fices and offer their prayers. These distinctions CHAPTER I. between Vedic and Brahmanic religions must be all the more borne in mind, because the Bráhmans have not only modified the Vedic religion, but have also garbled and interpolated Vedic literature, for the purpose of bringing old Vedic traditions and usages into conformity with later Brahmanical ideas. This point will be sufficiently illustrated in future pages; for the present it will suffice to indicate the interval of thought which separates what is purely Vedic from what is purely Brahmanical. the history of dhist period. The materials for the history of India prior to Materials for the advent of Buddhism are to be found in the the pre-BudVedic hymns and the Hindú epics. The Vedic hymns are valuable as the expression of the religious Vedic hymns. views of the primitive but intellectual Aryan people, who invaded and occupied north-western India in times primeval, and worshipped the deities or elements of the universe in an age when Brahmanism was unknown. The hymns are singularly free from any Brahmanical element, although later commentators have laboured to interpret them in accordance with Brahmanical teaching. The two voluminous epics, Hindú epics: known as the Mahá Bhárata and Rámáyana, fall ical character. under a totally different category. They are regarded by the whole Hindú population of India as the national treasuries of legend and tradition; and consequently may be accepted as the modern and popular conceptions of the Hindú people as regards their past history. But they cannot be reduced to 2 The term Vedic hymns is here specially confined to the hymns or mantras of the Rig-Veda, which is the earliest of the four Vedas, and the only one which can be rendered fairly available for history. Compare History, Vol. II., Part V. Brahmanic Period, chap. iv. their Brahman CHAPTER I. the form of chronicles. They refer to different stages in the progress of the people, but there are no links to unite them into a chain of consecutive history. In one sense alone they seem to have been formed into a harmonious whole. Every incident, whether it originated in Vedic, Brahmanic, or Buddhist times, has been reproduced in Brahmanic forms by compilers who apparently flourished in the age of Brahmanical revival. In other words, every legend and tradition has been systematically Brahmanized for the purpose of bringing all the religions, laws, and usages of the different races of India into conformity with Brahmanical ideas. When stripped of these Brahmanical grafts and overgrowth, the legends and traditions will be found to furnish large illustrations of old Hindú civilization. Again, when considered as a whole, they are valuable as indicating the process by which the varied populations of India have been brought under Brahmanical influence. But Sanskrit literature, whether Vedic or Brahmanic, has no historical annals in the modern Absence of chro- sense of the word. It is devoid of all real sequence or chronology. It is grievously marred by the introduction of monstrous and supernatural fables, which are revolting to European ideas. At the best it furnishes little more than isolated pictures of the past, which have been preserved in the ballads of a semi-barbarous age, and converted by later Brahmanical compilers into vehicles for religious teaching. nology. But although it is impossible to reduce the varied groups of Hindú traditions into historical form, it is possible to indicate the progress of religious thought from a very remote period. Relics ligious belief. of pre-historic races have preserved their ancient CHAPTER I. religion intact in remote hills and jungles, as it Elements of reexisted in times primeval, and long before the priestly Bráhman appeared upon the scene. Again, amongst nations and races which have been brought under the pale of Brahmanical orthodoxy, organic remains of the old faiths are still discernible beneath the crust of Brahmanical teaching. It may thus be practicable to trace out the more important elements of religious belief which have been seething in the Hindú intellect from the dawn of history. At the same time it is possible also to indicate the more important migrations of different races into India, and their ultimate settlement in the regions which they now occupy; and thus to obtain, however hazy and obscure, an approximate idea of the political condition of the people during the unrecorded age which precedes historic times. divisions of The India: Hindu stan, the Dek Its han, and the Peninsula. Some light may be thrown on the early history Geographical of India by a brief glance at its geography. continent of India is an inverted triangle. northern boundary is formed by the mighty range of the Himalayas, which walls it off from the remote regions of Turkistan and Chinese Tartary. Its west and eastern sides are respectively washed by the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. It may be divided into three belts or zones, namely-Hindustan in the north, the Dekhan in the centre, and the Peninsula in the south. These zones are formed by three lines, running from west to east, namely— the Himalayan wall to the north of Hindustan, the line of the Nerbudda river to the north of the Dekhan, and the line of the river Krishna which CHAPTER I. separates the Dekhan from the Peninsula. The lines of these two rivers must be prolonged in each case from sea to sea. Aryan and India might thus be described as a triangle, having its northern frontier walled in by the Himalayas, and its western and eastern coasts shut in by the sea. But between the Himalayan wall and the sea there is at either end of Hindustan a considerable interval, which has formed a gate or highway into India from time immemorial. The Aryan gate is on the north-west of Hindustan, and is formed by the Punjab, including the valley of the Indus and its tributaries. From a remote antiquity successive waves of Vedic Aryans from Iran or Aryana have passed through this gate for the colonization of India. The Turanian gate is in the east of Hindustan, and is formed by the valley of the river Brahmaputra, which coils round the Himalayas like a huge serpent, and finally falls into the Bay of Bengal. From a period long prior to the Aryan invasions, various unclassed races of supposed Turanian origin from high Asia, have poured down this valley, and found their way through Bengal into Hindustan.3 3 The terms Aryan and Turanian gates are used only in a general sense, and with considerable reservation. Thus, although the Punjab has been described as the Aryan gate, by which the Vedic-Aryans entered Hindustan, it has also been the highway for Afghan, Turki, and Mogul invaders, who certainly cannot be referred to an Aryan origin. Again, although the Himalayan range has been described as the northern wall of Hindustan, there is reason to believe that it has often been surmounted by Thibetan races who have found their way over the elevated heights into Hindustan. But it is impossible for the historian to trace out the several migrations in ancient times; and it will suffice to indicate with tolerable clearness those which possess a real historical significance from having left a permanent impress upon the religious development of the people of India. For a valuable collection of original data, see Dr Muir's Sanskrit Texts. India. From time immemorial India has been famous CHAPTER I. for the richness and variety of its products. Espe- Products of cially it has furnished abundant food for man, excepting at intervals of drought and famine. For those who live on animal food, there is a great variety of game, as well as sheep, goats, and poultry of every kind. For those who are contented with a more simple diet, there is a superfluity of rice and other grains, and of such condiments as pepper, mustard, and numerous spices. Fruit and vegetables are to be found in luxurious plenty, especially the nutritious plantain, the rich custard-apple, the red grape-like lechee, the delicate pine-apple, the musk and water melon, the juicy pomegranate, and above all the delicious mango, which is often larger than the largest pear, and as luscious as an English apricot. Almost every other requirement of humanity is also bountifully provided. The cotton shrub supplies ample clothing for so warm a climate. The bamboo and cocoa-nut tree furnish every material necessary for building a house, for binding it together with cordage, and for matting its sides. The forests contain some of the finest timber. mines, which are now apparently exhausted, seem to have been overflowing in ancient times with precious stones and metals; whilst the seas that washed the southern coasts, especially those of the island of Ceylon, abounded in oysters which produced the finest pearls. The rents of immi Attractions such as these would naturally draw Different curswarms of adventurers from over-populated or less gration. favoured climes; and it is easy to conceive that the earliest tides of immigration would have followed the course of the two monsoons. Thus in the re |