her husband falls from Swarga.'
1 ''

"She shall eat no other than simple food, and ft shall daily offer
the larpana of cusa, lila, and water! fit
"In Vaisdc'ha, Cdrlica, and Mdgha, she shall exceed the usual
duties of ablution, alms, and pilgrimage, and often use the name of
GOD [in prayer]." (The Smriti.]
After undertaking the duty of a Salt ,
should the widow recede,
she incurs the penalties of defileinent.

* The word
1
in the text is expounded "lauded by the choirs of heaven,
Gand'harvas,'
''

&c.
** The commentators are at the
pains of shewing that this expiation must
refer to a crime committed in a former existence; for funeral rites are re-
fused to the murderer of a Brdhmana.
**'*
Act of burning herself with her husband.
Sannydsi.
{

ff If she has no male descendants. See Madana Parijdla.

tff Oblations for the manes of ancestors to the third degree, though not
exclusively; for the prayer includes a-general petition for remoter ancestors.
Yet daily oblations (faisvadeva) are separately offered for ancestors beyond
the third degree.
 OF A FAITHFUL HINDU WIDOW. 73

"If the regretting life, recede from the pile, she is de-
woman,
nied; but be purified by observing the fast called Prdjdpalya."*
may
(A'PASTAMBA.)
Though an alternative be allowed, the Hindu legislators have
shown themselves- disposed to encourage widows to burn themselves
with their husband's corpse.
HA'RITA thus defines a loyal wife: "She, whose sympathy feels
the pains and joys of her husband; who mourns and pines in his
absence, and dies when he dies, is agood and loyal wife." (HA'RITA.)
"Always revere a loyal wife, as you venerate the Devalds for, by :

her virtues, the prince's empire may extend over the three worlds."
^ * (Mulsya purdna.)
"Though the husband died unhappy by the disobedience of his
wife; if from motives of love, disgust [of the world], fear [of living
unprotected] or sorrow she commit herself to the flames she is
, , ,

entitled to veneration.
"
(Mahd Bhdrala.)
Obsequies for suicides are forbidden but the Rigveda expressly
;

declares, that "the loyal wife [who burns herself], shall not be deemed
a suicide. When a mourning of three days has been completed,
the 'Srdddha is to be performed."** This appears from the prayer
for the occasion, directed in the Rigveda.

Regularly the chief mourner for the husband and for the wife,
would in cases be distinct persons but the Bhavishya purdna
many :

provides, that "When the widow consigns herself to the same pile
with the corpse of the deceased, whoever performs the Criyd for her
husband, shall perform it for her."
"As to the ceremonies from the lighting of the funeral pile to
the PdtSa\ whoever lights the pile shall also offer the Pt'nfla."
(Vdyu purdna.)
In certain circumstances the widow is disqualified for this act of
a Salt.

"She who has an infant child, or is pregnant, or whose pregnancy

is doubtful, or who is unclean, may not, princess, ascend the
funeral pile.
" So said NA'REDA to the mother of SAGARA."

"The mother of an infant shall not relinquish the care of her

child to ascend the pile; nor shall one who is unclean [from a pe-
riodical cause], or whose time for purification after child-birth is
not passed, nor shall one who is
pregnant, commit herself to the

* It extends to twelve
days; the first three, a spare meal may be taken
once in each day; the next three, one in each night; the succeeding three
days, nothing may be eaten but what is given unsolicited and the last three
;

days are a rigid fast.

** The shortness of the
mourning is honourable the longest mourning is
:

for the lowest tribe.

74 ON TUB DUTIES

flames.* But thq mother of an infant may if the care of the child
,

can be otherwise provided." .

(VRIHASPATI.)
In the event of a Brdhmuna dying in a distant country, his widow
is not permitted to burn herself.

"A Viprd or Brdhmani may not ascend a second pile." (GOTAMA.)

But with other castes, this proof of fidelity is not precluded by
the remote decease of the husband, and is called Anugamana.
" The widow on the
,
news of her husband's dying in a distant
country, should expeditiously burn herself: so shall she obtain per-
"
fection. (VYA'SA.)
"Should the husband die on a journey, holding his sandals to her
"
breast, let her pass into the flames. (Brahme purdnu.)
The expression is not understood of sandals exclusively; for US'A-
NAS or SUCRA declares:
"Except a Viprd, the widow may take any thing that belonged
to her husband, and ascend the pile.
"But a Viprd may not ascend a second pile; this practice belongs
to other tribes." (SUCRA.)
In two of the excepted cases, a latitude is allowed for a widow
desirous of offering this token of loyalty, by postponing the obse-
quies of the deceased: for VYA'SA directs that, "If the loyal wife
be distant less than the journey of a day, and desire to die with
her husband, his corpse shall not be burnt until she arrive." And
the Bhavishya purdna permits that "the corpse be kept one night,
if the third
day of her uncleanness had expired when her husband
"
died.
With ** which
respect to a circumstance of time, might on some
occasions be objected, the commentators obviate the difficulty, by
arguing from several texts, "that to die with or after [her husband],
is for a widow naimillica*** and cdmya^ and
consequently allow-
able in the intercalary month " for DACSHA teaches, that "when-
:

ever an act both naimillica and cdmya is in hand it is then to be,

performed without consulting season." They are at the trouble of

removing another difficulty :

" DIIRITARA'SHTRA in the state of

Samddhi, quitted his terrestrial
form to proceed to the Mucti, or beatitude, which awaited him.
When the leaves and wood were lighted to consume the corpse,
his wife GA'ND'HA'RI was seen to pass into the flames. Now also, a

* It has been
erroneously asserted, that a wife, pregnant at the time of
her husband's death, may burn herself after delivery. Hindu authorities
positively contradict it. In addition to the text it may be remarked, that it
is a maxim, "What was prevented in its season, may not afterwards be
resumed."
** Occasional observances are omitted on
intercalary days.
***
Eventual; incumbent when a certain event happens.
f Optional; done for its reward.
 OF A FAITHFUL HINDU WIDOW. 75

husband dying at Cast arid attaining Mucli, it becomes his widow to

follow the corpse in the flames. "
It were superfluous to pursue commentators through all their fri-
volous distinctions and laborious illustrations on latent difficulties.
All the ceremonies essential to this awful rite are included in the
instructions already quoted. But many practices have been intro-
duced, though not sanctioned by any ritual. A widow who declares
her resolution of burning herself with the corpse, is required to give
a token of her fortitude: and it is acknowledged, that one who re-
ceded after the ceremony commenced would be compelled by her
,

relations to complete the sacrifice. This may explain circumstances

described by some who have witnessed the melancholy scene.
Other ceremonies noticed in the relations of persons who have
been present on such occasions, are directed in several rituals:
"Adorned with all jewels, decked with minium and other customary
ornaments, with the box of minium in her hand, having made pi'tjd
or adoration to the Devalds, thus reflecting that this life is nought:
my lord and master to me was all, she walks round the burning pile.
She bestows jewels on the Brdhmanas comforts her relations and
, ,

shows her friends the attentions of civility while calling the Sun
:

and Elements to witness, she distributes minium at pleasure; and

having repeated the Sancalpa, proceeds into the flames. There em-
bracing the corpse, she abandons herself to the fire, calling Salyal
Salt/a! Salya!"
The by-standers throw on butter and wood: for this they are

taught that they acquire merit exceeding ten million fold the merit
of an Astvame'dha, or other great sacrifice. Even those who join the
procession from the house of the deceased to the funeral pile for ,

every step are rewarded as for an Astvame'dha. Such indulgences are

promised by grave authors: they are quoted in this place only as
they seem to authorize an inference, that happily the martyrs of
this superstition have never been numerous. It is certain that the
instances of the widow's sacrifices are now rare on this it is only
:

necessary to appeal to the recollection of every person residing in

India, how few instances have actually occurred within his know-
ledge. And, had they ever been frequent, superstition would hardly
have promised its indulgences to spectators.
 III.

On the RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES of the HINDUS, and of the

BRAHMENS especially.

ESSAY I.

[From the Asiatic Researches, vol. v. p. 345 368. Calcutta, 1798. 4to.]

THE civil law of the Hindus containing frequent allusions to their

religious rites, I was led, among other pursuits connected with a

late undertaking, to peruse several treatises on this subject, and to
translate from the Sanscrit some entire tracts and parts of others.
,

From these sources of information upon a subject on which the

,

Hindus are by no means communicative I intend to lay before the

,

Society, in this and subsequent essays, an abridged explanation of

the ceremonies, and verbal translations of the prayers used at rites,
which a Hindu is bound constantly to perform. In other branches
of this inquiry, the Society may expect valuable communications
from our colleague, Mr. w. c. BLAQUIEEE, who is engaged in similar
researches. That part of the subject to which I have confined my
enquiries will be also found to contain curious matter, which I shall
now set forth without comment, reserving for a subsequent essay
the observations which are suggested by a review of these religious
practices.
A Brdhmaria rising from sleep, is enjoined, under the penalty of
losing the benefit of all rites performed by him, to rub his teeth with
a proper withe , or a twig of the racemiferous fig-tree , pronouncing
to himself this prayer "Attend, lord of the forest; SOMA, king of
:

herbs and plants, has approached thee mayest thou and he cleanse
:

my mouth with glory and good auspices that I may eat abundant
,

food. " The following prayer is also used upon this occasion: "Lord
of the forest! grant me life, strength, glory, splendour, offspring,
cattle, abundant wealth, virtue, knowledge, and intelligence." But
if a proper withe cannot be found, or on certain
days, when the use
of it is forbidden, (that is, on the day of the conjunction, and on
 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES OF THE HINDUS. / /

the first, sixth, and ninth days of each lunar fortnight), he must rinse
his inouth twelve times with water.
Having carefully thrown away the twig which has been used, in
a place free from impurities, he should proceed to bathe, standing
in a river, or in other water. The duty of bathing in the morning,
and at noon, if the man be a householder, and in the evening also,
if he belong to an order of devotion, is inculcated by pronouncing

the strict observance of it no less efficacious than a rigid penance,

in expiating sins, especially the early bath in the months of Mcigha,

P'hdlguna, and Cdrtica: and the bath being particularly enjoined as

a salutary ablution, he is permitted to bathe in his own house, but
without prayers, if the weather, or his own infirmities, prevent his
going forth: or he may abridge the ceremonies, and use fewer pray-
ers, if a religious duty, or urgent business require his early atten-
,

dance. The regular bath consists of ablutions followed by worship,

and by the inaudible recitation of the Gdyalri with the names of the
worlds. First sipping water, and sprinkling some before him, the
priest recites the three subjoined prayers, while he performs an ab-
lution by throwing water eight times on his head or towards the
, ,

sky, and concludes it by casting water on the ground, to destroy

the demons who wage war with the gods. 1st. "0 waters! since ye
afford delight, grant us present happiness, and the rapturous sight
of the supreme GOD." 2d. "Like tender mothers, make us here
partakers of yoxar most auspicious essence." 3d. "We
become con-
tented with your essence, with which ye satisfy the universe. Wate'rs !

"
grant it unto us. (Or, as- otherwise expounded, the third text may
signify, 'Eagerly do we approach your essence, which supports the
universal abode. Waters! grant it unto us.') In the Agni pur ana,
the ablution is otherwise directed: "At twilight, let a man attentive-
ly recite the prayers addressed to water, and perform an ablution, by
throwing water on the crown of his head, on the earth, towards the
sky; again towards the sky, on the earth, on the crown of his head,
on the earth, again on the crown of his head, and lastly on the earth."
Immediately after this ablution,-he should sip water without swallowing
it, silently praying in these words "Lord of sacrifice thy heart is in
: !

the midst of the waters of the ocean"; may salutary herbs and waters-
pervade thee. With sacrificial hymns and humble salutation we
invite thy presence; may this ablution be efficacious." Or he may

sip water while he utters inaudibly the mysterious names of the

seven worlds. Thrice plunging into water, he must each time repeat
the expiatory text which recites the creation; and having thus com-
pleted his ablution, he puts on his mantle after washing it, and sits
down to worship the rising sun.
This ceremony is begun by his tying the lock of hair on the
crown of his head, while he recites the Gdyalri, hohling much ctisa
grass in his left, and three blades of the same grass in his right
78 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

hand; or wearing a ring of grass on the third finger of the same

hand. Thrice sipping water with the same text preceded by the
mysterious names of worlds, and each time rubbing his hands as if
washing them; and finally, touching with his wet hand, his feet,
head, breast, eyes, ears, nose, and navel, or his breast, navel, and
both shoulders only (according to another rule) he should again
,

sip water three times, pronouncing to himself the expiatory text

which recites the creation. If he happen to sneeze or spit, he must
not immediately sip water, but first touch his right ear, in compli-
ance with the maxim 'after sneezing, spitting, blowing his nose,
,

sleeping putting on apparel or dropping tears a man should not

, , ,

immediately sip water, but first touch his right ear.' "Fire," says
PARA'S'ARA, "water, the Fedas, the sun, moon, and air, all reside in
the right ears of Brdhmanas. Gangd is in their right ears, sacrificial
fire in their nostrils; at the moment when both are touched, impu-
"
rity vanishes. This, by the by, will explain the practice of sus-
pending the end of the sacerdotal string from over the right ear, to
purify that string from the defilement which follows an evacuation
of urine. The sipping of water is a requisite introduction of all
rites; without it, says the Samba purana, all acts of religion are vain.
Having therefore sipped water as above-mentioned, and passed his
hand filled with water briskly round his neck while he recites this
prayer, "May the waters preserve me!" the priest closes his eyes
and meditates in silence, figuring to himself that "BRAHMA', with
four faces and a red complexion, resides in his navel VISHNU, with;

four arms and a black complexion, in his heart; and SIVA, with
five faces and a white complexion, in his forehead." The priest
afterwards meditates the holiest of texts during throe suppressions
of breath. Closing the left nostril with the two longest fingers of
his right hand he draws his breath through the right nostril
,
and ,

then closing that nostril likewise with his thumb holds his breath
,

while he meditates the text: he then raises both fingers off the left
nostril, and emits the breath he had suppressed. While he holds
his breath, he must, on this occasion, repeat to himself the Gdyalri
with the mysterious names of the worlds, the triliteral monosyllable,
and the sacred text of BRAHME. A
suppression of breath, so ex-
plained by the ancient legislator, YA'JNYAWALCYA, consequently
implies the following meditation: "'Om! Earth! Sky! Heaven!
Middle region! Place of births! Mansion of the blessed! Abode
of truth ! We
meditate on the adorable light of the resplendent
generator which governs our intellects which is water lustre,
, ; ,

savour, immortal faculty of thought, BRAHME, earth, sky, and heaven."

According to the commentary, of which a copious extract shall be
subjoined, the text thus recited signifies, "That effulgent power
which governs our intellects is the primitive element of water, the
lustre of gems and other glittering substances the savour of trees
,
 OF THE HINDUS. 79

and herbs, the thinking soul of living beings: it is the creator, pre-
server, and destroyer; the sun, and every other deity, and all which
moves, or which is fixed in the three worlds, named, earth, sky, and
heaven. The supreme BRAHME, so manifested, illumines the seven
worlds; may he unite my soul to his own radiance: (that is, to his
own soul, which resides effulgent the seventh world, or mansion
in
of truth)." On another occasion, the concluding prayer, which is
the (idyalri of BRAHME, is omitted, and the names of the three lower
worlds only are premised. Thus recited, the Gdyalri, properly so
called, bears the following import: "On that effulgent power, which
is BRAHME himself, and is called the
light of the radiant sun, do I
meditate, governed by the mysterious light which resides within me
for the purpose of thought; that very light is the earth, the subtile
ether, and all which exists within the created sphere ; it is the three-
fold world, containing all which is fixed or moveable it exists inter-
:

nally in my heart, externally in the orb of the sun ; being one and
the same with that effulgent power, I myself am an irradiated ma-
nifestation of the supreme BRAHME." With siich reflections, says the
commentator, should the text be inaudibly recited.
These expositions are justified by a very ample commentary, in
which numerous authorities are cited; and to which the commen-
tator has added many passages from ancient lawyers, and from

mythological poems, showing the efficacy of these prayers in expiat-

ing sin. As the foregoing explanations of the text are founded
chiefly on the gloss of an ancient philosopher and legislator, YA'JNVA-
WALCYA, the following extract will consist of little more than a ver-
bal translation of his metrical gloss.
"The parent of all beings produced all states of existence, for he
generates and preserves all creatures therefore is he called the
:

generator. Because he shines and sports, because he loves and

irradiates, therefore is he called resplendent or divine, and is praised
by all deities. We
meditate on the light, which, existing in our
minds, continually governs our intellects in the pursuits of virtue,
wealth, love, and beatitude. Because the being who shines with
seven rays, assuming the forms of time and of fire, matures pro-
ductions, is resplendent, illumines all, and finally destroys the uni-
verse, therefore he, who naturally shines with seven rays, is called
light or the effulgent power. The first syllable denotes that he illu-
mines worlds; the second consonant implies that he colours all crea-
ttires; the last syllable signifies that he moves without ceasing.
From his cherishing all, he is called the irradiating preserver."
Although it appears from the terms of the text,- ("Light of the
Generator or Sun,") that the sun and the light spoken of are dis-
meditating this sublime text, they are undistinguished;
tinct, yet, in
that light is the sun, and the sun
is light;
they are identical: "The
same effulgent and irradiating power which animates living beings
80 ON THE JIELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

as their soul ,
exists the sky as the male heing residing in the
in
midst of the sun." is There
consequently no distinction; but that
effulgence which exists in the heart, governing the intellects of
animals, must alone be meditated, as one and the same, however,
with the luminous power residing in the orb of the sun.
"That which is in the sun, and thus called light or effulgent power,
is adorable, and must be worshipped by them who dread successive
births and deaths, and who eagerly desire beatitude. The being who
may be seen in the solar orb, must be contemplated by the under-
standing, to obtain exemption from successive births and deaths
and various pains. "
The prayer is preceded by the names of the seven worlds as ,

epithets of it, to denote its

efficacy; signifying, that this light per-
vades and illumines the seven worlds, which, "situated one above
the other, are the seven mansions of all beings: they are called
the seven abodes, self-existent in a former period, renovated in this.
These seven mysterious words are celebrated as the names of the
seven worlds. The place where all beings, whether fixed or move-
able, exist, is called Earth, which is the first world. That in which
beings exist a second time, but without sensation, again to become
sensible at the close of the period appointed for the duration of the
present universe, is the World of Re-existence. The abode of the
good, where cold, heat, and light, are perpetually produced, is named
Heaven. The intermediate region between the upper and lower
worlds, is denominated the Middle World. The heaven, where ani-
mals destroyed in a general conflagration at the close of the ap-
,

pointed period, are born again, is thence called the World of Births.
That in which SANACA, and other sons of BRAHMA', justified by austere
devotion, reside, exempt from all dominion, is thence named the
Mansion of the Blessed. Truth the seventh world and the abode
, ,

of BRATIME, is placed on the summit above other worlds; it is attained

by true knowledge, by the regular discharge of duties, and by vera-
city: once attained, it is never lost. Truth is, indeed, the seventh
world, therefore called the Sublime Abode."
The names of the worlds are preceded by the triliteral monosyl-
lable, to obviate the evil consequence announced by MENU, "A Brdh-
ma/ia, beginning and ending a lecture of the Veda (or the recital of
any holy strain) must always pronounce to himself the syllable
,

o)ii : for unless the syllable 6m precede, his learning will slip away
from him; and unless it follow, nothing will be long retained." Or
that syllable is prefixed to the several names of worlds denoting ,

that the seven worlds are manifestations of the power signified by

that syllable. "As the leaf of the palasa," says YA'JNYAWALCYA,
"is supported by a single pedicle, so is this universe upheld by the
"
syllable 6m, a symbol of the supreme BRAHME. "All rites ordained
in the Veda, oblations to fire, and solemn sacrifices, pass away; but
 OP THE HINDUS. 81

that which passeth not away," says MENU, "is declared to be the
syllable 6m , thence called acshara , since it is a symbol of GOD the ,

"
lord of created beings. (MENU, chap. ii. v. 74, 84.)
The concluding prayer is subjoined, to teach the various mani-
festations of that light, which is the sun himself. It is BRAHME, the

supreme soul. "The sun," says YA'JN YAW ALCYA, "is BRAHME: this
is a certain truth, revealed in the sacred Upanishads, and in various
'Sac* hasof the Vedas" So the Bhawishya purdna, speaking of the
sun: "Because there is none greater than he, nor has been, nor
will be, therefore he is celebrated as the supreme soul in all the
Vedas. "
That greatest of lights which exists in the sun, exists also as the
principle of life in the hearts of all beings. It shines externally in
the sky, internally in the heart: it is found in fire and in flame.
This principle of life , which is acknowledged by the virtuous as
existing in the heart and in the sky, shines externally in the ethereal
region, manifested in the form of the sun. It is also made apparent
in the lustre of gems, stones , and metals ; and in the taste of trees,

plants, and herbs. That is, the irradiating being, who is a form of
BRAHME, is manifested in all moving beings (gods, demons, men,
serpents, beasts, birds, insects, and the rest) by their locomotion;
and in some fixed substances, such as stones, gems, and metals by ,

their lustre; in others, such as trees, plants, and herbs, by their

savour. Every thing which moves or which is fixed, is pervaded
by that light, which in all moving things exists as the supreme soul,
and as the immortal thinking faculty of beings which hav.e the power
of motion. Thus the venerable commentator says, " In the midst of
the sun stands the moon, in the midst of the moon is fire, in the
midst of lightis truth, in the midst of truth is the
imperishable
" And
being. again, "God is the imperishable being residing in the
"sacred abode: the thinking soul is light alone; it shines with un-
borrowed splendour. " This thinking soul, called the immortal prin-
ciple, is a manifestation of that irradiating power who is the su-
preme soul.
This universe, consisting of three worlds, was produced from
"
water. He first, with a thought, created the waters, and placed in
them a productive seed." (MENU, chap. i. v. 8.) Water, which is
the element whence the three worlds proceeded, is that light which
is also the efficient cause of creation, duration, and destruction, ma-

nifested with these powers, in the form of BRAHMA', VISHNU, and

RUDRA: to denote this, "earth, sky, and heaven," are subjoined as
epithets of light. These terms bear allusion also to the three qua-
litiesof truth, passion, and darkness, corresponding with the three
manifestations of power, as creator, preserver, and destroyer; hence
it is also intimated, that the irradiating being is manifested as
BRAHMA', VISHNU, and RUDRA, who are respectively endued with the
6
82 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

qualities of truth, passion, and darkness. The meaning is, that this
irradiating being, who is the supreme BRAHME manifested in three
forms or powers, is the efficient cause of the creation of the universe,
and destruction. So in the Bhamishya puratia, CRISHNA
of its duration
says, "The sun is the god of perception, the eye of the universe,
the cause of day there is none greater than he among the immortal
;

powers. From him this universe proceeded, and in him it will reach
annihilation; he is time measured by instants," &c. Thus the uni-
verse , consisting of three worldscontaining all which is fixed or
,

moveable ,
the irradiating being; and he is the creator of that
is

universe, the preserver and destroyer of it. Consequently nothing

can exist, which is not that irradiating power.
These extracts from two very copious commentaries will suffi-
ciently explain the texts which are meditated while the breath is held
as above mentioned. Immediately after these suppressions of breath,
the priest should sip water, reciting the following prayer: "May
the sun, sacrifice, the regent of the firmament, and other deities who
preside over sacrifice, defend me from the sin arising from the -im-
perfect performance of a religious ceremony. Whatever sin I have
committed by night, in thought, word or deed, be that cancelled by
day. Whatever sin be in me, may that be far removed. I offer
this water to the sun whose light irradiates my heart who sprung
, ,

" He
from the immortal essence. Be this oblation efficacious. should
next make three ablutions with the prayers: "Waters! since ye
afford delight," &c., at the same time throwing water eight times
on his head, or towards the sky, and once on the ground as before;
and again make similar ablutions with the following prayer "As a :

tired man leaves drops of sweat at the foot of a tree; as he who

bathes is cleansed from all foulness; as an oblation is sanctified by
" and another
holy grass so may this water purify me from sin
;
:

ablution with the expiatory text which rehearses the creation. He

should next fill the palm of his hand with water, and presenting it
to his nose inhale the fluid by one nostril and retaining it for a
, ,

while, exhale it through the other, and throw away the water towards
the north-east quarter. This is considered as an internal ablution,
which washes away sins. He concludes by sipping water with the
following prayer: "Water! thou dost penetrate all beings; thou
dost reach the deep recesses of the mountains; thou art the mouth
of the universe; thou art sacrifice; thou art the mystic word vasha't ;

"
thou art light, taste, and the immortal fluid.
After these ceremonies he proceeds to worship the sun, standing
on one foot, and resting the other against his ankle or heel, look--
ing towards the east, and holding his hands open before him in
a
hollow form. In this posture lie pronounces to himself the follow-
" The
ing prayers. 1st. rays of light announce the splendid fiery
sun, beautifully rising to illumine the universe." 2d. "He rises,
 OF THE HINDUS. 83

wonderful, the eye of the sun, of water, and of fire, collective power
of gods; he fills heaven, earth, and sky, with his luminous net; he
is the soul of all which is fixed or locomotive." 3d. "That eye,
supremely beneficial, rises pure from the east; may we see him a
hundred years; may we live a hundred years; may we hear a hund-
red years." 4th. "May we, preserved by the divine power, con-
templating heaven above the region of darkness, approach the deity,
most splendid of luminaries. " The following prayer may be also
subjoined: "Thou art self-existent, thou art the most excellent ray;
thou givest effulgence grant it unto me. " This is explained as an
:

allusion to the seven rays of the sun, four of which are supposed to
point towards the four quarters, one upwards, one downwards and ;

the seventh, which is centrical, is the most excellent of all, and is

here addressed in a prayer, which is explained as signifying, "May
the supreme ruler, who generates all things, whose luminous ray is
self- existent, who is the sublime cause of light, from whom worlds
receive illumination, be favourable to us. " After presenting an ob-
lation to the sun, in the mode to be forthwith explained, the Gdyalri
must be next invoked, in these words: "Thou art light; thou art.
seed thou art immortal life ; thou art called effulgent beloved by
;
:

the gods, defamed by none, thou art the holiest sacrifice." And it
should be afterwards recited measure by measure; then the two first
measures as one hemistich, and the third measure as the other ; and,
lastly, the three measures without interruption. The same text is
then invoked in these words: "Divine text, who dost grant our
best wishes, whose name is trisyllable, whose import is the power
of the Supreme Being; come, thou mother of the Vedas, who didst
spring from BRAHME, be constant here." The Gdyalri is then pro-
nounced inaudibly with the triliteral monsyllable and the names of
the three lower worlds a hundred or a thousand times or as often
, ,

as may be practicable, counting the repetitions on a rosary of gems

set in gold, or of wild grains. For this purpose the seeds of the pn-
Irajiva, vulgarly named pitonhid, are declared preferable. The follow-
ing prayers from the Vishnu purdna conclude these repetitions:*

* I omit the
very tedious detail respecting sins expiated by a set number
of repetitions; but in one instance, as an atonement for unwarily eating or
drinking what is forbidden, it is directed , that eight hundred repetitions of
the Gdyatri should be preceded by three suppressions of breath , touching
water during the recital of the following text: "The bull roars; he has four
horns, three feet, two heads, seven hands, and is bound by a threefold liga-
ture : he is the mighty resplendent being, and pervades mortal men. " The
bull is Religious Duty personified. His four horns are the Brahma or super-
intending priest ; the Udgdlri or chanter of the Sdmaveda; the Hotri, or reader
of the Itigveda, who performs the essential part of a religious ceremony; and
the Ad'/nvaryii, who sits in the sacred close, and chants the Yajurveda. His
three feet are the three Vedas. Oblations and sacrifice are his two heads,
roaring stupendously. His seven hands are the Hotrl, Maitrdvaruiia. Brrih-
6*
84 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

"Salutation to the sun; to that luminary, BRAHME, who is the

light of the pervader, the pure generator of the universe, the cause
of efficacious rites." 2d. "I bow to the great cause of day (whose
emblem is a full-blown flower of the yavd tree), the mighty luminary
sprung from CAS'YAPA, the foe of darkness, the destroyer of every
sin." Or the priest walks a turn through the south, rehearsing a
short text: "I follow the course of the sun;" which is thus explained,
"As the sun in his course moves round the world by the way of the
south, so do I, following that luminary obtain the benefit arising
,

from a journey round the earth by the way of the south."

The oblation above-mentioned, and which is called ary'ha, con-
sists of flowers, barley, water, and red-sanders-wood, in a clean
/?'/,

copper vessel, made in the shape of a boat; this the priest places
on his head, and thus presents it with the following text: "He who
travels the appointed path (namely, the sun) is present in that pure
orb of fire, and in the ethereal region ; he is the sacrificer at religious
and he sits in the sacred close; never remaining a single day
rites,
in thesame spot, yet present in every house, in the heart of every
human being, in the most holy mansion, in the subtile ether; pro-
duced in water, in earth, in the abode of truth, and in the stony
mountains, he is that which is both minute and vast." This text
is explained as signifying, that the sun is a manifestation of the
Supreme Being, present every where, produced every where, per-
vading every place and thing. The oblation is concluded by wor-
shipping the sun with the subjoined text: "His rays, the efficient
causes of knowledge, irradiating worlds, appear like sacrificial fires."
Preparatory to any act of religion, ablutions must be again per-
formed in the form prescribed for the mid-day bath; the practice of
bathing at noon is likewise enjoined as requisite to cleanliness,
conducive to health, and efficacious in removing spiritual as well as
corporeal defilements: it must, nevertheless, be omitted by one
who is afflicted with disease and a healthy person is forbidden to
;

bathe immediately after a meal, and without laying aside his jewels
and other ornaments. If there be no impediment, such as those
now mentioned or formerly noticed in speaking of early ablutions,
he may bathe with water drawn from a well, from a fountain, or
from the bason of a cataract; but he should prefer water which
lies above ground, choosing a stream rather than stagnant water,
a river in preference to a small brook, a holy stream before a vulgar
river; and, above all, the water of the Ganges. In treating of the
bath, authors distinguish various ablutions, properly and improperly
so called such as rubbing the body with ashes which is named a
; ,

manacli'handasi , Gravaslata , Acl? hdvdc NesJitrt , and Pdlrt; names by which

officiating priests are designated at certain solemn rites. The threefold lig-
ature by which he is bound, is worshipped in the morning, at noon, and in
the evening.
 OP THE HINDUS. 85

bath sacred to fire;plunging into water, a bath sacred to the regent

of this element; ablutions accompanied by the prayers, "0 waters!
since ye afford delight," &c. which constitute the holy bath stand-
;

ing in dust raised by the treading of cows, a bath denominated from

wind or air; standing in the rain during day-light, a bath named
from the sky or atmosphere. The ablutions, or bath, properlyso
called, are performed with the following ceremonies.
After bathing and cleansing his person, and pronouncing as a
" he who bathes should
vow, "I will now perform ablutions ,
invoke
the holy rivers: "0 Gangd, Yamuna, Saraswati, 'Saladru, MarudvuFJid
and Jiyiciyd! hear my prayers; for my sake be included in this
small quantity of water with the holy streams of Parush'ti, Asicni,
and Vilasld." He should also utter the radical prayer, consisting of
the words "Salutation to Narayana. n Upon this occasion a prayer
extracted from the Padma purdna is often used with this salutation,
called the radical text: and the ceremony is at once concluded by
taking up earth, and pronouncing the subjoined prayer: "Earth, sup-
porter of all things, trampled by horses, traversed by cars, trodden
by VISHNU whatever sin has been committed by me, do thou, who
!

art upheld by the hundred-armed CRISHNA, incarnate in the shape

of a boar, ascend my limbs and remove every such sin. "
The text extracted from the Padma purdna follows: "Thou didst
spring from the foot of VISHNU, daughter of VISHNU, honoured by
him; therefore preserve us from sin, protecting us from the day of
our birth, even unto death. The regent of air has named thirty-five
millions of holy places in the sky on earth and in the space be-
, ,

tween they are all comprised in thee daughter of JAHNU. Thou

; ,

art called she who promotes growth; among the gods thou art named
the lotos; able, wife of PRIT'HU, bird, body of the universe, wife of
S'IVA, nectar,female cherisher of science, cheerful, favouring worlds,
merciful, daughter of JAHNU, consoler, giver of consolation. Gangd,
who flows through the three worlds, will be near unto him who pro-
nounces these pure titles during his ablutions. "
When the ceremony is preferred in its full detail, the regular
prayer is a text of the Veda. "Thrice did VISHNU step, and at three
strides traversed the universe: happily was his foot placed on this

dusty earth. Be this oblation efficacious !" By this prayer is meant,

"may the earth thus taken up, purify me." Cow-dung is next em-
ployed, with a prayer importing, "Since I take up cow-dung, invok-
"
ing thereon the goddess of abundance may I obtain prosperity
,
!

The literal sense is this: "I here invoke that goddess of abundance,
who is the vehicle of smell, who is irresistible, ever white, present in
this cow-dung, mistress of all beings, greatest of elements, ruling
" Water is afterwards held
all the senses. up in the hollow of both
hands joined, while the prayer denominated from the regent of water
is
pronounced: "Because VARUNA, king of waters, spread a road
86 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

for the sun therefore do I follow that route. Oh he made that

,
!

road in untrodden space to receive the footsteps of the sun. It is

he who restrains the heart-rending wicked." The sense is, "VARUNA,
king of waters who curbs the wicked made an expanded road in
, ,

the ethereal region to receive the rays of the sun I therefore fol- ;

low that route. " Next, previous to swimming, a short prayer must
be meditated " Salutation to the regent of water past are the fet-
: !

ters of VARUNA." This is explained as importing, that the displea-

sure of VARUNA at a man's traversing the waters, which are his fetters,
is averted by salutation swimming is therefore preceded by this
:

address. The priest should next recite the invocation of holy rivers,
and thrice throw water on his head from the hollow of both hands
"
joined, repeating three several texts. 1st. Waters remove ! this
sin, whatever it be, which is in me whether I have done any thing
;

malicious towards others, or cursed them in my heart, or spoken

falsehoods." 2d. "Waters! mothers of worlds! purify us; cleanse
us by the sprinkled fluid ye who purify through libations ; for ye,
,

divine waters, do remove every sin.'' 3d. "As a tired man leaves
drops of sweat at the foot of a tree," &c. Again, swimming, and
making a circuit through the south, this prayer should be recited:
"May divine waters be auspicious to us for accumulation, for gain,
and for refreshing draughts may they listen to us, that we may be
:

associated with good auspices." Next reciting the following prayer,

"
the priest should thrice plunge into water consummation of :

solemn rites who dost purify when performed by the most grievous
!

offenders ; thou dost invite the basest criminals to purification ; thou

dost expiate the most heinous crimes. I atone for sins towards the
gods, by gratifying them with oblations and sacrifice ; I expiate sins
towards mortals, by employing mortal men to officiate at sacraments.
Therefore defend me from the pernicious sin of offending the gods."
Water must be next sipped with the prayer, "Lord of sacrifice,
"
thy heart is in the midst of the waters of the ocean &c., and the ,

invocation of holy rivers is again recited. The priest must thrice

throw up water with the three prayers "0 waters, since ye afford
:
,

delight," &c. and again, with the three subjoined prayers: 1st.
5

"May the Lord of thought purify me with an uncut blade of cusa

grass and with the rays of the sun. Lord of purity, may I obtain
that coveted innocence which is the wish of thee who art satisfied ,

by this" oblation of water ; and of me who am purified by"this holy

,

grass. 2d. "May the Lord of speech purify me," &c. 3d. May the
" &c.
resplendent sun purify me Thrice plunging into water,
,

the priest should as often repeat the grand expiatory text, of

which YA'JNYAWALCYA says, "It comprises the principles of
things, and the elements, the existence of the [chaotic] mass, the
production and destruction of worlds." This serves as a key to
explain the meaning of the text, which, being considered as the
 OF THE HINDUS. 87

essence of the Vedas, is most mysterious. The author before me

seems to undertake the explanation of it with great awe , and inti-

mates, that he has no other key to its meaning, nor the aid of earlier
commentaries. 'The Supreme Being alone existed: afterwards
there was universal darkness: next, the watery ocean was produced
by the diffusion of virtue then did the creator, lord of the universe,
:

rise out of the ocean , and successively frame the sun and moon,
which govern day and night, whence proceeds the revolution of
years; and after them he framed heaven and earth, the space be-
tween, and the celestial region.' The terms, with which the text
begins, both signify truth but are here explained as denoting the
;

supreme BRAHME, on the authority of a text quoted from the Veda:

"BRAHME is truth, the one immutable being. He is truth and ever-
'

lasting knowledge." 'During the period of general annihilation,

says the commentator, 'the Supreme Being alone existed. After-
wards, during that period, night was produced in other words, there
;

was universal darkness.' "This universe existed only in darkness,

imperceptible, undefinable, undiscoverable by reason, and undis-
covered by revelation, as if it were wholly immersed in sleep."
(MENU, ch. i. v. 5.) Next, when the creation began, the ocean was
produced by an unseen power universally diffused that is, the ele-
;

ment of water was first reproduced, as the means of the creation.

" He
first, with a thought, created the waters," &c. (MENU. ch. i. v.

8.) Then did the creator, who is lord of the universe, rise out of the
waters. '
The Lord
of the universe, annihilated by the general des-
truction revived with his own creation of the three worlds.' Hea-
,

ven is here explained the expanse of the sky above the region of
,

the stars. The celestial region is the middle world and heavens
above. The author before me has added numerous quotations on
the sublimity and efficacy of this text, which MENU compares with
the sacrifice of a horse, in respect of its power to obliterate sins.
After bathing, while he repeats this prayer, the priest should
again plunge into water, thrice repeating the text, "As a tired man
leaves drops of sweat at the foot of a tree," &c. Afterwards, to
atone for greater offences, he should meditate the Gdyatri, &c. during
three suppressions of breath. He must also recite it measure by
measure, hemistich by hemistich and, lastly, the entire text, with-
;

out any pause. As an expiation of the sin of eating with men of

very low tribes or of coveting or accepting what should not be re-
,

ceived, a man should plunge into water, at the same time reciting
a prayer which will be quoted on another occasion. One who has
drunk spirituous liquors should traverse Avater up to his throat, and
drink as much expressed juice of the moon-plant as he can take up
in the hollow of both hands, while he meditates the triliteral mo-

nosyllable, and then plunge into water, reciting the subjoined prayer:
"
0, RUDRA hurt not our offspring and descendants
!
; abridge not
SO ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

the period of our lives; destroy not our cows; kill not our horses;
slay not our proud and irritable folks; because, holding oblations,
we always pray to thee!"
Having finished his ablutions, and coming out of the water , put-
ting on his apparel after cleansing it, having washed his hands and
feet, and having sipped water, the priest sits down to worship in
the same mode which was directed after the early bath substituting,
;

however, the following prayer, in lieu of that which begins with

the words, "May the sun, sacrifice," &c., "May the waters purify
the earth, that she, being cleansed, may purify me. May the lord
of holy knowledge purify her, that she, being cleansed by holiness,
may purify me. May the waters free me from every defilement,
whatever be my uncleanness, whether I have eaten prohibited food,
done forbidden acts, or accepted the gifts of dishonest men." Another
difference between worship at noon and in the morning, consists in
standing before the sun with uplifted arms instead of joining the
hands in a hollow form. In all other respects the form of adoration
is similar.

Having concluded this ceremony, and walked in a round begin-

ning through the south, and saluted the sun, the priest may proceed
to study a portion of the Veda. Turning his face towards the east,
with his right hand towards the south and his left hand towards the
north, sitting down with cusa grass before him, holding two sacred
blades of grass on the tips of his left fingers and placing his right
,

hand thereon with the palm turned upwards, and having thus medi-
tated the Gdyatri, the priest should recite the proper text on com-
mencing the lecture, and read as much of the Vedas as may be prac-
ticable for him continuing the practice daily until he have read
;

through the whole of the Vedas, and then recommencing the course.
Prayer on beginning a lecture of the Rtgvc'da: "I praise the blaz-
ing fire, which is first placed at religious rites, which effects the
ceremony for the benefit of the votary, which performs the essential
part of the rite, which is the most liberal giver of gems."
On beginning a lecture of the Yajurveda: "I gather thee,
branch of the Veda, for the sake of rain I pluck thee for the sake
;

of strength. Calves ye are like unto air; (that is, as wind supplies
!

the world by means of rain, so do ye supply sacrifices by the milk-

ing of cows). May the luminous generator of worlds make you attain
success in the best of sacraments."
On beginning a lecture of the Sdmaveda: "Regent of fire, who
dost effect all religious ceremonies, approach to taste my offering,
thou who art praised for the sake of oblations. Sit down on this
"
grass.
The is repeated on commencing a lecture of the AC -
text which
has been already quoted on another occasion: "May divine
7zr?;<m>rf
waters be auspicious to us, " &c.
 OF THE HINDUS. 89

In this manner should a lecture of the Vedas, or of the Vedangas,

of the sacred poems and mythological history, of law, and other
branches of sacred literature, be conducted. The priest should next
proceed to offer barley tila and water to the manes. Turning his
, ,

face towards the east, wearing the sacrificial cord on his left shoulder,
he should sit down, and spread cusa grass before him, with the tips
pointing towards the east. Taking grains of barley in his right hand,
he should invoke the gods. "O, assembled gods! hear my call, sit
down on this grass. " Then throwing away some grains of barley,
and putting one hand over the he should pray in these words
other, :

"Gods! who reside in the ethereal region, in the world near us,
and in heaven above; ye, whose tongues are flame, and who save
all them who duly perform the sacraments hear my call ; sit down
,

on this grass, and be cheerful. " Spreading the cusa grass, the tips
of which must point towards the east, and placing his left hand
thereon and his right hand above the left, he must offer grains
of barley and water from the tips of his fingers (which are parts de-
dicated to the gods) , holding three straight blades of grass so that
the tips be towards his thumb, and repeating this prayer: "May the
gods be satisfied; may the holy verses, the scriptures, the devout
sages, the sacred poems, the teachers of them, and the celestial
quiristers, be satisfied; may other instructors, human beings, mi-
nutes of time moments instants measured by the twinkling of an
, ,

eye hours days fortnights months seasons and years with all
, , , , , , ,

their component parts, be satisfied herewith."* Next, wearing the

sacrificial thread round his neck and turning towards the north he ,

should offer #/, or grains of barley with water, from the middle of
his hand (which is a part dedicated to human beings) , holding in it
cusa grass, the middle of which must rest on the palm of his hand :

this oblation he presents on grass the tips of which are pointed

,

towards the north and with it he pronounces these words " May
;
:

SANACA be satisfied; may SANANDANA, SANA'TAN'A, CAPILA, A'SURI,

BOD'HU, and PARCHAS'IC'HA, be satisfied herewith." Placing the
thread on his right shoulder, and turning towards the south, he must
offer tila and water from the root of his thumb (which is a part sa-
cred to the progenitors of mankind), holding bent grass thereon:
this oblation he should present upon a vessel of rhinoceros' horn

placed on grass, the tips of which are pointed towards the south;
and with it he says, "May fire which receives oblations presented
to our forefathers, be satisfied herewith; may the moon, the judge
of departed souls, the sun, the progenitors who are purified by fire,
those who are named from their drinking the juice of the moon-plant,
and those who are denominated from sitting on holy grass, be satis-

* The verb is repeated with each term, the holy verses be satisfied;
"May
may the Vedas be satisfied," &c.
 ON TUB RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

fied herewith "! He must then make a similar oblation , saying,

"May NAKASARYA, PAWsARYA, SUCA, SA'CALYA, YA'jNYAWALCYA, JA'-
TUCARNA, SA'TYAYANA, A'PASTAMBA. BAUD'HAYANA, VA'CHACUTI, VAI-
JAVAPI, HUHU, LOCA'CSHI, MAITRA'YANI, and AINDRA'YANI, be satisfied
herewith." He afterwards offers three oblations of water mixed
with tila from the hollow of both hands joined, and this he repeats
fourteen times with the different titles of YAMA, which are considered
as fourteen distinct forms of the same deity. " Salutation to YAMA ;
salutation to DHERMARA'JA, or the king of duties; to death; to AN-
TACA, or the destroyer; to VAIVASWATA, or the child of the sun; to
time; to the slayer of all beings; to AUD'UMBARA, or YAMA, spring-
ing out of the racemiferous fig-tree to him who reduces all things
;

to ashes; to the dark-blue deity; to him who resides in the supreme

abode; to him whose belly is like that of a wolf; to the variegated

"
being; to the wonderful inflictor of pains. Taking up grains of tila,
and throwing them away, while he pronounces this address to fire:
"Eagerly we place and support thee eagerly we give thee fuel do
; ;

thou fondly invite the progenitors, who love thee, to taste this pious
oblation " let him invoke the progenitors of mankind in these
:

words: "May our progenitors, who are worthy of drinking the juice
of the moon-plant, and they who are purified by fire, approach us
through the paths which are travelled by gods; and, pleased with
the food presented at this sacrament, may they ask for more, and
" He should then offer a
preserve us from evil. triple oblation of
water with both hands, reciting the following text, and saying, "I
offer this lila and water to my father, such a one sprung from such
a family." He must offer similar oblations to his paternal grand-
father, and great-grandfather; and another set of similar oblations
to his maternal grandfather, and to the father and grandfather of
that ancestor: a similar oblation must be presented to his mother,
and single oblations to his paternal grandmother and great-grand-
mother: three more oblations are presented, each to three persons,
paternal uncle, brother, son, grandson, daughter's son, sonin-law,
maternal uncle, sister's son, father's sister's son, mother's sister, and
other relations. The text alluded to bears this meaning "Waters, be:

the food of our progenitors: satisfy my parents, ye who convey nou-

rishment, which is the drink of immortality, the fluid of libations,
the milky liquor, the confined and promised food of the manes."*
The ceremony may be concluded with three voluntary oblations:
the first presented like the oblations to deities, looking towards the
east, and with the sacrificial cord placed on his left shoulder; the
second like that offered to progenitors looking towards the south,
, ,

and with the string passed over his right shoulder. The prayers
which accompany these offerings are subjoined : 1st. "May the gods,

*
See a remark on this passage below, page 100, note.
 OF THE HINDUS. 91

demons, benevolent genii, huge serpents, heavenly quiristers, fierce

unmelodious guardians of the celestial
giants, blood-thirsty savages,
treasure, successful genii, spirits called Cushmdntla, trees, and all
animals which move in air or in water, which live on earth, and
feed abroad ; may all these quickly obtain contentment, through the
water presented by me. " 2nd. " To satisfy them who are detained
in all the hells and places of torment, this water is presented by me."
3d. "May those who are, and those who are not, of kin to me, and
those who were allied to me in a former existence, and all who
desire oblations of water from me, obtain perfect contentment." The
first text, which is taken from the Sdmaveda, differs a little from the

Yajurveda "Gods, benevolent genii, huge serpents, nymphs, demons,

:

wicked beings, snakes, birds of mighty wing, trees, giants, and all
who traverse the ethereal region, genii who cherish science, animals
that live in water or traverse the atmosphere , creatures that have
no abode, and all living animals which exist in sin or in the practice
of virtue; to satisfy them is this water presented by me." After-
wards the priest should wring his lower garment, pronouncing this
text: "May those who have been born in my family, and have died,
leaving no son nor kinsman bearing the same name, be contented
with [this water which I present by wringing it from my vesture."
Then placing his sacrificial cord on his left shoulder, sipping water,
and raising up his arms, let him contemplate the sun, reciting a
prayer inserted above: "He who travels the appointed path," &c.
The priest should afterwards present an oblation of water to the sun,
pronouncing the text of the Vishnu purdiia which has been already
cited, "Salutation to the sun," &c. He then concludes the whole
ceremony by worshipping the sun with a prayer above quoted :

"Thou art self-existent," &c. ; by making a through the south,

circuit
while he pronounces, "I follow the course of the sun ;" and by offer-
ing water from the hollow of his hand, while he salutes the regents
of space and other Deities; "Salutation to space; to the regents of
space, to BRAHMA, to the earth, to salutary herbs, to fire, to speech,
to the lord of speech, to the pervader, and to the mighty Deity."
 IV.

On the RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES of the HINDUS, and of the

BRAHMENS especially.

ESSAY II.

[From the Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 232 285. Calcutta, 1801. 4to.]

A FORMER essay on this subject* described the daily ablutions

performed with prayers and acts of religion by every Brahmen. His
next daily duty is the performance of the five great sacraments.
The first, consisting in the study of the Veda, has been already no-
ticed; the sacraments of the manes, of deities, and of spirits, slightly
touched upon in the first essay, will be made the subject of the pre-
sent one and the hospitable reception of guests will be followed
;

in the next by a description of the various ceremonies which must

be celebrated at different periods, from the birth to the marriage of
a Hindu.
The sacrament of deities consists in oblations to fire with prayers
addressed to various divinities and it is exclusive of the offerings
;

of perfumes and blossoms before idols. It does not fall within my

present plan to describe the manner in which the several sects of
Hindus** adore their gods, or the images of them and I shall there-
;

fore restrict myself to explain the oblations to fire, and then proceed
to describe funeral rites and commemorative obsequies, together
with the daily offerings of food and water, to the manes of ancestors.
I am guided by the author now before me*** in premising the

*
Ante, p. 76.
"*
See note A, at the end of the present Essay.
***
In the former essay my chief guide was HELAYUU'HA who has given
, ,

very perspicuous explanations of the mantras (or prayers used at religious

ceremonies) in several treatises, particularly in one entitled Brdhmann servasma.
In the present essay, I likewise use a ritual composed by BHAVADEVA for the
use of Sdmavedi priests, and a commentary on the mantras by GUNA VISHNU,
as also the Achdrachandricd (a treatise on religious ceremonies observed by
'Siidras , but including many of those performed by other classes), and the
Acltdrdderse, a treatise on daily duties.
 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES OP THE HINDUS. 93

ceremony of consecrating the fire ,

and of hallowing the sacrificial
implements ;
"because this ceremony is, as it were, the ground- work
of all religious acts."
First, the priest smears with cown-dung a level piece of ground
four cubits square, free from all impurities, and sheltered by a shed.
Having bathed and sipped water, he sits down with his face towards
the east, and places a vessel of water with cusa grass* on his left;
then dropping his right knee and resting on the span of his left
, ,

hand, he draws with a root of cusa grass a line, one span or twelve
fingers long, and directed towards the east. From the nearest extre-
mity of this line he draws another at right angles to it, twenty-one
fingers long, and directed towards the north. Upon this line he
draws three others, parallel to the first, .equal to it in length, and
distant seven fingers from each other. The first line is really, or
figuratively, made a yellow line, and is sacred to the earth; the
second is red, and sacred to fire; the third black, and sacred to
BRAHMA the creator; the fourth blue, and sacred to INDRA the regent
of the firmament; the fifth white, and sacred to SOMA. He next
gathers up the dust from the edges of these lines and throws it ,

away towards the north-east, saying, "What was [herein] bad, is

cast away:'' and he concludes by sprinkling water on the several
lines.

Having thus prepared the ground for the reception of the sacri-
he takes a lighted ember out of the covered vessel which
ficial fire,
contains the fire, and throws it away, saying, "I dismiss far away
carnivorous fire; to the realm of YAMA, bearing sin
may it go [hence]."
He then places the firebefore him saying "Earth Sky Heaven !"
, ,
! !

and adding, "this other [harmless] fire alone remains here; well
knowing [its office], may it convey my oblation to the Gods." He
then denominates the fire according to the purpose for which he pre-
pares it, saying, "Fire! thou art named so and so;" and he con-
cludes this part of the ceremony by silently burning a log of wood,
one span long and smeared with clarified butter.
He next proceeds to place the Brahma or superintending priest.
Upon very solemn occasions, a learned Brdhmana does actually dis-
charge the functions of superintending priest; but, in general, a
bundle containing fifty blades of cusa grass is placed to represent
the Brahma. The officiating priest takes up the vessel of water,
and walks round the fire keeping his right side tiirned towards it :

he then pours water near it, directing the stream towards the east;
he spreads cusa grass thereon ; and crossing his right knee over his
left without sitting down, he takes
up a single blade of grass be-
tween the thumb and ring finger of his left hand, and throws it away

* Poa Cynoauroideti) KOBNIO. On the new moon of Bhdiira, a sufficient quan-

tity of this sort of grass is provided for use during the whole year.
94 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

towards the south-west corner of the shed, saying, "What was herein
bad, is cast away." Next, touching the water, resting the sole of his

right foot on his left ankle, and sprinkling the grass with water, he
places the Brahma on it, saying, "Sit on [this] seat until [thy] fee
[be paid thee]." The officiating priest then returns by the samo.
road by which he went round the fire and sitting down again with
;

his face towards the east, names the earth inaudibly.

If any profane word have been spoken during the preceding cere-
mony, atonement must be now made by pronouncing this text:
"Thrice did VISHNU step, and at three strides traversed the universe :

happily was his foot placed on the dusty [earth]." The meaning is,
since the earth has been purified by the contact of VISHNU'S foot,
may she (the earth so purified) atone for any profane word spoken
during this ceremony.
If it be intended to make oblations of rice mixed with milk, curds,
and butter, this too is the proper time for mixing them; and the
priest afterwards proceeds to name the earth in the following prayer,
which he pronounces with downcast look, resting both hands on the
"
ground : We adore this earth this auspicious and most excellent
,

earth do thou
:
,
fire!resist [our] enemies. Thou dost take [on
thee] thepower [and office] of other [deities]."
With blades of cusa grass held in his right hand he must next
,

strew leaves of the same grass on three sides of the fire, arranging
them regularly, so that the tip of one row shall cover the roots of
the other. He begins with the eastern side, and at three times
strews grass there, to cover the whole space from north to south;
and in like manner distributes grass on the southern and western
sides. He then blesses the ten regions of space; and rising a little,

puts some wood* on the fire with a ladle-full of clarified butter, while
he meditates in silence on BRAHMA, the lord of creatures.
The priest then takes up two leaves of cusa grass, and with
another blade of the same grass cuts off the length of a span, saying,
"Pure leaves! be sacred to VISHNU;" and throws them into a vessel
of copper or other metal. Again he takes two leaves of grass, and
holding the tips between the thumb and ring finger of his right hand,
and the roots between the thumb and ring finger of his left, and
crossing his right hand over his left, he takes up clarified butter on
the curvature of the grass, and thus silently casts some into the fire
three several times. He then sprinkles both the leaves with water,
and throws them away. He afterwards sprinkles with water the
vessel containing clarified butter, and puts it on the fire, and takes
again, three times, and thus concludes the ceremony of hallow
-
it off

* The fuel used at sacrifices must be wood of the racemiferous

figtree,
the leafy Butea, or the Catechu Mimosa. It should seem, however, that the
prickly Adenanthera, or even the Mango, may be used. The wood is cut into
small logs, a span long, and not thicker than a man's fist.
 OF THE HINDUS. 95

ing the butter; during the course of which, while he holds the leaves
of grass in both hands, he recites this prayer: "May the divine ge-
nerator [VISHNU] purify thee by means of [this] faultless pure leaf;
and may the sun do so, by means of [his] rays of light: be this
"
oblation efficacious.
The priest must next hallow the wooden ladle by thrice turning
therein his fore-finger and thumb, describing with their tips the figure
of 7 in the inside and the figure of 9 on the outside of the bowl of
,

the ladle. Then dropping his right knee, he sprinkles water from
the palms of his hands on the whole southern side of the fire, from
west to east, saying, "ADITI! [mother of the Gods!] grant me thy
approbation." He does the same on the whole western side, from
south to north, saying, "ANUMATI!* grant me thy approbation ;" and
on the northern side, saying, SAKASWATI! grantme thy approbation."
And lastly he sprinkles water all round the fire, while he pronounces
this text, "Generous sun! approve this rite; approve the performer
of it, that he may share its reward. May the celestial luminary,
which purifies the intellectual soul, purify our minds. May the lord
of speech make our prayers acceptable."
Holding cusa grass in both hands he then recites an expiatory
,

prayer which will be inserted in another place ; and throwing

,

away the grass he thus finishes the hallowing of the sacrificial im-
,

plements: a ceremony which necessarily precedes all other reli-

gious rites.
He next makes oblations to fire with such ceremonies and in
, ,

such form as are adapted to the religioiis rite which is intended to

be subsequently performed. The sacrifice, with the three mysterious
words usually precedes and follows the particular sacrifice which
,

is suited to the occasion

; being most generally practised, it will be
the most proper specimen of the form in which oblations are made.
Having silently burnt a log of wood smeared with clarified butter,
the priest makes three oblations , by pouring each time a ladle-full
of butter on the fire, saying, "Earth! be this oblation efficacious:"
"
Sky be this
! oblation efficacious " " Heaven be this oblation
: !

"
efficacious. On some occasions he makes a fourth offering in a
similar mode, saying , "Earth ! Sky Heaven ! be this oblation effi-
!

cacious." If it be requisite to offer a mixture of rice, milk, curds,

and butter, this is now done; and the oblations, accompanied with
the names of the three worlds, are repeated.
As another instance of oblations to fire the ,
sacrifice to the
nine planets may deserve notice. This consists of nine oblations of
clarified butter with the following prayers:
1. "The divine sun approaches with his golden car, returning
alternately with the shades of night, rousing mortal and immortal

* The moon wanting a digit of full.

96 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

beings, and surveying worlds May this oblation to the solar planet
:

be efficacious. "
" Gods
2. produce that [Moon] which has no foe which is the
!
;

son of the solar orb, and became the offspring of space, for the bene-
fit of this world;*
produce it for the advancement of knowledge,
for protection from danger, for vast supremacy, for empire, and for
the sake of INDRA'S organs of sense: May this oblation to the lunar
"
planet be efficacious.
3. "This gem of the sky, whose head resembles fire, is the lord
of waters, and replenishes the seeds of the earth: May this oblation
to the planet Mars be efficacious."
4. "Be roused, fire and thou !
, [0 BUD'IIA !] perfect this sacri-
ficial rite and associate with us
, ;
let this votary and all the Gods
sit in this most excellent this oblation to the planet
"
assembly :
May
Mercury be efficacious.
5. "O VRIHASPATI, sprung from eternal truth, confer on us abund-

antly that various wealth which the most venerable of beings may
revere; which shines gloriously amongst all people; which serves
to defray sacrifices; which is preserved by strength :
May this obla-
tion to the planet Jupiter be efficacious."
6. "The lord of creatures drank the invigorating essence distilled
from food; he drank milk and the juice of the moon-plant. By means
of scripture, which is truth itself, this beverage, thus quaffed, became
a prolific essence, the eternal organ of universal perception, INDRA'S
organs of sense the milk of immortality and honey to the manes
, ,

of ancestors May this oblation to the planet Venus be efficacious."

:

"
7. May divine waters be auspicious to us for accumulation for ,

gain, and for refreshing draughts; may they listen to us, that we
may be associated with good auspices May this oblation to the
:

"
planet Saturn be efficacious.
8. "0 **
which dost germinate at every knot, at every
DURVA',
joint, multiply us through a hundred, through a thousand descents:
May this oblation to the planet of the ascending node be efficacious."
9. "Be thou produced by dwellers in this world, to give know-

ledge to ignorant mortals, and wealth to the indigent, or beauty to

the ugly: May this oblation to the planet of the descending node
be efficacious."
I now proceed to the promised description of funeral rites, abriclg-

*
According to one legend, a ray of the sun, called sushwtma, became the
moon according to another, a flash of light from the eye of ATRI WHS received
;

by space, a goddess; she conceived and bore SOMA, who is therefore called
a son of ATRI. This legend may be found in the Hurivmtsa. CALIDASA alludes
to it in the Ragliuvama, (b. 2. v. 75,) comparing srDAcsiiiNA, when she con-
ceived RAGHU, to the via lactea receiving the luminary which sprung from the
eye of ATRI.
**
Agrostis linearis. KOINIG.
 OP THE HINDUS. 97

ing the detail of ceremonies as delivered in rituals omitting local

,

variations noticed by authors who have treated of this subject, and

-commonly neglecting the superstitious reasons given by them for
the very numerous ceremonies which they direct to be performed
in honour of persons
recently deceased or of ancestors long since
,

defunct.
A dying man, when no hopes of his surviving remain should be ,

laid upon a bed of cusa grass either in the house or out of it, if he
,

be a 'Sudra but in the open air if he belong to another tribe. When

y

he is at the point of death, donations of cattle, land, gold, silver, or

other things, according to his ability, should be made by him; or
if he be too weak,
by another person in his name. His head should
be sprinkled with water drawn from the Ganges and smeared with
,

*
clay brought from the same river. A sdlagrdma stone ought to be
placed near the dying man; holy strains from the Veda or from
sacred poems should be repeated aloud in his ears, and leaves of
holy basil must be scattered over his head.
When he expires, the corpse must be washed, perfumed, and
decked with wreaths of flowers; a bit of tutanag, another of gold,
a gem of any sort, and a piece of coral, should be put into the
mouth of the corpse and bits of gold in both nostrils both eyes,
, ,

and both ears. A cloth perfumed with fragrant oil must be thrown
over the corpse, which the nearest relations of the deceased must
then carry with modest deportment to some holy spot in the forest,
or near water. The corpse must be preceded by fire and by food
,

carried in an unbaked earthen vessel; and rituals direct, that it

shall be accompanied by music of all sorts, drums, cymbals, and
wind and stringed instruments. This practice seems to be now dis-
used in most provinces of Hindustan but the necessity of throwing
;

a cloth over the corpse, however poor the relations of the deceased
may be, is enforced by the strictest injunctions it is generally the
:

perquisite of the priest who officiates at the funeral.**

The corpse is carried out by the southern gate of the town, if the
* The
sdlagrdmas are black stones found in a part of the GanHaci river,
within the limits of Nepal. They are mostly round, and are commonly per-
forated in one or more places by worms, or, as the Hindus believe, by visHxr
in the shape of a reptile.
According to the number of perforations and of
spiral curves in each the stone is supposed to contain VISHNU in various
,

characters. For example, such a stone perforated in one place only, with
four spiral curves in the perforation , and with marks resembling a cow's
foot, and a long wreath of flowers, contains LACSHMI NA'RAYANA. In like
manner stones are found in iheNermadd, ne&r'Oncdrmdnddttd, which are con-
sidered as types of SIVA and are called Ban-ling. The sdlagrdma is found
,

upon trial not to be calcareous it strikes fire with steel, and scarcely at all
:

effervesces with acids.

**
In most parts of India the priests who officiate at funerals are held in
disesteem ; they are distinguished by various appellations, as Mahukrdhmen.
&c. See Digest of Hindu Law, vol. ii, p. 175. (Octavo edit. vol. ii, p. 01.)
98 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

deceased were a 'Siidra:

by the western, if he were & Brdhmatia :

by the northern, if he belonged to the military class; and by the

eastern portal if he sprung from the mercantile tribe. Should the
,

road pass through any inhabited place a circuit must be made to

,

avoid it; and when the procession has reached its destination, after
once halting by the way, the corpse must be gently laid, with the
head towards the south, on a bed ofcusa, the tips whereof are
pointed southward. The sons or other relations of the deceased
having bathed in their clothes, must next prepare the funeral pile
with a sufficient quantity of fuel, on a clean spot of ground, after
marking lines thereon to consecrate it, in a mode similar to that
which is practised in preparing a fire for sacrifices and oblations.
They must afterwards wash the corpse, meditating on Gayd and
other sacred places, holy mountains, the field of the GURUS the ,

rivers Gangd, Yamuna, Chandrabhdgd, Bhadrdvacdsd, Gandaci,

Causici,
Sdrayu, and Nermadd ; Vainava, Vardha, and Pinddraca, and all other
holy places on the face of the earth, as well as the four oceans
themselves.
Some of these ceremonies are only observed at the obsequies
of a priest who maintained a consecrated fire his funeral pile must
;

be lighted from that fire but at the obsequies of other persons, the
:

carrying of food to be left by the way, and the consecration of the

spot whereon the funeral pile is raised must be omitted and any
, ,

unpolluted fire may be used: it is only necessary to avoid taking

it from another funeral
pile, or from the abode of an outcast, of a
man belonging .to the tribe of executioners of a woman who has
,

lately borne a child, or of any person who is unclean.

After washing the corpse clothing it in clean apparel, and rub-
,

bing it with perfumes, such as sandal-wood, saffron, or aloe wood,

the relations of the deceased place the corpse supine with its head
towards the north (or resupine, if it be the body of a woman), on the
funeral pile, which is previously decorated with strung and unstrung
flowers. A cloth must be thrown over it, and a relation of the de-
ceased taking up a lighted brand, must invoke the holy places above-
mentioned, and say, "May the Gods with flaming mouths burn this
" He then walks thrice round the
corpse !
pile with his right hand
towards it, and shifts the sacrificial cord to his right shoulder. Then
looking towards the south, and dropping his left knee to the ground,
he applies the fire to the pile near the head of the corpse saying,
,

"Namu! unmak!" while the attending priests recite the following

prayer: "Fire! thou wert lighted by him niay he therefore, be
reproduced from thee that he may attain the region of celestial
bliss. May this offering be auspicious." This, it may be remarked,

supposes the funeral pile to be lighted from the sacrificial fire kept
up by the deceased; the same prayer is, however, used at the
funeral of a man who had no consecrated hearth.
 OF THE HINDUS. 99

The fire must be so managed that some bones may remain for the
subsequent ceremony of gathering the ashes. While the pile is
burning, the relations of the deceased take up seven pieces of wood
a span long, and cut them severally with an axe over the fire-brands
(after walking each time round the funeral pile) and then throw
,

the pieces over their shoulders upon the fire, saying, "Salutation
to thee-who dost consume flesh."
The body of a young child under two years old must not be burnt,
but buried. It is decked with wreaths of fragrant flowers, and carried
"
out by the relations, who bury it in a clean spot, saying, Namo!
namah!" while a priest chants the song of YAMA: "The offspring of
the sun, day after day fetching cows, horses, human beings, and
cattle, is no more satiated therewith than a drunkard with wine."
When funeral rites are performed for a person who died in a
foreign country, or whose bones cannot be found, a figure is made
with three hundred and sixty leaves of the Butea, or as many woollen
threads, distributed so as to represent the several parts of the human
body according to a fancied analogy of numbers round the whole
;

must be tied a thong of leather from the hide of a black antelope,

and over that a woollen thread; it is then smeared with barley-meal
mixed with water, and must be burnt as an emblem of the corpse.
After the body of the deceased has been burnt in the mode above
mentioned all who have touched or followed the corpse must walk
,

round the pile, keeping their left hands towards it, and taking care
not to look at the fire. They then walk in procession, according to
seniority, to a river or other running water, and after washing and
again putting on their apparel, they advance into the stream. They
then ask the deceased's brother-in-law, or some other person able
to give the proper answer, "Shall we present water?" If the de-
ceased were a hundred years old the answer must be simply, "Do
,

so:" but if he were not so aged, the reply is, "Do so, but do not
repeat the oblation." Upon this, they all shift the sacerdotal string
to the right shoulder, and looking towards the south, and being clad
in a single garment without a mantle, they stir the water with the
" With the
ring-finger of the left hand, saying, "Waters, purify us.
same finger of the right hand they throw up some water towards
the south, and after plunging once under the surface of the river,
they rub themselves with their hands. An oblation of water must
be next presented from the joined palms of the hands, naming the
deceased and the family from which he sprung, and saying, "May
this oblation reach thee." If it be intended to show particular honour
to the deceased, three offerings of water may be thus made.
After finishing the usual libations of water to satisfy the manes
of the deceased they quit the river and shift their wet clothes for
,

other apparel they then sip water without swallowing it, and sitting
;

down on the soft turf, alleviate their sorrow by the recital of the
7*
 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

following or other suitable moral sentences refraining at the same

,

time from tears and lamentation.

1. "Foolish is he who seeks permanence in the human state, un-

solid like the stem of the plantain tree, transient like the foam of
the sea."
2. "When a body, formed of five elements to receive the reward
of deeds done in its own former person reverts to its five original
,

principles, what room is there for regret?"

3. "The earth is perishable; the ocean, the Gods themselves

pass away: how should not that bubble, mortal man, meet des-
truction?"
4- "All that is low must finally perish; all that is elevated must

ultimately fall; all compound bodies must end in dissolution, and

"
life is concluded with death.
5. "Unwillingly do the manes of the deceased taste the tears and
rheum shed by their kinsmen; then do not wail, but diligently per-
form the obsequies of the dead."*
At night, if the corpse were burnt by day or in the day time, if
;

the ceremony were not completed until night; or in case of exigency,

whenever the priest approves the nearest relation of the deceased
,

takes up water in a new earthen jar and returns to the town pre-
,

ceded by a person bearing a staff, ** and attended by the rest walk-

v

ing in procession, and led by the youngest. Going to the door of

his own house, or to a place of worship, or to some spot near water,
he prepares the ground for the oblation of a funeral cake, by raising
a small altar of earth and marking lines on it as is practised for
,

other oblations. Then, taking a brush of cusa grass in his right hand,
he washes therewith the ground, over which cusa grass is spread,
saying, "Such a one! (naming the deceased, and the family from
which he sprung) may this oblation be acceptable to thee." Next,
***
making a ball of three handfuls of boiled rice mixed with lila ,

fruits of various sorts, honey, milk, butter, and similar things, such
as sugar, roots, pot herbs, &c. (or if that be impracticable with lila ,

at least),he presents it on the spot he had purified, naming the de-

ceased, and saying, "May this first funeral cake, which shall restore
thy head, be acceptable to thee." Again purifying the spot in. the
same manner as before, and with the same words addressed to the
deceased, he silently puts fragrant flowers, resin, alighted lamp,
betel-leaves, and similar things, on the funeral cake, and then pre-
sents a woollen yarn, naming the deceased, and saying, "May this
apparel, made of woollen yarn, be acceptable to thee." He next

* The recital of these verses is specially directed by YAJNYAWAT.CYA, B 3.

v. 7, &c.
**
The purpose of his carrying a staff is to scare evil spirits and ghosts.
**
Sesamwn fndicum, LINN.
 OF THE HINDUS. 101

offers an earthen vessel full of tila and water near the funeral cake,
and says, "May this vessel of tila and water be acceptable to thee."
It is customary to set apart on a leaf some food for the crows,
after which the cake and other things which have been offered must
be thrown into the water. This part of the ceremony is then con-
cluded by wiping the ground, and offering thereon a lamp, water,
and wreaths of flowers, naming the deceased with each oblation,
and saying, "May this be acceptable to thee."
In the evening of the same day, water and milk must be suspended
in earthen vessels before the door, in honour of the deceased, with
this address to him, "Such a one deceased bathe here drink this:"
!
;

and the same ceremony may be repeated every evening until the
period of mourning expire.
When the persons who attended the funeral return home and
approach the house-door (before the ceremony of suspending water
and milk, but after the other rites above-mentioned), they each
bite three leaves ofnimba* between their teeth, sip water, and touch
a branch of samt** with their right hands, while the priest say?,
"May the garni tree atone for sins." Each mourner then touches
fire, while the priest says, "May fire grant us happiness;" and stand-

ing between a bull and a goat touches both those animals while
,

the priest recites an appropriate prayer. *** Then , after touching

the tip of a blade of durvd grass, a piece of coral, .some clarified
butter, water, cow-dnng, and white mustard -seed, or rubbing his
head and limbs with the butter and mustard seed, each man stands
on a stone, while the priest says for him "May I be firm like this
,

stone " and thus he enters his house.

;

During ten days, funeral cakes, together with libations of water

and tila, must be offered as on the first day; augmenting, however,
the number each time, so that ten cakes, and as many libations of
water and /7, be offered on the tenth day; and with this further
difference, that the address varies each time. On the second day
the prayer is, "May this second cake which shall restore thy ears,
,

eyes, and nose, be acceptable;" on the third day, "this third cake,
which shall restore thy throat, arms, and breast;" on the fourth,
"thy navel and organs of excretion;" on the fifth, "thy knees, legs,
and feet;" on the sixth, "all thy vitals;" on the seventh, "all thy
veins;" on the eighth, "thy teeth, nails, and hair;" on the ninth,
"thy manly strength-," on the tenth, "May this tenth cake, which
shall fully satisfy the hunger and thirst of thy renewed body, be
acceptable to thee." During this period, a pebble wrapt up in a
fragment of the deceased's shroud is worn by the heir supended on
* Melia
Azadirachta, LINN.
** Adenanthera
aculeuta, or Prosopis aculeala.
*** I must for the
present omit it, because it is not exhibited at full length
in any work I have yet consulted.
102 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

his neck. To that pebble, as a type of the deceased, the funeral

cakes are offered. The same vessel in which the first oblation was
made must be used throughout the period of mourning; this vessel,
therefore, is also carried by the heir in the fragment of the shroud.
He uses that slip of cloth taken from the winding-sheet as a sacri-
ficialcord, and makes the oblations every day on the same spot;
should either the vessel or the pebble be lost by any accident the ,

offerings must be recommenced.

If the mourning last three days only ten funeral cakes must be
,

nevertheless offered, three on the first and third days, and four on
the second ; if it lasts no more than one day, the ten oblations must
be made at once.
All the kinsmen of the deceased, within the sixth degree of con-
sanguinity, should fast for three days and nights, or one at the least ;
however, if that be impracticable, they may eat a single meal at
night, purchasing the food ready prepared, but on no account pre-
paring victuals at home. So long as the mourning lasts, the nearest
relations of the deceased must not exceed one daily rneal, nor eat
fleshmeat, nor any food seasoned with factitious salt; they must
use a plate made of the leaves of any tree but the plantain, or else-
take their food from the hands of some other persons; they must
not handle a knife, or any other implement made of iron, nor sleep
upon a bedstead nor adorn their persons , but remain squalid and
, ,

refrain from perfumes and other gratifications; they must likewise

omit the daily ceremonies of ablution and divine worship. On the
third and fifth days, as also on the seventh and ninth, the kinsmen
assemble, bathe in the open air, offer lila and water to the deceased,
and take a repast together; they place lamps at cross roads, and
in their own houses, and likewise on the way to the cemetery, and

they observe vigils in honour of the deceased.

On the last day of mourning, or earlier in those countries where
the obsequies are expedited on the second or third day, the nearest
kinsman of the deceased gathers his ashes after offering a srddcVha
singly for him.
In the first place, the kinsman smears with cow-dung the spot
where the oblation is to be presented and after washing his hands
;

and feet, sipping Avater, and taking up cusa grass in his hand, he sits
down on a cushion pointed towards the south and placed upon a
blade of cusa grass, the tip of which must also point towards the
south. He then places near him a bundle of cusa grass, consecrated
by pronouncing the \vordinamah! or else prepares a fire for oblations;
then lighting a lamp with clarified butter or with oil of sesamum,
and arranging the food and other things intended to be offered, he
must sprinkle himself with water, meditating on VISHNU surnamed
the lotos-eyed, or revolving in his mind this verse, " Whether pure
or defiled or wherever he may have gone he who remembers the
, ,
 OF THE HINDUS. 103

being whose eyes are like the lotos, shall be pure externally and
internally." Shifting the sacerdotal cord on his right shoulder, he
takes up a brush of cusa grass, and presents water together with tila
and with blossoms, naming the deceased and the family from which
he sprung, and saying, "May this water for ablutions be acceptable
"
to thee. Then saying, "May this be right ," he pronounces a vow
or solemn declaration. "This day I will offer on a bundle of cusa
grass (or, if such be the custom, "on fire") a srddiTha for a single
person, with unboiled food, together with clarified butter and with
water, preparatory to the gathering of the bones of such a one de-
ceased." The priests answering "do so," he says "namo! namah!"
while the priests meditate the Gdyatri, and thrice repeat, "Salutation
to the Gods, to the manes of ancestors, and to mighty saints ; to
SWAHA [goddess of fire] ; to SrvacVhd [the food of the manes] salu-
:

tation unto them for eyer and ever."

He then presents a cushion made of cusa grass, naming the
deceased, and saying, "May this be acceptable unto thee;" and
afterwards distributes meal of sesamum, while the priests recite,
"May the demons and fierce giants that sit on this consecrated
spot be dispersed: and the bloodthirsty savages that inhabit the
earth, may they go to any other place to which their inclinations
may lead them."
Placing an oval vessel with its narrowest end towards the south,
he takes up two blades of grass, and breaking off a span's length,
throws them into the vessel; and after sprinkling them with water,
makes a libation, while the priests say, "May divine waters be
auspicious to us for accumulation, for gain, and for refreshing
draughts; may they listen to us, and grant that we may be asso-
ciated with good auspices." He then throws in tila, while the
priests say, "Thou art ft/a, sacred to SOMA; framed by the divinity,
thou dost produce celestial bliss [for him that makes oblations] ;
mixed with water, mayest thou long satisfy our ancestors with the
food of the manes: be this oblation efficacious." He afterwards
silently casts into the vessel perfumes, flowers, and diirvd grass.
Then taking up the vessel with his left hand, putting two blades
of grass on the cushion with their tips pointed to the north, he
must pour the water from the argha thereon. The priests meantime
recite, "The waters in heaven, in the atmosphere, and on the
earth, have been united [by their sweetness] with milk: may those
silver waters worthy of oblation be auspicious salutary and ex-
, , , ,

hilarating to us ; and be happily offered may this oblation be effi-

:

"
cacious." He adds. "namah t and pours out the water, naming the
deceased, and saying, "May this argha be acceptable unto thee."
Then oversetting the vessel, and arranging in due order the unboiled
rice, condiments, clarified butter, and other requisites, he scatters
tila, while the priests recite, "Thrice did VISHKU step," &c. He
104 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

next offers the rice, clarified butter, water, and condiments, while
he touches the vessel with his left hand, and names the deceased,
saying, "May this raw food, with clarified butter and condiments,
together with water, be acceptable unto thee." After the priests
have repeated the Gdyatrt, preceded by the names of the worlds,
he pours honey or sugar upon the rice, while they recite this prayer :

"May the winds blow sweet, the rivers flow sweet, and salutary
herbs be sweet, unto us; may night be sweet, may the mornings
pass sweetly; may the soil of the earth, and heaven, parent [of all
productions] be sweet unto us; may [SOMA] king of herbs and trees
,

be sweet; may the sun be sweet, may kine be sweet unto' us." He
'

then says, "Namo! namah!' while the priests recite, "Whatever

1 1

may be deficient in this food, whatever may be imperfect in this

rite whatever may be wanting in its form may all that become
, ,

faultless."
He should then feed the Brdhmanas whom he has assembled,
either silently distributing food among them, or adding a respectful
invitation to them to eat. When he has given them water to rince
their he may consider the deceased as fed through
mouths,
their intervention. The priests again recite the Gdyalri and the
prayer, "May the winds blow sweet," &c. and add the subjoined
,

prayers, which should be followed by the music of flagelets, lutes,

drums &c. ,

1. "The embodied spirit, which hath a thousand heads, a

thousand eyes, a thousand feet, stands in the human breast, while
he totally pervades the earth." 2. "That being is this universe,
and all that has been or will be he is that which grows by nourish-
;

ment, and he is the distributor of immortality." 3. "Such is his

greatness; and therefore is he the most excellent embodied spirit:
the elements of the universe are one portion of him and three ;

portions of him are immortality in heaven." 4. "That threefold

being rose above [this world]; and the single portion of him
remained in this universe, which consists of what does, and what
does not, taste [the reward of good and bad actions]: again he
pervaded the universe." 5. "From him sprung VIRAJ*; from whom
[the first] man was produced and he being successively repro-
:
,

duced, peopled the earth." 6. "From that single portion, surnamed

the universal sacrifice was the holy oblation of butter and curds
,

produced; and this did frame all cattle, wild or domestic, which
are governed by instinct." 7- "From that universal sacrifice were

produced the strains of the Rich and Sdman; from him the sacred
metres sprung; from him did the Yajush proceed." 8. "From him
were produced horses and all beasts that have two rows of teeth ;

from him sprung cows; from him proceeded goats and sheep."

* See translation of
MENU, Ch. i. v. 32.
 OP THE HINDUS. 105

9. "Him the Gods, the demigods named Sdffhya, and the holy sages,
consecrated* as a victim on sacred grass; and thus performed a
solemn act of religion." 10. "Into how many portions did they
divide this being whom they immolated? what did his mouth be-
come? what are his arms, his thighs, and his feet now called?"
11. "His mouth became a priest; his arm was made a soldier; his

thigh was transformed into a husbandman from his feet sprung

;

the servile man." 12. "The moon was produced from his mind; the
sun sprung from his eye; air and breath proceeded from his ear;
and fire rose from his mouth." 13. "The subtile element was pro-
dnced from his navel; the sky from his head; the earth from his
feet; and space from his ear: thus did he frame worlds." 14. "In
that solemn sacrifice which the Gods performed with him as a
victim, spring was the butter, summer the fuel, and sultry weather
the oblation." 15. "Seven were the moats [surrounding the altar];
thrice seven were the logs of holy fuel at that sacrifice which the
;

Gods performed, binding this being as the victim." 19. "By that
sacrifice the Gods worshipped this victim such were primeval du-
:

ties; and thus did they attain heaven, where former Gods and
mighty demigods abide."**
Next spreading cum grass near the fragments of the repast, and
taking some unboiled rice with iila and clarified butter, he must
distribute it on the grass, while the priests recite for him these

prayers "May those in my family who have been burnt by fire , or

:

who are alive and yet unburnt, be satisfied with this food presented
on the ground and proceed contented towards the supreme path
,

[of eternal bliss]. May those who have no father nor mother, nor
kinsman, nor food, nor supply of nourishment, be contented with
this food offered on the ground, and attain, like it, a happy abode."
He then gives the Brdhmanas water to rince their mouths; and the
priests once more recite the Gdyalri and the prayer, "May the winds
blow sweet," &c.
Then taking in his left hand another vessel containing tilu blos-
soms and water, and in his right a brush made of CUM grass, he
sprinkles water over the grass spread on the consecrated spot,
naming the deceased, and saying, "May this ablution be acceptable
to thee:" he afterwards takes a cake or ball of food mixed with
clarified butter, and presents it, saying, "May this cake be ac-

ceptable to thee;" and deals out the food with this prayer: "An-
cestors, rejoice; take your respective shares, and be strong as

*
;" but the commentator says, "consecrated.'
"immolated 1
Literally,
** I think
unnecessary to quote from the commentary the explanation
it
of this curious passage of the f^eila as it is there given because it does not
,

really elucidate the sense; the allegory is, for the most part, sufficiently ob-
vious. Other prayers may be also recited on the same occasion: it would be
tqdious to insert them all in this place.
106 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

bulls." Thou walking round by the left to the northern side of the
consecrated spot, and meditating, "Ancestors be glad; take your
respective shares and be strong as bulls," he returns by the same
road, and again sprinkles water on the ground to wash the oblation,
saying, "May this ablution be acceptable to thee."
Next, touching his hip with his elbow, or else his right side,
and having sipped water he must make six libations of water with
,

the hollow palms of his hand saying ,

"Salutation unto thee
, ,

deceased, and unto the saddening [hot] season ; salutation unto thee,
deceased, and unto the month of tapas [or dewy season]; salu-
tation unto thee ,
deceased , unto that [season] which abounds
with water; salutation unto thee, deceased, and to the nectar
[of blossoms] ;
salutation unto thee deceased , and to the terrible
,

and angry [season]; salutation unto thee, deceased, and to fe-

male fire [or the sultry season]."*
He next offers a thread on the funeral cake, holding the wet
brush in his hand, naming the deceased, and saying, "May this
raiment be acceptable to thee;" the priests add, "Fathers, this
apparel is offered unto you." He then silently strews perfumes,
blossoms resin and betelleaves on the funeral cake and places
, , ,

a lighted lamp on it. He sprinkles water on the bundle of grass,

saying, "May the waters be auspicious;" and offers rice, adding,
"May the blossoms be sweet, may the rice be harmless;" and then
pours water on it, naming the deceased, and saying, "May this
food and drink be acceptable unto thee." In the next place he
strews grass over the funeral cake and sprinkles water on it, reciting
this prayer, "Waters! ye are the food of our progenitors ; satisfy
my parents, ye who convey nourishment, which is ambrosia, butter,
milk, cattle, and distilled liquor."** Lastly, he smells some of the
food, and poises in his hand the funeral cakes, saying, "May this
ball be wholesome food; " and concludes by paying the officiating
priest his fee, with a formal declaration, "I do give this fee (con-
sisting of so much money) to such a one (a priest sprung from such
a family, and who uses such a Veda and such a sac' ha of it), for
the purpose of fully completing, the obsequies this clay performed
by me in honour of one person singly, preparatory to the gathering
of the bones of such a one, deceased."

* See note
B, at the end of the present Essay.
** The former translation of this text
(in the first Essay on the Religious
Ceremonies of the Hindus , ante p. 90) was erroneous in several places; and
,

1 still am not perfectly confident that I rightly understand it. The term
(cildla) which the commentator explains as signifying cattle, literally
means
"fit to be tied to a pole or stake." The reading of the next term was errone-
ous. I read and translated parisruta for paiisruta; "promised" instead of
"distilled." The commentator explains it as signifying the nourishment of
progenitors.
 OF THE HINDUS. 107

After the priest has thrice said, "Salutation to the Gods to pro- ,

genitors, to mighty saints," &c., he dismisses him; lights a lamp in

honour of the deceased ; meditates on HERI with undiverted atten-
tion; casts the food and other things used at the obsequies into
the fire; and then proceeds to the cemetery for the purpose of gather-
ing the ashes of the deceased.
Theson or nearest relation of the defunct, accompanied by his
kinsmen, and clothed in clean apparel, repairs to the cemetery,

carrying eight vessels filled with various flowers, roots, and similar
things. When arrived there, he does honour to the place by pre-
senting an argfia, with perfumes, blossoms, fragrant resins, a
lamp &c. Some of his kinsmen invoke the deities of the cemetery,
,

when the argha is presented; others, when flowers are offered;

others again when food fragrant resins , a lighted lamp water,
, , ,

wreaths of flowers,, and rice are offered, saying, "Salutation to the

deities whose mouths are devouring fire." He advances to the
northern gate* or extremity of the funeral pile, sits down there,
and presents two vessels as an oblation to spirits, with this prayer,
"May the adorable and eternal Gods, who are present in this ce-
metery, accept from us this eight-fold unperishable oblation: may
they convey the deceased to pleasing and eternal abodes, and
grant to us life health , and perfect ease. This eight-fold oblation
,

is offered to SIVA and other deities: salutation unto them." Then

walking round the spot with his right side towards it, he succes-
sively places two other vessels , containing eight different things,
at each of three other gates or sides of the enclosure which sur-
rounds the funeral pile and he presents these oblations with the
;

same formality as before sprinkles them with milk and adds, "May
, ,

SIVA and the other deities depart to their respective abodes." He

then shifts the sacerdotal string to his right shoulder, turns his face
towards the south, silently sprinkles the bones and ashes with cow's
milk, and, using a branch of s ami and another of paldsa** instead
of tongs, first draws out from the ashes the bones of the head and ,

afterwards the other bones successively sprinkles them with per-

,

fumed liquids and with clarified butter made of cow's milk, and
puts them into a casket made of the leaves of the paldsa: this he
places in a new earthen vessel, covers it with a lid, and ties it up
with thread. Choosing some clean spot where encroachments of
the river are not to be apprehended, he digs a very deep hole, and
spreads ctisn grass at the bottom of it, and over the grass a piece of
yellow cloth; he places thereon the earthen vessel containing the
bones of the deceased covers it with a lump of mud together with
, ,

* The
practice of enclosing the funeral pile with temporary walls is almost
universally disused.
** Butea and superba, HOXB.
frondos't, LINN. ;
.
108 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

thorns, moss and mud, and plants a tree in the excavation, or raises
a mound of masonry, or makes a pond, or erects a standard.
He ,
and the rest of the kinsmen then bathe in their clothes. At a
,

subsequent time, the son or other near relation fills up the excava-
tion and levels the ground; he throws the ashes of the funeral pile
into the water, cleans the spot with cow-dung and water, pre-
sents oblation to SIVA and other deities in the manner beforernen-
tioned, dismisses those deities, and casts the oblation into water.
To cover the spot where the funeral pile stood, a tree should be
planted, or a mound of masonry be raised, or a pond be dug, or a
standard be erected.* Again, at a subsequent time the son or, ,

other near relation carries the bones which were so buried to the
, , ,

river Ganges: he bathes there, rubs the vessel with the five pro-
ductions of kine, puts gold, honey, clarified butter and tila on the
vessel, and looking towards the south, and advancing into the
river, with these words, "Be there salutation unto justice," throws
the vessel into the waters of the Ganges, saying, "May he (the
deceased) be pleased with me." Again bathing, he stands upright,
and contemplates the sun then sipping water and taking up cusa
; ,

grass, and water, pays the priests their fees.

tila,
So long as mourning lasts after gathering the ashes, the near
relations of the deceased continue to offer water with the same for-
malities and prayers as abovementioned, and to refrain from facti?

*
This does not appear to be very universally practised but a monument
;

is always erected on the spot where a woman has burnt herself with her hus-
band's corpse, or where any person has died a legal voluntary death. A mau-
soleum is, however, often built in honour of a Hindu prince or noble; it is
called in the Hindustani language, a ch'hetri; and the practice of consecrat-
ing a temple in honour of the deceased is still more common, especially in
the centrical parts of India. I shall take some future occasion to resume a
subject alluded to in this note but in the mean time it may be fit to remark,
;

that legal suicide was formerly common among the Hindus, and- is not now
very rare, although instances of men's burning themselves have not perhaps
lately occurred so often as their drowning themselves in holy rivers. The blind
father and mother of the young anchorite, whom DAS'ARAT'HA slew by mistake,
burnt themselves with the corpse of their son. The scholiast of the Rayhu-
vansa, in which poem, as well as in the RAMAYANA, this story is beautifully
told quotes a text of law to prove that suicide is in such instances legal. I
,

cannot refrain from also mentioning, that instances are not unfrequeut where
persons afflicted with loathsome and incurable diseases have caused them-
selves to be buried alive. I hope soon to be the channel of communicating
to the Asiatic Society a very remarkable case of a leper rescued from a pre-
mature grave and radically cured of his distemper. I must also take this
,

occasion of announcing a very singular practice which prevails among the

lowest tribes of the inhabitants of fierar and Gondwana. Suicide is not un-
frequently vowed by such persons in return for boons solicited from idols;
and to fulfil his vow, the successful votary throws himself from a precipice
named Cnlabhnirava, situated in the mountains between the Tdpii&n& Xermadd
rivers. The annual fair held near that spot at the beginning of spring, usually
witnesses eight or ten victims of this superstition.
 OF THE HINDUS. 109

tious salt, butter, &c. On the last day of mourning, the nearest
relation puts on neat apparel, and causes his house and furniture
to he cleaned ;
he then goes out of the town and after offering the
,

tentli funeral cake in the manner before, described, he makes ten

libations of water from the palms of his hands, causes the hair of his
head and body to be shaved, and his nails to be cut, and gives the
barbers the clothes which were worn at the funeral of the deceased,
and adds some other remuneration. He then anoints his head and
limbs down to his feet with oil of sesamum, rubs all his limbs with
meal of sesamum, and his head with the ground pods of white
mustard; he bathes, sips water, touches and blesses various auspi-
cious things, such as stones, clarified butter, leaves of nimba, white
mustard, dnrvd grass, coral, a cow, gold, curds, honey, a mirror,
and a conch, and also touches a bambu staff. He now returns
purified to his home and
,
thus completes the first obsequies of the
deceased.
The second series of obsequies commencing on the day after
,

the period of mourning has elapsed, is opened by a lustration

termed the consolatory ceremony, the description of which must be
here abridged, for want of a commentary to explain all the prayers
that are recited at this religious rite; for the same reason, an ac-
count of the ceremonies attending the consecration and dismissal
of a bull in honour of the deceased, must for the present be post-
poned.
The lustration consists in the consecration of four vessels of wa-
ter, and sprinkling therewith the hotise, the furniture, and the per-
sons belonging to the family. After lighting a fire and blessing
,

the attendant Brtihmanas, the priest fills four vessels with water,
and putting his hand into the first, meditates the Gdyalri, before and
after reciting the following prayers :

J. "May generous waters be auspicious to us, for gain and for

refreshing draughts; may they approach towards us, that we may

be associated with good auspices." 2. "Earth, afford us ease, be
free from thorns, be habitable; widely extended as thou art, pro-
cure us happiness." 3. "O waters! since ye afford delight, grant
us food, and the rapturous sight [of the Supreme Being]." 4. "Like
tender mothers, make us here partakers of your most auspicious
essence." *
Putting his hand into the second vessel, the priest meditates the

*
The translation of several among these prayers is a little varied from a
former version of them (in the First Essay on the Religious Ceremonies of
the Hindus unle, p. 70, 77), to conform with the different expositions given
in different places by the commentators I have consulted. For the same
purpose, 1 shall here subjoin another version of the (idi/alri: "Earth! Sky!
Heaven Let ns meditate on [these and on] the most excellent light and power
!

of that generous, sportive, and resplendent Sun, [praying that] it may guide
110 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

Gdyalri and the four prayers above quoted adding some others,
,

and concluding this second consecration of water by once more

meditating the Gdyatri.
Then taking a lump of sugar and a copper vessel in his left hand,
biting the sugar and spitting it out again, the priest sips water;
afterwards putting his hand into the third vessel, he meditates the
"
Gdyalri and the four prayers above cited interposing this
, May ,

INDRA and VARUNA [the regents of the sky and of the ocean] accept
our oblations and grant us happiness may INDRA and the' cherish-
;

ing sxin grant us happiness in the distribution of food may INDRA ;

and the moon grant us the happiness of attaining the road to ce-
lestial bliss and the association of good auspices." The priest adds,
].
"May we sufficiently attain your essence with which you satisfy
the universe. Waters! grant it to us." 2. "May heaven be our
comfort; may the sky, earth, water, salutary herbs, trees, the as-
sembled gods, the creator, and the universe, be our comfort; may
that comfort obviate difficulties, and become to us the means of
attaining our wishes." 3. "Make me perfect in [my own person,
and in the persons of all who are] connected with me may all beings
;

view me with the [benevolent] eye of the sun: I view all beings
with the solar eye; let us view each other with the [bene-
volent] solar eye." 4. "Make me perfect in my own person, and in
the persons of all who are allied to me: may I live long in thy
sight; long may I live in thy sight." 5. "Salutation to thee [0 fire !]
who dost seize oblations, to thee who dost shine, to thee who dost
scintillate ;may thy flames burn our foes ; mayest thou, the purifier,
be auspicious unto us. " 6. " Salutation to thee manifested in,

lightning; salutation to thee, manifested in thunder; salutation to

thee, GOD for thou dost endeavour to bestow celestial bliss." 7.
!

"Since thou dost seek to awe the wicked [only], make us fearless;
"
grant happiness to our progeny, and courage to our cattle. 8. "May
water and herbs be friendly to us; may they be inimical to him
who hates us and whom we hate." 9. "May we see a hundred years
that pure eye, which rises from the east, and benefits the Gods;
may we live a hundred years may we speak a hundred years may
; ;

we be free from distress a hundred years and again a hundred

,

years." After another prayer, the priest again meditates the Gdyalri,
and thus concludes the third consecration. He then hallows the
fourth vessel of water in a similar manner, with a repetition of the
prayer, "May the earth be our comfort," &c., and with some others,
which must be here omitted for the reason before mentioned. *

our intellects." A paraphrase of this very important text may l>e found in
the preface to the translation of MENU p. xviii. See also the Essay on the
,

Feilan. ante, p. 15.

*
At most religious ceremonies, and especially at the deprecatory rites,
the prayers directed in the several 1*'edns, and in the various sdc'hds of them,
 OP THE IIINDtTS. Ill

Though it be not positively enjoined,

it is
customary, immediately
after this lustration ,
a vessel of tila, and also a cow,
to give away
for the sake of securing the passage of the deceased over the Vai-
tarani, or river of hell whence the cow so given is called Vailarani-
;

ifhenu. Afterwards a bed with its furniture is brought, and the

giver sits down near the Brdhmana who has been invited to receive
the present; after saying, "Salutation to this bed with its furniture,
salutation to this priest to whom it is given," he pays due honour
to the Brdhmana in the usual form of hospitality. He -then pours
water into his hand, saying, "I give thee this bed with its furniture;"
the priest replies, "Give it." Upon this he sprinkles it with water,
and taking up cu'sa grass, #/, and water, delivers them to the priest,
pouring the water into his hand with a formal declaration of the
,

gift and its purpose; and again delivers a bit of gold with cusa
grass, &c. making a similar formal declaration. 1. "This day, I,

being desirous of obtaining celestial bliss for such a one defunct,

do give unto thee, such a one, a Brdhmana, descended from such
a family, to whom due honour has been shown, this bed and furni-
ture, which has been duly honoured, and which is sacred to VISHNU."
2. "This day I give unto thee (so and so) this gold, sacred to fire,
as a sacerdotal fee for the sake of confirming the donation I have
,

made of this bed and furniture." The Brdhmana both times replies,
"Be it well." Then lying upon the bed, and touching it with the
upper part of his middle-finger, he meditates the Gdyalri with suitable
prayers, adding, "This bed is sacred to VISHNU."
With the same ceremonies, and with similar formal declarations,
he next gives away to a Brdhmana (or more commonly in both ,

instances, to a married couple) a golden image of the deceased, or

else a golden idol, or both, with clothes and various sorts of fruit.
'Afterwards he distributes other presents among Brdhmanas, for the.
greater honour of the deceased: making donations of land, and
giving a chair or stool, clothes, water, food, betel-leaf, a lamp, gold,
silver, a parasol, an orchard of fruit trees, wreaths of flowers, a
pair of shoes, another bed, another milch cow, and any other pre-
sents he may choose to give, such as an elephant, a horse, a carriage,
'
a slave, a house, and so forth.
It is hardly necessary to remark on this quotation, that none but

very rich or superstitious persons make these ample donations, which

are not positively enjoined, though strenuously recommended.

differmuch. Those which are translated in the present and former essays
are mostly taken from the yajiirvi-da , and may be nsed by any Brahmen,
instead of the prayers directed in the particular Veda, by which he should
regularly be giiided. The subject of lustrations is carious they are per-
;

formed with various ceremonies, to avert calamities or to obviate disappoint-

ments. Should other engagements permit it, this topic will be treated in a
future essay.
112 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

There is some difference in the religious formalities with which

various things are given or accepted on this or on any other occa-
,

sion. In the formal declaration, too, a different tutelary Deity is

named, and a different ohject is specified; hut, in other respects, the
form of the declaration is similar, whatever be the occasion on
which the gift is made.
In making a donation of land, the donor sits down with his face
to the east, opposite to the person to whom he gives it. The donor
"
says Salutation to this land with its produce salutation to this
, ;

priest, to Avhom I give it." Then, after showing him honour in the
usual form, he pours water into his hand, saying, "I give thee this
land with its produce." The other replies, "Give it." Upon which
he sprinkles the place with water; and taking up water, with holy
basil and cusa grass, he pours the water into the other's hand, mak-
ing a formal declaration of the donation and the motive of it. He
then delivers a bit of gold, with aisa grass, &c., declaring his pur-
pose in giving it, as a sacerdotal fee, to consolidate the donation of
land. The other accepts the gift by a verbal acknowledgment and ,

meditates the Gdyalri with some other prayers.

Achair or stool is accepted by sitting down on it clothes by
; ,

putting them on; a parasol, by holding the handle of it; shoes or

sandals, by standing on them; and a couch, by lying on it. In these
and other donations there is no variation in the prayers; hut the
gift of cow is made with other texts, which the donor re-
a milch
cites standing near the cow, and making a libation of water from
the palms of his hands after the recital of each prayer. The gift
is
accepted by holding the animal's tail.
1. "May the Goddess, who is the LACSHMI of all beings and resides

among the Gods, assume the shape of a milch cow and procure me
comfort." 2. "May the Goddess who is RUDRA'NI in a corporeal form,
and who is the beloved of SIVA, assume the shape of a milch cow
and procure me comfort." 3. "May she, who is LACSHMI reposing
on the bosom of VISHNU; she, who is the LACSHMI of the regent of
riches she , who is the LACSHMI of kings, be a boon-granting cow
;

to me." 4. "Mayis the LACSHMI of BRAHMA'; she, who is

she, who
SWAHA', the wife of she, who is the exerted power of the sun,
fire;
moon, and stars, assume the shape of a milch cow for [my] prosper-
"
ity." 5. Since thou art Swad'ha [the food] of them, who are chief
among the manes of ancestors, and SWAHA' [the consuming power]
of them, who eat solemn sacrifices; therefore, being the cow that
expiates every sin, me comfort." 6. "I invoke the Goddess
procure
who is endowed with the attributes of all the Gods, who confers all
happiness, who bestows [abodes in] all the worlds for the sake of
all people." 7. "I pray to that auspicious Goddess for immortality
and happiness."
The remaining ceremonies, omitting for the present the consecra-
 OF THE HINDUS. 113

tion of a bull ,
consist chiefly in the obsequies called srddcThas. -The
first set of funeral ceremonies is
adapted to effect, by means of
oblations, the reimbodying of the soul of the deceased, after burning
his corpse. The apparent scope of the second set is to raise his
shade from this world (where it would else, according to the notions
of the Hindus, continue to roam among demons and evil spirits) up
to heaven, and there deify him, as it were, among the manes of

departed ancestors. For this end, a srddcfha should regularly be

offered to the deceased on the day after mourning expires; twelve
other srddtfhas singly to the deceased in twelve successive months;
similar obsequies at the end of the third fortnight, and also in the
sixth month, and and the oblation called Sapin'dana,
in the twelfth;
on the first
anniversary of his decease. In most provinces the pe-
riods for these sixteen ceremonies, and for the concluding obsequies
entitled Sapindana, are, anticipated, and the whole is completed on
the second or third day; after which they are again performed at
the proper times, but in honour of the whole set of progenitors in-
stead of the deceased singly. The obsequies intended to raise the
shade of the deceased to heaven are thus completed. Afterwards a
sradd'ha is annually offered to him on the anniversary of his decease.
The form of the various srddd'has (for they are numerous *) is so
it will be
nearly the same, that only necessary to describe that
which is performed in honour of progenitors in general; and at
which three funeral cakes are offered to three paternal ancestors ;

as many to three maternal forefathers, and two to the Visrvedevas or

assembled Gods. A irddtfha in honour of one person singly has
been already noticed.
After smearing the place with cow-dung, a square altar of sand
is raised on it, one or two fingers
high, and a span nearly in each
direction. (It must be triangular at the obsequies of one recently
defunct.) The person who performs the ceremony, first washes
*
In a work entitled Nirneya Sind'ku I find authority for classing obsequies
under twelve heads. 1. Daily obsequies, either with food or with water only,
in honour of ancestors in general, but excluding the fiswedevas 2. Obse-

quies for a special cause; that is, in honour of a kinsman recently defunct.
3. Voluntary obsequies, performed by way of supererogation, for the greater
benefit of the deceased. 4. Obsequies for increase of prosperity performed ,

upon any accession of wealth or prosperity, and upon other joyful occasions.
5. A srddd'ha intended to introduce the shade of a deceased kinsman to the
rest of the manes. 6. Obsequies performed on appointed days, such as that
of new moon, full moon, sun's passage into a new sign, &c. 7. A srddd'ha
to sanctify the food at an entertainment given to a company of reverend
persons. 8. One performed when stated numbers of priests are fed at the
cost of a person who needs purification from some defilement. 9. A srddd'ha
preparatory to the celebration of any solemn rite and considered as a part
,

of such rite. 10. 'Srddd'has in honour of deities. 11. Oblations of clarified

butter, previous to the undertaking of a distant journey. 12. A srddd'ha to
sanctify a meal of flesh meat prepared simply for the sake of nourishment.
 114 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

his hands and feet, sips water, and puts a ring of cusa grass on the

ring finger of each hand. He sits down on a cushion of cusa grass,

or of other materials, placed upon a blade of such grass. He lights
a lamp, reciting a prayer, which will be cited on another occasion.
He places the implements and materials in regular order, and sprin-
kles water on himself and all around, meditating on VISHNU surnamed
the lotos-eyed, and revolving in his mind the couplet, "Whether
pure or defiled," &c. He now shifts the sacerdotal thread to his
right shoulder, and solemny declares his intention of performing a
srddcfha, and the motive of it. He thrice meditates the Gdyatri, and
pronounces the salutation to superior beings, "Salutation to the
Gods, to the manes of ancestors," &c.
After this preparation he proceeds to invite and to welcome the
assembled Gods and the manes. First, he places two little cushions
of cusa grass on one side of the altar for the Visrvedevas and six in ,

front of it for the Pitris. Each cushion should consist of three

blades of grass folded up. After trewing cusa grass on those
cushions, he asks, "Shall I invoke the assembled Gods ?" Being told
"Do so," he thus invokes them "Assembled Gods hear my invo-
: !

cation; come and sit down on this holy grass." After scattering
barley on the same spot, he meditates this prayer, "Assembled
Gods! listen to my invocation, ye, who reside in the sky; and ye
who abide near us [on earth] or [far off] in heaven ye whose
, ; ,

tongues are fire; and ye, who defend the funeral sacrifice, sit on this
grass and be cheerful." He then invites the manes of ancestors
with similar invocations: "0 fire zealously we support thee; zea-
!

lously we feed thee with fuel; eagerly do thou call our willing
ancestors to taste our oblation." May our progenitors, who eat the
moon-plant, who are sanctified by holy fires, come by paths, which
Gods travel. * Satisfied with ancestral food at this solemn sacrifice,
may they applaud and guard us." He next welcomes the Gods and
manes with oblations of water, &c. in vessels made of leaves.**
Two are presented and three to paternal ancestors,
to the Viswedevas,
and as many to maternal forefathers. Cusa grass is put into each
vessel and water sprinkled on it, while the prayer, "May divine
waters be auspicious to us," &c. is recited. Barley is thrown into
the vessels intended for the Gods, and tila into those intended for
the manes of ancestors, with these prayers 1." Barley! thou art ,

the separator,*** separate [us] from our natural enemies and from
" At a
our malicious foes. 2. "Thou art ft'/a, sacred to SOMA ," &c.

sradd'ha for increase of prosperity, which is performed on many

* The Fia Laclea seems to be meant by the path of the Gods.

**
Plantain leaves ;
or else leaves of the Butca frondosa or of the flassia
,

latifolia.
*** Yava
signifies barley; in this text it also signifies separator, being
derived from yu, to unmix. Many of the prayers contain similar quibbles.
 OF THE HINDUS. 115

occasions as a preparative for a solemn act of religion barley is ,

thrown into the vessels instead of tila and the last prayer is thus
varied: "Thou art barley, sacred to SOMA: framed by the divinity,
thou dost produce celestial bliss mixt with water, mayest thou long
;

satisfy with nourishment my several progenitors, whose mouths are

full of blessings." The vessels are
successively taken up, repeating
each time a prayer before cited: "The waters in heaven, in the
atmosphere, and an the earth, have been united with milk," &c.
The cusa grass that lay on the vessels is put into a BruhmancCs
hand, and that which was under it is held by the person who per-
forms the srddd'ha, in his own hand; and through it he successively
pours the water out of each vessel on the Brdhmand's hand. He
then piles up the empty vessels in three sets, and reverses them,
saying, while he oversets the first, "Thou art a mansion for an-
cestors."
At the last obsequies for one recently deceased, and which are
named the Sapitidana, the following prayer is recited when the vessel
which has been offered. to him is piled up with the rest: "May the
mansion of those progenitors, who have reached a common abode,
and who have accordant minds, foster him; may the blessed sacri-'
fice, sacred to the Gods, be his." The subjoined prayer likewise is
peculiar to the SapmSantt: "By [the intercession of] those souls
who are mine by affinity ,
who are animated [shades] who have ,

reached a common abode, who have accordant minds, may prosper-

ity be mine in this world for a hundred years."
The person who performs the sradcCha next takes up food smeared
with clarified butter, and makes two oblations to fire, reciting these
prayers: 1. "May this oblation to fire, which conveys offerings to
the manes ,
be efficacious. " 2. " May this oblation to the moon,
wherein the progenitors of mankind abide, be efficacious."
Brdhmanas should be fed with the residue of the oblation it is ;

accordingly consecrated for that purpose by the following prayer:

"The vessel that holds thee is the earth; its lid is the sky; I offer
this residue of an oblation similar to ambrosia in the undefiled
, ,

mouth of a priest: may this oblation be efficacious." The performer

of the srad<Tha then points with his thumb towards the food, saying,
"Thrice did VISHNU step," &c. He adds, "May the demons and
giants that sit on this consecrated spot be dispersed." He meditates
the Gdyatri with the names of the worlds, and sweetens the food
with honey or sugar, saying, "May winds blow sweet," &c. He then
distributes the food among Brdhmanas; and when they have eaten
and have acknowledged that they are satisfied, he gives them water
to rince their mouths.
He now proceeds to offer the funeral cakes, consisting of balls
or lumps of food mixed with clarified butter. He offers three to the

paternal forefathers, as many to the maternal ancestors, and two to

8*
116 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

the Viswedevas. The prayers ("Ancestors! rejoice, take your res-

pective shares," &c.) and the form of the oblation, have been al-
ready mentioned. It is only necessary to add in this place, that he
wipes his hand with cusa grass in honour of remoter ancestors, who
thus become partakers of the oblations.
In the next place, he makes six libations of water from the palms
of his hands, with the salutation to the seasons: " Salutation unto
you, fathers, and unto the saddening season," &c. By this prayer
the manes of ancestors are doubly saluted; for the Veda declares,
"The six seasons are the progenitors of mankind."
A thread is placed on each funeral cake, to serve as apparel for
the manes, and each time the same words are repeated, "Fathers!
this apparel is offered unto you." Flowers, perfumes, and similar

things are added at pleasure 5 but water must be sprinkled on each

cake, with the prayer, "Waters, ye are the food of our progeni-
tors," &c.
The performer of the srddd'ha then takes up the middle cake and
smells to it; or his wife eats it, if they be solicitous for male off-
spring. In this case the following prayer must be recited: "Grant,
O progenitors, the conception of a male child, [longlived and healthy,
like] the lotos and garland [or twins, that sprung from AS WIN!]; so
that, at this season, there may be a person [to fulfil the wishes of
the Gods, of the manes, and of human beings]." He then takes up
the cakes successively, smells to them, throws them into a vessel,
and gives away the food to a mendicant priest or to a cow, or else
casts into the waters.
it

Hethen dismisses the manes, saying, "Fathers, to whom food

belongs, guard our food and the other things offered by us; vener-
able and immortal as ye are and conversant with holy truths. Quaff
the sweet essence of it, be cheerful, and depart contented by the
paths which Gods travel." Lastly, he walks round the spot and
leaves it, saying, "May the benefit of this oblation accrue to me
repeatedly may the Goddess of the earth , and the Goddess of the
;

sky, whose form is the universe, visit me [with present and future
happiness]. Father and mother! revisit me [when I again celebrate
obsequies]. SOMA, king of the manes visit me for the sake of [con-
!

"
ferring] immortality.
A srddd'ha is thus performed, with an oblation of three funeral
cakes only to three male paternal ancestors, on some occasions; or
with as many funeral oblations to three maternal ancestors, on others.
Sometimes separate oblations are also presented to the wives of the
paternal ancestors; at other times, similar offerings are likewise
made to the wives of three maternal ancestors. Thus at the
,

monthly srddd'has celebrated on the day of new moon six funeral

,

cakes are offered to three paternal and as many maternal malf

ancestors with their wives on most other occasions separate ob-
:
 OF THE HINDUS. 1 17

lations are presented tothe female ancestors. At the obsequies

celebrated in the first half of Asrv'ma, on the day entitled Mahdlayd,
funeral cakes are separately offered to every deceased friend and
near relation thus immediately after the oblations to ancestors a
:
, ,

cake is presented to a deceased wife, then to a son or daughter, to

a brother or sister, to an uncle or aunt, to a father-in law to a pre- ,

ceptor ,
and lastly to a friend. The same is observed at the obse-
quies performed on the day of an eclipse, or upon a pilgrimage to
any holy spot, and especially to Gayd.
Formal obsequies are performed no less than ninety-six times in
every year; namely, on the day of new moon, and on the dates of
the fourteen Menwantaras and of four Yugddyds; that is, on the
anniversaries of the accession of fourteen MENUS and of the com-
mencement of four ages also throughout the whole first fortnight of
:

Astvina, thence called pitripacsha, and whenever the sun enters a new
sign, and especially when he reaches the equinox or either solstice;
and, in certain circumstances, when the moon arrives at Vyatipdta,
one of the twenty- seven yogas or astrological divisions of the zodiac.
The eighth of Pausha, called Aindrt, the eighth of Mdgha (when flesh
meat should be offered), and the ninth of the same month, together
with additional obsequies on some of these dates and on a few others,
complete the number abovementioned. Different authorities do not,
however, concur exactly in the number, or in the particular days,
when the srddd'has should be solemnized.
Besides these formal obsequies a daily srddd'ha is likewise per-
formed. It consists in dropping food into the hands of a Brdhmana
after offering it to six ancestors by name, Avith the usual prepara-

tory vow and prayers, and with the formality of placing three blades
of grass as a seat for each ancestor; but using a single prayer only
for the invocation of the manes, and omitting the ceremony of wel-

coming them with an argha. Libations of water are also made in

honour of progenitors, as noticed in the former essay on daily
ablutions.
The obsequies for increase of prosperity, or as the same term
(
Vriddhi srddd'ha) may signify , the obsequies performed on an ac-
cession of prosperity, * are celebrated previously to the sacrifice of
a victim and to the solemnization of a marriage , or of any of the
ceremonies which, according to the notions of the Hindus, contribute
to the regeneration of a twice-born man, that is, of a Brdhmana,
Cshatriya, or Vaisya. This srddd'ha is likewise performed at the com-
mencement and close of a solemn fast.
It should be observed respecting the practice of giving food to

priests at all these obsequies ,

that Brdhmanas generally give it to

* Sometimes named Ndndi from a word which occurs in the prayer

tnuc'ha,
peculiar to this srddd'ha.
118 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

one or more of their own relations. A stranger, unless indigent,

would be very unwilling to accept the food, or to attend at a sradd'ha
for the purpose of eating it. The use of flesh -meat is positively
enjoined to Hindus at certain obsequies (see MENU, c. iii. v. 124),
and recommended at all (MENU, c. iii. v. 268, &c.) but the precepts
;

of their law-givers on the subject are by some deemed obsolete in

the present age and are evaded by others who acknowledge the
, ,

cogency of these laws. These commonly make a vow to abstain

from flesh-meat, and consider that vow as more binding than the
precepts here alluded to. Others, again, not only eat meat at obse-
quies and solemn sacrifices, but make it their common diet, in direct
breach of the institutes of their religion. (See MENU, c. 5. v. 31, &c.)
Brdhmanas who maintain a perpetual fire, which all who devote
themselves to the priesthood ought to do, perform the daily cere-
monies of religion in their full detail. Others who are engaged in
,

worldly pursuits, arid even some who follow the regular profession
of the sacerdotal tribe, abridge these rites. They comprise all the
daily sacraments in one ceremony, called Vaiswadeva, which is ce-
lebrated in the forenoon and by some in the evening likewise. It
,

consists in oblations to the Gods, to the manes, and to the spirits,

out of the food prepared for the daily meal; and in a gift of a part
of it to guests.

Sitting down on a clean spot of ground, the Brdhmana places a

vessel containing fire on his right hand, and hallows it by throwing
away a lighted piece of cusa grass, saying, "I dismiss far away
carnivorous fire," &c. He then places it on the consecrated spot
reciting the prayer with which the household and sacrificial fires
should be lighted by the attrition of wood; "Fires! [this wood] is
thy origin, which is attainable in all seasons; whence being pro-
duced, thou dost shine. Knowing this, seize on it, and afterwards
gum ent our wealth."
He then lays cusa grass on the eastern side of the fire with its
tips pointed towards the north, reciting the first verse of the
Jltgve'da, with which also it is usual to commence the daily lecture
of that Veda: "I praise divine fire, primevally consecrated, the
efficient performer of a solemn ceremony the chief agent of a sa-
,

crifice, the most liberal giver of gems."

He
next spreads cusa grass on the southern side of the fire with
its pointed towards the east, reciting the introduction of the
tips
Yajurveda with which also a daily lecture of the Yajush is always
,

begun. 1. "I gather thee for the sake of rain." [He breaks oft' a
branch of a tree, or is supposed to do so, with these words.] 2. "I
pluck thee for the sake of strength." [He pulls down the branch
he had broken.] 3. "Ye are like unto air." [He touches young
calves with the branch he had plucked.] 4. "May the liberal ge-
nerator [of worlds] make you happily reach this most excellent
 OF THE HINDUS. 1 19

sacrament." [He is here supposed to touch the milch cows with the
same branch.]
He then spreads cusa grass on the western side with the tips
pointed to the north , reciting the prayer which precedes a lecture
of the Sdmaveda: "Fire! approach to taste [my offering]; thou, who
art praised for the gift of oblations. Sit clown on this grass, thou,
who art the complete performer of the solemn sacrifice."
In like manner he spreads cusa grass on the northern side with
the tips pointed to the east, reciting the prayer which precedes
a lecture of the Afkarvan: "May divine waters be auspicious to
us," &c.
Exciting the fire and sprinkling water on it he must offer with
,

his hands food smeared with clarified butter, three several times

saying, "Earth! Sky! Heaven!" He then makes five similar obla-

tions to the regent of fire; to the god of medicine; to the assem-
bled deities; to the lord of created beings; and, lastly, to the Crea-
tor of the universe. He concludes the sacrament of the Gods with
six oblations, reciting six prayers. 1. "Fire! thou dost expiate a

sin against the Gods [arising from any failure in divine worship] :

may this oblation be efficacious." 2. "Thou dost expiate a sin

against man [arising from a failure in hospitality]." 3. "Thou dost
expiate a sin against the manes [from a failure in the performance
of obsequies]." 4. "Thou dost expiate a sin against my own soul

[arising from any blameable act]." 5. "Thou dost expiate repeated

6. "Thou dost expiate
sins." every sin I have committed, whe-
ther wilfully or unintentionally may this oblation be efficacious."
:

He then worships fire, making an oblation to it with this prayer:

"Fire! seven are thy fuels; seven thy tongues; seven thy holy
sages seven thy beloved abodes seven ways do seven sacrificers
;
;

worship thee. Thy sources are seven. Be content with this clari-
fied butter. May this oblation be efficacious."*
About this time he extinguishes the RacsMghna or lamp lighted
,

previously to the presenting of oblations to the Gods and to the

*
The commentator enumerates the seven tongues of tire, Pravaha, Avaha,
Udvaha, Samvaha, Vivdlia Parivaha Niva/ia (or else Anuvaha); all of which
, , ,

imply the power of conveying oblations to the deities to whom offerings are
made. The seven holy sages and sacrifices are the ffulri, M aitrdvarvna, Brdh-
mana ctChandasi, Ach fta'vdc, Pdtrt, Keshiri. and Agnid'hra; that is, the seven
officiating priests at very solemn sacrifices. They worship fire seven ways
by the Agnisktoma and other sacrifices. The seven abodes are the names of
thejseven worlds: and tire is called in the Veda, saplachilica, which seems to
allude to seven consecrated hearths. In the sixteen verses called Paurusha,
which have been already quoted, the names of the seven worlds thrice repeat-
ed,
are understood to be meant by the thrice seven fuels and the seven
;

oceans are the seven moats surrounding the altar. Fire like the sun itself,
,

is supposed to emit seven moats surrounding the altar. Fire like the sun
,

itself, is supposed to emit seven rays: this perhaps may account for the
number seven being so often repeated.
120 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

manes. It was lighted for the purpose of repelling evil spirits, and
isnow extinguished with this text "In solemn acts of religion, what-
:

ever fails through the negligence of those who perform the cere-
mony, may be perfected solely through meditation on VISHNU."
The Brdhmana should next offer the residue of the oblation to
spirits, going
round to the different places where such oblations
ought to be made, sweeping each spot with his hand, sprinkling
water on it, and placing there lumps of food. Near the spot where
the vessel of water stands he presents three such oblations, saying,
,,Salutation to rain; to water; to the earth." At both doors of his
house he makes offerings to D'HATRI and VID'HA'TRI, or BRAHMA, the
protector and creator. Towards the eight principal points of the
compass he places offerings, severally adding salutation to them
and to the regents of them. In the middle of the house he pre-
sents oblations, with salutation to BRAHMA, to the sky, and to the
sian. Afterwards he offers similar oblations to all the Gods; to all

beings; to twilight; and to the lord of all beings. He then shifts

the sacrificial cord, and looking towards the south and dropping
one knee, he presents an oblation to the manes of ancestors, say-
ing, "Salutation to progenitors: may this ancestral food be ac-
ceptable." This ceremony is not constantly practised, though
directed in some rituals; but the residue of the oblation to the Gods
must be left on a clean spot of ground as an oblation to all beings,
intended, however, for dogs and crows in particular. It is pre-
sented with the following prayer, which is taken from the Purdnas:
"May Gods, men, cattle, birds, demigods, benevolent genii, ser-
pents, demons, departed spirits, bloodthirsty savages, trees and
all who desire food given by me;" 2. "May reptiles, insects, flies,
and all hungry beings or spirits concerned in this rite obtain con-
, ,

tentment from this food left for them by me, and may they become
happy;" 3. May they, who have neither mother, nor father, nor
kinsman, nor food, nor means of obtaining it, be satisfied with
that which is offered
by me on this spot for their contentment, and
be cheerful." Or the following prayer may be used "To animals
:

who night and day roam in search of food offered to the spirits he ,

who desires nourishment, should give something may the lord of

:

nourishment grant it unto me."

He concludes by performing a lustration similar to that which
has been already noticed, but much shorter. After thus complet-
ing the other sacraments, the householder should present food to
his guests; that is, to any person who claims his hospitality. When
he has thus allotted out of the food prepared for his own repast,
one portion to the Gods, a second to progenitors, a third to all
beings, and a fourth to his guests, he and his family may then, and
not before, consume the remaining portion of the food. Whenever
a spiritual preceptor, a devotee or an officiating priest, a bride-
 OF THE HINDUS. 121

groom, or a particular friend, comes as a guest, he is received with

honours which will bo described among the nuptial ceremonies.
,

In the entertainment of other guests no religious rites are per-

formed, nor any prayers recited.
The householder is enjoined to give daily alms but no particu- ;

lar time is prescribed for the distribution of them; he is simply

directed to give food to religious mendicants whenever they come
to his door but especially if they come at the time when food is
;

ready for his own meal. On the authority of the Pur anas, it is also
a common practice to feed a cow before the householder breaks his
own fast.* He either presents grass, water, and corn to her with
this text, "Daughter of SUBABHI, framed of five elements, auspi-

cious, pure, holy, sprung from the sun, accept this food given by
me; salutation unto thee:" or else he conducts the kine to grass,
saying, "May cows, who are mothers of the three worlds and
daughters of SUKABH!, and who are beneficent, pure, and holy,
accept the food given by me."
Some Brdhmanas do still further abridge the compendious cere-
mony called Vaisrvadeva. They offer perfumes and flowers to

fire; and makefive oblations, out of the food prepared for then-
own use, to BRAHMA, to the lord of created beings, to the house-
hold fire, to CAS'YAP A, and to ANUMATI, dropping each oblation
on fire on water or on the ground with the usual addition,
,
or , ,

"May be efficacious." They then make offerings to

this oblation
all beings, by placing a few lumps of food at the door, or on a

quadrangular spot near the fire, with a salutation to DHA'TRI, &c.,

and they immediately proceed to their own repast.
Here too as in every other matter relating to private morals,
,

the Hindu legislators and the authors of the Purdnas have heaped
together a multitude of precepts, mostly trivial, and not unfre-
quently absurd. Some of them relate to diet; they prohibit many
sorts of food altogether, and forbid the constant use of others: some

regard the acceptance of food which must on no account be re-

,

*
The adoration of a cow is not uncommon. This worship consists in
presenting flowers to her washing her feet &c. It is entirely different from
, ,

.the practice here noticed. Both seem to be founded on the superstitious

notion, that the favour of SURABHI (the boon-granting cow) may be
gained by showing kindness to. her offspring. The story of VASISHT'HA'S cow,
NANDINI, attended'by the king DILIPA for the sake of obtaining a boon through
her means, is a pretty fable grounded on this notion. It is beautifully told
by CALIDASA in the Raghuvansa. I cannot refrain from mentioning another
fable of a cow named BAHTJLA, whose expostulations with a tiger, pleading
to him to spare her life, form the only admired passage in the Iti/idsas , or
collection of stories supposed to be related by BHIMASKXA, while he lay at the
point of death wounded with innumerable arrows. The fourth day of Asnina
is sacred to this cow , and named from her Bakuld chaturl'/ii. Images of her
and her calf are worshipped and the extract from the Itihdsas is on that
;

day read with great solemnity.

122 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

ceived if itbe given with one hand, nor without a leaf or dish;
some again prescribe the hour at which the two daily meals which
are allowed, should be eaten (namely, in the forenoon and in the
evening); others enumerate the places (a boat for example) where
a Hindu must not eat, and specify the persons (his sons and the in-
mates of his house) with whom he should eat, and those (his wife
for instance) with whom he shoujd not. The lawgivers have been
no less particular in directing the posture in which the Hindu
must sit; the quarter towards which he ought to look, and the
precautions he should take to insulate himself, as it were, during
his meal, lest he be contaminated by the touch of some undetected
sinner, who may be present. To explain even in a cursory manner
the objects of all these, would be tedious; but the mode in which
a Hindu takes his repast conformably with such injunctions as are
most cogent, may be briefly stated, and with this I shall close the
present essay.
After washing his hands and feet, and sipping water without
swallowing it, he sits down on a stool or cushion (but not on a
couch nor on a bed) before his plate, which must be placed on a clean
spot of ground that has been wiped and smoothed in a quadrangular
form, if he be a Brdhmana: a triangular one, if he be a Cshatriya ;
circular, if he be a Vaisya; and in the shape of a crescent, if he
belong to the fourth tribe. When the food is first brought in, he is
required to bow to it, raising both hands in the form of humble salu-
tation to his forehead; and he should add, "May this be always
ours:" that is, may food never be deficient. When he has sitten
down, he should lift the plate with his left hand and bless the food,
"
saying, "Thou art invigorating. He sets it down, naming the three
worlds. Or if the food be handed to him, he says, "May heaven
give thee," and then accepts it with these words, "The earth accepts
"
thee. Before he begins eating, he must move his hand round the
plate, to insulate it, or his own person rather, from the rest of the
company. He next offers five lumps of food to YAMA by five dif-
ferent titles; he sips and swallows water; he makes five oblations
to breath by five distinct names, Prdna, Vydna, Apdna, Samdna, and
Uddna; and lastly, he wets both eyes. He then eats his repast in
silence, lifting the food with all the fingers of his right hand, and
afterwards again sips water, saying, "Ambrosial fluid! thou art the
couch of VISHNU and of food."
 OF THE HINDUS. 123

NOTES.
(A.)
ThatHindus belong to various sects is universally known; buttheir
characteristic differences are not perhaps so generally understood.
Five great sects exclusively worship a single deity; one recognises
the five divinities which are adored by the other sects respectively,
but the followers of this comprehensive scheme mostly select one
object of daily devotion, and pay adoration to other deities on par-
ticular occasions only. Even they deny the charge of polytheism,
and repel the imputation of idolatry; they justify the practice of
adoring the images of celestial spirits, by arguments similar to those
which have been elsewhere employed in defence of angel and image
worship. If the doctrines of the Veda, and even those of the Purd-
HrtS, be closely examined, the Hindu theology will be found consis-
tent with monotheism, though it contain the seeds of polytheism
and idolatry. I shall take some future occasion of enlarging on
this topic: I have here only to remark, that modern Hindus seem to
misunderstand the numerous texts which declare the unity of the
,

godhead, and the identity of VISHNU, SIVA, the Sun, &c. Their
theologists have entered into vain disputes on the question, which
among the attributes of God shall be deemed characteristic and pre-
eminent. S'ANCARA A'CHA'RYA, the celebrated commentator on the
Veda, contended for the attributes of SIVA, and founded or confirmed
the sect of 'Saivas, who worship MAHA' DEVA as the supreme being,
and deny the independent existence of VISHNU and other deities.
MAD'HAVA ACHARYA and VALLABHA ACHA'RYA have in like manner
established the ect of Faishriavas, who adore VISHNU as God. The
Sauras (less numerous than the two sects abovementioned) worship
the Sun, and acknowledge no other divinity. The Gdnapatyas adore
G AXES A, as uniting in his person all the attributes of the deity.
Before I notice the fifth sect, I must remind the reader that the
Hindu mythology has personified the abstract and active powers of
the divinity, and has ascribed sexes to these mythological person-
ages. The 'Sacli, or energy of an attribute of God, is female, and is
fabled as the consort of that personified attribute. The 'Sacli of
S'IVA,whose emblem is the phallus, is herself typified by the female
organ. This the 'Sdclas worhip some figuratively, others literally.
;

VOPADEVA, the real author of the 'Sri Bhdgavala, has endeavoured

to reconcile all the sects of Hindus by reviving the doctrines of
VYA'SA. He recognises all the deities, but as subordinate to the
supreme being, or rather as attributes or manifestations of God. A
new sect hasbeen thus formed, and is denominated from that modern
Purdna. But the numerous followers of it do not seem to have well
apprehended the doctrines they profess :
they incline much to real
124 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

polytheism, but do at least reject the derogatory notions of the di-

vinity, which the other sects seem to have adopted.
The Vaishnavas, though nominally worshippers of VISHNU, are in
fact votaries of deified heroes. The Goculasfhas (one branch of this
sect) adore CRISHNA, while the Rdmdnuj worship RA'MACHANDRA.
Both have again branched into three sects. One consists of the
exclusive worshippers of CRISHNA, and these only are deemed true
and orthodox Vaishnavas; another joins his favourite RA'D'HA with
the hero. A
third, called Rdd'hdballabhi, adores RAD'HA' only, con-
sidering her as the active power of VISHNU. The folloAvers of these
last-mentioned sects have adopted the singular practice of present-
ing to their own wives the oblations intended for the goddess; and
those among them who follow the left-handed path (there is in most
sects a right-handed or decent path and a left-handed or indecent
,

mode of worship) require their wives to be naked Avhen attending

,

them at their devotions.

Among the Rdmdnuj, some worship RAMA only others SITA' and ; ;

others both RA'MA and SITA. None of them practise any indecent
mode of worship and they all, like the Goculasfhas, as well as the
;

followers of the Bhdgavata, delineate on their foreheads a double

upright line with chalk or with sandal wood, and a red circlet with
red sanders or with turmeric and lime but the Rdmdnuj add an
, ;

upright red line in the middle of the double white one.

The 'Saivas are all worshippers of SIVA and BHAVA'NI conjointly,
and they adore the linga or compound type of this god and goddess,
as the VAISHNAVAS do the image of LACSHMI-NA'RAYANA. There are
no exclusive worshippers of S'IVA besides the sect of naked gymno-
sophists called Lingis and the exclusive adorers of the goddess are
.-

the 'Sdctas. In this last-mentioned sect, as in most others, there is

a right-handed and decent path, and a left-handed and indecent
mode of worship: but the indecent worship of this sect is most grossly
so and consists of unbridled debauchery with wine and women.
,

This profligate sect is supposed to be numerous though unavowed.*

In most parts of India, if not in all, they are held in deserved de-
testation; and even the' decent 'Sdctas do not make public profession
of their tenets, nor wear on their foreheads the mark of the sect,
lest they should be suspected of belonging to the other branch of
it. The sacrifice of cattle
before idols is peculiar to this sect.
The 'Saivas and 'Sdclas
delineate on their foreheads three hori-
zontal lines with ashes obtained if possible from the hearth on
, ,

which a consecrated fire is perpetually maintained; they add a red

circlet, which the 'Saivas make with red sanders, and which the
'Sdctas, when they avow themselves, mark either with saffron or with
turmeric and borax.

*
They are avowed iu some provinces.
 OF THE HINDUS. 125

The Sauras are true worshippers of the sun ; some of them , it

seems ,
adore the dormant and active energies of the planet con-
jointly. This sect, which is not very numerous, is distinguished by
the use of red sanders for the horizontal triple line, as well as for
the circlet on their foreheads.
The Gdnapalyas have branched into two sects; the one worships
S'UDD'HA GANAPATI, the other UCHCH'HISHT'A GANAPATI. The follow-
ers of the latter sect pronounce their prayers with their mouths
full of victuals (whence the denomination of the deity worshipped

by them). The Gdnapatyas are distinguished by the use of red

minium for the circlet on their foreheads. The family of Brdhmanas,
residing at Chinchrver near Puna ,
and enjoying the privilege of an
hereditary incarnation of GANESA from father to son probably be-
,

longs to this sect. We may hope for more information on this curi-
ous instance of priestcraft and credulity, from the inquiries made
on the spot by the gentlemen of the embassy from Bombay, who
lately visited that place.
Before I conclude this note (concerning which it should be remark-
ed, that the information here collected rests chiefly on the authority
of verbal communications), I must add, that the left-handed path
or indecent worship of the several sects,
especially that of the
'Sdctas, is founded on the Tantras which are, for this reason, held in
disesteem. I was misinformed when I described them as constitut-
ing a branch of literature highly esteemed though much neglected.
(As. Res. vol. v. p. 54.) The reverse would have been more exact.
126 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

(B-)
This prayer, when used upon other occasions, is thus varied,
"Salutation unto you, fathers, and unto the saddening season,"
&c. The six seasons, in the order in which they are here named,
are the hot, dewy, rainy, flowery, frosty, and sultry seasons. One
is indicated in this passage
by the name of the month with which it
begins; and a text of the Veda, alluded to by the late Sir WILLIAM
JONES, in his observations on the lunar year of the Hindus (As.
Res. vol. iii, p. 258), specifies Tapas and Tapusya, the lunar (not
the solar) Mdqha and P'hdlguna, as corresponding with 'Sisira: that
is,
with the dewy season. The text in question shall be subjoined
to this note, because it may serve to prove that the Veda, from
which it is extracted (A'PASTAMBA'S copy of the Yajurveda usually
denominated the black Yajusti), cannot be much older than the
observation of the colures recorded by PARA'SARA (see As. Res. vol.
ii, p. 268, and 393), which must have been made nearly 1391 years

before the Christian era (As. Res. vol. v, p. 288). According to

the Veda, the lunar Mad hu and Mdd'hava, or Chailra and Vaisdc'ha,
j

correspond with Vasanla or the spring. Now the lunar Chailra, here
meant, is the primary lunar month, beginning from the conjunction
which precedes full moon in or near Chilrd and ending with the
,

conjunction which follows it. Vaisdc'ha does in like manner extend

from the conjunction which precedes full moon in or near Visdc'hd
to that which follows it. The five nacshalras Hasla, Chilrd, Swdti,
,

Visdc'fid and Anurdd'hd, comprise all the asterisms in which the full
moons of Chailra and Vaisdc'ha can happen; and these lunar months
may therefore fluctuate between the first degree of Ullara P'halguni
and the last of JyeshVhd. Consequently the season of Vasanla might
begin at soonest when the sun was in the middle of Pt'trva Bhadrapada,
or it might end at latest when the sun was in the middle of Mriaasiras.
It appears, then, that the limits of Vasanla are Pisces and Taurus;
that is Mina and Vrisha. (This corresponds with a text which I
shall forthwith quote from a very ancient Hindu author.) Now if
the place of the equinox did then correspond with the position
assigned by PARA'S'ARA to the colures, Vasanla might end at the
soonest seven or eight days after the equinox or at latest thirty-
,

eight or thirty-nine days and on a medium (that is when the full

;

moon happened in the middle of Chilrd} twenty - two or twenty-

,

three days after the vernal equinox. This agrees exactly with the
real course of the seasons for the rains do generally begin a week
;

before the summer solstice, but their commencement does vary, in

different years, about a fortnight on either side of that period. It
seems therefore a probable inference, that such was the position of
the equinox when the calendar of months and seasons was adjusted
as described in this passage of the Veda. Hence I infer the pro-
 OP THE HINDUS. 127

their present form

bability, that the Vedas were not arranged in
earlier than the fourteenth century before the Christian era. This,
it must be acknowledged, is vague and conjectural; but, if the
Vedas were compiled in India so early as the commencement of the
astronomical Cali yuga, the seasons must have then corresponded
with other months; and the passage of the Veda, which shall be
forthwith cited, must have disagreed with the natural course of the
seasons at the very time it was written.
I shall now quote the passage so often alluded to in this note.
"Matf'hus cha Mddhavas cha Vdsanticdv riln 'Sucras cha 'Suchis cha
:

graishmuv rilii ; Nabhas cha Nabasyas cha vdrshicdv rili'i Ishas chojas
:

cha s'draddv rilu ; Sahas cha Sahasyas cha haimanlicdv ritii Tapas cha
:

" Mad'hu and Mdd'hava are the two

'

Tapasyas cha saisirdv rilu.

portions of the season Vasanta (or the spring); 'Sucra and 'Suchi, of
griskma (or the hot season) Nabhas and Nabhasya, of varsha (or the
;

rainy season); Ijas and Ujas, oisdrada (or the sultry season); and
Sahas and Sahasya. of he'manla (or the frosty season); and Tapas and
'

Tapasya, of sisira (or the dewy season).

All authors agree that Mad hit signifies the month ofChailra; Mdd" -
1

hava the month of Vaisdc"ha and so forth. These names are so ex-
,

plained in dictionaries and by astronomical writers, as well as by the

commentators on this and other passages, where these names of the
months are employed. The author now before me (DIVACARA
BHATTA) expressly says, that this text of the Veda relates to the
order of the seasons according to the lunar months. He proves it
by quoting a text of the Tailliriya Yajurveda and afterwards cites
,

the following passage from BAUDHA'YANA respecting the seasons

measured by solar-sidereal time, "Mma-Me'shayorMe'sha- Vnshabhayor
vd vasanlah ," &c. " Vasanla corresponds with Mina and Mesha, or
with Mesha.a,u([ Vrisha^ &c. It should be observed, that the se-
condary lunar month, which begins and ends with full- moon, cannot
be here meant; because this mode of reckoning has never been
universal, and the use of it is limited to countries situated to the
northward of the Vind'hya range of hills, as I learn from the follow-
ing passage of the Tricdnda mandana: "The lunar month also is of
two sorts, commencing either with the light fortnight or with the
dark one. Some do not admit the month which begins with the dark
fortnight; and even by them who do, it is not admitted on the south
"
of the Vind'hya mountains.
 On the RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES of the HINDUS, and of the

BRAHMENS especially.

ESSAY III.

[From the Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 288311, Calcutta, 1801. 4to.]

Hospitality has been already mentioned in the preceding Essay,

as one of the five great sacraments which constitute the daily duty
of a Hindu. The formal reception of such guests as are entitled
to peculiar honour was reserved for the subject of the present tract.
The religious rites, intermixed with acts of courtesy, which are
practised by way of formal hospitality, are nearly the same, whether
it be high rank, a venerable profession, or cordial friendship, which
be welcomed with distinction. They chiefly
entitles the guest to
him a stool to sit on, water for ablutions,
consist in presenting to
and honey mixed with other food for refreshment. It seems to have
been anciently the cuslom to slay a cow on this occasion and a ;

guest was therefore called goghna, or cow-killer. Imperfect traces

of this custom remain in the hospitable ceremonies which I shall
now describe from the ritual of Brdhmanas who use the Sdmaveda.
As the marriage ceremony opens with the solemn reception of the
bridegroom by the father of the bride, this part of the nuptial
solemnity chosen as an example of hospitable rites. It
may be fitly
will furnish occasion too for proceeding to describe the whole of
,

the marriage ceremony.

Having previously performed the obsequies of ancestors, as is
usual upon any accession of good fortune, the father of the bride
sits down to await the bridegroom's arrival in the apartment pre-
,

pared for the purpose and at the time chosen for it according to
; ,

the rules of astrology. The jewels and other presents intended for
him are placed there; a cow is tied on the northern, side of the
apartment; and a stool or cushion, and other furniture for the re-
ception of the guest, are arranged in order. On his approach the ,

bride's father rises to welcome him, and recites the following prayer,
 OF THE HINDUS. 129

while the bridegroom stands before him: "May she [who supplies
oblations for] religious worship, who constantly follows her calf,
and who was the the milch cow when YAMA was [the votary], abound
with milk, and fulfil our wishes, year after year.''
This prayer is seemingly intended for the consecration of the
cow, which is let loose in a subsequent stage of the ceremony, instead
of slaying her, as appears to have been anciently the custom. The
commentator, whose gloss has been followed in this version of the
text, introduces it by the remark, that a guest entitled to honourable
reception is a spiritual preceptor, a priest, an ascetic, a prince, a
bridegroom, a friend, or in short any one, to welcome whose arrival
a cow must be tied for the purpose of slaying her, whence a guest
is denominated goghna, or cow-killer. The prayer seems to contain
an allusion, which I cannot better explain than by quoting a passage
from CA'LIDA'SA'S poem entitled Raghuvansa, where VASISHT'HA informs
the king DILIPA that the cow SURABHI, who was offended by his
neglect, cannot be now appeased by courtesy shown to herself,
because she remains in a place inaccessible to him: "PRACHETAS is
performing a tedious sacrifice; to supply the oblations of which,
SURABHI now abides in the infernal region, whose gates are guarded
by huge serpents.''
After the prayer above-mentioned has been meditated, the bride-
groom sits down on a stool or cushion, which is presented to him.
He first recites a text of the Yajurveda: "I step on this for the sake
of food and other benefits, on this variously splendid footstool." The
bride's father presents to him a cushion made of twenty leaves of
cusa grass, holding it up with both hands, and exclaiming, "The
cushion! the cushion! the cushion!" The bridegroom replies, "I
accept the cushion," and, taking it, places it on the ground under
his feet, while he recites the following prayer: "May those plants
over which SOMA presides, and which are variously dispersed on the
earth, incessantly grant me happiness while this cushion is placed
under my feet." Another is presented to him, which he accepts in
the same manner, saying, "May those numerous plants over which
SOMA presides, and which are salutary a hundred different ways,
incessantly grant me happiness while I sit on this cushion." Instead
of these prayers which are peculiar to the Brdhmanas that use the
,

Samaveda, the following text is commonly recited: "I obscure my

rivals, as the sun does other luminaries; I tread on this, as the type
of him who injures me."
The bride's father next offers a vessel of water, thrice exclaiming,
"Water for ablutions !" The bridegroom declares his acceptance of
it,and looks into the vessel, saying, "Generous water! I view thee;
return in the form of fertilizing rain from him , from whom thou
dost proceed:" that is, from the sun; for it is acknowledged, says
the commentator, that rain proceeds from vapours raised by the
9
1 30 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

heat of the sun. The bridegroom takes up water in the palms of both
hands joined together, and throws it on his left foot, saying, "I wash my
left foot, and fix prosperity in this realm :" he also throws water on his
other foot, saying, "I wash my right foot, and introduce prosperity into
this realm:" and he then throws water on both feet, saying, "I wash
first one and then the other, and lastly both feet, that the realm

may thrive and intrepidity be gained." The following is the text

of the Yajush, which is generally used instead of the preceding
prayers: "Thou dost afford various elegance; I accept thee, who
dost so: afford it for the ablution of my feet."
An arghya (that is, water, rice, and durvd grass, in a conch, or
in a vessel shaped like one, or rather like a boat) is next presented
to the bridegroom in a similar manner, and accepted by him with

equal formality. He pours the water on his own head, saying,

"Thou art the splendour of food; through thee may I become glori-
ous." This prayer is taken from the Yajush: but the followers of
that Veda use different texts, accepting the arghya with this prayer,
"Ye are waters (ap) ; through you may I obtain (dp) all my wishes :"
and pouring out the water with this text, "I dismiss you to the ocean :

return to your source, harmless unto me, most excellent waters !

but my beverage is not poured forth."

A vessel of water is then offered by the bride's father, who thrice
exclaims, 'Take water to be sipped:" the bridegroom accepts it,
;

saying, art glorious, grant me glory;" or else, "Conduct me

"Thou
to glory endue me with splendour render me dear to all people,
, ,

make me owner of cattle, and preserve me unhurt in all my limbs."

The bride's father fills a vessel with honey, curds, and clarified
butter; he covers it with another vessel, and presents it to the bride-
groom, exclaiming three times, "Take the mad'huparca." The bride-
groom accepts it, places it on the ground, and looks into it, saying,
"Thou art glorious; may I become so." He tastes the food three
times, saying, "Thou art the sustenance of the glorious; thou art
the nourishment of the splendid: thou art the food of the fortunate;
grant me prosperity." He then silently eats until he be satisfied.
Although these texts be taken from the Yajush, yet other prayers
from the same Veda are used by the sects which follow it. While
looking into the vessel, the bridegroom says, "I view thee with the
eye of the sun [who draws unto himself what he contemplates]."
On accepting the mad'huparca the bridegroom says " I take thee
,

with the assent of the generous sun; with the arms of both sons of
Asrvini: with the hands of the cherishing luminary.
''
He mixes it,
saying, "May I mix thee, venerable present! and remove what-
"
ever might be hurtful in the eating of thee. He tastes it three
times, saying, "May* I eat that sweet, best, and nourishing form of
honey; which is the sweet, best, and nourishing form of honey; and
may I thus become excellent, sweet-tempered, and well nourished
 OF THE HINDUS. 131

by food." After eating until he be satisfied, and after sipping

water, be touches his mouth and other parts of his body with his
hand, saying, "May there be speech in my mouth, breath in my
nostrils, sight in my eye-balls, hearing in my ears, strength in my
arms, firmness in my thighs; may my limbs and members remain
unhurt together with my soul."
Presents suitable to the rank of the parties are then presented
to the guest. At the marriage
ceremony, too, the bride is formally
given by her father to the bridegroom, in this stage of the solemnity
according to some rituals, but later according to others. The hos-
pitable rites are then concluded by letting loose the cow at the
intercession of the guest. A barber who attends for that purpose,
exclaims, "The cow! the cow!" Upon which the guest pronounces
this text: "Release the cow from the fetters of VARUNA.
May she
subdue my foe may she destroy the enemies of both him (the host)
:

[and me]. Dismiss the cow, that she may eat grass and drink
water." When the cow has been released the guest thus addresses
her: "I have earnestly entreated this prudent person [or, according
lo another interpretation
of the text, each docile person], saying, kill
not the innocent harmless cow, who is mother of RUDRAS, daughter
of VASUS, sister of A'DITYAS, and the source of ambrosia. " In the
Yajurveda the following prayer is added to this text: "May she
expiate my sins and his (naming the host). Release her that she
may graze." It is evident that the guest's intercessions imply a
practice, become obsolete, of slaying a cow for the purpose of
hospitality.
While the bridegroom is welcomed with these ceremonies, or
more properly before his arrival, the bride bathes during the recital
of the following texts. Three vessels of water are
severally poured
on her head, with three different prayers. 1. "Love! I know thy
name. Thou art called an intoxicating beverage. Bring [the bride-
groom] happily. For thee was framed the inebriating draught. Fire !

thy best origin is here. Through devotion wert thou created. May
this oblation be efficacious." 2. "Damsel I anoint this
!
thy gener-
ative organ with honey, because it is the second mouth of the Cre-
ator: by that thou snbduest all males, though unsubdued;
by that
thou art lively, and dost hold dominion.
May this oblation be effi-
cacious." 3. "May the primeval ruling sages, who framed the female
organ, as a fire that consumeth flesh, and thereby framed a procreat-
ing juice, grant the prolific power, that proceeds from the three-
horned [bull] and from the sun. May this oblation be efficacious."
To elucidate the first of these texts the commentator cites the follow-
"
ing passage : The sage VASISHT'HA the regent of the moon the
, ,

ruler of heaven, the preceptor of the Gods, and the great forefather
of all beings, however old in the
practice of devotion and old by
the progress of age, were deluded
by women. Liquors distilled
9*
132 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

from sugar, from grain, and from the blossoms of Bassia, are three
sorts of intoxicating drinks : the fourth is woman by whom this
,

world is deluded. One who contemplates a beautiful woman becomes

intoxicated and so does he who quaffs an inebriating beverage
,
:

woman is called an inebriating draught, because she intoxicates by

her looks." To explain the second text, the same author quotes a
passage of the Fe'da, intimating that BRAHMA has two mouths; one
containing all holiness the other allotted for the production of all
,

beings: 'for they are created from his mouth.'

After the bridegroom has tasted the Macfhuparca presented to
him, as above-mentioned, the bride's right hand is placed on his,
both having been previously rubbed with turmeric or some other
auspicious drug. A matron must bind both hands with cnsa grass
amidst the sound of cheerful music. To this part of the ceremony
the author of the poem entitled Naishadhiya has very prettily alluded,
in describing the marriage of NALAandDAMAYANTi (b. xvi. V.13&14.)
'As he tasted the MacChuparca which was presented to him, those
,

spectators who had foresight reflected, "He has begun the ceremonies
of an auspicious day, because he will quaff the honey of BHAIMI'S
lip. The bridegroom's hand exults in
the slaughter of foes; the
bride's hand has purloined its beauty from the lotos; it is for that
reason probably that, in this well-governed realm of Viderbha both ,
'

[guilty] hands are fast bound

with strong cusa.'

The bride's father, bidding the attendant priests begin their

acclamations, such as "happy day! auspicious be it! prosperity
attend! blessings!" &c., takes a vessel of water containing tila*
and cusa** grass, and pours it on the hands of the bride and bride-
groom, after uttering the words, "'0m tat sal!" "God the existent!"
and after repeating at full length the names and designations of the
bridegroom, of the bride, and of himself; and then solemnly declar-
ing, "I give unto thee this damsel adorned with jewels and protected
by the lord of creatures." The bridegroom replies, "Well be it!"
The bride's father afterwards gives him a piece of gold, saying,
"I this day give thee this gold, as a fee for the purpose of complet-
ing the solemn' donation made by me." The bridegroom again
says, "Well be it!" and then recites this text: "Who gave her? to
whom did he give her? Love (or free consent) gave her. To love
he gave her. Love was the giver. Love was the taker. Love !

may this be thine With love may I enjoy her!" The close of the
!

text is thus varied in the Sdmaveda: "Love has pervaded the ocean.
With love I accept her. Love! may this be thine." In the common
rituals another prayer is directed to be likewise recited immediately
/
* Sesamum Indicum.
** Poa
cynosuroides.
 OF THE HINDUS. 133

after thus formally accepting the bride

"
"May the ethereal element
:

give thee. May earth accept thee.

Being thus affianced the bride and bridegroom then walk forth,
,

while he thus addresses her: "May the regents of space, may air,
the sun, and fire, dispel that anxiety which thou feelest in thy mind,
and turn thy heart to me." He proceeds thus, while they look at
each other: "Be gentle in thy aspect and loyal to thy husband; be
fortunate in cattle, amiable in thy mind, and beautiful in thy person ;

be mother of valiant sons; be fond of delights; be cheerful, and

bring prosperity to our bipeds and quadrupeds. First [in a former
birth] SOMA received thee; the sun next obtained thee; [in successive
transmigrations] the regent of fire was thy third husband; thy fourth
is a human being. SOMA gave her to the sun; the sun gave her to
the regent of fire; fire gave her to me; with her he has given me
wealth and male offspring. May she, a most auspicious cause of
*
prosperity, never desert me," &c.
It should seem that, according to these rituals, the bridegroom

gives a waistcloth and mantle to the bride before he is affianced to

her and the ceremony of tying the skirts of their mantles precedes
;

that of her father's solemnly bestowing her on the bridegroom. But

the ritual of the Sdmavedi priests makes the gift of the damsel pre-
cede the tying of the knot; and inconsistently enough, directs the
,

mantles to be tied before the bridegroom has clothed the bride.

After the donation has been accepted as abovementioned, the bride's
father should tie a knot in the bridegroom's mantle over the presents
given with the bride while the affianced pair are looking at each
,

other. The cow is then released in the manner before described ;

a libation of water is made and the bride's father meditates the

;

Gdyalri, and ties a knot with the skirts of the bride's and bride-
groom's mantles, after saying, "Ye must be inseparably united in
matters of duty, wealth, and love." The bridegroom afterwards
clothes the bride with the following ceremonies.
He goes to the principalapartment of the house, prepares a sacri-
ficial fire in the usual mode, and hallows the implements of sacrifice.
A friend of the bridegroom walks round the fire bearing a jar of
,

water, and stops on the south. side of it: another does the same, and
places himself on the right hand of the first. The bridegroom then
casts four double handfuls of rice, mixed with leaves of sami,** into
a flat basket near it he places a stone and mullar after formally
:
,

touching them, and then entering the house, he causes the bride to
be clothed with a new waistcloth and scarf, while he recites the

* I omit the remainder of the it would be indecorous to trans-

which
text,
late into a modern language. The sense of it is here subjoined in a
literal
Latin version: "Ilia redamans accipito fascinum mourn, quod ego peramans
intromittam in earn, multa? qua illecebrae sistunt."
** Adenanthera aculeata.
134 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

subjoined prayers: "May those generous women who spun and

wound the thread, and who wove the warp and weft of this cloth,
generously clothe thee to old age: long-lived woman! put on this
raiment." "Clothe her: invest her with apparel: prolong her life
to great age. Mayest thou live a hundred years. As long as thou
livest,
amiable woman revere [that is carefully preserve] beauty
!
,
"
and wealth. The first of these prayers is nearly the same with
that which is used by the followers of the Yajush, when the scarf is
put on the bride's shoulder. It is preceded by a different one,
which is recited while the waistcloth is wrapped round her: "Mayest
thou reach old age. Put on this raiment. Be lovely: be chaste.
Live a hundred years. Invite [that is, preserve and obtain] beauty,
"
wealth, and male offspring. Damsel! put on this apparel. After-
wards the following prayer is recited: "May the assembled gods
unite our hearts. May the waters unite them. May air unite us.
May the creator unite us. May the god of love unite us."
But, according to the followers of the Sdmaveda the bridegroom,
,

immediately after the scarf has been placed on the bride's shoulder,
"
conducts her towards the sacrificial fire, saying, SOMA [the regent
of the moon] gave her to the sun:* the sun gave her to the regent
of fire: fire has given her to me, and with her, wealth and male
offspring." The bride then goes to the western side of the fire and
recites the following prayer, while she steps on a mat made of
Virctna grass** and covered with silk: "May our lord assign me
the path by which I may reach the abode of my lord." She sits
down on the edge of the mat; and the bridegroom offers six obla-
tions of clarified butter, reciting the following prayers, while the
bride touches his shoulder with her right hand. 1. "May fire come,
first among the gods; may it rescue her offspring from the fetters of

death; may VARUNA, king [of waters], grant that this woman should
never bemoan a calamity befalling her children." 2. "May the
domestic perpetual fire guard her; may it render her progeny long-
lived ; may she never be widowed may she be mother of surviving
;

children; may she experience the joy of having male offspring."

3. "May heaven protect thy back; may air, and the two sons of

AS'WINI, protect thy thighs may the sun protect thy children while
;

sucking thy breast; and VRIHASPATI protect them until they wear
clothes; and afterwards may the assembled gods protect them." 4.
"May no lamentation arise at night in thy abode; may crying
women enter other houses than thine; mayest thou never admit
sorrow to thy breast; mayest thou prosper in thy husband's house,
blest with his survival, and viewing cheerful children." 5. "I lift

* GUNAVISHNU here word which may

explains Gartdharba by the Aditi/a ,

signify the sun, or a deity in general.

** aromaticum or muricatum.
Andropogon
 OF THE HINDUS. 135

barrenness, the death of children, sin, and every other evil, as I

would lift a chaplet ofF thy head; and I consign the fetters [of pre-
mature death] to thy foes." 6. "May death depart from me, and
immortality come; may [YAMA] the child of the sun, render me
fearless. Death follow a different path from that by which we
!

proceed ,
and from that which the gods travel. To thee who seest
and who hearest, I call, saying, hurt not our offspring, nor our pro-
"
genitors. And may this oblation be efficacious. The bridegroom
then presents oblations, naming the three worlds, separately and
conjointly, and offers either four or five oblations to fire and to the
moon. The bride and bridegroom then rise up, and he passes from
her left side to her right, and makes her join her hands in a hollow
form.
The rice,* which had been put into a basket, is then taken up,
and the stone is placed before the bride who treads upon it with
,

the point of her right foot, while the bridegroom recites this prayer:
"Ascend this stone; be firm like this stone; distress my foe, and
"
be not subservient to enemies.
my The bridegroom then pours a
ladleful of clarified butter on her hands; another person gives her
the rice, and two other ladlefuls of butter are poured over it. She
then separates her hands and lets fall the rice on the tire while
, ,

the following text is recited: "This woman, casting the rice into the
fire, says, May my lord be long lived, may we live a hundred years,
and may all my kinsmen prosper: be this oblation efficacious.''
Afterwards the bridegroom walks round the fire preceded by the
,

bride, and reciting this text: "The girl goes from her parents to
her husband's abode, having strictly observed abstinence [for three
days from factitious salt, &c.] Damsel by means of thee we repress
!

foes, like a stream of water." The bride again treads on the stone
and makes another oblation of rice while the subjoined prayer is
,

recited: "The damsel has worshipped the generous sun and the
regent of fire; may he and the generous sun liberate her and me
from this [family]; be this oblation efficacious." They afterwards
walk round the fire as before. Four or five other oblations are made
with the same ceremonies and prayers, varying only the title of the
sun who is here called Ptishan, but was entitled Aryaman in the preced-
ing prayer. The bridegroom then pours rice out of the basket into the
fire, after pouring one or two ladlefuls of butter on the edge of the

basket; with this offering he simply says, "May this oblation to fire
be efficacious."
The oblations and prayers directed by the Tajurveda, previous
to this period of the solemnity, are very different from those which

* From this use of raw rice at the

nuptial ceremony, arises the custom of
presenting rice, tinged with turmeric, by way of invitation to guests whose
company is requested at a wedding.
136 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

have been here inserted from the Sdmaveda: and some of the cere-
monies, which will be subsequently noticed, are anticipated by the
priests, who follow the Yajush.
Twelve oblations are made with as many prayers, l. "May this
oblation be efficacious, and happily conveyed to that being who is
fire in the form of a celestial quirister, who is accompanied by truth,
and whose abode is truth may he cherish our holy knowledge and
;
"
our valour. 2. "Efficacious be this oblation to those delightful

plants, which are the nymphs of that being who is fire in the form
of a celestial quirister, who is accompanied by truth, and whose
abode is truth." 3. and 4. The foregoing prayers are thus varied:
"To that being who is the sun, in the form of a celestial quirister,
and who consists wholly of the Sdmaveda." "Those enlivening rays,
which are the nymphs of that sun." 5. and 6. "That being who is
the moon in the form of a celestial quirister and who is a ray of,
"
the sun, and named Sushmana. "Those asterisms which are the
nymphs of the moon, and are called Bhecuri."* 7. and 8. "That being
who is air, constantly moving and travelling every Avhere." "Those
waters which are the nymphs of air, and are termed invigorating."
9. and 10. "That being who is the solemn sacrifice in the form of a
celestial quirister; who cherishes all beings, and whose pace is

elegant." "Those sacrificial fees, which are the nymphs of the solemn
sacrifice, and are named thanksgivings." 11. and 12. "That being
who is mind in the form of a celestial quirister, who is the supreme
ruler of creatures, and who is the fabricator of the universe." "Those
holy strains (Rich and Sdman) who are the nymphs of mind, and are
named the means of attaining wishes."
Thirteen oblations are next presented, during the recital of as
many portions of a single text. "May the supreme ruler of creatures,
who is glorious in his victories over [hostile] armies, grant victory to
INDRA, the regent of rain. All creatures humbly bow to him for 5

he is terrible : to him are oblations due. May he grant me victory,

knowledge, reflection, regard, self-rule, skill, understanding, power,
[returns of] the conjunction and opposition of the sun and moon, and
holy texts (Vrlhat and RaChantara)"**
Eighteen oblations are then offered, while as many texts are me-
ditated; they differ only in the name of the deity that is invoked.
1. "May fire, lord of [living] beings, protect me in respect of holi-

ness valour, and prayer, and in regard to ancient privileges, to

,

this rite, and to this invocation of deities." 2. "May INDRA,

solemn
lord or regent of the eldest (that is of the best of beings) protect
,

* This term is not

expounded by the commentator. Bha signifies an aster-
ism: but the meaning of the compound term is not obvious. Sushmana bears
some affinity to Stishumna, mentioned in a former essay; but neither of
these names is explained in the commentaries which I have consulted.
** Texts of the Sdmaveda so named.
 OF THE HINDUS. 137

me," &c. 3. "TAMA, lord of the earth." 4. "Air, lord of the sky."
"
5. "The
sun, lord of heaven." 6. "]The moon, lord of stars. 7.

"VRIHASPATI, lord [that is, preceptor] of BRAHMA' [and other deities]."

8- "MITRA (the sun), lord of true beings." 9. "VARUNA, lord of
waters." 10. "The ocean, lord of rivers." 11. "Food, lord of tri-
butary powers." 12.
"
SOMA (the moon), lord of plants. " 13. "SA-
VITRI (the generative sun), lord of pregnant females." 14. "RUDRA
(SIVA), lord of [deities, that bear the shape of] cattle." 15. "The
"
fabricator of the universe, lord of forms. 16- "VISHNU, lord of
mountains." 17. "Winds
(Maruts), lords of (ganas) sets of divinities."
18. "Fathers, grandfathers, remoter ancestors, more distant pro-
genitors, their parents, and grandsires."
Oblations are afterwards made with prayers corresponding to
,

those which have been already cited from the Sdmaveda. 1. "May
tire come, first among the gods," &c. 2. "May the domestic per-

petual fire guard her," &c. 3. "Fire, who dost protect such as per-
form sacrifices grant us all blessings in heaven and on earth
! :

grant unto us that various and excellent wealth, which is produced

on this earth and in heaven." 4. "0 best of luminaries Come, !

show us an easy path, that our lives may be uninjured. May death
depart from me and immortality come. May the child of the sun
,

render me fearless." 5. "Death follow a different path," &c.

!

The bride offers the oblations of rice mixed with leaves ofsami*
letting fall the offerings on the fire in the manner beforementioned,
and with the same prayers, but recited in a reversed order and a
little varied. 1. "The damsel has worshipped the generous sun in
the form of fire;
"
may that generous sun never separate her from
this husband. 2. "This woman, casting the rice into the fire, says,

May my lord be long-lived; may my kinsmen reach old age." 3. "I

cast this rice into the fire, that it may become a cause of thy prosper-
ity: may fire assent to my union Avith thee."**
According to the followers of the Yajurveda, the bridegroom now
takes the bride's right hand reciting a text which will be subse-
,

quently quoted. The bride then steps on a stone while this text is
recited: "Ascend this stone; be firm like this stone. Subdue such
as entertain hostile designs against me, and repel them." The
following hymn is then chanted. "Charming SARASWATI, swift as a
mare ! whom I celebrate in face of this universe, protect this [solemn
rite].
thou! in whom the elements were produced, in whom this
universe was framed ,
I now will sing that hymn [the nuptial text]
which constitutes the highest glory of women." The bride and
bridegroom afterwards walk round the fire, while the following text

* Adenanlhera
qculeata.
** This version is conformable to a different
commentary from that which
was followed in the former translation.
138 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

is recited: "Fire! thou didst first espouse this female sun (this
woman beautiful like the sun) ; now let a human being again
,

espouse her by thy means. Give her, O fire! with offspring, to a

[human] husband." The remainder of the rice is then dropped into
the fire as an oblation to the god of love.
The next ceremony the bride's stepping seven steps. It is the
is

most material of all the nuptial rites for the marriage is complete
;

and irrevocable so soon as she has taken the seventh step

,
and ,

not sooner. She is conducted by the bridegroom and directed by ,

him to step successively into seven circles, while the following texts
are uttered: 1. "May VISHNU cause thee to take one step for the
" "
sake of obtaining food. 2. May VISHNU cause thee to take one
step for the sake of obtaining strength.'' 3. "Three steps for the
"
sake of solemn acts of religion. 4. "Four steps for the sake of ob-

taining happiness." 5. "Five steps for the sake of cattle." 6. "Six

"
steps for the sake of increase of wealth. 7. "Seven steps for the
"
sake of obtaining priests to perform sacrifices. * The bridegroom
then addresses the bride, "Having completed seven steps, be my
companion. May I become thy
associate. May none interrupt thy
association with me. May such as are disposed to promote our

happiness, confirm thy association with me." The bridegroom then

addresses the spectators: "This woman is auspicious: approach
and view her and having conferred [by your good wishes] auspi-
;

cious fortune on her, depart to your respective abodes."

Then the bridegroom's friend, who stood near the fire bearing a
jar of water, advances to the spot where the seventh step was com-
pleted, and pours water on the bridegrooms head, and afterwards
on the bride's, while a prayer abovementioned is recited: "May
waters and all the Gods cleanse our hearts; may air do so; may
the creator do so; may the divine instructress unite our hearts."**
The bridegroom then puts his left hand under the bride's hands,
which are joined together in a hollow form, and taking her right
hand in his, recites the six following texts 1. "I take thy hand for
:

the sake of good fortune, that thou mayest become old with me, thy
husband may the generous, mighty, and prolific sun render thee a
:

matron, that I may be a householder." 2. "Be gentle in thy aspect

and loyal to thy husband ; be fortunate in cattle amiable in thy ,

mind, and beautiful in thy person; be mother of surviving sons; be

assiduous at the [five] sacraments; be cheerful; and bring prosper-
ity to our bipeds
and quadrupeds." 3. "May the lord of creatures
grant us progeny, even unto old age may the sun render that pro-
;

geny conspicuous. Auspicious deities have given thee to me: enter

*
In the Yajurveda the texts are varied so that the third step is for in-
,

crease of wealth, and the sixth for obtaining happy seasons.

** in the former
It is here translated according to the g-loss of OUNAVISHNP ;

version I followed the commentary of HET.A'YUD'HA.

 OF THE HINDUS. 139

thy husband's abode, and bring health to our bipeds and quadrupeds."
4. "0 INDRA, who pourest forth rain! render this woman fortunate
and the mother of children: grant her ten sons; give her eleven
protectors." 5. "Be submissive to thy husband's father, to his mother,
" " Give
to his sister, and to his brothers. 6. thy heart to my reli-
gious duties may thy mind follow mine ; be thou consentient to my
:

speech. May VRIHASPATI unite thee unto me."

The followers of the Yajurveda enlarge the first prayer and omit
the rest, some of which, however, they employ at other periods of
the solemnity. "I take thy hand for the sake of good fortune, that
thou mayest become old with me, thy husband; may the deities,
namely, the divine sun (Aryaman) and the prolific being (Savatrf],
,

and the god of love, give thee as a matron unto me, that I may be
a householder. I need the goddess of prosperity. Thou art she.
Thou goddess of prosperity. I need her. I am the Sdman
art the

[ve'da]:thou art the Rich [veda]. I am the sky: thou art the earth.
Come; let us marry: let us hold conjugal intercourse: let us pro-
create offspring: let us obtain sons. May they reach old age. May
we, being affectionate glorious, and well disposed, see during a
,

hundred years, live a hundred years, and hear a hundred years."

According to the ritual, which conforms to the Sdmaveda, the
bridegroom sits down near the fire with the bride and finishes this
,

part of the ceremony by making oblations, while he names the three

worlds severally and conjointly. The taking of the bride's hand in
marriage is thus completed. In the evening of the same day, so
soon as the stars appear, the bride sits down on a bull's hide, which
must be of a red colour, and must be placed with the neck towards
the east and the hair upwards. The bridegroom sits down
near her, makes oblations while he names the three worlds
as usual and then makes six oblations with the following prayers,
,

and each time pours the remainder of the clarified butter on the
bride's head. 1. "I obviate by this full oblation all ill marks in the
lines [of thy hands], in thy eye -lashes, and in the spots [on thy
" I obviate
body]." 2. by this full oblation all the ill marks in thy
hair; and whatever is sinful in thy looking, or in thy crying." 3.
"I obviate by this full oblation all that may be sinful in thy temper,
in thy speaking, and in thy laughing." 4. "I obviate by this full
oblation all the ill marks in
thy teeth, and in the dark intervals be-
tween them; in thy hands, and in thy feet." 5. "I obviate by this
full oblation all the ill marks on thy thighs, on thy privy part, on

thy haunches, and on the lineaments of thy figure." 6. "Whatever

natural or accidental evil marks were on all thy limbs, I have ob-
viated all such marks by these full oblations of clarified butter.
May this oblation be efficacious."
Thebride and bridegroom rise up and he shews her the polar
;

star, reciting the following text: "Heaven is stable; the earth is

140 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

stable; this universe is stable; tlieses mountains are stable; may

this woman be stable in her husband's family."* The bride salutes
the bridegroom, naming herself and family, and adding a respectful
interjection. The bridegroom replies, "Be long-lived and happy.
11

Matrons then pour water, mixed with leaves, upon the bride and
bridegroom, out of jars which had been previously placed on an
altar prepared for the purpose and the bridegroom again makes
;

oblations with the names of the worlds, by way ,of closing this part
of the ceremony.
The bridegroom afterwards eats food prepared without factitious
salt. During this meal he recites the following prayers: 1. "I bind
with the fetters of food thy heart and mind to the gem [of my soul] ;

I bind them with nourishment, which is the thread of life; I bind

them with the knot of truth." 2. "May that heart, which is yours,
become my heart; and this heart, which is mine, become thy heart."
3. "Since food is the bond of life, I bind thee therewith." The
remainder of the food must be then given to the bride.
During the three subsequent days the married couple must abstain
from factitious salt, live chastely and austerely, and sleep on the
ground. On the following day, that is, on the fourth exclusively,**
the bridegroom conducts the bride to his own house on a carriage
or other suitable conveyance. He recites the following text when
she ascends the carriage ": wife of the sun ascend this vehicle
!

resembling the beautiful blossoms of the cotton -tree*** and butea,f

tinged with various tints and coloured like gold well constructed,
,

furnished with good wheels, and the source of ambrosia [that is, of
blessings]: bring happiness to thy husband." Proceeding with his
bride, he, or some other person for him recites the following text
,

on their coming to a cross road: "May robbers, who infest the road
remain ignorant [of this journey] may the married couple reach
;

a place of security and difficult access, by easy roads; and may

foes keep aloof."
Alighting from the carriage, the bridegroom leads the bride into
the house, chanting the hymn called Vdmadevya. Matrons welcome
the bride, and make her sit down on a bull's hide of the same colour,
and placed in the same manner as before. The bridegroom then
recites the following prayer: "May kine here produce numerous

*
Dhruva, the pole, also signifies stable, fixed, steady, firm.
** Hindus
The Muslemans of 'India do not scruple to borrow from the
superstitious ceremonies that are celebrated with festivity. They take an
active part in the gambols of the Holi, and even solicit the favours of the
Indian Plutus, at the Diwali. The bridal procession, on the fourth day, with
all the sports and gambols of the Chaut'hi (Chaturt'hi) , is evidently copied
from the similar customs of the Hindus. In Bengal the Muslemans have even
adopted the premature marriage of infant brides and bridegrooms.
*** Bombax
heptaphyllum.
f Butea frondosa.
 OP THE HINDUS. 141

young; may horses and human beings do so and may the deity
;

sit here, by whose favour sacrifices are accomplished with gifts a

thousand fold."
The women place a young child in the bride's lap they put
the ;

roots of lotos ,
in his hand. The
or else fruit of different kinds ,

bridegroom takes up the child, and then prepares a sacrificial fire

in the usual manner, and makes eight oblations with the following

prayers, preceded and followed by the usual oblations to the three

worlds. 1. "May there be cheerfulness here." 2. "May thine own
" " "
[kindred] be kind here. 3. May there be pleasure here. 4*
"Sport thou here." 5. "May there be kindness here with me." 6.
"May thine own [kindred] be here, benevolent towards me.'' 7.
"May there be here delight towards me." 8. "Be thou here joyous
towards me." The bride then salutes her father - in - law and the
other relatives of her husband.
Afterwards the bridegroom prepares another sacrificial fire, and
sits down with the bride on his right hand. He makes twenty
oblations with the following prayers, preceded and followed as
usual by oblations to the three worlds. The remainder of each ladleful
si thrown into a jar of water, which is afterwards poured on the bride's

head. 1. "Fire, expiator of evil! thou dost atone evils for the gods
themselves. I, a priest, approach thee desirous of soliciting thee
,

to remove any sinful taint in the beauty of this woman." 2. "Air,

expiator of evil!" &c. 3. "Moon, expiator of evil !" &c. 4. "Sun,

expiator of evil!" &c. 5. "Fire, air, moon, and sun, expiators of
evil! ye do atone evils for the gods. I, a priest, approach thee,
desirous of soliciting thee to remove any sinful taint in the beauty
of this woman." 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. "soliciting thee to remove any thing
"
in her person which might destroy her husband. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,
"any thing in her person which might make her negligent of cattle."
The priests who use the Yajurveda^ make only five oblations with
as many prayers addressed to fire, air, the sun, the moon, and the
Gandharba or celestial quirister; praying them to remove any thing
in the person of the bride which might be injurious to her husband,
to her offspring, to cattle, to the household, and to honour and
glory.
The following text is recited while the water is poured on the bride's
head: "That blameable portion of thy person which would have
been injurious to thy husband, thy offspring, thy cattle, thy house-
hold, and thy honour, I render destructive of paramours: may thy
body [thus cleared from evil] reach old age with me." The bride
is then fed with food
prepared in a caldron and the following text
,

is recited: "I unite

thy breath with my breath; thy bones with my
v
bones; thy flesh with my flesh; and thy skin with my skin.
The ceremonies of which the nuptial solemnity consists may be
here recapitulated. The bridegroom goes in procession to the house
where the bride's fathor resides, and is there welcomed as a guest.
142 ON THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

The bride is given to him by her father in the form usual at every
solemn donation, and their hands are bound together with grass.
He clothes the bride with an upper and lower garment, and the
skirts of her mantle and his are tied together. The bridegroom
makes oblations to fire, and the bride drops rice on it as an oblation.
The bridegroom solemnly takes her hand in marriage. She treads
on a stone and mullar. They walk round the fire. The bride steps
seven times, conducted by the bridegroom, and he then dismisses
the spectators the marriage being now complete and irrevocable.
,

In the evening of the same day the bride sits down on a bull's hide,
and the bridegroom points out to her the polar star as an emblem
of stability. They then partake of a meal. The bridegroom remains
three days at the house of the bride's father on the fourth day he con-
:

ducts her to his own house in solemn procession. She is there welcomed
by his kindred; and the solemnity ends with oblations to fire.
Among Hindus, a girl is married before the age of puberty. The
law even censures the delay of her marriage beyond the tenth year.
For this reason, and because the bridegroom too may be an infant,
it is rare that a
marriage should be consummated until long after
its solemnization. The recital of prayers on this occasion constitutes
it a religious ceremony; and it is the first of those that are per-
formed for the purpose of expiating the sinful taint which a child
is supposed to contract in the womb of his mother.
They shall be
described in a future essay.
On the practice of immature nuptials, a subject suggested in the
preceding paragraph, it may be remarked, that it arises from a
laudable motive from a sense of duty incumbent on a father who
; ,

considers as a debt the obligation of providing a suitable match for

his daughter. This notion, which is strongly inculcated by Hindu
legislators, is forcibly impressed on the minds of parents. But in
their zeal to dispose of a daughter in marriage, they do not perhaps

sufficiently consult her domestic felicity. By the death of an infant

husband, she is condemned to virgin widowhood for the period of
her life. If both survive, the habitual bickerings of their infancy
are prolonged in perpetual discord.
Numerous restrictions in the assortment of matches impose on
parents this necessity of embracing the earliest opportunity of affi-
ancing their children to fit companions. The intermarriages of differ-
ent classes, formerly permitted with certain limitations, are now
wholly forbidden. The prohibited degrees extend to the sixth of
affinity; and even the bearing of the same family
name is a sufficient
cause of impediment.
To conclude the subject of nuptials, I shall only add, that eight
forms are noticed by Hindu legislators. (MENU, c. iii.) But one
only, which has been here described
from thelndian rituals, is now used.
 VI.

On the PHILOSOPHY of the HINDUS.

PART I.*

[From the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society vol. i.

p. 1943.]

INTRODUCTION.

THE Hindus, as is well known, possess various ancient systems

of philosophy, which they consider to be orthodox, as consistent
with the theology and metaphysics of the Vedas ; and have likewise
preserved divers systems deemed heretical as incompatible with ,

the doctrines of their holy books.

The two Mimdnsds (for there are two schools of metaphysics under
this title) are emphatically orthodox. The prior one (piirva), which
has JAIMINI for its founder, teaches the art of reasoning, with the
express view of aiding the interpretation of the Vedas. The latter
commonly called Veddnla, and attributed to VYA'SA, deduces
(iittara),
from the text of the Indian scriptures a refined psychology, which
goes to a denial of a material world.
The j?Vit/rtya, of which GOTAMA is the acknowledged author, furnishes
a philosophical arrangement, with strict rules of reasoning, not
unaptly compared to the dialectics of the Aristotelian school. Another
course of philosophy connected with it bears the denomination of
Vaiseshica. Its reputed author is CANA'DE; who, like Democritus.
maintained the doctrine of atoms.
A different philosophical system , partly heterodox and partly ,

conformable to the established Hindu creed, is the Sdnc'hya: of

which also, as of the preceding, there are two schools; one usually
known by that name the other commonly termed Yoga. A succinct
;

exposition of the Sdnc'hya doctrines is the design of the present

essay: they are selected for that purpose, on account of the strong
affinity which they manifestly bear to the metaphysical opinions of
the sects of Jin a and Budfrha.

*
Read at a public meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society. June 21, 1823.
144 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

Though not strictly orthodox, both Sdnc'hyas and the Faiseshica,

as well as the Nydyu are respected and studied by very rigid ad-
,

herents of the Vedas, who are taught, however, to reject so much

as disagrees, and treasure up what is consonant to their scriptures.
"In CANA'DE'S doctrine, in the Sdnc'hya, and in the Yoga, that part
which is inconsistent with the Vedas, is to be rejected
by those who
strictly adhere to revelation. In JAIMINI'S doctrine, and in VYA'SA'S,
there is nothing whatsoever at variance with scripture."*
Heretical treatises of philosophy are very numerous among which :

that of CHA'RVACA, which exhibits the doctrine of the Jaina sect, is

most conspicuous and next to it, the" Pdsupdta.
;

To them, and to the orthodox systems beforementioned, it is not

intended here to advert, further than as they are noticed by writers
on the Sdnc*hya citing opinions of other schools of philosophy in
, ,

course of commenting on the text which they are engaged in ex-

pounding. It is not my present purpose to exhibit a contrasted view
of the tenets of different philosophical schools but to present to ,

this Society a of the doctrine of a single sect; which will

summary
serve, however, to elucidate that of several more.
Of other philosophical sects, the received doctrines in detail may
be best reserved for separate notice, in distinct essays to be here-
after submitted to the Society. \ must be clearly understood, how-
ever, not to pledge myself definitively for that task.
I proceed without further preface to the immediate subject of the

present essay :

A system of philosophy, in which precision of reckoning is ob-

served in the enumeration of its principles, is denominated Sdnc'hya ;

a term which has been understood to signify numeral, agreably to

the usual acceptation of sanc'hyd number and hence its analogy
,
:

to the Pythagorean philosophy has been presumed. But the name

may be taken to imply, that its doctrine is founded in the exercise

of judgment: for the word from which it is derived signifies reason-
ing or deliberation;** and that interpretation of its import is coun-
tenanced by a passage of the Bhdrala where it is said of this sect
,

of philosophers: "They exercise judgment (sanc'hyd), and discuss

nature and [other] twenty-four principles and therefore are called
,

"
Sdnc'hya.
The commentator who has furnished this quotation expounds
,

sanc'hyd, as here importing

'
the discovery of soul by means of right
discrimination.' ***
The reputed founder of this sect of metaphysical philosophy was
CAPILA; an ancient sage, concerning whose origin and adventures

*
Quotation in VIJNYANA-BHICSHU'S Capila-Midshya.
** Am. CtJuh. 11.
1, 1, 4,
***
Capila-bhdstiya. ... .
 8ANKBTA. 1 45

the mythological fables, which occupy the place of history with the
Hindus, are recounted variously. In GAUDAPADA'S commentary on
the Sdnc'hya-cdricd , he is asserted to have been a son of BRAHMA';
being one of the seven great Rishis, or saints, named in Pur anas or
theogonies as the offspring of that deity. His two most distinguished
disciples, ASURI and PANCHASIC'HA, are there exalted to the same
rank and divine origin with himself. Another commentator main-
tains that CAPILA was an incarnation of VISHNU. It had been affirmed

by a writer on the Veddnlu, upon the authority of a passage quoted

by him, wherein CAPILA, the founder of the Sdnchya sect, is identified
with AGNI (fire) that he was an incarnation not of VISHNU but of
, , ,

AGNI. The commentator is not content with the fiery origin conceded
to the author. He denies the existence of more than one CAPILA;
and insists, that the founder of this sect was an incarnation of VISH-
NU, born as the son of DEVADU'TI.*
In fact, the word capita, besides its ordinary signification of
tawny colour bears likewise that of fire and upon this ambiguity
,
:

of sense many legends in the Indian theogonies, concerning the

saint of the name have been grounded
,
a sample of which will be
;

found quoted by Col. Wilford, in the Asiatic Researches.**

A passage which is cited in the commentaries of GAUDAPADA and
VACHESPATI on the Carted, assigns to CAPILA intuitive knowledge
and innate virtue, with transcendent power and other perfections
born with him at the earliest creation and this is taken by those
;

scholiasts as relating to the founder of the Sdnchya sect. But another

commentator of the Cdricd, RA'MACRISHNA who belongs to the theist-
,

ical branch of this sect, affirms that the passage in question concerns
IsTvara, or GOD, acknowledged by that school.
A text quoted in VYA'SA'S commentary on PATANJALI'S Yoga-
sdstra,*** and referred by the annotator VA'CHESPATI, as well as a
modern scholiast of the Yoga-sdstra, NA'GOJI, to PANCHAS'IC'HA the
disciple of ASURI, describes CAPILA as an incarnation of the Deity:
"The holy and wise one, entering a mind by himself framed,
first
and becoming the mighty sage (CAPILA) compassionately revealed
,

this science to ASURI. "f

It may be questioned whether CAPILA be not altogether a my-

thological personage, to whom the true author of the doctrine,

whoever he was, thought fit to ascribe it.
A collection of sutras, or succinct aphorisms, in six lectures, attri-
buted to CAPILA himself, is extant under the title of Sanc'hya-pru-
vachana. As an ancient work (whoever may have been really its
author) it must doubtless have been expounded by early scholiasts.
,

* VUNYANA in Cap. bhdsh.

** Vol. iii.
p. 355.
*** PATANJ. Sdn&h.
prav. 1, 25.
f Panch. tulru, quoted in VYA'SA'S blidshya.
10
146 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

But the only commentary, which can at present be referred to by

name is the Capila-bhdshya :
or, as the author himself cites it in his
other works, Sdnc'hya-bhdshya. The title at full length, in the epi-
graph of the book, isCapila-sdnc'hya-pravachana-sdslru-bhdshya. It is
by VIJNYA'NA-BHICSHU, a mendicant ascetic (as his designation im-
ports), who composed a separate treatise on the attainment of bea-
titude in this life, entitled Sdnc'hya - sdra and wrote many other ,

works particularly the Yoga-vdrlica, consisting of scholia on PATAN-

;

JALI'S Yoga-sdslra, and the Brahme-mimdnsd-bhdshya^ which is a com-

mentary on a treatise of Veddnli philosophy.
appears from the preface of the Capila-bhdshya, that a more
It

compendious tract, in the same form of sulras or aphorisms, bears

the title of Taltva - samdsa and is ascribed to the same author, CA-
,

PILA, The scholiast intimates that both are of equal authority, and
in no respect discordant: one being a summary of the greater work,
or else this an amplification of the conciser one. The latter was
probably the case ;
for there is much repetition in the Sdnc'hya-pra-
vachana.
It is
avowedly not the earliest treatise on this branch of philo-
sophy : contains references to former authorities for parti-
since it

culars which are but briefly hinted in the sulras ;* and it quotes
some by name, and among them PANCHAS'IO'HA,** the disciple of
the reputed author's pupil an anachronism which appears decisive.
:

The title of Sdnc'hya-pravachana seems a borrowed one at least ;

it is common to several compositions. It appertains to PATANJALI'S

Yoga-sdslra.
If the authority of the scholiast of CAPILA may be trusted, the
Tatwa-samdsa is the proper text of the Sdnc'hya; and its doctrine is
more fully , but separately set forth by the two ampler treatises,
,

entitled Sdnc'hya-pravachana, which contain a fuller exposition of

what had been there succinctly delivered; PATANJALI'S work supply-
ing the deficiency of CAPILA'S, and declaring the existence of GOD,
which for argument's sake and not absolutely and unreservedly,
,

he had denied.
Of the six lectures or chapters into which the sulras are distri-
buted ,
the three first comprise an exposition of the whole Sdnc'hya
doctrine. The
fourth contains illustrative comparisons with refer- ,

ence to and tales. The fifth is controversial

fables confuting ,

opinions of other sects; which is the case also with part of the first.
The sixth and last treats of the most important piarts of the doctrine,
enlarging upon topics before touched.
The Carted, which will be forthwith mentioned as the text book
or standard authority of the Sdnc'hya, has an allusion to the con-

*
. Cap. 3, 30.
** 6.
Cap
 SA'NKHYA. 147

tents of the fourth and chapters, professing to be a complete

fifth
treatise of the science, exclusive of illustrative tales and contro-
versial disquisitions.* The author must have had before him the
same collection of siilras, or one similarly arranged. His scholiast**
expressly refers to the numbers of the chapters.
Whether the Tattva - samdsa of CAPILA be extant, or whether the
sutras of PANCHAS'IC'HA be so is not certain. The latter are fre-
,

quently cited, and by modern authors on the Sdnc'hya: whence a

presumption, that they may be yet forthcoming.
The best text of the Sdnc'hya is a short treatise in verse, which
is denominated Cdricd, as memorial verses of other sciences likewise

are. The acknowledged author is IS'WAR A - CRISHNA , described in

the concluding lines or epigraph of the work itself, as having re-
ceived the doctrine, through a succession of intermediate instructors,
from PANCHAS'IC'HA, by whom it was first promulgated, and who
was himself instructed by ASURI, the disciple of CAPILA.***
This brief tract, containing seventy-two stanzas in dryd metre,
has been expounded in numerous commentaries.
One of these is the work of GAUDAPA'DA, the celebrated scholiast
of the Upanishads of the Vedas, and preceptor of GOVINDA, who was
preceptor of SANCARA-ACHA'RYA author likewise of numerous trea-
,

tises on divers branches of theological philosophy. It is entitled

Sdnc'hya bhdshya.
Another, denominated Sdnc'hya-chandricd, is by NARA'YANA-TIRT'HA,
who seems from his designation to have been an ascetic. He was
author likewise of a gloss on the Yoga-'sdslra , as appears from his
own references to it.
A
third commentary, under the title of Sdnc'hya-tatwa-caumudi,
or more simply Tatrva - caumudi (for so it is cited by later commen-
tators), isby VA'CHESPATI-MISRA, a native of Tirhiit, author of similar
works on various other philosophical systems. It appears from the
multiplicity of its copies, which are unusually frequent, to be the
most approved gloss on the text.
One more commentary, bearing the analogous but simpler title
of Sdnc'hya-caumudi, is by RA'MA-CRISHNA, BHATTA'CHA'RYA, a learned
and not ancient writer of Bengal who has for the most part followed
;

preceding commentators, borrowing frequently from NARA'YANA

TIRT'HA, though taking the title of his commentary from VA'CHES-
PATI'S.
The more than one place, noticed
scholiasts of the Cdricd have, in
the text of the thus formally admitting the authority of the
siilras:

aphorisms. The excellence of the memorial verses (Cdricd), with

*
Car, 72.
** NAKAYANA-TfRT'HA.
*** Car. 70 and 71.

10*
148 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

the gloss of GAUDAPA'DA and that of VA'CHESPATI - MIS'RA has been ,

the occasion of both collections of aphorisms (Tatwa-samdsa and

Sanc'hya pravachana) falling into comparative neglect. They are
-

superseded for a text book of the sect by IS'WARA-CRISHNA'S clearer

and more compendious work Both sitlras and carted may be con-
sidered to be genuine and authoritative expositions of the doctrine ;

and the more especially, as they do not, upon any material point, ap-
pear to disagree.

The several works beforementioned are the principal works in

which the Sdnc'hya philosophy may be now studied. Others, which
are cited by scholiasts may possibly be yet forthcoming. But
,

they are at least scarce, and no sufficient account of them can

be given upon the strength of a few scattered quotations. Among
them, however, may be named the R djavdr licet to which reference,

is made as to a work held in much estimation and which appears

, ,

to comprise annotations on the siilras; and the Sangraha, which is

cited for parallel passages explanatory of the text, being an abridged
exposition of the same doctrines, in the form of a select compilation.
Concerning the presumable antiquity of either CAPILA'S aphorisms
or ISWARA-CRISHNA'S memorial couplets, I shall here only remark,
that notices of them, with quotations from both, do occur in philo-
sophical treatises of other schools, whereby their authenticity is so
far established.
Besides the Sdnrfhya of CAPILA and his followers, another system,
bearing the same denomination, but more usually termed the Yoga-
idslra or Y6ga-9Ulra, as before remarked, is ascribed to a mytholo-
gical being, PATANJALI, the supposed author of the great gramma-
tical
commentary emphatically named the Mahdbhdshya and like- ;

wise of a celebrated medical treatise termed Characa, and other

distinguished performances.
The collection of Yuga-siitras, bearing the common title ofSdntfhya
pravachana, is distributed into four chapters or quarters (pdd(i) : the

first, on contemplation (samdifhi) the second, on the means of its

;

attainment; the third, on the exercise of transcendent power (vibhuti) ;

the fourth, on abstraction or spiritual insulation (caiwalya).

An ancient commentary on this fanatical work is forthcoming,
entitled -
Pdtanjala bhdshya. It is attributed to VEDA-VYA'SA the ,

compiler of the Indian scriptures and founder of the Veddnti school

of philosophy. VA'CHESPATI MIS'RA has furnished scholia on both
text and gloss. This scholiast lias been already noticed as an emi-
nent interpreter of the Carted : and the same remark is here appli-
cable that the multiplicity of copies indicates the estimation in
,

which his gloss is held above other scholia.

Another commentary is
by VIJNYA'NA-BHICSHU beforementioned.
He refers to it in his other works under the name of Yuga-vdrlica.
 SANKHYA. 149

It probably is extant; for quotations from it occur in modern com-

pilations.
A
third commentary, denominated Rdja-mdrlanSa, is ascribed in
preface and epigraph to RANA RANGAMALLA surnarned BHOJA-
-
its ,

RA'JA or BHOJA-PATI, sovereign of Dhdrd, and therefore called Dhdres-

wara. It was probably composed at his court, under his auspices;
and his name has been affixed to it in compliment to him as is no ,

uncommon practice. It is a succinct and lucid exposition of the text.

An ampler commentary by a modern Mahdrdshlriya Brahman,
named NA'GOJI-BHATTA UPA'D'HVA'YA, bears the title of Pulanjali-siilra-
vrilli. It is
very copious and very clear.
The tenets of the two schools of the Sdnc'hya are on many, not to
say on most, points, that are treated in both, the same; differing
however upon one, which is the most important of all the proof of :

existence of supreme GOD.

The one school (PATANJALI'S) recognising GOD is therefore de- ,

nominated theistical (Scsivara sdnc'hya}. The other (CAPILA'S) is

atheistical (Niristvara Sdnc'hya) as the sects of Jina and Buddha in
,

effect are, acknowledging no creator of universe nor supreme ruling

providence. The gods of CAPILA are beings superior to man; but,

like him, subject to change and transmigration.
A third school, denominated Paurdtiica sdnc'hya, considers nature
as an illusion conforming upon most other points to the doctrine of
;

PATANJALI, and upon many, to that of CAPILA. In several of the

Purdnas, as the Matsya, Ciirma and Vishnu, in particular, the cos-
mogony, which is an essential part of an Indian theogony, is de-.
livered consonantly to this system. That which is found at the be-
*
ginning of MENU'S institutes of law is not irreconcileable to it.

Doctrine of (he Sanc'hya.

THE professed design of all the schools of the Sdnc'hya, theistical,

atheistical, and mythological, as of other Indian systems of philo-
sophy, is to teach the means by which eternal beatitude may be
attained after death, if not before it.
In a passage of the Vedas it is said, "Soul is to be known, it is to

be discriminated from nature thus it does not come again ; it does

:

not come again."** Consonantly to this and to numberless oilier

passages of a like import, the whole scope of the Veddnta is to teach
a doctrine, by the knowledge of which an exemption from metem-
psychosis shall be attainable; and to inculcate that as the grand
object to be sought, by means indicated.

*
MENU, 1. 1410.
** GAUD, on Car.
150 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

Even in the aphorisms of the Nydya* the same is proposed as the

reward of a thorough acquaintance with that philosophical arrange-
ment.
In like manner the Grecian philosophers, and Pythagoras and
Plato in particular, taught that "the end of philosophy is to free the
mind from incumbrances which hinder its progress towards perfection,
and to raise it to the contemplation of immutable truth," and "to
disengage it from all animal passions, that it may rise above sensible
"**
objects to the contemplation of the world of intelligence.
In all systems of the Seine' hi/a the same purpose is propounded.
"Future pain," says PATANJALI, "is to be prevented. A clear know-
ledge of discriminate truth is the way of its prevention."***
It is true knowledge, as CAPILA and his followers insist, f that
alone can secure entire and permanent deliverance from evil:
whereas temporal means, whether for exciting pleasure or for relieving
mental and bodily sufferance, are instifficient to that end; and the
spiritual resources of practical religion are imperfect, since sacrifice,
the most efficacious of observances is attended with the slaughter
,

of animals, and consequently is not innocent and pure; and the

heavenly meed of pious acts is
transitory, tf
In support of these positions, passages are cited from the Vedns
declaring in express terms the attainment of celestial bliss by ce-
lebration of sacrifices: "Whoever performs an astvamed'ha (or immo-
lation of a horse) conquers all worlds; overcome^ death; expiates
sin;
atones for sacrilege. " In another place , INDRA and the rest
of the subordinate deities are introduced exulting on their acquisition
of bliss. "We have drunk the juice of asclepias ttt and are become
immortal; we have attained effulgence; we have learned divine
truths. How can a foe harm us? How can age affect the immortality
of a deathless being ?'' Yet it appears in divers parts of the
Indian scriptures that according to Hindu theology even those
, , ,

deities, though termed immortal, have but a definite duration of life,

perishing with the whole world at its periodical dissolution. "Many
thousands of Indras and of other Gods have passed away in suc-
"
cessive periods, overcome by time for time is hard to overcome.
;

Complete and perpetual exemption from every sort of ill is the

beatitude which is proposed for attainment by acquisition of perfect
"
knowledge. "Absolute prevention of all three sorts of pain, as an

* Got siitr.
** Enfield's Hist, of Phil. I. 382 and 233.
*** Pal. 1. 16. and 26.
f Cap. 1. 1. Car. 1.
ft Car. 1.
fff Soma, the moon-plant: Asclepias acida.
% OAIJD. on Car. 2.
Ibid.
 SANKHYA. 151

aphorism of the Sdnc'hya intimates, "is the highest purpose of soul."*

Those three sorts are evil proceeding from self, from external beings,
or from divine causes the first is either bodily, as disease of various
:

kinds; or mental, as cupidity, anger, and other passions: the two

remaining sorts arise from external sources ; one excited by some
mundane being the other, by the agency of a being of a superior
;

order, or produced by a fortuitous cause.

True and perfect knowledge, by which deliverance from evil of
every kind is attainable, consists in rightly discriminating the prin-
ciples, perceptible and imperceptible, of the material world, from
the sensitive and cognitive principle which is the immaterial soul.
Thus the Cdricd premises, that "the inquiry concerns means of pre-
cluding the three sorts of pain for pain is embarrassment. Nor is
:

the inquiry superfluous, because obvious means of alleviation exist;

for absolute and final relief is not thereby accomplished. The re-
vealed mode is, like the temporal one, ineffectual: for it is impure;
and it is defective in some respects, as well as excessive in others.
A method, different from both, is preferable; consisting in a dis-
criminative knowledge of perceptible principles and of the imper-
,

ceptible one,and of the thinking soul."**

The revealed mode, to which allusion is here made, is not theo-
logical doctrine with the knowledge of first principles, insuring
exemption from transmigration but performance of religious
;

ceremonies enjoined in the practical Vedas and especially the im-

,

molation of victims, for which a heavenly reward, a place among the

Gods, is promised.
It is not pure, observes the scholiast, for it is attended with the

slaughter of animals, which if not sinful in such cases, is, to say the
least, not harmless. The merit of it, therefore, is of a mixed nature.
A particular precept expresses, "slay the consecrated victim:" but
a general maxim ordains, "hurt no sentient being." It is defective,
since even the Gods, INDRA and the rest, perish at the appointed
period. It is in other respects excessive, since the felicity of one
is a source of unhappiness to another.
Visible and temporal means, to which likewise reference is made
in the text, are medicine and other remedies for bodily ailment;
diversion alleviating mental ills; a guard against external injury;
charms for defence from accidents. Such expedients do not utterly
preclude sufferance. But true knowledge, say Indian philosophers,
does so; and they undertake to teach the means of its attainment.
By three kinds of evidence, exclusive of intuition, which belongs
to beings of a superior order, demonstration is arrived at, and cer-

tainty is attained, by mankind: namely, perception, inference, and

* San.
prnv. 1.1.
** Car. 1 and 2 with Scholia.
152 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

affirmation. * All authorities among the Seine' hyas, (PATANJALI and

CAPILA ,
as well as their respective followers) concur in asserting
these. Other sources of knowledge, admitted in different systems of
philosophy, are reducible to these three. Comparison, or analogy,
which the logicians of GOTAMA'S school add to that enumeration, and
tradition and other arguments, which JAIMINI maintains (viz. capacity,
aspect, and privation of four sorts, antecedent, reciprocal, absolute,
and total), are all comprehended therein. Other philosophers, who
recognise fewer sources of knowledge, as CHA'RVACA, who acknow-
ledges preception only, and the Vaiseshicas, who disallow tradition,
are rejected as insufficient authorities. **
Inference is of three sorts, equally admitted by the schools of the
Sdnc'hya and GOTAMA'S Nydya, and in all distinguished by the same
denominations. The consideration of them more properly belongs
to the dialectic philosophy than to this, and may therefore be post-

poned. It will be here sufficient to state the simplest explanation

furnished by scholiasts of the Carica and Sutras, without going into
the differences which occur in their expositions.
One sort, then, is the inference of an effect from a cause; the
second is that of a cause from an effect the third is deduced from
;

a relation other than that of cause and effect. Examples of them

are, 1st. Rain anticipated from a cloud seen gathering. 2d. Fire
concluded on a hill, Avhence smoke ascends. 3d. A flower's appro-
priate colour presumed where its peculiar scent is noticed; or motion
of the moon's orb, deduced from observation of it in different
aspects or saltness of the sea concluded from that of a sample of
; ,

sea- water; or bloom surmised on mangoe-trees in general, when an

individual mangoe-tree is found in blossom.
In regard to the third kind of evidence tradition or right affir-
,

mation,*** explained as intending true revelation,-]- commentators

understand it to mean the Vedas or sacred writ including the re-
,

collections of those gifted mortals, who remember passages of their

former lives, and call to mind events which occurred to them in other
worlds; and excluding, on the other hand, pretended revelations of
impostors and barbarians.
In a dialogue cited from the Vedas, one of the interlocutors, the
holy JAIGISHAVYA, asserts his presence, and consequent recollection
of occurrences, through ten renovations of the universe (Mahasarga).
In a more extended sense, this third kind of evidence is the affirm-
ation of any truth, and comprises every mode of oral information or
verbal communication whence knowledge of a truth maybe drawn.
From these three sources, by the right exercise of judgment and
* Car. 4. Pat. 1. 7. J.
Cap.
** Com. on Car. 5.
*** Pat. 1. 7.

+ Car. 4 and 5.
 SA'NKHYA. 153

due application of reasoning, true knowledge is derived, consisting

in a discriminative acquaintance with principles; which, in the

Sdnc'hya system, are reckoned to be not less than twenty-five; viz.

Nature, Pracrlti or Mula-pracrili the root or plastic origin of
1. ,

all termed Pratf liana, the chief one the universal, material cause
: :
;

identified by the cosmogony of the Purdnas (in several of which the

Sdnc'hya philosophy is followed) with Mdyd or illusion; and, by
mythologists, with Brdhmi, the power or energy of BRAHMA. It is
eternal matter, un discrete; undistinguishable, as destitute of parts;
inferrible, from its effects: being productive, but no production.
2. Intelligence, called BudcThi and Mahat or the great one: the
first production of nature, in create, prolific; being itself productive

of other principles. It is identified by the mythological Sdnc'hya

with the Hindu triad of Gods. A very remarkable passage of the
Mnlsya-purdtia cited in the Sdnc'hya-sdra, after declaring that the
great principle is produced "from modified nature," proceeds to
affirm, ''that the great one becomes distinctly known as three Gods,
through the influence of the three qualities of goodness, foulness,
and darkness; 'being one person, and three Gods,' (ecd mi'irtis, Irayd
namely, BRAHMA', VISHNU, and MAHES'WARA. In the aggregate
devdti),
it is the deity
; but, distributive, it appertains to individual beings.''
Consciousness, termed Ahancdra, or more properly egotism,
3.
which is the literal sense of the term. The peculiar and appro-
priate function of it is (abhimdna) selfish conviction a belief that,
;

in perception and meditation, "I" am concerned; that the objects

of sense concern ME; in short, that I AM. It proceeds from the in-
tellectual principle, and is productive of those which follow.
4 8- Five subtile particles, rudiments, or atoms, denominated
Tanmdtra: perceptible to beings of a superior order, but unappre-
hended by the grosser senses of mankind derived from the con-
:

scious principle, and themselves prodiictive of the five grosser

elements, earth, water, fire, air, and space.
9 19. Eleven organs of sense and action, which also are pro-
ductions of the conscious principle. Ten are external: viz. five of
sense and five of action. The eleventh is internal an organ both
,

of sense and of action, termed manas or mind. The five instruments

of sensation are, the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, and the skin.
The five instruments of action are, 1st, voice, or the organ of speech ;

2d, the hand; 3d, the feet; 4th, the excretory termination .of the
intestines; 5th, the organ of generation. Mind,serving both for
sense and action, is an organ by affinity, being cognate with the rest.
These eleven organs, with the two principles of intelligence and
consciousness, are thirteen instruments of knowledge: three internal,
and ten external, likened to three warders and ten gates. *

* Car. 3235.
154 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

An external sense perceives the internal one examines ; con-

;

sciousness makes the selfish application and intellect resolves an

;
:

external organ executes.

20 24. Five elements, produced from the five elementary particles
or rudiments. 1st. A diffused, etherial fluid (dcdsfi), occupying
it has the
space :
property of audibleness, being the vehicle of
sound, derived from the sonorous rudiment or etherial atom. 2d.
Air, which is endued with the properties of audibleness and tangi-
bility, being sensible to hearing and touch; derived from the tangible
rudiment or aerial atom. 3d. Fire, which is invested with properties
of audibleness, tangibility, and colour sensible to hearing, touch,
;

and sight: derived from the colouring rudiment or igneous atom.

4th. Water, which possesses the properties of audibleness, tangibi-

lity,colour and savour; being sensible to hearing, touch, sight, and

taste: derived from the savoury rudiment or aqueous atom. 5th.
Earth, which unites the properties of audibleness, tangibility, colour,
savour, and odour; being sensible to hearing, touch, sight, taste,
and smell: derived from the odorous rudiment or terrene atom.
25. Soul, termed Purusha, Pumas, or Atman; which is neither
produced nor productive. It is multitudinous, individual, sensitive,
eternal, unalterable, immaterial.
The theistical Sdnc'hya recognises the same principles; under-
standing, however, by Purusha, not individual soul alone, but like-
wise GOD (istvara), the ruler of the world.
These twenty-five principles are summarily contrasted in the
Carted. "Nature, root of all, is no production. Seven principles;
the GREAT or intellectual one, &c. are prodiictions and productive.
Sixteen are productions (unproductive). Soul is neither a pro-
duction nor productive."*
To this passage a close resemblance will be remarked ,in one
which occurs at the beginning of ERIGENA'S treatise De Divisione
Naturae, where he distinguishes these four: "That which creates
and is not created; that which is created and creates; that which is
created and creates not; and that which neither creates nor is
created." **
In several of the Upanishads of the Vedas a similar distribution is

affirmed, w'z. "eight productive principles and sixteen productions."***

It is for contemplation of nature, and for abstraction from it, that
union of soul with nature takes place, as the halt and the blind
join for conveyance and for guidance (one bearing and directed;
the other borne and directing). By that union of soul and nature,
creation, consisting in the development of intellect and the rest of
the principles, is effected.

* Car. 3.
** 3. SCOTI KKiGEN^E de div. nat. lib. 5.
***
Garbha, Prasna and Maitreya Upanishads.
 SA'NKHYA. 155

The wish is fruition or liberation. For either purpose, it

soul's
is in the place invested with a subtile person, towards the form-
first

ation of which the evolution of principles proceeds no further than

the elementary rudiments.* This is composed then of intellect,
consciousness, and mind, as well as the rest of the organs and in-
struments of life, conjoined with particles, or elementary rudiments,
of five sorts: thus seventeen principles enter into its composition.**
This person or subtile frame, termed linga, linga-sartra, or sucshma-
sarira, is primeval, produced from original natnre at the earliest or
initial development of principles. It is unconfined ; too subtile for
restraint or hindrance (and thence termed alivdhica, surpassing the.
N
wind in swiftness) incapable of enjoyment until it be invested
;

with a grosser body, affected nevertheless by sentiments.

This is termed the rudimental creation (tanmdtra-sarga).
The notion of an animated atom seems to be a compromise
between the refined dogma of an immaterial soul, and the difficulty
which a gross understanding finds in grasping the comprehension
of individual existence, unattached to matter.
The grosser body, with which a soul clad in its subtile person is
invested for the purpose of fruition, is composed of the five elements ;

or of four excluding the etherial according to some authorities

, , ;

or of one earth alone, according to others.*** That grosser body,

propagated by generation, is perishable. The subtile person is more
durable, transmigrating through successive bodies, which it assumes,
as a mimic shifts his disguises to represent various characters.
According to CAPiLA,f as he is interpreted by his scholiast, there
is
intermediately a corporeal frame composed of the five elements,
but tenuous or refined. It is termed anushVhdna sarira, and is the
vehicle of the subtile person.
It is this, rather than the subtile person itself, which in PATANJALI'S

Yoga-sdstra is conceived to extend, like the flame of a lamp over its

wick, to a small distance above the skull.
The corporeal creation (bhautica-sargci), consisting of souls in-
vested with gross bodies, comprises eight orders of superior beings
and five of inferior; which, together with man, who forms a class
apart, constitute fourteen orders of beings, distributed in three worlds
or classes.
The eight superior orders of beings bear appellations familiar to
Hindu theology; Brahma, Prajdpalis, Indras , Pilris, Gand'harvas ,
Yacshas, Rdcshasas, and Pisdchas ; gods or demi-gods, demons and
evil spirits.
The inferior orders of beings are quadrupeds, distinguished in

* Car. 40.
**
Cap. 3. 8.
***
Cap. 3. 1618.
f Car. 3. 10. 11.
156 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

two orders; birds, reptiles, fishes, and insects; vegetables and un-
organic substances.
Above is the abode of goodness, peopled by beings of superior
orders; virtue prevails there, and consequent bliss, imperfect how-
eve^r, inasmuch as it is transient. Beneath is the abode of darkness
or illusion, where beings of an inferior order dwell; stolidity or
dulness is prevalent. Between is the human world, where foulness
or passion predominates, attended with continual misery.
Throughout these worlds sentient soul experiences ill arising
,

from decay and death, until it be finally liberated from its union
with person.
Besides the grosser corporeal creation and the subtile or persona],
all belonging to the material world, the Sdnc'hya distinguishes an
intellectual creation (pralyaya-sarga or bhdva-sargd], consisting of
the affectioiis of intellect, its sentiments or faculties, which are
enumerated in four classes, as obstructing, disabling, contenting, or
perfecting the understanding, and amount to fifty.
Obstructions of the intellect are error, conceit, passion, hatred,
fear which are severally denominated obscurity, illusion, extreme
:

illusion, gloom, and utter darkness. These again are subdivided

into sixty-two sorts; error comprising eight species; illusion, as
many; extreme illusion, ten; gloom, eighteen ; and utter darkness,
the same number.
Error, or obscurity, mistakes irrational nature, intellect, con-
sciousness, or any one of the five elementary atoms, for the soul,
and imagines liberation to consist in absorption into one of those
eight prolific principles.
Conceit, termed illusion, imagines transcendent power, in any of
its eight modes, to be deliverance from evil. Thus beings of a su-
perior order, as INDRA and the rest of the gods, who possess trans-
cendent power of every sort, conceive it to be perpetual, and believe
themselves immortal.
Passion, called extreme illusion, concerns the five objects of
sense; sound, tact, colour, savour, and odour; reckoned to be twice
as many, as different to man and to superior beings.
Envy or hatred, denominated gloom, relates to the same ten ob-
jects of sense, and to eight-fold transcendent power, furnishing the
means of their enjoyment.
Fear, named utter darkness, regards the same eighteen subjects,
and consists in the dread of ill attendant on their loss by death or
by deprivation of power.
Disability of intellect, Avhich constitutes the second class, com-
prising twenty-eight species, arises from defect or injury of organs,
which are eleven: and to these eleven sorts are added the contra-
ries of the two next classes, containing the one nine, and the other

eight species, making a total of twenty-eight. Deafness, blindness,

 SA'NKHVA. 157

deprivation of taste, want of smell, numbedness, dumbness, hand-

lessness, lameness, costiveness, impotence, and madness, are dis-
abilities preventing performance of functions.
Content or acquiescence, wluch forms the third class, is either
internal or external the one four-fold, the other five-fold
: viz. in-
;

ternal, 1st. Concerning nature; as, an opinion that a discriminative

knowledge of nature is a modification of that principle itself, with a
consequent expectation of deliverance by the act of nature. 2d.
Concerning the proximate cause; as a belief that ascetic obser-
vances suffice to ensure liberation. 3d. Concerning time; as a fancy
that deliverance will come in course, without study. 4th. Concern-

ing luck; as a supposition that its attainment depends on destiny.

External acquiescence relates to abstinence from enjoyment upon
temporal motives namely, 1st, aversion from the trouble of acqui-
;

sition; or, 2d, from that of preservation and, 3d, reluctance to

;

incur loss consequent on use or, 4th, evil attending on fruition or,
; ;

5th, offence of hurting objects by the enjoyment of them.

The perfecting of the intellect is the fourth class, and comprises
eight species. Perfection consists in the prevention of evil; and
this being three-fold, its prevention is so likewise as is the conse-
;

quent perfection of the understanding. This is direct. The re-

maining five species are indirect, viz. reasoning; oral instruction ;

study; amicable intercourse; and purity, internal and external (or

according to another interpretation, liberality). They are means of
arriving at perfection.
The Sdnc'hya, as other Indian systems of philosophy, is much enga-
ged with the consideration of what is termed the three qualities (gun a):
if indeed quality be here the proper import of the term for the ;

scholiast of CAPILA understands it as

meaning, not quality or acci-
dent, but substance a modification of nature, fettering the soul
,
;

*
conformably with an other acceptation of guria, signifying a cord.
The first, and highest, is goodness (salltv(i). It is alleviating, en-
lightening, attended with pleasure and happiness; and virtue pre-
dominates in it. In
prevalent; wherefore flame ascends,
fire it is
and sparks fly In man, when it abounds, as it does in
upwards.
beings of a superior order, it is the cause of virtue.
The second and middlemost is foulness or passion (rajas or lejas).
It is active, urgent, and variable attended with evil and misery.
;

In air it predominates, wherefore wind moves transversely. In living

beings it is the cause of vice.
The third and lowest is darkness (lamas). It is heavy and ob-
structive; attended with sorrow, dulness, and illusion. In earth
and water it predominates, wherefore they fall or tend downwards.
In living beings it is the cause of stolidity.

* VIJNYAN. on
Cap. 1. <iO.
158 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

These three qualities are not mere accidents of nature, but are of
its essence and enter into its composition. "We speak of the qua-
litiesof nature as we do of the trees of a forest ," say the Sanc'Iit/as. *
In the Vedas they are pronounced to be successive modifications,
one of the other "All was darkness commanded to change, dark-
: :

ness took the taint of foulness; and this, again commanded, assumed
the form of goodness."
They co-operate for a purpose, by union of opposites: as a lamp,
which is composed of oil, a wick, and flame,** siibstances inimi-
cal and contrary.
qualities by which nature is modified, for prin-
Taking the three
ciples or categories, the number, before enumerated, is raised to
twenty-eight; as is by some authorities maintained.***
To the intellect appertain eight modes effects, or properties ,
:

four partaking of goodness; namely, virtue, knowledge, dispassion,

and power ; and four which are the reverse of those, and partake
of darkness, viz. sin, error,
incontinency, and powerlessness.
Virtue here intends moral or religious merit. Knowledge is either
exterior or that is, temporal or spiritual.
interior; Interior or
spiritual knowledge discriminates soul from nature, arid operates its
deliverance from evil. Exterior or temporal knowledge compre-
hends holy writ, and every science but self-knowledge.
Dispassion likewise is either exterior or interior; as proceeding
from a temporal motive, aversion from trouble; or a spiritual im-
pulse, the conviction that nature is a dream, a mere juggle and
illusion.
Power is eight-fold :
consisting in the faculty of shrinking into a
minute form, to which every thing is pervious; or enlarging to a
gigantic body; or assuming levity (rising along a sunbeam to the
solar orb); or possessing unlimited reach of organs (as touching the
moon with the tip of a finger) or irresistible will (for instance,
;

sinking into the earth, as easily as in water); dominion over all

beings animate or inanimate; faculty of changing the course of
nature ability to accomplish every thing desired.
;

The notion, that such transcendent power is attainable by man in

this life, is not peculiar to the Sdnc*hya sect: it is generally pre-
valent among the Hindus, and amounts to a belief of magic. A
Yogi, imagined to have acquired such faculties, is, to vulgar appre-

hension, a sorcerer, and is so represented in many a drama and

popular tale.
One of the four chapters of PATANJALI'S Yoga-saslra (the third),
relates almost exclusively to this subject ,
from which it takes its

*
Sdnc'hya-sdra.
** Car. 13.
*** VIJNYANA-BHICSHU in
Suni'hya sura and Capila-bhdshya.
 SANKHYA. 159

title. of directions for bodily and mental exercises, con-

It is full

sisting of intensely profound meditation on special topics, accom-

panied by suppression of breath and restraint of the senses, while
steadily maintaining prescribed postures. By such exercises, the
adept acquires the knowledge of every thing past and future, remote
or hidden he divines the thoughts of others
; gains the strength of
5

an elephant, the courage of a lion, and the swiftness of the wind ;

flies in the air, floats in water, dives into the earth, contem-
plates all worlds at one glance, and performs other strange feats.
But neither power, however transcendent, nor dispassion, nor
virtue, however meritorious, suffices for the attAininent of beatitude.
It serves but to prepare the soul for that absorbed contemplation,
by which the great purpose of deliverance is to be accomplished.
The promptest mode of attaining beatitude through absorbed
contemplation, is devotion to GOD; consisting in repeated muttering
of his mystical name, the syllable o/n, at the same time meditating
its signification. It is this which constitutes efficacious devotion ;

whereby the deity, propitiated, confers on the votary the boon that
is sought; precluding all impediments, and effecting the attainment

of an inward entiment that prepares the soul for liberation.

"Goo, is'wARA, the supreme ruler," according to PATANJALI,* "is
a soul or spirit distinct from other souls; unaffected by the ills
with which they are beset; unconcerned with good or bad deeds and
their consequences, and with fancies or passing thoughts. In him
is the utmost omniscience. He is the instructor of the earliest
beings that have a beginning (the deities of mythology) himself
;

infinite, unlimited by time."

CAPILA, on the other hand, denies an ISWARA, ruler of the world
by volition: alleging that there is no proof of GOD'S existence, un-
perceived by the senses, not inferred from reasoning, nor yet re-
vealed.** He acknowledges, indeed, a being issuing from nature,
who is intelligence absolute source of all individual intelligences,
;

and origin of other existences successively evolved and developed.

He expressly affirms, "that the truth of such an ISWARA is demon-
strated:"*** the creator of worlds, in such sense of creation: for
"the existence of effects," he says, "is dependent upon conscious-
ness, not upon IS'WARA;" and "all else is from the great principle,
intellect. "f Yet that being is finite; having a beginning and an
end; dating from the grand development of the universe, to ter-
minate with the consummation of all things. But an infinite being,
creator and guide of the universe by volition, CAPILA positively dis-

*
rdga-sfistra 1. 2324, and 2629.
** 6478.
Cap. 1. 9198; 3. 5255; 5. 212; and 6.
***
Cap. 3. 55.
f Cap. 0. 65 and 60.
160 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

avows.* "Detached from nature, unaffected therefore by con-

sciousness and the rest of nature's trammels, he could have no in-
ducement to creation; fettered by nature, he could not be capable
of creation. Guidance requires proximity, as the iron is attracted
by the magnet ; and, in like manner, it is by proximity that living
souls govern individual bodies, enlightened by animation as hot iron
is by heat."
Passages of admitted authority, in which GOD is named, relate,
according to CAPITA and his followers, either to a liberated soul or
to a mythological deity, or that superior, not supreme being, whom

mythology places in the midst of the mundane egg.

Such is the essential and characteristic difference of CAPiLA'sand
PATANJALI'S, the atheistical and deistical, Sane 'hy as.
In less momentous matters they differ, not upon points of doctrine,
but in the degree in which the exterior exercises, or abstruse rea-
soning and study, are weighed upon, as requisite preparations of
absorbed contemplation. PATANJALI'S Yoga-sdstra is occupied with
devotional exercise and mental abstraction, subduing body and
mind CAPILA is more engaged with investigation of principles and
:

reasoning upon them. One is more mystic and fanatical. The

other makes a nearer approach to philosophical disquisition, how-
ever mistaken in its conclusions.
The manner in which a knowledge of those principles or cate-
gories that are recognised by the Sdnc'hyus may be acquired, is set
forth in the Carted: "Sensible objects become known by perception.
It is by inference or reasoning, that acquaintance with things trans-

cending the senses is attained: and a truth, which is neither to be

directly perceived nor to be inferred by reasoning, is deduced from
revelation. For various causes, things may be imperceptible or
unperceived; distance, nearness, minuteness; confusion, conceal-
ment; predominance of other matters; defect of organs or inatten-
tion. It is owing to the subtlety of nature, not to the non-existence
of this original principle, that it is not apprehended by the senses,
but inferred from its effects. Intellect and the rest of the derivative
principles are effects whence
;
it is concluded as their cause in
;

some respects analogous, but in others dissimilar."**

"Effect subsists antecedently to the operation of cause:" a maxim
not unlike the ancient one, that "nothing comes of nothing;" for it
is the material, not the efficient, cause, which is here spoken of.

The reasons alleged by the Sdnc'hyas*** are, that "what exists

not, can by no operation of a cause be brought into existence :" that
is, effects are educts, rather than products. Oil is in the seed of

*
Cap. 1.
** Car. 6. 8.
*** Car. 9.
 SA'NKHYA. 161

sesaraum before it is expressed; rice is in the husk before it is

peeled ; milk is in the udder before it is drawn. "Materials, too,
are selected, which are apt for the purpose:" milk, not water, is
taken to make curds. "Every thing is not by every means possible:"
cloth, not earthen ware, may be made with yarn. "What is capable,
does that to which it is "competent:" a potter does not weave cloth,
but makes a jar, from a lump of clay, with a wheel and other im-
plements. "The nature of cause and effect is the same:" apiece of
cloth does not essentially differ from the yarn of which it is wove ;

as an ox does from a horse barley, not rice or peas, grows out of

:

barley-corns.
"There a general cause, which is undistinguishable. " * This
is

position is
supported by divers arguments. "Specific objects are
finite;" they are multitudinous and not universal: there must then
be a single all- pervading cause. Another argument is drawn from
affinity, "homogeneousness indicates a cause." An earthen jar
implies a lump of clay of which it is made; a golden coronet pre-
sumes a mass of gold of which it was fabricated: seeing a rigidly
abstemious novice, it is readily concluded, says the scholiast, that
his parents are of the sacerdotal tribe. There must then be a cause
bearing affinity to effects which are seen. Another reason is "exis-
tence of effects through energy:" there must be a cause adequate
to the effects. Apotter is capable of fabricating pottery he makes
:

a pot, not a car, nor a piece of cloth. The main argument of the
Sanc'hyas on this point is "the parting or issuing of effects from
cause, and the re-union of the universe." A
type of this is the tor-
toise, which puts forth its limbs, and again retracts them within its
shell. So, at the general destruction or consummation of all things,
taking place at an appointed period, the five elements, earth, water,
fire, air, and ether, constituting the three worlds, are withdrawn in
the inverse order of that in which they proceeded from the primary
principles, returning step by step to their first cause, the chief and
undistinguishable one, which is nature.
It operates by means of the three qualities of goodness, foulness,
and darkness. It does so by mixture; as the confluence of three
streams forms one river; for example, the Ganges: or as threads
interwoven constitute a piece of cloth : and as a picture is a result
of the union of pigments. It operates
"by modification" too: as
water, dropped from a cloud, absorbed by the roots of plants, and
carried into the fruit, acquires special flavour, so are different objects
diversified by the influence of the several qualities respectively.
Thus, from one chief cause, which is nature, spring three dissimilar
worlds, observes the scholiast, peopled by gods enjoying bliss, by
men suffering pain, by inferior animals affected with dulness. It is

* Car. 15. 16.

1)
162 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

owing to prevalence of particular qualities. In the gods, goodness

prevails, and foulness and darkness are foreign; and therefore are
the gods supremely happy. In man, foulness is prevalent, and
goodness and darkness are strangers; wherefore man is eminently
wretched. In animals, darkness predominates, and goodness and
foulness are wanting; and therefore are animals extremely dull.
The existence of soul is demonstrated by several arguments:*
"The assemblage "
of sensible objects is for another's use; as a bed
is for a sleeper, a chair for a sitter: that other, who uses it, must
be a sensitive being; and The converse
the sensitive being is soul.
of sensible objects endued with the three qualities, goodness, foul-
ness, and darkness, indiscriminate, common, inanimate, and prolific,
must exist, devoid of qualities, discriminate, and so forth: that is
soul. "There must be superintendence;" as there is a charioteer
to a car: the superintendent of inanimate matter is soul. "There
must be one to enjoy" what formed
enjoyment: a spectator,
is for
a witness of it: that spectator is soul. "There is a tendency to
abstraction:" the wise and unwise alike desire a termination of
vicissitude holy writ and mighty sages tend to that consummation
:
;

the final and absolute extinction of every sort of pain there must :

then be a being capable of abstraction, essentially unconnected with

pleasure, pain, and illusion and that being is soul.
:

There is not one soul to all bodies as a string on which pearls

,

are strung; but a separate soul for each particular body. "Multi-
tude of souls" is proved
by the following arguments.** "Birth,
death, and the instruments of life are allotted severally:" if one
soul animated all bodies, one being born, all would be born; one
dying, all would die; one being blind, or deaf, or dumb, all would
be blind, or deaf, or dumb; one seeing, all would see; one hear-
ing, all would hear; one speaking, all would speak. Birth is the
union of soul with instruments, namely, intellect, consciousness,
mind and corporeal organs; it is not a modification of soul, for soul
is unalterable.Death is its abandonment of them'; not an extinction
of it, for unperishable. Soul then is multitudinous. "Occupations
it is

are not at one time universally the same :" if one soul animated all
beings, then all bodies would be stirred by the same influence, but
it is not so: some are engaged in virtue, others occupied with vice;

some restraining passions, others yielding to them; some involved

in error, others seeking knowledge. Souls therefore are numerous.

"Qualities affect differently :" one is happy; another miserable; and

again, another stupid. The gods are ever happy; man, unhappy;
inferior animals, dull. Were there but one soul, all would be alike.
The attributes of the several principles, material and immaterial,
discrete and undiscrete, perceptible and imperceptible, are compared

* ** Car. 18.
Cdr. 17.
 SA'NKHYA. 163

and contrasted. "Adiscrete principle," as is affirmed by the

* "is causable:" it is
Sdnc'hyas, uneternal, "inconstant," one while
not
apparent, at another time evanescent: it is "unpervading,"
entering into all; for effect is possessed with its cause, not cause
with its effect: it is acted upon, and "mutable," changing from one
body to another: it is "multitudinous;" for there are so many minds,
intellects, &c. as there are souls animating bodies it is "supported,"
:

resting upon its cause: it is involvable, "merging" one into another,

and implying one the other it is "conjunct," consisting of parts or
:

qualities; as sound, taste, smell, &c. : it is

"governed,'' or dependent
on another's will.
"The undiscrete principle" is in all these respects the reverse: it
is causeless, eternal, all pervading, immutable, or unacted upon ;

single, as being the one cause of three orders of beings; unsupported

(relying but on itself) uninvolvable (not merging or implying) ;
;

unconjunct; consisting of no parts; self-ruled.

Discrete principles, as well as the undiscrete one, have the three
qualities of goodness, foulness, and darkness the one (nature) hav-
:

ing them in its own right, as its form or properties; the rest, because
they are its effects as black yarn makes black cloth. They are
:

undiscriminating or "indiscriminate;" not distinguishing quality

from quality and confounding nature with qualities for nature is
,
:

not distinct from itself, nor are qualities separate from it. They
are "objects" of apprehension and enjoyment for every soul, external
to discriminative knowledge, but subjects of it. They are "common,"
like an utensil, or like a harlot. They are "irrational" or unsentient;
unaware of pain or pleasure: from an insensible lump of clay comes
an insensible earthen pot. They are "prolific;" one producing or
generating another: nature producing intellect, and intellect generat-
ing consciousness, and so forth.
Soul, on the contrary, is devoid of qualities it is discriminative
; ;

it is no
object of enjoyment; it is several or peculiar; it is sensitive,
aware of pain and pleasure; unprolific, for nothing is generated by it.
In these respects it differs from all the other principles. On
certain points it conforms with the undiscrete principle and differs ,

from the discrete: in one regard it agrees with these and disagrees
with the other for it is not single, but on the contrary multitudinous
:
;

and it is causeless, eternal, pervading, immutable, unsupported, un-

merging or unimplying, unconjunct (consisting of no parts), self-
governed.
The attributes of the perceptible, discrete principles and of the
**
undiscrete, indefinite one, are considered to be proved by the in-
fluence of the three qualities in one instance, and their absence in
the converse; and by conformity of cause and effect: an argument

* ** Car. 14.
Car. 10, 11.
11*
164 ON THE PHILOSOPHY" OP THE HINDUS.

much and frequently relied upon. It concerns the material not ,

the efficient, cause.

From the contrast between soul and the other principles, it follows,
as the Cdricd* affirms, that "soul is witness, bystander, spectator,
solitary and passive. Therefore, by reason of union with it, insen-
sible body seems sensible: and, though the qualities be active, the
stranger (soul) appears as the agent."
"Though inanimate, nature performs the office of preparing the
soul for deliverance, in like manner as it is a function of milk,
its

an unintelligent substance, to nourish the calf."**

Nature is likened to a female dancer, exhibiting herself to soul
as to an audience, and is reproached with shamelessness for repeat-

edly exposing herself to the rude gaze of the spectator. "She desists,
however, when she has sufficiently shown herself. She does so,
because she has been seen; he desists, because he has seen her.
There is no further use for the world yet the connexion of soul
:

"and nature still subsists."***

By attainment of spiritual knowledge through the study of prin-
ciples, the conclusive, incontrovertible, single truth is learned: so
the Cdricd declares f that "neither I AM, nor is aught MINE, nor I
"
exist.
"All which passes in consciousness, in intellect is reflected by
the soul, as an image which sullies not the crystal, but appertains
not to it. Possessed of this self-knowledge, soul contemplates at.
ease nature thereby debarred from prolific change, and precluded
therefore from every other form and effect of intellect, but that spi-
"
ritual saving knowledge. ft
"Yet soul remains awhile invested with body; as the potter's
wheel continues whirling after the pot has been fashioned by
,

force of the impulse previously given to it. When separation of

the informed soul from its corporeal frame at length takes place,
and nature in respect of it ceases, then is absolute and final deli-
verance accomplished." ftt
"Thus," concludes the Cdricd, "this abstruse knowledge, adapted
to the liberation of soul, wherein the origin, duration, and termination
of beings are considered, has been thoroughly expounded by the
mighty saint. The sage compassionately taught it to ASURI, who
communicated it to PANCHAS'IC'HA, and by him it was promulgated
to mankind."

* Car. ** Car. 75. *** Car.

19, 20. 59, 61, 66. f Car. 64.
ft Cdr. 65. ftt Cdr. 67, 68. Car. 69, 70.
 VII.

On the PHILOSOPHY of the HINDUS.

PART II.

[From the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 92 -118.]

IN the preceding essay, the Sdnc'hya, theistical as well as atheist-

ical was examined. The subject of the present essay will be the
,

dialectic philosophy ofeoxAMA, and atomical of CANA'DE, respectively

called Nydya "reasoning," and Vaiseshica "particular." The first,,
as its title
implies, chiefly occupied with the metaphysics of logic;
is

the second with physics: that is, with "particulars" or sensible ob-
jects; and hence its name. They may be taken generally as parts
of one system, supplying each other's deficiencies; commonly
agreeing upon such points as are treated by both yet on some dif- ,

fering, and therefore giving origin to two schools, the Naiydyica and
Vaiseshica.
From these have branched various subordinate schools of philo-
sophy; which, in the ardour of scholastic disputation, have dis-
agreed on matters of doctrine or of interpretation. The ordinary
distinction is that of ancients and moderns; besides
between them
appellations derived from the names of their favourite authors, as
will be more particularly noticed in another place.
The text of GOTAMA is a collection of sulras or succinct aphorisms,
in five books or "lectures," each divided into two "days" or diurnal
lessons and these again subdivided into sections or articles, termed
;

pracaranas, as relating to distinct topics. It is a maxim, that a section

is not to consist of so little as a single sutra; and to make good the

rule, some stress is occasionally put upon the text, either splitting
an aphorism or associating it
incongruously.
CANA'DE'S collection of siilras is comprised in ten lectures simil- ,

arly divided into two daily lessons and. these into pracaranas, or
,

sections, containing two or more sulras relative to the same topic.

Like the text of other sciences among the Hindus the sulras of ,

* Read at a public meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society, Feb. 21, 1824.
1 t>6 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

GOTAMA and of CANADE have been explained and annotated by a

triple set ofcommentaries, under the usual titles of Bhdshya, Vdrtica,
and Tied. These (the Bhdshya especially) are repeatedly cited by
modern commentators as well as by writers of separate treatises
, ;

but (so far as has come under my immediate notice) without naming
the authors; and I cannot adventure, having no present opportunity
of consulting the original scholia in a collective form, to assign them
to their proper authors, from recollection of former researches.

They are of high authority, and probably of great antiquity;

and it frequently becomes a question with the later commentators,
whether a particular passage is to be taken for a st'ilra and part of
the text, or for a gloss of the ancient scholiast.
Commentaries which are now at hand, and which have been con-
sulted in the course of preparing the present treatise are the Vdr-
,

tica-ldtparya-parisudd'hi of the celebrated UDAYANA'CHA'RYA, and the

Vdrtica -tdtparya -'tied of the no less celebrated VA'CHESPATI-MIS'RA.
The more modern scholia of VIS'WANA'T'HA upon GOTAMA'S text, and
SANCARA-MISRA upon CANA'DE'S ,
are those to which most frequent
reference has been made for the present purpose.

Separate treatises of distinguished authors teach, and amply dis-

cuss the elements of the science. Such are the Nydya-lildvali of
,

BALLABHA-A'CHA'RYA, following chiefly CANA'DE'S system.

An easier, and more concise introduction tban these abstruse, and
voluminous works afford, is found requisite to the initiatory study
of the science. One of the most approved elementary treatises is
the Tarca - bhdshd of CES'AVA - MIS'RA author of many other tracts.
,

Though adapted to the comprehension of the learner without the

aid of a gloss, it has nevertheless employed the labour of many
commentators, expounding and illustrating it. Among others may
be named, in order of seniority, GOVERD'HANA-MIS'RA in the Tarca-
bhdshd-pracdsa GAURICA'NTA (author likewise of the Sadyuclimucld-
;

valf) in the BhdvdrChadipicd; MA'D'HAVADEVA (author of the Nydya-

sdra) in the Tarca-bhdshd-sdra manjari besides RAMALINGA-CRITI in
:

the Nydya-sangraha, whose relative antiquity is less certain; and

BALIBHADRA, who is known to me only from GAURICA'NTA'S citations.
Another compendious introduction to the study of Indian logic is
the Paddrfha-dipicd by CONDA-BHATTA, a noted grammarian, author
of the Vaiydcarana bhusharia, on the philosophy of grammatical
structure. It does not appear to have had any commentator, and it
needs none.
Metrical treatises, or memorial verses, comprising the elements
of the science bear the ordinary demonstration of Cdricd.
,
A
work
of this description is the Cusumdnjali, Avith its commentary, by NA'-
RAYANA-TIRT'HA; another, which likewise is expounded by its
author, is the Nydya-sancshepa of GOVINDA-BHATTA'CHA'RYA.
Elementary works only have been here spoken of. Distinct trea-
 NYA'YA VAISESHICA. 167

tises on divers branches of the whole subject, and on various emer-

gent topics are innumerable. No department of science or liter-

,

ature has more engaged the attention of the Hindus than the Nydya ;
and the fruit of their lucubrations has been an infinity of volumes,
among which are compositions of very celebrated schoolmen.
The order observed, both by GOTAMA and by CANA'DE, in deliver-
ing the precepts of the science which they engage to unfold, is that
which has been intimated in a passage of the Vedas cited in the
Bhdshya, as requisite steps of instruction and study: viz. enunciation,
definition,and investigation. Enunciation (uddesa) is the mention
of a thing by its name; that is, by a term signifying it, as taught
by revelation: for language is considered to have been revealed to
man. Definition (lacshancC) sets forth a peculiar property, constitut-
ing the essential character of a thing. Investigation (paricshd) con-
sists in disquisition upon the pertinence and sufficiency of the de-
finition. Consonantly to this, the teachers of philosophy premise
the terms of the science, proceed to the definitions, and then pass
on to the examination of subjects so premised.

In a logical arrangement the "predicaments" (paddrCha), or "ob-

jects of proof," are six, as they are enumerated by CANA'DE;* viz.
substance, quality, action, community, particularity, and aggregation
or intimate relation : to which a seventh is added by other authors ;
privation or negation.** Thus augmented, they compose a two-
fold arrangement ,
and negative (bhdva and abhdvd] ;
positive the
firstcomprising six, the latter one.***
The Baudd'has, or followers of BUDD'HA, are said to identify the
predicaments with knowledge (jnydtui); and according to the Ve-
ddntis, who are pantheists, the predicaments are identified with the
universal being (Brahme) in whom all exists, f
Other categories are alleged by different authorities; as power or
energy (sacli) similarity or resemblance (sddrisyci); and many more.
;

But the logicians of this school acknowledge but six, or at most

seven, abovementioned.
GOTAMA enumerates sixteen heads or topics among which, proof
:

or evidence, is to be proven, are chief; and the rest

and that which
are subsidiary or accessory, as contributing to knowledge and as-
certainment of truth. Disputation being contemplated in this arrange-
ment, several among these heads relate to controversial discussion.
They are, proof; 2d, that which is to be known and proven;
1st,

motive; 5th, instance; 6th, demonstrated truth ; 7th,

3d, doubt; 4th,
member of a regular argument or syllogism 8th reasoning by re-
; ,

duction to absurdity; 9th, determination or ascertainment; 10th,

* C. 1. 3.
** Tare. Bhdsh. 1. *** Pad. 1.
Dip.
f Tare. Bhdsh. and N. Sang. 2. 4.
168 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

thesis or disquisition; llth, controversy; 12th, objection; 13th,

fallacious re'ason ; 14th, perversion; 15th, futility; 16th, confutation.*
The difference between these two arrangements is not considered
toamount to discrepancy. They are held to be reconcileable the :

one more ample, the other more succinct; but both leading to like
results.
The Sdnc'hya philosophy, as shewn in a former essay,** affirms
two eternal principles, soul and matter; (for pracriti or nature, ab-
stracted from modifications, is no other than matter) and reckoning,
:

with these two permanent principles, such as are transient, they

enumerate twenty-five.
The Nydya, as well as the Sdnc'hya, concur with other schools of
psychology in promising beatitude, or (nihsreyas) final excellence ;

and (mocsha) deliverance from evil for the reward of a thorough

,

knowledge of the principles which they teach; that is, of truth;

meaning the conviction of the soul's eternal existence separable
from body.
Soul then, as the Bhdshya affirms, is that which is to be known
and proven. GOTAMA, however, enumerates under this head, besides
soul, its associate body, the external senses, things or the objects of
sense (that is, the elements; and his followers here take occasion
to introduce CANADE'S six categories), intellect or understanding,
mind or the eternal organ activity fault transmigration fruit or
, , , , ,

consequence of deeds, pain or physical evil, and lastly, liberation;

making, together with soul, twelve (prameya) objects of proof, being
topics of knowledge requisite for deliverance.
1. Evidence or proof (pramdnd) by which those objects are known
and demonstrated, of four kinds: perception; inference of three
is

sorts (consequent, antecedent, and analogous); comparison, and

affirmation (comprehending tradition, as well as revelation). Infer-
ence a priori concludes an effect from its cause inference a posleri
;

ori deduces a cause from its effect: another ground of inference is

analogy. Or one sort is direct and affirmative; another indirect or

negative and the third is both direct and indirect.
;

Proof (pramdna) is defined to be the efficient or especial cause

of actual knowledge: and this intends right notion (anubhavci); ex-
clusive, consequently, of wrong notion; as error, doubt, and re-
duction to absurdity, and likewise exclusive of memory: for notion
(anubhava) is knowledge other than remembrance.
Cause (cdrana] is that which is efficacious, necessarily preceding
an effect that cannot else be and conversely, effect (cdrya) is that
:

which necessarily ensues and could not else be.

For the relation of cause and effect, and for distinguishing differ-
ent sorts of cause connexion (sambandha) or relation, in general,
,

* G. **
1. Ante, p. 153, &c.
 NYA'YA VAIS'ESHICA. 1 69

must be considered. It is two-fold: simple conjunction (sanyogci),

and aggregation or intimate and constant relation, (samavdya) the ;

latter being the connexion of things, whereof one, so long as they

coexist continues united with the other for example parts and
,
: ,

that which is composed of them as yarn and cloth for so long as

, 5

the yarn subsists the cloth remains. Here the connexion of the
yarn and cloth is intimate relation; but that of the loom is simple
conjunction. Consonantly to this distinction, cause is intimate or
direct, producing aggregation or an intimately relative effect, as
clay of pottery, or yarn of cloth or it is mediate or indirect, being
:

proximate to the aggregating cause, as conjunction of yarn, serving

for the production of cloth : or thirdly, it is neither direct nor indi-

rect; but instrumental or concomitant, as the loom. Of positive

things there must be three causes, and the most efficacious is termed
the chief or especial cause: of negative there is but one, which is
the third abovementioned.
This would be the place for an ample discussion of the several
sorts of proof abovementioned. But they are topics embracing too
great a scope of disquisition in the Hindu philosophy, to be ade-
quately considered within the limits of the present essay. The sub-
ject, therefore, is reserved for future consideration, in a connected
view of it, with relation to the various Indian systems of philosoph-
ising, after they shall have been severally examined.
II. 1. The first and most important of twelve objects of evidence
or matters to be proven, enumerated by GOTAMA, is soul.* It is the
site of knowledge or sentiment: distinct from body and from the

senses; different for each individual coexistent person; infinite;

eternal; perceived by the mental organ; and demonstrated by its
peculiar attributes, intellect, &c. For knowledge, desire, aversion,
volition, pain and pleasure, severally and collectively, argue the
existence of soul: since these are not universal attributes, as num-
ber, quantity, &c. common to all substances; but are peculiar and
characteristic qualities, apprehended exclusively by one organ, as
colour and other peculiar qualities are; yet belonging not to ap-
parent substances, as earth, and the rest; and arguing therefore a
distinct substratum, other than space, time and mind, to which
universal, not peculiar, qualities appertain. That distinct substance,
which is the substratum of those peculiar qualities, is the soul.
This concerns the living soul (jivdlmd) the animating spirit of ,

individual person. Souls then, as is expressly affirmed, are numer-

ous. But the supreme soul (Paramdlmd] is one: the seat of eternal

knowledge demonstrated as the maker of all things.**

;

The individual soul is infinite ; for whithersoever the body goes

there the soul too is present. It experiences the fruit of its deeds ;

**
* G. 1. 1. 3. 2. and 3. 1. 15. Tare. BMsh. 2. 1. Pad. Dip. 1. 8.
170 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

paiii or pleasure. It is eternal, because it is infinite; for whatever

is infinite is likewise eternal; as the etherial element (acdsa).

Being a substance, though immaterial, as a substratum of qualities,

itis placed in CANA'DE'S arrangement as one of nine substances

which are there recognised.*

It has fourteen qualities: viz. number, quantity, severalty, con-
junction, disjunction, intellect, pleasure, pain, desire, aversion,
volition, merit, demerit, and faculty of imagination.
2. The second among matters to be proven in CHDTAMA'S enumer-

ation, is body. It is the site of effort, of organs of sensation, and

of sentiment of pain or pleasure.**
It is an ultimate compound; the seat of soul's enjoyment. It is a

whole, composed of parts; a framed substance, not inchoative:

associated with which, soul experiences fruition; that is, immediate
presence of pain or of pleasure, in relation to itself.
It is the site of effort; not of motion simply, but of action tend-

ing to the attainment of what is pleasing, and to the removal of

what is
displeasing.***
It earthly; for the qualities of earth are perceived in it:
is

(namely, smell, colour, solidity, &c. ): and it is expressly pro-

nounced so by more than one passage of the Vedas. According to
some opinions, it consists of three elements, earth, water, and
light or heat; for the peculiar qualities of those elements are per-
ceptible in it, since it has smell, clamminess, and warmth: or it
consists of four since there is inspiration as well as expiration of
,

air: or of five as indicated by odour, moisture, digestion, breath,

,

and cavities, f Those opinions are controverted by the Nydya. It

consists not of five, nor of four elements: else, as CANADE argues,
it would be invisible; for the union of visible with invisible objects

is so : instance wind. Nor does it consist of three visible elements ,

nor of two: for there no intimate inchoative union of hetero-

is

geneous substances. ft This last reason is alleged likewise by CA-

PILA heterogeneous materials cannot enter into the same com-
:

position, ftf
Besides human and other bodies of this world all which are ,

terrene, there are, in other worlds, aqueous, igneous, and aerial

bodies. In these, too, there is union with" an element, for soul's
fruition.

Earthly body is two-fold; sexually bred, or not so bred: the first

is either viviparous or oviparous the second results from concur-

:

rence of particles by an unseen or predestined cause, and peculiar

* G. 1. ** G. 1. 1. 3. 3. *** Tare. Bhdsh. and Com.

f G. 3. 1. 6. 15. ft CAN. 4. 2. 1. and Com.
ttt CAP. 3. 1618 and 5. 99. Bhdshya on GOT.
 NYA'YA vAisiSsmcA. 171

disposition of atoms. That such beings are, is proved from authority

of the Ve'das, which reveal creation of gods and demi-gods.
Or the distinction is between such as are propagated by sexes or
are otherwise generated. The latter comprehends equivocal gener-
ation of worms, nits, maggots, gnats, and other vermin, considered
to be bred in sweat or fermented filth and germination of plants
;

sprouting from the ground. Accordingly, the distinct sorts of body

are five: 1st, ungenerated 2d, uterine or viviparous 3d, oviparous;
; ;
*
ith engendered in filth 5th vegetative or germinating.
, ; ,

3. Next, among objects of proof, are the organs of sensation.

An organ of sense is defined as an instrument of knowledge con- ,

**
joined to the body and imperceptible to the senses.
There are five external organs: smell, taste, sight, touch, and
hearing. They are not modifications of consciousness (as the Sdnc'hyas
maintain), but material, constituted of the elements, earth, water,
light, air,and ether, respectively.***
Thepupil of the eye is not the organ of sight (as the BaudiVhas
affirm); nor is the outer ear, or opening of the auditory passage,
the organ of hearing: but a ray of light, proceeding from the pupil
of the eye towards the object viewed, is the visual organ; and ether,
contained in the cavity of the ear, and communicating by interme-
diate ether with the object heard, is the organ of hearing. That ray

of light not ordinarily visible: just as the effulgence of a torch

is

is unseen in meridian sunshine. But, under

particular circumstances,
a glimpse of the visual ray is obtained. For instance, in the dark,
the eye of a cat or other animal prowling at night.
The organ of vision then is lucid; and, in like manner, the organ
of hearing is etherial; and that of taste, aqueous (as saliva); and
of feeling, aerial; and of smelling, earthly.
The site of the visual organ is the pupil of the eye; of the au-
ditory organ, the orifice of the ear; of the olfactory organ, the
nostril or tip of the nose; of the taste, the tip of the tongue; of the

feeling, the skin.

Objects apprehended by the senses, are odour, flavour, colour,
touch (or temperature), and sound; which are qualities appertaining
to earth, water, light, air,and ether.f
Theexistence of organs of sense is proved by inference, from
the fact of the apprehension of those objects for apprehension im-
:

plies an instrument to effect it, since it is an act, in like manner as

the act of cutting implies an instrument, as an axe or a knife.
The
organs are six, including an internal organ, termed manas,
or mind: not five only, as the followers of BUDD'HA maintain, dis-
allowing an iuternal sense; nor so many as eleven, which the

* Pad. ** Tare. BhdsJi,

Dip. and MADH. on CES
*** GOT. 1. 1. 3. 4-5 and 3. 1. 7 and 8.
f GOT. 1. 1. 3. 6.
172 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

Sdntfhyas affirm, comprehending with the senses the organs of action,

which they reckon five. *
Mind is the instrument which effects the apprehension of pain ,

pleasure, or interior sensations; and, by its union with external

senses, produces knowledge of exterior objects apprehended through
them, as colour, &c.,but not independently of those senses, for out-
ward objects.
proved by singleness of sensation: since various
Its existence is
sensations do not arise at one time to the same soul. They only
seem to do so when passing rapidly, though successively; as a
firebrand, whirled with velocity, seems a ring of fire.
It is single ; that is for each soul
,
one : not so many minds as
,

there are external senses. When it is conjoined with any one of

the outward organs, knowledge is received through that organ when :

not so conjoined, none comes through that sense, but through any
other with which it then is associated.**
It is not infinite, being imperceptible to the touch, like the ether-
ial element, as the Mimdnsd maintains;*** but it is minutely small,
as an atom. Were it infinite, it might be united with every thing at
once, and all sensations might be contemporaneous. It is imper-
ceptible to sight touch and other senses and is inferred from rea-
, , ,

soning, as follows: there must be an instrument of apprehension of

pain and pleasure, which instrument must be other than the sight,
or any external sense; for pain and pleasure are experienced
though sight be wanting. Such instrument of painful or pleasureable
sensation termed mind (manas).
is
and is distinct from soul as well as from body, with
It is eternal,
which it is merely conjoined.
It is reckoned by CANA'DE among substances; and is the substra-
tum of eight qualities, none of which are peculiar to it, being all
common to other substances : viz. number, quantity, individuality,
conjunction, disjunction, priority, subsequence, and faculty. f
4. Next in GOTAMA'S arrangement are the (arfha) objects of sense;
that is, of the external senses: and he enumerates odour, taste,
colour, feel, and sound, which are the peculiar qualities of earth,
and the rest of the elements respectively. ft
Under this head CES'AVA places the categories ( paddrfha ) of
CANA'DE, which are six; substance, quality, &c.
I. Substance is the intimate cause of an aggregate effect or pro-

duct: it is the site of qualities and of action; or that in which

qualities abide, and in which action takes place. ftt
Nine are enumerated, and no more are recognised. Darkness has

* GAU. on ois. ** GOT. 1. 1. 3. 8. and 3. 2. 6. *** Pad.

Dip.
j-
GAU on cis. ft GOT. 1. 3. 5.
tft CAN. 1. 1. 4. 1. cris. and Com. Pad. Dip.
 NYAYA VAIs'riSHICA. 173

been alleged by some philosophers but it is no substance; ;

nor is

body a distinct one; nor gold, which the Mimdnsacas affirm to be a

peculiar substance.
Those specified by CANADE are:
1. Earth, which besides qualities common to most substances (as
number, quantity, individuality, conjunction, disjunction, priority,
posteriority, gravity, fluidity, and faculty of velocity and of elasti-
city), has colour, savour, odour, and feel, or temperature. Its distin-
guishing quality is smell and it is succinctly defined as a substance
;

odorous.* In some instances, as in gems, the smell is latent but it ;

becomes manifest by calcination.

It is eternal, as atoms; or transient, as aggregates. In either,
those characteristic qualities are transitory, and are maturative, as
affected by light and heat: for by union with it, whether latent or
manifest, former colour, taste, smell, and temperature are in earth
of any sort annulled, and other colour, &c. introduced.
Aggregates or products are either organised bodies, or organs of
perception, or unorganic masses.
Organised earthly bodies are of five sorts [see body]. The organ
of smell is terreous. Unorganic masses are stones, lumps of clay,&c.
The union of integrant parts is hard, soft, or cumulative, as stones,
flowers, cotton, &c.
2. Water, which has the qualities of earth; excepting smell, and
with the addition of viscidity. Odour, when observable in water, is
adscititious arising from mixture of earthly particles.
,

The distinguishing quality of water is coolness. It is accordingly

defined as a substance cool to the feel.
It is eternal, as atoms ; transient, as aggregates. The qualities of
the first are constant likewise; those of the latter inconstant.
Organic aqueous bodies are beings abiding in the realm of VARUNA.
The organ of taste is aqueous witness the saliva. Unorganic waters
:

are rivers, seas, rain, snow, hail, &c.

It is
by some maintained, that hail is pure water rendered solid
by supervention of an unseen virtue others imagine its solidity to
:

be owing to mixture of earthy particles.

3. Light is coloured and illumines other substances and to the
, ;

feel is hot: which is its distinguishing quality. It is defined as a

substance hot to the feel. [Heat, then, and light, are identified as
one substance.]
It has the qualities of earth,
except smell, taste, and gravity. It
is eternal, as atoms not so, as aggregates.
;

Organic luminous bodies are beings abiding in the solar realm.

The visual ray., which is the organ of sight, is lucid [see organs of
perception]. Unorganic light is reckoned fourfold :
earthy, celestial,

*
CAN. 2. 1. 1.1.
174 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

alvine, and mineral. Another distinction concerns sight and feel;

as light or heat may be either latent or manifest, in respect of both
sight and feel, or differently in regard to either. Thus fire is both
seen and felt; the heat of hot water is felt, but not seen; moonshine
is seen, but not felt; the visual ray is neither seen nor felt. Ter-
restrious lightis that, of which the fuel is
earthy, as fire. Celestial
isthat, of which the fuel is watery, as lightning, and meteors of
various sorts. Alvine is that, of which the fuel is both earthy and
watery: it is intestinal, which digests food and drink. Mineral is

that which is found in pits, as gold. For some maintain that gold is

solid light; or, at least that the chief ingredient is light, which is

rendered solid by mixture with some particles of earth. Were it

mere earth, it might be calcined by fire strongly urged. Its light is
not latent, but overpowered by the colour of the earthy particles
mixed with it. In the Mimdnsd, however, it is reckoned a distinct
substance, as before observed..
4. Air is a colourless substance, sensible to the feel; being tem-

perate (neither hot, nor cold). Besides this its distinguishing quality,
it has the same common qualities with light, except
fluidity (that is
number, quantity, individuality, conjunction, disjunction, priority,
subsequence, and faculty of elasticity and velocity).
existence as a distinct substance is inferred from feeling, The
Its

wind, that blows, is apprehended as temperate,

independently of
the influence of light: and this temperature, which is a quality, im-
for it cannot subsist without one that substra-
plies a substratum ;
:

tum is air different from water, which is cold and from light, which
; ;

is hot; and from earth, which is adventitiously warm by induction

of light.
Air is either eternal as atoms, or transient as aggregates. Organic
aerial bodies are beings inhabiting the atmosphere, and evil spirits
(Pisdchas, &c.) who haunt the earth. The organ of touch is an aerial
integument, or air diffused over the cuticle. Unorganic air is wind,
which agitates trees and other tremulous objects. To these may be
added, as a fourth kind of aerial aggregates, the breath and other
vital airs.
5. Ether (acas'e), which a substance that has the quality of
is

sound. Besides that its peculiar and distinguishing quality, it has

number (viz. unity), quantity, individuality, conjunction, and dis-
junction. It is infinite , ono, and eternal.
Theexistence of an etherial element as a distinct substance is
deduced, not from distinct perception, but from inference. Sound is
a peculiar quality; for, like colour and other peculiar qualities, it
is apprehended by only one external organ of such beings as men

are: now a quality abides in a substance which is qualified; but

neither soul, nor any one of the four elements, earth, water, light,
and air, can be its substratum, for it is apprehended l>y the organ of
 NYA'YA VAIS'ICSHICA. 175

hearing : and the rest are not apprehended

the qualities of earth ,

by the hearing but sound ,

therefore it is not a quality of those
is ;

substances; nor is it a quality of time, space, and mind; since it is

a peculiar quality, and those three substances have none but such
as are common to many: therefore a substratum, other than all these,
is inferred ; and that substratum is the etherial element. It is one ;

for there is no evidence of diversity; and its unity is congruous, as

infinity accounts for ubiquity. It is infinite , because it is in effect
found every where. It is eternal, because it is infinite.
It appears white, from connexion with a lucid white orb; as a

rock-crystal appears red by association with a red object. The blue

colour of a clear sky is derived, according to PATANJALI, from the
southern peak of the great mountain Sumeru, which is composed
of sapphire. On other sides of Sumeru the colour of the sky is
different, being borrowed from the hue of the peak which overlooks
that quarter. Others suppose that the black colour of the pupil
of the eye is imparted to the sky (blue and black being reckoned
tinges of the same colour), as a jaundiced eye sees every object
yellow.
The organ of hearing is etherial, being a portion of ether (acdsa)
confined in the hollow of the ear, and (as affirmed by the author of
of the PaddrCha dipica) endued with a particular and unseen virtue.
In the ear of a deaf man, the portion of ether which is there present
is devoid of that particular virtue, and therefore it is not a perfect

and efficient auditory organ.

Time is inferred from the relation of priority and subsequence,
6.
other than that of place. It is deduced from the notions of quick ,

slow, simultaneous, &c., and is marked by association of objects

with the sun's revolutions.
Young is the reverse of old, as old is of young. This contrast, which
does not concern place, is an effect, needing a cause other than
place, &c. That cause is time.
It has the qualities of number, quantity, individuality, conjunc-

tion, and disjunction. It is one, eternal, infinite.

Though one, it takes numerous designations; as past, present, and

future, with reference to acts that are so.
7. Place, or space, is inferred from the relation of priority and

subsequence, other than that of time. It is deduced from the notions

of here and there.
It has the same qualities as time; and like it, is one, eternal,
infinite.
it receives various
Though one, designations, as east, west, north,
south, &c., association with the sun's position.
by
8. Soul, though immaterial, is considered to be a substance, as a
substratum of qualities. It is eighth in CANA'DE'S arrangement. In
GOTAMA'S it is first
among things to be proven [see before].
176 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

9. Mind ; according to CANA'DE, is a ninth substance; and, in

GOTAMA'S arrangement, it recurs in two places, as one of the twelve
matters to be proven and again, under the distinct head of organs
;

of sensation, being reckoned an internal sense [see before].

Material substances are by CANADE considered to be primarily
atoms; and secondarily, aggregates. He maintains the eternity of
atoms; and their existence and aggregation are explained as
follows * :

The mote, which is seen in a sunbeam, is the smallest perceptible

quantity. Being a substance and an effect ,
it must be
composed of
what is less than itself: and this likewise is a substance and an
effect; component part of a substance that has magnitude,
for the
must be an effect. This again must be composed of what is smaller,
and that smaller thing is an atom. It is simple and uncomposed ;

else the series would be endless: and were it pursued indefinitely,

,

there would be no difference of magnitude between a mustard-seed

and a mountain, a gnat and an elephant, each alike containing an
infinity of particles. The ultimate atom then is simple.
The first compound consists of two atoms for one does not enter :

into composition and there is no argument to prove, that more than

;

two must, for incohation, be united. The next consists of three

double atoms; for, if only two were conjoined, magnitude would
hardly ensue, since it must be produced either by size or number of
particles; it cannot be their size, and therefore it must be their
number. Nor is there any reason for assuming the union of four
double atoms, since three suffice to originate magnitude.** The
atom then is reckoned to be the sixth part of a mote visible in a
sunbeam.***
Two earthly atoms, concurring by an unseen peculiar virtue the ,

creative will of GOD, or time, or other competent cause, constitute

a double atom of earth; and, by concourse of three binary atoms, a
tertiary atom is produced; and, by concourse of four triple atoms, a
quaternary atom; and so on, to a gross, grosser, or grossest mass of
earth thus great earth is produced; and in like manner, great water,
:

from aqueous atoms great light from luminous ; and great air, from
;

aerial. The qualities that belong to the effect are those which ap-

pertained to the integrant part, or primary particle, as its material

cause: and conversely, the qualities which belong to the cause are
found in the effect.
The dissolution of substances proceeds inversely. In the integrant
parts of ah aggregate substance resulting from composition, as in
the potsherds of an earthen jar, action is induced by pressure at-
tended with velocity, or by simple pressure. Disjunction ensues;
whereby the union, which was the cause of incohation of members,

* CAN. 2. 2. 2. 1. ciSs. &c. ** ci&s.

*** Pad.
Dip.
 NYA'YA VAIS^SHICA. 177

is annulle'd ;
and the integral substance consisting of those mem-
,

bers, is resolved into its parts, and is destroyed; for it ceases to

subsist as a whole.
II. Quality is closely united with substance; not, however, as an
intimate cause of it, nor consisting in motion, but common; not a
genus, yet appertaining to one. It is independent of conjunction and
disjunction not the cause of them, nor itself endued with qualities.
;

Twenty-four are enumerated. Seventeen only are, indeed, speci-

fied in CANA'DE'Saphorisms ;* but the rest are understood.
Colour. It is a peculiar quality to be apprehended only by
1.

sight; and abides in three substances; earth, water, and light. It is

a characteristic quality of the last; and, in that, is white and re-
splendent. In water, it is white, but without lustre. In the primary
atoms of both it is perpetual; in their products, not so. Inearth
it is variable ; and seven colours are
distinguished viz. white, yel- :

low, green, red, black, tawny (or orange),** and variegated. The
varieties of these seven colours are many, unenumerated. The six
simple colours occur in the atoms of earth and the seven, including ;

variegated, in its double atoms and more complex forms. The co-
,

lour of integrant parts is the cause of colour in the integral substance.

2. Savour.' It is a peculiar quality, to be apprehended
only by
by the organ of taste; and abides in two substances, earth and
water. It is a characteristic quality of the last; and in it is sweet.
It is perpetual in atoms of water; not so in aqueous products. In
earth it is variable; and six sorts are distinguished: sweet, bitter,
pungent, astringent, acid, and saline.
3. Odour. It is a peculiar quality, to be apprehended only by
the organ of smell; and abides in earth alone, being its distinguish-
ing quality. In water, odour is adscijitious, being induced by union
with earthy particles as a clear crystal appears red by association
;

with a hollyhock, or other flower of that hue. In air also it is ad-

scititious: thus a breeze, which has blown over blossoms, musk,

camphor, or other scented substances, wafts fragrant particles of

the blossoms, &c. The flowers are not torn, nor the musk diminished ;

because the parts are replaced by a reproductive unseen virtue.

However, camphor and other volatile substances do waste.
Two sorts of odour are distinguished, fragrance and stench.
4. Feel, and especially temperature. It is a peculiar quality, to
be apprehended only by the skin or organ of feeling. It abides in
four substances: earth, water, light, and air; and is a characteristic
quality of the last.
Three sorts are distinguished, cold, hot, and temperate. In water,

*CAN. 1. 1. 2. 2. and 1. 1. 4. 2.
**
One commentator (MADHAVAD^VA) specifies blue in place of orange;
another (GAUEICANTA) omits both, reducing the colours to six.

12
178 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

it is cold; in light, hot; inearth and in air, temperate. Divers other

sorts, likewise, are noticed; as hard and soft, and diversified, &c.
These four qualities are latent in minute substances, as atoms
and double atoms manifest to perception in products or aggregates
;

of greater magnitude. A mote in a sunbeam may be seen, though

not felt. The colour of the visual ray, or organ of sight, is ordinarily
imperceptible.
5. Number. It is the reason of perceiving and reckoning one,
two, or many ,
to the utmost limit of numeration. The notion of
number is deduced from comparison. Of two masses seen, this is

one, and that is one hence the notion of two, and so of more.
:

It is an universal quality ,
common to all substances without ex-

ception.
It is considered of two sorts, unity and multitude; or of three,

monad, duad, and multitude. Unity is either eternal or transient:

eternal unity regards eternal things that which is uneternal ; ,

concerns effects or transitory substances.

6. Quantity. It is the special cause of the use and perception of
measure.
an universal quality, common to all substances.
It is
considered to be fourfold great and small long and short.
It is :
;

Extreme littleness and shortness are eternal; as mind, or as

atoms, whether single or double, &c. Extreme length and great-
ness (termed infinite) are likewise eternal, as ether.
Within these extremes is inferior magnitude or finite quantity ;

which is uneternal. It is of various degrees in length and bulk,

more or most; from the mote or tertiary atom, upwards, to any mag-
nitude short of infinite.
The magnitude of products or effects results from number,
finite

size, or mass. Multitude of atoms, bulk of particles, and heap of

component parts, constitute magnitude. The latter, or cumulation
of particles, concerns a loose texture. The others, close or compact.
Infinity transcends the senses. An object may be too great, as
it
may be too small to be distinguished.
,

Individuality, severalty, or separateness is a quality common

7. ,

to all substances.
It is of two sorts; individuality of one or of a pair; or it is mani-

fold, as individuality of a triad, &c. Simple individuality is eternal,

in respect of eternal things; transient, in regard to such as are
transitory. Individuality, of a pair or triad, &c. is of course transi-
tory : it results
from comparison, as duad or triad does.
Conjunction is a transient connexion.
8.
an universal quality incident to all substances and is transitory.
It is
It implies two subjects, and is threefold: arising from the act of
either or of both, or else from conjunction; being simple, or rec\-
procal, or mediate. The junction of a falcon perching, which
is
 NYA'YA VAIS'ESHICA. 179

active with the perch whereon it settles which is passive, is con-

, ,

junction arising from the act of one. Collision of fighting rams, or

of wrestlers, is conjunction arising from the act of both. Contact of
a finger with a tree occasions the conjunction of the body with the
tree; and this is mediate.
9. Disjunction. It is the converse of conjunction; necessarily

preceded by it, and like it, implying two subjects. It is not the
mere negation of conjunction, nor simply the dissolution of it.
The knowledge of this quality, as well as of its counterpart, is
derived from perception.
It is an universal quality incident to all substances and is simple,

reciprocal, or mediate. A
falcon taking flight from a rock, is an
instance of disjunction arising from the act of one of two subjects ;

the active from the inactive. The parting of combatants rams or ,

wrestlers, is an example of disjunction arising from the act of both.

Disjunction of the body and the tree, resulting from the disunion of
the finger and the tree, is mediate.
10. Priority and posteriority. These qualities, being con-
11.
trasted and. correlative, are considered together. They are of two
sorts, concerning place and time. In respect of place, they are prox-
imity and distance; in regard to time, youth and antiquity. The
one concerns (rnurta) definite bodies, consisting of circumscribed
quantity; the other affects generated substances.
The knowledge of them is derived from comparison.
Two masses being situated in one place, nearness is deduced from
the conjunction of one with place as associated by comparison re- ,

ferring primarily to the person of the spectator; or, secondarily, to

other correlatives of place. Where least conjunction of conjunct
things intervenes, it is nearness; where most does, it is remoteness.
Thus, Praydga is nearer to Mafhurd than Cdsi, and Cdsi remoter from
it than Praydga.

In like manner, one of two masses, not restricted to place, is

young, as deduced from the association of the object with time, by
comparison discriminating that which is connected with least time.
Another is old, which is connected with most time. Here time is
determined by revolutions of the sun.
12. Gravity is the peculiar cause of primary descent or falling.*
It affects earth and water. Gold is affected by this quality , by
reason of earth contained in it.
In the absence of a countervailing cause as adhesion velocity,
, ,

or some act of volition descent results from this quality. Thus a

,

cocoa-nut is withheld from falling by adhesion of the foot-stalk ;

but, this impediment ceasing on maturity of the fruit, it falls.
According to UDAYANA A'CHA'RYA, gravity is imperceptible, but to

* Tare. Bhdsh. and Pad. Dip.

12*
180 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

be inferred from the act of falling. BALLABHA maintains, that it is

perceived in the position of a thing descending to a lower situation.
Levity is a distinct quality, but the negation of gravity.
13- Fluidity is the cause of original trickling.
*
It affects earth light and water. It is natural and essential in
, ,

water; adscititious in earth and light; being induced by exhibition

of fire in molten substances, as lac, gold, &c.
Fluidity is perceptible by the external senses, sight and touch.
In hail and ice, fluidity essentially subsists ; but is obstructed by
an impediment arising from an unseen virtue which renders the
water solid.
14. Viscidity is the quality of clamminess and cause of agglutina-
It abides in water
tion.
only. In oil liquid butter , &c. , it results
,

from the watery parts of those liquids.**

15. Sound is a peculiar quality of the etherial element, and is to
be apprehended by the hearing. It abides in that element exclusive-
ly, and is its characteristic quality. Two sorts are distinguished:
articulate and musical. ***
To account for sound originating in one place being heard in
another, it is observed, that sound is propagated by undulation, wave
after wave, radiating in every direction, from a centre, like the
blossoms of a Nauclea. It is not the first, nor the intermediate wave,
that is the sound heard, but the last which comes in contact with
the organ of hearing; and therefore it is not quite correct to say,
that a drum has been heard. Sound originates in conjunction, in
disjunction or in sound itself. The conjunction of cymbals, or that
,

of a drum and stick may serve to exemplify the first. It is the in-
,

strumental cause. The rustling of leaves is an instance of dis-

junction being the cause of sound. In some cases sound becomes ,

the cause of sound. In all, the conformity of wind, or its calmness,

is a concomitant cause: for an adverse wind obstructs it. The
material cause is in every case the etherial fluid; and the con-
junction of that with the sonorous subject is a concomitant cause.
The Mimdnsd affirms the eternity of sound. This is contested by
the Naiydyicus, who maintain, that were it eternal, it could not be
apprehended by human organs of sense.
16 23. The eight following qualities are perceptible by the
mental organ, not by the external senses. They are qualities of the
soul, not of material substances.
16. Intelligence (budffhf) is
placed by CANA'DE among qualities;
and by UOTAMA, fifth among objects of proof.It will be noticed in
that place.
17 and 18. Pleasure and pain are among qualities enumerated by

* ** ***
Tare. Bhdsh. and Pad. Dip. Ibid and Siddh. Sang. Ibid,
and GAU. &c.
 NYAYA VAISESHICA. 181

CANA'DE. Pain or evil is placed by GOTAMA among objects of proof;

where (under the head of deliverance) it will be further noticed,
with its converse.
19 and
Desire and aversion are the two next in order among
20.

qualities.Desire is the wish of pleasure and of happiness, and of

absence of pain. Passion is extreme desire; it is incident to man
and inferior beings. The supreme being is devoid of passion.
Neither does desire intend GOD'S will, nor a saint's wish. Aversion
is loathing or hatred.
21. Volition (ya(na), effort or exertion, is a determination to action

productive of gratification. Desire is its occasion, and perception

its reason. Two sorts of perceptible effort are distinguished that :

proceeding from desire, seeking what is agreeable and that which ;

proceeds from aversion, shunning what is loathsome. Another

species, which escapes sensation or perception, but is inferred from
analogy of spontaneous acts, comprises animal functions, having for
a cause the vital unseen power.
Volition, desire, and intelligence, are in man transitory, variable,
or inconstant. The will and intelligence of GOD are eternal, uniform,
constant.
22 and 23. Virtue and vice (D'karma and A(Tharmii), or moral
merit and demerit, are the peculiar causes of pleasure and of pain
respectively. The result of performing that which is enjoined as ,

sacrifice, &c. is virtue; the result of doing that which is forbidden,

is vice.
They are qualities of the soul; imperceptible, but inferred
from reasoning.
Theproof of them is deduced from transmigration. The body of
an individual with his limbs and organs of sense is a result of a
, ,

peculiar quality of his soul ; since this is the cause of that indivi-
dual's fruition, like a thing which is produced by his effort or voli-
tion. The peculiar quality of the soul, which does occasion its being
invested with body, limbs, and organs, is virtue or vice: for body
and the rest are not the result of effort and volition.*
24. The twenty fourth and last quality is faculty (sanscnrci).
-

This comprehends three sorts.

Velocity (ve'gd), which is the cause of action. It concerns matter
only; and is a quality of the mental organ, and of the four grosser
elements, earth, water, light, and air. It becomes manifest from the
perception of motion.
Elasticity (sfhilisChdvaca) is a quality of particular tangible, ter-
rene objects; and is the cause of that
peculiar action, whereby an
altered thing is restored to its pristine state, as a bow unbends and
a strained branch resumes its former position. It is imperceptible;

*
Tare. Bhdsh.
1 82 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

but is inferred from the fact of the restitution of a thing to its former
condition.
Imagination (bhdvana] is a peculiar quality of the soul, and is the
cause of memory. It is a result of notion or recollection; and being
excited, produces remembrance: and the exciting cause is the re-
currence of an association that is of the sight or other perception
; ,

of a like object.
III. The next head in CANA'DE'S arrangement, after
quality, is
action (carme).
Action consists in motion, and, like quality, abides in substance
alone. It affects a single, that is a finite substance, which is matter.
It is the cause (not aggregative, but indirect) of disjunction, as of
conjunction: that is, a fresh conjunction in one place, after annul-
ment of a prior one in another, by means of disjunction. It is devoid
of quality, and is transitory.
Five sorts are enumerated: to cast upward; to cast downward;
to push forward; to spread horizontally; and, fifthly, to go on:
including many varieties under the last comprehensive head.
IV. Community (Sdmdnyd), or the condition of equal or like
things, is the cause of the perception of conformity. It is eternal,
single, concerning more than one thing, being a property common
to several. It abides in substance, in quality, and in action.
Two degrees of it are distinguished: the highest, concerning
numerous objects; the lowest, concerning few. The first is exist-
ence, a common property of all. The latter is the abstraction of an
individual, varying with age, in dimensions, yet continuing identical.
A third, or intermediate degree, is distinguished, comprehended in
the first, and including the latter. These three degrees of commu-
nity correspond nearly with genus, species, and individual.
In another view, community is two-fold viz. genus (Jdtt) and dis-
:

criminative property (upddhi), or species.

The BaudcPhas are cited as denying this category, and maintain-
ing that individuals only have existence, and that abstraction is false
and deceptive. This, as well as other controverted points, will be
further noticed at a future opportunity.
V. Difference (yisesha), or particularity, is the cause of perception
of exclusion. It affects a particular and single object, Avhich is
devoid of community. It abides in eternal substances. Such sub-
stances are mind, soul, time, place; and the etherial element; and
the atoms of earth, water, light, and air.
VI. The sixth and last of CANA'DE'S categories is aggregation
(samavdya), or perpetual intimate relation. It has been already
briefly noticed.
VII. To the six affirmative categories of CANA'DE, succeeding
writers add a seventh, which is negative.
Negation or privation (abhdvu) is of two sorts; universal and
 NYA'YA VAIS'ESHICA. 183

mutual. Universal negation comprehends three species, antecedent,

emergent, and absolute.
Antecedent privation (prdgabhdvd) is present negation of that
which at a future time will be. It is negation in the material cause
previous to the production of an effect; as, in yarn, prior to the
fabrication of cloth, there is antecedent privation of the piece of
cloth which is to be woven. It is without beginning, for it has not
been produced; and has an end, for it will be terminated by the
production of the, effect.
Emergent privation is destruction (dhwansa), or cessation, of an

effect. negation in the cause, subsequent to the production of

It is
the effect: as, in a broken jar, (smashed by the blow of a mallet)
the negation of jar in the heap of potsherds. It has a commencement,
but no end ; for the destruction of the effect cannot be undone.
Absolute negation extends through all times, past, present, and
future. It has neither beginning nor end. For example, fire in a
lake, colour in air.
Mutual privation is difference (bheda). It is reciprocal negation
of identity, essence, or respective peculiarity.
5. To return to GOTAMA'S arrangement. The fifth place, next
after objects of sense, is by him allotted to intelligence (budd'hi),

apprehension, knowledge, or conception; defined as that which

manifests, or makes known, a matter.
It is two-fold notion and remembrance. Notion (anubhava) in-
;

cludes two sorts; right and wrong. Right notion (prama) is

such as is incontrovertible. It is derived from proof, and is conse-
quently fourfold; viz. from perception, or inference, or comparison,
or revelation: for example: 1st, a jar perceived by undisordered
organs; 2d, fire inferred from smoke; 3d, agayal* recognised from
its resemblance to a cow ; 4th, celestial happiness attainable through
sacrifice, as inculcated by the Vedas.
.
Wrong notion deviates from truth, and is not derived from
proof.
It is threefold : doubt ; premises liable to reduction to absurdity ;
and error (for example, mistaking moth er-o' -pearl for silver).
Remembrance (smarana), likewise, is either right or wrong. Both
occur, and right remembrance especially, while awake. But, in
sleep, remembrance is wrong.
6. The sixth place among objects of proof is allotted to mind. It
has been already twice noticed ; viz. among organs of sense and ,

again among substances.

7. Activity (pravrltli) is next in order. It is determination, the
result of passion, aiid the cause of virtue and vice, or merit and
demerit; according as the act is one enjoined or forbidden. It is

* Bos gavacus s. As. Res. vol. viii. p. 487.

fronlalis.
184 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

oral, mental, or corporeal; not comprehending unconscious vital

functions. It is the reason of all worldly proceedings.
8. From acts proceed faults (dosha) including under this desig-
:

nation, passion or extreme desire; aversion or loathing; and error

or delusion (moha). The two first of these are reckoned by CANADE
among qualities.
9- Next in GOTAMA'S arrangement is
(pretya-bhdva) the condition
of the soul after death; which is transmigration: for the soul, being
immortal, passes from a former body which perishes, to a new one
which receives it. This
a reproduction (punar-utpatii).
is

10. Retribution (p'hala) the fruit accruing from faults which

is

result from activity. It is a return of fruition (punarbhoga) or ex- ,

perience of pleasure or pain, in association with body, mind, and

senses.
11. Pain, or anguish, is the eleventh topic of matters to be
proven.
12. Deliverance from pain is beatitude: it is absolute prevention
of every sort of ill; reckoned, in this system of philosophy, to com-

prehend twenty-one varieties of evil, primary or secondary: viz. 1,

body; 27, the six organs of sense; 8 13, six objects (vishayd) of
sensation 14
; 19, six sorts of apprehension and intelligence (budffhi) ;

20, pain or anguish; 21, pleasure. For even this, being tainted with
evil, is pain; as honey drugged with poison is reckoned among de-
leterious siibstances.
This liberation from ill is attained
by soul, acquainted with the
truth (talwa), by means of holy science; divested of passion through
knowledge of the evil incident to objects; meditating on itself; and,
by the maturity of self-knowledge, making its own essence present;
relieved from impediments; not earning fresh merit or demerit, by
deeds done with desire discerning the previous burden of merit or
;

demerit, by devout contemplation; and acquitting it through com-

pressed endurance of its fruit; and thus (previous acts being annulled^
and present body departed and no future body accruing) there is ,

no further connexion with the various sorts of ill, since there is no

cause for them. This, then, is prevention of pain of every sort; it
is deliverance and beatitude.

III. After proof and matter to be proven, GOTAMA proceeds to

other categories, and assigns the next place to doubt (sansaya}.
It is the consideration of divers contrary matters in regard to
one and the same thing; and is of three sorts, arising from common
or from peculiar qualities, or merely from contradiction; discri-
minative marks being in all three cases unnoticed. Thus an object
is observed, concerning which it becomes a
question whether it be
a man or a post the limbs which would betoken the man or the
:
,

crooked trunk which would distinguish the post, being equally un-
 NYA'YA VAIS'^SHICA. ,
185

perceived. Again, odour is a peculiar quality of earth: it belongs

not to eternal substances, as the etherial element; nor to transient
elements, as water: is then earth eternal or uneternal? So, one
affirms that sound is eternal; another denies that position; and a
tlii-.l
person doubts.
. IV. Motive (prayojana) is that by which a person is actuated, or
moved to action. It is the desire of attaining pleasure, or of shun-
ning pain; or the wish of exemption from both; for such is the pur-
pose or impulse of every one in a natural state of mind.*
V. Instance (drishtanta) is, in a controversy, a topic on which
both disputants consent. It is either concordant or discordant;
direct or inverse: as the culinary hearth, for a direct instance of
the argument of the presence of fire betokened by smoke; and a
lake, for an inverse or contrary instance of the argument, where
the indicating vapour is mist or fog.**
VI. Demonstrated truth (sidd'hdnta) is of four sorts; viz. univer-
sally acknowledged; partially so; hypothetically; avgumentatively
(or, e concessii).***
Thus, existence of substance, or of that to which properties ap-
pertain is universally recognised though the abstract notion of it
, ,

may not be so; for the Baudd'has deny abstraction. Mind is by

the Nuiydyicas considered to be an organ of perception, and so it is
by the kindred sect of Vaiseshicas. The eternity of sound is ad-
mitted in the Mimdnsd and denied in the Nydya. Supposing the
,

creation of the earth to be proved, omniscience of the creator fol-

lows. In JAIMINI'S disquisition on the eternity, or the transitoriness,
of sound, it is said, granting sound to be a quality.
On the appositeness of some of these examples, in the cases to
which they are here applied, as instances of divers sorts of demon-
stration there is a disagreement among commentators
,
which it is ,

needless 1o go into.
VII. A regular argument, or complete syllogism (nydya\ consists
of five members (avayavd) or component parts. 1st, the proposition
(pratijnya) 2d, the reason (helu or apadesa)
; 3d, the instance (udd- ;

harana or nidarsana) 4th the application (upanaya) 5th the con-

; , ; ,

clusion (nigamana). Ex.

1. This hill is fiery:
2. For it smokes.
3. What smokes, is
fiery: as a culinary hearth.
4. Accordingly, the hill is smoking:
5. Therefore it is fiery.
Somef confine the syllogism (nydyii) to three members; either
the three first or the three last. In this latter form it is quite re-
,

* GOT.
1. 4. 1 3.
** GOT. 1. 1.5. 16. *** GOT. 1. 1. 6.
1. l,&c.
t The followers of the Mimdnsd. Pad. Dip.
186 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

gular. The recital joined with the instance is the major; the appli-
cation is the minor; the conclusion follows.
VIII. Next in this arrangement is (tarca) reduction to absurdity.
It isa mode of reasoning, for the investigation of truth, by deduc-
tion from wrong premises, to an inadmissible conclusion which is
at variance with proof, whether actual perception or demonstrable
inference. The conclusion to which the premises would lead is in-
admissible, as contrary to what is demonstrated, or as conceding
what is
disproved.
It isnot to be confounded with doubt, to which there are two
sides; but to this there is but one.
Five sorts are distinguished by the more ancient writers, to which
the moderns have added six, or even seven more varieties. It is
needless to enumerate them: one or two examples may suffice.
Ex. 1. Is this hill fiery, or not? On this question one delivers
his opinion, that it is not fiery. The answer to him is Were it not
,

fiery, would not smoke.

it

Ex. 2. If there be a jar in this place, it must look like the

ground.
Fallacy of the same form termed tarcdbhdsa comprises the like
, ,

number of sorts and varieties.

The designations by which they are distinguished are familiar to
the Indian scholastic disputation. It would be tedious to enumerate
and explain them.
IX. Ascertainment (nirneya) or determination of truth is the
, ,

fruit of proof the result of evidence and of reasoning, confuting

,

objections and establishing the position in question.

X. Disputation (cafha) is conference or dialogue of
XII.
interlocutors maintaining adverse positions, whether contend-
ing for victory, or seeking the truth. It comprises three of the

categories.
X. One is (jalpa) debate of disputants contending for victory;
each seeking to establish his own position and overthrow the

opponent's.
XI. Another is (vdda) discourse, or interlocution of persons com-
muning on a topic in pursuit of truth, as preceptor and pupil
together with fellow-students.
XII. The third is (vilandd) cavil, or controversy wherein the dis-
putant seeks to confute his opponent without offering to support a
position of his own.
XIII. Next in GOTAMA'S enumeration is
fallacy, or, as it is

termed, semblance of a reason (helwdbhdsct); it is the non causa pro

causa of logicians. Five sorts are distinguished embracing divers ,

varieties or subdivisions. They need not be here set forth.

XIV. Fraud (c/t'/m/ff), or perversion and misconstruction, is of
 NYAYA VAISESHICA. 187

three sorts:
1st, verbal misconstruing of what is ambiguous; 2d,
perverting, in a literal sense, what is said in a metaphorical one;
3d, generalizing what is particular.
XV. After all these is (jalt) a futile answer, or self - confuting
reply. No less than twenty-four sorts are enumerated.
XVI. The sixteenth ,
and last of GOTAMA'S categories ,
is (ni-
-
graha-sfhdna) failure in argument, or (pardjaya helii) reason of
defeat. It is the termination of a controversy. Of this, likewise,
no fewer than twenty -two distinctions are specified; which are
here passed by, as the present essay has already been extended to
too great a length.
 VIII.

PART III.*

[From the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society vol. i. p. 439 461.]

INTRODUCTION.

OF the six systems of philosophy received among learned Hin-

dus, four have been noticed iu the preceding parts of this essay,
viz. the theistical and atheistical Sdnc'hyas, the dialectic Nydya,
and the atomical Vaiseshica. The prior or practical Mimdnsd will
be now considered; reserving the later or theological Mimdnsd,
usually named Ve'ddnla, for a future disquisition, should it appear
requisite to pursue the subject, much concerning it being already
before the public.
The object of the Mimdnsd is the interpretation of the Vedas.
"Its purpose," says a commentator,** "is to determine the sense of
revelation." Its whole scope is the ascertainment of duty. Here
duly intends sacrifices and other acts of religion ordained by the
Vedas. The same term (dharma) likewise signifies virtue, or moral
merit; and grammarians have distinguished its import according to
the gender of the noun. In one, (the masculine), it implies virtue;
in the other (neuter), it means an act of devotion.*** It is in the
last-mentioned sense that the term is here employed; and its
meaning is
by commentators explained to be "the scope of an in-
junction; the object of a command ;f a purpose ordained by reve-
lation with a view to a motive, such as sacrifice commanded by the
Vedas, for the attainment of bliss;" ft and such indeed is the main
scope of every disquisition.
The prior (purva") Mimdnsd then is practical, as relating to works
(carmd) or religious observances to be undertaken for specific ends;

* Read at a
public meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society, March 4th, 1826.
** s6MANAT'HA in the *** Medini cosha.
Mayuc'ha, 2. .1. 17.
f PART'HA 1. 1. 2. Didh. ibid. ft APADEVA; Nydya-pracdsa.
 MIMANSA. 189

and it is
accordingly termed Carma-mimdnsd in contradistinction to
,

the theological, which is named Brahme-mimdnsd.

It is not directly a system of philosophy nor chiefly so. But, in
;

course of delivering canons of scriptural interpretation, it incidently

touches upon philosophical topics and scholastic disputants have
;

elicited from its dogmas principles of reasoning applicable to the

prevailing points of controversy agitated by the Hindu schools of

philosophy.

Writers on the Mimdnsd.

The acknowledged founder of this school of scriptural interpre-

tation is JAIMINI.
is He
repeatedly named as an authority in the
sutras which are ascribed to him. Other ancient writers on the
same subject, who are occasionally quoted in those aphorisms, as
A'TREYA, BA'DARI, BA'DARAYANA,* LA'BUCA'YANA, AITISA'YANA, &c. are
sometimes adduced there for authority but oftener for correction
,

and confutation.
It is no doubt possible, that the true author of a work may speak
in it of himself by name, and in the third person. Nor, indeed is ,

that very unusual. A Hindu commentator will, however, say, as

the scholiasts of MENU'S and of YAJNYAWALCYA'S institutes of law
do, that the oral instructions of the teacher were put in writing by
some disciple; and, for this reason, the mention of him as of a third
is
person strictly proper.
The sulras, or aphorisms, thus attributed to JAIMINI, are
arranged
in twelve lectures, each subdivided into four chapters, except the
third, sixth, and te'nth lectures, which contain twice as many;
making the entire number sixty chapters. These again are divided
into sections, cases, or topics (adhicaranas}, ordinarily comprising
several sutras, but not uncommonly restricted to one; and instances
may be noted where a single sentence is split into several adhicaranas ;
or, on the contrary, a single phrase variously interpreted becomes
applicable to distinct cases and sulras, united under the same head
;

by one interpreter, are by another explained as constituting separate

topics. The total number of sulras is 2,652, and of adhicaranas 915,
as numbered by MA'D'HAVA A'CHARYA.
Like the aphorisms of other Indian sciences, those sulras are ex-

tremely obscure; or without a gloss utterly unintelligible. They

must have been from the first accompanied by an oral or written
exposition; and an ancient scholiast ( Vrilticdra), is quoted by the
herd of commentators for subsidiary aphorisms, supplying the defect
of the text, as well as for explanatory comments on it.
Besides the work of the old scholiast, which probably is not

* Author of the Bratune- sulras.

190 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

extant in a complete form, the sutras have, as usual, been elucidated

by a perpetual commentary, and by corrective annotations on it.
The author of the extant commentary is S'ABARA SWA'MI BHAT'T'A,
from whom it takes the name of 'Sahara bhdshya. He quotes oc-
casionally the ancient scholiast, sometimes concurring with, some-
times dissenting from him.
The annotations (vdrlica] are by BHATTA CUMA'RILA SWA'MI who ,

is the great authority of the Mimdnsaca school, in which he is em-

phatically designated by his title, Bha't'ta, equivalent to Doctor.

He frequently expounds and corrects SAHARA'S gloss, often delivers
a different interpretation but in many instances passes entire sec-
,

tions without notice as seeing no occasion for emendation or ex-

,

planation of the commentary, which he must be considered there-

fore as tacitly ratifying. The ancient scholiast is sometimes cited
by him, adopting or amending the scholia; and he criticises the text
itself, and arrangement of JAIMINI.
Next to him in celebrity is a writer usually cited under the title
of Guru; more rarely under the designation of Prabhdcara.* His
work I have had no opportunity of examining with a view to the
present essay, and he is known to me chiefly from references and
quotations; as in MADHAVA'S summary, where his opinions are per-
petually contrasted with CUMA'RILA'S; and in the text and commen-
tary of the 'Sdstra-dipicd where his positions are canvassed and
,

compared with those of numerous other writers.

CUMARILA BHATTA figures greatly in the traditionary religious
history of India. He was predecessor of SANCARA A'CHARYA, and
equally rigid in maintaining the orthodox faith against heretics ,

who reject the authority of the Vedas. He is considered to have

been the chief antagonist of the sect of Buddha, and to have insti-
gated an exterminating persecution of that heresy.** He does,
indeed, take every ocsasion of controverting the authority and doc-
trine of S'A'CYA or BUDDHA, as well as ARHAT or JINA, together with
obscurer heretics, B6D'HAYANA and MAS'ACA; and he denies them
any consideration, even when they do concur upon any point with
the Vedas.*** The age of CU^A'RILA, anterior to S'ANCARA,! and
corresponding with the period 'of the persecution of the Bauddhas,
goes back to an antiquity of much more than a thousand years.
He is reputed to have been contemporary with SUDHANWA but the ,

chronology of that prince's reign is not accurately determined, ft

Next in eminence among the commentators of the Mimdnsd is

* MADH. 1.1.3. ** Preface to Wilson's

Dictionary, p. xix.
*** Mint. 1. 3. 4.
f S'ABARA SWAMI ACHARYA is expressly named by S'ANCARA in his commen-
tary on the latter Mimdnsd (see Brahma Sutra, 3. 3. 53); and there are allu-
sions to CUMA'RILA BHATTA, if no direct mention of him.
ff Preface to Wilson's Dictionary, p. xviii.
 MIMANSA. 191

PA'RT'HA - SA'RAT'HI MISRA who has professedly followed the guid-

,

ance of CUMA'RILA BHATT'A. His commentary, entitled 'Sdstra-dipicd,

has been amply expounded in a gloss bearing the title of Mayuc'ha-
mdld, by SOMANA'T'HA a Cdrndtaci- Brahman, whose elder brother
,

was high priest of the celebrated temple at Vencdladri (or Vencala-

girf).* PA'RT'HA-SA'RAT'HI is author likewise of the Nydya-ralna-
mdld and other known works.
A compendious gloss on the text of JAIMINI following likewise
,

the same guidance (that of CUMA'RILA) is the Bha't'ta-dipicd of

,

C'HANDA-DEVA, author of a separate and ampler treatise entitled ,

Mimdnsd-caustubha, to which he repeatedly refers for a fuller eluci-

dation of matters briefly touched upon in his concise but instructive
gloss. This work is posterior to that of MA'DHAVA A'CHA'RYA, who is
sometimes quoted in it, and to PA'RT'HA-SA'RAT'HI, who is more fre-

quently noticed.
The Mimdnsd-nydya-viveca is another commentary by a distin-
guished author, BHAVANA'T'HA MISRA. I speak of this and of the
foregoing as commentaries, because they follow the order of the
text, recite one or more of the aphorisms from every section, and
explain the subject, but without regularly expounding every word,
as ordinary scholiasts, in a perpetual gloss.
Among numerous other commentaries on JAIMIJU'S text, the
Nydy dvali -didhiti of RA'GHAVA'NANDA is not to be omitted. It contains
an excellent interpretation of the sulras, which it expounds word
by word in the manner of a perpetual comment. It is brief, but
,

clear; leaving nothing unexplained, and wandering into no di-

gressions.
It results from the many revisions which the text and exposition
of have undergone, with amendments, one while arriving by a
it

different process of reasoning at the same conclusion, another time

varying the question and deducing from an unchanged text an al-

tered argument for its solution, that the cases (adhicaranas) assume
a very diversified aspect in the hands of the many interpreters of
the Mimdnsd.
A summary or paraphrase of JAIMINI'S doctrine was put into verse
by an ancient author, whose memorial verses are frequently cited
by the commentators of JAIMINI, under the title of Sangraha.
Another metrical paraphrase is largely employed in the Vdrtica,
or is a part of that work itself. An entire chapter occurs under the
title of Sloca vdrlica: other whole
chapters of CUMA'RILA'S perform-
ance are exclusively in prose. In many, verse and prose are inter-
mixed.
The most approved introduction to the study of the Mimdnsd is
the Nydyd-mdld-ivslara by MA'DHAVA A'CHA'RYA. It is in verse, at-
* 135 miles west from Madras.
192 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

tended with a commentary in prose by the same author. It follows

the order of JAIMINI'S text; not by way of paraphrase, but as a
summary (though the title rather implies amplification) of its pur-
port, and of approved deductions from it; sometimes explaining se-
parately the doctrine of Bha't'ta and of Guru, under each head; at
other times that of the old scholiast; but more commonly confined
to that of Bha't'ta alone; yet often furnishing more than one appli-
cation to the same text, as Bha'l'ta himself does.
MADHAVA A'CHA'RYA was both priest and minister, or civil as well
as spiritual adviser of BUCCA-RA'YA and HARIHARA, sovereigns of
Vidydnagara on the Goddvari, as his father MA'YANA had been of
their father and predecessor SANGAMA, who reigned over the whole
peninsula of India.
Like the numerous other writings which bear his name the ,

Nydla-mdld was composed, not by himself, but by his directions,

under the more immediate superintendence of his brother, SAYANA-
ACHA'RYA; and it appears from its preface to have been the next
performance undertaken after the completion of their commentary
on PA'RAS'ARA'S institutes of law; and it suitably enough preceded
the great commentary of the same authors on the whole of the
Vedas.

According to history, confirmed by authentic inscriptions, MA'D-

HAVA flourished towards the middle of the fourteenth century: the
sovereigns whose confidence he enjoyed reigned from that time to
the end of the century.

Analysis of the Mimdnsd.

From this brief notice of the principal writers on the Mimdnsd, I

pass to the subject which has occupied them.
A complete adhicarana or case consists of five member's viz. ] ,
, , ,

the subject, or matter to be explained; 2, the doubt, or question

arising upon that matter; 3, the first side (piirva-pacsha ). or prima
facie argument concerning it 4, the answer (utlara) or demonstrated
;

conclusion (siddhdnla) 5, the pertinence or relevancy.

;

The last-mentioned appertains to the whole arrangement as well

as to subdivisions and commentators are occupied with showing
its ;

the relation and connexion of subjects treated in the several lec-

tures and chapters, and their right distribution and appropriate
positions.
The text of JAIMINI'S aphorisms does not ordinarily exhibit the
whole of the five members of an adhicarana. Frequently the subject,
and the question concerning it, are but hinted, or they are left to be
surmised; sometimes the disputable solution of it is unnoticed, and
the right conclusion alone is set forth. The rest is supplied by the
 MiMANSA. 193

scholiasts; and they do not always concur as to the most apposite

examples, nor concerning the presumed allusions of the'text.
Its introductory st'ilras propose the subject in this manner. >"Now
then the study of duty is to be commenced. Duty is a purpose
which is inculcated by a command. Its reason must be inquired." *
That is, according to the interpretation of commentators, 'Next,
after reading the Veda ; and therefore for the sake of understand-
,

ing it; the duty enjoined by it is to be investigated. Duty is a

meaning deduced from injunction: its ground must be sifted. A
command is not implicitly received for proof of duty.'
The business of the Mimdnsd then being to investigate what is
, ,

incumbent as a duty be performed, the primary matter for in-

to

quiry is proof and authority (pramdria). This, accordingly, is the

subject of the first lecture, comprising four chapters, which treat of
the following matters 1st, precept and its cogency 2, affirmation
:
;

or narrative (arChavdda), as well as prayer and invocation (man/ra),

their cogency as inculcating some duty; 3, law memorial (smrili),
and usage (dchdra], their authority as presumption of some cogent
revelation; 4, modifying ordinance and specific denomination,
distinguished from direct or positive injunction.
Proceeding with the subject as above proposed, the Mimdnsd de-
clares that perception or simple apprehension is no reason of duty,

for it apprehends a present object only, whereas duty concerns the

future.** Simple apprehension is defined in these words "when the :

organs of man are in contiguity with an object, that source of know-

ledge is perception."
The ancient scholiast has here introduced definitions of other
sources of knowledge which the author had omitted, viz. inference,
verbal communication, comparison, presumption, and privation.
None of these are reasons of duty except verbal communication; for
the rest are founded on perception which itself is not so. Verbal
,

communication is either human as a correct sentence (dpta-vdcya)

,
.

or superhuman, as a passage of the Ve'das. It is indicative or im-

perative; and the latter is either positive or relative: Ex. 1. "This
is to be done:" 2. "That is to be done like this."

"On sight of one member of a known association, the consequent

apprehension of the other part which is not actually proximate, is
(amimdna) inference.*** The association must be such as had been
before directly perceived, or had become known by analogy.

"Comparison (ttpamdna) is knowledge arising from resemblance

more or less strong. It is apprehension of the likeness which a thing
presently seen bears to one before observed and likeness or simi- :

*JAIM.l. 1. 1 3. ** JAIM. 1. 1. 4.
*** Anc. Schol.
Didh., PART'H., &c.
13
194 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

litude is concomitancy of associates or attributes with one object,

which were associated with another.
"Presumption (arfhdpatti) is deduction of a matter from that
which could not else be. It is assumption of a thing not itself per-
ceived, but necessarily implied by another which is seen, heard, or
proven.
"Knowledge of a thing which is not proximate (or subject to
perception) derived through understood sound, that is through
words the acceptation whereof is known, is (sdslra) ordinance or
revelation. It is (s'abda} verbal communication."
These five sources of knowledge, or modes of proof, as here de-
fined, are admitted by all Mimdnsacas: and the followers of PRA-
BHA'CARA are stated to restrict their admission to those five.*
Bha't'ta with his disciples, guided by the ancient scholiast, adds a

sixth, which is privation (rtfc/iaya); and the Veddnlis or Utiara Mi-

mansacas concur in the admission of that number.
The Chdrvdcas, as noticed in the first part of this essay,** recog-
nise but one, viz. perception. The followers of CANA'DE and those of
Sugala (Buddha] acknowledge two, perception and inference. The
Sanc'hyas reckon three, including affirmation.*** The Naiyayicas, or
followers of GOTAMA, count four, viz. the foregoing together with
comparison. The Prdbhdcaras as just now observed admit five.
, ,

And the rest of the Mimdnsacas, in both schools, prior and later
Mimdnsd, enumerate six.t It does not appear that a greater num-
ber has been alleged by any sect of Indian philosophy.
The first six lectures of JAlMlNl's Mimdnsd treat of positive in-
junction : it is the first half of the work. The
latter half, compris-

ing six more lectures, concerns indirect command: adapting to a

copy, with any requisite modifications, that which was prescribed
for the pattern or prototype.
The
authority of enjoined duty is the topic of the first lecture:
itsdifferences and varieties, its parts (or appendant members, con-
trasted with the main act), and the purpose of performance, are suc-
cessively considered in the three next, and complete the subject of
"that which is to be performed." The order of performance oc-
cupies the fifth lecture; and qualification for its performance is
treated in the sixth.
The subject of indirect precept is opened in the seventh lecture
generally, and in the eighth particularly. Inferrible changes, adapt-
ing to the variation or copy what was designed for the type or
model are discussed in the ninth and bars or exceptions in the
, ,

tenth. Concurrent efficacy is considered in the eleventh lecture;

and co-ordinate effect in the twelfth: that is, the co-operation of

* Veddnla-iiichdmani. ** *** 165168.

Ante, p. 152. Ante, p.
f Veddnta sic'hdm.
 MIMA'NSA. 195

several acts for a single result is the subject of the one; and the
incidental effect of an act, of which the chief purpose is different,
is discussed in the other.

These which are the principal topics of each lecture are not, how-
ever, exclusive. Other matters are introduced by the way, being
suggested by the main subject or its exceptions.
In the first chapter of the first lecture occurs the noted disquisi-
tion of the Mimansu on the original and perpetual association of ar-
ticulate sound with sense.*
"It a primary and natural connexion," JAIMINI affirms, "not
is

merely a conventional one. The knowledge of it is instruction ,

since the utterance of a particular sound conveys knowledge, as its

enunciation is for a particular sense. It matters not whether the
subject have been previously apprehended (the Avords being intel-
ligible, or the context rendering them so). Precept is authoritative,
**
independently of human communication."
Grammarians assume a special category, denominated sp'huia, for
the object of mental perception, which ensues upon the hearing of
an articulate sound, and which they consider to be distinct from the
elements or component letters of the word. Logicians disallow that
as a needless assumption.*** They insist, however, that "sound is
an effect, because it is perceived as the result of effort; because it
endures not, but ceases so soon as uttered; because it is spoken of
as made or done; because it is at once apprehended in divers
places at the same instant, uttered by divers persons; because it is
liable to permutation; and because it is subject to increase of in-

tensity with the multitude of utterers." To all which the answer is,
"
that the result of an effort is uniform the same letters being arti-
,

culated. Sound is unobserved though existent, if it reach not the

object (vibrations of air emitted from the mouth of the speaker pro-
ceed and manifest sound by their appulse to air at rest in the space
bounded by the hollow of the ear; for want of such appulse, sound,
though existent, is unapprehended). f Sound is not made or done,
but is used; it is uttered, not called into existence. Its
universality
isas that of the sun (common to all). The permutation of letters is
the substitution of a different one (as a semivowel for a vowel), not
the alteration of the same letter. Noise, not sound, is increased by
a multitude of voices. Sound is perpetual, intended for the appre-
hension of others : it is a generic term being applicable
universal ,

to all individuals. Its

perpetuity intimated by a passage of the
is

Feda, which expresses 'Send forth praise, with perpetual speech."ff

* A
passage cited by writers on the dialectic Nydya from the disquisition
on the perpetuity of sound (see ante, page 185), is not to be found in JAI-
MINI'S stilras: it must have been taken from one of his commentators.
** JAIM. 1. 1. 5. ***
Didh., PAKT'H, and MA'DH. f Didh,
tf JAIM. 1. 1. 6. 118 and Com.
13*
196 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

The chapter terminates with an inquiry into the authority

first
of the Veda which is maintained to be primeval and superhuman
, ;

although different portions of it are denominated from names of

men, as CdChaca, CauVhuma, Paishpala, &c. and although worldly
incidents and occurrences are mentioned. Those denominations of
particular portions, it is affirmed, have reference to the tradition by
which a revelation has been transmitted. They are named after
the person who uttered them, as to him revealed.
The eternity of the Veda, or authenticity of its revelation is at- ,

tempted be proved by showing that it had no human origin; and

to
for this purpose, the principal argument is, that no human author is
remembered. In the case of human compositions, it is said, contem-
poraries have been aware that the authors of them were occupied
in composing those works: not so with the Veda, which has been
handed down as primeval, and of which no mortal author was
known.
It is, however, acknowledged, that a mistake may be made, and
the work of a human author may be erroneously received as a part
of the sacred book by those who are unacquainted with its true
origin. An instance occurs among those who use the Bahvrich, a
sdc'hd of the Rigveda , by whom a ritual of AS'WALA'YANA has been
admitted, under the title of the fifth Aranyaca, as a part of the
Rigveda.
The Veda received as holy by orthodox Hindus consists of two
parts, prayer and precept (mantra and brdhmana\ JAIMINI has at-
tempted to give a short definition of thefirst, adding that the second
is its supplement; "whatever is not mantra is brdhmana,"* The
,

ancient scholiast has endeavoured to supply the acknowledged de-

fect of JAIMINI'S imperfect definition, by enumerating the various

descriptions of passages coming under each head. Later scholiasts

have shown, that every article in that enumeration is subject to ex-
ceptions and the only test of distinction, finally acknowledged, is
;

admission of the expert, or acceptance of approved teachers, who

have taught their disciples to use one passage as a prayer and to ,

read another as a precept. JAIMINI'S definition and his scholiast's

,

enumeration, serve but to alleviate "the task of picking up grains."

Generally, then, a mantra is a prayer, invocation, or declaration.
It is expressed in the first person, or is addressed in the second.
It declares the purpose of a pious act, or lauds or invokes the ob-

ject. It asks a question or returns an answer; directs, inquires,

or deliberates; blesses or imprecates, exults or laments, counts or
narrates ,
&c.
Here is to be remarked, that changes introduced into a prayer to
adapt it, mutatis mutandis, to a different ceremony from that for

* Mim. 2. 1. 7.
 MIMAN8A. 197

which primarily it was intended, or the insertion of an individual's

personal and family names where this is requisite are not consi-
,

dered to be part of the mantra.

It is likewise to be observed, although mantras of the Vedas are

ordinarily significant, that the chants of the Sdmaveda are unmean-

ing. They consist of a few syllables, as ird dyird, or gird gdyird ,

repeated again and again, as required by the tune or rhythm. Ne-

vertheless, significant mantras are likewise chanted and two of the
;

hooks of the Sumavdda are allotted to hymns of this description.

The hymns consist of triplets (trick) or triple stanzas.
The first, or pattern verse or stanza, is found, with the name of
the appropriate tune, in the Chhandas or Yonigranfha-, and the two
remaining verses or stanzas, to complete the triplet, are furnished
in the*supplementary book called Utlara-granfha.
Mantras are distinguished under three designations. Those which
are in metre are termed rich, those chanted are sdman, and the rest
are yajush, sacrificial prayers in prose (for yajush imports sacrifice).
Nevertheless metrical prayers occur in the Yajnrveda and prose
, ,

in the Sdmaveda.
Metrical prayers are recited aloud: those termed sdman with mu-
sical modulation; but the prose inaudibly muttered.* Such, how-

ever, as are vocative, addressed to a second person, are to be uttered

**
audibly, though in prose for communication is intended.
:

Metrical prayers, however, belonging to the Yajurveda are in-

audibly recited; and so are chants belonging to the same inaudibly
chanted: for prayers take the character of the rite into which they
are introduced ; and where the same rite is ordained in more than
one Veda, it appertains to that with which it is most consonant,
and the prayer is either audibly or inaudibly chanted accord-
ingly.***

* Mini. 3. 3. 1.
** Ib. 2. 1. 714.
*** Ib. 3. 3. 1 Instances of the same prayer recurring either word for
3.

word, or with very slight variation, in more than one Veda, are innumerable.
An eminent example is that of the celebrated Gdyatri, of which the proper
place is in the Rig-veda (3. 4. 10.), among hymns of VISWAMITRA. It is, how-
ever, repeated in all the Vedas, and particularly in the 3d, 22d and 3(3th
chapters of the white Vajush. (3, 35; 22, 9; and 36, 3.)
Another notable instance is that of the Purusha-siicta, of which a version
was given, from a ritual in which it was found cited (ante, p. 104). It has
a place in the Kig-veda (8. 4. 7.) among miscellaneous hymns; and is inserted,
with some little variation, among prayers employed at the Purusha-medha.
in the 31st chapter of the white Yajur-veda.
On collation of those two Vedas and their scholia, I find occasion to amend
one or two passages in the version of it formerly given: but for this I shall
take another opportunity.
That remarkable hymn is in language, metre, and style, very different from
the rest of the prayers with which it is associated. It has a decidedly more
modern tone ; and must have been composed after the Sanscrit language had
198 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

The prayers termed rich and saman are limited by the metre
aud the chant respectively; but those which are in prose are regu-
lated as to their extent by the sense. A complete sentence consti-
tutes a single yajush: the sense must be one, and would be defi-
cient were the phrase divided. Nevertheless, the sentence which
constitutes a prayer may borrow, from a preceding or from a subse-
quent one, terms wanting to perfect the sense unless an interven-,

ing one be incompatible with that construction.*

The brdhmana of the Veda is in general a precept; or it
expres-
ses praise or blame, or a doubt, a reason, or a comparison ; or inti-
mates a derivation; or narrates a fact or an occurrence and a cha- :

racteristic sign of very generally contains the particle

it is that it
" so"
(iti or itiha)] as a mantra usually does the pronoun of the se-
cond person "thee," either expressed or understood, " (thou) art. " **
In a still more general view the brdhmana is practical directing ,

religious observances, teaching the purpose, time, and manner of

performing them, indicating the prayers to be employed, and eluci-
dating their import. The esoteric brdhmana comprises the upanishads,
and is theological.
It becomes a question which the Mimdnsd examines at much
length, whether those passages of the Veda which are not direct
precepts, but are narrative, laudatory, or explanatory, are never-
theless cogent for a point of duty. In this inquiry is involved the
further question, whether a consciousness of the scope of an act is
essential to efficacy for the production of its proper consequence.
its

The Mimdnsd maintains that narrative or indicative texts are proof

of duty, as concurrent in import with a direct precept. There sub-
sists a mutual relation between them. One enjoins or forbids an

act; the other supplies an inducement for doing it or for refraining

from it: "Do so, because such is the fruit." The imperative sen-
tence is nevertheless cogent independently of the affirmative one,
and needs not its support. The indicative phrase is cogent, imply-
benefit.
ing injunction by pronouncing
It virtuallyprescribes the act which it recommends.*** Inference,
however is not to be strained. It is not equally convincing as
,

actual perception: a forthcoming injunction or direct precept has

more force than a mere inference from premises, f
A prayer, too, carries authority, as evidence of a precept bearing

been refined, and its grammar and rhythm perfected. The internal evidence
which it furnishes serves to demonstrate the important fact, that the com-
,

pilation of the Vedas, in their present arrangement, took place after the
Samcrit tongue had advanced, from the rustic and irregular dialect in which
the multitude of hymns and prayers of the Veda was composed, to the polish-
ed and sonorous language in which the mythological poems sacred and_ pro-
,

phane (purdnas and cdvyas), have been written.

* Mim. 2. 1. 1418. ** SAB. &c. on Mim. 1. 4. 1. and 2. 1. 7.
*** Mim. 1. 2. 1-3.
f tk. 1. 2. 3.
 MIMAN8A. 199

the like import. This is a visible or temporal purpose of a prayer;

and it is a received maxim, that a perceptible purpose being assign-
able, prevails before an imperceptible one. But the recital of a
particular prayer at a religious rite, rather than a narrative text of
like import is for a spiritual end , since there is no visible purpose
,

of a set form of words.*

Besides the evidence of precept from an extant revelation or re-
corded hearing (srutf) of it another source of evidence is founded
,

on the recollections (smriti) of ancient sages. They possess authority

as grounded on the Veda, being composed by holy personages con-
versant with its contents. Nor was it superfluous to compose anew
what was there to be found for a compilation, exhibiting in a suc-
;

cinct form that which is scattered through the Veda, has its use.
Nor are the prayers which the smrili directs unauthorized, for they
are presumed to have been taken from passages of revelation not
now forthcoming. Those recollections have come down by unbroken
tradition to this day, admitted by the virtuous of the three tribes,
and known under the title of Dharma - sdslra comprising the insti- ,

tutes of law, civil and religious. Nor is error to be presumed which

had not, until now, been detected. An express text of the Veda, as
the Mimdnsd maintains,** must then be concluded to have been
actually seen by the venerable author of a recorded recollection
(smrili).
But contradiction appear if it can be shown that an extant
if ,

passage of the Veda is inconsistent with one of the smrili, it invali-

dates that presumption. An actual text, present to the sense, pre-

vails before a presumptive one.***

Or though no contrary passage of the Veda be actually found,

yet cupidity, or other exceptionable motive may be assigned, re-
if

velation is not to be presumed in the instance, the recollection being

thus impeached, f
The 'Sdcyas (or Bauddhas) and Jainas (or Arhatas) as CUMA'RILA ,

acknowledges, are considered to be Cshalriyas. It is not to be con-

cluded he says that their recollections were founded upon a Veda
, ,

which is now lost. There can be no inference of a foundation in

revelation, for unauthentic recollections of persons who deny its

authenticity. Even when they do concur with it, as recommending

charitable gifts and enjoining veracity, chastity, and innocence, the
books of the 'Sdcyas are of no authority for the virtues which they
inculcate. Duties are not taken from them the association would :

suggest a surmise of vice, ft tainting what else is virtuous. The

entire Veda which is directed to be studied is the foundation of

* Mim. 1. 2. 4. ** Ib. 1. 3. 1. *** Ib. 1. 3. 2. Ib. 1. 3. 3.

f
ft Ib. 1. 3. 4.
200 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

duty and those only who are conversant with it are capable of com-
5

petent recollections.
Usage generally prevalent among good men, and by them prac-
tised as understanding it to be enjoined and therefore incumbent
on them , is mediately but not directly evidence of duty but it is
, ,
:

not valid be contrary to an express text. From the modern

if it

prevalence of any usage, there arises a presumption of a correspond-

ent injunction by a holy personage who remembered a revelation
to the same effect. Thus usage presumes a recollection, which again

presupposes revelation. Authors, however, have omitted particulars,

sanctioning good customs in general terms but any usage which is
:

inconsistent with a recorded recollection not to be practised, so

is

long as no express text of scripture is found to support it.

In like manner, rituals which teach the proper mode of celebrat-
ing religious rites and are entitled Calpu-sulra or Grihya-grantha,
,

derive their authority, like the Dharma-sdslra from a presumption

,

that their authors, being persons conversant with the Veda, collected
and abridged rules which they there found. The Calpa-sutras neither
are a part of the Veda, nor possess equal nor independent authority.
It would be a laborious enterprise to prove a superhuman origin of

them; nor can it be accomplished, since contemporaries were aware

of the authors being occupied with the composition of them.* When-
ever a siilra (whether of the calpa or grihya) is opposed to an extant
passage of the Veda, or is inconsistent with valid reason, it is not to
be followed nor is an alternative admissible in regard to its observ-
;

ance in such case unless a corroborative text of the Veda can be

,

shown.**
Neither are usages restricted to particular provinces, though certain
customs are more generally prevalent in some places than in others :

as the Holdcd (vulg. Hull) or festival of spring in the east; the

worship of local tutelary deities hereditarily, by families, in the
south the racing of oxen on the full moon of JyesliVha, in the north;
;

and the adoration of tribes of deities (mdlri-gana), in the west. Nor

are rituals and law institutes confined to particular classes though :

some are followed by certain persons preferably to others; as VA-

SISHT'HA, by the Bahvrich sdc'hd of the Kigveda: GAUTAMA, by the
Gobhiliya of the Sdmave'da; SANC'HA and LIC'HITA, by the Vdjasaneyi;
and APASTAMBA and BAUDHA'YANA, by the Tailliriya of the Tajurveda.
There is no presumption of a restrictive revelation, but of one of gen-
eral import. The institutes of law, and rituals of ceremonies, were

composed by authors appertaining to particular kdc'hds, and by

them taught to their fellows belonging to the same, and have con-
tinued current among the descendants of those to whom they were
so taught.

* GUHU on Mim. 1. 3. 7.
** C'HANUA-DI^VA.
 MIMANSA. 201

A very curious disquisition occurs in this part of the Mimdnsd,*

on the acceptation of words in correct language and barbaric dialects,
and on the use of terms taken from either. Instances alleged are
yava ,
signifying in Sanscrit, barley but in the barbaric tongue the
, ,

plant named priyangu :

vardha, in the one a hog, and in the other a
cow ** but
; pilu , a certain tree , among barbarians an elephant ;

vetasa, a rattan cane and a citron. The Mimdnsd concludes, that in

such instances of words having two acceptations, that in which it is
received by the civilized (dryas) or which is countenanced by use
,

in sacred books, is to be preferred to the practice of barbarians

(filled? ha), who are apt to confound words or their meanings.
Concerning these instances, CUMA'RILA remarks that the words
have no such acceptation, in any country, as is by the scholiast
alleged. He. is wrong in regard to one, at least, for pilu is evidently
the Persian fil or pil. Modern vocabularies*** exhibit the word as
a Sanscrit one in the same sense ; erroneously, as appears from this
disquisition.
Then follows, in CUMA'RILA'S Vdrlica, much upon the subject of
provincial and barbaric dialects; which, adverting to the age in
which he flourished, is interesting, and merits the attention of phi-
lologists. He brings examples from the Andhra and Draviaa dialects,
and specifies as barbaric tongues the Pdrasica, Yavana, Raumaca,
and Barbara, but confesses his imperfect acquaintance with these.
JAIMINI gives an instance of a barbaric term used in the Veda,
viz., pica, a black cuckow (cuculus indicus); to which his scholiasts
add nema, half, tdmarasa, a lotus, and sala a wooden colander; but
without adducing examples of the actual use of them in any of the
Vedas. Such terms must be taken in their ordinary acceptation,
though barbarous; and the passage quoted from the Veda where
the word pica occurs, must be interpreted "sacrifice a black cuckow
at night." It will here be remarked, that pica corresponds to the
Latin picus, and that nem answa*s to. the Persic nim.
On the other hand, a barbaric word, or a provincial corruption,
is not to be employed instead of the proper Sanscrit term. Thus go
(gauJi), and notgdtvi, is the right term for a cow. f Orthography,
is to be
likewise, carefully attended to; else by writing or reading
aswa for astva in the directions for the sacrifice of a horse the in- ,

junction would seem to be for the sacrifice of a pauper (a-stva, des-

titute of property).

Generally, words are to be applied in strict conformity with

correct grammar. The 'Sdcyas, and other heretics, as CUMARILA in
this place remarks ft do not use Sanscrit (they
, employ Prdcrit).
* 1. 3. 5.
** The name is in vocabularies assigned to different trees.
many
***
JATADHARA, &c. f Vdrt. 1 . 9. 4. ff Vd> t. 1. 3. 7.
202 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

But Brdhmanas should not speak as barbarians. Grammar, which

is primeval, has been handed down by tradition. Language is the
same in the Vedas and in ordinary discourse, notwithstanding a few
deviations: the import of words is generic, though the application
of them is specific.
The peculiarities of the dialect of the Veda are not to be taken
for inaccuracies. Thus tman stands for dlman self or soul and
, , 5

Brdhmandsah for Brdhmandh, priests; with many other anomalies

of the sacred dialect. *
When the ordinary acceptation of a term is different from that
which bears in an explanatory passage, this latter import prevails
it

in the text likewise else the precept and its supplement would
,

disagree. Thus trivril, triplet, is specially applied to a hymn com-

prising three triplets or nine stanzas which is the peculiar sense it
,

bears in the Vedas.

Again, charu, which in ordinary discourse signifies boiler or
cauldron, is in the Vedas an oblation of boiled food, as rice, &c.
So asrvabdla which literally means horse-hair, is a designation of
,

a species of grass (saccharum sponlaneum) into which it is said the

tail of a consecrated horse was once transformed; and of that .grass
a cushion is made for certain religions rites.
It will be observed, as has been intimated in speaking of the
members of an adhicarana in the Mimdnsd, that a case is proposed,
either specified in JAIMINI'S text or supplied by his scholiasts.
Upon this a doubt or question is raised, and a solution of it is sug-
gested, which is refuted, and a right conclusion established in its
stead. The disquisitions of the Mimdnsd bear, therefore, a certain
resemblance to juridical questions; and, in fact, the Hindu law
being blended with the religion of the people, the same modes of
reasoning are applicable and are applied to the one as to the other.
,

The logic of the Mimdnsd is the logic of the law the rule of interpre-
;

tation of civil and religious ordjnan^s. Each case is examined and

determined upon general principles-, and from the cases decided the
principles may be collected. A
well-ordered arrangement of them
would constitute the philosophy of the law : and this is, in truth, what
has been attempted in the Mimdnsd. JAIMINI'S arrangement, however,
is not philosophical and I am not acquainted with any elementary
;

work of this school in which a better distribution has been achieved.

I shall not here attempt to supply the defect but confine the sequel
,

of this essay to a few specimens from divers chapters of JAIMINI,

after some more remarks on the general scope and manner of the
work.
*
Instances of the application of reasoning, as taught in the Mimdnsd,
to the discussion and determination of juridical questions, may be

* Mim. 1. 3. 10.
 MIMA'NSA. 203

seen in two treatises on the Law of Inheritance, translated by my-

self, and as many on Adoption, by a member of this Society, Mr.
J. C. C. Sutherland (See Mildcshard on 'Inheritance, 1. 1. 10, and
1. 9. 11, and 2. 1. 34; Jimuta Fdhana, 11. 5. 16 19. Datt. Mim. on

Adoption, 1. 1. 3541, and 4. 4. 6566 and 6. 6. 27 31. Datt. Chand.

1. 1. 24 and 2. 2. 4).

The subject which most engages attention throughout the Mimdnsd,

recurring at every turn, is the invisible or spiritual operation of an
act of merit. The action ceases, yet the consequence does not im-

mediately ensue. A virtue meantime subsists, unseen, but efficacious

to connect the consequence with its past and remote cause, and to

bring about at a distant period, or in another world, the relative

effect.
That unseen virtue is termed apurva being a relation superin-
,

duced, not before possessed.

Sacrifice (ydga), which, among meritorious works, is the act of
religion most inculcated by the Vedas and consequently most dis-
,

cussed in the prior Mimdnsd, consists in parting with a thing that it

may belong to a deity, whom it is intended to propitiate.* Being
cast into the fire for that purpose, it is a burnt offering (homo). Four
sorts are distinguished: a simple oblation (ish'ti), the immolation of
a victim (pau), the presenting of expressed juice of the soma plant
(asclepias acida) and the burnt- offering above-mentioned. ** The
,

object of certain rites is some definite temporal advantage; of others,

benefit in another world. Three ceremonies, in particular, are types

of all the rest: the consecration of a sacrificial fire, the presenting
of an oblation, and the preparation of t\\esoma. The oblation which
serves as a model for the rest, is that which is offered twice in each
month, viz. at the full and change of the moon. It is accompanied,
more especially at the new moon with an oblation of whey from
,

new milk. Accordingly, the Yajurveda begins with this rite. It

comprehends the sending of selected cows to pasture after sepa-
rating their calves, touching them with a leafy branch of paldsa
(butea frondos(i) cut for the purpose and subsequently stuck in the
,

ground in front of the apartment containing the sacrificial fire for ,

a protection of the herd from robbers and beasts of prey: the cows
are milked in the evening and again in the morning; and, from the
new milk, whey is then prepared for an oblation.
Concerning this ceremony, with all its details, numerous questions
arise, which are resolved in the Mimdnsd for instance, the milking
.

of the cows pronounced to be not a primary or main act, but a

is

subordinate one; and the parting of the calves from their darns is
subsidiary to that subordinate act.*** The whey, which in fact is
milk modified is the main object of the whole preparation not the
, ;

* Mim. 4. 4. 12.
** Ib. 4. 4. 1. *** Ib. 4. 3. 10.
204 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

curd which
,
is but incidentally produced ,
not being sought nor
wanted.*
In the fourth chapter of the first book, the author discriminates
terms that modify the precept from such as are specific denomina-
tions. Several of the instances are not a little curious. Thus it is
a question, whether the hawk-sacrifice (syena-ydga ) which is at- ,

tended with imprecations on a hated foe, be performed by the actual

immolation of a bird of that kind. The case is determined by a
maxim, that "a term intimating resemblance is denominative."
Hawk, then, is the name of that incantation "it pounces on the foe :

as a falcon on his prey."** So longs is a name for a similar incanta-

tion, "which seizes the enemy from afar as with a pair of tongs;"
and com, for a sacrifice to avert such imprecations.
It is fit to remark in this place, that incantations for destruction
of hated foes, though frequent in the Vedas (and modes of perform-
ing them with greater or less solemnity are there taught) cannot
, , ,

be deemed laudable acts of religion on the contrary, they are pro-

;

nounced to be at least mediately criminal; and pains in hell, as for

homicide, await the malevolent man who thus practices against the
life of his
enemy.
Another instance, discussed in the same chapter, is chitra, applied
to a sacrifice performed for acquisition of cattle.
It is questioned
whether the feminine termination joined to the ordinary significa-
,

tion of the word, indicates a female victim of a varied colour. It

intends, however, an offering termed various, as consisting of no lens
than six different articles honey, milk, curds, boiled butter, rice in
:

the husk as well as clean, and water.***

In like manner udbhid is the name of a sacrifice directed to be
,

performed purpose: that is, by a person desirous of

for the like

possessing cattle. The sense approaches to the etymology of the

term: it is a ceremony "by which possession of cattle is, as it were,
dug up." It does not imply that some tool for delving, as a spade
or hoe for digging up the earth, is to be actually employed in the

ceremony.
A question of considerable interest, as involving the important
one concerning property in the soil m
India, is discussed in the
sixth lecture, f At certain sacrifices such as that which is called
,

visrvajU, the votary, for whose benefit the ceremony is performed, is

enjoined to bestow all his property on the officiating priests. It is
asked whether a paramount sovereign shall give all the land, in-
cluding pasture- ground, highways, and the site of lakes and ponds;
an universal monarch the whole earth ; and a subordinate prince ,
,

the entire province over which he rules ? To that question the

* Him. 4. 1. 9. ** Ib.l. 4. 5. and 3. 7. 23. *** Ib. 1. 4. 3.

t Ib. 6. 7. 2.
 MIMA'NSA'. 205

answer is: the monarch has not property in the earth, nor the sub-
ordinate prince in the land. By conquest kingly power is obtained,
and property in house and field which belonged to the enemy.
The maxim of the law , that " the king is lord of all excepting sa-
cerdotal wealth," concerns his authority for correction of the wicked
and protection of the good. His kingly power is for government of
the realm and extirpation of wrong; and for that purpose he re-
ceives taxes from husbandmen, and levies fines from offenders.
But right of property is not thereby vested in him else he would
;

have property in house and land appertaining to the subjects abid-

ing in his dominions. The earth is not the king's, but is common
to all beings enjoying the fruit of their own labour. It belong?,
says JAIMINI, to all alike: therefore, although a gift of a piece of
ground to an individual does take place, the whole land cannot be
given by a monarch, nor a province by a subordinate prince; but
house and field, acquired by purchase and similar means, are liable
to gift." *
The case which will be here next cited, will bring to recollec-
tion the instance of the Indian Calanus, ** who accompanied Alex-
ander's army and burnt himself at Babylon after the manner of
,

his country.
This particular mode of religious suicide by cremation is now ob-
solete ;
widows is in some provinces of India, and it may
as that of
be hoped will become so in the rest, if no injudicious interference
by direct prohibition arouse opposition and prevent the growing dis-
use. Other modes of religious suicide not unfrequently occur such ;

as drowning, burying alive, falling from a precipice or under the

wheels of an idol's car, &c. But they are not founded on the Vedas,
as that by burning is.

Self-immolation, in that ancient form of it, is a solemn sacrifice,

performed according to rites which the Vedas direct, by a man de-
sirous of passing immediately to heaven without enduring disease.
He engages priests, as at other sacrifices, for the various functions
requisite to the performance of the rites, being himself the votary
for whose benefit the ceremony is undertaken. At a certain stage
of it, after wrapping a cloth round a branch of udunibara (ficus glo-
merata), which represents a sacrificial stake and having appointed
,

the priests to complete the ceremony, he chants a solemn hymn,

and casts himself on a burning pile wherein his body is consumed.
Afterwards, whatever concerns the rite as a sacrificial ceremony,
is to be completed by the attendant priests omitting, however, those
:

matters which specially appertain to the votary, and which, after

his death, there is no one competent to perform. ***

* SAB.
MADH. and C'HANDA, ad locum. **
Calydna.
*** Mint.
10. 2. 23.
206 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

In like manner, the principal die by a natural death, after en-

if

gaging Brdhmanas with him in the celebration of cer-

to co-operate
tain rites requiring the aid of several priests his body is to be ,

burnt, and his ashes kept to Represent him; and the ceremony is
completed for his benefit, according to one opinion, but for theirs
according to another. The ashes, it is argued do not perform the ,

ceremony, but the priests do. Being inanimate, the bones cannot
the prescribed duties peculiar to the principal: as utterance
fulfil
of certain prayers shaving of hair and beard measure of his sta-
, ,

ture with a branch of udumbara, &c. These and similar functions

are not practicable by an inanimate skeleton, and therefore are un-
avoidably omitted.*
Thefull complement of persons officiating at a great solemnity
is seventeen. This number, as is shown, includes the votary or
principal, who is assisted by sixteen priests engaged by him for
different offices, which he need not personally discharge. His essen-
tial function is the
payment of their hire or sacrificial fee.**
They rank in different gradations, and are remunerated propor-
tionably. Four, whose duties are most important, receive the full
perquisite; four others are recompensed with a half; the four next
with a third; and the four last with a quarter.
On occasions of less solemnity four priests only are engaged ,

making with the principal five officiating persons. question is A

raised, whether the immolator of a victim at the sacrifice of an ani-
mal (usually a goat) be a distinct officiating person: the answer is
in the negative. No one is specially engaged for immolator inde-

pendently of other functions; but some one of the party, who has
other duties to discharge, slays the victim in the prescribed manner,
and accordingly termed immolator.***
is

Thevictims at some sacrifices are numerous as many as seven-:

teen at the vdjapeya, made fast to the same number of stakes and ;

at an astvameifha not fewer than six hundred and nine of all des-

scriptions,tame and wild, terrestrial and aquatic, walking, flying,

swimming, and creeping things, distributed among twenty one
-

stakes and in the intervals between them; the tame made fast to the
stakes and the wild secured in cages, nets, baskets, jars, and hol-
,

low canes, and by varioiis other devices. The wild are not to be
slain but at a certain stage of the ceremony let loose. The tame
,

ones, or most of them (chiefly goats), are to be actually immolated.

The various rites are successively performed for each victim ;

not completed for one before they are commenced for another. But
the consecration of the sacrificial stakes is perfected for each in
succession, because the votary is required to retain hold of the
stake until the consecration of it is done.f

* Mim. 10. 2. 17-20. ** Ib *** Ib.

3. 7. 8-17. 3. 7. 13. f Ih - 5- 2. 1-5.
 MIMA'NSA. 207

The foregoing instances may suffice to give some idea of the na-
ture of the subjects treated in the Mtmdnsd, and of the way in which
they are handled. They have been selected as in themselves cur-
ious, rather than as instructive specimens of the manner in which
very numerous and varied cases are examined and questions con-
cerning them resolved. The arguments would be tedious and the
,

reasons of the solution would need much elucidation , and after all
would, in general, be uninteresting.
A few examples of the topics investigated, and still fewer of
the reasoning applied to them, have therefore been considered as
better conveying in a small compass a notion of the multifarious
subjects of the Mtmdnsd.
 IX.
On the PHILOSOPHY of the HINDUS.

PART IV.*

[From the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. ii. p. 1 39.]

INTRODUCTION.
A PRECEDING essay on Indian philosophy contained a succinct
account of the Carma-mimdnsd. The present one will be devoted to
the Brahma mimdnsd which ;
as the complement of the former is
, ,

termed utlara, later, contrasted with purva, prior, being the investi-
gation of proof deducible from the Vedas in regard to theology, as
,

the other is in regard to works and their merit. The two together,
then, comprise the complete system of interpretation of the precepts
and doctrine of the Vedas, both practical and theological. They
are parts of one whole. The later Mimdnsd is supplementary to the
prior, and expressly affirmed to be so: but, differing on many
is

important points though agreeing on others, they are essentially

,

distinct in a religious as in a philosophical view.

The ordinary designation of the Utlara - mimdnsd is Veddnta, a
term likewise of more comprehensive import. It literally signifies
" '
1 1
conclusion of the Veda,' and bears reference to the Upanishads,
which are, for the most part, terminating sections of the Vedas to
which they belong. It implies, however, the doctrine derived from
them, and extends to books of sacred authority, in which that doc-
trine is thence deduced; and in this large acceptation, it is "the
'

end and scope of the Vedas.' 1

1

The followers of the Veddnta have separated in several sects as ,

'ancient' and 'modern' Vedaniins, and bearing other designations.

The points on which they disagree, and the difference of their opi-
nions, will not be a subject of the present essay, but may be noticed
in a future one.

Among numerous Upanishads, those which are principally relied

upon for the Veddnta and which accordingly are most frequently
,

cited, are the Ctthdndogya Caushitaci Vrihad dranyaca AUarcyacu

, , , ,

Tailliriyaca, Cdfhaca, Cafhavalli, Munaaca, Prasna, 'Sweldswalara; to

which may be added the Isd-vdsya, Ce'na, and one or two more.
* Read at a public meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society, April 7, 1827.
 VEDANTA. 209

Certain religious exercises , consisting chiefly in profound medi-

tation, with particular sitting postures rigorously continued, are in-
culcated as preparing the student for the attainment of divine
knowledge, and promoting his acquisition of it. Directions concern-
ing such devout exercises are to be found in several of the Upanishads,
especially in the 'Srveldstvalura ; and likewise in other portions of
the Vedas, as a part of the general ritual. These are accordingly
cited by the commentators of the Veddnla, and must be considered
to be comprehended under that general term * and others from ;

different sac' has of the Vedas, as further exemplified in a note

below.**
Besides the portion of the Vedas understood to be intended by
the designation of Ve'ddnla, the grand authority for its doctrine is
the collection of siilras, or aphorisms, entitled Brdhme-sutra or 'Sdri-
raca-mimdnsd, and sometimes 'Sdrira-sulra or Ve'ddnta-sutra. 'Sdrira,
it should be observed, signifies embodied or incarnate (soul).
Other authorities are the ancient scholia of that text which is ,

the standard work of the science; and didactic poems comprehended

under the designation of smrili, a name implying a certain degree
of veneration due to the authors. Such are the Bhagavad gild and
Y6ga-vasish?ha, reputed to be inspired writings.

Writers on the VEDANTA.

The 'Sdriraca - mimdnsd or Brahme above mentioned, is a

si'tlra ,
-

collection of succinct aphorisms attributed to BA'DARAYANA, who is

the same with VYA'SA or Ve'da-vydsa; also called Drvaipdyana or
According to mythology, he had in a former
-
Crishna drvaipdyana.
state, being then a brdhmana bearing the name of APANTARA-TA-
MAS,*** acquired a perfect knowledge of revelation and of the di-
vinity, and was consequently qualified for eternal beatitude. Ne-
vertheless, by special command of the deity, he resumed a corpo-
real frame and the human shape, at the period intervening between
the third and fourth ages of the present world, and was compiler of
the Vedas, as his title of Vydsa implies.
In the Parana*) and by PARASARA, he is said to be an incarnation
(avatdra] of VISHNU. This, however, is not altogether at variance
with the foregoing legend; since APANTARA-TAMAS, having attained

* For
instance, the Agni rahasya Irdhmana of the Cdnwas and of the Vdjint
(or Vdjasaneyins) ; the Rashnsya lirdhmuna of the Tdndins and of the Paingins.
** The the Panchdgni-viilyd praca-
Udijiilia brdhntuna of the f^'djaxaneyins ,

rana of the same, iheC'hila granl'ha of the lidndyamyas, the Prdna-samvdda or

Prdna-vidyd. Dahara-vidyd, Hdrda viriyd. Paramdtma vidyd Satya vidyd, Vaia-
wdnara-vidyd Sdndilya nidyd, Vdmadevya vidyd Upacostda vidyd, Paryanca-
, ,

vidyd, Madhu-vidyd, Shodasac ala vidyd, Samvarya vidyd, &c.

*** S'ANC. &c. on Br. Sutr. 3. 3. 32.

14
 210 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

perfection, was identified with the deity; and his resumption of

the human form was a descent of the god, in mythological notions.
Apart from mythology, it is not to be deemed unlikely, that the
person ( whoever he really was ) who compiled and arranged the

Vedas, was led to compose a treatise on their scope and essential

doctrine. But VYASA is also reputed author of the Mahdbhdrala,
and most of the principal purdnas and that is for the contrary rea-
;

son improbable, since the doctrine of the purdnas and even of the
,

Bhagavad gild and the rest of the Mahdbhdrula are not quite con-
,

sonant to that of the Vedas, as expounded in the Brahme-sulras.

The same person would not have deduced from the same premises
such different conclusions.
The name of BA'DARA'YANA frequently recurs in the siilras ascribed
to him as does that of JAIMINI, the reputed author of the Pitrva-
,

mimdnsd, in his. I have already remarked, in the preceding es-

say,* on the mention of an author by his name, and in the third
person, in his own work. It is nothing unusual in literature or
science of other nations but a Hindu commentator will account for
:

it, by presuming the actual composition to be that of a disciple re-

cording the words of his teacher.

Besides BA'DARA'YANA himself, and his great predecessor JAIMINI,
several other distinguished names likewise occur, though less fre-
quently: some which are also noticed in the Piirva mimdnsd
- as ,

A'TREYI and BADARI; and some which are not there found, as AS-
MARAT'HYA, AUD'ULOMI, CARSHNAJINI, and CASACRITSNA; and the
Yoga of Palanjali, which consequently is an anterior work; as in-
deed it must be, if its scholiast, as generally acknowledged, be the
same VYASA who is the author of the aphorisms of the Utlara-mi-
mdnsd.
The 'Sdriraca is also posterior to the atheistical Sdnc'hya of CAPI-
LA, to whom, or at least to his doctrine , there are many marked al-
lusions in the text.
Theatomic system of CANA'DE (or, as the scholiast of the 'Sdriraca,
in more than one
place, contumeliousiy designates him, CANA-BHUJ
.
or CANABHACSHA) is frequently adverted to for the purpose of con-
futation; as are the most noted heretical systems, viz. the several
sects of Jainas the Bauddhas, the Pdsupalas with other classes of
,

Mdhesrvaras, the Pdnchardtras or Bhdgavatas, and divers other schis-

matics.
From this, which is also supported by other reasons, there seems
to be good ground for considering the 'Sdriraca to be the latest of
the six grand systems of doctrine (darsana] in Indian philosophy :

later, likewise, than the heresies which sprung up among the Hin-
dus of the military and mercantile tribes (cshalriya and vaisya) and

*
See p. 180, of this volume.
 211

which, disclaiming the Vedas , set up a Jina or a Buddha for an ob-

ject of worship; and later even than some, which, acknowledging
the Vedas, have deviated into heterodoxy in their interpretation of
the text.
In a separate essay, * I have endeavoured to give some account
of the heretical and heterodox sects which the 'Sdriraca confutes:
and of which the tenets are explained for the elucidation of that
,

confutation, in its numerous commentaries. I allude particularly to

the Jainas, Bauddhas, Chdrvdcas, Pdsupatas, and Pdnchardlras.
The sulras of BADARA'YANA are arranged in four books or lectures
(adhydya), each subdivided into four chapters or quarters (pdda).
Like the aphorisms of the prior Mtmdnsd, they are distributed very
unequally into sections, arguments, cases, or topics (adhicarana).
The entire number of sutras is 555; of adhicaranas 191. But in this
there is a little uncertainty, for it appears from SANCARA, that
earlier commentaries subdivided some adhicaranas, where he writes
the aphorisms iu one section.
An adhicarana in the later, as in the prior Mimdnsd, consists of
five members or parts: 1st, the subject and matter to be explained;
2d, the doubt or question concerning it; 3d, the plausible solution
or prima facie argument; 4th, the answer, or demonstrated conclu-
sion and true solution; 5th, the pertinence or relevancy and con-
nexion.
But in BA'DARA'YANA'S aphorisms, as in those of JAIMINI, no adhi-
carana is fully set forth. Very frequently the solution only is given
by a single sulra, which obscurely hints the question, and makes no
allusion to any different plausible solution, nor to arguments in fa-
vour of it. More rarely
the opposed solution is examined at some
length, and arguments in support of it are discussed through a string
of brief sentences.
Being a sequel of the prior Mimdnsd, the latter adopts the same
distinctions of six sources ofknowledge or modes of proof** which
are taught by JAIMINI supplied where he is deficient by the old
,

scholiast. There is, indeed, no direct mention of them in the Brah-

me-sulras, beyond a frequent reference to oral proof, meaning reve-
lation, which is sixth among those modes. But the commentators
make ample use of a logic which employs the same terms with
that of the Piirva-mimdnsd, being founded on it though not without
,

amendments on some points. Among the rest the Veddniins have

,

taken the syllogism (nydya} of the dialectic philosophy, with the

obvious improvement of reducing its five members to three.*** "It
consists,'' as expressly declared, "of three, not of five parts; for as
the requisites of the inference are exhibited by three members, two

* See ** Veddntu
p. 243, of this volume. paribhdsha.
*** Veddnla
paribhdsha.
14*
212 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

more are superfluous. They are either the proposition, the reason,
and the example; or the instance, the application, and the con-
clusion."
In this state it is a perfectly regular syllogism, as I had occasion
to remark in a former essay: * and it naturally becomes a question,
whether the emendation was borrowed from the Greeks, or being
sufficiently obvious, may be deemed purely Indian, fallen upon
without hint or assistance from another quarter. The improvement
does not appear to be of ancient date, a circumstance which favours
the supposition of its having been borrowed. The earliest works in
which I have found it mentioned are of no antiquity. **
The logic of the two Mimdnsds merits a more full examination
than the limits of the present essay allow, and it has been reserved
for a separate consideration at a future opportunity, because it has
been refined and brought into a regular form by the followers, ra-
ther than by founders of either school.
The 'Sdriraca-sntras are in the highest degree obscure, and could
never have been intelligible without an ample interpretation. Hint-
ing the question or its solution, rather than proposing the one or
briefly delivering the other, they but allude to the subject. Like
the aphorisms of other Indian sciences, they must from the first
have been .accompanied by the author's exposition of the meaning ,

whether orally taught by him or communicated in writing.

Among ancient scholiasts of the Brahme-sulras the name of
BAUDHAYANA occurs an appellation to which reverence, as to that
:

of a saint or rishi, attaches. He is likewise the reputed author of a

treatise on law. An early gloss, under the designation of vritti, is

quoted without its author's name, and is understood to be adverted

to in the remarks of later writers, in several instances, where no

particular reference is however expressed. It is apparently BAU-

DHAYANA' s. An ancient writer on both mimdnsas (prior and later)
is cited, under the name of UPAVARSHA, with the epithet of vener-

able (bhagavat) ,*** implying that he was a holy personage. He is

noticed in the supplement to the Apiera-c6sha-\ as a saint (muni), with
the titles or additions of Hala-bhrili,Crita-coti, and Aydchila. It does
not appear that any of his works are now forthcoming.
The most distinguished scholiast of these stilras, in modern esti-
mation, isthe celebrated S'ANCARA A'CHA'RYA, the founder of a sect
among Hindus which is yet one of the most prevalent. I have had
a former occasion of discussing the antiquity of this eminent person ;

and the subject has been since examined by RA'MA w6HEN RA'YA and
by Mr. Wilson, ft I continue of opinion, that the period when he
* See
p. 185, of this volume.
** In the Veddnta *** S'ANC. 3.
paribkdslid and Paddrt'ha dipicd. 3. 53.
}
Tricdnda sesha. ff Sanscrit Diet., first edit., pref. p. xvi.
 213

flourished may be taken to have been the close of the eighth or

beginning of the ninth century of the Christian era ; and I am con-
firmed in it by the concurring opinions of those very learned persons.
How much earlier the older scholia were, or the text itself, there
is no evidence to determine. If the reputed author be the true one,

it would be necessary to go back nearly two thousand years, to the

era of the arrangement of the Vedas by VYA'SA.
1
8ANGARA 8 gloss or perpetual commentary of the siitras bears the
title of 'Sdriraca-mimdnsd-bhdshya. It has been annotated and inter-

preted by a herd of commentators; and among others, and most

noted, by VA'CHESPATI MISRA, in the Bhdmali or 'Sdriraca-bhdshya-
vibhdga.
This same VA'CHESPATI whose commentaries on the Sdn-
is the ,

isWARA CHANDRA, and on the text and gloss of PA-

c*hya-cdricd of
TANJALI'S Yoga and GOTAMA'S Nydya were noticed in former es-
,

says.* He is the author of other treatises on dialectics (Nydya},

and of one entitled Tatwa-vindu on the Purva-mimdnsd, as it is ex-
pounded by BHATTA. All his works, in every department, are held
in high and deserved estimation.
VACHESPATI'S exposition of S'ANCARA'S gloss, again, has been
amply annotated and explained in the Veddnla-calpataru of ANA-
LANANDA, surnamed Vyasasrama; whose notes, in their turn be- ,

come the text for other scholia especially a voluminous collection

:

under the title of Parimala, or Veddnta-calpataru-parimala, by APYA-

YADICSHITA (author of several other works); and an abridged one,
under that of Veddnta calpataru-manjari, by VIDYA'NAT'HA BHATTA.
Other commentaries on SANCARA'S gloss are numerous 'and
esteemed, though not burdened with so long a chain of scholia upon
scholia: for instance, the Brahma-vidyd-bharana by ADWAITA'NAN-
DA,** and the Bhdshya-ratnaprabhd by GOVINDA'NANDA both works ;

of acknowledged merit.
These multiplied expositions of the text and of the gloss furnish
an inexhaustible fund of controversial disquisition, suited to the dis-
putatious schoolmen of India. On many occasions however, they
,

* See
pp. 147, 148, 166, of this volume.
** It is
by Mr. Ward named Veddnta sutra vydc'hyd by BRAHMA- VIDYABHA-
RAXA, mistaking the title of the work for the appellation of the author. Yet
it is expressly affirmed in the rubric and colophon to be the work of ADWAI-

TANANDA, who abridged it from an ampler commentary by RAMANANDA TIRT'HA.

The mistake is the more remarkable, as the same ADWAITANANDA was pre-
ceptor of SADANAJJDA, whose work, the Veddnta-sdra, Mr. Ward attempted to
translate; and the only part of SADANANDA'S preface, which is preserved in
the version is that preceptor's name. Mr. Ward's catalogue of treatises
.

extant belonging to this school of philosophy exhibits other like errors. He

puts Mddhava for Madhusudana, the name of an author; converts a comment-
ary (the Muctdoali) into an abridgment; and turns the text (mula) of the
Veddnta-sdra into its essence. Ward's Hindus, vol. iv. pp. 172, 173.
214 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

are usefully consulted, in succession, for annotations supplying a

right interpretation of obscure passages in SANCARA'S scholia or in
VYA'SA'S text.
Another perpetual commentary on the siilras of the 'Sdriraca by
a distinguished author, is the work of the celebrated RAMA'NUJA, the
founder of a sect which has sprung as a schism out of the Veddntin.
The points of doctrine, on which these great authorities differ will ,

be inquired into in another place. It may be readily supposed that

they are not unfrequently at variance in the interpretation of the
text, and I shall, therefore, make little use of the scholia of RAMA-
NUJA for the present essay. For the same reason I make no refer- ,

ence to the commentaries of BALLABHA A'CHARYA, BHAT'T'A BHASCARA,

ANANTA TIRT'HA surnamed MADHU, and NILACANT'HA, whose inter-
pretations differ essentially on some points from S'ANCARA'S.
Commentaries on the 'Sdriraca-sulras by authors of less note are
extremely numerous. I shall content myself with, naming such only
as are immediately under view, viz. the Veddnla-siitra-muctavdli by
BRAHMAN ANDA-SARASWATI;* the Brahma-siilra-bhdshya or Mimdnsd-
bhdshya, by BHA'SCARACHARYA; the Veddnta-siilra-vydc'hyd'-chandricd,
by BHAVADEVA MISRA; the Vydsa-sulra-vritti, by RANGANAT'HA; the
Subodhini or 'Sdrira-sutra-sdrdrfha-chandricd by GANGADHARA and
, ;

the Brahmdmritra-vershini, by RA'MA'NANDA.

This list might with ease be greatly enlarged.Two of the com-
mentaries, which have been consulted in progress of preparing the
present essay are without the authors name either in preface or
, ,

colophon, in the only copies which I have seen; and occasions

have occurred for noticing authors of commentaries on other bran-
ches of philosophy, as well as on the Brahma-mimdnsd (for instance
VIJNYA'NA BHICSHU, author of the Sdnc'hya-sdra and Yoga-vdrlica).**
To these many and various commentaries in prose, on the text
and on the must be added more than one in verse. For in-
scholia,
stance, the Sancshepa-sdriraca, which is a metrical paraphrase of
text and gloss, by SARVAJNYA'TMAGIRI a sannydsi it is expounded :

by a commentary entitled AnrvaydrCha-pracdsicd , by RAMA TIRT'HA,

disciple ofCRISHNA TIRT'HA, and author of several other works in ;

particular, a commentary on the Upadesa-sahasri and one on the ,

Veddnta-sdra.
Besides his great work, the interpretation of the sutras, S'ANCARA
wrote commentaries on all the principal or important Upanishads.
His preceptor, c6viNDA, and the preceptor's teacher, GAUDAPADA,
had already written commentaries on many of them.
S'ANCARA is author, likewise, of several distinct treatises; the

* Mr. Ward calls this an abridgment of the Veddnta - sulras. It is no

abridgment, but a commentary in ordinary form.
** See
p. 146, 148, of this volume.
 V^DANTA. 215

most noted of which is the Upadesa-sahasri, a metrical summary of

the doctrine deduced by him from the Upanishads and Brahma-sutras,
in his commentaries on those original works. The text of the Upa-
desa-sahasrt has been expounded by more than one commentator;
and among others by RA'MA TIRT'HA already noticed for his com-
,

ment on the Sancshepa-sdriraca. His gloss of the Upadesa-sahasri is

entitled Pada-yojanicd.
Elementary treatises on the Veddnla are very abundant. It may
suffice to notice a few which are popular and in general use, and
which have been consulted in the preparation of the present essay.

The Veddnla - paribhdshd of DHARMA-RA'JA DICSHITA explains, as

its title indicates, the technical terms of the Veddnla; and, in course
of doing so, opens most of the principal points of its doctrine. A
commentary on this work by the author's son, RA'MA-CRISHNA DICS-
HITA, bears the title of Veddnta-sic'hdmani. Taken together, they
form an useful introduction to the study of this branch of Indian
philosophy.
The Veddnta-sdra is a popular compendium of the entire doctrine
of the Veddnla.* It is the work of SADA'NANDA, disciple of A'DWA-
YA'NANDA or ADWAITA'XANDA before-mentioned, and has become the
text for several commentaries and among the rest the Vidwan-
; , ,

mano-ranjini, by RA'MA-xiRT'HA, who has been already twice noticed

for other works; and the Subodhini, by NRISINHA SARASWATI, dis-

ciple of CRISHNA'NANDA.

* Mr. Ward has

given , in the fourth volume of his View of the History,
Literature, and Mythology of the Hindus (third edition) a translation of the
Veddnta-sdra. I wish to speak as gently as I can of Mr. Ward's perfor-
mance ; but having collated this , I am bound to say it is no version of the
original text, and seems to have been made from an oral exposition through
the medium of a different language, probably the Bengalese. This will be
evident to the oriental scholar on the slightest comparison : for example, the
introduction, which does not correspond with the original in so much as a
single word, the name of the author's preceptor alone excepted; nor is there
a word of the translated introduction countenanced by any of the comment-
aries. At the commencement of the treatise, too, where the requisite quali-
fications of a student are enumerated, Mr. Ward makes his author say, that
a person possessing those qualifications is heir to the Veda (p. 176). There
is no term in the text ,
nor in the commentaries, which could suggest the
notion of heir; unless Mr. Ward has so translated adhicdri (a competent or
qualified person), which in Bengalese signifies proprietor, or, with the epithet
vltara (uttar adhicdri) heir or successor. It would be needless to pursue the
comparison further. The meaning of" the original is certainly not to be
gathered from such translations of this and (as Mr. Ward terms them) of
other principal works of the Hindus, which he has presented to the public.
I was not aware , when preparing the former essays on the Philosophy of
the Hindus which have been inserted in the first volume of the Transactions
of the Royal Asiatic Society, that Mr. Ward had treated the same topics: but
I think it now unnecessary to revert to the subject, for the purpose of offering
any remarks on his explanation of other branches of Indian philosophy.
216 ,ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

A few other treatises may be here briefly noticed.

The by APYAYA or (APYAI) oi-
'Sdsira-siddhdnta-lesa-sangraha,
CSHITA, son of RANGANAT'HA orRANGARAjA DICSHITA, and author of
the Parimala on the Siddhdnta calpataru before-mentioned, as well ,

as of other works, has the benefit of a commentary, entitled Crish-

ndlancdra, by ACHYUTA CRISHNA'NANDA TIRT'HA, disciple of SWAYAM-
PRACAS'ANANDA SARASWATI. The Veddnta-siddhdnla-vindu by MA- ,

DHUSUDANA, disciple of VIS'WES'WA-RA'NANDA SARASWATI, and author

of the Veddnta-calpalaticd, and of other works, is in like manner com-
mented on by BRAHMANANDA, disciple of NA'RA'YANA TIRT'HA.

*
Analysis.

The Ultara - mtmdnsd opens precisely as the Piirva, announcing

the purport in the same terms, except a single, but most important
word, brahme instead of dharma. 'Next, therefore, the inquiry is con-
'** It
cerning GOD. proceeds thus: '[He is that] whence are the
birth and [continuance, and dissolution] of [this world]: [He is] the
source of [revelation or] holy ordinance.'*** That is, as the com-
mentators infer from these aphorisms so expounded, 'He is the omni-
potent creator of the world and the omniscient author of revelation.'
It goes on to say, 'This appears from the import and right construc-
tion of holy writ.' t
The author of the stilras next ft enters upon a confutation of the
Sane hyas, who insist that nature, termed pracChdna, which is the mate-
1

rial cause of the universe, as they affirm, is the same with the omni-
scient and omnipotent cause of the world recognised by the Vedas. It is
not so; for 'wish' (consequently volition) is attributed to that cause,
which moreover is termed (alman) soul: 'He wished to be many
and prolific, and became manifold.' And again, 'He desired to be
"
many, &c ftt Therefore he is a sentient rational being not ;

insensible as the pracrili (nature) or pradhdna (matter) of CAPILA

,

is affirmed to be.
In the sequel of the first chapter questions are raised upon divers
passages of the Vedas, alluded to in the text, and quoted in the
scholia, where minor attributes are seemingly assigned to the world's
cause or in which subordinate designations occur such as might
; ,

be supposed to indicate an inferior being, but are shown to intend

the supreme one.
The cases (adhicaranas) or questions arising on them are examined

* In this
analysis of the sutras a portion of the scholia or explanations
,

of commentators is blended with the text, for a brief abstract and intelli-
** Br. Sutr. 1. 1.
gible summary of the doctrine. 1.
*** Ib. 2 and Ib. 4 Ib.
3. t -J-f 5. (sulr. 5. 11.)
'ttt Ctthdndogya, 6. 6 to 11.
 V^DA'NTA. 217

and resolved concisely and obscurely in the stilras, fully and per-
spicuously in the scholia.'
'The omnipotent, omniscient, sentient cause of the universe, is
* He is the
(dnandamaya) essentially happy. brilliant, golden per-
son, seen rvilhin (antar) the solar orb and the human eye.** He is
the elherial element (dcdsa), from which all things proceed and to
which all return. *** He is the breath (prana) in which all beings
merge, into which they all rise.f He is the light (jyotish] which
shines in heaven, and in all places high and low, everywhere
throughout the world, and within the human person. He is the
breath (prana) and intelligent self, immortal, undecaying, and happy,
with which INDRA, in a dialogue with PRATARDANA, identifies him-
'
self. ft
The term prana, which is the subject of two of the sections just

quoted (
and
properly and primarily signifies respiration, as
9 II),
well as certain other vital actions (inspiration, energy, expiration,
digestion, or circulation of nourishment); and secondarily, the senses
and organs, f ft But, in the passages here referred to, it is employed
for a different signification, intending the supreme Brahme; as also
in divers other texts of the Vedas-. and, among the rest, in one
where the senses are said to be absorbed into it during profound
sleep for 'while a man sleeps without dreaming, his soul is with
;
'
Brahme.

Further cases of the like nature , but in which the indications of

the true meaning appear less evident, are discussed at length in the
second and third chapters of the first book. Those in which the
distinctive attributes of the supreme being are more positively indi-
cated by the passage whereon a question arises, had been consi-
dered in the foregoing chapter: they are not so clearly denoted
in the passages now examined. >uch as concern GOD as the object
of devout meditation and worship, are for the most part collected in
the second chapter; those which relate to GOD as the object of
knowledge, are reserved for the third. Throughout these cases,
completed where requisite by the scholiast, divers interpretations of
a particular term or phrase are first proposed as obvious and plau- ,

sible, and reasons favourable to the proposed explanation set forth ;

but are set aside by stronger arguments, for a different and opposite
construction. The reasoning is here omitted, as it would need much
elucidation; and the purpose of this analysis is to exhibit the topics
treated, and but summarily the manner of handling them.

* ** ***
Taittiriya. Ch'kdnddgya, 1. Ch'hdndogya, \. f Vdgil'ha.
ft Caushitaci. fff Br. Sutr. 2. 4. 1 ,
6. (S. 1, 13.)
S'ANC. &c. on Br. Sutr. 1. 1. 9.
218 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

It is not the embodied (sdrira) and individual soul, but the supreme
Brahme himself,* on whom devout meditation is to be fixed, as
enjoined in a passage which declares: 'this universe is indeed
Brahme;* for it springs from him, merges in him, breathes in him:
therefore, serene, worship him. Verily, a devout man, as are his
thoughts or deeds in this world, such does he become departing
hence [in another birth]. Frame then the devout meditation, "a
" ** '

living body endued with mind

It is neither fire nor the individual soul but the supreme being,
,

who is the 'devourer' (allri*) described in the dialogue between

YAMA and NA'CHICETAS *** 'who, then, knows where abides that
:

being, whose food is the priest and the soldier (and all which is fixt
or moveable), and death is his sauce?'
In the following passage, the supreme spirit, and not the intel-
lectual faculty, is associated with the individual living soul, as "two

occupying the cavity or ventricle of the heart" (guhdm pravish'tau

'

dlmanau). Theologists as well as worshippers maintaining sacred

,

fires, term light and shade the contrasted two, who abide in the
most excellent abode, worthy of the supreme, occupying the cavity
(of the heart), dwelling together in the worldly body, and tasting
'
the certain fruit of good (or of evil) works. t
In the following extract from a dialogue,!! in which SATYACA'MA
instructs UPACOS'ALA, the supreme being is meant; not the reflected
image in the eye, nor the informing deity of that organ, nor the
regent of the sun nor the individual intelligent soul. 'This being,
,

who is seen in the eye, is the self (dtman): He is immortal, fear-

less Brahme. Though liquid grease, or water, be dropped therein,
itpasses to the corners (leaving the eye-ball undefiled).'
So in a dialogue in which YA'JNYAWALCYA instructs UDDA'LA-
, ,

CA,ttt "the internal check" (antarydmiri) is the supreme being; and

not the individual soul, nor the material cause of the world, nor a
subordinate deity, the conscious informing regent of the earth, nor
a saint possessing transcendent power: where premising, 'he who
eternally restrains (or governs) this and the other world, and all
beings therein,' the instructor goes on to say: 'who standing in the

* Brahman
is, in this acceptation, a neuter noun (nom. Brahme or Brahma);
and the same term in the masculine (nom. Brahma) is one of the three gods
who constitute one person. But it is more conformable with our idiom to
employ the masculine exclusively, and many Sanscrit terms of tlie same
import are masculine; as Paramdtman(-tmd), Par nne'srvara, &c.
**
Ch'hdndogya, 3. 'Sdndilya-vidyd. Br. Sutr. 1. 2. 1, (S. 1, 8.)
*** Cat'havalli, 2. Br. Sutr. 1. 2. 2. (S. 9, 10).

f Cat'havaUi, 3. Br. S. 1. 2. 3. (S. 11, 12.)

4. (S. 13, 17.)
ff Ch'hdndogya 4. Upacosala-vidyd. Br. Sidr. 1. 2.

tft Vrihad dranyaca, 5. Br. Sutr. 1 2. 5. (3

. 18, 20.)
Mur&aca, an 'l/panishad of the At'harvana. Br. Sutr. 1. 2. 6. (S. 21, 23.)
 V^DA'NTA. 219

earth is other than [the earth, whom the earth knows not, whose
body the earth is who interiorly restrains (and governs) the earth
,
:

the same is thy soul (and mine) the "internal check" (antarydmiri),
,

immortal &c.',

Again, in another dialogue, ANGIRAS , in answer to MAHA'S'A'LA,

who with SAUNACA visited him for instruction declares 'there are
,

two sciences, one termed inferior, the other superior. The inferior
comprises the four Vedas , with their appendages, grammar, &c.'
(all of which he enumerates): 'but the superior (or best and most
beneficial) is that by which the unalterable (being) is comprehended,
who is invisible (imperceptible by organs of sense), ungrasped (not
prehensible by organs of action), come of no race, belonging to no
tribe, devoid of eye, ear (or other sensitive organ), destitute of
hand ,
foot (or other instrument of action) everlasting lord, present
,

every where, yet most minute. Him, invariable, the wise contem-
plate as the source (or cause) of beings. As the spider puts forth
and draws in his thread, as plants spring from the earth (and
return to it) as hair of the head and body grows from the living
,
'
man, so does the universe come of the unalterable Here it
is the supreme being, not nature or a material cause, nor an em-
bodied individual soul, who is the invisible (adresya) ungrasped
source of (all) beings (bhula-yonf).
In a dialogue between several interlocutors, PRACHINASA'LA, UD-
DALACA, and AS'WAPATI, king of the Caiceyis, (of which a version
at length was inserted in an essay on the Vedas,* the terms
vaisrvdnara and dtman occur (there translated universal soul).
The ordinary acceptation of vaiswdnara is tire: and it is therefore
questioned, whether the element of fire be not here meant, or the
regent of fire, that is, the conscious, informing deity of it, or a par-
ticular deity described as having an igneous body, or animal heat
designated as alvine fire and whether likewise dtman intends the
;

living, individual soul, or the supreme being. The answer is, that
the junction of both general terms limits the sense, and restricts the
purport of the passage to the single object to which both terms are
applicable: it relates, then, to the supreme being.**
Under this section the author twice cites JAIMINI:*** once for
obviating any difficulty or apparent contradiction in this place by ,

taking the term in its literal and etymological sense (universal

guide of men) instead of the particular acceptation of fire ; and
,

again, as justifying, by a parallel passage in another Ve'da,-\ an

epithet intimating the minute size of the being in question (prddesa-

* See
p. 50, of this volume.
**
Cfrhdnddgya, 5. Br. Siitr. 1. 2. 7. (S. 24, 32.)
*** Ib. S. 28 and 31.
f Vdjasaneyibrdhmana.
 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

mdlr(i) a span long. * On this last point other ancient authors are
,

likewise cited: one, ASMARAT'HYA, who explains it as the result of

shrinking or condensation; the other, BAD Am, as a fruit of imagi-
nation or mental conception.** Reference is also made to another
sdc'hd of the Veda,*** where the infinite, supreme soul is said to
occupy the spot between the eye-brows and nose.
'That on which heaven and earth and the intermediate transpi-
cuous region are fixt, mind, with the vital airs (or sensitive organs),
know to be the one soul (atman) reject other doctrines. This alone
:

is the bridge of immortality.'! In this passage of an Upanishad of

the ACharvana, BRAHME is intended, .and not any other supposed
site (dyalana) of heaven, earth, &c.
In a dialogue between NA'REDA and SANATCUMA'RA, the (bhuman)
'great' one, proposed as an object of inquiry for him who disires
unlimited happiness, since there is no bliss in that which is finite
and small, is briefly defined. 'He is great, in whom nought else is
seen, heard, or known, but that wherein ought else is seen, heard,
or known, is small. 'ft Here the supreme being is meant; not
breath (prdna), which had been previously mentioned as greatest,
in a climax of enumerated objects.
So, in a dialogue between YA'JNYAWALCYA and his wife GA'RGI, tt1
being asked by her, 'the heaven above, and the earth beneath, and
the transpicuous region between, and all which has been, is, and
will be, whereon are they woven and sewn?' answers, the ether
(dcdsa) and being further asked, what it is on which ether is woven
;

or sewn?replies, 'the unvaried being, whom Brdhmanas affirm to

'
be neither coarse nor subtile, neither short nor long It is

the supreme being who is here meant.

Themystic syllable dm, composed of three elements of articula-
tion, is a subject of devout meditation; and the efficacy of that me-
ditation depends on the limited or extended sense in which it is
contemplated. The question concerning this mode of worship is
discussed in a dialogue between PIPPALA'DA and SATYACA'MA.
If the devotion be restricted to the sense indicated by one ele-
ment, the effect passes not beyond this world; if to that indicated
by two of the elements, it extends to the lunar orb whence how- ,

ever the soul returns to a new birth; if it be more comprehensive,

embracing the import of the three elements of the word, the ascent
is to the solar orb, whence, stripped of sin, and liberated as a snake

*
By an oversight the expressioh relative to diminutive dimension was
,

omitted in the translated passage.

** Br Sutr. 1. 2. 29. 30. *** Jdbdla.
f Munclaca. Br. Sutr. 1. 3. 1. (S. 1, 7.)
ff Ch'hdndoQi/a. 7. Bhumavidyd. Br. Sutr. 1. 3. 2. (S. 8, 0.)

ftt rrihad drany. 5. Br. Sutr. 1. 3. 3. (S. 10, 12.)

Prasna, an Upanishad of the Afharoana. Br. Sutr. 1. 3. 4. (S. 13.)

 V^DA'NTA. 221

which has cast its slough, the soul proceeds to the ahode of Brahme,
and to the contemplation of (purusha] him who resides in a corpo-
real frame that is, soul reposing in body (purisaya).
:

That mystic name, then, is applied either to the supreme Brahme,

uniform, with no quality or distinction of parts or to Brahme, not
;

supreme, hut an effect (con/a) diversified, qualified; who is the

same wih the VIRA'J and HJRANYA-GARBHA of mythology, born in the
mundane egg.
It appears from the latter part of the text, that it is the supreme
Brahme to whom meditation is to be directed and on whom the
,

thoughts are to be fixed, for that great result of liberation from sin
and worldly trammels.
In a passage descriptive of the lesser ventricle of the heart, it is
said: 'within thisbody (Brahme-pura) Brahme 's abode, is a (dahara)
little lotus,a dwelling within which is a (dahara) small vacuity oc-
cupied by ether (dcdsa}. What that is which is within (the heart's
ventricle) is to be inquired, and should be known.'* A
question is
here raised, whether that 'ether' (dcd&a) within the ventricle of the
heart be the etherial element, or the individual sensitive soul, or the
supreme one and it is pronounced from the context, that the su-
;

preme being is here meant.

'The sun shines not therein, nor the moon, nor stars: much less
this fire. All shines after his effulgence (reflecting his light), by
whose splendour this whole (world) is illumined.'** In this passage
it is no
particular luminary or mine of light, but the (prajnya) intelli-
gent soul (supreme Brahme] which shines with no borrowed light.
In the dialogue between YAMA and NACHIC^TAS, before cited,
are the following passages.*** 'A person (purusha) no bigger than
the thumb abides in the midst of self;' and again, 'the person no
bigger than the thumb is clear as a smokeless flame, lord of the past
(present) and future; he is to-day and will be to-morrow such is :

he ( concerning whom you inquire ).' This is evidently said of the

supreme ruler, not of the individual living soul.

Another passage of the same Upanishad-\ declares: 'this whole
universe, issuing from breath (pra.no) moves as it impels: great,
,

terrible, as a clap of thunder. They, who know it, become immor-

tal.' Brahme, not the thunderbolt nor wind, is here meant.

'The living soul (samprasada) rising from this corporeal frame,

attains the supreme light, and comes forth witli his identical form. 'ft
'It is neither the light of the sun, nor the visual organ, but Brahme,
that is here meant.

*
Ch'hdndogya, 8. Dahara-vidyd. Br. Sutr. 1. 3. 5. (S. 14, 21.)
** MuriOaca, Br. Sulr. 1. 3. 6. (S. 22, 23.)
*** Cdt'ha. 4. Br. Sulr. 1 3.
. 7. (S. 24, 25.)

f CdCha. 6. Br. Sulr. 1. 3. 10. (S. 39.)

8. Prajdpali-vidyd, Br. Sutr. i. 3. 11. (8. 40.)
222 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

'Ether (dcdsa) is the bearer (cause of bearing) of name and form.

That in the midst of which they both are is Brahme , it is immor-
:

tality; it is soul.'* Acdsa here intends the supreme being, not the
element so named.
In a dialogue between YA'JNYAWALCYA and JANACA ** in answer ,

to an inquiry 'which is the soul?' the intelligent internal

light with-
in the heart is declared to be so. This likewise is shown to relate
to the supreme one, unaffected by worldly course.
It had been intimated in an
early aphorism of the first chapter,
that the Vedas, being rightly interpreted, do concur in the same
import, as there expressed concerning the omnipotent arid omni-
scient creator of the universe.*** An objection to this conclusion
is raised, upon the ground of
discrepancy remarked in various texts
of the Vedas, f which coincide indeed in ascribing the creation to
, ,

Brahme, but differ in the order and particulars of the world's develop-
ment. The apparent contradiction is reconciled as they agree
,

on the essential points of the creator's attributes; omnipotent and

omniscient providence, lord of all, soul of all, and without a second,
&c. and it was not the object of the discrepant passages to declare
:

the precise succession and exact course of the world's formation.

Two more sections are devoted to expound passages which define
Brahme as creator and which are shown to comport no other con-
,

struction. In one, ft cited from a dialogue between AJA'TAS'ATRU and

BA'LA'CI, surnamed GARGYA, the object of meditation and worship is
pronounced to be, 'he who was the maker of those persons just
before mentioned (regents of the sun moon &c.), and whose work
, ,
'
this universe is.
In the other, cited from a dialogue between YA'JNYAWALCYA and
MAiTREYi,ftt soul, and all else which is desirable, are contrasted
as mutual objects of affection: 'it is for soul (dlman) that opulence,
kindred, and all else which is dear, are so; and thereunto soul re-
ciprocally is so; and such is the object which should be meditated,
inquired, and known, and by knowledge of whom all becomes known.'
This, it is shown, is said of the supreme, not of the individual soiil,
nor 'of the breath of life.
Under this last head several authorities are quoted by the author,
modes of interpretation and reasoning, viz. ASMARA
for different -

T'HYA, AUDUL6MI and CASACRITSNA, as JAIMINI under the next pre-

ceding ( 5).
The succeeding section affirms the important tenet of the Ve-

*
Ch'hdndogya 8 ad finera. Br. Sutr. I. 3. 12. (S 41.)
** Vrihad
dranyaca, 6. Br, Sutr. 1. 3. 13. (S. 42. 43.)
*** Br. 5. 1. 1. 4. f Ch'hdndogya, Taittiriya. and Aitareya.
ff Caushitaci brdhmana. Br. S. 1.4. 5. (S. 1618.)
ttt Vi'~ihad dranyaca, Maitreyi brdhmana. Br. Sutr. 1. 4. 6. (S. 19-22.)
Br. Sutr. 1. 4. 7. (S. 2327.)
 V^DANTA. 223

ddnta, that the supreme being is the material, as well as the efficient,
cause of the universe it is a proposition directly resulting from
;

the tenour of passages of the Ve'das, and illustrations and examples

adduced.
The first lecture is terminated by an aphorism, * intimating that,
in the like manner as the opinion of a plastic nature and material
cause (termed by the Sdnc'hyas, pradhdna] has been shown to be
unsupported by the text of the Veda, and inconsistent with its un-
doubted doctrine, so, by the like reasoning, the notion of atoms (anu
or paramdnu) and that of an universal void (simya), and other as un-
founded systems, are set aside in favour of the only consistent po-
sition just now affirmed. (Br. Sulr. 1. ]. 5 and 1. 4. 7.)
Not to interrupt the connexion of the subjects, I have purposely
passed by a digression, or rather several, comprised in two sections
of this chapter,** wherein it is inquired whether any, besides a re-
generate man (or Hindu of the three first tribes) is qualified for
theological studies and theognostic attainments and the solution ;

of the doubt is, that a sudra, or man of an inferior tribe, is incom-

*** and that
petent; beings superior to man (the gods of mythology)
are .qualified.
In the course of this disquisition the noted question of the eternity
of sound, of articulate sound in particular, is mooted and examined.
It is a favourite topic in both Mimdnsds, being intimately connected
with that of the eternity of the Veda, or revelation acknowledged
by them.
I shall not, however, enter into the matter further, in this place,

though much remain to be added to the little which was said on it

in a former essay, f
In the fourth chapter of the first lecture, the author returns to the
task of confuting the Sdnc'hya doctrine and some passages of the
;

Ve'das, apparently favouring that doctrine, are differently interpreted

by him: 'the indistinct one (avyacta) is superior to the great one
(mahai), and embodied soul (purusha) is superior to the indistinct.'tt
Here the very same terms which the Sdnc'hyas employ for intel-
,
'

ligence, nature, and soul,' are contrasted, with allusion seemingly

to the technical acceptations of them. This passage is , however,

explained away; and the terms are taken by the Veddnlms in a

different sense.
The next instance is less striking and may be briefly dismissed,
as may that following it: one relative to a/a, alleged to signify in
the passage in question fff the unborn sempiternal nature (pracrtlf),
but explained to intend a luminous nature (pracrili) noticed in the

* Br. Sutr. 1. 4. 8. (S. 28.) ** Br. Sutr. 1. 3. 26-

8, 9. (S. 38.)
*** Br. Sutr. See
(S. 2829.)
1. 3. f p. 195, of this volume.
ft Cdfha, 3, Br. Sutr. 1.4. 1. (S. 17.)
ttf 'Swetdsnatara. B. S. 1. 4. 2. (S. 810.)
224 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

Ctfhdndogya; (there is iu the text itself an evident allusion to the

ordinary acceptation of the word, a she-goat): the other concerning
the meaning of the words panchu-punchajandh in a passage of the
,

Vrihad dranyaca, * which a follower of the Sdnc'hya would construe

as bearing reference to five times five (twenty-five) principles but ;

which clearly relates to five objects specified in the context, and

figuratively termed persons (pancJut-jana).
It isbecause the Sdnc'hya doctrine is, in the apprehension of the
Veddniins themselves to a certain degree plausible and
,
seemingly
,

countenanced by the text of the Vedas, that its refutation occupies

so much of the attention of the author and his scholiasts. More
than one among the sages of the law (DE>ALA in particular is named)
have sanctioned the principles of the Sdnc'hya; and they are not
uncountenanced by MENU.** CAPILA himself is spoken of with the
reverence due to a saint (Mahd-rishf) and inspired sage; and his
most eminent disciples, as PANCHAS'IC'HA, &c. are mentioned with
like veneration; and their works are dignified with the appellations
of tanlra and smrili as holy writings by the Veddniins at the same
, ,

time that these oppose and refute the doctrine taught by him.
CAPILA, indeed, is named in the Veda itself as possessing trans-
cendent knowledge but here it is remarked, that the name has been
:

borne by more than one sage and in particular by VA'SUD^VA, who

;

slew the sons of SAGARA.*** This mythological personage, it is

contended, is the CAPILA named in the Veda.
The second lecture continues the refutation of CAPILA'S Sdnc'hya,
which, it is observed, is at variance with the smrilis as with the ,

Vedas: and here the name of MENU is placed at the head of them,
although the institutes, which bear his name, will be found, as just
now hinted, and as subsequently admitted in another section, to
afford seeming countenance to Sdnc'hya doctrines. Such passages
are however explained away by the Veddniins who rely in this
, , ,

instance, as they do in that of the Veda itself, on other texts, which

are not reconcileable to the Sdnc'hya.
The same argument is in the following section, f applied to the
setting aside of the Yuga-smrili of PATANJALI (Hair any a-garbha) so ,

far as that is inconsistent with the orthodox tenets deduced from

the Vedas and, by parity of reasoning, to CANA'DE'S atomical scheme;
;

and to other systems which admit two distinct causes (a material

and an efficient one) of the universe.
The doctrine derived from the tenour of the Vedas is to be sup-
ported, likewise, by reasoning independently of authority. 'The
objection, that the cause and effect are dissimilar, is not a valid one:
*
Vrihad dran. 6. Br. Sutr. 1. 4. 3. (S. 1113.)
**
MENU'S Institutes, ch. xii., v. 50.
***
S'ANC. on Br. Sutr. 2. 1. 1. (S. 12.)

f Br. Sutr. 2.1. 2. (S. 3.)

 V^DANTA. 225

instances of such dissimilarity are frequent. Hair and nails, which

are insensible, grow from a sensible animal body; and sentient
vermin (scorpions, &c.) spring from inanimate sources (cow-dung,
&c.) The argument, too, might be retorted; for, according to the
adverse position, sentient beings are produced from an insensible
plastic nature.* On these and other arguments the orthodox doctrine
is maintainable
by reasoning: and by like arguments opinions con-
cerning atoms and an universal void, which are not received by the
best persons, may be confuted.'**

'The distinction relative to fruition, discriminating one who en-

joys and that which enjoyed, does not invalidate the singleness
is

and identity of Brahme as cause and effect. *** The sea is one and
not other than its waters; yet waves, foam, spray, drops, froth, and
'
other modifications of it, differ from each other.
'
An than its cause. Brahme is single without
effect is not other
a second. not separate from the embodied self. He is soul;
He is

and the. soul is he.f Yet he does not do that only which is agree-
able and beneficial to self. The same earth exhibits diamonds, rock
crystals red orpiment , &c. ; the same soil produces a diversity of
,

plants ;
the same food is converted into various excrescences , hair,
nails, &c.
'As milk changes to curd, and water to ice, so is Brahme vari-
ously transformed and diversified without aid of tools or exterior
,

means of any sort., ft In like manner, the spider spins his weh out
of his own substance spirits assume various shapes cranes (voided]
; ;

propagate without the male and the lotus proceeds from pond to
;

pond without organs of motion. That Brahme is entire without

parts, is no objection: he is not wholly transformed into worldly
appearances. Various changes are presented to the same dreaming
soul. Differs illusory shapes and disguises are assumed hy the same
'

spirit. ftt
'Brahme is omnipotent 7 ahle for
every act, without organ or in-
strument. No motive or special purpose need be assigned for his
creation of the universe, besides his will.'

'Unfairness and uncompassionateness are not to be imputed to

him, because some (the gods) are happy, others (beasts and inferior
beings) are miserable, and others again (men) partake of happiness
and unhappiness. Every one has his lot, in the renovated world,
according to his merits, his previous virtue or vice in a former stage
of an universe, which is sempiternal and had no beginning in time.

* Br. Sutr. 2. 1. 3. (S. 4. 11.) ** Ibid. 4. (S. 12.)

*** Ibid. 2. 1. 5. (S. 13.) Ibid. 6. (S. 1420.) and 7.
f (S.21 23.)
ft Ibid. 8. (S. 2425.) -j-ff Ibid. 9. (S. 26-29.)
Ibid. 10. (S 3031.) Ibid. 1 1.
(S. 3233.)
15
226 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

So the rain-cloud distributes rain impartially 5 yet the sprout varies

according to the seed.'*
'

Every attribute of a first cause (omniscience, omnipotence, &c.)

exists in Brahme, who -is devoid of qualities. **
'

The second chapter of the second lecture is controversial. The

doctrine of the Sdnc'hyas is confuted in the first section; that of the
Vaiseshicas in two more; of the Bauddhas in as many; of the Jainas
in one; of the Pdsupatas and Pdnchardlras likewise, in one each.
,

These controversial disquisitions are here omitted; as a brief abstract

would hardly be intelligible and a full explanation would lead to
,

too great length. They have been partly noticed in a separate

treatise on the Philosophy of Indian Sects.*** It is remarkable,
that the Nydya of GOTAMA is entirely unnoticed in the text and com-
mentaries of the Veddnta-sulras.
In the third chapter of the second lecture, the task of reconciling
seeming contradictions of passages in the Vedas is resumed.
'The origin of air and the etherial element (esa), unnoticed
in the text of the Veda (Cfthdndogya) where the creation of the
,

three other elements is described has been affirmed in another

,

(Tailtiriyaca).^ The omission of the one is supplied by the notice

in the other; there is no contradiction, as the deficient passage is
not restrictive nor professes a complete enumeration. Ether and
,

air are by Brahme created. But he himself has no origin no pro- ,

creator nor maker, for he is eternal, without beginning as without

end. ff So fire, and water, and earth, proceed mediately from him,
being evolved successively, the one from the other, as fire from
air, and this from ether, fff The element of earth is meant in
divers passages where food (that is, esculent vegetable) is said to
proceed from water: for rain fertilizes the earth. It is by his will,
not by their own act, that they are so evolved; and conversely,
they merge one into the other, in the reversed order, and are re-
absorbed at the general dissolution of worlds, previous to renovation
of all things.'
'Intellect, mind, and organs of sense and action, being composed
of the primary elements, are evolved and re-absorbed in no different
order or succession, but in that of the elements of which they
consist.'
'The same course, evolution and re-absorption, or material birth
and death, cannot be affirmed of the soul. Birth and death are
predicated of an individual, referring merely to his association with
body, which is matter fixed or moveable. Individual souls are, in
the Veda, compared to sparks issuing from a blazing fire; but the

* Br. Siitr. 2. 1. .12. (S. 3436.) ** Ibid. 13. (S. 37.)

*** See
p. 243, of this volume. f Ibid. 2. 3. 1 and 2. (S.. 17 and 8.)
ff Br. Sutr. 2. 3 3. (S. 9.)
.
ftt Ibid. 46. (S. 1012.)
Ibid 78. (S. 1314.1 Ibid. 9. (S. 15.)
 V^DANTA. 227

soul likewise declared expressly to be eternal and unborn. Its

is

emanation is no birth nor original production. * It is perpetually

,

intelligent and constantly sensible as the Sdnc^hyas too maintain

, ;

not adventitiously so, merely by association with mind and intellect,

as the disciples of CANADE insist. It is for want of sensible objects,
not for want of sensibility or faculty of perception that the soul ,

feels not during profound sleep, fainting, or trance.

The soul is not of finite dimensions, as its transmigrations seem-
'

ingly indicate nor minutely small abiding within the heart, and no
;

bigger than the hundredth part of a hundredth of a hair's point, as

in some passages described; but, on the contrary, being identified
with supreme Brahme, it participates in his infinity. **
'

'The soul is active; not as the Sane 'hy'as maintain, merely pas-
sive.*** Its activity, however, is not essential, but adventitious.
As the carpenter, having his tools in hand, toils and suffers, and
laying them aside, rests and is easy, so the soul in conjunction with
its instruments (the senses and organs) is active, and quitting them,

reposest f
'Blind in the darkness of ignorance, the soul is guided in its
actions and fruition, in its attainment of knowledge, and consequent
liberation and bliss, by the supreme ruler of the universe, tt who
causes it to act conformably with its previous resolves: now, ac-
cording to its former purposes, as then consonantly to its yet earlier
predispositions, accruing from preceding forms with no retrospective
limit for the world had no beginning. The supreme soul makes
;

the individuals act relatively to their virtuous or vicious propen-

sities, as the same fertilizing rain-cloud causes various seeds to
sprout multifariously, producing diversity of plants according to
their kind.
'The soul is a portion of the supreme ruler, f ft as a spark is of

fire. The relation is not as that of master and servant, ruler and
ruled, but as that of whole and part. In more than one hymn and
prayer of the Fedas% it is said, "All beings constitute one quarter
of him; three quarters are imperishable in heaven:" and in the
Iswara-gitd and other smrilis, the soul, that animates body, is ex-
pressly affirmed to be a portion of him. He does not, however,
partake of the pain and suffering of which the individual soul is
conscious, through sympathy, during its association with body; so
solar or lunar light appears as that which it illumines, though dis-
tinct therefrom.
'
As the sun's image reflected in water is tremulous, quaking with

* Br. Sulr. 1011 (S. ** Ibid. 1932.)

1617.) 2. 3. 13. (S.
*** Ibid. 14. (S. 3339.) f Ibid. 15. (S. 40.)
ft Ibid. 16. (S. 4142.) ftt Hid. 17. (S. 4353.)
Rigveda, 8. 4. 17. Yajurveda (Vdjasaneyi) 31. 3.
S'ANCARA cites by this name the Bhagavad gild.
15*
228 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

the undulations of the pool, without however affecting other watery

images nor the solar orb itself; so the sufferings of one individual
affect not another, nor the supreme ruler. But, according to the
doctrine of the Sdnc'hyas^ who maintain that souls are numerous,
each of them infinite, and by one
plastic principle, na-
all affected
ture (prudhdna or pracrtlf), the pain or pleasure, which is experienced
by one, must be felt by all. The like consequence is objected to
the doctrine of CANADE, who taught that souls, numerous and infinite,
are of themselves insensible; and mind, the soul's instrument, is
minute as an atom, and by itself likewise unsentient. The union of
one soul with a mind would not exclude its association with other
souls, equally infinite and ubiquitary; and all, therefore, would
partake of the same feeling of pain or pleasure.
'

The fourth chapter of the second book proceeds in the task of re-
*
conciling apparent contradictions of passages in the Vedas.
'The corporeal organs of sense and of action, designated by the
term prdna in a' secondary acceptation (it is noticed in its proper
signification further on, 4), have like the elements and other ob-
,

jects treated of in the foregoing chapter, a similar origin, as modi-

fications of Brahme; although unnoticed in some passages concern-

ing the creation, and mentioned in others as pre- existent, but ex-
** The de-
pressly affirmed in others to be successively evolved.
ficiency or omission of one text does not invalidate the explicit tenor
of another.
'In various passages, the number of corporeal organs is differently
stated, from seven to thirteen. The precise number is, however,
eleven:*** the five senses, sight, &c.; five active organs, the hand,
&c. ; and lastly, the internal faculty, mind, comprehending intelli-
gence, consciousness, and sensation. Where a greater number is
specified ,
the term is employed in its most comprehensive sense ;

where fewer are mentioned, it is used in a more restricted accep-

tation: thus seven sensitive organs are spoken of, relatively to the

eyes, ears, and nostrils (in pairs), and the tongue.

'They are finite and small: not, however, minute as atoms, nor
yet gross, as the coarser elements, f
'In its primary or principal signification, prdna is vital action,
and chiefly respiration. This, too, is a modification of Brahme. It
is not wind (vdyu) or the air which is breathed, though so described

in numerous passages of the Vedas and other authorities nor is it ;

an operation of a corporeal organ; but it is a particular vital act,

and comprehends five such: 1st, respiration, or an act operating up-
wards; 2d, inspiration, one operating downwards; 3d, a vigorous
action, which is a mean between the foregoing two; 4th, expiration,

* Br. Sufr. 2. 4. ** Ibid. 2. 4.

1.
(S. 14.) 1. (S. 14.)
*** Ibid. 2. (S. 5 G.) f Ibid. 3. (S. 7.)
 VI$DANTA. 229

or passage upwards as in metempsychosis ; 5th digestion

, , ,
or cir-
culation of nutriment throughout the corporeal frame.'*
'Here, too, it must be understood of a limited, not vast or infinite
act, nor minutely small. The vital act is not so minute as not to
pervade the entire frame, as in the instance of circulation of nourish-
ment; yet small enough to he imperceptible to a bystander, in
is

the instance of life's passage in transmigration.

'Respiration and the rest of the vital acts do not take effect of
themselves by an intrinsic faculty, but as influenced and directed
by a presiding deity and ruling power, yet relatively to a particular
body, to whose animating spirit, and not to the presiding deity, fru-
ition accrues.**
'The senses and organs, eleven in number, as above mentioned,
are not modifications of the principal vital act, respiration, but dis-
tinct principles. ***
the supreme ruler, not the individual soul, who is described
'It is

in passages of the Vedas as transforming himself into divers com-

binations, assuming various names and shapes, deemed terrene,

aqueous, or igneous, according to the predominancy of the one or
the other element. When nourishment is received into the corpo-
real frame, it undergoes a threefold distribution, according to its
fineness or coarseness: corn and other terrene food becomes flesh;
but the coarser portion is ejected, and the finer nourishes the mental
organ. Water is converted into blood; the coarser particles are re-
jected as urine; the finer supports the breath. Oil or other com-
bustible substance, deemed igneous, becomes marrow; the coarser
part is deposited as bone, and the finer supplies the faculty of
speech.' f
The third lecture treats on the means whereby knowledge is

attainable, through which liberation and perpetual bliss may be

achieved: and, as preliminary thereto, on the passage of the soul
furnished with organs into the versatile world and its various con-
ditions; and on the nature and attributes of the supreme being.
'The soulis subject to transmigration. It passes from one state
to another, invested with a subtile frame consisting of elementary

particles, the seed or rudiment of a grosser body. Departing from

that which it occupied, it ascends to the moon; where, clothed with
an aqueous form, it experiences the recompense of its works; and
whence returns to occupy a new body with resulting influence of
it

its former deeds. But evil-doers suffer for their misdeeds in the
seven appointed regions of retribution, ft
'
The returning soul quits its watery frame in the lunar orb ,
and
* Br. Sutr. 2. 4. 4. (S. 8.) 5. (S. 9- 12.) 6. (S. 13.)
** Ibid. *** Ibid.
7. (S. 14-16.) 8. (S. 1719.)
f Ibid. 9. (S 20-22.)
ft Ibid. 3. 1. 13. (S. 17 and 8-11 and 1221.)
230 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

passes successively and rapidly through ether, air, vappur, mist, and
cloud, into rain; and thus finds its way into a vegetating plant, and
thence, through the medium of nourishment, into an animal embryo.'*
In the second chapter of this lecture the states or conditions
of the embodied soul are treated of. They are chiefly three; wak-
ing, dreaming, and profound sleep: to which may be added fora
fourth, that of death; and for a fifth, that of trance, swoon, or stupor,
which is intermediate between profound sleep and death (as it were

half-dead), as dreaming is between waking and profound sleep. In

that middle state of dreaming there is a fanciful course of events,
and illusory creation, which however testifies the existence of a
conscious soul. In profound sleep the soul has retired to the su-
**
preme one by the route of the arteries of the pericardium.
The remainder of this chapter is devoted to the consideration of
the nature and attributes of the supreme being. 'He is described
in many passages of the Veda, as diversified and endued with every

quality and particular character; but in other and very numerous

texts, as without form or quality. The latter only is truly appli-
cable, not the former, nor yet both. He is impassible, unaffected
by worldly modifications; as the clear crystal, seemingly coloured
is not the less
by the red blossom of a hibiscus, really pellucid.
He does not vary with every disguising form or designation, for
all diversity is expressly denied by explicit texts; and the notion
of variableness relative to him is distinctly condemned in some
sac' has of the Veda. ***
'He is neither coarse nor subtile, neither long nor short, neither
'
audible nor tangible amorphous, invariable.
;

'This luminous immortal being, who is in this earth, is the same

with the luminous, immortal, embodied spirit, which informs the
corporeal self, and is the same with the [supreme] soul.' 'He is to
be apprehended by mind alone there is not here any multiplicity.
,

Whosoever views him as manifold dies death after death, t

'He is amorphous, for so he is explicitly declared to be; but
seemingly assuming form as sunshine or moonlight impinging on
, ,

an object, appears straight or crooked.' ft

'He is pronounced to be sheer sense, mere intellect and thought:
as a lump of salt is wholly of an uniform taste within and without,
so is the soul an entire mass of intelligence.' This is affirmed both
in the Vedas and in the smrilis: and, as such, he is compared to
the reflected images of sun and moon, which fluctuate with the rise
and fall of the waters that reflect them.tff 'The luminous sun,

* Br. Sutr. 3. 1.46. (S. 22-23 and 2427.)

** Ibid. 3. 2. 14. 16,
(S. 7, 8, 9 and 10.)
***Ibid. 3. 2. 5. (S. 1113.)

f Passages of the Veda cited among others by the scholiasts commenting

on the above. ff Br. Siilr. 3. 2. (S. 14.) ftt IMd- 3. 2. (S. 1520.)
 231

though single, yet reflected in water, becomes various; and so does

the unborn divine soul by disguise in divers modes.'
The Veda so describes him, as entering into and pervading the
* 'He framed
corporeal shapes by himself wrought. bodies, biped
and quadruped; and becoming a bird, he passed into those bodies,
rilling them
as their informing spirit.
'

In theVrihad dranyac.a, after premising two modes of Brahme,

morphous and amorphous; one composed of the three coarser ele-
ments, earth, water, and fire the other consisting of the two more
;

subtile, air and ether; it is said, 'next then his name is propounded,'
"neither so nor so; for there is none other but he, and he is the
"
supreme. Here the finite forms premised are denied for his exist- ;

ence as the supreme being is repeatedly affirmed in this and in

other passages. **
'He is imperceptible; yet during devout meditation is, as it were,
apprehended by perception and inference, through revelation and
authentic recollections.***
'
Like the sun and other luminaries, seemingly multiplied by re-
flection though really single, and like ether (space) apparently sub-
divided in vessels containing it within limits, the (supreme) light is
without difference or distinction of particulars for he is repeatedly ,

declared so to be.f Therefore is one, who knows the truth, iden-

tified with the infinite being; for so revelation indicates. But since
both are affirmed, the relation is as that of the coiled serpent fancied
to be a hoop or as that of light and the luminary from which it
;

proceeds, for both are luminous, ft

'There is none other but he, notwithstanding the apparent import
of divers texts, which seem to imply differences, various relations,
and aliquot parts. He is ubiquitary and eternal ; for he is pronounced
to be greater than etherial space, which is infinite, fff
'
The fruit or recompense of works is from him for that is con- ,

gruous and so it is expressly affirmed in the Vedas. JAIMINI alleges

;

virtue or moral merit; but the author of the sutras (BADARA'YANA

VYASA) maintains the former, because the supreme being is in the
Vedas termed the cause of virtue and of vice, as of eyery thing
else.'
The two last chapters of the third lecture relate chiefly to devout
exercises and pious meditation, the practice of which is inculcated
as proper and requisite to prepare the soul and mind for the recep-
tion of divine knowledge, and to promote its attainment. I pass ra-

pidly over this copious part of the text, for the same reason for

* Br. Siilr. 3. 2. 8. 21. ** Ibid. 6. (S. 22.) *** Ibid. S. 2324.

f Ibid. S 25. ft Ibid. (S. 26-30.) iff Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8.
The
third chapter contains thirty-six sections, comprising sixty-six
aphorisms; the fourth includes eighteen, comprehending fifty-two sutras; and
the subject is pursued in the eight first sections of the fourth lecture.
232 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

which I restricted myself to a very brief notice of the Yoga or theis-

tical Sdnc'hya of PATANJALI; because religious observances are
more concerned than philosophy with the topics there treated, and
the ritual of the Yoga according to both systems Sdnc'hya and Ve- ,

ddnla, would be a fitter subject of a separate treatise, rather than to

be incidentally touched on while investigating the philosophical
doctrines of both schools.
Various questions arise on the modes, forms and object of medi- ,

tation taught in the Upanishads and in other portions of the Vedas,

as well as on exterior observances either immediately or mediately
connected therewith, and likewise on the direct efficacy of know-
ledge, which are all considered and solved at much length. In
general, but not always, the same divine knowledge, the same
worship, and like meditations, are intended by the same designations
in different Vedas, the omissions and obscurities of one being sup-
plied and explained by another, and even under various designations.
By the acquisition of such knowledge, attainable as it is in the pre-
sent or in a future birth, in lifetime, or to take effect after death,
the influence of works is annulled, and consequent deliverance is
single, not- varying in degree and inducing different gradations of
bliss, but complete and final happiness.
The fourth lecture relates chiefly to the fruit and effect of pious
meditation properly conducted, and the consequent attainment of
divine knowledge. The beginning of the first chapter is, however,
supplemental to the foregoing lecture treating of devout exercises,
,

and the posture (a sitting one) in which devotion and contemplation

should be practised, with constant repetition of those observances,
and persisting therein during life. *
So soon as that knowledge is attained past sin is annulled and
,

future offence precluded. ** "As water wets not the leaf of the lo-
tus,' so sin touches not him who knows GOD: as the floss on the
carding comb cast into the fire is consumed, so are his sins burnt
away."***
'In like manner, the effect of the converse (that is, of merit and
virtue) is by acquisition of knowledge annulled and precluded. It
is at death that, these
" He traverses
consequences take place, f
both (merit and demerit) thereby. "|f "The heart's knot is broken,
all doubts are split, and his works perish, when he has seen the

supreme being. "iff "All sins depart from him:" meaning good
works as well as misdeeds; for the confinement of fetters' is the
same, whether the chain be of gold or iron.
'

*Br. 18. ** Ibid.

Stilr. 4. I.
(S. 112.) 9. (S. 13.)]
***
Ck'hdnrfogya, Brahme-vidyd. f Br. S. 4. 1. 10. (S. 14.)

ff Vrihad dranyaca. fff Munaaca. Ch'hdndogya.

8 Anon. com.
 VrfDANTA. 233

'But only such antecedent sin and virtue are annulled, as had
not begun to have effect: for their influence lasts until his deliver-
ance, ^and then does he merge iu the supreme Brahme.* Those
which were in operation are not annulled, as the arrow, which has
been shot completes its flight, nor falls till its speed is spent; and
the potter's wheel, once set in motion, whirls till the velocity which
has been communicated to it is exhausted.'
'However, the maintenance of a perpetual fire, and certain other
religious observances enjoined as conducive to the same end, are not
rendered inefficacious:** for it is declared that " Brdhmanas seek
divine knowledge by holy study, sacrifice, liberality, and devo-
" * and
according to some sdc'hdsj- of the Veda, other merits
;

tion:
remain likewise effectual; for sons succeed to the inheritance of
their father's works; the affectionate share his good deeds; and
the malignant participate of his ill actions. These sacrificial observ-
ances may be such as are conjoined with ^devout exercises, faith,
and pious meditation; or unattended by those holy practices for
attainment of divine knowledge, since they are pronounced most
efficacious when so conjoined which implies that they are not
,
'

wholly inoperative by themselves. ft

'Having annulled by fruition other works which had begun to
have effect; having enjoyed the recompense and suffered the pains
of good and bad actions, the possessor of divine knowledge, on
demise of the body, proceeds to a reunion with Brahme. fff
The fruit of divine knowledge having been shown in the first
chapter, the second chapter of this lecture treats of the particular
effect of devout exercises joined with appropriate meditation. It

chiefly concerns the ascent of the soul, or mode in which it passes

from the body.
'
Of a dying person the speech followed by the rest of the ten
,

exterior faculties (not the corporeal organs themselves), is absorbed

into the mind ,
for the action of the outer organ ceases before the
mind's. This in like manner retires into the breath, attended like-
wise by all the other vital functions, for they are life's companions;
and the same retreat of the mind is observable also in profound
, ,

sleep and in a swoon. Breath, attended likewise by all other vital

faculties, is withdrawn into the living soul which governs the cor-
poreal organs, as the attendants of a king assemble around him
when he is setting out upon a journey; for all vital functions gather
about the soul at the last moment when it is expiring. The liv-
ing soul, attended with all its faculties, retires within a rudiment of

* Br. Sulr. 4. 11. (S. 15.)

1. CVhdndogya.
** Br. Sutr. 4. *** Vrihad
1. 12. (S. 1617). dranyaca.
f Salydyana. ff Br. Sulr. 4. 1. 13. (S. 18.) CWhdndogya.
ftf Br. Sutr. 14. (S. 19.) Ch'hdndoyya and Vrihad dranyaca.
Ch'hdndoyya. Br. Sutr. 4. 2. 13. Vrihad dranyaca.
234 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

body, composed of light with the rest of the five elements, in a sub-
tile state. "Breath," is, therefore, said to withdraw into "light;"
not meaning that element (or fire) exclusively; nor intending direct
transition, for a traveller has gone from one city to another, though
he passed through an intermediate town.'
'
This retirement from the body is common to ordinary uninformed
people as to the devout contemplative worshipper, until they pro-
ceed further on their respective paths: and immortality (without
immediate reunion with the supreme Brahme) is the fruit of pious
meditation, though impediments may not be wholly consumed and
removed.*
'In that condition the soul of the contemplative worshipper re-
mains united to a subtile elementary frame, conjoined with the vital
faculties until the dissolution of worlds
,
when it merges in the
,

supreme deity. That elementary frame is minute' in its dimensions

as subtile in its texture, and is accordingly imperceptible to by-
standers when departing from the body: nor is it oppressed by cre-
mation or other treatment which that body undergoes. It is by its
warmth sensible so long as it abides with that coarser frame, which
becomes cold in death when it has departed,** and was warm during
life while it remained.
'But he who has attained the true knowledge of GOD does not
pass through the same stages of retreat, proceeding directly to re-
union with the supreme being, with which he is identified, as a river,
at its confluence with the sea, merges therein altogether. His vital
faculties and the elements of which his body consists all the six- ,

teen component parts which constitute the human frame, are ab-
sorbed absolutely and completely: both name and form cease; and
he becomes immortal, without parts or members.'***
In course of expounding the text, some of the commentators
compare the ultimate absorption of the vital faculties to the dis-
appearance of water sprinkled on a hot stone, f They seem to be
unaware of its evaporation and consider it to have sunk into the
,

stone.
'The absorbed in it, having
soul, together with the vital faculties
retired within proper abode, the heart, the summit of that viscus
its

flashes, and lightens the passage by which the soul is to depart:

the crown of the head in the case of the wise and any other part ;

of the body, in the instance 'of the ignorant. A hundred and one
arteries issue from the heart, one of which passes to the crown of
the head it is named sushumna. By that passage, in virtue of ac-
:

quired knowledge, and of recollection of the meditated way, the

* Br. Sutr. 4. 2. 4. (S. 7.) ** Ibid. 5. (S. 811.) Cat'havalli, &c.

*** Ibid. 68. (S. 1210.) Cdnrva, Mddhyandina, Prasna, &c.
Y Rangundfha on Br. Sutr. 4. 2. 6. (S. 12).
 V^DANTA. 235

soul of the wise, graced by the favour of Brahme, whose dwelling

is in the heart, issiies and meets a solar
ray; and by that route pro-
ceeds, whether be night or day, winter or summer.* The con-
it

tact of a sunbeam with the vein

is constant, as long as the
body
endures rays of light reach from the sun to the vein, and converse-
:

ly extend from this to the sun. The preferableness of summer,

as exemplified in the case of BHISHMA who awaited the return of
,

that auspicious season* to die, does not concern the devout wor-
shipper, who has practised religious exercises in contemplation of
Brahme, as inculcated by the Ve'das, and has consequently acquired
knowledge. But it does concern those who have followed the ob-
servances taught by the Sdnc'hya Yoga; according to which, the
time of day and season of the year are not indifferent.'
The further progress of the soul from the termination of the
,

coronal artery communicating with a solar ray to its final destination,

the abode of Brahme, is variously described in divers texts of the
Veda-, some specifying intermediate stations which are omitted by
others, or mentioned in a different order.** The seeming discre-
pancies of those passages are reconciled, and all are shown to re-
late to one uniform route, deduced from the text, for the divine

journey (deva-ydna) which the liberated soul travels. A

question
arises, whether the intermediate stations which are mentioned, be
,

stages of the journey, or scenes of fruition to be visited in succession,

or landmarks designated for the course and direction of the route.***
On this point the settled conclusion is t that the presiding deities
,

or regents of the places or regions indicated are guides to the soul,

who forward it on its way in its helpless condition destitute of
,

exerted organs, all its faculties being absorbed and withdrawn; as

a blind man is led, or a faint person is conducted, by a guide.
The route deduced from the tenoiir of texts compared, and from
divers considerations set forth f is by a solar ray to the realm of
,

fire; thence to the regents of day, of the semilunation, of the summer

six months, of the year; and thence to the abode of gods; to air
or wind, the regent of which forwards the journeying soul from his
precincts, by a narrow passage compared to the nave of a chariot
wheel, towards the sun: thence the transition is to the moon, whence
to the region of lightning, above which is the realm of VARUNA, the

regent of water; for lightning and thunder are beneath the rain-

* Br. Siitr. 4. 2. 911. (S. 1721.) Vrihad dran. Ch'hdndogya, &c.

**
Ch'hdndogya, Caushitaci, Vrihad dranyaca, &c.
*** BHAVADEVA instances
Pdtalipulra and the Soria river, as indicated for
the direction of the route from Tirnbhucti (Tirhut) to Vdrdnasi (Benares).
It is clear that he understands Pdtaliputra (the ancient Palibothra) to be
Patna.
f Br. Sulr. 4. 3. 14. (S. 16.)
236 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

cloud and aqueous region: the rest of the way is hy the realm of
INDRA, to the abode of PRAJAPATI or Brahme.
A question arises, which is here discussed, whether Brahme, to
whose dwelling and court the soul is conducted, be the supreme
being, according to the ordinary and chief acceptation of the term,
or be that effect of his creative will which is distingxiised as cdrya
brahme, identified with the mythological personage entitled HIRA-
NYAGARBHA, as having been included within the golden mundane
egg. JAIMINI affirms the supreme one to be meant: but BA'DARI
maintains the other opinion which is that which the commentators
:

of the sulras understand the author of them to adopt.*

The souls of those holy persons only, whose devout meditation
was addressed to the pure Brahme himself, take the route described ;**
not those whose contemplation was partial and restrictive they :

have their special reward. Those, too, whose knowledge of GOD

was "more perfect, pass immediately, or by any route, to a reunion
with the divinity, with whom they are identified.
The soul of him who has arrived at the perfection of divine know-
ledge, and is
consequently liberated, "quitting its corporeal frame,
ascends to the supreme light which is Brahme, and comes forth iden-
tified with him, conform and undivided;"*** as pure water, drop-

ped into the limpid lake, is such as that is.

Concerning the condition of the liberated man, a difference of
doctrine is noticed, f JAIMINI maintained that he is endued with
,

divine attributes, omniscience, ubiquitary power, and other trans-

cendent faculties. AUDULOMI insisted, that he becomes sheer thought,
sentient intelligence. The author of the sulras (BA'DARAYANA) ac-
cedes to the last-mentioned opinion; admitting, however, the prac-
tical or apparent possession of divine faculties by one who has at-
tained perfection of knowledge. '

By certain devout exercises and meditation ff a less perfect

knowledge is acquired, which, as before mentioned, qualifies the
possessor of it for reception at Brahme's abode though not for im-
,

mediate re-union and identity with his being. In that condition

transcendent power is enjoyed. The pitris, or shades of progenitors,
may be called up by a simple act of the will; and other super-
human faculties may be similarly exerted. The possessor of these
is independent, subject to no other's control. He may, at his option,
be invested with one or more bodies, furnished with senses and
organs, or be unincumbered with a corporeal frame. On this point,
however, a difference of doctrine subsists. JAIMINI maintained the
indispensable presence of body; BA'DARI, its absence; and the author

* Hr. Sutr. 4. 3. 5. (S. 714.) ** Ibid. 6. (S. 1516.)

*** Ibid. 12. (S. 14.) f Ibid. 3. (S. 57.)
ft Hdrda-vidyd or Dahara-vidyd in the CKhdndogya.
 V^DANTA. 237

(BADARAYANA) admits the option. In one case, the condition is that

of a person dreaming in the other case, as of one awake. *
;

'Master of several bodies, by a simple act of his will, the Yogi

does not occupy one only, leaving the rest inanimate, like so many
wooden machines. He may animate more than one, in like manner
as a single lamp may be made to supply more than one wick. '**
Liberation (tnucli] besides its proper and strict sense, which is
,

that of final deliverance through a perfect knowledge of Brahme,

and consequent identification with the divinity and absorption into
his essence, is likewise employed in a secondary acceptation for
that which takes effect in life time (jivan-mucli); or which conducts
the soul after death to dwell with Brahme-, not, however, divested
of a subtile corporeal frame. The more complete deliverance is
*** The less
incorporeal (videha mucli). perfect liberation appertains
to a Yogi, similar, in respect of the faculties and powers possessed

by him to one who has accomplished the like by the observances

,

taught in the Sdnc'hya or Yoga of PATANJALI.

Such a Yogi', uncontrolled and independent as he has been pro-
nounced to be, can exert every faculty and superior power ana-
logous to that of the divinity's which may be conducive to enjoy-
ment; but he has not a creative power. His faculties are trans-
cendent for enjoyment, not for action, f
The more perfect liberation is absolute and final: there is no
return of the soul from its absorption in the divine essence, to
undergo further transmigrations as before, ff But incomplete
knowledge, which conducts to Brahme's abode without qualifying
the soul for such absorption into the divinity, exempts it from return
during the subsisting calpa; but not at a future renovation of
worlds, ttt unless by special favour of the deity.

Recapitulation.
i

In the foregoing summary of the Ve'ddnla from \hssutras of VYA'SA,

the interpretation by S'ANCARA has been relied upon; and his gloss,
with notes of his annotators and the commentaries of scholiasts who
follow him, have been exclusively employed, lest the doctrine of
separate schools and different branches of the Veddnla should be
blended and confounded. Those commentaries are numerous and ,

explanations and elucidations of the text have been taken from one
or from another indiscriminately, as they have been found pertinent
and illustrative, without particular preference or selection. This
should be borne in mind in comparing that summary with its author-

* Br. Sutr. 4. 4.. 4. 5. (S. 914.) ** Ibid. 6. (S. 1516.)

*** BHAVADivA on Br. Sutr. 4. 4. S. 22.
f Br. Sutr. 4. 4. 7. (S. 1722.) ff Ibid. 8. 22.
{77 On this point the commentators do not appear to agree.
238 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

ities, as it has not been judged necessary, nor generally practicable,

to the particular
cite commentary that is especially used in each
instance.
Some remarks will be now added in which other authorities are
,

likewise employed, and chiefly the elementary works* mentioned

in the introduction of this essay.
The principal and essential tenets of the Veddnta are, that GOD
is the omniscient and omnipotent cause of the existence, continuance,

and dissolution of the universe. Creation is an act of his will. He

is both efficient and material cause of the world creator and na-
:

ture framer and frame, doer and deed. At the consummation of

,

all things, all are resolved into him: as the spider spins his thread
from his own substance and gathers it in again; as vegetables
sprout from the soil and return to it, earth to earth; as hair and
nails grow from a living body and continue with it. The supreme

being is one, sole-existent, secondless, entire, without parts, sem-

piternal, infinite, ineffable, invariable ruler of all, universal soul,
truth, wisdom, intelligence, happiness.
Individual souls, emanating from the supreme one, are likened to
innumerable sparks issuing from a blazing fire. From him they
proceed, and to him they return, being of the same essence. The
soul which governs the body together with its organs, neither is
born; nor does it die. It is a portion of the divine substance; and,
as such, infinite, immortal, intelligent, sentient, true.
It is governed by the supreme. Its activity is not of its essence,
but inductive through its organs: as an artisan, taking his tools,
labours and undergoes toil and pain, but laying them aside reposes ;

so is the soul active and a sufferer by means of its organs but,

, ;

divested of them and returning to the supreme one is at rest and

, ,

is
happy. It is not a free and independent agent, but made to act
by the supreme one, who causes it to do in one state as it had
purposed in a former condition. According to its predisposition for
good or evil, for enjoined or forbidden deeds, it is made to do good
or ill and thus it has retribution for previous works. Yet GOD is'
,

not author of evil for so it has been from eternity the series of
;
:

preceding forms and of dispositions manifested in them has been

infinite.
The soul is incased in body as in a sheath, or rather in a suc-
cession of sheaths. The first or inner case is the intellectual one
(vijnydnumaya): it is composed of the sheer (tan-mdtrd), or simple-
elements uucombined , and consists of the intellect (buddhi) joined
with the five senses.
The next is the mental (manomaya] sheath in which mind is
,

joined with the preceding. A

third 'sheath or case comprises the

sdra, Verfdnla-parib/ids/ui, &c.

 V^DA'NTA. 239

organs of action and the vital faculties, and is termed the organic
or vital case. These three sheaths (cusa) constitute the subtile
frame (siicshma-sarira or linga-sarirci) which attends the soul in its
transmigrations. The interior rudiment confined to the inner case
is the causal frame (cdrana-sarira).

The gross body (sChula-sarira) which it animates from birth to

death in any step of its transmigrations is composed of the coarse
,

elements, formed by combinations of the simple elements, in pro-

portions of four-eighths of the predominant and characteristic one
with an eighth of each of the other four: that is, the particles of
the several elements, being divisible, are, in the first place, split
into moieties; whereof one is subdivided into quarters; and the

remaining moiety combines with one part (a quarter of a moiety)

from each of the four others, thus constituting coarse or mixed ele-
ments. * The exterior case, composed of elements so combined, is
the nutrimentitious (tinnamaya) sheath; and being the scene of
coarse fruition is therefore termed the gross body.
The organic frame assimilates the combined elements recfived
in food, and secretes the finer particles and rejects the coarsest:
earth becomes flesh; water, blood; and inflammable substances
(oil or grease) marrow. The coarser particles of the two first are
.

excreted as feces and urine; those of the third are deposited in the
bones. The finer particles of the one nourish the mind of the ;

other, supply respiration; of the third, support speech.

Organized bodies are arranged by the Veddnlins in either four
or three classes: for both which arrangements the authority of pas-
sages of the Veda is cited. Their four classes are the same with
those of other writers; but the threefold division appears to be pe-
culiar to this school. It is, 1st, viviparous (jivaja), as man and qua-
drupeds; 2d, oviparous (undajii), as birds and insects; 3d, germini-
parous (udbhijja).** The latter, however, comprehends the two
terminating classes of the fourfold distribution, vermin and vege-
table; differing but as one sprouts from the earth, the other pullu-
lates from water: the one fixed, the other locomotive. To both,

equivocal and spontaneous generation, or propagation without union

of parents, is assigned.
The order in which the five elements are enumerated is that of
their development: 1st, the etherial element (dcdsa), which is deem-
ed a most subtile fluid, occupying all space and confounded with
vacancy; sound is its particular
quality. 2d. Wind (vdyu) or air ,

in motion:for mobility is its characteristic; sound and feel are

sensible in it. 3d. Fire or light (lejas) of which heat is the cha-
,

racteristic; and by which sound, and colour (or form) are

feel,
made manifest. 4th. Water (np), of which fluidity is characteristic;

* red. Sara. 136. ** &c. on Br. Sulr.

S'ANC., 3. 1. 3. (S. 2i.)
240 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

and inwhich sound, feel, colour, and taste occur. 5th. Earth (pri-
Chivi or anna) of which hardness is characteristic; and in which
,

sound, feel, colour, taste, and smell are discernible.

The notion of ether and wind as distinct elements an opinion ,

which this has in common with most of the other schools of Indian
philosophy, seems to originate in the assumption of mobility for the
essential character of the one. Hence air in motion has been dis-
tinguished from the aerial fluid at rest, which is dcdsu, supposed to
penetrate and pervade all worldly space; and, by an easy transition,
vdyu (wind) and motion, come to be identified, as dcdsu (ether) and
space likewise are confounded.
An organized body, in its most subtile state of tenuity, comprises
sixteen members (uvuyava) or corporeal parts viz. five organs of
,

sense, as many instruments of action, and the same number of vital

faculties to which are added mind (including intelligence, conscious-
;

ness, and sensation); or, distinguishing mind and intellect (buddhi)

as separate parts, the number is seventeen.
Tne vital faculties, termed vdyu, are not properly air or wind,
but vital functions or actions. Considered, however, with a refer-
ence to the proper meaning of that term, they are by some explained
to be, 1st, respiration, which is ascending and of which the seat is
the nostril; 2d, inspiration (or otherwise explained, flatus), which
is descending, and which issues from the lower
extremity of the
intestine; 3d,*flatuousness, which is diffused through the body, pass-
ing by all the veins and arteries; ith, expiration, ascending from
the throat; 5th, digestion, or abdominal air, of which the seat is the
middle of the body.
According to a different explanation, the first is respiration the ;

second, inspiration; the third, a mean between the two, pulsation,

palpitation , and other vital movements ;
the fourth is expiration ;

and the fifth is digestion.

Three states of the soul in respect of the body are recognized;
to which must be added a fourth, and even a fifth, viz. waking,
dreaming, profoundly sleeping, half-dead, and dead. While awake,
the soul, associated with body, is active under the guidance of pro-
vidence, and has to do with a real (pdramarthici) and practical
(yyavahdrici) creation. In a dream there is an illusory (mdydmayi)
and unreal creation: nevertheless, dreams prognosticate events.
is the mean (sandhyd) between
Dreaming sleeping and waking. In
profound sleep the soul is absent, having retired by the channel of
the arteries, and being as it were enfolded in the supreme deity. It
is not, however, blended with the divine essence, as a drop of water

fallen into a lake,where it becomes undistinguishable ; but, on the

contrary, the soul continues discriminate, and returns unchanged to
the body which it animates while awake. Swoon, or stupor, is
intermediate between sleep and death. During insensibility pro-
 V^DANTA. 241

duced by accident or disease, there is, as in profound sleep and

lethargy, a temporary absence of the soul. In death it has absolute-

its gross corporeal frame.
ly quitted
Subject to future transmigration, it visits other worlds, to receive
there the recompense of works or suffer the penalty of misdeeds.
Sinners fall to various regions of punishment, administered by CHI-
TRAGUPTA and other mythological persons in the realm of YAMA.
The virtuous rise to the moon where they enjoy the fruit of their
,

good actions and whence they return to this world to animate new
;

bodies, and act in them, under providence, conformably with their

propensities and predispositions, the trace of which remains.
The wise, liberated from worldly trammels, ascend yet higher, to
the abode and court of Brahme; or, if their attainment of wisdom
be complete, they at once pass into a re-union with the divine
essence.
Three degrees of liberation or deliverance (muctf) are distinguished:
one incorporeal, which is that last-mentioned, and is complete; an-
other imperfect, which is that before-mentioned, taking effect upon
demise when the soul passes to the highest heaven the abode of
, ,

Brahme. The third is effectual in life-time (Jivan-mucti), and enables

the possessor of it to perform supernatural actions; as evocation of
shades of progenitors, translation of himself into other bodies called
into existence by the mere force of his will instantaneous removal
,

to any place at his pleasure, and other wondrous performances.

These several degrees of deliverance are achieved by means of
certain sacrifices, as that of a horse (aswamedhci) or by religious
,

exercises in various prescribed modes, together with pious medi-

tation on the being and attributes of GOD but the highest degree
:

of it is attainable only by perfect knowledge of the divine nature,

and of the identity of GOD with that which emanated from him, or
was created of his substance and partakes of his essence.
Questions most recondite, which are agitated by theologians,
have engaged the attention of the Veddntins likewise, and have been
by them discussed at much length; such as free-will (swdtantrya\
divine grace (isrvara-prasddci), efficacy of works (carman) or of faith
(sraddhd\ and many other abstruse points.
On the last-mentioned topic, that of faith nothing will be found
,

in the text of BAD ARAYANA ,

and little in the gloss of S'ANCAKA. Its
paramount efficacy is a tenet of another branch of the Veddnta
school which follows the authority of the Bhagavad- gild. In that
,

work, as in many of the Purdnas^ passages relative to this topic

recur at every turn.
The fruit of works is the grand subject of the first Mimdnsd, which
treats of religious duties, sacrifices, and other observances.
The latter Mimdnsd more particularly maintains the doctrine of
divine grace. It treats of free-will, which it in effect denies; but

16
242 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

endeavours to reconcile the existence of moral evil under the go-

vernment of an all-wise all-powerful and benevolent providence,
, ,

with the absence of free-will by assuming the past eternity of the

,

universe, and the infinite renewals of worlds into which every in-
,

dividual being has brought the predispositions contracted by him in

earlier states, and so retrospectively without beginning or limit.
The notion, that the versatile world is an illusion (mdyii), that
all which passes to the apprehension of the waking individual is
but a phantasy presented to his imagination, and every seeming
thing is unreal and all is visionary, does not appear to be the doc-
trine of the text of the Veddnta. I have remarked nothing which
countenances it in the siilras of VYA'SA nor in the gloss of SANCARA,
but much concerning it in the minor commentaries and in elementary
treatises. I take it to be no tenet of the original Veddniin philosophy,
but of another branch, from which later writers have borrowed it,
and have intermixed and confounded the two systems. The doctrine
of the early Veddnla is complete and consistent, without this graft
of a later growth.
 X.

On the PHILOSOPHY of the HINDUS.

PART V.*

ON INDIAN SECTARIES.

[From the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. i. p. 549 -579.]

IN the present essay, it is my intention to treat of the heretical

systems of JINA and BUDDHA, as proposed in the first essay of this
series on the Philosophy of the Hindus and to notice certain other
;

Indian sects, which, like them, exhibit some analogy to the San-
c'hyas, or followers of CAPILA or of PATANJALI.
Thetheological or metaphysical opinions of those sectaries,
apart from and exclusive of mythology and ritual ceremonies, may
be not inaptly considered as a branch of philosophy, though con-
stituting the essense of their religion, comprehending not only their
belief as to the divinity and a future
state, but also certain obser-
vances to be practised in furtherance of the prescribed means for
attaining perpetual bliss : which here as with most other sects of
,

Indian origin, is the meed proposed for true and perfect knowledge
of first
principles.
The Jainas and
Bauddhas I consider to have been originally
Hindus;** and the first-mentioned to be so still, because they re-

cognised as they yet do the distinction of the four castes. It is

, ,

true, that in HindusChdn , if not in the peninsula of India likewise,

the Jainas are all of one caste: but this is accounted for by the ad-
mission of their adversaries (CUMA'RILA BHATTA, &c.), who affirm
that they are misguided cshatriyas (Hindus of the second or military
tribe) they call themselves vaisyas. On renouncing the heresies
:

of the Jaina sect, they take their place among orthodox Hindus, as
belonging to a particular caste (cshatriya or vaisya). The represen-
tative of the great family of JAGAT S'ET'H, who with many of his kin-

* Read at a
public meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society, Febr. 3, 1827.
** As.
Res., vol. ix. p. 288.
16*
244 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

dred was converted some years ago from the Jaina to the orthodox
faith, is a conspicuous instance. Such would not be the case of a
convert, who has not already caste as a Hindu.
Both religions of JINA and BUDDHA are, in the view of the Hindu,
who reveres the Veda as a divine revelation, completely heterodox ;

and that more on account of their heresy in denying its divine origin,
than for their deviation from its doctrine. Other sects, as the San-
tfhyas and Vaiseshicas, though not orthodox, do not openly disclaim
the authority of the Veda. They endeavour to reconcile their doc-
trine to the text of the Indian scripture, and refer to passages which

they interpret as countenancing their opinions. Theitflman&z, which

professedly follows the Veda implicitly, is therefore applied, in its
controversy with these half-heretics, to the confutation of such mis-
interpretations. It refutes an erroneous construction rather than a
,

mistaken train of reasoning. But the Jainas and Bauddhas, disavow-

ing the Veda, are oat of the pale of the Hindu church in its most
comprehensive range and the Mimdnsd (practical as well as theo-
;

logical) in controversy with these infidels, for so it deems them,

argues upon general grounds of reasoning independent of authority,
to which would he vain to appeal.
it

The mimdnsd devotes two sections (adhicaranas) to the con-

Uttara
futation of the Bauddhas and one to that of the Jainas. Th.ey are
,

the 4th, 5th, and 6th sections in the 2d chapter of the 2d lecture;
and it proceeds in the same controversial chapter to confute the
Pdsupatas and other branches of the Mdheswara sect; and the Pan-
chardlra, a branch of the Vaishnava. The Chdrvdcas are alluded to
incidentally in a very important section concerning the distinction
of body and soul, in the 3d chapter of the 3d lecture ( 30). In the
Piirva mimdnsd, controversy ismore scattered; recurring in various
places, under divers heads : but especially in the 3d chapter of the
first book ( 4).
The Sdnc'hya of CAPILA devotes a whole chapter to controversy ;

and notices the sect of Buddha, under the designation of Ndslicas;

and in one place animadverts on the Pdsupatas: and in another, on
the Chdrvdcas.
It is from these and similar controversial disquisitions, more than
from direct sources, that I derive the information, upon which the
following account of the philosophy of Jainas and Bauddhas, as well
as of the Chdrvdcas, Pdsupatas and Pdnchardlras is grounded.
,
A
good collection of original works by writers of their own persuasion,
whether in the Sanscrit language or in Prdcril or Pali, the language
of the Jainas and that of the Bauddhas, is not at hand to be con-
sulted. But, although the information be furnished by their ad-
versaries and even inveterate enemies, it appears, so far as I have
any opportunity of comparing it with their own representations,
essentially correct.
 245

SECT OF JINA.

The Jainas or Arhatas , followers of JINA or ARHAT (terms of like

import), are also denominated Vivasanas, Muctavasanas, Mucldmbaras

or Digambaras, with reference to the nakedness of the rigid order
of ascetics in this sect, who go "bare of clothing," "disrobed," or
" clad " The less strict order of 'Stve'tdm-
by the regions of space.
baras* "clad in white," is of more modern date and of inferior note.
Among nicknames by which they are known that of Lunchita-cesa
,

occurs. It alludes to the practice of abruptly eradicating hair of

the head or body by way of mortification. PA'RS'WANAT'HA is des-
cribed as tearing five handfuls of hair from his head on becoming
a devotee.**
According to the Digambara Jainas the universe consists of two
,

classes, "animate" and "inanimate" (jiva and ajiva), without a crea-

tor or ruling providence (isrvara). *** They assign for the cause
(cdrana) of the world, atoms, which they do not, as the Vaiseshicas,
distinguish into so many, sorts as there are elements, but consider
these, viz. earth, water, fire, and air, the four elements by them ad-
mitted, as modified compounds of homogeneous atoms.
These gymnosophists distinguish, as already intimated, two chief
categories: 1st, Jiva, intelligent and sentient soul (chaitana dlmd or
bodhdtmd) endued with body and consequently composed of parts;
eternal: 2d, Ajiva, all that is not a living soul; that is, the whole
of (jafld) inanimate and unsentient substance. The one is the ob-
ject of fruition, being that which is to be enjoyed (bhogya) by the
soul; the other is the enjoyer (bhoctd) or agent in fruition; soul itself.
This second comprehensive predicament admits a six-fold sub-
division and the entire number of categories (paddrfha) as distin-
; ,

guished with reference to the ultimate great object of the soul's de-
liverance, is consequently seven, f
I. Jiva or soul, as before-mentioned, comprising three descriptions :

1st, nilya-siddha,
ever perfect, or yoga-siddha perfect by profound
,

abstraction; for instance, Arhals or Jinas, the deified saints of the

sect: 2d, mucli or muctdlmd, a soul which is free or liberated; its
deliverance having been accomplished through the strict observ-
ance of the precepts of the Jinas : 3d, baddha or baddhdtmd, a soul
which is bound, being in any stage antecedent to deliverance; re-

maining yet fettered by deeds or works (carma).

II. Ajiva taken in a restricted sense. It comprehends the four

elements, earth, water, fire, and air; and all which is fixed (sfhd-
vara) as mountains, or moveable (jangama) as rivers, &c. In a

* Transact, of the
Eoy. Asiat. Soc., vol. i. p. -116.
** Ibid. *** RAMAM-JA on Br. Suit:
p. 433.
f SANCARA and other commentators on Br. Sittr., and annotators on their
gloss.
246 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

different arrangement, to be hereafter noticed, this category is

termed Pudgala matter.
Ill VII. The five remaining categories are distributed into two
classes, that which is to be effected (sddhya) and the means thereof
(sddhand) one comprising two, and the other three divisions. What
:

may be effected (sddhya) is either liberation or confinement both :

of which will be noticed further on. The three efficient means (sd-
dhana) are as follow :

III. Asrava is that which directs the embodied spirit (dsravayali

purusham) towards external objects. It is the occupation or employ-

ment (vrilti or pravrilli) of the senses or organs on sensible objects.
Through the means of the senses it affects the embodied spirit with
the sentiment of taction, colour, smell, and taste.
Or it is the association or connexion of body with right and
wrong deeds. It comprises all the carmas: for they (dsravayanii)
pervade influence and attend the doer, following him or attaching
, ,

to him.
It is a misdirection (mifhyd-pravritli) of the organs for it is vain,
:

as cause of disappointment, rendering the organs of sense and sen-

sible objects subservient to fruition.
IV. Samvara is that which stops (samvritwlt) the course of the
foregoing; or closes up the door or passage of it: and consists in
self-command, or restraint of organs internal and external embrac- :

ing all means of self-control, and subjection of the senses, calming

and subduing them.
It is the right direction (samyac pravritti) of the organs.

V. Nirjara is that which utterly and entirely (nir) wears and

antiquates (jarayatf) all sin previously incurred, and the whole effect
of works or deeds (carma). It consists chiefly in mortification (lapas):
such as fasts, rigorous silence, standing upon heated stones, pluck-
ing out the hair by the roots, &c.
This is discriminated from the two preceding, as neither mis-
direction nor right direction, but non- direction (apravrilli) of the
organs towards sensible objects.
VI. Baddha is that which binds (badhndli) the embodied spirit.
It is confinement and connexion, or association, of the soul with
deeds. It consists in a succession of births and deaths as the result
of works (carman).
VII. Mocsha is liberation; or deliverance of the soul from flie

fetters of works. It is the state of a soul in which knowledge and

other requisites are developed.
Relieved from the bondage of deeds through means taught by
holy ordinances, it takes effect on the soul by the grace of the ever-
perfect ARHAT Or JINA.
Or liberation is continual ascent. The soul has a buoyancy or
 SECT OP JINA. 247

natural tendency upwards, but is kept down by corporeal trammels.

When freed from them, it rises to the region of the liberated.
Long immersed in corporeal restraint, but released from it; as a
bird let loose from a cage, plunging into water to wash off the dirt
with which it was stained, and drying its, pinions in the sunshine,
soars aloft; so does the soul, released from long confinement, soar
high, never to return.
Liberation then is the condition of a soul clear of all impediments.
It is attained by right knowledge, doctrine and observances: and
is a result of the unrestrained operation of the soul's natural ten-
dency, when passions and every other obstacle are removed.
Works or deeds (for so the term carman signifies, though several
among those enumerated be neither acts nor the effect of action)
are reckoned eiglit ; and are distributed into two classes, comprising
four each the first ghdlin mischievous and usddhn impure as
:
, , , , ,

marring deliverance the second aghdlin harmless or scidhu pure,

:
, , ,

as opposing no obstacle to liberation.

I. In the first set is :

Jnydna varaniya, the erroneous notion that knowledge is in-

1st.
effectual that liberation does not result from a perfect acquaintance
;

with true principles; and that such science does not produce final
deliverance.
2d. Darsana varaniya, the error of believing that deliverance is not
attainableby study of the doctrine of the Arhals or Jinas.
3d. Mohaniya, doubt and hesitation as to particular selection
among the many irresistible and infallible ways taught by the Tir-
fhancarns or Jinas.
4th. Antardya, interference, or obstruction offered to those engaged
in seeking deliverance and consequent prevention of their accom-
,

plishment of it.
II. The second contains:
1st. Vedamya, individual consciousness: reflection that "I am
"
capable of attaining deliverance.
2d. Ndmica, individual consciousness of an appellation reflection :

that "I bear this name."

3d. Gotrica, consciousness of race or lineage; reflection that "I
am descendant of a certain disciple of JINA native of a certain
,

province."
4th. Ayushca, association or connexion with the body or person:
that, (as the etymology of the term denotes), which proclaims (cdyate)
age (dyusti), or duration of life.
Otherwise interpreted, the four carmas of this second set, taken
in the inverse order, beginning with dyushca, import pro-
that is,

creation, and subsequent progress in the formation of the person or

body Avherein deliverance is attainable by the soul which animates
it: for it is by connexion with white or immaculate matter that final
248 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

liberation canbe accomplished. I shall not dwell on the particular

explanation respectively of these four carmas, taken in this sense.
Another arrangement, which likewise has special reference to
final deliverance, is taught in a five-fold distribution of the pre-
dicaments or categories* (asticdya). The word here referred to is ,

explained as signifying a substance commonly occurring; or a term

of general import; or (conformably with its etymology), that of
Avhich it is said (cayale] that "it is" (asti): in other words, that of
which existence is predicated.
I. The jivdslicdya : the predicament, life or soul.
first is It is, as
before noticed, either bound, liberated, or ever-perfect.
II. Pudgaldsticdyci: the predicament, matter: comprehending all
bodies composed of atoms. It is sixfold, comprising the four ele-
ments, and all sensible objects, fixed or moveable. It is the same
with the ajiva or second of the seven categories enumerated in an
arrangement before-noticed.
III. Dharmdsticdya: the predicament, virtue; inferrible from a

right direction of the organs. Dharma is explained as a substance

or thing (dravya) from which may be concluded, as its effect, the
soul's ascent to the region above.
IV. Adharmdsticdya : the predicament, vice: or the reverse of the
foregoing. Adharma is that which causes the soul to continue em-
barrassed with body, notwithstanding its capacity for ascent and
natural tendency to soar.
V. Acdsdslicdya : the predicament dcdsa, of which there are two,
Locdcdsa and Alocdcdsa.
1. Locdcdsa is the abode of the bound: a worldly region, consist-

ing of divers tiers, one above the other, wherein dwell successive
orders of beings unliberated.
2. Alocdcdsa is the abode of the liberated, above all worlds (Ideas]

or mundane beings. Here dcdsa implies that, whence there is no

return.
The Jaina gyrnnosbphists arc also cited* for an arrangement which
enumerates six substances (dravya) as constituting the world viz. :

1. Jiva, the soul.

2. Dharma, virtue; a particular substance pervading the world,
and causing the soul's ascent.
3. Adharma, vice; pervading the world, and causing the soul's
continuance with body.
4. Pudgala, matter; substance having colour, odour, savour, and

tactility; as wind, fire, water, and

earth: either atoms, or aggre-

gates of atoms; individual body, collective worlds, &c.

5. (7a/a, time a particular substance, which is practically treated,
:

as past, present, and future.

*
KA'MANUJA on the Br. Sulr.
 SECT OF JINA. 249

Acdsa, a region, one, and infinite.

6.
Toreconcile the concurrence of opposite qualities in the same
subject at different times, and in different substances at the same
times the Jainas assume seven cases deemed by them apposite for
,

obviating the difficulty (bhanga-nayci) 1st. May be, it is [somehow,

:
;

insome measure, it so is]: 2d. May be, it is not: 3d. May be, it is,

and it is not [successively]: 4th. May be, not predicable; [op-

it is

posite qualities co-existing]: 5th. The first and fourth of these taken
together: may be it is, and yet not predicable: 6th. The second and
fourth combined: may be it is not, and not predicable; 7th. The
third (or the first and second) and the fourth, united may be it is :

and it is not, and not predicable.

This notion is selected for confutation by the Veddntins-, to show
the futility of the Jaina doctrine. 'It is,' they observe, 'doubt or
surmise, not certainty nor knowledge. Opposite qualities cannot
co-exist in the same subject. Predicaments are not unpredicable :

they are not to be affirmed if not affirmable but they either do :

exist or do not; and if they do, they are to be affirmed: to say

that a thing is and is not, is as incoherent as a madman's talk or an
idiot's babble. *
'

Another point, selected by the Veddntins for animadversion is ,

the position, that the soul and body agree in dimensions. ** 'In a
different stage of growth of body or of transmigration of soul, they
would not be conformable :
passing from the human condition to
that of an ant or of an elephant, the soul would be too big or too
little for the new
body animated by it. If it be augmented or dimi-
nished by accession or secession of parts, to suit either the change
of person or corporeal growth between infancy and puberty, then
it .is variable, and, of course, is not
perpetual. If its dimensions be
such as it ultimately retains, when released from body, then it has
been uniformly such in its original and intermediate associations
with corporeal frames. If it yet be of a finite magnitude, it"is not
ubiquitary and eternal.
'

The doctrine of atoms which the Jainas have in common with

,

the Bauddhas and the Vaiseshicas (followers of CANA'DE) is contro-

verted by the Veddntins.*** The train of reasoning is to the fol-
lowing effect: 'Inherent qualities of the cause,' the Vaiseshicas and
the rest argue, 'give origin to the like qualities in the effect, as
white yarn makes white cloth were a thinking being the world's
:

cause, it would be endued with thought.' The answer is, that ac-
cording to CANADE himself, substances great and long result from
atoms minute and short: like qualities then are not always found
in the cause and in tlie effect.

* S'ANC. on Br. Suit: 2. 2. ** Ib. S. 34

6. (S. 33.) 30.
*** Ibid. 2. and
2. 2. 3. (S. 1117.)
250 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

'The whole world, with its mountains, seas, &c. consists of sub-
,

stances composed of parts disposed to union as cloth is wove of a

:

multitude of threads. The utmost sub-division of compound sub-

stances pursued to the last degree arrives at the atom which is
, , ,

eternal ,
and such atoms which are the elements,
being simple :
,

earth, water, fire, and air, become the world's cause, according to
CANA'DE for there can be no effect without a cause. When they
:

are actually and universally separated, dissolution of the world has

taken place. At its renovation, atoms concur by an unseen virtue,
which occasions action: and they form double atoms, and so on, to
constitute air; then fire; next water; and afterwards earth; sub-
sequently body with its organs; and ultimately this whole world.
The concurrence of atoms arises from action (whether of one or
both) which must have a cause: that cause, alleged to be an un-
seen virtue, cannot be insensible; for an insensible cause cannot
incite action: nor canit be
design, for a being capable of design is
not yet existent, coming later in the progress of creation. Either
way, then, no action can be consequently no union or disunion of
;

atoms; and these, therefore, are not the cause of the world's forma-
tion or dissolution.
'Eternal atoms and transitory double atoms differ utterly; and
union of discordant principles cannot take place. If aggregation
be assumed as a reason of their union, still the aggregate and its
integrants are utterly different; and an intimate relation is further
to be sought, as a reason for the aggregation. Even this assumption
therefore fails.
'Atoms must be essentially active or inactive: were they essen-
tially active, creation would be perpetual; if essentially inactive,
dissolution would be constant.'
'Eternity of causeless atoms is incompatible with properties as-
cribed to them; colour, taste, smell, and tactility: for things pos-
sessing such qualities are seen to be coarse and transient. Earth,
endued with those four properties, is gross; water, possessing three,
is less so; fire, having two, is still less; and air, with one, is fine.

Whether the same be admitted or denied in respect of atoms, the

argument is either way confuted: earthy particles, coarser than
aerial, would not be minute in the utmost degree; or atoms possess-
ing but a single property, would not be like their effects possessing
several.
'The doctrine of atoms is to be utterly rejected, having been by
no venerable persons received, as the Sdnc'hya doctrine of matter,
a plastic principle, has been, in part, by MENU and other sages.'*
Points, on which the sectaries differ from the orthodox, rather
than those on which they conform are the subjects of the present
,

*
SANC., &c. on Br. Sulr. 2. 2. 3. (S. 17.)
 SECT OF JINA. 251

treatise. On one point of conformity, however, it may be right to

offera brief remark, as it is one on which the Jamas appear to lay
particular stress. It concerns the transmigration of the soul, whose
destiny is especially governed by the dying thoughts or fancies ,

* The Vedas ** in
entertaining at the moment of dissolution. .like ,

manner, teach that the thoughts, inclinations, and resolves of man,

and such peculiarly as predominate in his dying moments, deter-
mine the future character, and regulate the subsequent place, in
transmigration. As was his thought in one body, such he becomes
in another, into which he accordingly passes.

SECT OF BUDDHA.

The Bauddhas or Saugalas, followers of BUDDHA

or SUGATA (terms
of the same import, and corresponding JINA or ARHAT) are also
to
called Miicla-cacJiha alluding to a peculiarity of dress, apparently
,

a habit of wearing the hem of the lower garment untucked. They

are not unfrequently cited by their adversaries as (Ndsticas) atheists,
or rather, disowners of another world.
BUDDHA MUNI, so he is reverently named by the opponents of
his religious system, is the reputed author of siilras,*** constituting
a body of doctrine termed dgama ovsdstra, words which convey a
notion of authority and holiness. The BUDDHA here intended is ,

no doubt the last, who is distinguished by the names of GAUTAMA

and SA'CYA, among other appellations.
Either from diversity of instruction delivered by him to his dis-
ciples at various times, or rather from- different constructions of the
same text, more or less literal, and varying with the degree of sa-
gacity of the disciple, have arisen no less than four sects among the
followers of BUDDHA. Commentators of the Veddnta, giving an ac-
count of this schism of the Bauddhas, do not agree in applying the
scale of intellect to these divisions of the entire sect, some attribut-
ing to acuteness or superior intelligence that which others ascribe
,

to simplicity or inferior understanding.

Without regarding, therefore, that scale, the distinguishing tenets
of each branch of the sect may be thus stated. Some maintain
that all is void, (sarva simya) following, as it seems, a literal inter-
pretation of BUDDHA'S sulras. To these the designation of Md-
dhyamica is assigned by several of the commentators of the Veddnla :

and in the marginal notes of one

commentary, they are identified
with the Chdrvdcas: but that is an error.
Other disciples of BUDDHA except internal sensation or intelli-

* See Transact, of the

Roy. Asiat Soc., vol. i.
p. 437.
* Br.Sutr. 1. 2. 1.
***
Quotations from them in the Sanscrit language occur in commentaries
on the Veddnta: (the Bhdmati on Br. Sulr. 2. 2. 19.)
252 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

gence (vijnydna) and acknowledge all else to be void. They main-

tain the eternal existence of conscious sense alone. These are
called Yogdchdras.

Others, again, affirm the actual existence of external objects, no

less than of internal sensations: considering external as perceived
by senses; and internal as inferred by reasoning.
Some of them recognise the immediate perception of exterior
objects. Others contend for a mediate apprehension of them,
through images, or resembling forms, presented to the intellect: ob-
jects they insist are inferred, but not actually perceived. Hence
two branches of the sect of BUDDHA one denominated Saulrdntica
: ;

the other Vaibhdshica.

As these, however, have many tenets in common, they may be
conveniently considered together; and are so treated of by the
scholiasts of VYASA'S Brahme-sulras : understanding one adhicarana
(the 4th of the 2d chapter in the 2d lecture) to be directed against
these two sects of Buddhists and the next the following one (2. 2.
:

5.) to be addressed to the Yogdchdras; serving, however, likewise

for the confutation of the advocates of an universal void. *

The Saulrdntica and Vaibhdshica sects, admitting then external

(bdhyd) and internal (abhyantara) objects, distinguish, under the first
head, elements (bhula] and that which appertains thereto (bhautica\
namely, organs and sensible qualities; and under the second head,
intelligence (chilia), and that which unto it belongs (chaitla).
The elements (bhitta or mahdbhutd) which they reckon four, not
acknowledging a fifth, consist of atoms. The Bauddhas do not, with
the followers of CANADE, affirm double atoms, triple, quadruple, &c.
as the early gradations of composition; but maintain indefinite
atomic aggregation, deeming compound substances to be conjoint
primary atoms.
Earth, they say, has the nature or peculiar character of hardness;
water, that of fluidity; fire, that of heat; and air, that of mobility.
Terrene atoms are hard; aqueous, liquid; igneous, hot; aerial,
mobile. Aggregates of these atoms partake of those distinct charac-
ters. One authority, however, states, that they attribute to terrene
atoms the characters of colour, savour, odour, and tactility; to aque-

* This schism the Bauddhas, splitting into four sects, is anterior

among
to the age of S'ANCARAACHARYA who expressly notices all the four. It had
,

commenced before the composition of the Brahme-sittras and consequently

,

before the days of S'ABARA SWAMI and CUMAHILA BHATTA; since two, at the
least, of those sects, are separately confuted. All of them appear to have
been indiscriminately persecuted, when the Bauddhas of every denomination
were expelled from HindusChrin and the peninsula. Whether the same sects
yet subsist among the Bauddhas of Ceylon Thibet and the trans-gangetic
, ,

India, and in China, deserves inquiry.

 SECT OF BUDDHA. 253

ous, colour, savour, and tactility; to igneous, both colour and tac-

tility;to aerial, tactility only.*

The Bauddhas do not recognise a fifth element dcdsa nor any, ,

substance so designated; nor soul (jiva or cilman) distinct from in-

telligence (chitla) nor any thing irreducible to the four categories
;

above-mentioned.
Bodies, which are objects of sense, are aggregates of atoms, being
composed of earth and other elements. Intelligence, dwelling with-
in body, and possessing individual consciousness, apprehends ob-

jects, and subsists as self; and, in that view only, is (dlmari) self or
soul.

Things appertaining to the elements, (bhautica,) the second of the

predicaments, are organs of sense, together with their objects, as
rivers, mountains, &c. They are composed of atoms. This world,
every thing which is therein, all which consists of component partsj
must be atomical aggregations. They are external and are per- ;

ceived by means of organs, the eye, the ear, &c., which likewise
are atomical conjuncts.
Images or representations of exterior objects are produced and ;

by perception of such images or representations, objects are appre-

hended. Such is the doctrine of the Saulrdnlicas upon this point.
But the Vaibhdshicas acknowledge the direct perception of exterior
objects. Both think, that objects cease to exist when no longer per-
ceived: they have but a brief duration, like a flash of lightning,
lasting no longer than the perception of them. Their identity, then,
is but
momentary the atoms or component parts are scattered and
; ;

the aggregation or concourse was but instantaneous.

Hence these Buddhists are by their adversaries, the orthodox
Hindus, designated as Purna or Sarva-vaindsicas , 'arguing total
perishableness;' while the followers of CANADE, who acknowledge
some of their categories to be eternal and invariable and reckon ,

only others transitory and changeable; and who insist that identity
ceases with any variation in the composition of a body, and that a
corporeal frame, receiving nutriment and discharging excretions,
undergoes continual change, and consequent early loss of identity,
are for that particular opinion, called Ardha-vaindsicas 'arguing ,

'

half-perishableness.
The second head of the arrangement before-mentioned, compris-
ing internal objects viz. intelligence., and that which to it apper-
,

tains, is again distributed into five scandhas, as follow :

1st. Eupa-scandha; comprehending organs of sense and their ob-

jects considered in relation to the person, or the sensitive and in-

telligent faculty which is occupied with them. Colours and other
sensible qualities and things are external; and, as such, are classed

* RAMANCJA on Br. Sutr.

254 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

under the second division of the first head (bhaulica), appurtenance

of elements :
but, as objects of sensation and knowledge, they are
deemed internal, and therefore recur under the present head.
2d. Vijnydna-scandha consists in intelligence (chilla), which is
the same with self (dlman) and (yijnyana) knowledge. It is con-
sciousness of sensation, or continuous course and flow of cognition
and sentiment. There is not any other agent, nor being which
acts and enjoys; nor is there an eternal soul: but merely succession
of thought, attended with individual consciousness abiding within
body.
3d. Vedand-scandha comprises pleasure, pain, or the absence of
either, and other sentiments excited in the mind by pleasing or dis-
pleasing objects.
4th. Sanjnyd-scandha intends the knowledge or belief arising from
names or words as ox, horse, &c. or from indications or signs, as
:
;

a house denoted by a flag; and a man by his staff.

5th. Sanscdra-scandha includes passions; as desire, hatred, fear,

joy, sorrow, &c., together with illusion, virtue, vice, and every other
modification of the fancy or imagination. All sentiments are mo-
mentary.
The second of these five scandhas is the same with the first divi-
sion of the second general head chilla or intelligence. The rest
, ,

are comprehended under the second head, chaillica, appurtenance of

intellect; and under the larger designation of ddhydtmica, belonging
to (dtmari) self. The latter term, in its most extensive sense, includes
all the five scandhas, or branches, moral and personal.
The seeming but unreal course of events or worldly succession,
,

external and mental or physical and moral is described as a con-

, ,

catenation of causes and effects in a continual round.

Concerning the relation of cause and effect, it is to be premised
that proximate cause (helii) and concurrent occasion (pralyayci) are
distinguished: and the distinction is thus illustrated in respect of
both classes, external and personal.
From seed comes a germ; from this a branch; then a culm or
stem; whence a leafy gem; out of which a bud; from which a
blossom and thence, finally, fruit. Where one is, the other ensues.
;

Yet the seed is not conscious of producing the germ nor is this ;

aware of coming from seed and hence is inferred production with-

;

out a thinking cause, and without a ruling providence.

Again, earth furnishes solidity to the seed, and coherence to the
germ; water moistens the grain; fire warms and matures it; air or
wind supplies impulse to vegetation; ether expands the seed;* and
season transmutes it.
By concurrence of all these, seed vegetates,

* So the commentaries on s ANGARA

(the Bhdmali, Abharana, and Prabhd).
But the fifth element is not acknowledged by the Bauddhas.
 SECT OF BUDDHA. 255

and a sprout grows. Yet earth and the rest of these concurrent
occasions arc unconscious and so are the seed, germ, and the rest
;

of the effects.
Likewise, in the moral world, where ignorance or error is, there
is passion: where error is not, neither is passion there. But they
are unconscious of mutual relation.
Again, earth furnishes solidity to the bodily frame; water affords
to it moisture; fire supplies heat; wind causes inspiration; ether
occasions cavities * sentiment gives corporeal impulse and mental
;

incitement. Then follows error, passion, &c.

Ignorance (avidyd) or error is the mistake of supposing that to
,

be durable, which is but momentary. Thence comes passion (san-

scdrci), comprising desire, aversion, delusion, &c. From these, con-
curring in the embryo with paternal seed and uterine blood, arises
sentiment (vijnydna) or incipient consciousness. From concurrence
of this with parental seed and blood comes the rudiment of body ;
,

its flesh and blood; its name (ndmari) and shape (rupa). Thence
the (shatl- ay alana) , sites of six organs, or seats of the senses, con-
sisting of sentiment, elements, (earth, &c.), name and shape (or
body), in relation to him whose organs they are. Fron coincidence
and conjunction of organs with name and shape (that is, with body)
there is feeling (sparsd) or experience of heat or cold, &c. felt by
the embryo or embodied being. Thence is sensation (yedana) of
pain, pleasure, &c. Follows thirst (trtshna) or longing for renewal
of pleasurable feeling and desire to shun that which is painful.

Hence is (itpdddnci) effort, or exertion of body or speech. From

this is (bhava) condition of (dharma) merit, or (adharma) demerit.
Thence comes birth (Jdlt) or aggregation of the five branches (scan-
**
The
dhas). maturity of those five branches is (jar a) decay. Their
dissolution is (marana) death. Regret of a dying person is (soca)
grief. Wailing (paridevand) lamentation.
is Experience of that
which is disagreeable is (duhc'ha) pain or bodily suffrance. But
mental pain is (daurmanasya)
discomposure of mind. Upon death
ensues departure to another world. That is followed by return to
this world. And the course of error, with its train of consequences,
recommences. ***
Besides these matters which have a real existence but moment-
,

ary duration the Bauddhas distinguish under the category and

,

name of (nirupa) unreal, false, or nonexistent, three topics: 1st, wil-

ful and observable destruction (pralisanc'hya-nirodha} of an existing

* See the
preceding note.
** One
commentary of the Veddnta (viz. the Abharana) explains l/tava as
,

corporeal birth; and jdli genus, kind. Other differences among the Vetldnlin
writers, on various minor points of the Buddhist doctrine, are passed over to
avoid tedionsness.
*** S'AHC
., VACH., &c. on Br. Sulr. 2. 2. (S. 19.)
256 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

thing, as the breaking of a jar by a stroke of a mallet; 2d, unob-

served nullity or annihilation (apraiisanc'hya-nin'xlha); and 3d, va-
cancy or space (dcdsci) unencompassed and unshielded or the ima- ,

ginary ethereal element.

The whole of this doctrine is formally refuted by the Vedantins.
'The entire aggregate, referred to two sources, external and internal,
cannot be; nor the world's course dependent thereon: for the
members of it are insensible; and its very existence is made to de-
pend on the flash of thought; yet no other thinking permanent being
isacknowledged, accumulating that aggregate, directing it, or en-
is there an inducement to
joying; nor activity without a purpose,
and merely momentary.
'
Nor is the alleged concatenation of events admissible : for there
is no reason of it. Their existence depends on that of the aggre-
gate of which they are alleged to be severally causes. The ob-
jections to the notion of eternal atoms with beings to enjoy, are yet
more forcible against momentary atoms with none to enjoy. The
various matters enumerated as successive causes do not account ,

for the sum of sensible objects. Nor can they, being but momentary,
be the causes of effects for the moment of the one's duration has
:

ceased, before that of the other's existence commences. Being then

a non-entity, it can be no cause. Nor does one last till the other
begins, for then they would be contemporaneous.
'The ethereal element (dcdsa) is not a non-entity: for its exist-
ence is inferrible from sound.
Nor is self or soul momentary: memory and recollection prove
'

it: and there is no doubt nor error herein for the individual is con-
;

scious that he is the same who to-day remembers what he yester-

day saw.
'Nor can entity be an effect of non-entity. If the one might come
of the other, then might an effect accrue to a stranger without effort
on his part: a husbandman would have a crop of corn without til-
ling and sowing; a potter would have ajar without moulding the
clay; a weaver would have cloth without weaving the yarn: nor
would any one strive for heavenly bliss or eternal deliverance.' *
To confute another branch of the sect of BUDDHA, the Veddnlins
argue, that 'the untruth or non-existence of external objects is an
untenable position; for there is perception or apprehension of them:
for instance, a stock, a wall, a jar, a cloth and that, which actually
;

is
apprehended, cannot be unexistent. Nor does the existence of
objects cease when the apprehension does so. Nor is it like a
dream, a juggle, or an illusion; for the condition of dreaming and
waking is quite different. When awake a person is aware of the
illusory nature of the dream which he recollects.

* SANG, and other Com. on Br. Sitlr. 2. 2. 4. (S. 1827.)

 SECT OF BUDDHA. 257

'Nor have thoughts or fancies an independent existence: for

they are founded on external and sensible objects, the which, if
unapprehended, imply that thoughts must be so too. These are
momentary: and the same objections apply to a world consisting of
momentary thoughts, as to one of instantaneous objects.
'The whole doctrine, when tried and sifted, crumbles like a well
sunk in loose sand. The opinions advanced in it are contradic-
tory andincompatible :
they are severally untenable and in-
congruous. By teaching them to his disciples, BUDDHA has mani-
fested either his own absurdity and incoherence, or his rooted en-
mity to mankind, whom he sought to delude.'*
A few observations on the analogy of the doctrine, above ex-
plained, to the Grecian philosophy, may not be here out of place.
It has been already remarked, in former essays, that the Baud-
dhas like the Vaiseshicas, admit but two sources of knowledge (p.
,

194 of this volume). Such likewise appears to have been the

opinion of the more ancient Greek philosophers; especially the Py-
thagoreans: and accordingly OCELLUS, in the beginning of his trea-
tise on the universe, declares that he has written such things, con-

cerning the nature of the universe, as he learned from nature itself

by manifest signs, and conjectured as" probable, by thought through
reasoning: thereby intimating, as is remarked by his annotator, that
the means of knowledge are two.**
Concerning the atomic doctrine, maintained not only by the Vai-
seshicas, or followers of CANA'DE, surnamed CA'S'YAPA ,
*** but
by the
sect of BUDDHA, and likewise by several others as well heterodox
as orthodox, no person needs to be told, that a similar doctrine was
maintained by many among the ancient Greek philosophers; and
in particular by Leucippus (if not previously by Moschus), and
after him by Democritus; and likewise by Empedocles, who was of
the Pythagorean school. They disagreed, as the Indian philoso-
phers likewise do respecting the number of elements or different
,

kinds of atoms. Empedocles admitted five, developed in the follow-

ing order ether fire earth water and air. Here we have the
:
, , , ,

five elements (bhutd) of the Hindus , including dcdsa. The great

* Com. on Br. Sutr. 2. 2. 5.

(S. 2832.)
**
Opusc. mytholog. phys. et eth. p. 503.
*** A remark
may be here made which was omitted in its proper place
,

(Part 2 of this essay) that the followers of the atomic sect are sometimes
,

contumeliously designated by their orthodox opponents as Cdnabhuj (a) or

,

Cdnabhacsha in allusion to the founder's name. Cdna signifies a crow; and

,

the import of Cdna-bhuj synonymous with Cdndd, is crow-eater (cdna ad).

,

The original name, however, is derivable from cana little, (with ad to eat, or
add to receive) implying abstemiousness or disinterestedness of the person
bearing the name. Conformably with the first of those derivations CA.V.U>K ,

himself is sometimes called Canabhacsha or Cunahhuj.

(a) SANC. on Br. Sutr. 2. 3. 12. (S. 18.)

17
258 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

multitude of philosophershowever, restricted the number of ele-

,

ments which respect they agree with the Jamas, Baud-

to four; in
dhas Chdrvdcas and some other sectaries, who reject the fifth ele-
,

ment affirmed by the Hindus in general, and especially by the

orthodox.
In published accounts of the religious opinions of Bauddhas and
Jainas, derived principally from oral information, doubts have been
expressed as to the sense attached by them to the term which they
use to signify the happy state at which the perfect saints arrive.
It has been questioned whether annihilation, or what other condition
short of such absolute extinction, is meant to be described.
Both these sects, like most others of Indian origin, propose, for
the grand object to which man should aspire, the attainment of a
final happy state, from which there is no return.
All concur in assigning to its attainment the same term, mucli or
mocsha, with some shades of difference in the interpretation of the
word: as emancipation, deliverance from evil, liberation from
worldly bonds, relief from further transmigration, &c.
Many other terms are in use, as synonymous with it; and so
employed by all or nearly all of these sects; to express a state of
final release from the world: such as amrila, immortality; apavarga,

conclusion, completion, or abandonment; sreyas, excellence; nih-

sreyasa, assured excellence, perfection; cairvatya, singleness; nih-
sarana, exit, departure. But the term which the Bauddhas, as well
as Jainas, more particularly affect, and which however is also used
by the rest, is nirvana, profound calm. In its ordinary acceptation,
as an adjective, it signifies extinct, as a fire which is gone out; set,
as a luminary which has gone down; defunct, as a saint who has
passed away: its etymology is from vd, to blow as wind, with the
preposition nir used in a negative sense: it means calm and un-
ruffled. The notion which is attached to the word, in the accepta-
tion now under consideration, is that of perfect apathy. It is a con-
dition of unmixed tranquil happiness or ecstacy (dnandd). Other
terms (as suc'ha, moha, &c.) distinguish different gradations of plea-
sure, joy, and delight. But a happy state of imperturbable apathy
is the ultimate bliss (anandd) to which the Indian aspires: in this

thcJaina, as well as the Bauddha, concurs with the orthodox Veddniin.

Perpetual uninterrupted apathy can hardly be said to differ from
eternal sleep. The notion of it as of a happy condition seems to
be derived from the experience of ecstacies, or from that of pro-
found sleep from which a person awakes refreshed. The pleasant
,

feeling is referred back to the period of actual repose. Accordingly,

as I had occasion to show in a preceding essay the Vcddnta con-
,

siders the individual soul to be temporarily, during the period of

profound sleep, in the like condition of re-union with the Supreme,
which it permanently arrives at on its final emancipation from body.
 CHAR VAC AS AND L6CAYATICAS. 259

This doctrine is not that of the Jainas nor Bauddhas. But neither
do they consider the endless repose allotted to their perfect saints
as attended with a discontinuance of individuality. It is not an-
nihilation but unceasing apathy , which they understand to be the
,

extinction (nirvana) of their saints; and which they esteem to be

supreme felicity, worthy to be sought by practice of mortification,
as well as by acquisition of knowledge.

CHAR VAC AS and LOCA'YATICAS.

In my essay on the Philosophy of the Hindus (p. 143, of
first
this volume), was stated upon the authority of a scholiast of the
it

Sdnc'hya, that CHARVA'CA, whose name is familiar as designating a

heretical sect called after him, has exhibited the doctrine of the
Jainas. In a marginal note to a scholiast of the Brahma- siilras, one
of the four branches of the sect of BUDDHA (the Mddhyamica) is
identified with the Chdrvdcas. This I take to be clearly erroneous;
and upon comparison of the tenets of the Jainas and Chdrvdcas, as
alleged by the commentators of the Veddnla in course of controversy,
the other position likewise appears to be not correct.
For want of .an opportunity of consulting an original treatise on
this branch of philosophy, or any connected summary furnished
even by an adversary of opinions professed by the Chdrvdcas, no
sufficient account can be yet given of their peculiar doctrine, fur-
ther than that it is undisguised materialism. A
few of their leading
opinions, however, are to be collected from the incidental notice of
them by opponents.
A notorious tenet of the sect, restricting to perception only the
means of proof and sources of knowledge, has been more than once
adverted to (p. 152 and 194, of this volume). Further research
en-
ables me to enlarge the catalogue of means of knowledge admitted

by others, with the additon of probability (sdmbhavi) and tradition

(ailihya) separately reckoned by mythologists (Paurdnicas) among
those means. * The latter is however comprehended under the
head of (sdbda) oral communication. In regard to probability or
possibility (for the term may be taken in this lower meaning) as a
ground or source of notions, it must be confessed, that in the text
of the 'mythologists (their Purdnas) a very ample use is made of
the latitude and what by supposition might have been and may
;

be, is put in the place of what has been and is to be.

The Chdrvdcas recognise four (not five) elements, viz. earth, water,
fire, and wind (or air); and acknowledge no other principles
**
(laitva). ,

The most important and characteristic tenet of this sect concerns

* Paddrt'ha **
dipicd. Vdrliaspatya siilra, cited by BHASCARA.
17*
260 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

the soul, which they deny to be other than body.* This doctrine
is cited for refutation in VYASA'S stilras, as the opinion of "some;"
and his scholiasts, BHAVADEVA MIS'RA and RANGANA'T'HA, understand
the Chdrvdcas to be intended. SANCARA, BHA'SCARA, and other com-
mentators, name the Locdyaticas; and these appear to be a branch
of the sect of CHA'RVA'CA.SADANANDA, in the Veddnla sdra, calls up
for refutation no less than four followers of CHA'RVACA, asserting
that doctrine under various modifications; one maintaining, that
the gross corporeal frame is identical with the soul; another, that
the corporeal organs constitute the soul; a third affirming, that the
vital functions do so and the fourth insisting that the mind and
; ,

the soul are the same. In the second of these instances, SADA'NANDA'S
scholiast, RAMA ^IRT'HA, names the Locdyalanas, a branch of the
Chdrvdca as particularly intended. No doubt they are the same
,

with the Locdyaticas of S'ANCARA and the rest.

'Seeing no soul but body, they maintain the non-existence of
soul other than body; and arguing that intelligence or sensibility,
though not seen in earth, water, fire, and air, whether simple or
congregate, may nevertheless subsist in the same elements modified
in a corporeal frame, they affirm that an organic body (caya) endued
with sensibility and thought, though formed of those elements, is
the human person (purusha}.**
'The faculty of thought results from a modification of the aggre-
gate elements, in like manner as sugar with a ferment and other
ingredients becomes an inebriating liquor; and as betel, areca,
lime, and extract of catechu, chewed together, have an exhilarat-
ing property, not found in those substances severally, nor in any
one of them singly.
'So far there is a difference between animate body and inanimate
substance. Thought, knowledge, recollection, &c., perceptible only
where organic body is are properties of an organised frame not
, ,

appertaining to exterior substances, or earth and other elements

simple or aggregate, unless formed into such a frame.
'While there is body, there is thought, and sense of pleasure
and pain; none when body is not; and hence, as well as from self-
consciousness, it is concluded that self and body are identical.'
BHASCARA ACHA'riYA*** quotes the Vdrhaspatya-stilras (VRIHAS-
PATI'S aphorisms), apparently as the text work or standard autho-
rity of this
sect or school; and the quotation, expressing that "the
elements are earth, water, fire and air; arid from the aggregation
of them in bodily organs, there results sensibility and thought, as
the inebriating property is deduced from a ferment and other in-
"
gredients.

* S'ANCARA on Br. Sutr. and **

2. 2. 2. 3. 3. 53. S'ANCARA, &c.
*** On Br. Sutr. 3. 3. 53.
 CHA'RVA'CAS AND LOCA'YATICAS. 261

To the foregoing arguments of the Locdyaticas or Chdrvdcas, the

answer of the Veddntins is, that 'thought, sensation, and other pro-
perties of soul or consciousness, cease at the moment of death, while
the body yet remains; and cannot therefore be properties of the
corporeal frame, for they have ceased before the frame is dissolved.
The qualities of body, as colour, &c. are apprehended by others:
not so those of soul, viz. thought, memory, &c. Their existence,
while body endures, is ascertained: not their cessation when it
ceases. They may pass to other bodies. Elements, or sensible ob-
jects, are not sentient, or
capable of feeling, themselves; fire, though
hot, burns not itself; a tumbler, however agile, mounts not upon his
own shoulders. Apprehension of an object must be distinct from
the thing apprehended. By means of a lamp, or other light, objects
are visible: if a lamp be present, the thing is seen; not so, if there
be no light. Yet apprehension is no property of the lamp ; nor is
it a
property of body, though observed only where a corporeal frame
'
is.
Body is but instrumental to apprehension.
Among the Greeks, Dicaearchus of Messene held the same tenet,
which has been here ascribed to the Locdyaticas^ and other followers
of CHARVACA, that there is no such thing as soul in man; that the
principle, by which he perceives and acts, is diffused through the
body, is inseparable from it, and terminates with it.

MA'HESWARAS and PASUPATAS.

The devoted worshippers of SIVA or MAHES'WARA take their de-
,

signation from this last-mentioned title of the deity whom they adore,
and whose revelation they profess to follow. They ar% called Md-
hestvaras, and (as it seems) 'Siva-bhdgavatas.
The ascetics of the sect wear their hair braided, and rolled up
round the head like a turban; hence they are denominated (and
the sect after them) Ja'tddhdri, 'wearing a braid.'
The Mdheswara are said to have borrowed much of their doctrine
from the Sdnc'hya philosophy; following CAPLLA on many points;
and the theistical system of PATANJALI on more.
They have branched into four divisions: one, to which the appel-
lation of 'Saivas, or worshippers of SIVA, especially appertains: a
second, to which the denomination of Pdsupatas belongs, as followers
of PAS'UPATI, another title of MAHESWARA: the third bears the name
of Cdrunica-siddhdntins but RA'MA'NUJA* assigns to this third branch
:

the appellation of Cdldmuc'has: the fourth is by all termed Cdpdlas

or Cdpdlicas.

They appeal for the text of their doctrine to a book, which they
esteem holy, considering it to have been revealed by MAHES'WARA,

* Com. on Br. Sulr. 2. 2. 37.

262 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE HINDUS.

SIVA , or PAS'UPATI all names of the same deity. The work , most,
:

usually bearing the latter title, Pasupati-s astro, (Maheswara-siddhdnla,

or 'Sivdgamct), is divided into five lectures (adhydyci), treating of as

many categories (paddrfhas). The enumeration of them will afford

occasion for noticing the principal and distinguishing tenets of the
sect.

I. Cdrana, or cause. The Pdsupalas hold, that Istvara, the Supreme

Being, is the efficient cause of the world, its creator (carlo) and
superintending (adhishV hdtd) or ruling providence; and not its ma-
terial cause likewise. They, however, identify the one supreme GOD,
with S'IVA, or PAS'UPATI, and give him the title of MAHESWARA.
II. Cdrya or effect which is nature (pracriti) or plastic matter
:
,

(pradhdna) as the universal material principle is by the Pdsupalas

,

denominated, conformably with the terminology of the Sdnc'hyas;

and likewise mahal, the great one, or intelligence, together with the
further development of nature viz. mind, consciousness, the ele-
,

ments, &c.
III. Toga, abstraction; as perseverance in meditation on the
syllable 6m, the mystic name of the deity; profound contemplation
of the divine excellence, &c.
IV. Vidhi, enjoined rites ; consisting in acts, by performance of
which merit is gained; as bath, and ablutions, or the use of ashes

in their stead; and divers acts of enthusiasm, as of a person over-

joyed and beside himself.
V. Duhc'hdnta^ termination of ill, or final liberation (mocsha~).
The purpose, for which these categories are taught and explained,
is the acconiplishment of deliverance from the bondage (bandha) or
fetters (pdsa) viz. illusion (mdyd)
,
&c. in which the living soul
, ,

(jiva or dtmd\ by this sect termed pasu, is entangled and confined.

For it is here maintained, that pasus (living souls) are individual

sentient beings, capable of deliverance from evil, through the know-

ledge of GOD and the practice of prescribed rites , together with
perseverance in profound abstraction.
The Pdsupalas argue, that as a potter is the efficient, not the
material, cause of the jar made by him; so the sentient being, who
presides over the world, is the efficient, not the material, cause of
it: for the superintendent, and that which is by him superintended,
cannot be one and the same.
In a more full exposition of their opinions* they are stated as
enumerating under the heads of effects and causes, those which are
secondary; and as subdividing likewise the heads of prescribed
rites and termination of ill.
I.
They distinguish ten effects (can/a): namely, five principles

*
Fidhydbharana on Br. Sutr. 2. 2. 37.
 MAUESWARA AND PA's'lJPATAS. 263

(lalrva) ,
which are the five elements.- earth, water, fire, air, and
ether ;
and five qualities (guna) colour, &c.
They reckon thirteen causes or instruments (cdrana); viz.
II.
five organs of sense , and as many organs of action ; and three
internal organs, intelligence, mind, and consciousness. These
thirteen causes or means are the same with the thirteen instruments
of knowledge enumerated by CAPILA and his followers, the Sdnc'hyas.
III. Yoga, abstraction, does not appear to admit any subdivision.
IV. Enjoined rules (vidhi) are distributed under two heads: 1st.
vrala, 2d. divdra.
To the first head (yrata or vow) appertains the use of ashes in
place of water for bath or ablutions that is first, in lieu of bathing
:
,

thrice a day; at morning, noon, and evening: secondly, instead of

ablutions for special causes, as purification from uncleanness after
evacuation of urine feces , &c.
,

To
the same head belongs likewise the sleeping upon ashes: for
which particular purpose they are solicited from householders, in
like manner as food and other alms are begged.
This head Comprises also exultation (upahdra), which compre-
hends laughter, dance, song, bellowing as a bull, bowing, recital
of prayer, &c.
The second head (dwdra) consists of, 1st, pretending sleep, though
really awake; 2d, quaking, or tremulous motion of members, as if
afflicted with rheumatism or paralytic affection; 3d, halting, as if

lame; 4th, joy, as of a lover at sight of his beloved mistress; 5th,

affectation of madness, though quite sane 6th, incoherent discourse.;

V. Termination of pain (duhc'hdnla) or deliverance from evil, is

twofold: one is absolute extinction of all ills; the other is acqui-
sition of transcendent power, and exercise of uncontrolled and irre-
sistible will. The last comprises energy of sense and energy of
action.
The energy of sense (dnc-sucli) varies according to the sense en-
gaged, and is of five sorts: 1st, vision (darsanci), or distinct and
perfect perception of minute, remote, confused and undefined ob-
jects; 2d, (sravana) perfect hearing of sound; 3d, (manana) intuitive
knowledge, or science without need of study; 4th, (vijnydna) certain
and undoubted knowledge, by book or fact; 5th, (sarvajnyatrva)
omniscience.
Energy of action (criyd-sacti) is properly single of its kind. It
admits nevertheless of a threefold subdivision; which, however, is
not well explained in the only work in which I have found it
,

noticed.*
The opinions of the Pdsupalas and other Mdheswaras, are heret-

*
Abharana ( 39) 2. 2. 27. The only copy of it seen by me is in this part
apparently imperfect.
264 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

ical, in the estimation of the Veddntins, because they do not admit

pantheism , or creation of the universe by the deity out of his own
essence.
The notion of a plastic material cause, termed prudhdna,* borrowed
from the Sdnc'hya.s, and that of a ruling providence, taken from PA-
TANJALI, are controverted, the one in part, the other in the whole,
by the orthodox followers of the Veddnta.
'An argument drawn from the prevalence of pain, pleasure, and
illusion in the universe, that the cause must have the like qualities
and be brute matter, is incongruous,' say the Veddntins, 'for it
could not frame the diversities, exterior and interior, which occur:
these argue thought and intention, in like manner as edifices and
gardens, which assuredly are not constructed without design. Nor
could there be operation without an operator; clay is wrought by
the potter who makes the jar; a chariot is drawn by horses yoked
to it; but brute matter stirs not without impulse. Milk nourishes
the calf, and water flows in a stream, but not spontaneously; for
the cow, urged by affection, suckles her calf, which, incited by
hunger, sucks the teat; a river flows agreeably to the inclination
of the ground, as by providence directed. But there is not, accord-
ing to the Sdnc'hyas and Pdsupalas any thing besides matter itself
,

to stir or to stop it, nor any motive: for soul is a stranger in the
world. Yet conversions are not spontaneous grass is not neces-
:

sarily changed to milk; for particular conditions must co- exist:

swallowed by a cow, not by an ox, the fodder is so converted. Or,
granting that activity is natural to matter still there would be no
,

purpose. The halt, borne by the blind, directs the progress: a

magnet attracts contiguous iron. But direction and contiguity are
wanting to the activity of plastic matter. The three qualities of
goodness, foulness, and darkness, which characterize matter, would
not vary to become primary and secondary in the derivative prin-
ciples of intelligence and the rest, without some external instigator
whomsoever. Apart from the energy of a thinking being, those
qualities cannot be argued to have a natural tendency to the pro-
duction of such effects as are produced.'**
'The Pdsupatas" notion of Supreme GOD being the world's cause,
1

as governing both (pradhdna) matter and (purusha) embodied spirit,

is incongruous,' say again the Veddntins, 'for he would be charge-

able with passion and injustice, distributing good and evil with par-
tiality.Nor can this imputation be obviated by reference to the in-
fluence of works for instigation and instigator would be recipro-
:

cally dependent. Nor can the objection be avoided by the assump-

* That and
by which the world is accomplished (pradhiyate) ,
in which it
is deposited at its dissolution, is first (pradhdna) matter.
**
B'AHC., &c. on Br. Sutr. 2. 2. 1. <S. 110.)
 MA'H^S'WARAS AND PA'SUPATAS. 265

tion of an infinite succession (without a beginning) of works and

their fruits.
'Neither there any assignable connexion by which his guid-
is

ance of matter and spirit could be exercised : it is not conjunction,

nor aggregation nor relation of cause and effect. Nor can the ma-
,

terial principle, devoid of all sensible qualities, be guided and ad-

ministered. Nor can matter be wrought without organs. But, if the
Supreme Being have organs, he is furnished with a corporeal frame,
and is not GOD, and he suffers pain, and experiences pleasure, as a
finite being. The infinity of matter and of embodied spirit, and
GOD'S omniscience, are incompatible; if he restrict them in magni-
tude and number, they are finite; if he cannot define and limit them,
he is not omniscient (and omnipotent).'*
A further objection to the Sdnc'hya doctrine, and consequently
to the Pdsupata grounded on it, is 'its alleged inconsistencies and
contradictions ** one while eleven organs are enumerated
: . at ,

another seven only, the five senses being reduced to one cuticular
organ, the sense of feeling. The elements are in one place derived
immediately from the great or intelligent principle; in another,
from consciousness. Three internal faculties are reckoned in some
instances, and but one in others.
'

The grounds of this imputation, however, do not appear. Such

inconsistencies are not in the text of CAPILA, nor in that of the
Cdricd: and the Veddnla itself seems more open to the same reproach:
for there is much discrepancy in the passages of the Veda, on which
it relies.

The point on which the Pdsupatas most essentially differ from

the orthodox, the distinct and separate existence of the efficient and
material causes of the universe, is common to them with the ancient
Greek philosophers before Aristotle. Most of these similarly affirmed
two, and only two, natural causes, the efficient and the material;
the first active, moving: the second, passive, moved; one effective,
the other yielding itself to be acted on by it. Ocellus terms the
latter yivstiii; generation, or rather production the former its cause,
;

ahta ysvedecog.*** Empedocles, in like manner, affirmed two prin-

ciples of nature the active, which is unity, or GOD; the passive,
;

which is matter, f
Here we have precisely the pracrili and cdrana of the Indian
philosophers their updddna and
: nimilta-cdrana , material and effi-
cient causes. The similarity is too strong to have been accidental .

Which of the two borrowed from the other I do not pretend to de-
termine: yet, adverting to what has come to us of the history of

* ** Ib. 2.
S'ANC., &c. on Br. Sidr. 2. 2. 7. 2. I. (S. 2. and 10.)
*** Ocellus de Universe, c.
2., in Opusc. Mythol. p. 505. Cicero, Academ.
f Sext. Empir. adv. Math. ix. 4.
266 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

Pythagoras, I shall not hesitate to acknowledge an inclination to

consider the Grecian to have been on this, as on many other points,
indebted to Indian instructors.
It should be observed that some among the Greek
, philosophers,
like the Sdnc'hyas, who follow CAPILA, admitted
only one material
principle and no efficient cause. This appears to have been the
doctrine of Heraclitus in particular. His psegmata correspond with
the sheer (tanmdtra) particles of CAPILA'S Sdnc'hya; his intelligent
and rational principle which is the cause of production and disso-
,

lution, is CAPILA'S btiddhi or mahal; as his material principle is pra-

dhdna or pracnti: the development of corporeal existences, and their
return to the first principle at their dissolution,* correspond with
the upward and downward way, odog ccvw and bdog xarco, of Hera-
clitus.**
I shall not pursue the parallel further. It would not hold for all

particulars, notwas it to be expected that it should.

PA'NCHARATRAS or BHA'GAVATAS.

Among the Vaishnavas or special worshippers of VISHNU is a sect ,

distinguished by the appellation of Pdnchardlras and also called

,

Vishnu Bhdgavatas or simply Bhdgavalas. The latter name might,

,

from its similarity, lead to the confounding of these Avith the fol-
lowers of the Bhagavad-gitd, or of the 'Sri Bhdgavata purdria. The
appropriate and distinctive appellation then is that of Pdnchardtra,
derived from the title of the original work which contains the doc-
trine of the sect. It is noticed in the Bhdrata, with the Sdnc'hya,
Yoga and Pdsupala, as a system deviating from the Vcdas: and a
passage quoted by SANCARA-A'CHARYA seems to intimate that its pro-
mulgator was SA'NDILYA, who was dissatisfied with the Vcdas, not
finding in them a prompt and sufficient way of supreme excellence
(para-sreyas') and final beatitude; and therefore he had recourse to
this sdstra. It is, however, by most ascribed to NA'RAYANA or VASU-
Di5vA himself; and the orthodox account for its heresy, as they do
for that of BUDDHA'S doctrines by presuming delusion wilfully
,

practised on mankind by the holy or divine personage, who revealed

the tantra, or dgama, that is, the sacred book in question, though
heterodox.
Some of its partisans nevertheless pretend, that it conforms with
one of the sdc'hds of the Veda, denominated the Ecdyana. This does
not, however, appear to be the case; nor is it clear, that any such
sdc'hd forthcoming, or has ever existed.
is

Many of this sect practise the (sanscdras) initiatory ceremonies

of regeneration and admission to holy orders, according to the

* See ** 8 and
p. 161 of this volume. Diog. Laert. ix. 9.
 PA'NCHARA'TRAS OR BHA'GAVATAS. 267

forms directed by the Vdjasaneji-sdc'hd of the Yajurveda. Others,

abiding rigidly by their own rules, perform the initiatory rites, in a
different, and even contrary mode, founded, as is pretended, on the
supposed EC ay ana- sac' hd. But their sacerdotal initiation is questioned,
and their rank as Brdhmanas contested, on the ground of the insuf-
ficiency of their modes unsanctioned by either of the three genuine
and authoritative Vedas.
The religious doctrine of the sect is by admission of BANCABA ,

and other commentators of the Veddnla, reconcileable on many points

with the Veda; but in some essential respects it is at direct variance
with that authority, and consequently deemed heretical; and its
confutation is the object of the 8th or last adhicarana in the contro-
versial chapter of the Brahme-siilras (2. 2. 8.)
Yet RA'MA'NUJA, in his commentary on those siitras defends the ,

superhuman origin and correct scope of the Pdnchardtra ; the au-

thority of which he strenuously maintains, and earnestly justifies
its doctrine on the controverted points and even endeavours to put
;

a favourable construction on BA'DARA'YANA'S text, as upholding

rather than condemning its positions.
VA'SUD^VA, who
VISHNU, is by this sect identified with Bhagavat,
is

the Sxipreme Being; the one, omniscient, first principle which is ,

both the efficient and the material cause of the universe: and is
likewise its superintending and ruling providence. That being, di-

viding himself, became four persons, by successive production.

From him immediately sprung Sancarshana from whom came Pra- ,

dyumna; and from the latter issued Aniruddha. Sancarshana is iden-

tified with the living soul (jiva)] Pradyumna, with mind (manas)\
and Aniruddha ) with (ahancard) egotism, or consciousness.
In the mythology of the more orthodox Faishnavas, VA'SUD^VA is
CRISHNA; Sancarshana is his brother BALARAMA; Pradyumna is his
son CA'MA (Cupid) and Aniruddha is son of CA'MA.
;

VA'SUDEVA, or Bhagavai, being supreme nature, and sole cause of

all, the rest are effects. He has six especial attributes, being endued
with the six pre-eminent qualities of
1st. Knowledge (jnydna), or acquaintance with everything
animate or inanimate constituting the universe.
2d. Power (sacti) ,
which is the plastic condition of the world's
nature.
3d. Strength (bahi), which creates without effort, and maintains
its own creation without labour.
4th. Irresistible will (aisrvarya) , power not to be opposed or
obstructed.
5th. Vigour (virya] which counteracts change, as that of milk
,

into ciirds, and obviates alteration in nature.

6th. Energy (tejas), or independence of aid or adjunct in the
world's creation ,
and capacity of subjugating others.
268 ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HINDUS.

From the diffusion and co-operation of knowledge with strength,

Sancarshana sprung; from vigour and irresistible will, Pradyumna;
and from power and energy, Aniruddha. Or they may all be con-
sidered as partaking of all the six attributes.
Deliverance consisting in the scission of worldly shackles, is at-
tainable by worship of the deity, knowledge of him, and profound
contemplation that is, 1st, by resorting to the holy temples, with
5

body, thought, and speech subdued, and muttering the morning

prayer, together with hymns and praise of (Bhagavai) the deity,
and with reverential bowing and other ceremonies 2dly. By ;

gathering and providing blossoms and other requisites of worship

, ;

3dly. Byactual performance of divine worship; 4thly. By study of

the sacred text (Bhagavat-sdslra) and reading, hearing, and reflect-
ing on that and other holy books (purdnas and dgamas) which are ,

conformable to it; profound meditation and absorbed

5thly. By
contemplation after evening worship and intensely fixing the
,

thoughts exclusively on (Bhagavai) the deity.

By such devotion, both active and contemplative (criyd-yoga and
jnydna-yoga), performed at five different times of each day, and per-
sisted in for a hundred years VASUDEVA is attained
,
and by reach- ;

ing his divine presence the votary accomplishes final deliverance,

,

with everlasting beatitude.

Against this system, which is but partially heretical, the objec-
tion upon which the chief stress is laid by VYA'SA as interpreted ,

by SANCARA* and the rest of the scholiasts, is, that 'the soul would
not be eternal if it were a production
,
and consequently had a
,

beginning. Springing from the deity, and finally returning to him,

it would merge in its cause and be re-absorbed there would be ;

neither reward nor punishment; neither a heaven, nor a hell: and

this doctrine virtually would amount to (ndslicya) denial of another
world. Nor can the soul, becoming active, produce mind; nor
again this , becoming active produce consciousness. An agent
,

does not generate an instrument, though he may construct one

by means of tools; a carpenter does not create, but fabricate,
an axe. Nor can four distinct persons be admitted, as so many
forms of the same self- divided being, not springing one from the
other, but all of them alike endued with divine attributes, and con-
sequently all four of them gods. There is but one GOD one Su- ,

preme Being. It is vain to assume more; and the Pdnchardlra itself

affirms the unity of GOD.'
Afew scattered observations have been thrown out on the simil-
in this and preceding
arity of the Greek and Indian philosophy,
It may be here remarked by the
portions of the present essay.
way, that the Pythagoreans, and Ocellus in particular, distinguish

\
* Br. Sutr. 2. 2 8.
(4245.) SANC., &c.
 PA'NCHARA'TRAS OR BHA'GAVATAS. 269

as parts of the world, the heaven, the earth, and the interval be-
tween them, which they term lofty and aerial, A^'yca de [legr}, ovgavov,
yfjv ,
TO (J,T<X$V TOVTCOV' 6*} flTC(Q(ilOV KCtl (XSQIOV OVOftufeTdl.*
Here we have precisely the (swur bhu, and antaricsha) heaven,
,

earth, and
(transpicuous] intermediate region of the Hindus.
Pythagoras, as after him Ocellus, peoples the middle or aerial
region with demons, as heaven with gods, and the earth with men.
Here again they agree precisely with the Hindus who place the ,

gods above, man

beneath, and spiritual creatures, flitting unseen,
in the intermediate region. The Vedas through out teem with prayers
and incantations to avert and repel the molestation of aerial spirits,
mischievous imps, who crowd about the sacrifice and impede the
religious rite.
Nobody needs to be reminded, that Pythagoras and his successors
held the doctrine of metempsychosis, as the Hindus universally do
the same tenet of transmigration of souls.
They agree likewise generally in distinguishing the sensitive,
material organ (manas), from the rational and conscious living soul
(jivdtman}:** &v(iog and cpQr\v of Pythagoras ; one perishing with
the body, the other immortal.
Like the Hindus, Pythagoras, with other Greek philosophers,
assigned a subtle ethereal clothing to the soul apart from the cor-
poreal part, and a grosser clothing to it when united with body;
the sitcshma (or lingo) sarira and sthula sarira of the Sdnc'hyas and
the rest. ***
They concur even in the limit assigned to mutation and change ;

deeming all which

sublunary, mutable, and that which is above
is

the moon subject to no change in itself. f Accordingly, the manes

doomed to a succession of births, rise, as the Vedas teach no fur- ,

ther than the moon while those :

only pass that bourne who are
never to return. But belongs to the Veddnta-. and
this subject rather
I will therefore terminate this treatise
purposing to pursue the
;

subject in a future essay, in which I expect to show that a greater

degree of similarity exists between the Indian doctrine and that of
the earlier than of the later Greeks; and, as it is
scarcely probable
that the communication should have taken place and the know- ,

ledge been imparted, at the precise interval of time which inter-

vened between the earlier and later schools of Greek philosophy,
and especially between the Pythagoreans and Platonists I should ,

be disposed to conclude that the Indians were in this instance

teachers rather than learners.

* Ocell.
c. 3., in Opusc. Myth.
p. 528.
*
Empedocles. See Brncker, Hist. Crit. Phil. 1117.
***
Seepage 155 of this volume. f Ocellus. Opusc. Mythol. 527.
 XI.

ENUMERATION OF INDIAN CLASSES.

[From the Asiatic Researches, vol. v. p. 53 67. Calcutta 1798. 4to.]

The permanentseparation of classes, with hereditary professions

assigned to each, among the most remarkable institutions of India;
is

and , though now less rigidly maintained than heretofore must still ,

engage attention. On the subject of the mixed classes, Sanscrit

authorities, in some instances, disagree: classes mentioned by one,
are omitted by another; and texts differ on the professions assigned
to some tribes. A
comparison of several authorities, with a few ob-
servations on the subdivisions of classes, may tend to elucidate this
subject, in which there is some intricacy.
One of the authorities I shall use, is the Jdlimdld, or Garland of
Classes; an extract from the Rudra ydmala lanlra which in some ,

instances corresponds better with usage, and received opinions,

than the ordinances of MENU, and the great Dharma purdna. * On
more important points its authority could not be compared with the
Dharmasdslra but, on the subject of classes, it may be admitted;
:

for the Tantras form a branch of literature highly esteemed, though

at present much neglected. ** Their fabulous origin derives them
from revelations of SIVA to PA'RVATI, confirmed by VISHNU, and
therefore called Agama from the initials of three words in a verse
,

of the Todala tanira.

"Coming from the mouth of SIVA, heard by the mountain-born
goddess, admitted by the son of VASUDISVA, it is thence called
'
1 1

Agama.'
Thirty-six are mentioned for the number of mixed classes; but,
according to some opinions, that number includes the fourth original
tribe, or all the original tribes, according to other authorities: yet
the text quoted from the great Dharma purdna, in the digest of which
i

* The texts are cited in the Viwiddrnava

selu, from the Vrihad, dharma
purdna. This name I therefore retain although I cannot learn that such a
;

purdna exists, or to what treatise the quotation refers under that name [See
p. 63 of the present work.]
** See
p. 125.
 ENUMERATION OF INDIAN CLASSES. 271

a version was translated by Mr. HALHED ,

names thirty-nine mixed
classes ;
and the Jdtimdld gives distinct names for a greater number.
On the four original tribes it may suffice, in this place, to quote
the Jdlimdld, where the distinction of Brdhmanas , according to the
ten countries to which their ancestors belonged is noticed that ,
:

distinction is still maintained.

"In the first creation, by BRAHMA, Brdhmanas proceeded, with
the Veda, from the mouth of BRAHMA'. From his arms Cshalriyas
sprung; so from his thigh, Vaisyas: from his foot Sttdras were pro-
duced: all with their females.
"The Lord of creation viewing them, said, 'What shall be your
occupations?' They replied, 'We are not our own masters, oh,
God command us what to undertake.'
!

"Viewing and comparing he made the first tribe

their labours,
superior over the rest. As
had great inclination for the
the first
divine sciences, (Brahme veda,) therefore he was Brdhmana. The
protector from ill (cshayale) was Cshatriya. Him whose profession
(vesa) consists in commerce, which promotes the success of wars,
for the protection of himself and of mankind, and in husbandry,and
attendance on cattle, he called Vaisya. The other should volun-
tarily serve the three tribes, and therefore he became a 'Sudra: he
should humble himself at their feet."
And in another place :

"A chief of the twice-born tribe was brought by VISHNU'S eagle

from 'Sdca dwipa: thus have 'Sdca dwipa Brdhmanas become known
in Jambu ilwipa.
"In Jambu dnn'pa, Brdhmanas are reckoned tenfold; Sdrestvata,
Cdnyacubja, Gaufla, Maifhila, Utcala, Drdvida, Maharashtra Tailanga, ,

Gujjara, and Cdsmira, residing in the several countries whence they

are named. *
"Their sons and grandsons are considered as Cdnyucubja priests,
and so forth. Their posterity, descending from MENU, also inhabit
the southern regions: others reside in Anga, Banga, and Calinga:
some in Cdmarupa and O'dra. Others are inhabitants of 'Sumbhadesa :
and twice-born men, brought by former princes, have been estab-
lished in JRdfla, Mdgadha, Varendra, Chola, Swernagrdma, China,
" **
Ciila, 'Sdca, and Berbera.

* These several countries are

Sdreswata, probably the region watered
,

by the river Sersulty as it is marked in maps; unless it be a part of Bengal,

,

named from the branch of the Bhdgiraflii, which is distinguished by this

appellation; Cdnyacubja Q\- Canoj ; GanSa, probably the western Gar, and not
the Gaur of Bengal Mit'hila, or Tirabhucli, corrupted into Tirhut; Utcala,
;

said to be situated near the celebrated temple of JaganndCha; Drdvida, pro-

nounced Dravira; possibly the country described by that name, as a mari-
time region south of Carnata, (As. Res. vol. ii. p. 117); Mahdrdi/itra, or Mar-
hat'ta; Telinga, or Telingdna; Gujjara, or Guzrat; Casmira, or Cdshmir.
**
Anga includes Bhdgalpur. Benga, or Bengal Proper, is a part only of
272 ENUMERATION OF INDIAN CLASSES.

I shall proceed, without further preface, to enumerate the prin-

cipal mixed classes, which have sprung from intermarriages of the
original tribes.
1. Mtirdhdbhishicla , from a Brdhmana by a girl of the Cshalriya
class; his duty isthe teaching of military exercises. The same
origin is ascribed in the great Dharma purdna to the Cumbhacdra, *
or potter, and Tantravdya,** or weaver: but the Tanlravdya, accord-
ing to the Jdtimdld, sprung from two mixed classes, for he was be-
gotten by a man of the Manibandha on a woman of the Manicara tribe.
2. Ambash'Vha or Vaidya
*** whose
,profession is the science of
medicine, was born of a Vaisyu woman, by a man of the sacerdotal
class. The same origin is given by the Dharma purdna to the Can-

sacara,f or brazier, and to the 'Sanc'hacdra ff or worker in shells.

,

These again are stated in the ianlra as. springing from the inter-
,

marriages of mixed classes the Cansacdra from the Tdmracula and

;

the 'Sanc'hacdra', also named 'Sanc'haddreca, from the Rdjapulra and

Gdndhica for Rdjapulra not only denotes Cshalriyas as sons of kings,
:

but is also the name of a mixed class and of a tribe of fabulous

,

origin.
Rudra ydmala tantra "The origin of Rdjaputras is from the Vaisya
:

on the daughter of an Ambush? ha. Again, thousands of others

"
sprung from the foreheads of cows kept to supply oblations.
3. Nishdda ^ or Pdrasava, whose profession is catching fish, was

born of a 'St'idra woman by a man of a sacerdotal class. The name

is given to the issue of a legal marriage between a Brdhmana and
a woman of the 'Sudra tribe. It should seem that the issue of other
legal marriages in different ranks were described by the names of
,

mixed classes springing from intercourse between the several tribes.

This, however, is liable to some question; and since such mar-
riages are considered as illegal in the present age, it is not material
to pursue the inquiry.

According to the Dharma purdna from the same origin with the
,

Nishdda springs the Vardjivi, or astrologer. In the tanlra, that origin

is given to the Brahme-si'idra, whose profession is to make chairs

the Suba. Varendra , the tract of inundation north of the Ganges is a part ,

of the present Zila of Rajeshdhi. Calinga is watered by the Goddveri (As. Res.
vol. iii. p. 48.) Cdmarupa, an ancient empire is become a province of A a dm.
Odra I understand to be Orisa Proper. JidSa (if that be the true reading) is
well known as the country west of the Bhdgirat'ha. Mdgudha orMagarfha, is
Bahdr Proper. Chola is part of Birbhum. Another region of this name is men-
tioned in the Asiatic Researches vol. iii. p. 48. Swernagrdma
, vulgarly ,

Sunargau, is situated east of Dacca. China is a portion of the present Chinese

empire. On the rest I can offer no conjecture. 'Sdca and Berbera, here men-
tioned, must differ from the Drvipa and the region situated between the Cusa
and 'Snnc'ha drvipas.
* ** ***
Vulgarly, Ciimdr. Vulgarly, Tdnti. Vulgarly, Baldya.
f Vulgarly, Caserd. ff Vulgarly, Sac'libra.
 ENUMERATION OP INDIAN CLASSES. 273

or stools used on some religious occasions. Under the name of Vara-

jivi* described a class springing from the Gopa and Tantravdya,
is

and employed in cultivating betel. The profession of astrology, or,

at least, that of making almanacks, is assigned in the tanlra, to de-

graded Brdhmanus.
" Brdhmanas
falling from their tribe, became kinsmen of the
,

twice-born class to them is assigned the profession of ascertaining

:

the lunar and solar days. "

4. Mdhishya is a son of a Cshatriya by a woman of the Vai&ya tribe.
His profession is music, astronomy, and attendance on cattle.
5. Ugra was born of a 'Sudra woman by a man of the military
class. His profession, according to MENU, is killing or confining
such animals as live in holes: but, according to the tanlra, he is an
encomiast or bard. The same origin is attributed to the Ndpita**
or barber. and to the Maudaca, or confectioner. In the tanlra, the
5

Ndpita is said to be born of a Cuverina woman by a man of the Pat-

ticdra class.

6. Parana*** from a Vaisya, by a woman of the 'Sudra class, is

an attendant on princes, or secretary. The appellation of CdyasCha^
is in general considered as
synonymous with Carana; and accord-
ingly the Carana tribe commonly assumes the name of CdyasCha:
but the CdyasChas of Bengal have pretensions to be considered as
true 'Sudras, which the Jdlimdld seems to authorize; for the origin
of the Cdyasfha is there mentioned, before the subject of mixed

tribes is introduced, immediately after describing the Gopa as a true

'Sudra.
One, named Bhulidatta, was noticed for his domestic assiduity ;ff
therefore the rank of Cdyasfha was by Brdhmanas assigned to him.
From him sprung three sons, Chilrdngada, Chitrasena, and Chilragupla:
they were employed in attendance on princes.
The Dharrna purdna assigns the same origin to the Tambuli, or
betel-seller, and to the Tanlica, or areca-seller, as to the Carana.
The six before enumerated are begotten in the direct order of
the classes. Six are begotten in the inverse order.
7. by a Cshatriya on a woman of the priestly class.
Suta, begotten
His occupation is managing horses and driving cars. The same
origin is given, in the pur anas, to the Mdldcdra, iff or florist; but he
sprung from the Carmacdra and Tailica classes, if the authority of the
tantra prevails.

8. Mdgadha, born of a Cshalriya girl, by a man of the commercial

* **
Vulgarly, Baraiya. Vulgarly, Nay a or Ndl.
***
Vulgarly, Caran. f Vulgarly, Cdit.

ff Literally, Staying at home, (cdye samChitah,) whence the etymology of

Cdyasfha. fff Mali.
18
274 ENUMERATION OP INDIAN CLASSES.

class, has according to the sdslra the profession of travelling with

, ,

merchandize: but, according to the pur ana and tanlra, is an en-

comiast. From parents of those classes sprung the Gopa'* if the
purdna may be believed; but the tanlra describes the Gopa as a true
'Sudra, and names Gopajivi** a mixed class, using the same pro-
fession, and springing from the Tantravdya and Mdnibandha tribes.
9 and 10. Vaideha and Ayogava. The occupation of the first, born
of a Brdhmani by a man of the commercial class is waiting on ,

women: the second, born of a Vai'sya woman by a man of the servile

class, has the profession of a carpenter.
or Cshalld, sprung from a servile man by a woman
11. Cshattri ,

of the military class, is

employed in killing and confining such
animals as live in holes. The same origin is ascribed by the purdna
to the Carmacdra, or smith, and Ddsa, or mariner. The one is men-
tioned in the tanlra without specifying the classes from which he
sprung ;
and the other has a different origin according to the sdslra
and tanlra.

All authorities concur in deriving the chdnddla from a 'Sudra

father and Brdhmani mother. His profession is carrying out corpses,
and executing criminals; and officiating in other abject employ-
ments for the public service.
A third set of Indian classes originate from the intermarriages of
the and second set: a few only have been named by MENU;
first

and, excepting the Abhira or milkman, they are not noticed by the
,

other authorities to which I refer. But the purdna names other

classes of this set.
A fourth set is derived from intercourse between the several
classes of the second of these also few have been named by MENU;
:

and one only of the fifth set, springing from intermarriages of the
second and third; and another of the sixth set, derived from inter-
course between classes of the second and fourth. MENU adds to
these tribes four sons of outcasts.
The
tanlra enumerates many other classes, which must be placed
in lower sets, and ascribes a different origin to some of the tribes
in the third and fourth sets. To pursue a verbose comparison
would be tedious, and of little use perhaps, of none for I suspect
; ;

that their origin is fanciful; and, except the mixed classes named
by MENU, that the rest are terms for professions rather than tribes,
and they should be considered as denoting companies of artisans,
rather than distinct races. The mode in which AMEKA SINHA men-
tions the mixed classes and the professions of artisans, seems to
support this conjecture.
However, the Jdlimdld expressly states the number of forty -two

* **
Grip. Griarid-Gop.
 ENUMERATION OF INDIAN CLASSES. 275

mixed springing from the intercourse of a man of inferior,

classes ,

with a woman
of superior class. Though, like other mixed classes,
they are included under the general denomination of 'Sudra they ,

are considered as most abject, and most of them now experience

the same contemptuous treatment as the abject mixed classes men-
tioned by MENU. Ac.cording to the Rudra ydmala, the domestic
priests of twenty of these tribes are degraded. "Avoid", says the
tanlra, "the touch of the ChdnSdla, and other abject classes; and of
those who eat the flesh of kine often utter forbidden words and
, ,

perform none of the prescribed ceremonies they are called Mlecffha,

;

and going to the region of Yavana, have been named Ydvanas.

"These seven, the Rajaca, Carmacdra, Na'ia, Baruaa, Caiverla, and
Medabhilla, are the last tribes. Whoever associates with them,
undoubtedly falls from his class; whoever bathes or drinks in wells
or pools which they have caused to be made, must be purified by
the five productions of kine; whoever approaches their women, is
doubtless degraded from his rank.
"For women of the Na'ta and Capdla classes, for prostitutes, and
for women of the Rajaca and Ndpila tribes ,
a man should willingly
make oblations, but by no means dally with them."
I may here remark, that according to the Rudra ydmala, the Na'ta
and Na'taca are distinct; but the professions are not discriminated
in that tanlra. If their distinct occupations , as dancers and actors,
are accurately applied, dramas are of very early date.
The Pundraca and Pa't'tasulracdsa or feeder of silk-worms and
, ,

silk-twister, deserve notice; for it has been said, that silk was the
produce of China solely until the reign of the Greek Emperor
JUSTINIAN, and that the laws of China jealously guarded the exclu-
sive production. The frequent mention of silk in the most ancient
Sanscrit bookswould not fully disprove that opinion; but the men-
tion ofan Indian class, whose occupation it is to attend silk-worms,
may be admitted as proof, if the antiquity of the tantra be not ques-
tioned. I am informed that the tanlras collectively are noticed in
,

very ancient compositions but, as they are very numerous, they

;

must have been composed at different periods and the tantra which ;

I quote, might be thought comparatively modern. However, it may

be presumed that the Rudra ydmala is among the most authentic,
and by a natural inference, among the most ancient; since it is
named in the Dtirgd mehallwa where the principal lantras are enu-
merated. *

* Thus
enumerated, "Cali tantra, Mundmdld, Tdrd, Nirvana tantra, Serva
sdran, Bira tantra, Sing'drchana, Bhuta tantra. Udrfe'san and. Called calpa, Bhair-
avi tanlra , and Bhairavi calpa , Todala , Mdlrihhedanaca , Mdyd tantra , Bire-
smara, Visnasdra, Samayd tantra, Brahma-ydmala-tantra, Rudra-ydmala-tantra,
Sancu-ydmala-tanlra, Gdya-tri-tantra, Cdlicdcula servasna , Culdrnava , Fogim,
IS*
276 ENUMERATION OP INDIAN CLASSES.

In the comparative tables to which I have referred , the classes

are named, with their origin, and the particular professions assigned
to them. How far every person is bound, by original institutions,
to adhere rigidly to the profession of his class, may merit some

enquiry. Lawyers have largely discussed the texts of law concern-

ing this subject, and some difference of opinion occurs in their
writings. This, however, is not the place for entering into such dis-
quisitions. I shall therefore briefly state what] appears to be the
best established opinion, as deduced from the texts of MENU, and
other legal authorities.
The regular means of subsistence for a Brdhmana are assisting ,

to sacrifice, teaching the Vedas, and receiving gifts for a Cshatriya, ;

bearing arms; for a Vaisya, merchandize, attending on cattle, and

agriculture, for a 'Si'idra, servile attendance on the higher classes.
The most commendable are, respectively for the four classes, teach-
ing the Veda, defending the people, commerce, or keeping herds or
flocks, and servile attendance on learned and virtuous priests.
A
Brdhmana, unable to subsist by his own duties, may live by
those of a soldierif he cannot get a subsistence by either of these
;

employments, he may apply to tillage, and attendance on cattle, or

gain a competence by avoiding certain commodities. A
traffic,
Cshatriya, in distress, by all these means; but he must
may subsist
not have recourse to the highest functions. In seasons of distress, a
further latitude is given. The practice of medicine, and other
learned professions, painting and other arts, work for wages, menial
service, alms, and usury, are among the modes of subsistence al-
lowed to the Brdhmana and Cshatriya. A
Vaisya unable to subsist ,

by his own duties, may descend to the servile acts of a 'Sudra. And
a 'Sudra not finding employment by waiting on men of the higher
,

classes , may subsist by handicrafts ; principally following those

mechanical occupations, as joinery and masonry; and practical arts,
as painting and writing; by following of which he may serve men
of superior classes: and, although a man of a lower tribe is in
general restricted from the acts of a higher class the 'Sudra is ex- ,

pressly permitted to become a trader or a husbandman.

Besides the particular occupations assigned to each of the mixed
classes, they have the alternative of following that profession which
regularly belongs to the class from which they derive their origin
on the mother's side: those, at least, have such an option, who are
born in the direct order of the tribes as the Murdhdbhishicla Am-
, ,

bashVha, and others. The mixed classes are also permitted to sub-
sist by any of the duties of a 'Sudra; that is, by a menial service,
by handicraft, by commerce, or by agriculture.

tantra, and the Tanlra Mahishamardini. These are here universally known,
Oh BHAIEAVI, greatest of souls ! And many are the tantras uttered by S'AMBHU."
 ENUMERATION OP INDIAN CLASSES. 277

Hence it appears that almost every occupation, though regularly

itbe the profession of a particular class, is open to most other tribes;
and that the limitations, far from being rigorous, do, in fact, reserve
only one peculiar profession, that of the Brdhmana, which consists
in teaching the Veda, and officiating at religious ceremonies.
The classes are sufficiently numerous; but the subdivisions of
them have further multiplied distinctions to an endless variety.
The subordinate distinctions may be best exemplified from the Brdh-
mana and Cdyasfha, because some of the appellations, by which the
different races are distinguished, will be familiar to many readers, j

The Brdhmanasof Bengal are descended from five priests, invited

from Cdnyacubja, by A'DIS'WARA king of Gaura who is said to have
, ,

reigned about nine hundred years after Christ. These were BHATTA
NA'RAYANA, of the family of SANDILA, a son of CAS'YAPA; DACSHA,
also a descendant of CASYAPA; VEDAGARVA, of the family of VATSA;
CHANDRA, of the family of SAVERNA, a son of CAS'YAPA; and SRI
HEHSHA, a descendant of BHARADWA'JA.
From these ancestors have branched no fewer than a hundred
and fifty-six families, of which the precedence was fixed by BALLA'LA
SENA, who reigned in the eleventh century of the Christian sera.
One hundred of these families settled in Vdrendra, and fifty-six in
Rdrd. They are now dispersed throughout Bengal, but retain the
family distinctions fixed by BALLA'LA SI^NA. They are denominated
from the families to which their five progenitors belonged, and are
still considered as Cdnyacubja Brdhmanas.

At the period when these priests were invited by the king of

Gaura, some Sdrestvala Brdhmanas, and a few Vaidicas, resided in
Bengal. Of the Brdhmanas of Sdreswala, none are now found in
Bengal; but five families of Vaidicas are extant, and are admitted
to intermarry with the Brdhmanas of Rdrd.

Among the Brdhmanas of Vdrendra , eight families have pre-emi-

nence, and eight hold the second rank.* Among those of Rdrd six

* VARENDRA BRAHMANAS.
CULINA 8
Maitra. Bhima, Rudra- Vdijisi. Sanyamini,
or or
Call. Sandydl.
Lahari. Bhaduri. Sddhu-Vdgisi. Jfhadara.
The last was admitted by election of the other seven.

s'uDHA SROTRIYA 8.

CASHTA SKOTRIYA 84.

The names of these 92 families seldom occur in common intercourse.
278 ENUMERATION OF INDIAN CLASSES.

hold the first rank.* The distinctive appellations of the several

families are borne by those of the first rank; but in most of the

other families they are disused; and serman, or sermd, the addition
common to the whole tribe of Brdhmanas, is assumed. For this
practice, the priests of Bengal are censured by the Brdhmanas of
MiChild, and other countries, where that title is only used on im-
portant occasions, and in religious ceremonies.
In MiChild the additions are fewer though distinct families are
,

more numerous no more than three surnames are in use in that

;

district, Thdcttsa, Misra, and Ojha, each appropriated to many

families.
The CdyasChas of Bengal claim descent from five CdyasChas who
attended the priests invited from Cdnyacubja. Their descendants
branched into eighty-three families; and their precedence was fixed
by the same prince BALLA'LA SENA, who also adjusted the family
rank of other classes.
In Benga and Dacshina Rdrd, three families of CdyasChas have
pre-eminence; eight hold the second rank.** The CdyasChas of in-
ferior rank generally assume the addition of Ddsa, common to the
tribe of 'Sitdras ,
same manner as other classes have similar
in the
titles common whole tribe. The regular addition to the name
to the
of a Cshatriya is Verman; to that of a Vaisya, Gupta; but the general
title ofDeva is commonly assumed; and, with a feminine termination,
is also borne
by women of other tribes.
* RARIYA BRA'HMANAS.

CULI'NA 6.
Muc'huti, Ganguli Cdnjelala.
Vulgarly, Muc'herja.
Ghoshdla. Bandyagali, Cha'tati,
Vulgarly, Banoji. Vulgarly, Chatoji.
SR6THIYA 50.
The names of these 50 families seldom occur in common intercourse.

** CAYAST'HAS of DACSHINA RARA and BENGA.

CULINA 3.
Ghosha. Vasu,
 ENUMERATION OP INDIAN CLASSES. 279

The distinctions of families are important in regulating inter-

marriages. Genealogy is made a particular study; and the great-
est attention is given to regulate the alliance
according to estab-
lished rules, particularly in the first marriage of the eldest son.
The principal points to be observed are not to marry within the
,

prohibited degrees; nor in a family known by its name to be of the

same primitive stock; nor in one of inferior rank; nor even in an
inferior branch of an equal one; for within some families grada-
tions are established. Thus, among the Culina of the CdyasChas,
the rank has been counted from thirteen degrees; and in every
generation, so long as the marriage has been properly assorted,
one degree has been added to the rank. But, should a marriage be
contracted in a family of a lower degree, an entire forfeiture of
such rank would be incurred.
 XII.

OBSERVATIONS On the SECT of JAINS.

[From the Asiatic Researches, vol. ix. p. 287322. Calcutta, 1807. 4to.]

The information collected by Major MACKENZIE, concerning a

religious sect hitherto so imperfectly known as that of the JAINAS,
and which has been even confounded with one more numerous and
more widely spread (the sect of BUDDHA), may furnish the ground
of further researches, from which an exact knowledge of the tenets
and practice of a very remarkable order of people may be ultimately
expected. What Major MACKENZIE has communicated to the Society,
comes from a most authentic source the declaration of two prin-
5

cipal priests of the JAINAS themselves. It is supported by similar

information , procured from a like source, by Dr. i. BUCHANAN,
during his journey in Mysore, in the year following the reduction of
Seringapatam. Having the permission of Dr. BUCHANAN to use the
extracts which I had his leave to make from the journal kept by
him during that journey, I have inserted in the preceding article the
information received by him from priests of the JAINA sect.
I am enabled to corroborate both statements, from conversation
with Jaina priests, and from books in my possession, written by au-
thors of the Jaina persuasion. Some of these volumes were pro-
cured for me at Benares others were obtained from the present
;

JAGAT SET, at Morsheddbad , who, having changed his religion, to

adopt the worship of VISHNU, forwarded to me, at my request ,

such
books of his former faith as were yet within his reach.
It appears, from the concurrent result of all the enquiries Avhich
have been made, that the JAINAS constitute a sect of Hindus, differ-
ing indeed from the rest in some very important tenets but fol-
, , ;

lowing, in other respects, a similar practice, and maintaining like

opinions and observances.
The essential character of the Hindu institutions is the distri-
bution of the people into four great tribes. This is considered by
themselves to be the marked point which separates them from Mle-
cKhas or Barbarians. The Jainas, it is found, admit the same division
into four tribes, and perform like religious ceremonies, termed san-
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS. 281

scdras, from the birth of a male to his marriage.

They observe sim-
ilar fasts, and practise, still more strictly, the received maxims for
refraining from injury to any sentient being. They appear to re-
cognise as subordinate deities, some, if not all, of the gods of
the prevailing sects; but do not worship, in particular, the five
principal gods of those sects; or any one of them by preference;
nor address prayers, or perform sacrifice, to the sun, or to fire: and
they differ from the rest of the Hindus, in assigning the highest
place to certain deified saints, who, according to their creed, have
successively become superior gods. Another point in which they
materially disagree is the rejection of the Vedas, the divine authority
of which they deny; condemning, at the same time, the practice of
sacrifices, and the other ceremonies which the followers of the Vedas
perform, to obtain specific promised consequences, in this world or
in the next.
In this respect the Jainas resemble the Bauddhas or saugalas, who
equally deny the divine authority of the Vedas and who similarly
:

worship certain pre-eminent saints, admitting likewise, as subor-

dinate deities, nearly the whole pantheon of the orthodox Hindus.
They differ, indeed, in regard to the history of the personages whom
they have deified; and it may be hence concluded, that they have
had distinct founders; but the original notion seems to have been
the same. In fact, this remarkable tenet, from which the Jainas and
Buiuldhas derive their most conspicuous peculiarities, is not entirely
unknown to the orthodox Hindus. The followers of the Vedas,
according to the theology, which is explained in the Veddnla^ con-
sidering the human soul as a portion of the divine and universal
mind, believe that it is capable of perfect union with the divine
essence and the writers on the Ve'ddnta not only affirm that this
:

union and identity are attained through a knowledge of God, as by

them taught; but have hinted, that by such means the particular
soul becomes God, even to the actual attainment of supremacy. *
So far the followers of the Vedas do not virtually disagree with
ihe Jainas and Bauddhas. But they have not, like those sects, framed
a mythology upon the supposed history of the persons, who have
successively attained divinity; nor have they taken these for the
objects of national worship. All three sects agree in their belief
of transmigration. But the Jainas are distinguished from the rest by
their admission of no opinions as they themselves affirm
,
which ,

are not founded on perception, or on proof drawn from that, or

from testimony.
It does not, however, appear that they really withhold belief from

pretended revelations : and the doctrines which characterize the

sect, are not confined to a single tenet but form an assemblage of
;

* Vrihad
dranyaca upaniahad.
282 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS.

mythological and metaphysical ideas found among other sects, joined

to many visionary and fantastic notions of their own.
Their belief in the eternity of matter, and perpetuity of the world,
is common to the Sdnc'hya philosophy, from which it was, perhaps,

immediately taken. Their description of the world has ranch ana-

logy to that which is given in the Pur anas, or Indian theogonies:
but the scheme has been rendered still more extravagant. Their
precaution to avoid injuring any being is a practice inculcated in
the orthodox religion, but which has been carried by them to a lu-
dicrous extreme.*
In their notions of the soul, and of its union with body, and of
retribution for good and evil, some analogy is likewise observable.
The Jainas conceive the soul (jiva) to have been eternally united
to a very subtile material body, or rather to two such bodies, one of
which is invariable and consists (if I rightly apprehend their me-
.

taphysical notions) of the powers of the mind the other is variable,

;

and is composed of its passions and affections: (this, at least, is

what I understand them to mean by the taijasa and cdrmana sariras).
The soul, so embodied, becomes, in its successive transmigrations,
united with a grosser body denominated auddrica, which retains a
definite form as man and other mundane beings
,
or it is joined ;

with a purer essence varying in its appearance at pleasure as

, ,

the gods and genii. This last is termed Vaicdrica. They distinguish
a fifth sort of body, under the name of dhdrica, which they explain
as a minute form, issuing from the head of a meditative sage, to con-
sult an omniscient saint and returning with the desired information
;

to the person whence that form issued, or rather from which it was

elongated; for they suppose the communication not to have been

interrupted.
The soul is never completely separated from matter, until it obtain
a final release from corporeal sufferance by deification, through a
,

perfect disengagement from good and evil, in the person of a beati-

fied saint. Intermediately it receives retribution for the benefits or
injuries ascribable to it in its actual or precedent state, according
to a strict principle of retaliation, receiving pleasure or pain from
the same individual, who, in a present or former state, was either
benefitted or aggrieved.
Major MACKENZIE'S information confirms that which I had also
received concerning the distribution of these sectaries into clergy
,

and In Hindustan the Jainas are usually called Syauras; but

laity.
distinguish themselves into 'Srdvacas and Yatis. The laity (termed
'Srdvaca) includes persons of various tribes, as indeed is the case
with Hindus of other sects: but, on this side of India, the Jainas

* Jaina wear a broom adapted to sweep insects out of their

priests usually
way ;
lest they should tread on the minutest being.
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS. 283

are mostly of the Vaisya class.* The orthodox Hindus have a se-
cular, as well as a regular,clergy: a Brdhmana, following the prac-
tice of officiating at the ceremonies of his religion, without quitting
the order of a householder, may be considered as belonging to the
secular clergy; one who follows a worldly profession, (that of hus-
bandry for example,) appertains to the laity; and so do people of
other tribes: but persons, who haive passed into the several orders
of devotion, may be reckoned to constitute the regular clergy.
The Jainas have, in like manner, priests who have entered into an
order of devotion; and also employ Brdhmanas at their ceremonies;
and, for want of Brdhmanas of their own faith they even have re-
,

course to the secular clergy of the orthodox sect. This subject is

sufficiently explained by Major MACKENZIE and Dr. BUCHANAN, I
shall, however, add, for the sake of a subsequent remark, that the
Jainas apply the terms Tail and 'Sramana, (in Prdcrit and Hindi written
Samana^) to a person who has devoted himself to religious contem-
plation and austerity and the sect of Buddha uses the word 'Sra-
;

tnana for the same meaning. It cannot be doubted that the Som-
,

monacodom of Siam, is merely a corruption of the words 'Sramana

Gautama, the holy GAUTAMA or BUDDHA.**
Having been here led to a comparison of the Indian sects which
follow the precepts of the Vedas, with those which reject their au-
thority I judge it necessary to notice an opinion which has been
, ,

advanced, on the relative antiquity of those religions; and 'espe-

cially the asserted priority of the Bauddhas before the Brdhmanas.
In the first place, it may be proper to remark, that the earliest
accounts of India, by the Greeks who visited the country, describe
its inhabitants as distributed into ***
separate tribes. Consequently,
a sect which, like the modern Bauddhas, has no distinction of cast,
could not have been then the most prevalent in India.
It is indeed possible that the followers of BUDDHA may like the ,

Jainas ,
have retained the distribution into four tribes so long as
,

they continued in Hindustan. But in that case, they must have been
a sect of Hindus; and the question, which is most ancient, the Brdh-
mana or the Bauddha, becomes a solecism.
If it be admitted that the Bauddhas are originally a sect of Hindus
it
may be next questioned, whether that, or any of the religious
systems now established be the most ancient. I have on a former
,

occasion f indicated the notions which I entertain on this point.

,

* I understand that their of

Vaisya class includes eighty-four tribes :

whom the most common are those denominated 'Osrvdl, Agarvdl, Pariwdr, and
C'handewdl
** See As. Res. Vol: vii.
p. 415.
*** Seven tribes are enumerated: but it is not difficult to reconcile the
distributions, which are stated by ARRIAN and STKABO , with the present dis-
tribution into four classes.
f As. Res. Vol. viii. p. 474. [Above, pp. 67. 68.]
284 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS.

According to the hypothesis which I then hinted, the earliest Indian

sect of which we have any present distinct knowledge is that of ,

the followers of the practical Vedas, who worshipped the sun,

fire and the elements and who believed the efficacy of sacrifices,
, ;

for the accomplishment of present and of future purposes. It

may be
supposed that the refined doctrine of the Vedanids, or followers of the
theological and argumentative part of the Vedas, is of later date: and
it does not seem improbable that the sects of JINA and of BUDDHA are

still more modern. But I apprehend that the Vaishnavas,

meaning par-
ticularly the worshippers ofRA'MA and of CRISHNA,* may be subse-
quent to those sects, and that the 'Saivas also are of more recent date.
I state it as an hypothesis because I am not at present able to
,

support the whole of this position on grounds which may appear

quite satisfactory to others; nor by evidence which may entirely
convince them. Some arguments will, however, be advanced, to
show that the proposition is not gratuitous.
The long sought history of Cdshmir, which in the original Sanscrit
was presented to the Emperor ACBER, as related by ABU'L-IAZIL in
the Ayin-Acberi and of which a Persian translation exists, more
,

ample than ABU'L-IAZIL'S brief extract, has been at length recovered

in the original language.** A
fuller account of this book will be
hereafter submitted to the society: the present occasion for the
mention of it is a passage which was cited by Dr. BUCHANAN, ***
from the english translation of the Ay in Acberi, for an import which
is not supported by the Persian or Sanscrit text.
The author, after briefly noticing the colony established in Cdsh-
mir by CASYAPA, and hinting a succession of kings to the time of
the Cunis and Pdndavas, opens his detailed history, and list of princes,
with GONARDA', a contemporary of YUDHISHT'HIRA. He describes
AS'OCA (who was twelfth in succession from GONARDA) and his son

* In
explanation of a remark contained in a former essay [p. 08] 1 take
this occasion of adding, that the mere mention of RAMA or CRISHNA, in a passage
of the Vedas, without any indication of peculiar reverence, would not author-
ize a presumption against the genuineness of that passage, on my hypothesis ;
nor, admitting its authenticity, furnish an argument against that system.
I suppose both heroes to have been known characters in ancient fabulous
history; but conjecture that, on the same basis new fables have been con-
,

structed, elevating those personages to the rank of Gods. On this supposition,

the simple mention of them in genuine portions of the Vedas, particularly in
that part of it which is entitled Brdhmana, would not appear surprising. Ac-
cordingly, CRISHNA, son of DEVACI, is actually named in the Ch'hdndogya Upani-
shad (towards the close of the third chapter ,) as having received theological
information from GHORA, a descendant of ANGIRAS. This passage, which had
escaped my notice, was indicated to me by Mr. STEKE, from the Persian trans-
lation of the Upanishad.
** The who died some
copy which I possess belonged to a Brdhmana
, ,

months ago (1805) in Calcutta. I obtained it from his heirs.

*** As. Res. vol. vi. p. 165.
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS. 285

JALOCA, and grandson DA'MODARA, as devout worshippers of S'IVA;

and JALOCA, in particular, as a conqueror of the Mlech'has, or bar-
barians. DA'MODAKA, according to this history, was succeeded by
three kings of the race of Tunishca; and they were followed by a
Bodhisalwa, who wrested the empire from them by the aid of S'A'CYA-
SINHA, and introduced the religion of BUDDHA into Cdshmir. He
reigned a hundred years and the next sovereign was ABHIMANYU,
;

Avho destroyed the Bauddhas, and re-established the doctrines of the

Nila purana. This account is so far from proving the priority of
the Bauddhas, that it directly avers the contrary.
From the legendary tales concerning the last BUDDHA, current in
all the countries in which his sect now flourishes * and ;
the upon
authority of a life of BUDDHA in the Sanscrit language, under the
title of Lalita purana which was procured by Major KNOX, during
,

his public mission in Nepal, it can be affirmed, that the story of

GAUTAMA BUDDHA has been engrafted on the heroic history of the

lunar and solar races, received by the orthodox Hindus an evident ;

sign, that his sect is subsequent to that, in which this fabulous

history is original.
The same remark is
applicable to the Jamas, with whom the le-
gendary story of their saints also seems to be engrafted on the
pauranic tales of the orthodox sect. Sufficient indication of this will
appear in the passages which will be subsequently cited from the
writings of the Jainas.
Considerable weight might be allowed to an argument deduced
from the aggravated extravagance of the fictions admitted by the
sects of JINA and BUDDHA. The mythology of the orthodox Hindus,
their present chronology adapted to astronomical periods, their

legendary tales, their mystical allegories, are abundantly extra-

vagant. But the Jainas and Bauddhas surpass them in monstrous
exaggerations of the same kind. In this rivalship of absurd fiction, it
would not be unreasonable to pronounce that to be most modern,
which has outgone the rest.
The greater antiquity of the religion of the Fedasis also rendered
probable, from the prevalence of a similar worship of the sun and
of fire in ancient Persia. Nothing forbids the supposition, that a
religious worship, which was there established in times of antiquity,
may have also existed from a remote period in the country between
the Ganges and the Indus.
The testimony of the Greeks preponderates greatly for the early
prevalence of the sect, from which the present orthodox Hindus
are derived. ARRIAN, having said that the Brachmanes were the
sages or learned ampng the Indians,** mentions them under the
*
TACHARD, Voyage de Siam. LALOUBKRE, Royawne de Stain.
'** Kal TCOV BQaxpavtov o't drj aocficral TOI<S 'ivSofg fioiv v.. r. 1. Exp.
Al, vi. 10.
286 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS.

latter designation (GocpiGral) as a distinct tribe , which , though in-

ferior to the others in number, is superior in rank and estimation:
bound to no bodily work, nor contributing any thing from labour to
the public use in short, no duty is imposed on that tribe but that
; ,

of sacrificing to the gods for the common benefit of the Indians

,
;

and, when any one celebrates a private sacrifice, a person of that

class becomes his guide as if the sacrifices would not else be ac-
;

ceptable to the gods?*

Here, as well as in the sequel of the passage, the priests of a
religion consonant to the Vedas, are well described: and what is

said, is suitable to them; but to no other sect, which is known to

have at any time prevailed in India.
A
similar description is more succinctly given by STRABO, 'It is
said, that the Indian multitude is divided into seven classes; and
that the philosophers are first in rank, but fewest in number. They
are employed, respectively, for private benefit, by those who are
** '

sacrificing or worshipping, etc.

In another place he states, on the authority of MEGASTHENES,
'two classes of philosophers or priests; the Srachmanes and Ger-
manes: but the Brachmanes are-best esteemed, because they are most
consistent in their doctrine'*** The author then proceeds to des-
cribe their manners and opinions the whole passage is highly
:

deserving of attention, and will be found, on consideration, to be

more suitable to the orthodox Hindus than to theBauddhas or Jamas:
particularly towards the close of his account of the Brachmanes,
where he says, 'In many things they agree with the Greeks; for
they affirm that the world was produced and is perishable; and
that it is spherical that God governing it as well as framing it,
:
,

pervades the whole: that the principles of all things are various;
but water is the principle of the construction of the world: that,
besides the four elements, there is a fifth nature, whence heaven
and the stars that the earth is placed in the centre of all. Such
:

and many other things are affirmed of reproduction, and of the soul.
Like PLATO they devise fables concerning the immortality of the
,

soul, and the judgment in the infernal regions and other similar
;
'
notions. These things are said of the Brachmanes.
STRABO notices likewise another order of people opposed to the
Brachmanes, and called Pramnce: he characterizes them as conten-

*
Nsvs[ii]vxKi of nuvrss 'ivSol g tma, ^
of .ZbqpiCTfu sfct, x. T. i.. ARRIAN. Indie, c. 11.
**
3>rjGi Srj TO TKIV 'ivdcav ntfj&os sis snroc (is^rj diyQrJG&cti,
V.UL ngco-

rovs [iV rovg cptkoaocpovs slvcct, v.. r. A. STKAB. xv. c. 1. (p. 703, ed.
Casaub.)
***"AllrjV Sf SlKiQfGLV J1018LTKI TlfQl VtDV (plhoGOtpCOV, Sv6 yfVTj CpaGKCOV,
<av rovs (ifv $QK%p5.vai$ xaA, rovs 8^ FfQiittvag. v.. r. i. STRAB. xv. c.
I.
(pag. 712. ed. Casaub.)
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS. 287
9

tious cavillers, who ridiculed the Brachmanes for their study of phy-
*
siology and astronomy.
'

PHILOSTRATUS, in the life of APOLLONIUS, speaks of the Brachmanes

'
as worshipping the sun. By day they pray to the sun respecting
the seasons, which he governs, that he would send them in due time;
and that India might thrive: and, in the evening, they intreat the
solar ray not to be impatient of night and to remain as conducted from
them.'**
PLINY and SOLINUS*** also describe the Gymnosophists contem-
plating the sun: and HIEROCLES, as cited by STEPIIANUS of BY-
ZANTIUM,! expressly declares the Brachmanes to be particularly
devoted to the sun.
This worship which distinguishes the orthodox Hindus, does not
,

seem to have been at any time practised by the rival sects of JINA
and BUDDHA.
PORPHYRIUS treating of a class of religious men
, among the ,

Indians, whom
the Greeks were accustomed to call Gymnosophisls,
mentions two orders of them; one, the Brachmanes^ the other, the
Samanct'ans: 'the Brachmanes receive religious knowledge, like the
priesthood, in right of birth; but the Samanceans are select, and con-
sist of persons choosing to prosecute divine studies.' He adds, on
the authority of BARDESANES, that 'all the Brachmanes are of one
race; for they are all descended from one father and one mother.
But the Samanceans are not of their race; being selected from the
whole nation of Indians, as before mentioned. The Brachman is sub-
ject to no domination, and contributes nothing to others. ff
'

In this passage, the Brachman, as an hereditary order of priest-

hood is contrasted with another religious order to which persons
, ;

of various tribes were admissible: and the Samanceans, who are ob-
viously the same with theGermanes ofsTRABO, were doubtless&wm/-
dsis; but may have belonged to any of the sects of Hindus. The
name seems to bear some affinity to the 'Sramanas, or ascetics of the
Jainas and Baucldhas.
CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS does indeed hint, that all the Brach-
manes revered their wise men as deities ttt and in another place, ;

he describes them as worshipping HERCULES and PAN. But the

following passage from CLEMENS is most in point. Having said,

*
3>il.oGo<povs TS roig BQU%U,KGLV
rivag V.KI ilsyxTixovs. *..
r._l. STRAB. XV. c. I.pag. 718, 719. ed. Casaub.
** Mf-9 1 '
-^fieQccv fifv ovv rjitov VTISQ rtav OOQCQV, x. r.L lib. iii. cap. 4.
*** lib. vii. c. 2. SOUN. i. 52.
PUN.,
f To jSpa^ftai/rav cpviov avSgdiv tpiloGocptov, v.al &soig cpiicav, Tj/U'w 8s
[idhGTK XK&oaGiw(j,ivcDv. STEPHAN. de Urbibus, ad vocem Brachmanes.
ft PORPH. Abstineniia, lib. iv.-
ftf KaC ftot SOKOVGLV, &c. Strom, lib. 1. c. 15. p. 130. ed. Sylb.
Strom, lib. iii. c. 7. p. 194. ed. Sylb.
288 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS.

that philosophy flourished anciently among the barbarians, and

afterwards was introduced among the Greeks, he instances the pro-
phets of the Egyptians, the Chaldees of the Assyrians; the Druids
of the Gauls (Galatse) ; the Samanseans of the Bactrians the philo- ;

sophers of the Celts; the Magi of the Persians; the Gymnosophists

of the Indians: and proceeds thus: 'They are of two kinds,
some called Sarmaties, others Brachmanes. Among the Sarmancs,
those called Allobii,* neither inhabit towns, nor have houses; they
are clad with the bark of trees, and eat acorns, and drink water
with their hands. They know not marriage, nor procreation of
children; like those now called Encralelai (chaste). There are
likewise, among the Indians, persons obeying the precepts of BUTTA,
whom they worship as a god, on account of his extreme vener-
ableness. **
'

Here, to my apprehension, the followers of BUDDHA are clearly

distinguished from the Brachmanes and Sarmanes.*** The latter,

called Germanes by STRABO and Samanceam by PORPHYRIUS, are
,

the ascetics of a different religion: and may have belonged to the

sect of JINA, or to another. The Bruchmanes are apparently those
who are described by PHILOSTRATUS and HIEROCLES, as worshipp-
ing the sun and by STRABO and by ARRIAN as performing sacri-
; ,

fices for the common benefit of the nation, as well as for individuals.
The religion which they practised was so far conformable with ,

the precepts of the Vedas: and their doctrine and observances, their
manners and opinions, as noticed by the authors above cited, agree
with no other religious institutions known in India, but the orthodox
sect. In short, the Brdhmanas are distinctly mentioned by Greek
authors as the first of the tribes or casts, into which the Indian nation
was then, as now, divided. They are expressly discriminated from
the sect of BUDDHA by one ancient author, and from the Sarmanes,
or Samanceans, (ascetics of various tribes) by others. They are des-
cribed by more than one authority, as worshippping the sun, as
performing sacrifices, and as denying the eternity of the world, and
maintaining other tenets incompatible with the supposition that the
sects of BUDDHA or JINA could be meant. Their manners and doc-
trine, as described by these authors, are quite conformable with the

* Same with the

Hylobii of STRABO.
** dixxov ds TOVTCOV
ysvo$, 01 fifv ^KQficivai. avrcov, 01 de Bgct^iidvcn,
KoAovpevot. nctl TWV ^ccQfiaviav of 'AMofiiOL nQoaayoQZvotifvot, OVTS no-
Isig olnovGiv , OVTS crfyccs %ov<jiv divQK>v Ss dficpifvvvvTai tploiolg,
,

'AKl ttKQoSQVtt OttOVVTCCl, KCCl vdcOQ taig %QGi 7CIVOV61V 0V ydflOV, 0V Ttat-
SoTtoitav I'aaciv, COOTISQ ol vvv 'EyKQatrjTcd Y.a^ov^svoi. slel ds IK>V '/?-
dcov of rots Bovrra 7Ci&6(iBvoi TtK^ayysifiaaiv. ov SI vTtSQfioirjv GSfivo-
TIJTOS slg @ov TSTifiiJKKGi. Strom, lib. 1. c. 15. p. 131. ed. Sylb.
*** The
passage has been interpreted differently, as if CLEMKNS said, that
the Allobii were those who worshipped BUTTA. (See MORKRI, Art. Samaneem.)
The text is ambiguous.
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS. 289

notions and practice of the orthodox Hindus. It may therefore he

confidently inferred that the followers of the Vedas flourished in
,

India when it was visited by the Greek under ALEXANDER: and

continued to flourish from the time of MEGASTHENES. who described
them in the fourth century before CHRIST, to that of PORPHYRius,who
speaks of them, on later authority, in the third century after CHRIST.
I have thus stated, as briefly as the nature of the subject per-

mitted, a few of the facts and reasons by which the opinion, that
the religion and institutions of the orthodox Hindus are more modern
than the doctrines of JINA and of BUDDHA, may, as I think, be suc-
cessfully resisted. I have not undertaken a formal refutation of it,
and have, therefore, passed unnoticed, objections which are founded
on misapprehensions.
It is
only necessary to remark, that the past prevalence of either
of those sects in particular places , with its subsequent persecution
there by the worshippers of S'IVA or of VISHNU is no proof of its
, ,

general priority. Hindustan proper was the early seat of the Hindu
religion, and the acknowledged cradle of both the sects in question.
They were foreigners in the Peninsula of India; and admitting, as
a fact, (what need not however be conceded,) that the orthodox
Hindus had not been previously settled in the Carndtaca and other
districts, in which the Jainas or the Bauddhas have flourished, it
cannot be thence concluded, that the followers of the Vedas did not
precede them in other provinces.
It may be proper to add, that the establishment of particular sects

among the Hindus who acknowledge the Vedas, does not affect the
general question of relative antiquity. The special doctrines intro-
duced by S'ANCARA A'CHARYA, by RA'MA'NUJA, and by MA'DHAVA'CHARYA,
and of course the origin of the sects which receive those doctrines,
may be referred with precision to the periods when their authors
, ,

lived but the religion in which they are sectaries has undoubtedly
:

a much earlier origin.

To revert to the immediate object of these observations which
,

is that of explaining and supporting the information communicated

by Major MACKENZIE: I shall, for that purpose, state the substance

of a few passages from a work of great authority among the Jainas,
entitled Calpa Sulra, and from a vocabulary of the Sanscrit language

by an author of the Jaina sect.

The Abhidhdna chintdmani, a vocabulary of synonymous terms, by
HEMACHANDRA ACHA'RYA is divided into six chapters (cdndas^) the
,

contents of which are thus stated in the author's preface. 'The

superior deities (Devddhidevas) are noticed in the first chapter; the
gods (Devas) in the second; men in the third; beings furnished with
one or more senses in the fourth the infernal regions in the fifth ;
;

and terms of general use in the sixth.' 'The earth,' observes this
author, 'water, fire, air, and trees, have a single organ of sense
19
290 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS.

worms, ants, spiders, and the like, have two, three, or

(indriyci)',
four senses; elephants, peacocks, fish, and other beings moving on
the earth, in the sky, or in water, are furnished with five senses:
and so are gods and men, and the inhabitants of hell. '

The chapter begins with the synonyma of a Jina or deified

first

saint; among which the most common are Arhal, Jineswara, Tirfhan-
cara or TirC hacara : others, viz. Jina, Sarvajnya and Bhagayal, occur
also in the dictionary of AMERA as terms for a Jina or Buddha: but
it is deserving of remark, that neither Buddha not Sugala is stated
, ,

by HEMACHANDRA among these synonyma. In the subsequent chapter,

however, on the subject of inferior gods, after noticing the gods of
Hindu Mythology, (INDRA and the rest, including BRAHMA &c.) he
states the synonyma of a Buddha, Sugala, or Bodhisatwa; and after-
wards specifies seven such, viz. VIPAS'YI, sic'ni, vis'wANNA, cucu-
*
CH'HANDA, CA'NCHANA, and CA'SYAPA, expressly mentioning as the
seventh BUDDHA, S'A'CYASINIIA, also named SERVA'RT'UASIDDHA, son
of S'UD DHODANA and MAYA', a kinsman of the sun, from the race of
GAUTAMA.
In the first chapter, after stating the general terms for a Jina or

Arhat, the author proceeds to enumerate twenty-four Arhals , who

have appeared in the present Avasarpini age and afterwards observes,
:

that excepting MUNISUVRATA and NEMI who sprung from the race
,

of HARI, the remaining twenty-two Jinas were born in the line of

ICSHWA'CU. ** The fathers and mothers of the several Jinas are
then mentioned; their attendants; their standards or characteristics;
and the complexions with which they are figured or described.
The author next enumerates twenty-four Jinas who have appeared
in the past Ulsarpitii period and twenty-four others who will appear
;

in the future age and, through the remainder of the first book, ex-
:

plain terms relative to the Jaina religion.

The names of the Jinas are specified in Major MACKENZIE'S com-
munication.*** Wherever those names agree with HEMACHANDRA'S
enumeration, I have added no remark; but where a difference oc-
curs I have noticed it, adding in the margin the name exhibited in
the Sanscrit text.
I shall here subjoin the information gathered from HEMACHANDRA'S
vocabulary, and from the Calpa sidra and other authorities, relative
to the Jinas belonging to the present period. They appear to be
deified saints who are now worshipped by the Jaina sect. They
,

*
Two of these names occvir in Captain MAHONY'S and Mr. JOINVILLE'S
listsof five Buddhas. As. Ees. vol. vii. p. 32 and 414. -

** I understand that the Jainas have a

mythological poem entitled flari-
vansa purdna, different from the flarlvansa of the orthodox. Their ICSHWACU,
likewise, is a different person; and the name is said to be a title of their
first Jina, RISHABHA DKVA.
***
[In the Asiatic Researches, vol. ix. p. 244, &c.]
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS. 291

are all figured in the same contemplative posture, with little varia-
tion in their appearance, besides a difference of complexion: but
the several Jinas have distinguishing marks or characteristic signs,
which are usually engraved on the pedestals of their images, to dis-
criminate them.
RISHABHA, or VRisiiABHA, ofthe race of icsiiwA'cu was son of
1. ,

by MA RUDE v A': he is figured of a yellow or golden complexion;

NA'BIII
and has a bull for his characteristic. His stature as is pretended, ,

was 500 poles (dhanush;) and the duration of his life, 8,400,000 great
years (piirva varsha.} According to the CaJpa sulra as interpreted ,

by the commentator, he was born at Cosald or Ayodhyd (whence he

is named
CAUSALICA) towards the latter part of the third age. He
,

was the first king, first anchoret, and first saint; and is therefore
entitled Prafhama Ri'ija, Prathama Bhicshdcara, Prafhama Jina, and
Prafhama Tirfhancura. At the time of his inauguration as king,
his age was 2,000,000 years. He reigned 6,300,000 years and then ;

resigned his empire to his sons and having employed 100,000 years
:

in passing through the several stages of austerity and sanctity, de-

parted from this world on the summit of a mountain, named Ashtd-

pada. The date of his apotheosis was 3 years and 8- months before
the end of the third age at the precise interval of one whole age
,

before the deification of the last Jina.

2. AJITA was son of JITAS'ATRU
by VIJAYA'; of the same race with
the first Jina and represented as of the like complexion with an
, ;

elephant for his distinguishing mark. His stature was 450 poles;
and his life extended to 7,200,000 great years. His deification took
place in the fourth age, when fifty lacshas of crors of oceans of years
had elapsed out of the tenth cror of crors. *
3. SAMB^HAVA was the son of JITA'RI by SENA of the same race
;

and complexion with the preceding; distinguished by a horse; his

stature was 400 poles; he lived 6,000,000 years; and he was deified
30 lacshas of crors of sdgaras after the second Jina.
4. ABHINANDANA was the son of SAMBARA by SIDD'HA'RT'HA' ; he
has an ape for his peculiar sign. His stature was 300 poles-, and
his life reached to 5,000,000 years. His apotheosis was later by 10
lacshas of crors of sdgaras than the foregoing.
5. SUMATI was son of MEGHA by MANGALA'; he has a curlew for
his characteristic ; His life endured 4,000,000 years , and his deifica-
tion was nine lacshas of crors of sdgaras after the fourth Jina.
(3. PADMAPRABHA was son of S'RIDHARA by susisiA'; of the same
race With the preceding, but described of a red complexion. He
has a lotos for his mark and lived 3,000,000 years, being 200 poles
:

in stature. He was deified 90,000 crors of sdgaras after the fifth Jina.

* The divisions of time have been noticed by Major MACKENZIE ,

As. Res.
vol. ix. p. 257, and will be further explained.
19*
292 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS.

7- SUPA'KS'WA was son of PRATISHT'HA

by PRI-
T'HWI; of the same line with the foregoing, but re-
presented with a golden complexion; his sign is the
figure called Smaslica. He lived 2,000,000 years; and
was deified 9,000 crors of sdgaras subsequent to the
sixth Jina.
8. CHANDRAPRABHA was Son of MAHA'sENA by LACSIIMANA' of ;

the same race with the last, but figured with a fair complexion;
his sign is the moon; his stature was 150 poles, and he lived 1,000,000

years and his apotheosis took place 900 crors of sdgaras later than
;

the seventh Jina.

9. PUSHPADANTA, also surnamed SUVIDHI, was son of SUPRIYA
by
RAMA; of the same line with the preceding, and described of a sim-
ilar complexion his mark is a marine monster
, (macara) his stature ;

was 100 poles and the duration of his life 200,000 years. He was
,

deified 90 crors of sdgaras after the eighth Jina.

10. SITALA was son of DRIDHARAT'HA by NANDA'; of the same
race, and represented with a golden complexion; his cha-
racteristic is the mark called 'Srivatsa. His stature was
90 poles; and his life 100,000 great years; his deification
dates 9 crors of sdgaras later than the preceding.
11. S'REYA'N (SREYAS) or S'REYA'NSA, was son of VISHNU
by VISHNA'; of the same race, and with a similar complexion; having
a rhinoceros for his sign. He was 80 poles in stature, and lived
8,400,000 common years. His apotheosis took place more than 100
sdgaras of years before the close of the fourth age.
12. VASUPUJYA was son of VASUPUJYA by JAYA'; of the same race,
and represented with a red complexion, having a buffalo for his
mark and he was 70 poles high, lived 7,200,000 years, arifl was dei-
;

fied later by 54 sdgaras than the eleventh Jina.

13. VIMALA was son of CRITAVARMAN by S'YA'MA'; of the same race ;

described of a golden complexion, having a boar for his character-

istic; he was 60 poles high, lived 6,000,000 years, and was deified
30 sdgaras later than the twelfth Jina.
14. ANANTA, also named ANANTAJIT, was son of SINHASENA by
SUYASA'H. He has a falcon for his sign; his stature was 50 poles,
the duration of his life 3,000,000 years, and his apotheosis 9 sdgaras
after the preceding.
15. DHARMA was son of BHANU by SUVRATA', characterised by the

thunderbolt; he was 45 poles in stature, and lived 1,000,000 years;

he was deified 4 sdgaras later than the foregoing.
16. SA'NTI was son of VIS'WASENA by ACHIRA', having an antelope
for his sign he was 40 poles high, lived 100,000 years, and was dei-
;

fied 2 sdgaras subsequent to the last mentioned.*

* The life of this Jina is the subject of a separate work entitled 'Sdnti purdna.
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS. 293

17. CUNT'HU was son of SURA, by s'fii; he has a goat for his mark ;

his height was 35 poles, and his life 95,000 years. His apotheosis is

dated in the last palya of the fourth age. .

18. ARA was son of SUDARS'ANA by DEVI;

^
/ ,

characterised by the figure called Nandd- *

varla: his stature was 30 poles,

his life 84,000

years, and his deification 1,000 crors of years

before the next Jina.
MALLI was son of CUMBHA by PRA-
ry
19.

BHA'VATI; of the same race with the preced-

ing; and represented of a blue complexion,
having a jar for his characteristic; he was
and
/ \\
25 poles high and lived 55,000 years ;

was deified 6,584,000 years before the close of the fourth age.
20. MUNISUVRATA, also named SUVRATA, or MUNI was son of su-
MITRA by PAD MA', sprung from the race called HARIVANS'A; repre-
sented with a black complexion, having a tortoise for his sign: his
height was 20 poles, and his life extended to 30,000 years. His apo-
theosis is dated 1,184,000 years before the end of the fourth age.
21. NIMI was son of VIJAJA by VIPRA'; of the race of ICSHWA'CU;

figured with a golden complexion ; having for his mark a blue water-
lily, (nilolpala) ;
his stature was 15 poles; his life 10,000 years; and
his deification took place 584,000 years before the expiration of the
'
fourth age.
22. NEMI, also called ARISHT'AN^MI, was son of the king SAMU-
DRAJAYA by S'IVA'; of the line denominated HARIVANS'A; described
as of a black complexion having a conch for his sign. According
,

to the calpa si'dra, he was born at Soriyapura and when 300 years
:
,

of age, entered on the practice of austerity. He employed 700 years

in passing through the several stages of sanctity, and, having attained
the age of 1,000 years, departed from this world at Ujjinta, which
is described as the peak of a mountain, the same, according to the

commentator, with Girandra.* The date of this event is 84,000

years 'before the close of the fourth age.
23- PA'RS'WA (or PA'RS'WANA'T'HA) was son of the king AS'WASE'NA
by VAMA', or BAMA'D^V!; of the race of ICSHWA'CU; figured with a
blue complexion, having a serpent for his characteristic. The life
of this celebrated JINA who was perhaps the real founder of the
,

sect, is the subject of a poem entitled Pdrswandfha charitra. Ac-

cording to the Calpa siilra, he was born at Bdndrasi,** and com-
menced his series of religious austerities at thirty years of age; and

* I understand this to be a mountain situated in the west of

India, and
much visited by pilgrims.
**
Bheliipurd, in the suburbs of Benares, is esteemed holy , as the place
of his nativity.
294 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS.

having completed them in 70 years and consequently attained the

,

age of 100 years, he died on Mount Sammeya or Samel.''' This

.happened precisely 250 years before the apotheosis of the next JINA;
being stated by the author of the Calpa sutra at 1,230 years before
the date of that book.
24. VABDHAMA'NA, also named VIRA, MAHA'VIRA, &c. and surnamed
Charama tirfhacnt, or last of the Jinas: emphatically called SRAMANA,
or the saint. He is reckoned son of SIDDHA'RT'HA by TRIS'ALA'; and
is described of a golden complexion, having a lion for his symbol.
The subject of the Calpa sulra, before cited is the life and insti-
,

tutions of this JINA. I shall here state an abstract of his history as

there given premising that the work like other religious books of
, ,

the Jamas, is composed in the Prdcril called Mdgadhi; and that the
Sanscrit language is used by the Jainas for translations, or for com-
mentaries, on account of the great obscurity of the Prdcrit tongue.**
According to this authority, the last TirChancara, quitting the
state of a deity, and relinquishing the longevity of a god, to obtain

immortality as a saint, was incarnate towards the close of the fourth

age (now past,) when 75 years and 8^ months of it remained. He
was at first conceived by DEVA'NANDA' , wife of RISHABHADATTA a ,

Brdhmana inhabiting Brdhmanacunda grama, a city of Bhdrata varsha,

in Jambu drvipa. The conception was announced to her by dreams.
INDRA,*** or SACRA, who is the presiding deity on the south of
Meru and abides in the first range of celestial regions called Sau-
, ,

dharma, being apprized of MAHAviRA's incarnation, prostrated him-

self, and worshipped the future saint; but reflecting that no great
personage was ever born in an indigent and mendicant family, as
that of a Brdhmana, INDRA commanded his chief attendant HARINAI-
GUMESHI to remove the fetus from the womb of DEVA'NANDA' to that
of TRISALA', wife of SIDDHA'RT'HA, a prince of the race of ICSHWA'CU,
and of the Cdsyapa family. This was accordingly executed, and the
new conception was announced to TRISALA by dreams, which were

expounded by soothsayers, as foreboding the birth of a future Jina.

In due time he was born, and his birth celebrated with great re-
joicings.

* Samel
sic'hara, called in Major KENNEL'S map Parsonaut, is situated
among the hills between Bihar and Bengal. Its holiness is great in the estim-
ation of the Jainas : and it is said to be visited by pilgrims from the re-
motest provinces of India.
** This
Prdcrit, which does not differ much from the language introduced
by dramatic poets into their dramas , is formed from the Sanscrit. I once
conjectured it to have been formerly the colloquial dialect of the Sdrasmata
Brdkmens [As. Res. vol. vii. p. 21ft.] but this conjecture has not been con-
firmed by further researches. I believe it to be the same language with the
Pali of Ceylon.
*** The Jainas admit numerous INDRAS but some of the attributes, stated
;

in this place by the Calpa niilra, belong to the INDRA of the Indian mythology.
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS. 295

His father gave him the name of VARDHAMA'NA. But he is also

known by two other names, SRAMANA and MAIIA'VIRA. His father
has similarly three appellations, SIDDHA'RT'HA, S'REYA'NSA, and YA-
SAswi; and his mother likewise has three titles, TRISALA', VIDEHA-
DINNA', and PIUTICA'RINI. His 'paternal uncle was SUPA'RSWA, his
elder brother NANDIVARDHANA his sister (mother of JAMA'LI) su-
,

DARS'ANA'. His wife was YAS'ODA', by whom he had a daughter (who

became wife of JAMA'LI ;) named ANOJJA and PRIYADARS'ANA'. His
granddaughter was called S'ESHAVATI and YAS'OVATI.
His father and mother died when he was twenty-eight years of
age and he continued two years with his elder brother after the
;
:

second year he renounced worldly pursuits, and departed amidst

the applauses of gods and men, to practise austerities. The progress
of his devout exercises, and of his attainment of divine knowledge,
is related at great length. Finally, he became an Arhat or Jin a,
being worthy of universal adoration and having subdued all pas-
,

sions;* being likewise omniscient and all-seeing: and thus, at the

age of seventy-two ye'ars, he became exempt from all pain for ever.
This event is stated to have happened at the court of king HASTI-
PA'LA in the city of Pdwdpuri or Pdpdpuri; ** and is dated three
,

years and eight and a-half months before the close of the fourth
age, (called Duhc'hamd suc'hama) in the great period named avasar-
pini. The author of the Calpa si'itra mentions, in several places,

that, when he wrote, 980 years had elapsed since this apotheosis.***

According to tradition, the death of the last Jina happened more

than two thousand four hundred years since; and the Calpa siilra
appears therefore to have been composed about fifteen hundred
,

years ago. f
The several Jinas are described as attended by numerous fol-
lowers, distributed into classes, under a few chief disciples, entitled
Ganadharas or Ganddhipas. The last Jina had nine such classes of
followers, under eleven disciples, INDRABHU'TI, AGNIBHU'TI, VA'YU-
BHUTI, VYACTA, STJDHARMA, MANDITAPUTRA MAURYAPUTRA ACAM-
, ,

PITA, ACHALABHRATA, MKVA'llYA, PRABHA'sA. Nineofthcse disciples

died with MAHA'VIRA and two of them, INDRABHU'TI and SUDHARMA
;

* So the commentator
expounds both terms.
** Near
Rdjagrihah, in Bihar. It is accordingly a place of sanctity. Other
holy places, which have been mentioned to me are, Champdpuri, near Bhdgal-
pur, Chandrdvali distant ten miles from Benares, and the ancient city Hastind-
purain Hindustan: also 'Salrunjaya, said to be situated in the west of India.
*** Samanassa
bhagavau MAHABIEASSA Java duhc'ha hinassa navabasa sa-
ya'in bicwantu'in dasamassaya basa sayassa ayam asi ime sambach'hare cale
gach'hai. "Nine hundred years have passed since the adorable MAHABIRA
became exempt from pain and of the tenth century of years, eighty are the
;

time which is now elapsed. "

f The most ancient copy in my possession, and the oldest one which I
have seen, is dated in 1614 samvat: it is nearly 250 years old.
296 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS.

survived him, and subsequently attained beatitude. The Calpa sutra

adds, that all ascetics, or candidates for holiness, were pupils in
succession from SUDHARMA, none of the others having left successors.
The author then proceeds to trace the succession from SUDHARMA
to the different Sdc'hds, or orders of priests, many of which

appear still to exist. This enumeration disproves the list communi-

cated to Major MACKENZIE by the head priest of BELLIGOLA.
The ages and periods which have been more than once alluded
to in the foregoing account of the Jainas are briefly explained in
HEMACHANDRA'S vocabulary. In the second chapter, which relates
to the heavens and the gods, &c. the author, speaking of time, ob-
serves that it is distinguished into Avasarpini and Ulsarpini, adding
that the whole period is completed by twenty co'tis of cotis of sdgaras;
or 2,000,000,000,000,000 oceans of years. I do not find that he any
where explains the space of time denominated sdgara or ocean. But
I understand it to be an extravagant estimate of the time, which
would elapse, before a vast cavity filled with chopped hairs could
be emptied, at the rate of one piece of hair in a century: the time
requisite to enter such a cavity , measured by a yojana every way,
is a patya and that repeated ten cotis of co'tis of times* is a sdgara.
:

Each of the periods above-mentioned, is stated by HEMACHANDRA,

as comprising six aras; the names and duration of which agree with
the information communicated to Major MACKENZIE: In the one, or
the declining period, they pass from the extreme felicity (ecdnla
sue ha) through intermediate gradations, to extreme misery (ecdnla
duhc'ha). In the other, or rising period, they ascend in the same
order ,
from misery to felicity. During the three first ages of one
period, mortals lived for one, two, or three palyas their stature was
;

one, two, or three leagues (gavyutis) and they subsisted on the

;

fruit of miraculous trees; which yielded spontaneously food, apparel,

ornaments, garlands, habitation, nurture, light, musical instruments,
and household utensils. In the fourth age, men lived ten millions
of years; and their stature was 500 poles (dhanusJi): in the fifth age,
the life of man is a hundred years and the limit of his stature,
:

seven cubits in the sixth he is reduced to sixteen years and the

:
, ,

height of one cubit. In the next period, this succession of ages is

reversed, and afterwards they recommence as before.
Here we cannot but observe, that the Jainas are still more extra-
vagant in their inventions than te prevailing sects of Hindus, ab-
surd as these are in their fables.
In his third chapter, HEMACHANDRA, having stated the term for
paramount and tributary princes, mentions the twelve Chncravartis,
and adds the patronymics and origin of them. BHARATA is surnamed
A'RSHABHI, or son of RISHABHA; MAGHAVAN is son of VIJAYA; and

* one sdgara, or sdyaropama.

1, 000,000,000,000,000 pulyas
 OBSERVATIOTS ON THE SECT OP JAINS. 297

SANATCUMA'RA of ASWAS^NA. S'A'NTI, CUNT'HU and ARA are the

Jinas so named. SAGARA is described as son of SUMITRA; SUBHU'MA
is entitled CARTAVIRYA; PADMA is said to be son of PADMOTTARA ;

HARISHENA of HARI JAVA of VIJAYA BRAHMADATTA of BRAHME

; ; ;

and all are declared to have sprung from the race of ICSHWA'CU.
A
list follows, which, like the preceding, agrees nearly with the

information communicated .to Major MACKENZIE. It consists of nine

persons, entitled Vdsudevas and Crishnas. Here TRIPRISHT'HA is
,

mentioned with the patronymic PRA'JAPATYA; DWIPRISHT'HA is said

to have sprung from BRAHME; SWAYAMBHU is expressly called a
son of RUDRA; and PURUSHOTTAMA, of SOMA, or the moon. PURUSHA-
SINHA is surnamed SAIVI, or son of S'IVA PURUSHAPUND'ARICA is said
;

to have sprung from MAHASIRAS. DATTA is termed son or AGNISINHA;

NA'RA'YANA has the patronymic DA'S'ARAT'HI which belongs to RA'MA-
CHANDRA; and CRISHNA is described as sprung from VASUDEVA.
Nine other persons are next mentioned, under the designation of
ACHALA, 2. VIJAYA, 3. BHADRA, 4. SUPRABHA, 5. su-
'Sucla bates, viz. l.

DARSANA, A'NANDA, 7. NANDANA, 8. PADMA, 9. RAMA.

6.

They are followed by a list of nine foes of VISHNU: it corresponds

nearly with one of the lists noticed by Major MACKENZIE, viz. 1. AS-
WAGR!VA, 2. TA'RACA, 3. MERACA 4. MADHU 5. MIS'UMBHA 6. BALI,
, , ,

7.PRAHLA'DA 8. The king of Lancet (HAVANA) 9. The king of Ma-

, ,

gadha (JARA'SANDHA).
It is observed, that, with the Jinas, these complete the number
of sixty- three eminent personages, viz. 24 Jinas, 12 Chacravarlis,
9 Vdsudevas, 9 Saladevas, and 9 Prativdsudevas.
It appears from the information procured by Major MACKENZIE,
that all these appertain to the heroic history of the Jaina writers.
Most of them are also both known to the orthodox Hindus, and are
the principal personages in the Purdnas.
HEMACHANDRA subsequently notices many names of princes,
familiar to the Hindus of other sects. He begins with PRIT'HU son
of VENA, whom he terms the first king: and goes on to MA'NDHA'TA',
HARIS'CHANDRA BHARATA, son of DUSHYANTA, &c. Towards the end
of his enumeration of conspicuous princes, he mentions CARNA, king of
Champa and^wgra; HA'LA or S'A'LIVA'HANA and CUMA'RAPALA, surnamed
;

CHAULUCYA, a royal saint, who seems from the title Paramdrhata to ,

have been a Jaina and apparently the only one in that enumeration.
,

In a subsequent part of the same chapter, HEMACHANDRA, (who

was himself a theologian of his sect, and author of hymns to JINA,*)
mentions and discriminates the various sects; viz. 1st. Arhatas, or
Jainas, 2dly, Saugatas, or Bauddhas , and 3dly, six philosophical
schools, viz. 1st. Naiydyica, 2d. Yoya, 3d. CAPILA'S Sanc'hya, 4th. Vai-

* A commentary on these hymns is dated in "Siica 1214 (A. D. 1292); but

how much earlier HEMACHANDRA lived, is not yet ascertained.
298 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS.

seshica , 5th. Vdrhaspalya ,

or Naslica , and 6th. Chdrvdca or Locdyata.
The two reputed atheistical, as denying a future state and
last are
a providence. If those be omitted, and the two Mimdnsds inserted,
we have the six schemes of philosophy familiar to the Indian circle
of the sciences.
The fourth chapter of HEMACHANDRA'S vocabulary relates to earth
and animals. Here the author mentions the distinctions of countries
which appear to be adopted by the Jainas; viz. the regions (yarshct)
named Bharata Airdvata, and Videhd, to which he adds Guru: noticing
also other distinctions familiar to the Hindus of other sects, but ex-
plaining some of them according to the ideas of the Jainas. Arya-
'

varta,' he observes, 'is the native land ofJinas, Chacris, and Arcl-
1

dhachacris situated between the Vindhya and Himddri mountains.

,
'

This remark confines the theatre of Jaina history, religious and

heroic, within the limits of Hindustan proper.
A passage in BHA'SCARA'S treatise on the sphere, will suggest
further observations concerning the opinions of the Jainas on the di-
visions of the earth. Having noticed , for the purpose of confuting
it, a notion maintained by the Bauddhas (whom some of the com-
mentators, as usual among orthodox Hindus, confound with the
Jainas,} respecting the descent or fall of the earth in space he says,* ;

the naked sectaries and the rest affirm, that two suns, two moons,
and two sets of stars appear alternately: against them I allege
this reasoning. How absurd is the notion which you have formed
of duplicate suns, moons and stars ,
when you see the revolution of
the polar fish.'**
The commentators*** agree that the Jainas are here meant; and
one of them remarks, that they are described as naked sectaries &c. ;

because the class of Digambaras is a principal one among these

people.
do entertain the preposterous notion here
It is true that the Jainas
attributed to them : and
also true that the Digambaras among
it is ,

the Jainas, are distinguished from the 'Suddmbaras not merely by ,

the white dress of the one, and the nakedness, (or else the tawny
apparel) of the other; but also by some particular tenets and di-
versity of doctrine. However, both concur in the same ideas re-
garding the earth and planets, which shall be forthwith stated, from
the authority of Jaina books: after remarking, by the way, that
ascetics of the orthodox sect in the last stage of exaltation,
,
when
they become Paramahansa, also disuse clothing.
The world, which according to the Jainas is eternal, is figured
by them as a spindle resting on half of another; or as they describe
it, three cups, of which
the lowest is inverted; and the uppermost

* 3. v. 8 & 10. ** Ursa minor.

Golddhydya,
*
LACSIIMIDASA, MUNiswAHA, and the Vdsandbhdshya.
:
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS. 299

meets at its circumference the middle one. They also represent

the world by comparison to a woman with her arms akimbo. * Her
waist, or according to the description first mentioned, the meeting
of the lower cups, is the earth. The spindle above, answering to
the superior portion of the woman's person, is the abode of the
gods and the inferior part of the figure comprehends the infernal
;

regions. The earth, which they suppose to be aflat surface, is

bounded by a circle, of which the diameter is one raju.** The lower
spindle comprises seven tiers of inferior earths or hells, at the dis-
tance of a raju from each other, and its base is measured by seven
rajus. These seven hells are Ralna prabhd, 'Sarcard prabhd, Balnea
prabhd, Panca prabhd Dhuma prabhd, Tama prabhd, Tamalama prabhd.
,

The upper spindle is also seven rajus high and its greatest breadth
;

is five rajus. Its summit which is 4,500,000 yojanas wide is the

,

abode of the deified saints: beneath that are five Vimdnas, or abodes
of gods of which the centre one is named Sarvdrfhasiddha : it is
:

encompassed by the regions Apardjita, Jayanta, Vaijayanta and Vi-

jaya. Next, at the distance of one raju from the summit, follow
nine tiers of worlds representing a necklace (graiveyaca) and in-
, ,

habited by gods, denominated, from their conceited pretensions to

supremacy, Ahamindra. These nine regions are, Adilya, Pritincara,
Somanasa, Sutnanasa Suvisdla, Sarvalobhadra
, Manorama, Supra- ,

vaddha, and Suddarsdna.

Under these regions are twelve (the Digambaras say sixteen) other
regions, in eight tiers,from one to five rajus above the earth. They
are filled with Vimdnas, or abodes of various classes of gods, called
by the general name of Calpavdsis. These worlds, reckoning from
that nearest the earth are Saudhama and Isdna Sanatcumdra and
, ,
:

Mahendra; Brahme: Ldnlaca; 'Sucra; Sahasrdra; Anala and Prdnala;

Arana and Achyula.
The sect ofJina distinguish four classes of deities, the Vaimdnicas,
Bhuvanapalis Jyolishis, and Vyaniaras. The last comprises eight
,

orders of demigods or spirits, admitted by the Hindus in general,

as the Rdcshanas, Pisdcshas, Cinnaras, &c. supposed to range over
the earth. The preceding class (Jyotishis] comprehends five orders
of luminaries; suns, moons, planets, constellations, and stars, of
which more hereafter. The Vaimdnicas belong to the various Vi-
mdnas, in the twelve regions, or worlds, inhabited by gods. The
class of Bhuvanapali includes ten orders, entitled Asuracumdra, Ndga-
cumdra, &c.; each governed by two Indras. All these gods are
mortal, except, perhaps, the luminaries.

* The Sangrahani ratna and Locandb author-

sutra, both in Preterit, are the
ities here used.
* This is
explained to be a measure of space, through which the gods are
able to travel in six months, at the rate of 2,057, 152 yojanas, (of 2,000 crdsa
each), in the twinkling of an eye.
300 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OF JAINS.

The earth consists of numerous distinct continents, in concentric

circles, separated by seas forming rings between them. The first
circle is Jambu dtvipa, with the mountain Sudarsa Meru in the centre.
It isencompassed by a ring containing the salt ocean; beyond which
is the zone, named Dhdluci dwipa; similarly surrounded by a black
ocean. This is again encircled by Pushcara dwipa, of which only
the first half is accessible to mankind: being separated from the re-
moter half by an impassable range of mountains denominated Md- ,

nushollara parvata. IJhdtuci dwipa contains two mountains, similar to

Sumeru named Vijanga and Achala and Pushcara contains two
,
.-

others, called Mandird and Vidyunmdli.

The diameter of Jambu drvipa being 100,000 great yojanas,* if
y
the 190th part be taken, or 526^, we have the breadth of Bha-
rala varsha^ which occupies the southern segment of the circle.
Airdvata is a similar northern segment. A
band (33648 yojanas wide)
across the circle, with Sudarsa Meru in the middle of it, is Videha
varsha, divided by Meru (or by four peaks like elephant's teeth,
at the four corners of that vast mountain) into east and west Videha.
These three regions, Bharata, Airdvala, and Videha, are inhabited by
men who practice religious duties. They are denominated Carma-
bhumi, and appear to be furnished with distinct sets of Tirtkancaras,
or saints entitled Jina. The intermediate regions north and south
of Meru are bounded by four chains of mountains; and intersected
by two others in such a manner, that the ranges of mountains, and
:

the intermediate vallies, increase in breadth progressively. Thus

y
Himavatis twice as broad as Bharata varsha (or ]052jf); the valley
y
beyond it is double its breadth (2105 j5^); the mountain Mahdhimaval
y y
is twice as much (4210}); its
valley is again double (8421 ^-g);
and
y
the mountain Nishaddha has twice that breadth (I6842j27). The val-
lies between these mountains, and between similar ranges reckoned
from Airdvata (viz. 'Sic'hari, Rucmi and Nthi) are inhabited by giants
(Yugald), and are denominated Bhogabhiimi. From either extremity
of the two ranges of mountains named Himavut and 'Sic' hart, a pair
of tusks project over the sea; each divided into seven countries
denominated Anlara dwipas. There are consequently fifty-six such ;

which are called Cubhogabhiimi, being the abode of evil doers. None
of these regions suffer a periodical destruction, except Bharata and
Airdvata, which are depopulated, and again peopled at the close of
the great periods before-mentioned.
Wecome now to the immediate purpose for which those notions
of the Jainas have been here explained. They conceive the setting

* Each great yojana contains 2000 cot.

 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SECT OP JAINS. 301

and rising of stars and planets to be caused by the mountain Su-

meru: and suppose three times the period of a planet's appearance
to be requisite for it to pass round Sumeru, and return to the place
whence it emerges. Accordingly they allot two suns, as many
moons, and an equal number of each planet, star, and constellation
to Jambu dwipa and imagine that these appear on alternate days,
, ,

south and north of Meru. They similarly allot twice that number
to the salt ocean; six times as many to Dhdluci dwipa; 21 times as

many, or 42 of each, to the Cdlodadhi: and 72 of each to Pushcara

dwipa.
It is this notion,appjied to the earth which we inhabit, that BHA'-
SCARA refutes. His argument
is thus explained
by his commentators.
'
The star close to the north pole with those near it to the east
,

and Avest, forms a constellation figured by the Indian astronomers

as a fish. In the beginning of the night (supposing the sun to be
near Bharani or Musca) the fish's tail is towards the west; and his
;

head towards the east; but at the close of the night, the fish's tail,
having made a half revolution, is towards the east, and his head
towards the west and since the sun when rising and setting is
; , ,

in a line with the fish's tail, there is but one sun not two.' This
;

explanation is given by MUNIS'WARA and LACSHMIDA'SA. But the

Vdsand bhdshya reverses the fish, placing his head towards the west
at sun-set, when the sun is near Bharani.
 XIII.

On the ORIGIN and peculiar TENETS of certain

MUHAMMEDAN SECTS.

[From the Asiatic Researches, vol. vii. p. 338 344. Calcutta 1801. 4to.]

The Bohrahs, numerous in the provinces of the Indian peninsula,

but found also in most of the great cities of Hindustan, are conspi-
cuous by their peculiar customs such for example, as that of wear-
;

ing at their orisons an appropriate dress which they daily wash

,

with their own hands. .Their disposition for trade to the exclusion
of every other mode of livelihood, and to the government of their
tribe by a hierarchy, are further peculiarities, which have rendered
them an object of inquiry, as a singular sect.
Researches made by myself, among others, were long unsuccess-
ful. My informers confounded this tribe with the Ismdiliyahs, with
the Ali-ildhiyahs, and even with the unchaste sect of Cherdgh-cusli.
Concerning their origin the information received was equally erro-
neous with that regarding their tenets. But at length a learned
Sayyad referred me to the Mejdlisu'lmuminim composed by KURULLAH
of Shusler a zealous SJndh, who suffered for his religious opinions
,

in the reign of JEHA'NGIR. In the passage, which will be forthwith

cited from that work the Bohralis are described by the author as
,

natives of Gujrdt, converted to the Muhammedan religion about three

hundred years before his time, or five centuries ago.
To that passage I shall subjoin extracts from the same work,
containing an account of similar tribes, with some of which the
Bohrahs may perhaps have been sometimes confounded. Concern-
whom they have been actually mistaken, it
ing the Ismdiliyahs, for
must be remembered ,
who take
that these form a sect of Shidhs ,

their distinctive appellationfrom Ismail, eldest son and nominated

successor of Imdn Jdfer, surnamed 'Sadik. They consider Ismail as
the true heir of the Imdmel, and do not acknowledge the legal suc-
cession of his brother MUSA' and of the five last Imams, This sect
flourished under the Egyptian dynasty of Khalifs founded by MU-
IIAMMED MAIIAD!, who claimed descent from the Imam ISMAIL him-
self. It was also conspicuous under a dynasty of princes of this
 OP CERTAIN MUHAMMEDAN SECTS. 303

*
whom, HASAN SABAH founded a principality in Irak.
sect, the first of
The sect
may exist in
still
Syria; but it does not seem to be at pre-

sent known in the Indian portions of Asia.

The on the contrary, are become numerous in India.

Ali-ilahiyaJts
This sect mentioned by the author of the Ddbisidn, as prevalent
is
in his time, only at Uzbil, or Azbdl, in the mountainous tract near
Khald. It now prevails, according to information which I have re-
ceived in a part of the dominions of NAWA'B-NIZA'MU'L-MULC. The
singular tenets of this heretical sect are thus stated by MOHSEN PAN!.
"
The Ali-ildhiyahs hold that celestial spirits which cannot other-
, ,

wise be known to mankind, have frequently appeared in palpable

shapes. God himself has been manifested in the human form, but
especially in the person of AL,i MURTEZA', whose image, being
that
of ALI ULLAH or ALi God these sectaries deem it lawful to wor-
, ,

ship. They believe in the metempsychosis; and, like others who

maintain that doctrine abstain from fleshmeat. They imagine that
,

ALI MURTEZA', when he quitted this earth, returned to the sun, which
is the same with himself; and hence they call the sun ALI ULLAH.

This sect does not admit the authenticity of the Koran as it is now
extant: some pretending that it is a forgery of ABUBECR'S OMAR'S ,

and OTHMA'N'S, others condemning it, simply because it was edited

by the last mentioned Khalif. The members of this sect appear to
vary in regard to some points of doctrine but the leading and uni-
;

versal tenet of this sect is, age of the world, God is

that, in every
manifested in the persons of prophets and of saints; for instance,
he was ADAM and afterwards AHMED and ALI and in like manner
,
:

these sectaries believe in the transmigration of God into the persons

of the Imams. Some of them affirm that the manifestation of the
,

divine being, in this age of the world, was ALI ULLAH; and after
him, his glorious posterity: and they consider MUIIAMMED as a pro-
phet sent by ALI ULLAH. When God, say they, perceived MUHAM-
MED'S insufficiency, he himself assumed the human form for the
purpose of assisting the prophet."**
It does not appear from any satisfactory information, that the Boh-
rahs agree with either of these sects, in deifying ALI, or in contest-
ing the legal successsion of the six last Imams. On the contrary,
the tribe is acknowledged to consist of orthodox Sunnts, and of true
Shiahs; but mostly of the last mentioned sect. These and other
known circumstances corroborate the following account of that tribe,
as given by NURULLAH of Shiisler, in the work before mentioned.

* See the Ddbistdn of Mulld Mohsen

Fdni; and D'HEKBELOT'S Bibliotheque
orientate. If the industrious Bohrahs and the remorseless "assassins" had
really arisen out of the same sect, it would be a new fact in the history of
the human mind.
** See the
Ddbisidn, from which this account is abstracted.
304 ON THE ORIGIN AND PECULIAR TENETS

"TheBohrahs are a tribe of the faithful which is settled chiefly

at Ahmeddbdd and its environs. Their salvation in the bosom of
religion took place about three hundred years ago , at the call of a
virtuous and learned man, whose name was MULLA AL!, and whose
tomb is still seen at the city of Cumbdyal.
"
The conversion of this people was thus conducted by him As :

the inhabitants of Gujrdt were pagans, and were guided by an aged

priest, a recreant, in whom they had a great Confidence, and whose
disciples they were, the missionary judged it expedient, first to oft'er
himself as a pupil to the priest, and after convincing him by irre-
fragable proofs, and making him participate in the declaration of
faith then to undertake the conversion of others. He accordingly
,

passed some years in attendance on that priest, learnt his language,

studied his sciences, and became conversant with his books. By
degrees he opened the articles of the faith to the enlightened priest,
and persuaded him to become Muslemdn. Some of his people
changed their religion in concert with their old instructor. The
circumstance of the priest's conversion being made known to the
principal minister of the king of that country, he visited the priest,
adopted habits of obedience towards him, and became a Mitslem.
But for a long time, the minister, the priest, and the rest of the con-
verts, dissembled their faith, and sought to keep it concealed, through
dread of the king.
" At
length the intelligence of the minister's conversion reached
the monarch. One day he repaired to his house, and finding him in
the humble posture of prayer, was incensed against him. The min-
ister knew the motive of the king's visit, and perceived that his

anger arose from the suspicion that he was reciting prayers and per-
forming adoration. With presence of mind, inspired by divine pro-
vidence, he immediately pretended that his prostrations were occa-
sioned by the sight of a serpent, which appeared in the corner of
the room, and against which he was employing incantations. The
king cast his eyes towards the corner of the apartment, and it so
happened that there he saw a serpent; the minister's excuse
appeared credible, and the king's suspicions were lulled.
"After a time, the king himself secretly became a convert to the
Muslemdn faith but dissembled the state of his mind for reasons of
; ,

state. Yet at the point of death he ordered by his will that his
, , , ,

corpse should not be burnt according to the customs of the pagans.

,

"Subsequently to his decease, when SULTA'N ZEFER, one of the

trusty nobles of Sulldn FIRUZ SHA'H, sovereign of Dehli, conquered
the province of Gujrdl; some learned men, who accompanied him,
used arguments to make the people embrace the faith, according to
the doctrines of such as revere the traditions. * Hence it happened,

* The Sunm's, or orthodox sect.

 OF CERTAIN MUHAMMEDAN SECTS. 305

that some of the tribe of Sohrahs became members of the sect of

the Sunnel.
."The party which retains the Jmdmiyeh tenets, comprehends
nearly two thousand families. They always have a pious learned
man amongst them, who expounds cases of law according to the
doctrines of the Imdmiyehs. Most of them subsist by commerce and
mechanical trades; as is indicated by the name of Bohrah, which
signifies merchant, in the dialect of Gujrdl. They transmit the fifth
part of their gains to the Sayyads of Medineh; and pay their regular
eleemosynary contributions to the chief of their learned, who dis-
tributes the alms among the poor of the sect. These people,
great and small, are honest, pious, and temperate. They always
suffer much persecution (for the crime of bearing affection towards
the holy family) from the wicked murderers,* who are invested
with public authority and they are ever involved in the difficulties
;

of concealment.
"The 'Sadikiyahs are a tribe of the faithful Hindustan; pious men,
and disciples of SAYYAD CABIRU'DDIN, who derived his descent from
ISMA'IL, son of Imam JA'FER. This tribe is denominated 'Sadikiyahs,
by reason of the sincere [Stodz'/r] call of that Sayyad. Although that
appellation have, according to received notions, a seeming relation
to ABUBECR whose partisans gave him this title yet it is probable
, ,

that the sect assumed that appellation for the sake of concealment.
However, no advantage ever accrues to them from it. On the con-
trary, the arrogant inhabitants of Hind, who are Hinduis, being re-
tainers of the son of the impious HIND,** have discovered their
attachment to the sect of Shiahs, and have revived against them the
calumnies which five hundred years ago they broached against the
Ismdttiyahs. They maliciously charge them with impiety; such,
indeed, is their ancient practice. They violate justice, and labour
to extirpate this harmless tribe. In short, they cast the stone of
calumny on the roof of the name and reputation of this wretched
***
people, and have no fear of God, nor awe of his Prophet.
"In short, nearly thirty thousand persons of this sect are settled
in provinces of Hindustan, such as Multdn, Ldhor Dehli and Gujrdl.
, ,

Most of them subsist by commerce. They pay the fifth part of their
gains to the descendants of SAYYAD CABIR, who are their priests;
and both preceptor andpupil, priests and laymen, all are zealous Shiahs.
God avert evil from them, and make the wiles of their foes recoil!
"The Hdzdrehs of Cdbul are an innumerable tribe, who reside in
Cdbul, Ghaznin, and Kandahar. Many of them are Shiahs, and ad-

* The orthodox. **
Meaning IIINDA, the mother of MOAVIY'STEH.
*** The author
proceeds in a strain of invective against the Sunnis; espe-
cially against Mulld ABDULLAH ofLdfior, who bore the title of the MAKHDU-
MO'L-MULC. This, being superfluous, is here omitted.
20
306 ON CERTAIN MUItAMMEDAN SECTS.

herents of the holy family. At present, among the chief of the

Shidhs, is Mirzd SHA'DMA'N, with whom the faithful are well pleased,
and of whose incursions the Khdrejis* of Cdbul and Ghaznin bitterly
complain.
"The Baloch of Sind; many of these are devoted Shidhs. They
call themselves, and are called by all the faithful, ALJ'S friends.
Sayyad RA'JU of Bokhara exerted himself in the guidance of this
tribe; his descendants remain among them, and are occupied with
the concerns of the sect/'

* The word is here used as a term of

reproach; for its origin, as the ap-
pellation of a sect, see D'HERBELOT'S Blbliotheque orientate.
 INDEX.

A.
Agnishtoma, 31, 44, 49, 119.
Abhdt>a,p. 167, 182, 194. Akancdra, 153, 267.
Abhidhdna chinkdmani, 289. Ahdrica, 282.
Ab/iimdna, 153. AINDRAYANl', 90.
ABUIMAXYU, 285. Aiifdri, 117.
Abhira, 274. Aiswarya, 267.
Abhisheca, 19. AITAREYA, 25.
Abhyantara, 252. Aitareya dranyaca, 25, &c.
ABJA, 26. Aitareya brdhmana, 11, 15, 19, &c.
Ablutions, 76, 84. Aitareya upanishad, 26, 55, 208.
Absorption of the soul in the Supreme Altihya, 259.
Being, 150, 234, 241. AITISAYANA, 189.
ABU*L-FAZL, 284. 4/a, 223.
Acdsa, 154, 170, 174, 217, 222, 239, AJATASATRU, 30, 38, 222-
*
248, 253, 256. AJIGARTA, 10.
Acdsdsticdya, 248. AJITA, 291.
Achdra, 193. Ajiva, 245.
Achdra ckandricd, 92. Atocdcdsa, 248.
Achdrddersa, 92. Ali-ildhiyahs, 302, 303.
Ach'hdvdc, 84, 119. ALI-MURTEZA, 303.
ACHTUTA CRISHNANANDA TIRT'HA, 216. ALl'-ULLAH, 303.
Adbhuta, Adbhuta. brdhmana, 49. Allobii, 288.
Ad'harma, 181, 248, 255. AMBARISHA, 11.
Adharmdslicdya, 248. AmbashVha, 272.
Adhicaranas 189, 191, 192, 211, 252. AMBASHT'HYA, 21.
AdhishThdtri, 262. Ambhas, 26.
Adhwara, 43. AMBHINI, 16.
Adhwaryu, 5, 83. AMBHRINA, 16.
Adhydya, 8, 19, 31, 34. AMERA SINHA, 274.
ADISWARA, 277. Amritavindu upanishad, 08.
ADITI, 95. ANALA'NANDA, 213.
ADITYA, the sun, 32. Ananda, 46, 258.
Adityas, 16, 20, 44, 131. ANA\DAGIRI, 36, 58.
ADWAITAXAXDA, 213, 215. ANANDAJNYANA, 45, 49, 56.
ADWAYANANDA, 215. ANANDASRAMA, 55.
Agama, 270. A'NANDATI'RT'HA, 25, 49.
Agamas, 9, 251, 266, 268. Anandamaya, 217.
AGASTYA, 10, 14. ANANTATI'RT'HA, 214.
AGHAMARSHANA, 17. Anandavalli upanishad, 59.
Aghdtin, 247, Ancestors, ceremonies performed in
AGNI, author of part of the yajurveda, their honour, 113, &c.
44. Incarnation of AGNI, 145. Andaja, 239.
Agnidhra, 1 19. Andhra, dialect, 201.
Agni pur ana, 77. ANGA, 11, 22.
Agni rahasya, 35, 209. Anga, 271,297.
20*
308 INDEX.
ANGIR, 56. ARINDAMA, 25.
ANGIRAS, 10, 11, 18, 22, 34,39, 56, ARJDNA, 43.
71, 219, 284. Arrtd, 49.
Anirucla gdna, 48. ARRIAN ,
his account of the Indian
Aniruddha, 267, 268. sages, 285, 286.
Anna, 240. Arshaya brdhmana, 48.
Annamaya, 239. Art'fia, 172.
Anomalies of the dialect of the J^edas, Arthdpatli, 194.
202. Arfhavdda, 193.
ANTACA, 90. ARUNA, 19, 30, 50, 52.
Anlardya, 247. ARUNDHATI, 70.
Antaricsha, 269. Aruniya or Aruniyoga upanlshad, 58.
Antarydmin, 218. ARYAMAN, 46, 35, 139. 1

Anu, 223. Aryavarta, 298.

Anubhava, W8, 183.
Asddhu, 247.
Anucramani, 10, 13. AS AM ATI, 11.
Anugatnana, 74. Asandival, 21.
Anumdna, 193. Asanga, 11.
ANUMATI, 95, 121. ^Sff/, 17.
AnurdeChd, 126. Asclepias, juice of the acid, 14, 43,
Anushfhdna sarira, 155. See Soma.
Anush'fhubh, 18.
Anuvdcas of the Rig veda, 8, of the Ash'taca, 43.

White Fajur veda, 31 , of the Black Asiciri, 85.

Asles/id, 54, 67.
Yajur veda 43 ,
of the Afharvana
AiMARAT'HYA, 210, 220, 222.
veda, 53. Asrama upanishad, ?9.
Anuvaha, 119.
Asrava, 246.
Annaydrfha pracdsicd, 214.
Asticdya, 248.
^fp, 130, 239. Astronomical notions of the Jainas.
Apdchyas, 20. 300.
Apadesa, 185.
^sw, 29.
^prfna, 27, 122.
ASDRI, 63, 89, 145, 164.
APANTARATAMAS, 209.
Asrvabdla, 202.
APASTAMBA, 6, 61, 73, 90, 126, 200.
Apaslambiyas, 6. As'wALA, 41, 57.
Apavarga, 258. AS'WALAYANA, 5, 16, 57, 6J, 196.
Apralisanc'hya nirdd/ia, 256. Aswaldyani sdc'hd, 8.
Apravritti, 246. A'swamedha, 31, 35, &c. 43, 75, 150,
241.
Apsarases, 71.
Aswamedhya, 35.
-#pta vdcya, 193.
-flpfya, 14, 20.
ASWAPATI, 50.
Apurva, 203. ASWATARASWA, 50, 52.
APYAYA DICSHITA, 213, 216. Aswina (month), 117, 121.
Aranya of the Rig veda 25, of the
,
Asrvini, 67.

Tailliriya 1'ajur-vcda, 45. ASWINI, 130, 134.

Aranyaca, 25. Fifth dranyaca, 196. AS'WINS, 14, 16, 32, 67.
Aranya-gdna, 48, 49. AT'HARVAN, 2, 32, 34, 39, 56.
Archica, 47. Afharua or A? bar van a veda, 2, 39, 47,
Archica gdna, 48. 53, &c.
Ardha vaindsicas, 253. Afharvasiras upanis/iad, 57.
<4r^'^fl, 84, 103. Atheistical Sdnc'Iiya, 149, 159.
Arghya, 130. Alirdtra, 45.
AKHAT, 245, 251, &c. Ativdhica, 155.
^4r//a/, 290. Atmabodha upanis/iad, 69.
Ar/tfitas,245, &c. , 154, 219, 253, &c. 262.
Ar/u/las, 297. upanishad, 58.
 INDEX. 309

Atoms, 153, 155, 176, 210, 223, 249, Bardiya, 273.

257. Barbara language, 201.
ATREYA, 6, 189. BARDE8ANE8, 287.
ATREYI, 210. Barga, 8
Atreyi sdc'hd, 6, 44. Baruda, 275.
ATBI, 10, 22, 96. Bathing, 77, 8-1, 85.
ATYARATI, 23. Bauddhas, 210, 243, 251, &c. 280, &c.
Auc'hydyas, 6. BAUD'HAYANA, 61, 90, 127, 200.
Auddrica, 282. Bauddhdyanas, 6.
AUDULOMI, 210, 222, 236. Beatitude, 149, 168.
AUDUMBARA, 90. Beings, three orders of, 155.
Aupamanyavas, 6. Berber a, 271.
Avachalruca, 22. Bhddra, 92.
Avaha, 119. Bhadrdi'acdsa, 98.
Avasarpini age 290, 295. BHAGA, 16.
Avatdras, 26, ofAGNi, 145. hereditary Bhagavad gi(d, 209, 266.
avatar a of GANE^A, 125. BHAGAVAT, 267, &C.
AVICSHIT, 22. Bhdgavata purdiia, 1 3, 63, 71 , 123, 266.

Avidyd, 255. Bhdgavalas, 210, 266, &c.

BHALLAVI, 50.
Avyacla, 223.
Bhdmati, 213.
AYA'SYA, 40.
Ayatana, 220. Bhanganaya, 249.
BHARADWAJA, 10, 56, 277.
Ayin Acberi, 284.
Bharani, 301.
Ayogava, 274.
y 247. BHARATA, 22.
BHARGA, 25.
BHASCARA, 272, 298, 301.
B. BMshya, 166.
ratna prabhd, 213.
BABHRD, 25. Bhdsftya
BHATTA, 192, 213.
BADARAYANA, 189, 210, 237. BHATTA BHASCARA, 69, 214.
BADARI, 189, 210, 220, 236. BHATTA CUMARILA SWA'MI, 190.
Baddha, 246. Bha'fta dipicd, 191.
Baddhdlmd, 245. BHATTA NAHAYAXA, 277.
BAHCALA, 4.
Bhaulica, 252, 253.
BAHCALI, 5. Bhautica sarga, 155.
BAHULA, J21.
Bhdva, 167.
Bahuld chaturfhi, 121. BHAVADEVA, 92, 235.
Bahvrich, 4, 196. BHAVADEVA MIs'RA, 214.
Bahvrich brdhmana upanishad, 25.
' Bhdvand, 182.
Bahvrich dtflid, 200. BHAVANAT'HA MIS'RA, 191.
Bdhya, 252. BHAVANI, 68.
Baidya, 272. Bhdvdrfha dipicd, 166.
^fl/a, 267. Bhdvayavya, 11.
BALA'CA, 38. Bhamishya purdna, 81, 82.
BALACI, 38, 222. Bhecuri, 136.
BALA CRISHNA, 34, 57, 58. BMda, 183.
Saladevas, 297. Bhelupurd, 293.
BALA RAMA, 267. BHIMA, 25.
BALIBHADRA, 166. BHIMA8ENA, 121.
BALLABHA ACHARYA, 166, 180, 214. Bhdclri, 245.
BALLALA S^NA, 277, 278. Bhdgya, 245.
Baldch, 306. BHOJA RAJA Or BHOJA PATI, 149.
Bandha, 262. Bhdjya, 20.
Ban-ling, 97. BHRIGU, 10, 21, 45, 57.
Banga, 271, 278. Bhriguvalli upanishad, 59.
310 INDEX.

Bhu, 269. BUDHA, 10, 96.

Bhuman, 220. Bull, an emblem of religious duty, 83.
Bhur, bhuvah, swah, 12. Burning of dead bodies, 98.
Bhiita, 252. BUTTA, 288.
Bhiita yoni, 219.
Bhutidatta, 273.
C.
Black Yajur veda, 5, 43, &c.
Bodhdtmd, 245. CABANDHA, 7.
BODHAYANA, 190. CABANDHI, 57.
Bodhisatwa, 285, 290. CABIRUDDI'N, 305.
BODHU, 89. CACSH1VAT, 11.
Body, twofold, 155. Enquiry concern- Cdit, 273.
ing body in the Nydya, 170. Caiverta, 275.
Bohrahs, 302. Caiwalya, 148, 258.
Brachmaries, 285, &c. Caimalya upanishad, 59.
Brahma or Brahme, and Brahma, 218. Cdla, 248.
Brahma (Brahme), 24, 29, 32, 45, &c. Calabhairava, 108.
218, &c. Cdldgnirudra upanishad, 59.
BRAHMA, ,15, 16, 29, 30, 32, 56, 218, &c. Cdtdmuc'has, 261.
BRAHMA', VISHNU, and RUDRA, 81. Calanus, 205.
Brahma mimdnsd, 189, 208, &c. Calendar, ancient, 65, &c.
Brahmdmrita vershini, 214. CA'LI,68.
Brahman, 218, &c. Cdlicd purdna, 68.
Brdhmana cNhandasi, 83, 119. CALIDASA, 96, 121, 129.
ftrahmahah parimarah, 24. Calinga, 271, 272.
BRAHMANANDA, 216. Caliyuya, 66, 127.
BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI, 214. Calpa, 61.
Brdhmanas, 271, 283. Calpas, 44, 237.
Brdhmanas of the Vedas 7 39, 196,
, , Calpa sutras, 200.
198, &c.; of the Rig veda, 19, &c. ; Cdma, 17.
of theAVhite Fajurveda, 34, &c. ; of CAMA, 267.
the Black Yajur veda 45 , &c. ; of
, Cdmya, 74.
the Sdma-veda, 49, &c. ; of the At'- CAXABHUJ, Or CANABHACSHA, 210, 257.
ftarva veda, 54, &c. See CANADE.
Brdhmana sarvasiva, 92. CANABHUJ, CANABHACSHA, 257.
Brahma pur ana, 72. CAIJADE, 143, &c. 165, &c. 249, 257, &c.
Brahma siitras, 209. Cantta, 43, 53.
ffrahma vidydbharana, 213. Cdnddnucrama, 6.

Brahmavidyd upanishad, 57. Candied, 31, 34, 43.

Brahmavindu upanishad, 58. Cansacdra, 272.
Brahme, see Brahma.
1

Cunt" hasruti upanishad, 58.

Brahme pura, 221. CANWA, 6.
Brahme sudra, 272. Cdnwa school, 34, 36, 42, 209.
Brahme sutra bhdshya, 214. Cdnyacubja Brdhmanas, 271, 277.
Brahmevddin ( rft'wz), 16. Canydcubja, Brdhmans of, 3.
Brdhmi, 153. Capdla, 275.
Breath, (oblations to), 122. Cdpdlas or Cdpdlicas, 261.
Bridegroom, his solemn reception by CAPILA, 63, 68, 89, 144, &c. 224. His
the father of the bride, 128, &c. doctrine contrasted with PATANJA-
BUCCA RAYA, 192. H'B, 159.
BUDDHA, 63, 68, 243, &c. 251, &c. Capita bhdshya, 144, 146.
BUDDHA, mentioned by CLEMENS ALE- Caran, 273.
XANDHINUS, 287. Carana, 273.
Buddhi, 153, 180, 183, 184, 238, 266. Cdrana, 168, 262, 263.
Buddhists, see Bauddhas. Cdrana s'arira, 239.
BUDDHISTS, 280, &C. Cdricd, 166. See Sdnc'liya cdricd.
 INDEX. 311

Carmacdra, 273, 274, 275. Chdndiceyas, 6.

Carma nrimdnsd, 188, &c. CHANDRA, 277.
Carman, 182, 241, 246, 247. Chandrabhdgd, 98.
Cdnnand sarira 282. Chandrdvati, 295.
Carine, see Carman. CHARACA, 6.
CARSHNA'jlNI, 210. Characas, 6.
Carlo, 262. Charana vyuha, 4.
Cdrtica, 72. Cftaru, 202.
Cdrt/a, 168, 262. CHARVACA, 144, 152, 259.
Carya brahme, 236. Chdrvdca school, 208.
CASACRITSNA, 210, 222. Chdrvdcas, 211, 259, &c.
Caserd, 272. Chaturfhi, 140.
Cashmir, chronicle of, 284. Chaturvedi, 3.
Cast, 12. 30, 38. Chaube, 3.
Cash'ta srotriya Brdhmanas, 'ill .
Chaufhi, 140.
Cdsmira Brdhmanas, 271. CHEDI, 11.
CASU, 1 1 .
Cherdgh-cush, 302.
CASYAPA, 10, 21, 121, 277. CVhala, 186.
CAT'HA, 6- CH'handasi sanhifd, 47.
Cafhd, 186. CWhandoga priests, 4T.
CuVhas, 6. CN hdnddgya, 6.
CaVha, CaVhavallf, or Cd'Vhaca upani- CK'hdndogya upanishad, 3, 49 53, &c.
shad, 47, 55, 58, 208. 55, 208, 284.
CATYA, 57. Ch'hetrf, 108.
CATYAYANA, 10, 57, 61, 90. C'hilagranfha. 209.
CA'TYA'YANI, 39. CAz'wa, 271.
Caula upanishad, 69. CHITRA, 11, 30.
CAUS'ALYA, 57. CAzVr, 126, 204.
Canse and effect, 224, 225. .
CHITRAGUPTA, 241.
CACSH1TAC1, 5. CMlragupta, 273.
Caushiiacibrdhmana upanishad, 30, 208. Cttitrdngada, 273.
Causici, 98 ;
Chilrasena, 273.
CauVhumisdc'hd, 6, 7, 196. , 252, 253, &c.
CAVASHA, 21, 42. ,
271.
CAVASHEYA, 42. Chronology, 65, 126.
Cdya, 260. Chulicd upanishad, 57.
Cdyasfhas^n, 277, 278. CHYAVANA, 21.
Cecaya, f>0. Cildla, 106.
Cena or Ceneshila upanishad, 53, 55, Cindta, 41.
59, 208. CIRISA, 25.
Ceremonies, writers on, 61. Ceremo- Classes the Hindus, 270, 280.
of
nies to be observed by a Brahman Known Greek writers 285, &c.
to
when rising from sleep 77, &c. ,
CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS, 287.
Funeral ceremonies 97 &c. An- , ,
Clepsydra, 66.
cestral ceremonies, 113, &c Hospi- Colour, Nydya doctrine respecting it,
tal and nuptial ceremonies, 128, &c. 177.
CES'AVA MISEA, 16B, 172. Commentaries , their importance in
Chacravartis, 297. preserving the text of a book from
Chailana dtmd 245. changes, 60.
Cfiailra, 126, &c. COND'A BHATTA, 166.
Chailta, 252. Controversies of various philosophi-
Champa, 297. cal schools, 152, 159, 160, 170, 173,
Champdpuri, 205. 185, 194, 199,243, 249, 259, 264, &c.
C'/ianSa, 8, 19. Cosa, 239.
C'HANDADEVA, 191. Cows let loose on certain solemn oc-
Chdricldla, 53, 274. casions, 131.
312 INDEX.
Cows, sacrifice of, 128, 129, 131. Darsana, 210, 263.
Crama copies of the Rig and Yajur Darsana upanishad, 69.
veda, 9. Dar'sana varaniya, 247.
Creation of the world, 17, 81, 87. Dasatiy 47.
CRISHNA, 67, &C. Ddsa, 274. a common termination of
CRISHNANANDA, 53, 215. proper names, 278.
CRISHNA DWAIPA'YANA, 209. Daurmanasya, 255.
Crishndlancdra, 216. Death, 233, 251.
CRISHNA mentioned in the cJfhandogya Deistical Sdnc'hya, 159.
upanishad, 284. Deities invoked in the hymns of the
Crishnas, nine, of the Jains, 297. Vedas, are resolvable into different
CRISHNA TIRT'HA, 214. titles of one God, 12. Deities of
Crishna upanishad, 67. Hindu mythology have but a de-
CRI'TI, 6. finite duration of life, 100, 150,151.
Critticd. 54, 65. Deities worshipped by the early Hin-
Oriyd, 73. dus 284. Four classes of Deities
Criyd'sacti, 263. distinguished by the Jainas, 299.
Criydyoga, 268. Deliverance from evil, 149, 150, &c.
Cshatriyas, 271. massacred by PARASU- Deva, a common termination of pro-
EAMA, 70. per names, 278.
Cshuricd upanishad, 57. DEVACI, 69.
Cuta, 271. DEVADARSA, 7.
j
Culina Brdhmanas, 277. Devadarsi ,dc hd, 7.
CULLUCA BHATTA, 2. Devddhidevas, 289.
CUMARILA SWAM1, 190, &C. 199. DEVADUTI, 145.
Cumdr, 272. DEVALA, 224.
Cumbhacdra, 272. Devas of the Jainas, 289.
CURAYA'XA, 11. Devoid of a mantra, 9.
Curma purdna 149. DEVAVRID'HA, 25.
CURU, 42. Devaydna, 235.
Curu, 20, 40. DhanishVhd, 66.
CCRUNGA, 11* Dhanush, 291, 296.
Cusa, 70, &c. Dhdreswara, 149.
CUSHARU, 25. D' karma, 181, 189, 248, 255.
Cushion used at certain ceremonies, DHERMARAJA, 90.
129, &c. DHARMARAJA D1CSHITA, 215.
Cushmdnda, 91. Dharmasdstra, 199.
CUSICA, 14. Dharmdsticdya, 248.
Cusumdnjali, 166. DIIATRI, 120, 121.
CUT'HUMI, 6- Dherma see Dharma.
CUTSA, 10, 14. UHRITARASHTRA, 71, 74.
Cuverina, 273. Dhwansa, 183.
Dhydnavindu upanishad, 58.
Dialectic philosophy of GOTAMA, 165.
D.
Dialects, provincial, 201.
Ddbistdn, 303. Digambaras, 245, 298.
DACSHA, 277. IHLIPA, 129.
^16,
DACSHINA, 15, 16. DIRG'HATAMAS, 22.
Dacshina Rdrd, 278. DIVACARA BHATTA, 127.
DADHYACH, 32, 34, 40. Divine grace, 241.
Dahara, 221. DIVODA'SA, 12.
Daharu vidyd, 209. Diwali, 140.
Daivata, 12. D.dbe, 3.
PAMODARA, 285. Donations accompanied by religious
UARA 8HUC6H, 1. formalities, 111, 112.
Darbha, 54. Dosha, 184.
 INDEX. 313

Dravida dialect, 201. GAND'HARA 25. ,

Drdvida Brdhmanas, 271. Gandharba, 33. The sun, 134, 141.

Dravya, 248. GANDHAHf, 74.
Dric sacli, 263. Gdndhica, 272.
Drishtdnta, 185. GANES'A, 123.
Duhc'ha, 255. Gangd, 23, 85,98.
Duhc'hamd suc'hdma, 295. GANGADHARA, 214.
Duhc'hdnta, 262 263. ,
GANGAYANI 30. ,

DUHSHANTA, 22. Garbha upanishad, 57, 154.

Durgdmahattiva, 275. GARGA 38, 57.
,

DUKMUC'HA, 23. GARGI, 41.

DUSHMANTA DDSHYANTA, , 22. GARGYA 38. ,

DWAIPAYANA 64 209. , ,
Garuda pur ana, 63.
Drvdra, 263. Garuda upanishad, 59.
Dwivedi, 3. GAT'HIN, 14.
Gau'da Brdhmanas, 271.

E. GAUD'APADA, 58, 63, 145, 214, &c.

Ear. Impurity removed by touch! GAURICANTA, 166, 177.

ng
the right ear 78. , GAUTAMA, 200, 251, 283-
Earth, invoked, 85. Gavyutis, 296.
'Ecdyana, 266. Gdyatri, 14, 77, &c. 103, &c. 197. ; ;

Elements, five, 154, 239. Four, 252, Explained, 78. Another version,
254. 109.
Error ,
156. Gdyatri metre , 18.
Eternity of sound, and of the Veda, G er manes286. ^

195, &c. 223. Ghana copies of the Rig and Fajur

Etherial fluid, 154, 170, 174, 226. veda ,
9.

Evidence, three kinds of, 151. Ghdtin, 247.

Evil spirits, 120. GHORA 284.,

Existence of GOD denied by CAPILA, Girandra 293. ,

159. Glossary to the Vedas ,

12.
Goaria grip, 274.
F. GOBHILA, 61.
Gobhiliya sdc'hd , 200.
Faith, 241. Goculasfhas 124, &c. ,

Fire, sacrificial, its consecration, 92, Gods. See Deities.

&c. Seven tongues of fire, 119. Goghna, 128, 129.
Maintenance of aperpetualfire. 118 GONARDA, 284.
233. Gop 274.
,

FIRUZ SHAH 304. , Gopa 273 274.

, ,

Frame, twofold corporeal, investing Gopajivi, 274.

the soul, 155. Gopdla tdpaniya upanishad, 67.
Free will ,
241. Gopat'ha brdhmana, 54, 55.
'

Fruit of works, 241. Gopichandana upanishad, 69.

Fuel used at sacrifices , 94. GOTAMA, 52, 74, 143, 165, &c. 226.
Funeral rites 96, &c. , Gritras, 70.
Gotrica, 247.
G6VERDHANA MIs'RA ,
166.
G.
GOVINDA, 214.
Gdna, 49. GOVINDA BHATT'A ,
166.
Ganadharas, 295. GOVINDANANDA 213. ,

Ganddhipas, 295. GOVINDANAT'HA, 63.

Gdnapatyas, 123, 125. Grdmageya gdna, 47, 48.
Ganns. 137. Gravastala , 84.
Gandaci river, 97. Great Soul, 13.
 INDEX.

Grikya, 71. Incarnations. See Avatdra.

Gnhya grant'ha, 200. INDRA 13, 20, &c., derivation of the
,

Gris/ima, 127. name, 28. Fourteen INDRAS, 71.

GRITSAMADA 10. , ,, Realm of INDEA, 236.
Guest, solemn reception of, 128, &c. INDRADYUMNA, 50,51.
Gujjara Brdhmanas, 271. INDRAPRAMATI 4, 5. ,

Guna, 157, 263. Indras, many admitted by the Jainas,

GUNAVISHNU , 92, 134, 138. 294.
Gupta, acommon termination of pro- Inference, three kinds of, lf>l, 152.
per names, 278. Intellect, obstructions of, 156.
GURU, 190. fsdd/iydya, 34.
Gymnosophistae, 287, &c. Isdvdsya, 34 ,
55 , 208.
203.
Ish'ti,
H. 262.
I'SWARA, 145,^54, 159, 245,
I'S'WARA CHISHNA, 63, 148, 213.
Hansa upanishad, 59.
Hdrda vidyd, 209. IswaragUd, 227. See Bhagavad gild.
Isntara prusdda ,241.
HARIHARA, 192.
HARINAIGUMESHI, 294. Itihdsa, 2, 3, 39, 57.
HAR1TA, 73.
HASAN SABAH, 303.
J.
Hasla 126. ,

Hustindpura, 295. JABALA, 19.

HASTIPALA, 295. Jdbdlas, 6.
HAYAGKIVA, 50. Jdbdla upanishad, 59.
Hdzdrehs, 305. Jagali metre, 18.
HELAYUDHA, 92, 138. JAHNU, 85.
HEMACHANDRA 289. , JAIGISHAVYA, 152.
Hemanta 127. , JAIMINI, 4,6, 143, &c. 189, 219, 231, ;

Heretical systems of Hindu philoso- 236.

phy, 143. Jaina sect, 144, 211, 243, &c.
Hetu 185 254.
, , Jainas, 280 , &c.
Hetwdbhdsa, 186. Jaloca, 285.
HIEROCLES, 287, 288. Jalpa, 186.
Himavai, 20. JAMADAGNI 10. ,

Hindi language: parts of the Vedas Jambu Divipa, 271.

translated into it, 1. JANA, 50, 51.
HIHANYAGARBHA 29, 221, 236. , JANACA, 25, 40,42, 222.
HIRANYANABHA, 6. JANAMILJAYA , 19 21 25, 43. , ,

HIRANYASTUYA 10. , JANANTAPA 23. ,

Molded or Holi festival, 140, 200. JANAS'RUTI , 50.

H6ma,Z\, 203. Janyama 245. ,

Hospitality, 129. -Jard, 251.

Holrt, 83, 119. Jatti copies of the Rig and Fajur
HUHU, 90. veda ,
9.

ffylobii, 288. Jdtdd/idtis, 261.

Jdti, 182, 187, 255.
I.
Jdl!mdld,270, 271.
JATUCARNA, 90.
Iddvatsara, 33. JINA, 243, &c.; 251, &c.
Idoatvatsara 33. , Jinas, 290, &C.
Ijas ,
127. Jiva, 245 253 , ,
262 ,
267 , 282.
Imdn JAFER 302 305. , , Jivaja , 239.
Immolation of victims 68, 151. Al- ,
JIVALA , 50.
legorical immolatiou of BRAHMA, 17, Jivan mucti, 237, 2-11.

31, 35, 104, 105. Jivdsticdya, 248.

 INDEX. 315

Jiudlmdn, 169, 269. M ahdbhdrala , 73.-

Jiyiciyd, 85. MAHA'DEVA 68. ,

Jnydna 267.
, Mahdbhula 252. ,

Jnydna varaniya 247. , Muhdlayd, 117.

Jnydna yoga 268. , Mahdndrdyana upanishad, 45.
JUHU, 16. Maharashtra Brdhmanas, 271.
Jupiter, the planet, 18, 96. MAHAS'ALA, 219.
Jyeshfhd, 126. Ma/idsarga, 152.
JydtisA, 34, 65. Mahal, 153, 223, 262, 266.
Jyotish'toma , 35 43. , Mdheswaras, 210, 244, 261 , &c.
MAHIDASA, 26.
L. MAH1DHARA 3 I , 34 , , 60.

LABUCAYANA, 189. Mdhishya, 273.

MaiChila or Mifhila Brdhmanas, 271,
Lacshana 167.,
278.
LACSHMI', prayer to, 112.
MAITKA 47. ,
LACSHMI'DASA 298, 301.
,
Maitrdvaruna , 83, 119.
LACSHMI NARAYANA , 97 , 124.
MAI'TRA'YANI, 90.
Laghu dipicd, 45.
Lalila purdna , 285. Mailrdyani sdc'hd , 46.
Maitrdyani upanishad, 46.
LA'T'AYANA, 61.
Liberation of the soul, 155, 237, 241, Maitrdyaniyas , 6.
246. MAITREYA, 25.
Maitreya vpanishad, 154.
LIC'HITA, 200.
MAITHEYI, 39, 40, 42, 222.
Light , invoked , 79, &c.
Mdldcdra, 273.
Ling a, 124, 155.
Mali, 273.
Lingasarira, 155, 239, 269.
MAMATA, 22.
Linyis, 124.
Loca , 248. Manana,263.
Locdcdsa, 248.
Manas, 153, 171, 172, 269.
Mandalas of the Rigveda sanhild, 8.
LOCACSHI, 6, 90.
MANDHATRI, 11.
Locdydta school , 298. Mandiica or MdncLucya upanishad, 2,
Locdyaticas , 259 &c. ,
55 57.
Lunar month, 126, 127. ,

Lunchitaces a , 245. MAN'DUCEYA, 5.

Mdnibandha tribe, 272, 274.
M. Mdnicdra, 272.
Mantras, 7,8, 30, 31, 196.
Madana parijdta ,
72. Mantra sdstra 9. ,

Mdd'hava, 126, &c. MANU, see MENU.

MAD'HAVA ACHARYA, 30, 123, 191, 289. Marana, 255.
His age, 192. See SAYANA ACHARYA. MARI'CHI, 10, 18.
MADflAVA DEVA, 166, 177. Marriage ceremonies, 128 142.
Mad'hu, 126, &c. Marudvidhd 85. ,

MADHU, 214. MARUTS, 14, 20, 22, 137.

MAD'HUCH'HANDAS 10, 17, 32. ,
MARUTTA, 22.
Mad'huparca, 130, 132. Mashndra, 23.
MADHUSUDANA SARASWATI, 4, 216. Mdtri gana 200. ,

Madltu vidyd, 209. Matsya purdna, 63, 73 153. ,

Mddhy arnica, 251 259. , Matter, believed by the Jainas to be

MAD'HYANDINA 6, 31. , eternal, 282.
Mddfiyandina sdtfka, 31, 34, 40, 42. Maulica Brdhmanas, 278.
Mddhyandina satapaCha, 35. Mdyd, 17, 153, 242,262.
Mdgadka, 271, 272, 273. Mdydmayt 240. ,

Maybe ha maid,
1

Mdgadhi dialect, 294. 191.

Maghd, 54. MedabhUla, 275.
Mdgha, 66, 72, 117, 126. MEDHATIT'HI, 2, 10, 32.
316 INDEX.

MEDHYATIT'HI, 11.
N.
Meditation, religious, 231 ,
&c.
MEGASTHENES , 286 289. , NABHANEDISHT'HA 11. ,

mumenim 302.
Mejdlisit'l , Nabhas, 127.
MENU, 11. Eace of, 21. The first Nabhasya, 127.
MENU, 38. Laws of MENU cited, 2, Ndca, 33.
12, 55,62, 80,87, 118, 142,149, NACHICETAS, 58, 218.
224 270. ,
Nacshatras, 126.
117.
Nddavindu, 58.
MemvantaraSy
Mei u 24. NAGNAJIT, 25.
,
NAGOJI, 145, 149.
Midia, 127.
JVrfi',273.
Metempsychosis, 151, 229. 12.
Metre of the hymns in the Vedas, 18.
Naigama,
Naimittica, 74.
META, 62.
Naishadhiya, 132.
Mimdnsd, 60, 143, 188, &c. Naiydyica, 297.
Mimdnsd bhdshya, 214.
Naiydyica school, 165.
Mimdnsd causlubha, 191. Ndmica , 247.
Mimdnsd nydya viveca, 191. Ndndana, 28.
Mina, 126, 127. Nanddvarta 293- ,

Mind, an organ of perception and Ndndimuc'ha, 117.

action, 153. Ndpita, 273, 275.
Misra a surname, 278. NARAS'ARYA 90. ,

Mildcshard, a commentary on the Vri- NARAYANA, allegorical immolation of,

had dranyaca , 36- 2, 17, 32, 35.
MiChydpravritli, 246. NAHAY'ANA PURUSHA, 32.
MITRA, 16, 18,46. NARAYANA TIRT'HA 147, 166, 216."
,

MlecWhas, 201, 275, 280, 285. Ndrdyana upanishad, 59.

Mdcsha, 168, 246, 258, 262. NARAYANENDRA 26. ,

Mdha, 184,258. NAREDA, 3, 21 , 50-

Ndstica school 298.
Mohaniya, 247. ,

MOHSEN FA'NI, 303. Ndsticas, 244, 251.

Monotheism of the Vedas ,
12 ,
&c. Ndslicya, 268.
Nata 275.
29, 123. ,

Months, 126, &c. Nataca, 275.

Moon, its origin, 96. Ndya , 273.
&c.'
Nema, 201.
Mourning, 101,
126.
Nermadd, 97.
Mrigasiras ,

40 58. Neshtri, 84, 119.

Mrityu , ,

Nichyas, 20.
MuctacacWha, 251.
Muctdmbaras 245. Nidarsana, 185.
,
Nigamana, 185.
Mucidtmd, 245. 12.
Nighanti ,

Muctavasanas 245. ,
Nigrahasfhdna, 187.
Mucli, 74, 237, 241 245, 258.
,
Nihsarana, 258.
Muhammedan sects 302.
,
Nihsreyasa, 168, 258.
MuJiurla, 55, 66. NI'LACAN'T'HA ,214.
Miila pracriti 153. ,
T
A //a purdna 285.
,

MULL A ALI, 304. Nilarudra upanishad, 58.

Mundaca upaniskad, 55, 56, 208. Nimba tree, 101.
MUNI'S'WARA, 298, 301. Nimitta car ana ,265.
Murdhdbhishicta , 276. Nin'swara sanctity a 1 49. ,

Muslemans of India borrow super- , Nirjara, 246.

stitious ceremonies from theHindus, Nirneya , 186.
140. Nirneya sindhu ,113.
Mythology of the Vedas ,
13. Niructa, 12, &c. 60.
 INDEX. 317

Nirupa, 255. Panchdla, 20, 23, 40.

Nirvana, 258, 259. Pdnchardlras , 211, 244, 266, &c.
Nishdda, 272. PANCHAS'IC'HA, 63, 145, 164, 224.
Nili manjari, 61. Panchavinsa brdhmana 49. ,

NITYANANDASRAMA , 36. PANINI 6, 10, 13.

,

Nityasiddha, 245. Panjicd, 19, 49.

Nivaha, 119. Pdpdpuri, 295.
Nrtmed/ta, 43. Pardjayahetu, 187.
NRISINHA 58. ,
Paramahansa 298. ,

Nrisinha purdfia, 63. Paramahansa upanishad, 59.

Nrisinha tdpaniya upanixhad, 55 , 58. Paramdnu 223.,

NRISINHA SARASWATI, 215. Pdramdrhata 297. ,

Nuptial ceremonies , 142, &c. Pdramdrf/iici, 240.

NURULLAH, 302, 303. Paramdtmd, 169.
Nydya, 143, 150, 165, &c. Syllogism, Paramdtma vidyd, 209.
185,211. Parnmestfthi, 13, 17, 21 ,
32.
Nydya litdvali 166. ,
PARAS'ARA, 66, 126, 192, 209.
Nydya maid vis tar a, 191. PARASARYA, 40, 90.
Nydya ratnanuild 1 1 , 1) .
Pdrasica language, 201 .

Nydya sancsttepa 1 66. ,

Parasrcyas ,266.
Nydya sangraha, 166. PARAS'U, 11.
Nydya sdra, 166. PARASU RAMA, 70.
Nydydvali didhiti, 191.
PARCHAS'IC'HA, 89.
Paricslid , 167.
O. PARICSHIT, 19, 21.
Paridevand, 255.
Obsequies, 96, &c. Twelve kinds of,
Parimala, 213, 216.
113.
Parivaha, 119.
Obsolete dialect of the Vedas, 202.
Parivatsara, 33.
Odra ,
272.
Parnotaja ,71.
Ojhd, 278.
PART'HA SARAT'HI MISRA, 191.
'Om, 70, 80, 159, 220, 262.
'Om tat sat 132. ,
Parush'ti, 85.

Organs, 153, 171, 228. PARVATA, 21.

Orthodox systems of Hindu philoso- Paryarica vidyd, 209.
Pfl'sa, 262.
phy, 143.
Po*, 203, 262.
Pdsupatas, 144, 211 , 244, 261 , &c.
P. PA3UPATI, 261.
PACAST'HAMAN, 11 Pasupati idstra 262. ,

Pada copies of the Rig and Yajur Pd'talipulra, 235.

veda, 9. Pdtanjala bhdshya 148. ,

Pdda, 148. PATANJALI, 145, &c. 159, 232.

PaddrCha, 167, 172. Patanj all sutra vritti 149. ,

Paddrfha dipicd, 166. PAT'HYA, 7.

Padayojanicd, 215. Pat'tasiitra cdsa ,

275.
Padmi purdna , 95. Patticdra, 273.
PAILA, 4. Paurdnicas, 259.
Pain, three sorts of, 150, 151. Paurdnica sdnc'hya , 149.
Paippalddisdc'hd, 7,56. Paurusha, 119.
Pala 66.
, Pausha, 117.
Pnldsa,80, 107, 203. PAUSHYINJI, 6.
Pali, 294. PAUTIMASHI , 42.
Paly as 296. , PAUTIMA'SHYA, 40.
Panchdgnividyd pracarana , 209. Pdwdpuri, 295.
Pancha panchajandh 224. , Perception, 151.
318 INDEX.
Persian translation of the upanishads, PrasfJidna bhcda, 7.
284. PRATARDANA, 12, 30, 217.
Persians , their ancient religion, 285, Pratijnyd, 185.
286. Pratisdnchya-nirodha , 255.
P'hala, 184. Prativdaudevas 297. ,

P'hdlguna, 126. Pratyaya, 254.

Philosophy, Hindu systems of, 227, (

&c. PHAVAHANA, 50.

PHILOSTRATUS 287, 288. , Pravritti, 183, 246.
Pica, 201. Prayojana, 185.
PIJAVANA, 22. Pretyabhdva, 184.
Pilu,2Gl. Priests, seventeen required at a great
Pinda , 73.' solemnity, 206.
PinSdcara, 08. 44, 240.
Prtt'hivf,
Pit da upanishad, 58. PRIT'HU, 85.
PIPPALADA, 7, 57. PRIYAMEDHA, 22.
Pisdchas, 174. Pudgala 246 248.
, ,

Pitonhid, 83. Pudgaldsticdya , 248.

Pitris, 114,236. P4/0', 75.
Pitnmedha, 32, 43. PULUSHA, 50, 51.
Pitri pacsha, 117. Pumas, 154.
Planets , sacrifice to the ,
95. Punarbhoya, 184.
PLAYOGA, 11. Punarutpatli, 184.
PLINY, 287. Pimdraca ,
275.
PORPHYRIUS, 287, 288. Pur anas, 2, 36, 39, 57, 153.
Pdlri,8$, 119. Purisaya, 221.
PRABHACARA, 190. Purna vaindsicas, 253.
Prdbhdcaras , 1 94. Purohita, 24.
Pracaratias, 165. Purusha, 26, 54, 154, 221, 264.
PRACHKTAS, 72, 129. Purusha medha, 2, 32, 35, 197.
PRACHINA8ALA, 50. Purusha sucta 104, 197.,

PRACHINAYOGA, 51. Purva bhadrapada, 126.

Pr achy as 20. , Purva mimdnsd , 143, 188, 189, &c.
Prdcrtt, 294. Purva pacsha, 192.
Pracriti, 153, 168, 216, 223, 262, Purva tdpaniya 58. ,

265.,
jPzif-Da va//z', 58.
Pradesamdtra 210. , Piirva varska , 291.
Pradhdna, 216, 228, 264. Pushan, 15, 16, 135.
Pradyumna , 267. PUTRA, 50.
Prdgabhdva 183. ,
Putrajiva, 83.
PRAJANAT'HA, 66.
PRAJAPATI, 13, &c. 29, &c. 44. Abode
of PRAJAPATI, 236. Q-

Prdjdpatya sacrifice, 73. Qualities, 157 ,

177 ,
&c. See
Pramd, 183.
Pramdna, 168, 193. K.
Prameya, 168.
Pramnae 286. , Racshdghna, 119.
Prdna,122, 217, 228. Rd3d (Rdrd), 271, 277, 278.
Prdndgniholra , 53. RAD'HA, 124.
Prdndgnihotra upanishad, 57. Rtid-'hdballabhi, 124.
Prdna samvdda or Prdna vidyd, 209. RAGHAVANANDA ,
191.
Prapd'taca, 34, 43, 47, 53. lidjd, 20.
Prasna , 43. Rajaca, 275.
Pr as na upanishad, 55, 57, 154, 208. Rdja mdrtanda, 149.
Prasfha, 66. Rdjaputra, 272.
 INDEX. 319

Rajas, 157. Sac'hera, 272.

Rdjasitya, 31 , 35, 43. Sdchiguna, 23.
Raja vdrlica 148., Sacraments, five great, 92, &c. viz.
RAMA, 67, 68, 284. Worshippers of 1st. Study of the feda, 88, &c. 2d.
BAM A, 124. Sacrifice to the Deities , 92 , &c.
3d. Sacrifice to the Manes, 97, &c.
RAMACRISHNA, 145, 147.
RAMACRISHNA DICSHITA, 215. 4th. Sacrifice to the Spirits , 120,
KAMAL1NGACHITI 166. &c. 5th. Hospitality, 129, &c.
,

RA"MA MOHEN RAYA (Rammohun Roy), $a'etos,G8, 123, &c.

212. 'Sued, 123, 167, 267.
SACYA, 190,251.
RAMANUJA, 214, 261 , 267 , 289. 285.
'Sdcyasin/ia ,
Rdnidnujas , 124.
Rama tdpaniya upanishad , 59 67. SADANANDA, 215.
,
Sddhana, 246.
RAMA TI'RT'HA, 214, 215.
RANA RANGA MALLA, 149. Sddhu, 247.
Sddhya, 105,246.
Randy aniyas , 7, 209.
Sddhyas, 20.
RANGANAT'HA, 214, 216. 305.
RANGAUAJA DICSHITA, 216. 'Sadikiyahs ,

Raumaca language, 201. Sddrisya, 167.

Sadyuctimuctdoali 166.
Regions of the world sacred to the ,

Ja mas, 298, 299. SAGARA, 224.

SAHADEVA, 25.
Rehesya , 55. Sahds , 127.
Rich, 4, 53, 104, 197. Sahatya, 127.
Rice, used at the nuptial ceremonies, Sahotuja, 71.
135.
'Saivas,G8, 123, &c. 284.
Rig veda, 4, 8, &c. 197, &c. Passage 'Sdlagrdma, 97.
on the burning of widows, 71, 72,73. Surnddhi, 74, 148.
RISHABHA, 291. Sdmagas, 6.
Rislii of a mantra, 9, &c. 32, 43, 48. Sdman,4, 47, 197.
Rituals, 200. Samdna 122.
,

RITUVID, 25. Samanceans 287. ,

Rivers^ holy, 85. Sdmdiiya, 182.

ROH1DASWA, 12. SAMASRAVAS ,41.
ROMASA, 11. Samavdya, 169, 182.
Rudimental creation, 155. Sdma veda, 47, &c.
RUDRA, 15, 16, 87, 137, &c. Sdmavediya priests, 47.
RUDRANI, 112. Samba purdha 78. ,

Rudras, 16,20,44, 131. Sambandha, 168.

Rudra ydinala tantra, 270. Sdmbhavi, 259.
Rupa, 255. Samet sic'hara 294. ,

Kupu scandha 253. , 'Sami, 101, 107, 137.

Samprasdda, 221,
S. Samrdj , sdmrdjya, 20.
Samvaha , 119.
'Sahara bhdshya , 190. Samvara, 246.
SAHARA SWAMI, 190. Samvarga vidyd, 209.
'Sabda, 194. SAMVARTA 22. ,

Samvatsara 33 , 55. ,

'Sac a, 271. Samyacpravritti, 246.

'Sdca drvipa, 271. SANACA,80,89.
S'ACALYA, 5, 41, 90. SANANDANA , 89.
'Sdcalga sdc'hd, 8. SANASRUTA 25. ,

SACAPURXI, 5. SAN AT ANA 89. ,

S'ACAYANA 47.,
SANATCUMARA 3 50. , ,

'Sac' has of the Vedas, 4, &c. Sanca/pa, 71, &c.

320 INDEX.

S'ANCARA, 26 , 34 , 36 , 45 , 49 , 53 , 55, 'Sdriraca mimdnsd bhdshya, 213.

57, 63, 123, 190, &c. 212, &c. 'Sdriraca mimdnsd siitras , 209 , &c.
S'ANCARA ACHARYA, 289. 'Sdrira sutra sdrdrCha chandricd, 214.
S'ANCARA MISRA , 164. SARVAJNYATMA GIRI ,
214.
'Sancara vijeya, 63. Sat vajnyatnia ,
263.
'Sancarshana , 267 , 268. Sarvamedha, 32.
S'ANC'HA , 200. Sarva vaindsicas , 253.
'Sane' hacdra 272.
, Sarvopanishatsdra , 59.
'Sane' ha daraca, 272. SARYATA, 21.
Sanc'hyd, 144. Srf/ra, 194,251.
'SanJIiya, 282, 297. Sa's/ra (fr/ncvz 190 , , 191 .

Sdnc'liya, system of philosophy, 143, 'Sdslra siddhdnta lesa sanyraha, 216.

&c. S'AS'WATI, 11.
Sdnc'hya bhdshya ,
1 47. Sat, 17.
Sdnc'hya cdricd, 145. 'Satadru, 85.
Sdnc'hya caumudi, 147. SATANICA, 21.
Sdnc'hya chandricd, 147. Salapafha brdhmana, 34, 36, 61.
Sdnc'liya pravachana , 146, 148. SATARU'PA, 38.
Sdnc'hya sdra 146, 214.
, 5a^', 72, &c.
Sdnc'hya tatwa caumudi, 147. SATRAJIT, 21.
SANC'HYAYANA, 5, 61. 'Satrunjaya 295. ,

Sancshepa sdriraca, 215. Saturn, the planet, 96.

Sandhyd, 240. Saltwa, 157.
SANDILA, 277. Satwats 20.,

S'ANDILVA ,
266. SATYACAMA, 19 57, 218. ,

'Sdndilya vidyd, 209. SATYAHAVYA 23. ,

SANGAMA, 192. SATYAVAHA, 56.

Sangraha, 148, 191. Salya vidyd, 209.
Sangruham ratna, 299. SATYAYAJNYA, 50, 51.
4,7, of the /?? z>e</# 8, &c.
Sarihild, , Saugatas, 251, 297.
Of the White Yajur veda, 31. Of S'AUNACA, 7, 10, 26, 56, 219.
the Black Yajur veda 43 &c. Of , , 'Saunaciya s'dc'hd , 56.
the Sdma veda 49. Of the Afhar-
, Sauras, 123, 125.
vana veda, 53, 55. SAURAYANAYYA, 40.
SANJIVI, 42. SAURYA'YANI 57. ,

Sanjnyd scandha 254. , Sautrdmani, 31, 35.

Sunmaulica Brdhmanas 278. , Sautrdnlicas, 252, &c.
Sannydsa upanishad, 58. SAVERNA, 277.
Sannydsi, 72. Savilrt, 15, 18, 137, 139.
Sannydsis 287.
, SAVITRI, 15.
Sans ay a, 184. SAVYA, 10.
Sanscdra y 181 , 255. SAYANA'CHARYA , 8, 15, 19, 26, 44, 48,

Sanscdras 280.
, 49, 55, 192. See MA'DHAVA ACHARYA.
Sanscdra scandha, 254. Scanda upanishad, 69.
Sanydya, 169. Scandhas , 253, &c.
Sapindana, 115. Seasons, six, 126.
Sapta chitica ,119. Sectaries Indian , 243
, ,
&c.
'Sdrada, 127. Self-immolation, 205.
Sdraswata Brdhmanas, 271 , 277. 'Serman, 278.
'Sdraswala nation and language, 294. 8ESHANAGA, 65.
SARASWATI, 85, 95, 137. Seswara Sdnc'hya ,
1 49.
Seven steps, 138.
SARCARA'CSHYA , 50, 51. Shoddy atana, 255.
SARJA 25.
, S/iddmdn, 306.
'Sdrira, 218. S/traivinsa, 49.
'Sdriraca bhdshya vibhdga, 213. Shi&hs, 302, 303. .
 INDEX. 321

Shodasa cala vidyd, 209. Suc'ha ,

258.
Siddhdnla, 185, 192. 'Suchi, 127.
Siddftdnta calpataru 216. , 'Sucra, 127.
Silk, 275. Siicshma sarira , 155, 239, 269-
, 8 , 53.
Siman, 28. Siicla
SINDHUDWI'PA, 11. 'Suclabalas , 297.
Sir,126, 127. 'Sucldmbaras , 298.
8ITA,124. SUDACSHINA, 96.
SIVA, 124,261. SUDAS 22 , 25.
,

'Sivabhdgavatas , 261. SUDD'HA GANAPATI, 125.

'Sivdgama, 262. SUDHANWA, 190.
sivi, 11, 23, 57. 'Sudhas'rolriya Brdhmanas, 277.
'Sloca vdrlica, 191. 'Sudras,2~l.
Smarana, 183. SUGATA, 251.
Smrfo, 193, 199, 224, 230. Sugata 290. ,

Sndva 41. , SUMANTU, 4 6, 7. ,

'So'co255.
,
S'UMBHADES'A 271. ,

SOLINUS, 287. SUMERU, 175.

Sdma, 14, 150, 203. Sun, 15, 82, 83.
SOMA, 16, 44, 96, 114, 129, 133, 137. SUNACA, 56.
SOMACA 25. , SUNAS^P'HA, 10.
S'OMANAT'HA, 191. Sundari tdpani, 69.
SOMASUSHMAN , 21. Sunnis, 303,304.
Sommonacodom , 283. 'Siinya, 223.
Soul, 29, 154, 162, 168, 226, 238, SURABHI, 121, 129.
260, 261, 282. SUBES'WABACHARYA , 36.
Sound, its perpetuity, 185, 195. SCRYA, 15.
Sources of knowledge, 151, 168, 194, SUSHADMAN, 25.
211. SUSHAMAN, 11.
Spars a 255. , Sushmana, 136.
Sp'hota, 195. bUSHMIXA 23. ,

'Sraddhd, 241. Sushumna, 96, 234.

'Srdddha, 73, 102, 103, 113, 117. SUTA, 4.
'Sramana. 283, 287.
'Sravacas, 282. Sutras of BUDDHAMUXI, 251.
'Sravana, 263. of CAXA'DE, 165, &c.
Srdvar'ia, 66. Of BADARAYAXA 209, 211. ,

'Sravish't'hd , 66. Of GOTAMA, 165, &C.

'Sreyas , 258. Of JAIMINI. 189, &C.
'Sruti, 199. of PANCHASIC'HA 147. ,

S'RIHERSHA, 277. ofpATANJALI, 148, 149.

Srivatsa, 292. Of VRIHASPATI 260. ,

STEPHANUS BYZANTINUS, 287. SUTWAN, 25.

St'hdvara, 245. SUVRATA , 66.

SChitisfhdvaca, 181. Swad/id, 17, 103, 112.

SrAzi/a * aw-fl 239 269. , , SWAHA, 103, 112.
STBABO, his account oflndian classes, SWANAYA, 11.
286. Swar, 33, 269.
Subodhini, 214, 215. Smardj 20. ,

Substances , nine, of the Nydya sys- Swarga, 29.

tem, 172. Swastica ,
292.
Subtile frame, investing the soul, 155, Sndtanlrya, 241.
239 , 269. Smdti, 126.
S'UCA , 63 , 90. SWAYAMBHU BRAHME , 32.
SUCARMAN, 6. SWAYAMPHACAS'ANANDASARASWATI.216.
SUCE>'A, 57. Swernagrdma 271. ,

21
322 INDEX.
SWETACETU 30, 50. ,
Tirabhucti (Tirhut), 235.
'Sweldmbaras245. , TIRINDIRA, 11.
SWETASWATARA, 47. Tirt'hancara, 294.
'Swetdsivatarasdc'hd, 6, 47, TITT1RI, 6.
'Snetdswatara upanishad, 47, 208. Tiwdre, 3.
Sy auras, 282. Todala tantra ,
270.
'Syena ydgq 204. , Traipuriya upanishad, 69.
Syllogism', 185, 211. Transmigrations of the soul, 229.
TRASADASYU, 10.

T.
TRAYYARUNA , 10.
Triad of gods, 78, 153.
Tad, I7.
t
Tricdnda mandana, 127.
Taijasa arira, 282. TrzcA, 197.
Tailanga Brdhmanas, 271. Tripura upanishad, 69.
Tailica, 273. Tripuri upanishad, 69.
Taitliriyacas 6, 200. , Trishtubh (metre), 18.
Tniltiriya tdc'hd, 200. TRITA, 14.
Taitlirii/a sanhitd, 26. Trivedi, 3.
Taittiriya upanishad, 3, 5, 45, 55, Trzyri'i ,
202.
208. TURA, 21, 42.
Taittiriya Fajur veda, 18, 24, 36, 44, Turushcas, 273.
59, 127. TWASHTRI, 16.
Talavacdras 7 , 53. ,

Tamarasa, 201.
U.
Tamas, 17, 157.
Tdmbula, 72. UC'HA 6. ,

Tambuli, 273. UCHCH'HISHTA GANAPATI , 125.

Tdinracula 272. , Ucfhya 45. ,

Tandy a brdhmana, 49. Uddharana 185. ,

Tanlica, 273. UDAMAYA, 22.

Tanmdtra, 153, 238. fi'drfna, 122. /
Tanmdtrasarga , 155. UDAYANA ACHARYA , 166, 179.
TV/ntf , 272. Udbhid, 204.
Tantras, 9, 36, 68, 125,224,266,
270, 275. UDD^'LACA, 19, 30, 50, &c. 218.
Tanlravdya, 272, 273, 274. Uddesa, 157.
Tdpaniyas , 6. Udgdlri, 83.
Tdpuniya upanishad, 2. Udumbara 205. ,

Tapas, 44, 246. Amonth,66, 126,127. ^7rft;aAa, 119.

Tapasya, 126, 127, &c. Ugdna, 49.
iTarca, 186. ^ra,273.
Tarcdbhdsa ,166. UGRASENA, 21.
Tarcabhdshd, 166. Uhagdna, 48, 49.
Tarcabhdshd pracds a, 1 66. Uhyagdna 49. ,

Tarcabhdshd sdra manjari, 166. ^7Js 127.

,

Tarpana, 72. Z7;jm<a, 293.

Ttawa, 184,263. UPACOSALA, 218.
Tatwa caumudi, 147. Upacosala vidyd, 209.
Talwa sa?Kdsa, 146, &c. Updddna^, 255, 265.
Tatwa vindu, 213. Upadesa sahasri, 214.
Tejos, 157,239, 267. i/parfAz, 182.
Tejdvindu upanishad, 58. Upahdra, 263.
T'hdcusa, 279. Upamdna, 193.
Theistical Sdnc'hya, 149. UPAMANYU, 50
TiVa, 70. Upanaya, 185.
Time, 175, 248, 249. . ,7,25,30, 55, 154, 208, &c.
 INDEX. 323

UPAVARSHA, 212. VALLABHA ACHAKTA , 123.

Ushnih, 18. Valli upanishad ,
58.
us'ic, 11. VAMADEVA, 1 29 , , 32.
US1NARA, 11 , 20. Vdmadevya hymn, 140.
Utcala Brdhmanas ,271. Vdimidevya vidyd, 209.
Utsarpini age, 290. Vardha, 98, 201.
Ultara , 192. Vardha avatdra 44. ,

Uilara curu, 20, 23. Vdrdha calpa 44. ,

Uttara grant'ha , 197. Vardjivi, 272.

[/Kara madra, 20. ^tt'ra'nast'^Benares),
235.
Uttara p'hdlguni, 126. VAEDHAMANA, 294.
Ultara tdpanii/a, 58. Vdrendra, 271, 277.
Ullura valli, 58. Varga, see Earga.
UVATA ,31, 60. Vdrhaspatya school, 298.
Varsha, 127.
V. Vdrtica, 166, 190.
Vdrtica tdparya parimddhi , 166.
VACH, 16. Vdrlica tdtparya tied, 166.
VACHACKU, 41. VARU, 11.
VACHACUTI, 90. VARUNA, 15, 16, 18, 32, 33, 45, 85,
VACHESPATI 145, 147, 166, 213.
, 131,134,137,235.
VACPATI, 66. Vdruni upanishad, 45 , 59.
Vdda, 186.
Vaibhdshicas, 252, &c. Vdsandbhdshya, 298, 301-
Vaicdrica, 282. Vasanta, 126, 127.
VAIDABBHI, 57. VASISHT'HA, 10, 14, &c. 22, &c. 32,
Vaideha, 274. 121, 129.
Vaidicas, 277. VASUDEVA, 266.
Vaidya, 272. Vdsudevas , 297.
VAIJAVAPI, 90. VASUMANAS, 11, 12.
Vainavu, 98. Vasus, 16, 44,131.
Vaisdc'ha, 72, 126, &c. VATSA, 277.
VAIS'AMPAYANA, 4, 5. Vedas, 1, &c. Consisting of parts
Vaiseshica, 143, 144, 165, &c. written at various times, 64, 297,
Vaiseshica school, 297. 198. Peculiarities of Dialect, 202.
Vaishnavas, 68, 123, 284. Portions liable to the suspicion of
Vaiswadeva sacrifice, 72, 118. modern origin, 67, 196. Genuine-
Vaiswdna.ru, 219. ness and antiquity of the Vedas
Vaisrodnara vidyd, 209. generally, 59, &c. Four Vedas al-
Vaisyas , 271. Vai'sya class among luded to in some Upanishads, 39,
the Jainas, 283. 57. The Vedas maintained to be
Valtar ani, 111. primeval, 196, 223. Prayers on be-
Vaitarani dhenu ,111. ginning a lecture of the several Ve-
Vaiydcarana bhiishana, 166. das, 88, 118. Vedas, their antiquity,
VAIVASWATA, 90. 284, 285, 289. The Vedas reject-
Pdjapeya , 31 , 35 , 43 , 206. ed by the Bauddhas and Jainas, 281.
fdjaratna, 21. Vedadipa 10 31 , 34.
, ,

Vajasuneya sanhitd upanishad, 34. VEDAGARVA, 277.

Vdjasaneyi Yajur veda, 5, 10, 31, VEDAMITRA 5. ,

&c. 42, &c. 200, 267. Vedand scandha ,

254.
Vdjasaneyi brdhmana upanishad , 36. Vedaniya, 247.
Vdjasuneyins ,
209. Veddnta, 60, 143, 208, 237, &c. 281,
VAJASBAVASA 58. ,
284.
Vdjins, 6, 42, 209. Veddnta calpa lotted, 216.
Vajrasiichi upanishad, 69. Veddnta calpataru, 213.
Valdca, 225. Veddnta calpataru manjari, 213.
21*
324 INDEX.
Veddnta calpataruparimala, 213. VISWESWARANANDA, 216.
Veddnla paribhdshd 215. ,

Veddnta sdra 56, 215.

, Vivdddrnava sctu, 270.
Veddnta sichdmani, 194, 215. VivasanaSj 245.
Veddnta siddhdnta vindu, 210. Vivaswat, 32.
Veddnta siitras 209. , Vivaha, 119.
Veddnta siitra muctdvali, 214. VOPADEVA, 123.
Veddnta siitra vydc'hyd chandricd, 214. Vrata, 263.
VEDAVYASA 866 VYASA.
, Vriddhi srddd'ha , 117.
Vega, 181. Vrihad dranyaca , 5, 16. 30, 3543,
Vegdna, 49. 55,61, 208, &c., 231, 281.
Vencatddri, 191. Vrihad dharma purdiia , 63 , 270.
Vencatagiri, 191. VKIHADRAT'HA, 47.
Venus , the planet ,
96. VRIHADUCT'HA, 23.
Verman, 278. VRIHANGIR, 10.
VIBHINDU ,11. Vrihan ndrdyana upanishad, 45, 59.
Vibhuti, 148. VRIHASPATI, 11, 18, 32, 46, 74, 96,
VIDAGD'HA, 41. 134.
VIDAEBHA, 25. Vrihati (metre), 18.
Videhas, 40. Vrihat pardsara 66. ,

Videha mucti , 237. Vrtsha, 126, 127.

VID'HATRI 120.
,
VRISHABHA, 291.
FM/H',262,263. VRITRA. 13.
Fzrfrztf, 28. VRITRAGHNA, 23.
Vidrvan mano ranjini, 215. VT1TRAHAN, 13.
Vidydnagara, 192. Vrttti,2l2, 246.
VIDYANAT'HA BHATT'A, 213. Vritticdra, 189.
VIDYARANYA, 30 37 46 47 58. , , , , VUDILA. 50,52.
Vigdna drnd, 49. VYAGHRAPAD, 52.
Vijeya vildsa ,4,10. Vydhritis, 12, 19.
Vijnydna, 252, 255 263. ,
Vydna, 122.
VIJNYA'NA BHICSHU, 144, 145, 146, 148. VYASA, 1 10, 40, 63, 74, 143, &c.
,

Vijnydna may a . 238. VYASASRAMA, 213.

Vijnydna scandha, 254. Vydsa siitra vritti, 214.
VIJNYANAYOGI, Or VIJNYANESWARA, 62. VYASA TIRT'HA, 49.
Vtprd, 74. Vyalipdta, 117.
Firtf, 20, 29, 36, 37, 38, 40, 104. Vydvahdrici, 240.
Virdti (metre), 18.
V1ROCHANA, 22. W.
Virya 267.
,

Visdc'hd, 126. Waters, prayers to them, 77, 85, 86.

VISALA, 26. White Yajur veda, 5, 6, 31, &c.
Visesha, 182. Widow, 70, &c.
Vishaya, 184. Worlds, seven, 80.
VISHNU. 46, 137. No trace of the
worship of his incarnation in the Y.
Vedas, 68. His three strides, 85,
94. Ydya, 203.
VISHNU, his nine foes, 297. YAJNYA, 17.
Vishnu purdna, 4, 5, 63, 83 149. , Fajnya, 4, 31 35, 54,
, 68.
VI SW AC ARM AN, 21. YAJNYADEVA, 35.
Viswadevas, 16, 20, 113, &c. fnjnyatanlra sudhdhidhi, 48.
Viswajit, 204. YAJNYAWALCYA 5, 32, 36, 39, &C.
,

VISWAMITRA. 10, 14, 32, &c. 197. 62, 78, &c.

VIS'WANAT'HA , 166. Yajur veda 2, 5, 31 &c.
, ,

VISWANTARA, 25. Ytijush, 5, 31, 197, 198.

 INDEX. 325

YAMA, 16, 58, 90, 135, 137, 241. Yogasicsha upanishad, 58.
YAMUNA, 16. Yogasiddha 245.
,

Yamuna, 23, 85, 98. Yoga sutras, 148.

YA'SCA, 5, 6. Yoga tattna upanishad, 58.
Yali, 72. Ydgavdrtica, 146, 148, 214.
Yatis, 282. Yoga vasisWha, 209.
Yatna, 181. .Td0z, 158.
Yava, 114. Ydjana, 300.
Ydvana language, 201. YonigranCha, 197.
Ydvanas, 275. YUDH AN3KAU8HTI ,21.
Year, 33, 65. YUDHISHT'HIEA , 284.
Yoga, 143, &c. 262,263. Yuga, 65, &c.
Yogdchdras, 252. Yugddyas, 117.
Yoga sdslra, 145, 148, 155, 158. YUVANASWA, 11.
Yoga school 297.,
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