No More Learning

C.
The consensus of opinion of competent scholars fails to uphold this
extreme view, and inclines rather to believe that the Vedic Hymns
were composed between 1500 and 1000 B. C.
We may think, then, of the first Indian literature as originating
about this time in the northwest of India; the poets of the Hymns
living for the most part on either side of the river Indus, whence
they and their descendants immigrated slowly into the Punjab. Later
still, following the course of the Ganges, they planted one settlement
after another along the banks of the Holy River, as they extended
themselves to the southeast by means of successive victories over the
wild tribes of hostile natives. It is important to bear in mind from
the outset this southern trend of immigration, for it is reflected in the
literature of the Aryan invaders, whose first songs sing the glory of
Aryan gods and of the Aryan “white » race, as opposed to the black”
race of natives and their conquered deities. The poets that give us
the first Indian literature represent a people akin to Greek, Roman,
and Teuton; and like their cousins in the West, they are intensely
conscious of their Aryan (that is, “noble”) blood, and profoundly con-
temptuous of every other race. This factor must also be remembered;
for it explains some very interesting features in the later literature,
when Aryan blood began to be mixed with native blood and the
consciousness of racial superiority became vaguer.
XIV-495


## p. 7906 (#98) ############################################

7906
INDIAN LITERATURE
The extension of the warlike Aryans from the extreme northwest
to about the vicinity of the modern Benares in the southeast is con-
terminous with the First Period of Indian literature. This period
of literature – in contradistinction to the Sectarian (Buddhistic, etc. )
literature on the one hand, and to Sanskrit literature in the strict
sense of the term on the other — comprises the so-called Veda' or
Vedic literature, which consists in turn of four fairly well demar-
cated sub-periods: first, the creative period of the Vedic Hymns;
second, the ritual period of the prose Brāhmanas, which elucidate
the Hymns; third, that of the Upanishads or philosophical writings,
in both prose and poetry; and fourth, that of the Sūtras or manuals,
which explain religious rites, and lead up to some branches of San-
skrit literature through the extension of the Sūtras' subject-matter to
legal themes and to religious meditative poetry.
As might be expected from a view of the contents, the literary
products of these sub-periods are of very unequal value. While the
Hymns are of extraordinary interest, the Brāhmanas, composed by
later generations, when the intellectual activity of the people was
concerned not with productive but with explanatory work, are dull,
inane, and childishly superstitious. But at the very end of this sub-
period comes a revolt, and then are composed the Upanishads; com-
positions of great ability, and of lasting value for every student of
religion and of literature. The Sūtra period, again, is an intermedi-
ate one and of only passing interest. As said above, these four sub-
periods constitute the Vedic period. All that and only that which is
composed in this whole period is Vedic. Every other form of Indian
literature is either (1) Sanskrit; or (2) dialectic, as for instance Pāli
literature, — Pāli being the dialect, neither Vedic nor Sanskrit, in which
the most important Buddhistic works are composed.
It is essential to understand exactly what «Vedic” and “Sanskrit
really mean, for in the Occident the latter is often used as if it were
synonymous with Indian, whereas it actually connotes only the later
Indian literature; and in the West, Vedic is frequently used to
indicate the Vedic Hymns alone, whereas 'Veda' properly denotes
Hymns, Brāhmanas, Upanishads, and Sūtras,- in short, all that liter-
ature which orthodox Hindus esteem peculiarly holy. In distinction
from the sacred Vedic works, Sanskrit works — that is, works com-
posed in the refined Sanskrit language - are compositions of men
who are indeed regarded as sages, but whose works are not thought
to be inspired. The general distinction, then, between Vedic and
Sanskrit works is that of holy writ and profane literature; though
it may be said at once that no literary compositions in India were
committed to writing until long after Buddha's time, the fifth cen-
tury B. C.
-
-


## p. 7907 (#99) ############################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7907
It is true, as has recently been shown, that the Hindus were ac-
quainted with the art of making letters as early as the seventh cen-
tury, when the Vedic period was closing. But letters at first were
used only for cut inscriptions; they were not employed for written
compositions. The chiseled rock was known in India ages before the
palm leaf was scratched and lettered. It is almost inconceivable, yet
it is a fact, that all of the immense literature prior to the time of
Buddha, and even for some time after his age, was committed to mem-
ory by specialists, as different priests devoted their lives to learning
and to handing on different branches of the traditional literature.
How immense this literature was, and how great was the task to learn
by heart even a single Collection of Hymns or a single Brāhmana,
will become obvious as the literature is reviewed in detail. At present
it is sufficient to call particular attention to the fact that memorizing
the sacred works of antiquity was an important factor not only in
determining the kind of literature that arose at different periods, but
also in conditioning the genius of the people itself. For long after
writing was known, it was still considered wrong to vulgarize the
sacred works by committing them to visible form; and memorizing
them is still the way in which they are taught to young scholars.
The result has always been and still is that memory is the best
cultivated part of the Hindu scholar's mind, and is most esteemed by
him. The effect of this memorizing upon the literature is apparent
in many ways. Logical acumen yields to traditional wisdom; discus-
sion of historical matters is prevented; the one who best reflects the
opinion of the ancients is esteemed as a greater sage than he who
thinks for himself.
From these general considerations we may now turn to the de-
tailed study of the great periods of Indian literature: the Vedic, the
Sectarian, and the Sanskrit proper. To these should be added a
period which can be described briefly as Modern; that is to say, the
period covered by the time since the sixteenth century, during which
time Indian thought has been to a marked degree under foreign
influence. The literature of this last period is still Sanskrit to some
extent, but many of the more important works are composed in dia-
lect. For greater clearness of survey, a table of the periods with
their subdivisions is here given. That these periods and sub-periods
are not absolutely exclusive of those that precede and follow, is a
matter of course. Works imitative of those of the older periods
sometimes continued to be composed long after the time when arose
the works on which they were modeled. But in general the suc-
cessive stages of the literature are fairly well represented by the
following scheme, which will serve as a guiding thread in tracing
the development of the whole literature:


## p. 7908 (#100) ###########################################

7908
INDIAN LITERATURE
First Period: Vedic Literature (a) The Hymns; (b) Brāhmanas and
Upanishads; (c) Sūtras. Second Period: Sectarian literature of
Buddhism and other sects. Third Period: Sanskrit literature -
(a) Epics and Purānas; (b) fables and the drama; (c) lyric po-
etry. Fourth Period: Modern Sanskrit and dialectic literature.
FIRST PERIOD: Vedic Literature — (a) The Hymns. Vedic - or as
it is sometimes and more correctly spelled, Vaidic — is an adjective
originally applied to the language and literature of the Veda; that is,
the “knowledge” or “wisdom” of the ancients, as it is handed down
first in the sacred Hymns, then in the works (Brāhmanas) which elu-
cidate the Hymns, and in the writings (Upanishads) which draw philo-
sophical theories from them, and finally in the manuals (Sūtras) which
condense into aphoristic form the accumulated teaching of older gen-
erations. The Sūkta (literally bons mots) or Hymns, then, are the his-
torical and logical starting-point of the whole Indian literature. They
have been preserved in four different Collections or Sanhitās, known
respectively as the Collection of Verses,' Rig-Veda Sanhitā; the
(Song-Collection,' Sāma-Veda Sanhitā; the Collection of Formulæ,'
Yajur Veda Sanhitā; and finally the Collection of (the sage) Athar-
van,' Atharva-Veda Sanhitā. The first of these is the oldest and most
esteemed; the last is a late Collection, --so late in fact that it was
not recognized as an authoritative Collection till long after the other
three, which three together are often referred to in Indian literature
as the Triple Veda, with tacit exclusion of the claim of the adher-
ents of the Atharva-l'eda to recognition. Each of these Collections
of Hymns has its own supplements,- viz. , its own elucidatory Brāh-
manas, its own philosophical Upanishads, and its own manuals, Sūtras.
To the Hindu, the Collection of Hymns and these supplements to-
gether constitute any one Veda'; though in the Occident, as said
above, we are accustomed to use the word Veda, as for instance
Rig-Veda, to designate not the whole complex but the hymns alone
of any one Veda, employing for the remaining parts of the complex
the specific terms Brāhmana and Sūtra. The Vedic Collections
demand the first place in a review of Vedic literature. The supple-
mentary parts, Brāhmanas and Sūtras, belong, both in the case of
the Rig-Veda and in the case of the other Vedas, to a later period.
Of these Collections, that of the Rig-Veda, as the oldest and the
best,” as the Hindus say, is by far the most important. Not only so,
but the other Collections are in great measure only recastings of the
earlier Rig Veda Hymns. We shall review them severally in the order
given above.
The Rig Veda Collection consists of somewhat more than a thou-
sand hymns, composed in various metres and by various poets and
»


## p. 7909 (#101) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7909
families of poets; for the hymns themselves show by the utterance
of their authors that several generations have wrought them,- or
«seen” them, as is the Hindu expression to designate a revealed or
inspired composition. As to the inspiration and the history of belief
in it, there are many indications that the poets often laid no claim
to special Divine guidance in the manufacture of their songs. They
speak of fashioning” them as a carpenter fashions a
“
car,) of
«toiling » over them; or say simply, « This song I have made like a
workman working artistically. ” Other poets, however, do claim that
they are inspired by the god they worship; and on this occasional
claim, together with the naturally increasing venerableness of ancient
works, rests the later hypothesis of the revealed religion contained in
the old hymns.
The Rig-Veda Hymns are collected from older and more primi-
tive family Collections into one great whole, which however, in its
formal divisions, still reflects the composite family origin. Of the
ten books or Circles) Mandalas, as they are called — of the Rig-
Veda Collection, seven are referred to distinct priestly families; and
the first book of the general Collection bears no one family name
simply because it is composed of little groups of hymns, groups too
small to stand alone as special books. But with few exceptions,
each of the groups, as in the case of the large books, is referred by
tradition to a special priestly poet and his descendants. Occasionally
one family Collection will contain hymns attributed to a member of
an entirely different family, which has its own Circle of hymns; but ,
in general the family lines are quite closely drawn. Again, some
of the family Circles bear internal evidence of being much later
than others, and in each Circle some hymns may easily be picked
out as much later than others. It is therefore important to observe
that with the exception of the eighth Circle (family Collection), all
the family Circles are arranged in the order of their length. For
instance, the Circle or Collection of the Vicvāmitra family, which
stands third in the whole Collection, is just a little longer than the
Circle of the Gautama family, which stands second; and so on. From
the second to the eighth book, inclusive, the hymns are thus ar-
ranged by families.
The arrangement according to the length of the
books continues further, for the tenth or last book is the longest,
and the ninth is longer than the preceding in its first form (many
obviously late hymns have increased disproportionately the size of
the eighth book); but in these last two books the family character
The tenth book is a medley from different families, and is
plainly the latest in time as well as the last in order. The ninth
book is quite peculiar in that it is neither referred to any one fam-
ily, nor are its hymns addressed, as is the case in all other books,
ceases.


## p. 7910 (#102) ###########################################

7910
INDIAN LITERATURE
to various divinities; but it is a Collection of hymns from various
sources addressed to Soma alone, the deified yellow plant from which
was made the sacrosanct intoxicating liquor used by the priests in
sacrifice. This general principle of placing in order the family
Circles according to their respective lengths shows that the Rig Veda
Collection as a whole is a work mechanically arranged. A study of
the inner construction of each family Circle confirms this. In each
of these minor Collections, with the exception of the Circle of the
Kanva family, to whom is attributed the eighth book of the Rig Veda
Collection, the hymns are carefully disposed, first according to the
divinity extolled in each hymn, and then according to the length of
the hymn in decreasing order. So thoroughly is this principle carried
out that it is easy to detect interpolated hymns - of which there are
quite a number - by an irregularity in length, or again by observing
that the divinity extolled in any hymn stands out of place in the
proper order of gods.
This last factor carries us from the outer form to the inner sub-
stance of the Hymns. If the former shows that the original editors
of the Rig-Veda Collection followed a mechanical rule in shaping that
Collection, the latter shows no less plainly that the Vedic Hymns are
not, as was supposed until lately, childlike outpourings of spirit on
the part of simple neatherds, or the expression of primitive religious
thought on the part of unsophisticated believers in deified natural
phenomena. It is indeed true that there are unaffectedly simple
hymns to Heaven, to Dawn, to the Sun, and even one to Earth. But
the number of these hymns is out of all proportion to those in which
are extolled the three great priestly divinities, Fire, Indra, Soma.
Furthermore, their place in each family Circle of hymns, as well
as the fact that these divinities have so large a majority of all the
hymns, shows that with some marked exceptions, which probably
reflect in part an older circle of ideas, the purely priestly divinities
were those held in highest esteem. It is not necessary, however, to
assume that these gods were priestly creations. Soma was worshiped
before the Hindus entered India; Fire was probably one of the ear-
liest divinities; and though Indra has not so great an antiquity, he
was yet originally a popular god of storm and tempest. But it is
in the mystical interpretation of these gods in the Hymns that one
may see how far removed from popular and primitive thought is the
theology of the Rig Veda. Agni (Latin ignis) is by no means simply
the god of fire. The songs addressed to him reveal the fact that to
the poets, Agni was above all the fire on the sacrificial altar. Some-
times a more philosophical point of view is taken, and then Agni is
the triune god, the three in one; the god who manifests himself first
in the earthly fire as it burns upon the altar, then as lightning in the


## p. 7911 (#103) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7911
sky, and then again as the sun in heaven. So too Indra, the god of
tempest, whose lightning pierces the clouds and lets out the longed-
for rain when the monsoon breaks at the beginning of summer, is
regarded and lauded not as a simple natural phenomenon, but as the
spiritual power behind this phenomenon, mystically identical with
Agni, whose form as lightning is indissolubly linked with the outward
appearance of Indra. But above all, Soma the intoxicating plant — to
which, as was said above, are addressed all the hymns of the ninth
book, besides occasional hymns in other books — is so mystically
interpreted that eventually the yellow plant is esoterically treated
as an earthly form of the moon (whence Soma is sometimes called
the moon-plant); and every stage in the preparation of this drink is
regarded as part of a sacred ceremony, while even the press stones
are deified, and the plant as liquor is spoken of in the most extrava-
gant terms imaginable.
In sharp contrast to these, which constitute the great bulk of the
Rig-Veda Collection, stand the isolated hymns in which are praised
the Dawn and Heaven. Here the style changes. In the Dawn hymns
is found very lovely imagery: most delicate and exquisite portrayal
of the wonderful daily rise of Aurora, as she appears in red and
golden light, bringing blessings to man. The hymns to Heaven,
while for the most part devoid of mysticism, reflect a lofty contem-
plative spirit; and from a literary point of view these hymns are the
finest in the whole Collection, as the Dawn hymns are the most beau-
tiful. The number of these hymns to Dawn and Heaven is small,
and, especially in the case. of the hymns to Heaven, they are confined
chiefly to one or two early family Circles, with some later imitations
in other family Collections. These latter, however, show an increas-
ing mysticism in their treatment of the great Heaven god. In the
early hymns Heaven is not simply the sky: he is the heavenly
power throned in the watery sky, whose eyes are the stars, who
watches over the hosts of men and sees their actions, good and bad.
In the further development of Vedic theology this god is reduced to
a mere god of punishment, who sits enthroned not on the waters of
the sky, but in the depths of the sea. Other hymns in the Rig Veda
Collection are addressed to inferior divinities, of which there are
multitude; while still others are purely philosophical and mystical,
discussing the origin of life and of the world, and reflecting the later
spirit of philosophical investigation. Most of these can be referred
undoubtedly to the end of the work, as can also the few poems of the
Collection on worldly subjects. They are found in the last (tenth)
book, and in recent additions to the first book. The tenth book
contains also some very interesting and apparently antique burial and
wedding hymns; as well as other hymns addressed directly to Yama,
the lord of the dead.
a


## p. 7912 (#104) ###########################################

7912
INDIAN LITERATURE
The metre of all the hymns is more or less alike. With occas-
ional variations most of them are composed in octosyllabic, hen-
decasyllabic, or dodecasyllabic verses, grouped in stanzas of three or
four verses, often with a clearly defined strophic arrangement of
stanzas. Except for the avowedly mystic hymns the language is
simple and clear. Each god is extolled by mentioning his great
works, and his help is besought by the poet as reward for the song.
The authors are chiefly priests; a few hymns, however, are composed
by women, and in the case of some of the earlier hymns it may be
that the poets were not priests but laymen. At this time the caste
system was not thoroughly worked out, but the people were roughly
divided into three classes, — the husbandmen, the fighters or king's
men, and the priests.
The other Vedic Collections may be dismissed very briefly. The
Sāma-Veda Collection duplicates parts of the Rig Veda Collection;
for it is simply a rearranged part of the latter, chiefly of the Soma
hymns, used as a song-book for the priests. It contains altogether
only a few verses not already found in the Rig Veda Collection, and
it has no interest except as a storehouse of varied readings, which
in the absence of different recensions of the Rig-Veda Collection are
of value, but only to the specialist. The text of the Rig Veda Col-
lection is handed down both in the literary form, and in a syllabic
form where each syllable, without regard to metrical synthesis, is
given separately, so that there is little opportunity for change in the
text. The varied readings in the Sāma Collection are clearly late in
most instances, and offer only such alteration of text as would make
a recitative chant more adaptable to the voice in singing, or such
wanton changes as replace an older unintelligible word by a newer
form.
On the other hand, the Yajur-Veda Collection is of no small his-
torical interest, although its dislocated verses are the verses of the
Rig Veda Collection arranged to be spoken by the priest who carries
on the sacrifice; and this historical interest is due to the way in
which these verses are interwoven with the first prose form of the
literature. For here, in one of the Yajur Veda Collections, the verses
are arranged without reference to their logical sequence, and merely
as they are recited as mystic formulæ, Yajus, at the sacrifice; while
between the verses thus cited stand prose directions to the priest in
regard to the order of the sacrifice, the way it should be performed,
and the significance of the various acts, and a general etymological
and philosophical elucidation of the text, together with explanatory
legends in regard to the gods and rites treated of or referred to in
the text itself. Unhappily all this prose is absolutely devoid of liter-
ary art, and the subject matter itself is uninteresting: but the Yajur-
Veda Collection is still valuable as revealing the purpose and form of


## p. 7913 (#105) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7913
the earliest Indo-European prose; for although this Collection is proba-
bly several centuries later than the Rig Veda Collection,- as is shown
by the new and complete ritualism, by the style, language, geograph-
ical allusions, and even by the theology, - yet it is still old enough
to antedate all other Indo-European prose. It may be referred to
about the eighth century, and perhaps even to an earlier date. The
Yajur-Veda Collection is both a Collection, and in its prose portions
a Brāhmana, for it has all the characteristics of that later form of
literature. There are several recensions of the text, but they differ
mainly in arrangement. The chief recensions are known as the
White and the Black Yajur-Veda, respectively.
The fourth Vedic Collection is referred to an ancient sage, Athar-
van, and hence bears the name of the Atharva-Veda Collection. It
is a late work, though some of its elements – demon-worship, etc. —
are old; and it consists in general of Rig Veda verses interspersed
with new
verses of benedictive or
more generally of maledictive
character, as well as charms, formulæ for relief from illness and
avoidance of expected harm, incantations, and all the hocus-pocus of
a wizard's repertoire. And this in general is its character, though
,
it contains a few hymns of loftier tone and of some philosophical
value: they are hymns which might belong to the end of the Rig-
Veda, but their philosophy and theology show that they were com-
posed even later than the latest hymns of that older Collection.
This Vedic Collection is even now not recognized by some orthodox
priests; and as has been said, it was long in obtaining any formal
recognition from any one. It appears to have been a sort of manual
for sorcerers, into whose collection of balderdash have slipped some
really good hymns composed too late to be included in the Rig Veda
-
Collection. The style of these philosophical hymns is like that of
the latest hymns of the Rig Veda; but that of the sorcerers' incanta-
tions does not rise above the usual doggerel of degraded superstition
as it is exhibited in religious formulæ.
The second sub-period (b) of Vedic literature embraces the eluci-
datory Brāhmanas and the philosophical Upanishads. The latter in
their earliest form are nothing more than appendices, usually inserted
at the end of the Brāhmanas, and are always regarded as subsidiary
to them. The Brāhmanas are the completed form of that kind of
prose literature described above as appearing first in the Yajur Veda;
viz. , they are prose works explanatory of the sacrifice in every detail.
This is the real object for which they were composed; and for this
reason all else, even the philosophy of the Upanishads, is regarded
as of secondary importance, and if admitted into a Brāhmana at all
the Upanishad is relegated to a place at the end of the whole work
(included in the Aranyakas, supplements to the Brāhmanas), so as


## p. 7914 (#106) ###########################################

7914
INDIAN LITERATURE
not to interfere with the explanation of the established rite, which
is followed step by step by the Brāhmana. As in the prose of the
Yajur Veda, so here, the elucidation of the text includes not only
textual commentary but also very valuable illustrative legends, theo-
logical discussions, the refutation of false views in regard to some
detail in the arrangement of the sacrifice or with reference to the
building of the altar, etc. ; and in short, whatever may be useful or
interesting to a priest in the execution of his daily task. The style
here is insufferably bad, the content is puerile, the works are without
any literary value whatever save in the Upanishads. The latter, as
befits their grander theme, are often elevated and are always dig-
nified. They are of prime historical importance, for they preserve
for us the first record of the true philosophizing spirit. Their aim is
always the same, the search for true being and the explanation of
the early problems — what is being, what is death, what is soul, and
what is heaven, or does heaven exist? The answer forms the kernel
of pantheistic philosophy. The very questions raised show how far
apart from each other the Upanishads and the earliest Hymns stand;
but on the other hand, the Upanishads stand very near to those
speculative Hymns which close the various Collections. It is possible
that a few of the oldest extant Upanishads are really older than the
bulk of the Brāhmanas to which they are attached; but as with other
Hindu works of a popular character, the date to which any one Upa-
nishad may be referred is extremely doubtful. The oldest compo-
sition of this sort cannot claim an antiquity much greater than the
sixth century B. C. On the other hand, works bearing the same title,
though only nominally connected, or not connected at all, with any
Brāhmana, were composed at a much later period than this; and
some of them are no better than the Sectarian tracts of the post-
Renaissance period (800-1000 A. D. ). The number of Brāhmanas is
comparatively small. Each Veda has one or more; the two that are
most important belong to the Rig Veda and the White Yajur Veda,
and are called respectively the Aitareya and the Catapatha Brāh-
manas (see below). The Upanishads run up to some two hundred in
number, of which the Aitareya and the Chāndogya are perhaps the
most famous and appear to be among the oldest. Some of the Upa-
nishads are attributed to sages of the past; but like the Brāhmanas,
they are in general the continued product of Vedic schools. They
represent the traditional wisdom that gradually accumulated in the
Carana or group of students, who collected about a teacher and who
themselves in time became teachers of new pupils, each carrying on
and adding to the exegesis of the holy texts.
The Sūtra sub-period (c) offers little of interest from a literary
point of view, save in the spectacle of the gradual growth of this


## p. 7915 (#107) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7915
era.
peculiar phenomenon in letters. The (prose) Sūtras are literally
“threads” to assist the memory; strings of rules, which in compact-
est form inculcate ancient rites and regulations. They usually form
independent works connected with some Vedic school. The ritual
Sūtras devoted to the interpretation of the sacrifice are devoid of
general interest; but those that touch upon domestic rites, practices,
and rules, dharma, are the forerunners of all legal literature in India.
They are composed in prose with occasional verses; and although
their epitomized form excludes them from a history of literature, as
much as a school text-book would be excluded to-day, they neverthe-
less form an interesting historical background to the great law-books,
Dharma-çāstra, of later times, which were developed in metrical form
out of these older prose aphorisms. An instance of such a metrical
Dharma-çāstra is the law code of Manu. The Sūtras are the last
form of Vedic literature, and may be referred to about the sixth cen-
tury B. C. ; though some continued to be composed, notably in the
case of domestic and legal Sūtras, till nearly the time of our
The language is only partly Vedic, and in great measure approaches
the later norm of Sanskrit.
The following list contains the most important Brāhmanas and
Sūtras, according to their place within the various Vedas to which
they respectively belong. Their mass is great, but their literary
value is small:-
1. The Rig Veda: This comprises — (1) The Collection of Hymns;
(2) The Aitareya and Çānkāhyana (also called Kaushitaki) Brāhma-
nas, each of which has a Supplement or Aranyaka of the same name,
together with its Upanishad; (3) The two Sūtras of Āçvalāyana,
ritual and domestic respectively; and also the two similar Sūtras of
Çānkhāyana. These Sūtras belong each to the Brāhmana of the
same name. The Brāhmanas of the Rig-Veda are generally simple in
style, and have the appearance of being among the oldest works of
this sort. The Sūtras are not particularly old, and are as devoid of
literary merit as are other works of this class, but they contain much
interesting historical matter.
II. The Sāma-Veda: This comprises — (1) The Collection repre-
senting the ninth book of the Rig-Veda Collection; (2) The Tāndya
(also called Pancavinça) Brāhmana and the Shadvinça Brāhmana. The
latter, meaning “twenty-sixth book,” is only an appendix to the Pan-
cavinça Brāhmana, "of five-and-twenty books. ” This Brāhmana is
marked by its mystic and inflated style, and is probably much later
than the Brāhmanas of the Rig Veda. The so-called Chāndogya
Brāhmana is really only an Upanishad, perhaps a remnant of a
Brāhmana now lost except for this philosophical supplement. An-
other Upanishad belonging to this Veda is the Kena, not apparently


## p. 7916 (#108) ###########################################

7916
INDIAN LITERATURE
a very old one. The Jaiminiya or Talavakāra Brāhmana, belonging
here, is as yet unpublished; it is one of the least valuable of Brāh-
manas. This Veda comprises also — (3) The ritual Sūtras of Maçaka
and of Lātyāyana, belonging to the Pancavinça Brāhmana, and a
number of domestic Sūtras, the most important being that of Gob-
bhila, also belonging to the Pancavinça Brāhmana. There are others
of less importance attributed to no (extant) Brāhmana, but they all
seem to be of late date.
III. The Yajur Veda: This Veda is handed down in two chief
recensions of Collections and Brāhmanas. The older is the Black
Yajur Veda; and here the prose explanation is intermingled with the
verses to be explained. The later is the White Yajur Veda, Vājasa-
neyi Sanhitā, where verses and explanation stand apart; the first
being in the Sanhitā, or Collection, the second in the Brāhmana, just
as in the case of the Rig Veda and Sama-Veda. Each of these has
come down in several schools or sub-recensions, those of the Black
Yajur being the Maitrāyaniya, the Atreya, the Kathaka, etc. , those
of the White Yajur being the Kānva and Madhyamdina recensions.
As is implied by the name, the Brāhmana called the Taittiriya Brāh-
mana belongs to the Taittiriya or Black Yajur Veda, and is one of
the oldest Brāhmanas, though not especially interesting. On the
other hand, perhaps the most important of all the Brāhmanas is the
Çatapatha Brāhmana of the White Yajur Veda. This great work,
apart from its professed purpose of explaining the verses of the San-
hitā as they are employed in the ritual of sacrifice, abounds in legends
and in historical allusions; while its supplementary portion, Aranyaka,
furnishes one of the most important Upanishads. The different strata
of growth can still be traced in it, some parts being much older than
others. In this regard it gives a good example of the overlapping of
literary periods; since, while the original Brāhmana may be referred
to the seventh or eighth centuries B. C. , the later additions run over
into the Sūtra period and do not appear to antedate the third century.
Ritual Sūtras of this Veda are found in both recensions. Those of
the Black Yajur Veda are the Katha and Mānava Sūtras.
The chief
ritual Sūtra of the White Yajur Veda is attributed to Kātyāyana.
The chief domestic Sūtra is that of Pāraskara. These were probably
the original teachers. From the Mānava domestic Sūtra has come
the germ of the Mānava law-book, or Code of Manu,' the principal
metrical law-book of later times (see above). Late but important is
the Sūtra of Baudhāyana, belonging to the Black Yajur Veda (Taitti-
riya) school.
The Atharva-Veda Collection, as already stated, is largely
composed of Rig Veda verses, and in its last (twentieth) book simply
duplicates Rig-Veda verses; but besides its Collection, the Atharva-
IV.


## p. 7917 (#109) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7917
C
»
Veda includes also one Brāhmana, called the Gopatha, a number of
late Upanishads, and the Vaitāna Sūtra.
SECOND PERIOD: Sectarian Literature of Buddhism and other reli-
gious sects.
Buddha lived in the sixth century B. C. , before the rise of Sanskrit
literature in its proper sense, and at a time when Vedic literature
was dragging to a lame conclusion in the weary composition of rit-
uals and manuals. Apart from the poetic-philosophic oasis of the
Upanishads, literature was become a dry desert. Everything refresh-
ing had been brought from a home distant both in time and space.
For with the close of the Brahmanic period, the Aryan tribes are
found to have advanced far beyond the limits of the early Vedic
period. A steady geographical descent accompanies the decline of
Vedic literature, as this decline is shown in lack of vigor and ori-
ginality. To the Aryan of the Rig Veda the country south and east
of the Punjab was scarcely known. The Brahmanic period, on the
other hand, shows that the seat of culture was gradually shifting
down the Ganges; and an interesting legend of the time still reveals
the fact that somewhere between the commencement and end of this
period the district about the present Benares was becoming Brah-
manized. At the end of the period it had indeed become a second
home of culture, and a strong rival of the ancient «Brahman-land »
in the northwest; but with this important difference, — that whereas
the older habitat of Brahmanism retained its reverence for the wis-
dom of antiquity, the eastern district, newly Brahmanized and gov-
erned by kings often inimical to the Brahman priests, showed no
such respect for Vedic learning. The Brahman priests and their
learning were here not of paramount importance; thought was freer,
and tradition was not per se authoritative.
So much is necessary on the one hand to explain the appearance
of Buddhism in the east rather than in the west, and on the other
hand to explain the relative orthodox character of such sectarian
literature as was the result of a partial revolt in the west. In the
east, in an unsympathetic environment, arose the literature of Bud-
dhism, totally opposed in its effect to the teaching of Brahmanism.
In the west however arose Jainism and its literature, which was
sectarian to a certain degree, but was never so antagonistic to Brah-
manism as was by necessity the literature that marks the Buddhistic
revolt. These two sects dominate the literature of the period that
follows the Brāhmanas, but they are contemporary with the devel-
opment of the Sūtras. It is therefore just at the time when the
gross ritualism of the Brahmans reaches its highest development that
the more spiritual literature of the religious sects finds a fit soil;
and it is while the Brahman priests continue to content themselves
a


## p. 7918 (#110) ###########################################

7918
INDIAN LITERATURE
with making aphoristic text-books, and utterly give up all attempt
to add to the wisdom of their fathers, that the sectaries find and
embrace the opportunity to grow.
Of the personal history of Buddha, and of Mahāvira his great Jain
rival, this is not the place to speak in detail. The literature alone
that groups itself about these two men can here be reviewed, and of
the historical questions naturally prominent, only one can here be
answered: viz. , Do the Discourses or Sermons of Buddha really rep-
resent Buddha's own words; in reading them are we reading the
literature of Buddha's time, or of a time much later: in a word, how
much in Buddhistic literature is apocryphal ? Probably a great many
of the Discourses traditionally handed down as Buddha's are merely
late compositions. But on the contrary, many of these works can be
with certainty brought back so near to Buddha's own lifetime that
we must unquestionably consider them as genuine, not only in spirit
but often in expression, though perhaps not often in the very order
of words of a whole Discourse. The works of Buddhism which have
for us the greatest value are these Discourses of Buddha. There
are other works of less interest which are clearly later compositions,
as they describe and prescribe the life of Buddhistic monks in their
great monasteries. Still other works are historical, and relate the
conflicts of opinion between the monks at the different great councils
of the Buddhistic church in the centuries following Buddha's death.
These Sermons, Discourses, Precepts, and Histories are handed
down to us not in Sanskrit but in Pāli, the dialect native to Buddha,
and which is closely related to Sanskrit or the cultivated language
which had developed out of the Vedic. There is however another
and later account of Buddha's life and doctrine, which is found in
Sanskrit; and until recently works of this sort were the only known
authority for the history of Buddhistic literature. Fortunately, the
Pāli texts now publishing give us an earlier and simpler account of
Buddha's life; and with great advantage to his personality, they
reduce him from a superhuman creature to a noble man. These Pāli
books were first found in Ceylon, and they are sometimes called the
southern in distinction from the later (Sanskrit) northern records.
The first of these works to be published was the Great History,'
Mahāvansa, which was completely edited in 1837. These southern
texts are in three Pitakas or Traditional Collections (literally “bas-
kets”), which constitute together the gospel of Buddhism. The first
Pitaka is called the Vinaya or «ruler » (of the Buddhistic Order). It
gives the history of the order and the rules to be observed by monks
and nuns.
The second Pitaka contains the Suttas (Discourses or Ser-
mons), and the elucidation of the philosophy of Buddha. The third
Pitaka, called the Abhidhamma, is supplementary, and discusses more


## p. 7919 (#111) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7919
in detail certain psychological and ethical questions connected with
the philosophical system.
Each of these Pitakas is subdivided: the first, the Vinaya, into
three parts, Suttavibhanga, Khandhakas, and Parivāra. The first of
these divisions gives a sort of catechism (the Pātimaukha); so as to
present a full exposition, vibhanga, of all the 227 rules, suttas, of the
Order. This work probably dates from 400 B. C. The Khandhakas
or Treatises, the second part of the Vinaya, deal with special rules
and ceremonies. There are twenty of these Treatises; but their con-
tent is not particularly interesting, as they contain for the most part
only regulations in regard to fasts, food, clothes, etc. The last book
of the Vinaya, the Parivāra, is, as the name implies, a Supplement, a
mere manual of rules. The second Pitaka (Suttapitaka) contains four
great Nikāyas or Collections of Discourses. The first two of these
four constitute one whole book, containing 183 Discourses of Buddha.
It is curious to notice that these, like the early books of the Rig-Veda,
are arranged mechanically according to length. This is by far the
oldest of the Pitakas, and from a literary point of view it is the most
valuable. Instead of the dry enumeration of rules, such as is found
in the first Pitaka, the language, really Buddha's or imitative of his
artless and forcible words, glows with fervor, but is as lofty in tone
as it is simple in style. The remaining Nikāyas of this Pitaka
attempt to correct the lack of logical clearness resulting from an
arrangement of the Discourses according to length, and to classify
the teaching of Buddha; in so doing they also give the teacher's
philosophical system, as far as it may be said to be systematized.
The last Pitaka, the Abhidhamma, has been published only in part
(as is still the case with several of the Discourses), but enough is
now known to correct the error till lately prevalent, that this Pitaka
was a metaphysical work. On the contrary, it is merely a book
on rules and truths of religion, and treats of ethical problems and
psychological situations rather than of metaphysical subtleties.
These works comprise the whole Buddhistic Canon, with the ex-
ception of a few Collections of poems and aphorisms, which the early
Buddhists themselves regarded as not canonical but as worthy of pres-
ervation; and other Collections ostensibly historical, giving the lives
of good men, the previous births of Buddha himself, etc. The most
fainous of these is the Dhammapada,' 423 aphoristic ethical verses
of great force and beauty. Others are called the Iti Vullakam
(i. e. , literally, the Ipse Dixit), sayings attributed to Buddha; (Udāna,'
or ecstatic exclamations of Buddha; etc. Of these additions to the
Canon, none, from one point of view, is more important than the
(Birth Stories,' Jātakas, which convey a mass of popular folk-lore
under the guise of describing the conditions of Buddha's earlier lives
>


## p. 7920 (#112) ###########################################

7920
INDIAN LITERATURE
on earth, when as a man or a beast he discoursed with other men
and beasts. Undoubtedly the germ of this Collection is very old, and
the work as a whole contains some of the most primitive folk-lore
extant. On the other hand, many of these Jātaka stories are mod-
ern inventions, imitations of the antique. Besides the Canon and its
supplementary works, the Buddhistic commentary of Buddhaghosha,
in the fifth century A. D. , holds the next place in the literature.
The Buddhistic literature of Nepal, China, Japan, etc. , lies outside the
limits of a sketch of Indian literature. Of the late Sanskrit poems
which represent one phase of Buddhism, the chief are the "Lalita
Vistara,' which pretends to give a history of Buddha, and the
(Lotus of the Law. ' These were the first Buddhistic works known
to Western scholars, and early histories depended on them; but
they are poetic fictions of exaggerated style, bearing the impress in
content and diction of their late authorship.
Jain Literature: At the time Buddha lived there were half a dozen
well-known heterodox sects, the leaders of which, like himself,
preached and taught through northern India. But only in the Jain
sect of the teacher Mahāvīra did there result such crystallization of
the Master's words as to produce, or at any rate to leave behind,
works in literary form. Furthermore, even in the case of Mahāvīra's
own sect there is no evidence to show that the literature, though
large, is really very old. As has been said above, Jainism flourished
in the west rather than in the east. Contiguous with the seat of old
Brahmanic culture, it kept a closer correspondence with Brahmanism
in many features than did Buddhism. The sterility of thought insep-
arable from Jain doctrine results in a sterile style. In all this litera-
ture of pseudo-history and canonical rules, Stutis, Stotras, “lauds,”
etc. , there is nothing elevating or inspiring. In fact, the rules of the
order alone and their explanation are the whole literature, except for
some late metaphysical treatises and so-called historical books. The
contrast of this literature with that of Buddhism will be seen in the
typical extracts given below from the literature of both sects. The
later literature of Jainism is to a great extent a copy of Brahmanic
literary works, adapted to the sectarian faith of Mahāvīra. Thus there
is a Jain Epic, and there are Jain stories, partly original but chiefly
imitative of orthodox Sanskrit works. These present a curious amal-
gam, but are void of worth save as historical studies. This literature
is written partly in a Prakrit dialect (patois), and partly in Sanskrit.
Like the Buddhistic works, it is to a certain extent metrical.
THIRD PERIOD: Sanskrit Literature Proper. — The literature which
we have been discussing as the Second Period of Indian literature
was neither Vedic nor Sanskrit in language; nor does it form, strictly
speaking, an epoch in the development of Brahmanic literature. It
1
:
!


## p. 7921 (#113) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7921
is a thing apart from the latter, in that Buddhism and Jainism break
with tradition, and are unorthodox; whereas Brahmanic Sanskrit lit-
erature is the direct offspring of the older Vedic literature, both in
language and in the respect which Sanskrit authors have for Vedic
traditions. But in point of time, Buddhism and Jainism intervene
between the moribund Vedic literature and the first appearance of
Sanskrit literature. From the broader point of view of the whole
Indian literature, they therefore actually form a distinct period by
themselves; although, as has been shown, the last outcome of Vedic
literature in the form of didactic manuals overlaps the period of Bud-
dhism. Yet these manuals are not literature, but are rather the aids
and helps of literature; and by the time that Buddhism reaches its
height, under the patronage of King Açoka in the third century
B. C. , Vedic literature is virtually complete: while it is about this
time that Sanskrit literature, in the form of the Epic (see below),
actually begins.
Before this Sanskrit literature is taken up, however, it is neces-
sary for us to cast a glance at some other didactic works, generally
couched in aphoristic form and utterly devoid of all attempt at style,
which were composed from the end of the Vedic period to the end
of the Sanskrit period. It is not on account of their own literary
value, for they have none, but because of their effect upon litera-
ture, that the nature of these works, also ancillary to literature, must
be examined. Especially is their influence paramount in the develop-
ment of Sanskrit literature; and a rapid review of these educational,
philosophical, and scientific tracts — for they are nothing more -
will do much to help in advance the correct understanding of the
influences which were at work from the beginning upon Sans rit.
To omit any mention of these works would be like giving a his-
tory of late Greek literature without any allusion to the work of the
scholars of Alexandria. Chief in importance are here the grammat-
ical studies and philosophical essays that begin with the decline of
Vedic literature. From the end of the Vedic period there were
composed manuals of phonology, grammar, and etymology, together
with lists of words of archaic form or peculiar meaning. In the
fourth century B. C. the renowned Pānini wrote his exhaustive gram-
mar, wherein Vedic and Sanskrit forms are carefully distinguished,
and rules are given for the making of grammatical tenses and cases.
In the second century B. C. , Kātyāyana in his Vārttikas) and Patan-
jali in his Mahābhāshya' furnished commentaries to this work.
These grammatical and lexicographical works led directly to formal
Rhetoric, the first extant book on this subject being the Nātyaçāstra
of Bharata, who lived (the date is rather uncertain) at some time
between the first and sixth centuries A. D. To the latter century
belongs the poet and grammarian Dandin, whose (Kāvyādarça' or
XIV—496


## p. 7922 (#114) ###########################################

7922
INDIAN LITERATURE
(Rhetoric) is historically as important as is his literary work (see
below). Vāmana's Principles of Poetry' probably belongs to the
eighth century A. D. , just when Sanskrit, as we shall see, becomes
most artificial. Other works of this sort follow in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries. From the precision of their formal rules we may
see how it happened that the literary style, influenced by such teach-
ers, gradually changed from simplicity to intricacy.
Of the many works, dating from the close of the Vedic period, on
music, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, mention can here be
made only of the mathematical (Çulva-Sūtras. ' These apparently ante-
date Pythagoras; yet they contain the "Pythagorean” number and
problem, and together with other Hindu works, they are probably
the model of Pythagoras's own numerical system of philosophy.
The legal literature of India is enormous in extent; but its origin
has been explained above, and the many modern codes and digests
cannot be reviewed here. Sufficient to say that legal literature and
Epic didactic (legal) passages present many instances of similarity,
which afford some interesting historical-literary problems not yet
solved.
Most important of all this subsidiary literature are the many works
on philosophy. They were originally composed in aphorisms; and
the original set of aphorisms with the extensive elucidations of com-
mentators constitute a philosophical system. Of the formal systems
there are six; but the explanation of philosophical questions in the
loose and rambling style of the Vedic Upanishads is the earlier form
of this sort of literature. How the various doctrines based on the
ideas of the Upanishads are developed in Sūtras and expounded in
Commentaries, is matter rather of the history of philosophy than
of a history of literature. There is no Plato in India, no poet of
philosophy, no scientific stylist. The only style aimed at by philo-
sophical writers is one that shall express most in fewest words. In
the ninth century A. D. lived Çankara, and his name deserves to be
mentioned as the greatest of Hindu philosophical writers. But all
that it is here necessary to know of this constant philosophizing -
the philosophical era extends from about 500 B. C. to the end of the
period of Sanskrit literature — is that its effect on literature was very
great; and as all philosophy included a religious system as well, it
may be said to have been doubly influential. Especially is this true
in the case of the influence exerted upon the Epic, the first form
of pure literature in Sanskrit, and upon the Epic's religious continua-
tion in the later Purānas. To these, as the first works of the Third
Period of Indian literature, we may now turn.
Sanskrit Literature: (a) Epics and Purānas. The oldest composi-
tions in Sanskrit are — first, the Epic called the Bhārata,' or grand-
iloquently the Mahābhārata,' that is, the Great (Mahā) Bhārata (War);
1


## p. 7923 (#115) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7923
and second, such of the Vedic Sūtras as are written almost in San-
skrit, though still retaining much of the Vedic style. Epic literature
in its beginnings, however, undoubtedly goes much farther back than
the oldest portion of the extant Epic. Early in the Vedic period
there is mention of Tales of old, and of singers who sang the deeds
of great men. Even in the Rig-Veda Collection a few hymns describ-
ing battles of the Aryans, and one describing a conversation between
the nymph Urvaçi and her lover Purūravas, approach the Epic style.
It is probable that the Bhārata thus reverts in its original shape to
the later Vedic period; but in its present condition it has been so
worked over at the hands of the priests of Vishnu and Çiva that it
is matter of pure conjecture in what shape it was originally planned.
Probably the oldest parts are a few scenes giving stirring events in
the history of its heroes, and some of the episodes. These latter
ancient tales incorporated into the narrative — have often only a
very loose connection with the main story. Further, the Epic, as
it now lies before us, includes whole books of philosophical, moral,
ethical, and didactic discourses, put into the mouths of the sages
who appear in the course of the tale.
A curious theory, founded on this fact, has lately been put forth
to the effect that the Mahābhārata' story is not its own excuse for
being, and that the moral and legal maxims are hung upon the
characters as upon lay figures, merely to make them attractive to
the common people. This theory has for support the important fact
that at the close of the Vedic period the old Vedic language was
become well-nigh unintelligible even to the priests, and that to incul-
cate moral saws it was necessary to speak in a tongue understanded
of the people. And this is true of the Epic. It is written in the
Sanskrit of the time, not in antiquated Vedic; and it is expressly
meant to be repeated at great festivals when the common people
and women » (who were rigorously excluded from hearing even the
unintelligible words of the holy Vedic texts) could hear and were
commanded to hear the recital. At the same time, this theory is
far too one-sided, and takes no account of the Epic character of the
poem in its older portions, or of the patent improbability of the gen-
esis thus imagined in the case of a poem so dramatic in its action.
Still less does this theory agree with historical facts; for we know
that the early Greek adventurers who followed Alexander distinctly
state that the Hindus had poems like Homer's, narrating the great
actions of their national heroes. Had these poems been chiefly moral
discourses, as with regard to its bulk the Bhārata' is to-day, the
observant Greeks would not have failed to notice the fact. On the
contrary, the most probable theory in regard to the origin of the Epic
is that certain national lays and tales of old, gradually collected,


## p. 7924 (#116) ###########################################

7924
INDIAN LITERATURE
formed the basis of the story; and that it was eventually enlarged
and systematized by the priests in the interest of their various sects
and of general morality, until it became what it is to-day, “the fifth
Veda” in importance, a huge storehouse of legend and didactic com-
position, through which, like a scarlet thread, runs the bloody story
of the Conflict between the Clans of Kurus and Pandus, which formed
the original Epic story.
In its present shape the Mahābhārata' is about seven times as
long as the Iliad and Odyssey put together, and contains some two
hundred thousand verses. Apart from what we may safely regard
as late didactic material, the character of this earlier Epic is heroic
in distinction from the Epic next to be considered. The style is
forcible, often terse and nervous, the action is well sustained, and
the whole effect produced is that of a poem written to commemo-
rate an actual conflict between members of rival clans, who lived
somewhat southeast of the Punjâb, but still near the old “Brahman-
land”; for the geographical central point of the events, the Troy
of this Iliad, is the town on the site of which is built the modern
Delhi. In the portrayal of character the Hindu poem has in fact
many analogies with its Grecian
counterpart. The noble devo-
tion and chivalric character of Arjuna, the chief hero, reminds us of
Hector; the wily and sinful Duryodhana is a second Ulysses; the
leader of one of the great hosts marshaled for the eighteen days'
war, Yudhi-sthira (literally “steady in battle”), reminds us again, not
only in name but in moral weakness and in heroic bravery, of the
Withstander, Agamemnon; and Krishnā, the devoted wife of Arjuna,
may be compared with Andromache. But these two Epics in their
events and actions have nothing more in common than all tales of
war; and the old theory that because of the resemblance in charac-
ter, the Hindu Epic may have been borrowed from the Greek, is now
quite given up.
The Bhārata' war is a war between rival cousins, of the house
of Bhārata, a race of heroes mentioned even in the Rig-Veda Collec-
tion. Duryodhana deprives his cousin Yudhisthira of his throne by
inducing him to gamble away his fortune, kingdom, family, and self;
and then banishes Yudhisthira and the latter's four brothers for
twelve years, not daring to kill them because they were “beloved
by the folk. ” The gambling was conducted in an unfair manner, and
the cousins feel that their banishment was really only the result of
unchivalric treachery, although pretended to be mercy in lieu of
death. When the twelve years are over, they collect armies of sym-
pathizers; and on the “Sacred Plain of the Kurus ” (Kurukshetra,
near Delhi, still the Holy Land of India) the great war is fought
out. The good prevails, Duryodhana is slain, Yudhisthira recovers


## p. 7925 (#117) ###########################################

INDIAN LITERATURE
7925
his kingdom. All this is told so graphically and forcibly that,
although incumbered as it now is with extraneous matter, the Ma-
hābhārata' still has power to charm and enthrall. This Epic was
probably begun in the third or fourth century B. C. , and was com-
pleted with all extraneous additions soon after the Christian era.
The second great Epic of India arose not in the west like the
Mahābhārata,' but in the east, in the neighborhood of the seat of
Buddhism. It describes the Wandering of Rāma, the national hero
of the East, who is ostensibly in the tale the heir-apparent of Oude;
and from Rāma's wanderings (ayana) the poem is called the "Rāmā-
yana. ' In contrast with the heroic character of the Bhārata' tale,
the Rāmāyana' is distinctly romantic in style, and may be compared
with the Odyssey. In this much shorter story Rāma's conflict with
the southern barbarians is depicted; and the chief motif is the recap-
ture of Sītā, Rāma's wife, who during Rāma's unjust banishment by
his father was carried off by the king of the southern demons, and
kept in the latter's castle in Ceylon. Rāma's victorious conflict, and
the bridge which his monkey battalions built for him from the main-
land to the island, are still preserved in local name and legends in
southern India. As the geography of this tale shows, the date to
which it must be referred is much later than that of the Bhārata. '
There are, moreover, two main points of difference between the two
poems: first that of character and style already referred to; and sec-
ond the fact that the “Rāmāyana,' while undoubtedly built around
old legends, is still in its complete form the work of one single man,
the famous poet Vālmīki, who writes what the Hindus themselves
term an “Art-poem,” as distinguished from a Legend-poem, or Epic.
The Mahābhārata,' indeed, like most Hindu works, is also referred
to a sage, who in this instance bears the suspicious name of Vyāsa,
“the narrator”; but the poem itself is its own evidence of the fact
that no one author ever composed it in its entirety. On the other
hand, Vālmīki unquestionably wrote the whole of the Rāmāyana'
himself, and probably wrote it as an allegory; for Sītā, the heroine,
means “furrow,” and Rāma, the hero, stands for “plow. ” The poem
thus depicts the advance of Aryan civilization into the wild regions
of the south. Further, the style, metre, and language are both far
less simple than in the case of the Mahābhārata. ' The poem in its
present shape is probably a few centuries later than the Mahābhā-
rata, but the date cannot be determined with any exactness.
Of theories in regard to the Rāmāyana,' only two of the many
which are current demand attention. Some scholars hold that the
conflict allegorically depicted is one between Buddhists and Brah-
mans, and that the Odyssey is the model of the (late) Rāmāyana. '
Neither of these theories will stand criticism. There are no striking
»
(


## p. 7926 (#118) ###########################################

7926
INDIAN LITERATURE
(
indications of a religious allegory, nor are there any very remarkable
points of similarity between the recovery of Helen and that of Sītā.
On account of its sentimental style, the “Rāmāyana' has always been
a great favorite with the Hindus, especially with those disciples of
Vishnu who believe that Rāma was a human incarnation of their god.
To such believers the Wandering of Rāma) is a veritable Bible.
The Rāmāyana' has been imitated, abridged, copied, and altered, by
other sects as well. To a certain extent this is true also of the
Bhārata' poem, one of the characters here representing in popular
belief Krishna, another incarnation of Vishnu. But the Rāmāyana'
lends itself more easily to religious imitation, especially on the
religious-erotic side, which in India constitutes a large part of mod-
crn religious literature; and for this reason, in its rôle of a biblical as
well as a literary product, it has become even more popular than the
Mahābhārata. ' Its date is quite uncertain, but it may be referred
perhaps to the first century B. C.
The (Purānas': There are eighteen of these works, all ostensibly
religious literature, written in the usual Epic verse (of two octosyl-
labic hemistichs), and modeled on the religious portion of the Mahā-
bhārata. ' The name Purāna means “old” (tales), and the works
handed down under that name recount the deeds of deified heroes,
explain religious and moral doctrine, give an account of the glories
of past cycles and of what will happen in time to come; and besides
narration and speculation, they incidentally inculcate moral and reli-
gious truths.