Essays Lectures on Religion of Hindu Vol 02

Author(s): H H Wilson
Publisher: Trubner and Company London
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/007689/1

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You

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* NOV 7 1906 * BL1201 .W738 Division v2 Section

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WORKS BY THE LATE II ORACE HI AYMAN WILSON, M.A., F.R.S., MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, OF TAE ASIATIC SOCIETIES OF CALCUTTA AND PARIS, AND OF THE ORIENTAL SOCIETY OF GERMANY; FOREION MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE; MEMBER OT THE IMPERIAL ACADEMIES OF ST. PETERSBURGH AND VIENNA, AND OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF MUNICH AND BERLIN; PH.D. BRESLAU; M. D, MARBURO, ETC.; AND BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. VOL. II. Aabenry 2 LONDON: TRUBNER & CO., 60, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1862.

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ESSAYS AND LECTURES CHIEFLY ON THE RELIGION OF THE HINDUS. BY THE LALE H. H. WILSON, M.A., F.R.S., BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, ETC., ETC. COLLECTED AND EDITED BY DR. REINHOLD ROST. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS AND LECTURES. LONDON: TRUBNER & CO., 60, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1862.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page I. Notice of Three Tracts received from Nepal . . 1 - 39 II. Two Lectures on the Religious Practices and Opinions of the Hindus ........... 40 120 III. Summary Account of the Civil and Religious Institutions of the Sikhs ........... 121 - 150 IV. The Religious Festivals of the Hindus . . . . . 151 - 246 V. On Human Sacrifices in the ancient Religion of India .................... 247-269 VI. On the supposed Vaidik Authority for the Burning of Hindu Widows, and on the Funeral Cere movies of the Hindus ............ 270 - 292 VII. Remarks by Raja Radhakanta Deva on the pre ceding article; with observations . . . . . . . 293 - 309 VIII. On Buddha and Buddhism ........... 310 - 378 IX. Account of the Religious Innovations attempted by Akbar .................. 379 - 400 .. 401 - 416 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

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NOTICE OF TIIREE TRACTS RECEIVED FROM NEPAL. From the Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVI, Calc. 1828, p. 450-78. THE accounts hitherto published of the Religious System of the Nepalese are far from being comprehensive or satisfactory. They only establish the general conclusion that there are two predominant forms of belief, as well as two principal divisions of the people, the Parvatiya, or Mountain Hindus, who follow the faith of the Brahmans, and the Newars, or original inhabitants, who adhere to the worship of Buddha. The indistinctness and inaccuracy that pervade the descriptions of KIRKPATRICK and BUCHANAN are not however, in all probability, the fault of the describers. Much is, no doubt, attributable to their want of access to original authorities, on which alone dependence can be placed for a correct view of any mode of faith in India. The Spirit of Polytheism, always an accommodating one, is particularly so in this country, and the legends and localities of one sect are so readily

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NOTICE OF appropriated by another, that it speedily becomes difficult to assign them to their genuine source. In like manner formula and ceremonies very soon become common property, and whatever may be the ruling principles, the popular practice easily adopts a variety of rites that are peculiar to different creeds. This is every where the case throughout Hindustan, and the sectaries of VISIINU often assimilate to those of Siva, whilst the worshippers of the female Principle are constantly identifiable with both. Nepal, evidently, constitutes no exception, and the worship of SIVA, and Tantra rites, are so widely blended with the practices and notions of the Buddhists, that an accurate appreciation of the latter is no longer derivable from any but original and authentic sources, or the ancient works of the Bhotiyas in which the pure and primitive doctrines are enshrined. Of the number and character of those works which are the authorities of the Bauddhas of Nepal, the only description on which any reliance can be placed is contained in the preceding communication, from Mr. HODGSON, to whose active and intelligent zeal the Society is so largely indebted. It yet remains, however, to estimate ** the contents of the volumes he * [Notices of the Languages, Literature, and Religion of the Bauddhas of Nepal and Bhot. As. Res. XVI, 109-19. Reprinted in the "Illustrations of the Literature and Religion of the Buddhists". By B. H. Hodgson, Esq. Serampore: 1841, p. 1 19.] ** [On the results of the estimate since made compare Mr. Hodgson's "Quotations from original Sanskrit authorities", in

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. has enumerated, and which for the far greater part, it is believed, are written in the language of Tibet, and not in Sanskrit, as he seems to suppose. We must wait therefore for the acquirement of this language by European scholars, before we can pronounce with confidence upon the character and contents of the Bauddha Scriptures, and how far they may be originals or translations. If the latter, which, except to a limited extent, is very unlikely, we may safely assert, that the Sanskrit originals are no longer procurable in Hindustan. The paper already referred to furnishes us also with the only outline of the BAUDDHA philosophy and mythology that can be consulted with advantage, for, although some of the particulars are to be found in Georgi's ponderous volume, they are so obscured by his parade of learning, and spirit of theory, that they are to be selected only with great trouble and uncertainty. The account given by PALLAS, as quoted by BUCHANAN, seems also to be derived from oral information only, and to be confined to superficial and popular details. To what extent the Doctrines or Divinities of Bhot Buddhism are of local origin or modification, can only be determined when the condition in which this form of faith exists in other countries is Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, Vol. V, p. 28 ff., 71 ff. (reprinted in his Illustrations" p. 94-136), and Burnouf's "Introduction a l'histoire du Buddhisme indien". Paris: 1814. p. 1 ff. J. B. Saint-Hilaire, "Bouddha et sa religion". Paris: 1860, p. ix ff. A. Weber, "Ind. Studien", III, 135 ff.]

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NOTICE OF more authentically explained; but as far as we may infer from what has yet appeared in the Asiatic Researches, or elsewhere, on the Buddhism of Ceylon and Ava, many and important varieties occur between the heavenly hierarchy oi those countries and of Bhot. Of the scale of Buddhas which prevails in the latter, we have no trace whatever in the communications of BUCHANAN, MAHONY and JOINVILLE. Their enumeration of the human Buddhas, the only Buddhas of whom they speak, differs also from that of Mr. Hodgson. Amidst the perplexity that this disagreement is calculated to occasion, any further illustration that is available will be, no doubt, welcome to the Society, and I have therefore thought that the following notice of the only works sent down by Mr. Hongson, which I have been able to distinguish as connected with the religion of Nepal in any language known to me, might not be unacceptable. The works are short, and are evidently of a popular, not a scriptural character. As authorities, therefore, they are of no great value, although they may be taken as guides to common and corrupt practice and belief. They evidently, however, spring from the mythological system sketched by Mr. HODGSON, and so far corroborate his statements, as well as derive confirmation from his remarks, whilst they serve also to shew how far the Buddha creed has been modified by Tantrika admixture. The works in question are three tracts, comprised in one volume, and severally entitled-Ashtami vratu Vidhana, Ritual for the religious observance of the

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. Eighth (day of the lunar fortnight), Naipaliya Devata Kalyana Panchavinsatiki, Twenty-five Stanzas invocatory of the favorof the Deities of Nepal--and Sapta Buldha Stotra, Praise of the seven Buddhas. The text of these traets is Sanskrit, interspersed with a gloss in Newori, copiously infused with pure Sanskrit terms. The two latter are so short that they may be translated entire. A specimen of the first will be sufficient. TRANSLATION. SAPTA BUDDHA STOTRA. "I adore JINENDRA, the consuming fire of sorrow, the treasure of holy knowledge, whom all revere, who bore the name Vipasyi, who was born in the race of mighty monarchs, in the city Bandumati, who was for eighty thousand years the preceptor of gods and men, and by whom, endowed with the ten kinds of power, the degree of Jinendra was obtained at the foot of a Patala tree. "I adore Sikhi, the mine of heavenly wisdom, the supreme sage who crossed the boundaries of the world, who was born of a royal race in the great city Aruna, whose life, adorned with every excellence, extended to the term of 70,000 years, by whom, out of affection for mankind, holy wisdom was obtained at the foot of a Pundarika. "I adore VISWABHU, the friend of the universe, the king of virtue, who was born in Anupama, of a race of illustrious monarchs, whose life lasted 60,000 years,

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NOTICE OF and who, liaving triumphed over earthly afflictions, obtained immortality at the foot of a Sal tree. "I adore KRAKUCHCHIANDA, the Lord of Munis, the unequalled Sugata, the source of perfection, who was born in Kshemavati, of a family of Brahmans, revered by kings; the life of that treasure of excellence was 40,000 years, and he obtained, at the foot of a Sirisha tree, the state o: Jinendra, with the weapons of knowledge that annihilate the three worlds. "I adore KANAKA IIuni, the sage and legislator, exempt from the blindness of worldly delusion, who was born in the city Sobhanavati, of a race of Brahmans honoured by kings. His resplendent person existed thirty thousand years. The degree of Buddha was obtained by him, munificent as the mountain of gems, at the foot of an Udumbara tree. "I adore KasYAPA, the Lord of the world, the most excellent and eminent sage, who was born at Benares, in the family of Brahmans venerated by princes; the life of his illustrious fraine endured 20,000 years, and the waters of the three worlds were dried up by the lamp of divine wisdom, which he acquired at the foot of a Nyagrodha tree. "I adore Sakya Sinha, the Buddha, the kinsman of the Sun, worshipped by men and gods, who was born at the splendid city of Kapilapur, of the family of the chief of the Sakya kings, the life of which best friend to all the world lasted 100 years. Having speedily subdued desire, unbounded wisdom was acquired by him at the foot of the Aswattha tree.

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. "I adore the Lord MAITREYA, the chief of Sages, residing at Tushitapur, who will assume a mortal birth at Ketumati, in the family of a Brahman honoured by the king, and who, endowed with immeasurable excellence, will obtain the degree of Buddha, at the foot of a Naga tree; his existence will endure 8000 years. "Having praised the seven Buddhas, supreme over all, and resplendent as so many Suns, as well as the future eighth Buddha, MAITREYA, dwelling at Tushitapur, may the merit of such praises be quickly productive of fruit, so that having divided all corporal bonds I may speedily obtain the final liberation of the holy Sages." REMARKS. The enumeration given in these verses is, therefore, very different from that of Dr. BUCHANAN and Capt. MAHONY, and instead of five or six we have eight deified Buddha teachers or human Buddhas: the former writer has only specified two names, GAUTAMA and SAKYA, of which the first does not occur in the Nepal list, whilst in another place he observes that SAKYA is considered by the Burmese Buddhists as an impostor: the latter has mentioned the names of the Buddhas, and they are evidently the same as the last five of the Nepal Stotra. KAKOOSONDEH, KONAGAMMEH, KASERJEPPEH, OP 7 39 "" KRAKUCHHANDA, KANAKA, KASYAPA,

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NOTICE OF GOTTAMA, or SAKYA, MAITREE, MAITREYA, possibly the other three are regarded as Buddhas of a different Kalpa, or period, and therefore only were omitted in the list furnished to Capt. MAHONY (Asiatic Research. VII, 32): the Nepal enumeration, however, is not a mere provincial peculiarity, nor of very modern date, and the same must bave prevailed in Hindustan, when here were Bauddhas in the country. Hemachandra, who wrote his vocabulary, probably in Guzerat, in the 12th century, specifies the same Buddhas as the Sapta Buddha Stotra, or Vipasyi, Sikhi, Viswabhu, Krakuchhanda, Kanchana, Kasyapa, and Sakya Sinha*. How many of these Buddhas are real personages, is very questionable. KAsYAPA is a character known to the orthodox system, and perhaps had once existence: he seems to have been the chief instrument in extending civilisation along the Himalaya and Caucasian mountains, as far as we may judge from the traditions of Nepal and Kashmir, and the many traces of his name to be met with along those ranges. SAKYA, as identifiable with GAUTAMA, was possibly the founder of the Bauddha system as it now exists, in the sixth or seventh century before Christianity. The names of the cities in which these Buddhas are said to have been born, or to have appeared in a human form, are not verifiable, with the exception * [sl. 236.]

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 9 of Benares *. They contribute therefore to throw doubt on the reality of the persons. The extravagant periods assigned to their lives is another suspicious circumstance. But these periods are, no doubt, connected with some legendary classification of the Kalpas, or ages of the world, in which mankind enjoyed a length of life far exceeding any thing in these degenerate days. So GEORGI states that, in the second age of the world and the first of men, the limit of life was 80,000 years; in the third age it was 40,000; in the fourth it was 20,000, and in the fifth one hundred. The Buddhas therefore only partake of the longevity of the periods to which they belong. The omission of the name of GAUTAMA proves that he is not acknowledged as a distinct Buddha by the Nepalese, and he can be identified with no other in the list than SAKYA Sinia. The Newari comment adds, that the latter was born in the family of SudDHODANA RAJA, and SUDDHODANA is always regarded as the father of GAUTAMA. Other names in the text, which are translated as epithets, Adityabandhu, the friend of the sun, and Lokaikabandhu, the sole or superior friend of the world, occur as synonymes of GAUTAMA as well as SAKYA SINHA, as in the vocabularies of Amara and Hemachandra; "Sakya Muni, Sakya Sinha, Sarvarttha Siddha, Sauddhodani (the * [Compare, however, St. Julien, "Voyages des pelerins Bouddhistes", I, 315 f. R. Spence Hardy, "Manual of Buddhism", 96 f. Burnouf, "Introduction", 116 & 388.]

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10 son of Suddhodana), Gautama, Arkabandhu (the kinsman of the sun), Mayadevi Suta." Amara Kosha*. "The seventh Buddha is named Sakya Sinha-Arkabandhava, the parent of Rahula (Rahulasu), Sarvarttha Siddha, Gotamanwaya (of the family of Gotama), Maya Suta (the son of Maya), Suddhodana Suta (the son of Suddhodana), Devadattagraja (the elder brother of Devadatta)." Hemachandra**. On what authority BUCHANAN asserts that the Priests of Ava consider GAUTAMA and SAKYA as distinct, and the latter as a heretic, he has not mentioned; but, as I have had occasion to remark elsewhere, no such distinction is made in the Pali version of the Amara Kosha, which is used by the Priests of Ava and Ceylon. GAUTAMA, and SAKYA SINHA, and ADITYABANDHU, are there given as synonymes of the son of SUDDHODANA. "Suddhodani cha Gotamo Sakyasiho tatha Sakyamuni ch' Adichchabandhu cha" ***. NOTICE OF It may seem scarcely worth while to notice the mention made in these verses of the acquisition of the state of a Buddha, or of a condition exempt from the infirmities of humanity, under particular trees: the meaning is, according to the Translation, that the sages chose such spots for the performance of their Tapas, or course of religious austerities. The specification, however, may be turned probably to some account. It is often exceedingly difficult to discriminate between Bauddha and Jain sculptures, and to *** [sl. 4. 5.] [I, 1, 1, 10.] ** [236. 237.]

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 11 decide to which sect images and architectural remains belong--any characteristic peculiarity will therefore be very acceptable to Indian antiquarians and travellers, and a figure, in other respects possessing the usnal features, the spiral locks, thick lips, and large ears of a Jina, or a Buddha, engaged in devotion, under the shade of a tree, may generally, perhaps, be ascribed with safety to the latter. It is more common to find the Jain Pontiffs shaded by the expanded hoods of the many-headed snake. The next work takes a wider range than the preceding in its enumeration of the objects of veneration in Nepal, and comprehends so many local peculiarities, that a correct translation of it is impracticable any where out of Nepal, except by a person familiar with the country and the system. The translation originally made was, therefore, referred to Mr. Hoogson, to whose revision and explanatory remarks it is indebted for any pretension to accuracy. The notes appended to the translation are almost wholly derived from communication with him on the subject of the text. TRANSLATION NAIPALIYA DEVATA KALYANA PANCHA VINSATIKA. May the first-born, the Holy SWAYAMPHU, ANTARUCHI, AMOGHA, AKSHOBHYA, the splendid Vairo

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12 NOTICE OF CHANA, MANIBHAVA, the King of sages and the Pure VAJRASATTWA', preserve you in your sojourn in the world; may Sri PRAJNA, VAJRADHATWi, the all-bountiful holy Tana, and the rest?, be propitious to you - I adore them. 2. May the goddesses SAMPAT PRADA, GANAPATIHRIDAYA, VAJRAVIDRAVINI, USHNISHARPANA, KIIivARAVADANA, GRAHAMATRIKA, KOTILAKSHAKSHI, with her ? These, as will have been seen by the preceding dissertation of Mr. Hodgson, are the personages of the Aiswarika, or Theistical pantheon--the Adi Buddha, or self-existent original Creator --the five Dhyani Buddhas, under other appellations, corresponding severally to AMITABIA, AMOGHASIDDIIA, AKSHOBIIYA, VairoCIIANA, and RATNASAMBILAVA (as in As. Res. XVI, p. 411), and a sixth Buddha, VAJRASATTWA, emanating from Adi Buddha -- the secondary agent in the creation of immaterial substances - the other five being charged with the creation of material bodies. [Burnouf, "Introduction", 525. W. Wassiljew, "Der Buddhismus", St. Petersburg: 1860, I, p. 205 f.] These female divinities are, in the vulgar Aiswarika system, the wives of Adi Buddha and the Dhyani Buddhas. The powers of inert matter are typified by a Goddess in the Swabhavika system; but neither in that nor the primitive Aiswarika doctrine are the intellectual Essences of the divine Buddhas linked to female forms -- either literally or figuratively, as their Saktis, or active energies. The complete list of these Goddesses, and their appropriation, are specified by Mr. Hodgson, as follows: Adi BUDDIA, his Wife Prajna. VAIROCIJANA, VAJRADIATwi. AKSHOBIIYA, LOCHANA. RATNASAMBHAVA, MAMUKUI. AMITABHA, PANThARA. AMOGHA-SIDDIIA, TARA. VAJRASATTWA, VAJRASATTWATMIKA.

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 13 train, and the protecting' PANCHARAKSHA, be propitious to you -- I adore them. 3. May RATNAGARBHA, DIPANKARA, the Jina MANIKUSUMA, VIPASYI, Sikhi, ViSWABIIU, KAKUTSA", KANAKA, the Muni of Munis KASYAPA, and Sakya SINHA', the Buddhas past, present, and future, the ocean of whose excellence is not to be passed by the ten faculties, be propitious to you -I adore them. 4. May the chief of sages and saints, the excellent son of Jina, AVALOKITESWARA, may MAITREYA, ANANTAGANJA, VAJRAPANI, and the great chief MANJUNATH, SARVANIVARANA, and the illustrious pair KSHITIGARBHA and KHAGARBHA', be propitious to you-I adore them. These Goddesses are considered by Mr. Hodgson as belonging to the genuine Bauddha system and the Swabhavika school-being spontaneous manifestations of matter, like other existent beings, man included. Some of them are known by other names, as SAMPATPRADA, the giver of wealth, is also VASUNDARA, the earth - KITIVARAVADANA, the hog-faced, is also MARiCII, perhaps intending Radiance; KOTILAKSILAKSIII, the innumerably-eyed, is named PRATINGIRA. The Pancharakshah, the five Rakshas, or protecting powers, are styled PRATISARA, MALASAHASRAPRAMARDDINI, MALLAMAYURI, MAHASETAVATI, and MAJIAMANTRANUSARINI. Without possessing the legends attached, no doubt, to each it would be unsafe to analyse these terms. * [i. e. KRAKUCICILANDA.] ? We have here Ten mortal Buddhas. The last seven have been already the object of remark. The three first are assigned by some, not the best authorities, to the Satya yuga. 3 These vine are Bodhisattwas, supposed to bear to the Dhyani, or celestial Buddhas, the relation of Sous: thus -

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14 NOTICE OF 5. May that collective aggregate of the five Buddhas preserve you, who, for the preservation of mankind, created, from his own abode, the one light' in the supreme Lotus, named Nagavasa, which sprang from the root planted by VIPASYI, which being one portion became five-fold, and which plays eternally--I adore it. 6. May that mysterious portion of PRAJNA as GUNYESWARI?, born of the Lotus with three leaves, AVALOKITESWARA, is the Son of AMITABIIA. MAITREYA, VAIROCIANA. ANANTAGANJA, AKSIIOBIIYA. SAMANTARILADRA, VAIROCILANA. VAJRAP MI, AKSIOBHYA. MANJUNATII, Ditto. SARVANIVARANA VISIIKAMBUI, AMOGHA. KsMTIGARBILA, RATNASAMBIIAVA. KILAGARBIIA, AMITABILA. Of these the first, who is the same with PADMAPANI, the fourthi and the fifth, are included in original systems amongst the Dhyunibodhisattwas, but the others are of mortal origin, and, therefore, very inconsistently derived from celestial progenitors. 1 The object of invocation is the Adi Buddha, in the form of Light, manifested on the Sambhunath mountain; the flame is said to burn eternally in the centre of the hemisphere of Sambhu Chaitya. ? The Sakti of Adi Buddha is here addressed as manifested in the element of water, the following legend is cited by Mr. Hodgson from the Sambhu Purana - "When MANJUNATI had let off the waters, the luminous form of Buddha appeared. MANJUNATu resolved to erect a temple over it, but water bubbled up so fast that he could find no foundation. On his having recourse to prayer, the Goddess GUIESwari appeared, and the water subsided-GUYESWARI, the Goddess of the hidden form, is very

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 15 by the will of MANTUDEVA, void of being, the personification of desire, favourable to many, and praised by BRAHMA, VISHNU, and Siva, who in Durgs, the giver of boons, was manifested on the ninth day of the dark half of the month Margasirsha, be propitious to you-I adore her. 7. May SWAYAMBHU, in a visible form as Ratna Lingeswara, of the Srivatsa shape, the chief of the eight Vitaragas', the raft by which the ocean of life Flag. like an adoption from Saica mysticism." This, and the preceding verse, are both very obscure. 1 This, and the following seven verses, refer to the eight litaragas of the nine Bodhisattwas addressed in verse four, all but the first manifested portions of themselves under some visible but inanimate shape, thus MAITREYA, was visible as a flame called Sriratsa. ANANTAGANJA, Lotus. SAMANTA HADIRA VARIPIKI Water-Jar. MANJUNATII, Chauri. VISIIKAMBLI, Fish. KsutIGARBITA, Umbrella. KULGARBIA, Conch Shell. These are called litaragas, the exempt from Passion, or rather perhaps the liberators from Passion-as the compound admits of either sense. They are also called the eight Mangalas, or auspicious objects. They are found sculptured on Bauddha monuments, and especially on the stone or marble Feet, which are frequently placed in the temples of the sect. They appear to have been merely the symbols of the Bodhisattwas; but they have been connected evidently in popular belief with notions derived from the Hindu religion and local legends, and bear the character of so many Lingas erected by different individuals, some of whom are specified. [Burnouf, "Lotus?", 647.]

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16 NOTICE OF may be crossed, who was produced from a portion of MAITREYA uniting with the light of RATNACHUThA' in the forest rock, be propitious to you ---I adore it. 8. May GOKARNESWARA, the son of KHAGANJA, in the form of a Lotus, assumed on the bank of the Vagmati, by desire of LOKANATH, to preserve the wicked GOKARNAengaged in austere devotion, and who, for the benefit of mankind and their progenitors, is still at the confluence of the rivers ", be propitious to you--I adore him. RATNACHIUVA or MANICHUVA, he of the jewel - crest: he is said to have been a King of Saketa Nagar, on whose head grew a gem of inestimable value, which he offered to the Gods, and which was united with the portion of MAITREYA to form the Jewel- Linga. The Srivatsa is, properly, the Jewel worn by KRishNa, but is here understood to imply a waving flame. Amongst the ancient Bauddha sculptures at Amaravati, on the Krishna, and removed by Colonel MACKENZIE, was one of a Lingan, surmounted by a flame of this description. 2 The l'itaraga is styled Khaganja Tanaya, meaning, however, emanation or derivation, not literally son. 3 GOKARNA is said to have been a prince of Panchala. The name of the Titaraga, in conjunction with his appellation, is a clear indication of a Linga being intended, these symbols, throughout all India, being commonly named from some circumstance connected with their first erection; with Iswara, the name of Siva, affixed. Gokarneswara is, therefore, the Linga set up by GOKARKA. It is probable, however, that GOKARNA is a fabulous person, and that the real origin of the name is the existence of a similar Lingam on the Malabar Coast, which has been very celebrated for some centuries. 4 Of the Vagmati and Amoghavati, where oblations to ancestors are offered.

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 17 9. May Mahesa, named Kila', the Vitaraga, emanating from SAMANTABHADRA, in the form of a flag, on the holy mountain, for the benefit of mankind, frightening, as with a stake, the fierce serpent KuLIKA, the King of the Nagas, 10. May that Sarveswara, the son of the great Jina, holding a trident and a bell, a portion of VAJRAPANI, in the form of a water-jar, assumed at the command of LOKESWARA, to cherish SARVAPADA1, and left on earth for the benefit of mankind, be propitious to you-I adore him. 11. May Garttesa", the all-bestowing form assumed by MANJU DEVA, for a portion of himself, in order to awake the ignorant, and idle, and sensual Manjugartta', and convert him (it) to a profound and learned sage (or region), be propitious to you-I adore him. 1 Or Kileswara. 2 The text has Srigiri, which the comment calls Charugiri. 3 KULIKA is one of the eight chiefs of the Nagas, or serpents of Patala. A sage also named VAJRACHARYA, but the term is also used in a generic sense. 5 The Linga is called Ghateswara. The emblem of MANJU DEVA is a Chauri; but Gartta is a cavern, a hole, or hollow. The text in this instance, therefore, does not preserve its symbolic consistency as in the preceding stanzas. 7 The comment seems to understand by Manju-gartta, Nepal, the hollow or valley of MANJUDEVA, who, according to Mr. HODGSON, appears to be a historical personage. [Burnouf, "Lotus de la bonne loi", 500 f.] 2

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NOTICE OF 12. May that pious SARVANIVARANA VISHKAMBHI, desirous of the form of a fish, and decorated with the lord of snakes, who gave all to the sage Uoiya, and throwing off a portion of himself became the passionless Vitaraga, Phanindreswara', be propitious to you-I adore him. 13. As Uviyana", shaded by his umbrella, was engaged in devotion on the bank of the Vagmati, PRITHWIGARBHA suddenly appeared and established that portion of himself, the Vitaraga Gandhesa", the friend of all, standing in the presence of LOKANATH, may he be propitious to you -I adore him. 14. As UThIYANA, having obtained super-human faculties from his austerities, was delighted, remem | A fish is the symbol of VISIIKAMBII; but it is clear that in this, as in other stanzas, the primitive symbol is lost sight of in the new Lingamite personification, which is more especially referred to in every instance, and which is not always alluded to under the same type. In this case it is the Iswara, or Linga, of the Lord of Hooded Snakes. ? The person mentioned in this, and alluded to, although not named (in the original) in the next verse, is no further specified than as an Acharya, or holy man. LOKANATII, LOKESWARA, and the son of AMITA, are considered by Mr. Hodgson to imply PADMAPANI, who is held to be the especial Lord of the eight Vitaragas. 3 The authors of this nomenclature seem to have been rather at a loss for an appropriate name, and have apparently taken Gandhesa, the Lord of Odour, from smell being the property of the element of earth, from which the Bodhisattwa, named PRrtiwi and Ksuti-GARBIIA, derives the first member of his name.

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 19 bering the son of Amita, and blowing the shell KnaGARBHA, his heart devoted to the will of LOKESWARA, was manifest; may he who, having established a portion of himself as Vikramesa', resurned to his own abode, be propitious to you--I adore him. 15. May the holy Tirtha' Punya, where the Naga The same remark applies still more especially to this form - J'ikrama, valour, prowess, being used to signify the austerities practised by the Sage. ? From this verse to the 18th, the twelve great Tirthas, or places of pilgrimage in Nepal, are addressed. They are all at the confluence of rivers, the greater number of which are mere mountain torrents. The circumstances from which they derive their sanctity, are briefly alluded to in the text; the legends are related in the Sambhu Purana, and are too prolix to be cited, the places themselves, which are still numerously frequented, are all identified by Mr. Hodgson as follows: Punya T. at Gokarna, where the Vagmati and Amoghaphaladayini rivers unite. Santa T. at Guhyeswari Ghai, where the Mandarika flows into the l'agmati. Sankara T. immediately below Patan, at the confluence of the l'agmati and Manimati. Raja T. at Dhantila, where the Raj - manjari runs into the l'agmati. Kama T. called in Newari Phusinkhel, at the junction of the Kesavati and T'imalaxati; the former is now know as the Vishnuvati, Nirmala T. at the junction of the Kesarati and Bhadravati at a place called Bijisoko. Akara T. at the junction of the Kesavati and Suvarnavati. Jnana T. at the confinence of the Kesavati and Papanusini. Chintamani T. at Pachilivairi, where the Kesavati and Vagmati unite, just below the present capital -- this is the chief Sangam, or conflux of rivers in Nepal.

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20 NOTICE OF obtained rest from TARKSHYA; may the holy Tirtha Santa, where Parvati performed penance to allay dissension; may the holy Tirtha Sankara, where RUDRA, with his mind fixed on obtaining Parvati, practised severe austerities, be propitious to you-- I adore them. 16. May the holy Rajatirtha, where VIRUPA obtained the sovereignty of the earth; may the holy Kamatirtha, where the hunter and deer went to Indra's heaven; may the holy Tirtha Nirmalakhya, where the Sage VAJRACHARYA performed his ablutions, be propitious to you--I adore them. 17. May the holy Tirtha Akara, where treasure is obtained by the despairing poor; may the holy Jnuna Tirtha, where the only wisdom is obtained by the ignorant paying reverence to the stream; may the holy Tirthu Chintamani, where every desire is obtained by those duly performing ablutions there, be propitious to you -I adore them. 18. May Pramodu Tirtha, where ablution secures pleasure; may Satlakshana Tirtha, where waters engender auspicious attributes; may Sri Jaya Tirtha, where BALASURA bathed when he undertook to subdue the three worlds, be propitious to you --I adore them. Pramoda T. at a place called Danaga, where the Vagmati and Ratnavati unite. Sailakshana T. at the junction of the Vagmati and Charumati rivers. Jaya T. at the junction of the Vagmati and Prabhavati.

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 21 19. May the goddesses VIDYADHARI, AKASAYOGINI, VAJRAYOGINI, and HARITI'; may HANUMAN, GANESA, MAHAKALA, and Chuoa Bhikshini3; may BRAHMANI These four goddesses belong to the Swabhavika system. According to one comment, Vidyadhari and Akasayogini are produced from the Lotos in the Solar sphere-above Sumeru, which is above the earth; below the earth is the region of waterbelow that, of fire, and below that, of air. Vajrayogini is a goddess of a superior, Hariti of an inferior rank. [St. Julien, Mem. sur les Contr. occident., I, 120, Note.] These goddesses resemble the Yoginis and Yakshinis of the Tantrika system in their terrific forms, malignant disposition, and magical powers, and in having each her Vija Mantra, a mystical syllable, appropriated to prayers addressed to her. Hariti has a temple in the precincts of Sambhunath, and is worshipped as Sitala by the Brahmanical Hindus. [Burnouf, "Introduction", 550 f.] 2 These three divinities, adopted from the orthodox Pantheon, are great favorites with the Bauddhas of Nepal, the legends justifying their adoption being ingenious and popular. The prevailing notion of these and similar importations from the Brahmanical theocracy is, that they are the servants of the Buddhas, and are only to be reverenced in that capacity. It is related of HANUMAN, in the Lankavatar, that when RAVAN found himself overmatched by the monkey, he took refuge in a temple of SAKYA. HANUMAN, unable to violate the sanctuary, applied to RAMA, who recommended him to go and serve the Buddha. In SAKYA's temple are found images of RAVAN, HANUMAN, MAIAKALA and HARITI. MAHAKALA is considered by the Swabhavikas as selfborn, and is invoked by them as Vajravira. The Aiswarikas regard him as the son of PARVATI and SIVA. [See also St. Julien, 1. 1. I, 43, Note.] 3 CHUDA BIKSIINI is a female mendicant. Bauddha Ascetics are classed in four orders, the Arhan, or perfect saint, Sravaka, studious sage, Chailaka, naked ascetic, and Bhikshu, mendicant. [See Hodgson's "Illustrations", 75, and Burnouf, "Lotus", 392.]

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NOTICE OF and the rest', with Sinmini, VYAGHRINI", and SKANDA, be propitious to you, I adore them. 20. May the lesser Tirthas, the source and term of the Vagmati, and the rest'; the Kesa Chaitya, on the Sankochha' hill, the Lalita Chaitya, on the Jutochha hillo, the Devi of the Phullochha hill', and the Bhagavati, of the Dhyanaprochha hill", be propitious to us-I adore them. Brahmani and the rest are the Matrikas, the divine mothers, or personified energies of the Hindu gods. ? Sinhini and Vyoghrini, or the Lion and Tiger - goddesses, are inferior spirits attached to the Matris. 3 Skanda is the Hindn deity, according to the Aiswarikas; according to the Swabhavikas, self- engendered. + These are four pools at l'agdwara, named Taro T., Agastya T., Apsara T., and Ananta T.-- Mr. Hodgson classes the source and term of the chief river Vagmati, amongst the greater Tirthas, but the text cannot be so understood. 5 Sankochha hill is called, by the Gorkhas, sivapura; by the Newars, Shipphucho: the Legend of Kesa Chaitya states, that KRAKUCHICHHANDA Buddha here cut off the forelocks of 700 Brahmans and Kshatriyas, or, in other words, made them Banddhas; half the hair (kesa) rose to heaven, and gave rise to the kesavati river, the other half fell on the ground, and sprung up in numberless Chaityas of the form of Lingas. See also Hodgson, "Illustrations", 168.] 6 Lalita Chaitya is said to have been founded by the disciples of VIPasyi; the hill on which it stands is the Arjun of the Gorkhas, the Jamachho of the Newars. The goddess is Vasundhara, in the form of a conical stone: the hill is called, by the Gorkhas, Phulchok. 8 Another goddess, a portion of Guhyeswari, in the shape of a conical stone. The hill is called, by the Gorkhas, Chandragiri.

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 23 21. May the Chaitya of Sri Manju hill, erected by his disciples'; may the five deities established in the cities founded by Sri SANTA?; may the Puchhagra mountain, where SARYA expounded the unequalled Puruna", be propitious to you, I adore them. 22. May the King of Serpents, the Naga, the destroyer of Vighnaraja, residing with his train in the Adhara lake'; may the five Lords of the three worlds", ANANDA Lokeswara, HARIHARIHARIVAHA Lokeswara, YAKSHAMALLA Lokeswara, AMOGHAPASA Lokeswara, and TRILOKAVASANKARA Lokeswara, be propitious to you-I adore them. Srimanju hill is the western part of mount Sambhu: between which and Srimanju there is a hollow, but no separation. ? SantAsri, according to the Sambhu Purana, was a Kshatriya King of Gaur, named PRACHAKUA Deva, who, having come to Nepal, was made a Bauddha by Gurakar Bhikshu: the five divinities are VASUNDILARA Devi in Vasupur, Agni Deva in Agnipur, Viru Deva in l'ayupur, NAGADEVA in Nagpur, and GUIIYADEVI in Santapur. They are all on mount Sambhu round the great temple. 3 The Puchhagra mountain is the hollow of mount Sambhu ; the Puruna intended is the Sambhupurana [i. e. Svayambhupurana. See Burnonf, "Introduction", 581. Hodgson, "Illustrations", 25.] 4 The Naga here is KARKOTA, one of the eight Nagas, who in Nepal, as well as in Kashmir [Raja Tar. III, 530.], is reported to have resided in the waters which filled those valleys; when the country was drained, he repaired to a reservoir near Kathmandu. The Adhara tank is called, by the Newars. Tadahong. 5 The five Lokeswaras, regents of the worlds, are Bodhisattwas: Ananta is called by the Newars Chobha Dev, and Yakshamalla, Tuyu Khwa.

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24 NOTICE OF 23. May the divinities HEVAJRA, SAMVARA, CHANDAVIRA, TRILOKAVIRA and YoGAMBARA, with their train; may the destroyer of YAMA and the rest of the ten Kings of wrath, with all hidden and revealed spirits; may APARIMITAYU NAMSANGITi, be propitious to you' -I adore them. 24. May MANJUNATII, who having come from Sirsha, with his disciples, divided the mountain with his scymitar, and on the dried-up lake erected a city, the pleasant residence of men, worshipping the deity sitting on the elemental Lotus, be propitious to youI adore him. 25. May ABJAPANI, the chief of the companion train of HAYAGRIVA, and JATADHARA', who came to the mountain Potala after having gone from Saukhavati* - Most of these belong to the Bauddha system and the Swabharika division. APARIMITAYU and NAn Sangiti are both Buddhas, 10 each of whom various associates are attached. 2 Some observations on the historical purport of this and the next verse will be subjoined to the text. 3 The construction of this passage might warrant the use of Jatadhara as the epithet of HAYAGRIVA, the wearer of the Jata, or matted hair, denoting a follower of Sira, particularly as HAYAGRiva is said to be a Bhairava, one of Siva's attendants: but the comment calls Jaiadhara a Lokeswara: according to Mr. Hodgson, also HAYAGRIVA and JATADHARA are two of the menial attendants of ABJAPANI or PADMAPANI, one of the Dhyani Buddhas; others are named Sudhana, Kumara, Ajita, Aparajita, Marsainya, Varada, Akalamrityu, Jaya, Tijaya, Abhayaprada, and Dhanada, most of which names are well known to the Hindus as those of the attendants on Siva and Parvati. * [Koppen, "Religion des Buddha", 11,28. Wassiljew, 1.1. I, 222.]

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 25 to Venga, and being afterwards called by the King' to remove accumulated evils, entered Lalitapur, be propitious to you--I adore him*. REMARKS. Besides the peculiar purport of the allusions contained in the preceding verses, they suggest a few general considerations which may be here briefly adverted to. It is clear that the Bauddha religion, as cultivated in Nepal, is far from being so simple and philosophical a matter as has been sometimes imagined. The objects of worship are far from being limited to a few persons of mortal origin, elevated by superior sanctity to divine honours, but embrace a variety of modifications and degrees more numerous and complicated, than even the ample Pantheon of the Brahmans. A portion of the heavenly host is borrowed, it is true, from the Brahmanical legends, but a sufficient variety is traceable to original sources, both amongst the Swabhavikas and Aiswarikas, and either spontaneously engendered, or created by some of the manifestations of the Adi Buddha, or Supreme Being. Such are the Bodhisattwas, and the Lokeswaras, and a The Deva; the Comment says Narendra Deva, a King of Nepal. * [A translation of the same Tantra, by Mr. Hodgon, appeared in the Journal As. Soc. Bengal, XII, 400-409; but unfortunately it is disfigured by numerous misprints.]

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26 NOTICE OF number of inferior divinities, both male and female, that are not borrowed from either the Saiva or Sakta sects. It is a subject of important inquiry, in what degree these divinities are peculiar to Nepal, and whether they are acknowledged by the Bauddhas in other countries. There can be little doubt, that they are recognised by the Bauddhas of Tibet and Chinese Tartary, and some of them are traceable in China. It is very doubtful, however, if they form part of the theocracy of Ceylon, Ava, and Siam. In the first of these we find inferior divinities, some of them females, worshipped; but they do not, as far as any description enables us to judge, offer any analogy to the similar beings reverenced in Nepal. In Aya and Siam nothing of the kind apparently occurs, although in the existence of Nats, it is admitted, that other animated creatures than man and animals exist. It has already been observed, that nothing analogous to the Metaphysical, or Dhyuni Buddhas occurs in the Buddhism of Southern India. There is, however, some evidence to shew, that the whole of the Nepal hierarchy of heaven, even of the Swabhavika class, is not confined to the nations of the North. In the vocabulary of HEMACHANDRA * we have the names of sixteen goddesses, at a little distance from the synonymes of the Buddhas, entitled the Vidyadevis, who are unknown to the Brahmanical system. One of these is Prajnapti, who may be the * [239. 240.]

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 27 same as the Prajna of our text. It is however, in the vocabulary, entitled the Trikanda Sesha, that the fullest confirmation occurs, that many of the inferior personages belonging to the Bauddhas were known in India, when that faith was current there. Besides the names of SAKYA and those of general or individual Buddhas, as SWAYAMBIU, PADMAPANI, LOKANATH, LOKESA, VITARAGA, AVALOKITA, and MANJUSRI, that work specifies a variety of goddesses, whose titles are found in the text as Tara, Vasundhara, Dhanada or Sampatprada, Marichi, Lochana, and others. The vocabulary is Sanskrit, and is apparently a compilation of the tenth or eleventh century'. The allusions in the twenty-fourth and other verses to MANJU Nath seem to point to him as the first teacher of the Bauddha religion in Nepal. Tradition assigns to him the same part that was performed by KASYAPA in Kashmir , the recovery of the country from the waters by which it was submerged, by giving them an outlet through the mountains: this he performed, according to the text, by cutting a passage with his scymitar. He is described in the same stanza, as coming from Sirsha, which the Newari comment says is the mountain of Mahachin, and the Sambhu Purana also states the same. The city founded by MANJU, called Manju Pattan *, is no longer in exis Introduction of Wilson's Dictionary p. XXVII. As. Res. Vol. XV. [Burnouf, "Lotus", 505.] * [Lassen, Ind. Alt., III, 777 f. Burnouf, "Lotus'', 504.]

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28 NOTICE OF tence, but tradition places it half-way between Mount Sambhu, and the Pasupati Wood, where the remains of buildings are aften dug up. Both BUCHANAN and KIRKPATRICK advert to the legend of MANJU's drying up the valley of Nepal, and express themselves satisfied that it is founded on the fact of the valley having once been an extensive lake. Manju has a number of synonymes in the Trikanda, as MANJUSRI, MANJU Ghosha, MANJUBHADRA, KUMara, the youth or prince; Nila, the dark-complexioned; VADiRAJ, the King of controversy; KhaoGi, wearing a sword; DANdi carrying a staff; SikhaduARA, having a lock of hair on the crown of his head; SINHAKELI, who sports with a Lion; and SARDULAVALLANA, who rides on a Tiger: some of these epithets are, of course, not to be understood literally, but their general tendency is to assign to Manju the character of a Military Legislator, one whose most convincing argument was the edge of his sword. The religion introduced by MANJU and his disciples was, possibly, that of pure Buddhism, either in the Swabhavika or diswarya form; but whence were the Brahmanical grafts derived? It is not extraordinary that we should have SIVA, or VISHNU, or GANESA, or perhaps even HANUMAN, admitted to some degree of reverence, for there is nothing in the Bauddha doctrines negative of the existence of such beings, and the popularity of the legends relating to them with the whole Hindu people recommended them to the favour and adoption of their neighbours; but the sakta

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 29 form of Hinduism is a comparatively obscure and unavowed innovation, and had not therefore the same claims to consideration. It is, nevertheless, the chief source of the notions and divinities foreign to Buddhism with those Bauddhas, amongst whom the Panchavinsati is an authority. It could only have been brought to their knowledge by contiguity, for the Tantras, and Tantrika Puranas, form a literature almost peculiar to the eastern provinces of Hindustan, the origin of which appears to be traceable to KAMARUP or western Asam. There is no doubt that the system has principally prevailed in Bengal, Rungpore, Cooch Behar, and Asam; and, following the same direction, has probably spread into Nepal. There seem to be some hints to this effect in the concluding stanza of the Tract that has been translated. The literal purport of this verse is, that ABJAPANI, whoever he might be, came to Lalitapur, after having gone from Saukhavati to Banga. Saukhavati is called a Lokadhatu, a peculiar Bauddha division of the universe, and probably not in this world; but Banga desa is never applied to any country, except the east or north of Bengal. ABJAPANI, or PADMAPANI, is a metaphysical Bodhisattwa, but in the present work all these nonentities are converted into substances, and he is therefore a mortal teacher of the Bauddha faith, or employed for the occasion in that capacity. He was invited, the tradition records, to reside in Nepal on the occasion of a famine, by NARENDRA Deva, Raja of Bhatgong, and BANDHUDATTA, a Vajracharya, and

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30 NOTICE OF came in consequence. He comes attended by Bhairavas and wearers of Jatas, and may therefore be suspected of having come in the garb of a Saiva priest, if not as his identical self, yet as an Ansa, or portion, which the orthodox Bauddhas leave out of view. They have, however, no objection to the Siva Margis worshipping ABJAPANI under any name they please, and his annual festival is attended by all sects alike. The invitation of a foreign teacher by NARENDRA DEVA is noticed by Colonel KIRKPATRICK; but the individual is called by him MATSYENDRA NAti', one of the first propagators, apparently, of the Pusupata form of the Saiva religion, which seems to be that prevailing in Nepal. There is also mention of some alteration of the national rites, by another Prince of the same denomination, by which it is recorded a fall 1 An original legend sent me by Mr. HODGSON narrates, that the Lokeswara PADMAPANI descended by command of Adi Bunda as MATSYENDRA. He hid himself in the belly of a fish, in order to overhear Siva teach Parvati the doctrine of the Yoga, which he had learned from ADI BUDDIA, and which he communicated to his spouse on the sea-shore. Having reason to suspect a listener, Sia commanded him to appear, and PADMAPANI came forth, clad in raiment stained with ochre, smeared with ashes, wearing car-rings, and shaven, being the chief of the Yogis: He was called MATSYENDRA NATHA, from his appearance from a fish (Matsya), and his followers took the appellation Nath. We have in this story a decided proof of the current belief of a union between the Yoga sectaries, and the Bauddhas, effected, perhaps, by the Yogi MATSYENDRA, known in Hindustan as the pupil of GORAKINATu, but converted by the Bauddhas into a manifestation of one of their deified Sages. (See Vol. I, 214.]

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 31 of snow was obtained. The first NARENDRADEO appears to have lived in the 7th, the second in the 12th century. The first would answer well enough for the introduction of the Pasupata creed, which might have been popular in India about that time, and the latter date is that about which the Tantrika ritual seems to have obtained currency. It is not unlikely that the expressions in the Panchavinsati refer to one or other of these events, although, as usual, in all such appropriations of legendary history, the circumstances are adapted to the peculiar notions of those by whom they are borrowed. According to local traditions, the invitation of Padmapani occurred in the fifth century, or 1381 years ago *. ASHTAMI VRATA VIDHANA. This tract is of much greater extent, than either of the preceding, but is of less value for the illustration of ideas originally Bauddha. It belongs to that faith, but is suill more copiously interspersed with notions from a foreign source than even the preceding, being, in fact, a ritual of the Tantrika practices of persons professing the religion of Buddha. A few observations and extracts will be sufficient to give an idea of its character, and of the observances it enjoins. The eighth lunar day of every half month is a day * [See Koppen, "Religion des Buddha", II, 21-32.]

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32 NOTICE OF peculiarly appropriated to religious ceremonies in the orthodox system. In the Vaidik creed it was customary to fast, and offer oblations to the gods in general on this day, and the Pauraniks made it sacred to different divinities, particularly to VISHNU. The Tantrikas have devoted the eighth day of certain months to the celebration of rites, which have no exclusive object, but are intended to secure the prosperity of the observer, and in this they have been apparently imitated by the Bauddhas of Nepal. The opening of the work, announcing the intention of the worshipper, refers briefly to several of the leading topics of the verses of the Panchavinsatika. Thus: "In the period of the Tathugata Sakya SINHA, in the Bhadrakalpa, in the Lokadhatu named Saha, in the Vaiwaswata Manwantara, in the first quarter of the Kali age, in the Bharata division of the earth, in Northern Panchala, in the Devasuka Kshetra, in the Upachhandoha Pitha; in the holy land Aryavartta; in the abode of the King of Serpents, KARKOT A, in the lake called Nagavasa, in the region of the Chaitya of SWAYAMBHU, in the realm over which GUHYESWARI Prajna presides, and which the fortune of ManJU SRI protects, in the kingdom of Nepal, of the form of that of Sri Samvara, and invincible, encircled by the eight Vitaragas, Manilingeswara, Gokarneswara, Kileswara and Kumbheswara, Gartteswara, Phanikeswara, Gandhesa and Vikrameswara, watered by the four great rivers Vagmati, Kesavati, Manimati, and Prabhavati,

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 33 sanctified by the twelve greater and six lesser Tirthas, and by the edifices on the four mountains, governed by the seven Sages, honoured by the Yoginis, the eight Matrikas, the eight Bhuiravas, Sinhini, Vyughrini, Ganesu, Kumaru, Muhakalu, Hariti, Ilunuman, the ten ministers of wrath. In such a place, at such a time, before such a divinity, 1 (naming himself and family) perform this rite, with my wife and household." The objects of the ceremony are then enuciated, generally, aversion of all evils, the preservation of health, and the attaiment of fortune. Most of the allusions have been already explained, and others belong to Brahmanical Hinduism. The name of the Lokadhatu, or division of the universe, Saha, is applicable apparently to the Ilimalnya range, and includes Kushmir, as we know from the Raja Tarangini'. The ceremonial of the Tantras is distinguished by the repetition of mystical syllables, the employment of Yantrus, or diagrams, a superabundance of gesticulations, the adoration of the spiritual teacher, or Guru, and the fancied identification of the worshipper with the divinity worshipped. In all these, as well as See As. Res. Vol. XV, p. 110, where Kashmir is termed, in the Nagari text (I, 172.), Sahalokadhatu, rendered erroneously the essence of the world, the admissible, although not the technical purport of Lokadhatu, in composition with Saha, no available information then suggesting the latter to be a proper name, and the former a division of the Universe in Bauddha Geography. [For the explanation of the term Sahalokadhatu, world of patience, see Burnouf, "Introduction ", 594 - 7, and Koppen, "Religion des Buddha", I, 261.]

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34 NOTICE OF in the order and nature of the presentations, the Ashtami Vidhana is as applicable to Calcutta as to Kathmandu; the only difference being in the object or objects addressed: in the present case, the principal person propitiated is AMOGHAPASA, apparently the same with SWAYAMBHU NATHA; but prayers are made, and offerings are addressed to all the personages of the Bauddha Pantheon, and to a great number of the divinities of the Hindus, especially to the terrific forms of Siva and SAKTI, and to all the Bhutas, or spirits of ill, and the Yoginis and Dakinis, the perpetrators of all mischief. A few passages will substantiate the accuracy of these assertions. In the hall where the ceremony is held various Mandalas', or portions are marked off and appropriated to the different objects of the rite, and a complete course of worship is addressed to each. The following is that directed for the Buddha Mandala. The directions are, in general, in Newari, the texts and prayers to be repeated in Sanskrit. Let the sacrificer touch the Buddha Manilala with his fore-finger', repeating: "The universal Tathugata, may all be propitious." He is then to address himself to the Durvu* (or holy grass which is placed in the The Manilala is sometimes an imaginary circle on the body of the worshipper; but it is defined here to be made with various substances, according to the means of the performer of the rite, as with gold dust, or pounded gems, or stone. (See alsoWassiljew, 1.1.1,212.] * [Dr. Ainslie, in bis "Materia Indica", Vol. II, p. 27 f., gives a description of this beautiful grass and its properties.]

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BAUDDIA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 35 centre of the circle). "Om. I adore the Vajra' Durva -glory be to it." He is then to throw flowers, or wave incense in the air, saying: "May all the Buddhas residing in all quarters gather round me. I, such a one so named, observing this rite, have become a mendicant (Bhikshu). Let all the Buddhas approach, who will grant me the permission of my desires. I wave this Vajra Pushpa, in honor of the auspicious teachers, the possessors of prosperity and the Lord; I invite them to appear." The worshipper is then to present water to wash the feet, and to rinse the mouth (saying: "Receive water for the feet of the Saint of SRI BUDDHA; Swaha, Receive the Achamana; Swaha"). The Pushpa Nyasa (presentation of flowers) next occurs; with these ejaculations: "Om! to the holy VAIROCHANA: Swaha. Om! to the holy AkSHOBHYA: Swaha. Om! to the holy RATNASAMBHAVA: Swaha. Om! to the holy AMITABHA: Swaha. Om! to the holy AMOGHA SIDDHA: Swaha. Om! to the holy LOCHANA: Swaha. Om! to the holy MAMAKI: Swaha. Om! to the holy TARA: Swaha." This is followed or accompanied by the presentation of incense, lights, water, and whole rice. Then ensues the Stotra, or praise: "I ever offer my salutation with my head declined; To the holy bene The term Vajra, which signifies the thunderbolt', or 'a diamond', is employed in these compounds, evidently in the sense of auspicious, holy, or sacred, [Burnouf, "Introduction", 527, or serving for the removal or keeping off of difficulties. See Wassiljew, 1. 1. I, 211.] 3*

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36 NOTICE OF factor of the world VAIROCHIANA. To the holy AKSHOBHYA. To the illustrious RATNODBHAVA, the best of Saints. To AMITADHA, the Lord of the Munis. To the holy AMOGHA SIDDHA, the remover of the ills of the Kali age. To LOCHANA, to MAMAKI, and to Tara, named PANThURA. I adore SARYA SINHA, the ruler of all, propitious, the asylum of clemency, the all-wise, the lotus-eyed, the comprehensive Buddha." The Desana, a sort of confession, is next performed. "Whatever sin may have been committed by me, child and fool that I am, whether originating in natural weakness, or done in conscious wickedness, I confess all, thus standing in the presence of the Lords of the world, joining my hands, afflicted with sorrow and fear, and prostrating myself repeateilly before them. May the holy Sayes conceive the past as with the past, and the evil I have done shall never be repeated." This is to be said by the disciple before the Guru, placing his right knee in the Mandala on the ground; He then continnes: "I, such a one, having uttered my confession, take refuge with Buddha from this time forward, until the ferment of ignorance shall have subsided; for he is my protector, the Lord of exalted glory, of an imperishable and irresumable form, merciful, omniscient, all - seeing, and free from the dread of all terrors; I do this in the presence of men." To this the Guru is to reply repeatedly: "Well done, well done, my son; perform the Niryutana." The worshipper accordingly takes rice, flowers, and

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BAUDDIIA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 37 water, and performs the rite, or sprinkles them on the Mandala, with this text: "This is the Lord ARNAT, the comprehensive Buddha, replete with divine knowledge, Sugata, knowing the universe, the supreme, the curber of the wild steeds of human faults, the ruler of the mortals and immortals: Buddha. To him, gem of Buddhas, I address the rites performed to this flower Mandala." The offering is then made with this formula: "Om! Namah to the gem of Buddhas, whose heart is laden with the burthen of compassion, the supreme spirit, the imiversal intellect, the triple essence, the endurer of ills for the benefit of existing beings; accept this offering, savoury and fragrant, and confirm me and all men in the supreme all-comprehending wisdom. Om, Am, Hrit, Hum, Phat, Swahu." The whole of the above is thrice repeated, with what are called the Dharma, Sangha, and Mula Mandalas. The names of the Buddhus being changed, and the prayers varied in length, though not in purport: these, however, form but a small part of the whole ceremony; although it is made up entirely of such prayers and observances. After worship has been offered to the different Buddhas, Bodhisattwas, regents of the quarters, and other mythological beings, the ceremony concludes with the following address to the spirits of heaven and goblins damned". "Glory to VAJRASATTWA--Gods and demons, Serpents and Saints, Lord of the plumed race, and all

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38 NOTICE OF Gandharbas, Yakshas, Regents of the planetary orbs, and spirits that dwell upon the earth. Thus, kneeling on the ground, I invoke you. Let all, hearing my invocation, approch with their wives, and children, and associates. Hear Demi-Gods, who frequent the brow of Meru, the groves of Indra, the palaces of the Gods, and the orbit of the sun, spirits who sport in streams, in ponds, in lakes, in fountains, and the depths of the sea. Goblins, who dwell in villages, in towns, in the deserted temples of the Gods, in the stalls of Elephants, and the cells of Monks. Imps, that haunt the roads, the lanes, the markets, and where cross-ways meet. Ghosts, that lurk in wells and thickets, in the hollow of a solitary tree, in funeral paths, and in the cemeteries of the dead, and Demons of terrific form, who roam as bears and lions through the vast forest, or rest in the mountain's caverned sides. Hear and attend. Receive the lights, the incense, the fragrant wreaths and the offerings of food presented to you in sincerity of faith; accept, eat and drink, and render this act propitious. INDRA, the thunder-bearer, AGNI, YAMA, Lord of the earth, Lord of the main, God of the winds, Sovereign of riches, and King of spirits (IsANA), Sun, Moon, progenitors of mankind, accept this offering of incense, this offering of lights. Accept, eat and drink, and render the act propitious. KRISHNA RUDRI, MAHA RUDRI, SIVA, UMA, of black and fearful aspect, attendants of DEVI, JAYA, VIJAYA, AJITA, APARAJITA, BHADRAKALI, MAHAKALI, STHALA

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BAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 39 KALI, YOGINI, INDRI, CHANDI, GHIORI, VIDHATRI, Duti, JAMBUKI, TRIDASESWARI, KAMBOJINI, DIPANI, CHUSHINI, GHORARUPA, MAHARUPA, DRISITARUPA, KapaLINI, KAPALAMALA, MALINI, KHATWANGA, YAMAHARDDIKA, KHADGAHASTA, PARASUHASTA, VAJRAHASTA, DHANUHASTA, PANCHADAKINI, MAHATATTWA. The accomplisher of all acts, the delighter in the circle of the Jogis, the Lord of VAJRESWARI, all hear and obey this the order of VAJRASATTWA, who was created by the Yoya of the unimpassioned form of Tathagata. Om - Ka - ka - kardana-kardaa! Kha-kha, khanakhadana! destroy, destroy, all obnoxious to me; Gha gha, ghataya, ghataya! cherish and preserve the life and health, the wishes and the prosperity of the sacrificer, the holder of the thunder-bolt, commands: Hrum, Hrum, Hrum, Phat, Phat, Phat; Swaha!" Such is the nonsensical extravagance with which this and the Tantrika ceremonies generally abound; and we might be disposed to laugh at such absurdities, if the temporary frenzy, which the words excite in the minds of those who hear and repeat them with agitated awe, did not offer a subject worthy of serious contemplation in the study of human nature.

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40 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS TWO LECTURES ON THE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS OF THE TIINDUS. Delivered before the University of Oxford on the 27th and 28th of February, 1910. LECTURE I. It has always been my wish and intention to offer to those members of the University who may take an interest in the subject, a general view of the institutions and social condition, the literature and the religion of the Hindus. The purpose, although unfulfilled, is not abandoned. Various impediments have retarded its accomplishment, and still delay its execution; but I hope, at no very distant period, to be able to carry it into effect. In the mean time, the invitation which has been addressed to the University by the Bishop of Calcutta, and which, I am happy to think, has been accepted, to contribute to the religious enlightenment of a benighted, but intelligent and interesting and amiable people, has suggested to me the propriety and the duty of giving some earnest of my desire to render to any who may apply their talents

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.. OF THE HINDUS. . 41 and learning to the proposed task -- a task peculiarly appropriate to a society equally eminent for piety and erudition -- whatever assistance the direction of my studies, my personal knowledge of the Hindus, and the extent of my ability may qualify me to afford them. The task that has been proposed to the members of the University is twofold. They are invited to confute the falsities of Hinduism, and affirm to the conviction of a reasonable Hindu the truths of Christianity. For the second branch of this undertaking the qualifications are widely disseminated. Deep impressions of the importance of Christian truth, and of the obligation to extend it to the ends of the earthknowledge of that truth, and skill to make it known are not likely to be deficient in this University. For the effective performance, however, of the first branch of the undertaking, some preparation is requisite -- some preliminary study is necessary--some information not yet sought for is to be obtained. It is obviously essential to know that which we engage to controvert. It is indispensable that we should be well acquainted with the practices and doctrines and belief, the erroneousness of which we would demonstrate; and in this respect whatever may be the zeal and the ability, the like extent of available fitness cannot at present be reasonably expected. Yet the plan submitted to the University requires this fitness, and judiciously requires it. Besides the general principles upon which the necessity of such competency is obvious, it is still more imperative in regard to the

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42 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS circumstances and character of those with whom we have to deal. The Hindus will not listen to one who comes amongst them strong only in his own faith and ignorant of theirs. "Read these translations," said a very worthy clergyman to a sect of religionists at Benares, who were already seceders from idolatrous worship, and were not indisposed for argument upon the comparative truth of different creeds. "We have no objection to read your books," was the reply, "but we will enter into no discussion of their contents withi yon until you have read ours." This was inconvenient or impracticable, and no further intercourse ensued. This is one instance out of many where precious opportunities have been lost, because the only means of communicating fully with the natives --conversancy not merely with their language but with their literature has been wanting or incomplete; and with an acute and argumentative people like the Hindus you must satisfy them that they are in error before you can persuade them to accept the truth. To overturn their errors we must know what they are; and for the parpose of conveying to you some notion of their nature and extent, and of putting you in the way of acquiring more precise information on the subject, I have thought it possible that even some brief observation may be of use. With this hope I propose to give in this and a succeeding Lecture a general sketch of the principal religious practices and opinions of the Hindus. The account which it is thus proposed to submit to

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OF THE HINDUS. 43 you must be unavoidably of a very general nature. The interval that has elapsed since the invitation was accepted has not permitted the preparation of a very comprehensive detail; nor is the subject, perhaps, in that stage of its consideration in which minuteness of detail would be of advantage. What is now wanted, and that as early as possible, is some determinate direction in which inquiry may be prosecuted --some definite point to which the thoughts may be made to converge. In a topic necessarily unfamiliar to the customary tenor of academic study, it is not possible that any exact ideas should have been yet formed as to the degree or kind of preparation that is requisite, and few are likely to be acquainted with the situation and sufficiency of those stores from which they must provide their outfit for an untried voyage. The scene is so new, the prospect so indistinct, that enterprise may lose heart, and zeal may languish in vain aspirations, unless something of a chart, however rude and imperfect, be laid before the adventurer whilst he yet hesitates to make his first advance. It is this help which it is my present purpose to supply, in the hope that some, who, although competent to do honour to themselves and the University, might shrink from encountering they know not what, may be induced, if the mist may be in some degree cleared away, to look a little nearer, advance a little farther into the now - seeming labyrinth, assured that every step they take the path will become less intricate, and the goal be more perceptibly in view; assured,

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44 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS too-unless my own experience deceive me-- that there will not be wanting on their journey objects, if not of beauty, yet of exceeding curiosity and interest, to enliven their way, and beguile them of the consciousness of fatigue. The history of the Hindu religion, although not traceable with chronological precision, exhibits imequivocal proof that it is by no means of that imalterable character which has been commonly ascribed to it. There are many indications which cannot be mistaken, that it has undergone at different periods important alterations in both form and spirit. These are little heeded, have been little investigated, and are little known by even the most learned of the Brahmans. Some have been pointed out by the late Hindu reformer Raja Rammohan Roy, but even he was unaware of their full extent, and they are of themselves fatal to the pretensions of the Hindu faithi, as it now mostly prevails, to an inspired origin and unfathomable antiquity. The oldest monuments of the Hindu religion are the Vedas. It is much to be regretted that we have not a translation of these works in any of the languages of Europe; if we had, they would no doubt, in like manner as the Koran of the Mohammedans and the Zend-avesta of the fire-worshippers of Persia, supply us with irrefutable arguments against the credibility of the religion of which they were once the oracles. A summary of the contents of the Vedas - as satisfactory as a summary can be-was published

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OF THE HINDUS. 45 by Mr. Colebrooke, the most eminent of all our Sanskrit scholars, in the eighth volume of the Researches of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'. The account, with a variety of instructive dissertations on the religion, philosophy, science, and literature of the Hindus, has been reprinted in a Collection of Miscellaneous Essays?, published by Mr. Colebrooke, or rather for him, not long before his death. The text also, with a Latin translation of one book out of eight, of one of the Vedas, the Rig-Veda, has been printed by the Committee of the Oriental Translation Fund'. It was Asiatic Researches. Transactions of a Society instituted in Bengal, for inquiring into the History, &c., of India. 20 Vols. 4to. Calcutta. ? Miscellaneous Essays, by H. T. Colebrooke. 2 Vols. Svo. London. Allen and Co. 1837. [2nd ed. London, 1855.] 3 Rig - veda Sanhita. Liber Primus. i Vol. 40. London. Oriental Translation Fund. Allen and Co. 1838. [Since the above was written, the Sumaveda has been edited and translated by Stevenson (1812) and Benfey (18-18); the white Yajurveda edited by Weber (1849 ff.); the black Jajurveda is in the course of publication in the Bibliotheca ludica; the Atharraveda has been edited by Roth and Whitney (1835 ff.), and an edition of the Rigreda with the commentary of Sayana was commenced by M. Muller in 1819, which is still in progress. Prof. Wilson's translation of the Rigveda (1830-57, 3 Vols.) reaches to the end of the 4th Ashtaka. Dr. Aufrecht is editing the text of the Rigveda in Roman characters (Vol. I, 1861). On Vedic literature generally see Weber's Vorlesungen uber indische Literaturgeschichte (1852), his Indische Studien (5 Vols. 1950-61), Muller's history of ancient Sanskrit literature (1839), and Goldstucker's article on the Vedas in the English Encyclop:edia (Arts and Sciences, Vol. VIII. 1861).]

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46 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS the work of Dr. Rosen, a distinguished oriental scholar, who died in the prime of life and in the spring of his fame. A portion of the same Veda has also been translated by the Rev. Mr. Stevenson, and published at Bombay. From these authorities a tolerably correct notion may be formed of the character of the Vedas. They are four in number, Rich, Yajush, Saman, and Atharvan, or, as usually compounded, Rig-veda, Yajurveda, Sama - veda, and Atharva - veda. The latter, however, differs, as far as it is known, materially in purport and even in style from the others; it is rarely met with, and is not uncommonly omitted from the specification of the Vedas even by early writers, who not unfrequently speak of the Vedas collectively as but three. It evidently enters in a less degree than the rest into the formation of the national religion as taught by the Vedas. Neither of the Vedas can be considered as a distinct work, composed upon a definite plan, having either a consistent method or a predominating subject. Each is an umarranged aggregate of promiscnous prayers, hymns, injunctions, and dogmas, put together in general, though not always, in similar succession, but not in any way connected one with the other. It is not at all unusual for even what is considered as the same hymn, to offer perfectly isolated and independent verses, so that they might be extruded without injury to the whole. In the belief of the Hindus, the Vedas were coeval with creation, and are uncreated, being simultaneous with

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OF THE HINDUS. 47 the first breath of Brahma-the creative power. This is sometimes questioned; but the opinion is universal that Brahma was their author, and that they were amongst the first created things. There are, however, legends of their having been lost; and there is one account of their recovery, which states that they were then taught to a number of Brahmans by a son of Brahma. This refers, probably, to the period of their composition by different Brahmans. They themselves furnish evidence of their composition by different hands, and at different periods. Each hymn is said to have its Rishi-the sage by whom it was first communicated; and these Rishis comprise a variety of secular as well as religious individuals, members of the Kshatriya or military, as well as the Brahmanical order, who are celebrated at different aeras in Hindu tradition. It is also admitted that the Vedas existed in a scattered form until the parts of which they now consist were collected and arranged in their actual form by a person of very equivocal origin. the son of a Rishi, by the daughter of a fisherman, and therefore, properly speaking, of very impure caste-- and who from his arranging the Vedas is known by the name of Vyasa-the arranger. He is supposed by the Hindus to have lived about 5000 years ago. It seems not improbable that he, or the school of which he is the reputed founder, flourished about thirteen centuries before the Christian era. He was assisted in his labour, it is reported, by various sages, and it is here again evident that the composition of the

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48 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS Vedas was the work of many hands -- of a school or religious community which first reduced the straggling institutes and practices, and popular prayers and hymns of the people, into a compact and permanent authority. The proceedings of Vyasa and his coadjutors, and the formation of various branches from the main stem, or of subordinate and subsequent from one primary and principal school, are described by Mr. Colebrooke, and will also be found detailed in the Vishnu Purana', of which a translation is about to appear from the press of the University. In the state in which they are now found, the Vedas are each distinguishable into two portions - a practical and a speculative: the one still forms the chief basis of speculative opinion; the other is, except in a few particulars, obsolete. The practical portion of the Vedas consists of little else than detached prayers addressed with a few exceptions to divinities no longer worshipped, some of whom are even unknown. There is one for instance named Rilhu, of whose history, office, or even name, a person might ask in vain, from one end of India to the other. The prayers have consequently gone out of fashion along with their objects, and when they are employed they are used as little else than unmeaning sounds, the language in which they are written differing much, both in words and construction, from the The Vishou Purana. A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition, translated from the original Sanskrit. 1 Vol. 4to. London. Murray. 1810.

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OF THE HINDUS. Sanskrit of later writings. In many parts of India the Vedas are not studied at all; and when they are studied it is merely for the sake of repeating the words; the sense is regarded as a matter of no importance, and is not understood even by the Brahman who recites or chaunts the expressions. Now this is in itself a vital departure from the sacred institutes of the lindus, by which the first portion of life, the first of the four orders or stages through which all males of the three first castes, the Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaisya, were peremptorily commanded to pass, was that of the religious student; the term of whose studentship was to be spent with a Brahman teacher of the Vedas, and the sole object of whose studies was the understanding of the Vedas. For a Brahman to be wholly ignorant of the Vedas was a virtual degradation. "A Brahman," says Manu, "unlearned in holy writ, is extinguished in an instant like dry grass on fire *." "A twice born inan (that is, a man of either of the three first castes) not having studied the Veda, soon falls, even while living, to the condition of a Sudra, and his descendants after him **." It is also declared that a Brahinan derives not that name from birth alone, but from his knowledge of the Vedas *** According therefore to the letter of the law, there are very few Brahmans now in India who have a right to the respect and privileges which the designation claims. * [III, 168.] ** [II, 168.) *** [XI, 84.]

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50 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS The religion of the Vedas, as far as we are acquainted with it, differs in many very material points from that of the present day. The worship they prescribe is, with a few exceptions, domestic, consisting of oblations to fire, and invocations of the deities of fire, of the firmament, of the winds, the seasons, the moon, the sun; who are invited by the sacrificer, if a Brahman, or by his family priest, if he is not a Brahman, to be present and accept the offering, either oiled butter, or the juice of the Soma, a species of asclepias, which are poured upon the sacrificial fire, in return for which they are supplicated to confer temporal blessings upon the worshipper, riches, life, posterity; the short-sighted vanities of human desire, which constituted the sum of heathen prayer in all heathen countries. The following is the second hymn of the Rig-veda: 1. Approach, O Vayu (deity of the air); be visible: this Soma juice has been prepared for thee; approach, drink, hear our invocation. 2. Those who praise thee, Vayu, celebrate thee with sacred songs, provided with store of Soma juice, and knowing the season suitable for their oblations. 3. Vayu, thy assenting voice comes to the sacrificer, it comes to many through the offering of the libation. 4. Indra and Vayu, this juice has been prepared; come with benefits for us; verily the libation desires you. 5. Vayu and Indra, observe the libations, being present in the offerings; come quickly.

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OF THE HINDUS. 51 6. Vayu and Indra, mighty men, approach the priest of the sacrificer quickly, on account of his prayers. 7. I invoke Mitra (the sun), the source of purity; I invoke Varuua, able to destroy; both cherishing earth with water. 8. Mitra and Varuna, be pleased with this propitiatory offering; for to you, assuredly, do sacrifices owe their success, as the waters do their abundance. 9. Mitra and Varuna, all wise divinities, born for the benefit of multitudes, and multitudinously present, give efficacy to our acts. The titles and functions of the deities commonly addressed in these invocations give to the religion of the Vedas the character of the worship of the elements, and it is not unlikely that it was so in its earliest and rudest condition. It is declared in some texts that the deities are only three; whose places are the earth, the middle region, between heaven and earth, and the heaven; namely, fire, air, the sun. Upon this, however, seems to have been grafted some loftier speculation, and the elements came to be regarded as types and emblems of divine power, as there can be no doubt that the fundamental doctrine of the Vedas is monotheism". "There is in truth," say repeated texts, "but one deity, the Supreme Spirit." "He from whom the universal world proceeds, who is the Lord of the universe, and whose work is the universe, is the Supreme Being." In M. Muller, History of ancient * [Colebr., Essays, p. 12 ff. Sanskrit Literature, p. 539 - 71.]

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52 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS junctions also repeatedly occur to worship Him, and Him only. "Adore God alone, know God alone, give up all other discourse;" and the Vedant says, "It is found in the Vedas, that none but the Supreme Being is to be worshipped, nothing excepting him should be adored by a wise man." It was upon these and similar passages that Rammohan Roy grounded his attempts to reform the religion of his countrymen, to put down idolatry, and abolish all idolatrous rites and festivals, and substitute the worship of one God by means of prayer and thanksgiving. His efforts were not very successful, not so successful as they might have been, had he confined himself to their legitimate objects; but he involved himself in questions of Christian polemics and European politics, and intermitted his exertions for tlie subversion of Hindu idolatry. He did not, however, labour wholly in vain; and there is a society* in Calcutta, which although not numerous is highly respectable, both for station and talent, which professes faith in one only Supreme God, and assembles once a week, on a Sunday, to perform divine service, consisting of prayers, hymns, and a discourse in Bengali, or Sanskrit, on moral obligations, or the attributes and nature of the Deity. A leading preacher at those meetings, when I left India, was a learned Brahman, who was professor of Hindu law in the Sanskrit college of Calcutta: and another influential * [the Tattvabodhini sabha.]

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53 member, a man also of Brahmanical birth, of good family, and of property, set on foot, and I believe still continues, an English newspaper, called the Reformer, in which the opinions of the party, not only on religion, but on the measures of the government of India, are advocated, by natives solely, although in our language, with remarkable boldness and ability. To return however to the purpose of the Vedas. It seems very doubtful, if at the time of their composition idolatry was practised in India: images of the deified elements are even now unworshipped, and except images of the sun, I am not aware that they are ever made. The personification of the divine attributes of creation, preservation, and regeneration, Brahma, Vishun, and Siva, originate no doubt with the Vedas, but they are rarely named, they are blended with the elementary deities, they enjoy no preeminence, nor are they ever objects of special adoration. There is no reason, from the invocations addressed to them in common with the air, water, the seasons, the planets, to suppose that they were ever worshipped under visible types. Ministration to idols in temples is held by ancient authorities infamous; Manu repeatedly classes the priest of a temple with persons unfit to be admitted to private sacrifices, or to be associated with on any occasion*; and even still, the priests who attend upon the images in public are considered as of a scarcely reputable order by all Hindus * [III, 152. 180.] OF THE HINDUS.

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54 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS of learning and respectability. The worship of images is declared to be an act of inferior merit even by later authorities, those perhaps with which it originated, and it is defended only upon the same plea which has been urged in other times and other countries that the vulgar cannot raise their conceptions to abstract deity, and require some perceptible object to which their senses may be addressed. "Corresponding to the natures of different powers and qualities," it is said, "numerous figures have been invented for the benefit of those who are not possessed of sufficient understanding." And again: "The vulgar look for their gods in water; men of more extended knowledge, in the celestial bodies; the ignorant, in wood, bricks, and stones." It is almost certain therefore, that the practice of worshipping idols in temples was not the religion of the Vedas. The dwelling-house of the householder was his temple: if qualified, he was his own priest; but this practice even among the Brahmans probably soon fell into desuetude, as they more extensively engaged in secular avocations, and it became almost universally the practice to retain a family priest. This is still the custom. Instead of being however a Brahman of learning and character, he is very commonly illiterate, and not always respectable. The office has also undergone an important modification. The family priest was formerly also the Guru, or spiritual adviser of the family. The priest now rarely discharges that function, he merely conducts the domestic rites; and

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OF THE HINDUS. 55 the Guru, to whom extravagant deference, such as is due to deity alone, is paid, is a very different individual, very usually not a Brahman at all, but a member of some of the mendicant orders that have sprung up in comparatively modern times, a vagrant equally destitute of knowledge, learning, and principle. Again: although Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are named in the Vedas, yet it is very doubtful if even the names of those incarnations and types, under which they are now exclusively worshipped, occur. Rama the son of Dasaratha, Krishna the son of Vasudeva, are, it is believed, unnoticed in authentic passages of the Sanhita or collected prayers, and there is no mention of the latter as Govinda or Gopala the infant cowherd, or as the uncouth and anomalous Jagannath. The only form in which Siva is now worshipped, the Linga or Phallus, it is generally agreed, has no place whatever amongst the types and emblems of the mythos of the Vedas. It is clear therefore that the great body of the present religious practices of the Hindus are subsequent in time and foreign in tenor to those that were enjoined by the authorities which they profess to regard as the foundations of their system. Some parts of the private and domestic ceremonial of the Vedas are however still in use, although mixed up with much extraneous matter. For these I may again refer to Mr. Colebrooke, who published originally in the fifth and seventh volumes of the Asiatic Researches three papers on the religious ceremonies

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56 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS of the Hindus and of the Brahmans especially. They are reprinted in his Essays *, and describe the constant and occasional offices of the Hindus, the rites to be performed daily, and those appropriated to seasons of joy or sorrow, those by which marriage is consecrated and death is solemnized. Characteristic features in these observances--and they are common to all formal religions--are the prodigal demand which they make upon the time of the observer, and the minuteness of their interference in all the most trivial actions of his life. The Hindu rules compel a Brahman to get out of bed before daylight, and prescribe how many times he shall rince his mouth, and with what sort of a brush and in what attitude he shall clean his teeth. He is then to repair to a river, or piece of water, and bathe. This is not a simple ablution, but a complicated business, in which repeated dippings alternate with a variety of prayers, and a still greater variety of gesticulations. The whole is to precede the rising of the sun, whose appearance is to be waited for and welcomed with other gesticulations and other prayers **. The most celebrated of the latter is the Gayatri, held to be the holiest verse in the Vedas, and personified as a goddess, the wife of Brahma. It is preceded by a mysterious monosyllable, the type of the three divinities, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and the essence of the Vedas -OM, and by three scarcely less sacred words, Bhur, * [Ed. 1858, p. 76 - 142.] ** [See for details the Acharadarsa. Benares: 1856, p. 1-64.7

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OF THE HINDUS. 57 Bhuvar, Swar, denoting earth, atmosphere, heaven. The prayer is merely, "Let us meditate on the sacred light of that divine sun, that it may illuminate our minds." This is to be repeated mentally as often as the worshipper can do it whilst he closes his mouth and nostrils, effecting the latter by rule. It is the most orthodox of the gesticulations, and is performed by placing the two longest fingers of the right hand on the left nostril, inhaling through the right, closing the right with the thumb, and when the breathing can no longer be suspended raising the fingers and exhaling by the left nostril. There are other gesticulations** all, to our seeming, very absurd, but they are not subjects of ridicule, because they are seriously and reverentially practised by men of even sense and learning. The excuse made for them is that they contribute to fix the attention, and prevent the thoughts from straying. It cannot be regarded as a very arduous attempt to shew how ill calculated must be the subject of an individual's meditations to occupy his mind, how little either his understanding or his feelings can be interested in his devotions, if he is obliged to have recourse to sleight of hand to prevent their being put to flight. 9 After his morning ablutions, a Brahman ought to devote part of his time to the perusal of the Vedas. This, as already intimated, is never done; but other works-the Puranas-may sometimes be substituted. * [Rigveda M. III, 62. 10.] ** [See "The Sundhya", by Mrs. Belnos, plates 6 and 9-12.]

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58 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS Then follows domestic worship, now idol worship: for in most houses there is an image of the favourite deity of the householder, in a room or recess appropriated to its accommo-lation. And to this the family Brahman, in the presence of the master of the house, makes offerings, and addresses prayers, diversifying his recitation by blowing a conch-shell, ringing a bell, beating a drum, waving lights, or other unmeaning accompaniments. A considerable portion of the forenoon is thus unprofitably expended. There is no doubt that many Hindus of respectability feel these rites as grievous burdens, although the influence of prescription, example, and fear of scandal, prevent them from casting them off. The marriage ceremonies of the Hindus vary much with caste and condition, but they are always, in relation to the circumstances of the parties, troublesome and expensive. It is very little the object of the rite to impress upon the married couple any reverence for the imion so contracted. Some injunctions are directed to the bride; as, "Be gentle in thy aspect; be loyal to thy husband; be amiable in thy mind, be lovely in thy person *." But no reciprocity of duty is recommended to the bridegroom. The greater number of the prayers and invocations are mythological and unmeaning. It may be remarked of the rite, however, that it evidently contemplates responsible persons. The Vedas then did not sanction * [Colebr., Essays, p. 133.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 59 the marriage of children. In fact, it was impossible for a man to marry before maturity, as nine years are specified as the shortest term of his studentship, until the expiration of which he was not allowed to marry. He did not enter his studentship till he was seven or eight, and therefore, at the earliest, he could not have been married before he was seventeen; an early age enough, in our estimation, but absolute manhood, as compared with the age of nine or ten, at which Hindu boys are, according to the present practice, husbands. There is no doubt that many other innovations for the worse have been made in the marriage ritual and usages of the Hindus. And the whole system, the premature age at which the parties are married, the practice of polygamy, and the circumstances under which the alliance is commonly contracted, involving the utter degradation of the female sex, is equally fatal to the development of the moral virtues and intellectual energies of the man, and is utterly destructive both of public advancement and domestic felicity. The funeral ceremonies originate also in part from the Vedas. It may be necessary here to explain that the use of forms and prayers, derived from the Vedas, is not incompatible with the neglect of the study of these works. The necessity of an acquaintance with the text has been obviated by the compilation of manuals and breviaries, if they may be so termed, in which the rules are laid down, and the formula (whether from the Vedas or other authorities) are

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60 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS inserted. These are always modern. The great authority for Bengal is a Pandit, who lived less than a century ago, named Raghunandana. Ile composed eighteen works of this kind, denominated Tattwas. One treats of daily rites; one of weekly or monthly rites; one of marriage; one of obsequies, and the like. These are the sources, not always exempt from suspicion of unfaithfulness or interpolation, and always objectionable as confounding authorities, and attaching weight to works of various eras, and of very opposite tendency, by which the practices of the Hindus are regulated. The Hindus, as is well known, burn their dead; a usage recommended by the peculiarities of climate, and the habits of the people, as much as by authority. The custom of carrying the dying to the banks of the Ganges, or some river considered sacred, has no warrant from antiquity, any more than it has from reason or humanity. The final commitment of the corpse to the funeral pile is decorously conducted. The tone of the ceremony, though not open to much exception, is cold and selfish. It offers no consolation from the future condition of the dead, although it rebukes the natural emotions of the living: it represses affliction by expatiating upon its inutility; it seeks not to soothe sorrow by inspiring hope. The practice of the Sati", the burning of the widow * [L. v. Orlich, "Indien", 1861, II, 2, 234 - 40.]

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OF THE HIINDUS. 61 on her husband's funeral pile, is now* prohibited in the territories subject to the British government. Its prohibition was prudently gradual, and was facilitated by the difference of opinion entertained by the Hindus themselves as to its obligation, as well as by those natural feelings of which not even superstition can wholly divest mankind. Although noticed by the historians of Alexander's invasion **, and therefore then prevailing, there is no authority, it is believed, for the practice in the Vedas ***. There is certainly none even in the laws of Manu. A peculiar feature in the funeral ceremonies of the Hindus is the performance of the Sraddhat: periodical offerings of cakes, of flesh, or other viands, and libations of water, to the manes. These are incumbent on every householder, and are presented on a variety of occasions. They are offered in the first instance to such of his own ancestors as are deceased, and then to the general body of the progenitors of mankind, to the collective Piteis, or Patres of the human race. When a person dies, the nearest of kin presents an obsequial oblation to his ghost daily, for ten days, and again at stated intervals for a twelvemonth. * (since 1829. See Neumann, Geschichte des englischen Reiches in Asien. II, 168 - 73. J. W. Kaye, Administration of the E. I. Company, p. 538 f.] ** [See the quotations in Lassen's Ind. Alt., III, 317.] *** (See No. V. of this volume.] + [Full particulars of this are contained in the Sraddhavireka. Benares: 1856.]

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62 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS A ceremony is then performed by which the spirit of the defunct is supposed to be associated with the Pitris, and to take his place in their sphere or heaven. On every anniversary of his demise the rite is repeated. These Sraddhas are imperative, but the Pitris should be worshipped once every fortnight at least; and offerings should be made to them on every occasion of private or public festivity, and whenever a householder is desirous of acknowledging or soliciting any temporal good. The character, offices and situation of the Pitris formed, no doubt, part of the ancient system, and various appellations and functions are ascribed to them in the laws of Manu", and in some of the Puranas. The subject is little considered or understood in the present day. The inefficacy of all such ceremonies has not escaped the satire of some of the Hindus themselves; and it would not be difficult to shew that their object is incompatible with the condition of the soul after death, as it is more commonly represented by their own authorities. These are some of the practices of the domestic worship of the Hindus, which, although very materially modified, are no doubt referable to their original institutes. The public worship of the Hindus has, unquestionably, undergone still greater change. The system of the universe and the theory of creation as universally received by the Hindus, no doubt originated with the Vedas, and consequently the three # [III, 192 f. Vishnu Purana p. 320 ff.]

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OF TIIE IIINDUS. 63 great divinities of their mythology, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, must have been devised about the same time, as they are nothing more than the personified attributes of the Supreme Being in action, or his powers to create, preserve, and destroy, or, rather, regenerate-manifested. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Siva the regenerator. Their invention was probably at first little more than a metaphor, a personification, or allegory. It has been mentioned, that little beyond their names appears in the Vedas regarding them, and it is doubtful how far any definite figures, any images of them, any temples for them, any worship of them, formed part of the ancient religion. It is doubtful if Brahma was ever worshipped. Indications of a local adoration of him at Pushkara, near Ajmir, are found in one Purana, the Brahma Purana ", but in no other part of India is there the slightest vestige of his worship **. Of Siva it is also to be remarked, that he receives worship under one form alone--that of the Linga or Phallus, of which, as before observed, no notice occurs in the Vedas. Some of the continental mythologists, therefore, have been egregiously mistaken in asserting that the primitive worship of India was that of the phallic emblem of Siva. When this type was introduced is uncertain: it was, probably, prior to the Christian era. The worship was in its most flourishing state at the date of the first Mohammedan invasion, the end * [Journal R. As. Soc., Vol. V, 72.] ** [Lassen, Ind. Alt., 1,776.]

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64 of the tenth century, when twelve celebrated Lingas were enshrined in as many of the capital cities of India. Somnath was one of them, the destruction of whose temple by Mahmud, of Ghizni, is narrated by Gibbon. The worship of the Linga is now in a somewhat dubious condition in different parts of India. In the south, it gives a name and a principle of combination to a particular sect-the Jangamas or Lingayits, whose chief priests are Pariahs, outcasts, although the votaries include Brahmans, and Brahmans are in some of the temples ministering priests under a Pariah pontiff. In Bengal, although the temples are numerous, they are ordinarily mean and are little frequented, and the worship is recommended to the people by no circumstances of popular attraction. It has no hold upon their affections, it is not interwoven with their amusements, nor must it be imagined that it offers any stimulus to impure passions. The emblem-a plain column of stone, or, sometimes, a cone of plastic mud-suggests no offensive ideas; the people call it Siva, or Mahadeva, and there's an end. They leave to Europeans speculations as to its symbolical purport. It is enough for them that it is an image, to which they make a prostration or to which they cast a few flowers. There are no secret rites, no mysterious orgies celebrated in its honour. Vishnu, the preserving power, is a much more popular divinity, not in his own person, however, but # [See above Vol. I, 216 ff. Lassen, Ind. Alt., IV, 623.] RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS

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OF THE HINDU'S. 65 in some of his Avataras-descents or incarnations, especially as Rama or Krishna. I have already stated that it is very doubtful if these incarnations are adverted to in the Vedas, at least in the text*. They are mentioned in some of the Upanishads, supplementary treatises of the Vedas, but these compositions are evidently from their style of later date than the Vedas, and some of them, especially those referring to Rama and Krishna, are of very questionable authenticity. The history of these two incarnations of Vishnu, Rama and Krishna, gives to the adoration paid to them every appearance of Hero worship. They were both of royal descent, and were both born on earth like true knights-errant to destroy fiends, giants, and enchanters, and rescue hapless maids and matrons from captivity and violence. Poetry exaggerated their exploits and mythology deified the performers. The story of Rama is told in the mytho-heroic poem, entitled the Ramayana, of the first two books of which a translation in very choice Latin, by the celebrated A. von Schlegel, has been published. No fault is to be found with the character of Rama as a hero, except the impossibility of his feats: but he is described as a dutiful son, an affectionate husband, an intrepid warrior, and a patriotic prince. His wife, Sita, is a model of a wife,-gentle, devoted, enduring, and obedient. The worst that can be said of either is, that * (Lassen. Ind. Alt., 1, 158. II, 1107 ff. IV. 575 #.]

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66 their poetic celebrity has been abused, and has given rise to sects of votaries, who think that the repetition of their names is a sufficient substitute for all moral and religious merit. Most of the mendicant orders choose Rama for their patron. RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS The worship of Krishna may be traced to the other of the two great mytho-heroic poems of the Hindus, the Mahabharata. In the accounts there given of him there is more of mysticism than in the story of Rama; but even there he does not appear under the character in which he is most popular, that of the infant Gopala, the boy Cowherd, and the juvenile lover of Radha. It is in these capacities that he is now most extensively worshipped; and they are no doubt fictions of comparatively modern invention. Vishnu was born as Krishna for the destruction of Kansa, an oppressive monarch, and, in fact, an incarnate Daitya or Titan, the natural enemy of the gods. Kansa being forewarned of his fate seeks to anticipate his destroyer; but Krishna is conveyed secretly away from Mathura, the capital of Kansa, and is brought up as the child of a cowherd at Vrindavan, a pastoral district near Mathura. It is whilst thus circumstanced that he has been exalted into an object of adoration, and the mischievous follies of the child, the boy, and the lad, are the subject of popular delight and wonder. His male companions are not very prominent in the tale of his youth; but the females, the deified dairy-maids, play a more important part in the drama. Amongst the most conspicuous is the one I have named, Radha;

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OF THE HINDUS. 67 and she receives scarcely less universal homage than Krishna himself. The adoration of the forms of Siva or Vishnu is advocated not upon the original principle, that worship addressed to them is virtually addressed to the Supreme, they being merely representations of his power, but upon the novel doctrine, that one or other of them is himself the Supreme: and not only this, but in the true spirit of pantheism that he is all things. This is asserted of Siva by the Saivas; of Vishnu, by the Vaishnavas. This notion, which is very widely disseminated, seems to have originated with the next great class of the sacred writings of the Hindus, the Puranas. The Puranas are eighteen in number: some of them are voluminous compositions. It is said that they were the work of the same Vyasa by whom the Vedas were arranged, and they are held in almost equal estimation. According to a definition* furnished by many of them, a Purana should treat of five topicsprimary creation, secondary creation, the families of the patriarchs, the reigns of the Manus, and the dynasties of kings. The actual Puranas conform in no one instance to this definition: the authors are often declared to be others than Vyasa, and they offer many internal proofs that they are the work of various hands, and of different dates, none of which are of very high antiquity. I believe the oldest of them not to be anterior to the eighth or ninth century; and the * [Wilson. Visbuviu Pur.puf.; Burnout. Blugav. Pur. I. SLIT.]

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68 most recent to be not above three or four centuries old. In the present state of Hindu belief the Puranas exercise a very general influence. Some of them, or portions of them, are publicly read and expounded by Brahmans to all classes of people. Most Brahmans who pretend to scholarship are acquainted with two or more of them, and particular sections, as the Devi Mahatmya, are amongst the most popular works in the Sanskrit language. Prayers from them have been copiously introduced into all the breviaries; observances of feasts and fasts are regulated by them; temples, and towns, and mountains, and rivers, to which pilgrimages are made, owe their sanctity to legends for which the Puranas or the Mahatmyas, works asserted, often untruly, to be sections of them, are the only authorities; and texts quoted from them have validity in civil as well as religious law. The determination of their modern and unauthenticated composition deprives them of the sacred character which they have usurped, destroys their credit, inpairs their influence, and strikes away the main prop, on which, at present, the great mass of Hindu idolatry and superstition relies. That the Puranas represent in many instances an older, and probably a primitive scheme of Hinduism, is no doubt true; they have preserved many ancient legends; they have handed down all that the Hindus have of traditional history, and they furnish authoritative views of the essential institutions of the Hindus, both in their social and religious organisation. But in their decidedly sectarial RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS

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69 com character, in their uncompromising advocacy of the pre-eminence of some one deity, or of some one of his manifestations, in the boldness with which they assert his pantheistic presence, in the importance they attach to particular observances, as fasting on the 8th, 11th, and 14th days of each half month, in the holiness with which they invest particular localities, in the tone and spirit of their prayers and hymns, and in the numerous, and almost always frivolous, and insipid, and immoral legends, which they have grafted upon the more fanciful, dignified, and significant inventions of antiquity, they betray most glaringly the purposes for which they were posed, the dissemination of new articles of faith, the currency of new gods. The Hindus are not much disposed to scrutinize with critical suspicion the history of a composition reputed sacred; yet even they have been unable to avoid a controversy amongst themselves respecting the authenticity of the most popular of all the Puranas, the Bhagavata"; and many learned Brahmans maintain that it is the work of an uninspired writer, a celebrated grammarian, named Vopadeva, who flourished in the twelfth century. This is strenuously denied by those with whom it is the textbook for their worship of the infant Krishna; but there is no doubt of the fact. There is equally little doubt that another of these works, the Brahma Vaivartta Purana, is still more modern. It is dedicated * OF THE HINDUS. [Burnouf, Bhagav. Pur., I., p. LIII ff.]

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70 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS in great part to the juvenile Krishna, and his favourite mistress, Radha; and although the worship of Radha is now so exceedingly popular, particularly in western Hindustan, yet her person, and even her name, are unknown to all the other Puranas, to the heroic poems, and even to the popular literature of the Hindus, to the plays, poems, and tales which are not compositions of the last three or four centuries. It would occupy too much time to enter into any further details upon this subject. The grounds upon which the opinions intimated have been formed may be found in analytical descriptions of the contents of several of the most popular of the Puranas which have been published in the Journals of the Asiatic Societies of Bengal and Great Britain, and in the preface to the Vishnu Purana to which I have previously referred1. There seems good reason to believe that the Puranas in their present form accompanied or succeeded a period of considerable religious forment in India. and were designed to uphold and extend the doctrines of rival sects, which then disputed the exclusive direction of the faith of the Hindus. It began perhaps in the third or fourth century of our aera, having for its object the extermination of the Buddhists, who in 1 Analysis of the Agni Purana: Journ. As. Soc. of Bengal, Vol. I, p. 81; of the Brahma Vaivartta P., ib. p. 217; of the Vishnu P., ib. p. 431; of the Vayu P., ib. p. 535: of the Brahma P., Journ. Royal As. Soc. of Great Britain, Vol. V, p. 61; of the Padma P., ib. p. 280.

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OF THE HINDI'S. 71 consequence were driven out of India to Siam, Java, China and Tibet. When the Buddhists, whom all parties considered heterodox were expelled, their enemies began to quarrel amongst themselves, and in the eighth or ninth century a reformer named Sankara Acharya* is celebrated for having refuted and suppressed a variety of unorthodox professors, and established the preferential worship of Siva. He instituted in support of his doctrines an order of mendicants which still subsists, and he is in an especial manner regarded as the founder of a system of belief adhered to by Brahmans of learning, particularly in the south of India. The triumph that he obtained for the deity he patronized did not long survive him. Early in the eleventh century Ramanuja **, a follower of Vishnu, undertook to depose Siva and set up his own divinity, not only in the belief of the people, but in the more substantial benefits of temples and endowments. Tradition records, that the great temple of Triveni, one of the largest and richest in the Peninsula, now dedicated to Vishnu, was wrested from the rival votaries of Siva by Ramanuja and his followers. The ascendency of the Vaishnavas was not undisputed in the sonth, and a new sect of Saivas, to whom I have alluded, the Lingayits, sprang mp in opposition to them: the contest was carried on with popular violence, and in one of the disturbances that ensued, the * [Lassen, Ind. Alt.. IV, 618 ff., 836 ff.] ** [1. 1. 608 f. Wilson, Sketch of the Rel. Sects, p. 34-46.]

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72 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS Raja of Kalyanpur was killed and his capital destroyed. The Mohammedan invasion of the south crushed both the contending parties, and the predominance of the same power in Upper India prevented the like violence of collision. The Vaishoavas there spread with little resistance under the followers of Ramanand, a disciple of Ramanuja, to whom, or to whose pupils, the greater proportion of the mendicant orders in Hindustan owe their origin, and under two Brahmanical families, one in the west spring from a teacher named Vallabha, who established themselves as hereditary priests of the juvenile Krishua, and one in Bengal and Orissa descended from Nityanand and Adwaitanand. two disciples of Chaitanya, a teacher, with whom the popularity of the worship of Jagannath originated. A particular description of all the different divisions of the popular religion of the Hindus may be found in the sixteenth and seventeenth volumes of the Asiatic Researches! These different orders and families are now almost exclusively the spiritual directors of the people. Some of them are rich and of Brahmanical descent; some are poor and composed of persons of all castes. They are almost all, whether rich or poor, illiterate and profligate. Such literature as they occasionally cultivate--and it is one of the means by which they act upon the people - is vernacular literature, composi Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Ilindus, As. Res. Vol. XVI, p. 1, and XVII. p. 169. [Vol. I. of Wilson's Essays.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 73 tions in the spoken languages. These are mostly songs and hymns addressed to Vishnu, Krislina or Radha, tales and legends of individuals celebrated amongst them as saints, always marvellous, mostly absurd, and not infrequently immoral, and vague and dogmatical expositions of elements of belief, which, although in some degree discoverable in the Puranas, have assuned a novel and portentous prominence in the doctrines of the Vaishnava teachers and the practices of the people. These elements are passionate devotion and all-sufficient faith. Whatever may have been the mistaken veneration entertained by the early Hindus for personified elements and attributes, or even for deified mortals, the language of invocation and prayer, though reverential, is calm and unimpassioned. The hymns of modern fanatics are composed in a very different strain, and breathe a glowing fervour of devotion which might almost be mistaken for sensual love. Something of this may have been borrowed from the Mohammedans, amongst whom the Sufis have always employed the language of earthly rapture, to describe the yearnings of the human soul, to be reunited with that divine spirit from which it is supposed to have originally proceeded. "Oh! the bliss of that day," says a Persian mystie, "when I shall depart from this desolate mansion, shall seek rest for my soul, and shall follow the traces of my beloved." They possibly derived their notions from one branch of the Hindu philosophy, the Vedanta; but they pursued the figure

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74 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS until they had converted it into a gross deformity, and furnished a model adapted to the ardent imagination of irrational enthusiasm. A remarkable specimen of this style has been given to English readers by Sir William Jones, in his translation of the songs of Jayadeva*; where, although to the uninitiated the hero and heroine appear to be actuated by human passions alone, yet the initiated find in the fervent desires and jealous tortures of Radha the anxieties, the hopes, the fears, the longings of the soul; and in the steady, though sometimes seemingly inconstant love of Krishna the affection which the Supreme Being bears amidst all his misgivings and fallings off to man. As a brief and inoffensive specimen of this kind of composition, I will quote a few stanzas attributed to a lady named Mira Bai, princess of Jaypur, and one of the Sadhwis, or female saints of the Vaishnavas, addressed to Krishna as Rana-chhor, a curious title to have been given him, as it means the coward, the runaway from battle. "O sovereign Rana-chhor, give me to make Dwaraka my perpetual abode. Dispel with thy shell, discus, and mace, the fear of Yama (the deity of death). Eternal rest is pilgrimage to thy sacred shrines. Supreme delight is the sound of thy shell, the clash of thy cymbals. I have abandoned my love, my pos [Works IV. 235 ff. See also Lassen's edition of the Gitagovinda, p. XI-XIII. Ind. Alt.. IV. $16. G. de Tassy, Histoire de la lit. hind., II, 54-64.]

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OF THE HINDUS. sessions, my principality, my husband. Mira thy servant comes to thee for refuge - O take her wholly to thee. Lord of Mira, Girdhara her beloved, accept her, and never let her more be separate from thee." Upon which, says the legend, the image opened -- Mira leaped into the fissure -- it closed- and the princess disappeared for ever*. The other principle which I have specified, and which is closely allied with the preceding, is the absolute sufficiency of faith alone, wholly independent of conduct, to insure salvation. This doctrine is carried to the very utmost of that abuse of which it is susceptible. Entire dependence upon Krislina, or any other favourite deity, not only obviates the necessity of virtue, but it sanctifies vice. Conduct is wholly immaterial. It matters not how atrocious a sinner a man may be, if he paints his face, his breast, his arms, with certain sectarial marks; or, which it better, if he brands his skin permanently with them with a hot iron stamp; if he is constantly chanting hymns na in honour of Vishnu; or, what is equally efficacious, if he spends hours in the simple reiteration of his name or names; if he die with the word Hari or Rama or Krishna on his lips, and the thought of him in his mind, he may have lived a monster of iniquity -- he is certain of heaven. Now these doctrines and practices, however popu * [Rel. Sects of the Hindus, p. 138. G. de Tassy, 1. I. II. 21 - 26.]

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76 lar with the multitude, and although traceable to authorities held in high estimation, are not looked upon, it may be easily imagined, by Brahmans of learning, with any profound deference. Their tendency is in a great degree to supersede all ritual, whether of the Vedas or Purauas, and to divest the authorized expounders of those works of all influence and control over the acts and thoughts of the people. They will therefore not be indisposed to acknowledge that the objects of this fervour of devotion are wholly unworthy of it, and that its inculcation is calculated to destroy all moral and religious principle. RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS Whilst most of the existing sects have thus outraged even Hinduism, it is consolatory to find that a few have taken a different direction; and although they have stopped short of the truth, they have displayed a disposition to seek it which may turn to good account. There are several sects that have abandoned all worship of idols, that deny the efficacy of faith in any of the popular divinities, and question the reasonableness of many of the existing institutions: they substitute a moral for a ceremonial code, and address their prayers to one only God. These sects are not numerous, but they are in general respectable. Such however is the want which is felt by the Indian mind of something tangible on which to lean, that they have mostly lapsed into something very like an idolatrous worship of their founder. Still they prove that the people are not all satisfied with the superstitions of their forefathers, and that some

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OF THE HINDUS. 77 among them are inclined to inquire, and think, and determine for themselves. That they offer a favourable soil in which to implant the seeds of Christianity has been lately shewn by the conversion of the inhabitants of several villages in the vicinity of Krishuaguh, who had for some time past seceded from the prevailing practices, and under teachers of their own had adopted a theistical belief. There is still another and a very important division of the Hindu religion to be noticed, so far is it from being a consistent and homogeneous system. The history of this is very obscure, and the origin of the authorities on which it rests is unknown. Tradition is silent as to the authors of the Tantras--they are mythologically ascribed to Siva, and are generally in the form of a colloquy between him and his wife Parvati. They are very numerous, and some are of considerable volume: but they are not included in any of the ordinary enumerations of Hindu literature, and were, no doubt, composed after that literature was complete in all its parts. They are specified in some of the Purauas, to which they must be therefore anterior *. They have been but little examined by European scholars, but sufficient has been ascertained to warrant the accusation that they are authorities for all that is most abominable in the present state of the Hindu religion. The great feature of the religion taught by the * [Lassen, Ind. Alt.. IV, 633 f. Wilson, Rel. Sects, p. 245 tf.]

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78 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS Tantras is the worship of Sakti -- Divine power personified as a female, and individualized, not only in the goddesses of mytbology, but in every woman; to whom, therefore, in her own person religious worship may be and is occasionally addressed. The chief objects of adoration, however, are the manifold forms of the bride of Siva: Parvati, Uma, Durga, Kali, Syama, Vindhyavasini, Jaganmata, and others. Besides the usual practices of offerings, oblations, hymns, in vocations, the ritual comprises many mystical ceremonies and accompaniments, gesticulations and diagrams, and the use in the commencement and close of the prayers of various monosyllabic ejaculations of imagined mysterious import. Even in its least exceptionable division it comprehends the performance of magical ceremonies and rites, intended to obtain superhuman powers, and a command over the spirits of heaven, earth, and hell. The popular division is, however, called by the Hindus themselves the lefthand Sakta-faith. It is to this that the bloody sacrifices offered to Kali must be imputed; and that all the barbarities and indecencies perpetrated at the Durga Puja, the annual worship of Durga, and the Charak Puja, the swinging festival, are to be ascribed. There are other atrocities which do not meet the public eye. This is not an unfounded accusation, not a controversial calumny. We have the books-we can read the texts--some of them are in print, veiled necessarily in the obscurity of the original language, but incontrovertible witnesses of the veracity of the

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OF THE HINDUS. 79 charge. Of course no respectable Hindu will admit that he is a Vamachari, a follower of the left-hand ritual, or that he is a member of a society in which meat is eaten, wine is drunk, and abominations not to be named are practised. The imputation will be indignantly denied, although, if the Tantras be believed, "many a man who calls himself a Saiva, or a Vaishnava, is secretly a Sakta, and a brother of the left-hand fraternity." But what can any Hindu of reason and right feeling say in vindication of a system which has suffered such enormities to be grafted upon it, which could afford any plea, any suggestion, any opening for abuses of which he admits, when he dares not avow them in his own case, the shame and the sin? For further information on this subject, I must once more refer you to the 16th and 17th volumes of the Asiatic Researches. From the survey which has thus been submitted to you, you will perceive that the practical religion of the Hindus is by no means a concentrated and compact system, but a heterogeneous compound, made up of various and not unfrequently incompatible ingredients, and that to a few ancient fragments it has made large and unauthorized additions, most of which are of an exceedingly mischievous and disgraceful nature. It is, however, of little avail yet to attempt to undeceive the multitude; their superstition is based upon ignorance, and until the foundation is taken away, the superstructure, however crazy and rotten,

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80 will hold together. By what means this object may be best accomplished, admits of difference of opinion; but there can be no disagrement as to the general conclusion, that all means which hold out promise of success, which are honest, rational, and benevolent, should be tried, as far as may be consistent with the most scrupulous regard for the obligations of our political position in India, upon the permanence and integrity of which depends every hope of ultimate success. RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS The means suggested by the plan submitted to the University, are in every respect unexceptionable: you are invited to employ knowledge and argument in endeavouring to convince intelligent and learned Hindus of the defects and errors of their religion. This is probably not difficult of accomplishment to a certain extent; many, perhaps most, educated Hindus contemplate with indifference or contempt the practices and belief of the majority of their countrymen. There are, however, obstacles of some magnitude to be overcome, before conviction can be hoped for. The whole tendency of Brahmanical education is to enforce dependence upon authority. In the first instance upon the Guru, in the next upon the books. A learned Brahman trusts solely to his learning; he never ventures upon independent thought; he appeals to memory; he quotes texts without measure, and in unquestioning trust. It will be difficult to persuade him that the Vedas are human and very ordinary writings, that the Puranas are modern and unauthentic,

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OF THE HINDUS. 81 or even that the Tantras are not entitled to respect. As long as he opposes authority to reason, and stifles the workings of conviction by the dicta of a repnted sage, little impression can be made upon his understanding. Certain it is, that he will have recourse to his authorities, and it is therefore important to shew that his authorities are worthless. Another serious obstacle is opposed by his temporal interests. Although the learned Brahman does not participate in the profits of religious offices, yet he derives no small share of emolument and consideration from his connexion with religion, as the interprcter of the works in which it is taught. A Pandit, a learned Brahman, although he takes no part in the ceremonial of religious festivals, or marriage feasts, or fumeral solemnities, is always invited as a guest, and presents are made to him, of value proportionate to his reputation. They constitute, indeed, his chief, often his sole means of subsistence, as well as of that of his scholars, whom he is obliged by the law to teach, without gratuity or fee, and whom it is his duty also in part to support. The predominance of a foreign government, and one which, notwithstanding the plansibility of its professions, sympathises not at all with any class of its native subjects, excludes a learnedd Hindu from any hope of the patronage of the state, and we need not wonder, therefore, if he should be reluctant to acknowledge the truth, by which he may starve, and should cling to the error, by which alone he lives.

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82 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS There is still another and a weighty obstacle to conviction, which arises from the state of the native mind, especially amongst men of learning. Their toleration is so comprehensive, that it amounts to indifference to truth. The Brahmans who compiled a code of Hindu law, by command of Warren Hastings, preface their performance by affirming the equal merit of every form of religious worship. Contrarieties of belief, and diversities of religion, they say, are in fact part of the scheme of Providence; for as a painter gives beauty to a picture by a variety of colours, or as a gardener embellishes his garden with flowers of every hue, so God appointed to every tribe its own faith, and every sect its own religion, that man might glorify him in diverse modes, all having the same end, and being equally acceptable in his sight. To the same effect it is stated by Dr. Mill in the preface to the Khrista Sangita, or sacred history of Christ, in Sanskrit verse, that he had witnessed the eager reception of the work by devotees from every part of India, even in the temple of Kali, near Calcutta, and that it was read and chaunted by them, with a full knowledge of its anti-idolatrous tendency, close to the very shrine of the impure goddess. "No one acquainted with India," he adds, "will rate these facts at more than their real worth, and to those who, in ignorance of the genius of paganism, might found erroneous conceptions on them, it may be sufficient to recall to mind, what is the most melancholy trait in the history of this work, the readiness with which

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OF THE HINDUS. 83 these devotees of superstition can assume the ideas of a faith most opposed to it." This indifference is undoubtedly the most formidable impediment with which argument has to contend, but it is not in the nature of things, it is not, we may presume to believe, in the dispensations of Providence, that truth should not ultimately prevail. Its effects may not be confessed, though felt; its influence may not be manifested, though implanted. The seed lies long beneath the soil, but it germinates, though in darkness: and it rises at last into daylight, and ripens into the nutritious grain, blossoms in the beautiful flower, and expands into the vast and majestic monarch of the forest. In my next lecture I propose to take a view of the opinions of the Hindus on the existence and character of God--the creation of the universe ---the nature of the soul and the destiny of man. LECTURE II. We yesterday considered the state of the Hindus in regard to those practices of a religious character which are prevalent in India. The domestic worship which originated with the Vedas, and of which portions are still retained in the daily and occasional observances of individuals in their purifications, their marriage, and their funeral ceremonies, and the public worship of the Divine attributes of creation, preser

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84 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS vation, and regeneration, referable to the same works, first engaged our attention. We then adverted to the introduction of Hero worship by the mytho - Heroic poems, its dissemination under new modifications by the Puranas, and its still further alteration and adaptation to the taste of the people by persons and orders of modern date, who had introduced new divinities and new elements of belief in the passionate devotion and all-sufficient faith of which Krishua was in particular the object, and we lastly noticed the mystical and debasing rites which, founded upon the class of works called Tantras, were exercising at present a most baneful influence upon the manners and principles of the Hindus. These circumstances, although comprehending even the better informed and more learned amongst the natives of India, apply still more particularly to the religious practices of the people at large. We have now to treat of topics which concern the educated and learned more especiallyto the opinions which they have been taught, by men whom they consider as little lower than divinities, to entertain on some of the most important subjects of reflexion, which in all ages have exercised and tested the energies of the human mind. The speculative notions of the Hindus originate, in a great degree, with the same authorities that have enjoined their religious practices. Although in their widest scope familiar only to the learned, and to some only amongst them, yet the subjects of speculation, and the modes in which they are investigated,

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OF THE HINDI'S. 85 are not wholly unknown to the literature of the people. The Indian mind, even amongst the least instructed, has a ready tendency to contemplative reflexion, and delights in subtle and metaphysical research. We need not be surprised, therefore, to find the great mysteries of the universe, some attention to which is forced upon the least civilized portions of the human race, favourite objects of inquiry amongst the Hindus from the earliest periods of their traditional history, or that they should from the first have expatiated freely in conjecture and hypothesis, how the universe came to be and whence, what is the nature of man, what his origin, and what his destination. What were at first conjectures only were soon transmuted into dogmas. These were next moulded into systems, and a variety of works have in all ages been composed by Hindu writers, in which it is attempted, with considerable profundity of thought and subtlety of reasoning, and with still more unhesitating positiveness, to solve all the most dark and difficult perplexities of our condition, but leaving them, as all the efforts of human wisdom unassisted by revelation have ever left them, still in darkness and perplexity. The Hindus boast of six different schools or systems of metaphysical philosophy. They are called the Purva Mimansa, Uttara Mimansa, or Vedanta, the Sankhya, the Patanjala, the Nyayika, and the Vaiseshika: these, although some of them offer irreconcilable contradictions to essential doctrines of their religious belief, are recognised by the Brahmans as

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86 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS orthodox, and attributed to authors of saintly reputation. There are other schools, as those of the Charvakas, Buddhists, and Jains, which, although in some respects not more at variance with received opinions than the preceding, are stigmatized with the reproach of infidelity and atheism. The cause of this difference is sufficiently obvious, and is characteristic of a state of feeling which prevails as much in the present as in any former period. The orthodox schools of philosophy do not disparage the authority of the Vedas, they do not dissuade the celebration of the acts of formal devotion which the Vedas or Puranas enjoin, although they argue their utter inefficacy as means of final and permanent felicity. They recommend their performance, however, as conducive to that frame of mind in which abstract contemplation inay be safely substituted for devotional rites, and even admit of external observances after the mind is in pursuit of true knowledge, as long as such ceremonies are practised from no interested motive, as long as they are observed because they are enjoined, and not because any benefit is either to be expected or desired from their practice. Again, the writings of the orthodox philosophers ineddle not with existing institutions; and least of all do they urge or insinuate any consideration to detract from the veneration, or trespass upon the privileges, of the Brahmans. As long as these precautions were observed, the Brahmans did not, nor would they now, object to any form of doctrine having in view the establishment of

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OF THE HINDUS. 87 merely abstract propositions. The case was very different with the heterodox schools. They went from abstractions to things. The Charvakas condemned all ceremonial rites, ridiculed even the Sraddha, and called the authors of the Vedas fools, knaves, and buffoons*. The Buddhists and Jains denied the inspiration of the Vedas and the sanctity of the Brahmanical character, abrogated the distinction of caste, invented a set of deities for themselves, whom they placed above those of the Hindu pantheon, and organized a regular hierarchy, a priesthood, and a pontiff; an institution still subsisting in the trans-Indian countries, of which the grand Lama of Tibet is the head. It is a remarkable historical fact, that this organization was found too feeble to oppose, in India, the apparently loose and incoherent, the undisciplined, the anarchical authority of the Brahmans. It had, however, the effect of exciting their apprehensions and their hatred to such an extent, that it became proverbial with them to say, "If your only alternative be to encounter a heretic or a tiger, throw yourself before the latter; better be devoured by the animal than contaminated by the man. There may be a few Charvakas in India, but their opinions are unavowed. The Buddhists have totally disappeared. The Jains are found in some numbers and influence in the west of India, but are little heard of elsewhere. 39 Besides the acknowledged schools or systems of *[Sarvadarsana Sangraha, p. 6, sl. 10.]

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88 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS philosophy, there is another, which, without being considered as one of the number, and without claiming the character of a system, is, nevertheless, to be included in the list, as it presents a peculiar scheme of doctrine on metaphysical subjects, and exercises more influence over popular opinion than any of the rest; this is the Pauranik school, the philosophy of the Puranas: it may be termed also the Eclectic school, as it has evidently derived its principles from different systems, and formed them into a miscellaneous combination of its own contrivance. It is not put forward as a new scheme, but is subsidiary to the popularization of particular objects of worship, for which the Puranas, as we remarked yesterday, seem to have been composed. The Vedas are authority for the existence of one Divine Being, supreme over the universe, and existing before all worlds. "In the beginning," it is said, "this all (this universe) was in darkness." "He (the Supreme) was alone, without a second." "He reflected, I am one, I will become many." Will was conceived in the Divine mind, and creation ensued. This being the doctrine of the Vedas is that also of the Vedanta, the purport of which school is declared to be the same as that of the Vedas-their end (anta) or aim. I mentioned before that the Vedas comprise two portions, one practical, one speculative. The speculative or theological portion of the Vedas is explained chiefly in separate treatises, called Upanishads. These are for the most part short, and are commonly

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OF THE HINDUS. 89 mystical and obscure. The ordinary enumeration of them is fifty-one*. There are some others, but they are probably spurious. The whole fifty-one were translated into Latin, and published by Anquetil du Perron in 1801, under the title of "Oupnekhat, seu, Theologia et Philosophia Indica ?." His translation was made from a Persian version, translated by order of a Mohammedan prince, the elder brother and unsuccessful competitor of Aurengzeb, Dara Shukoh. Persian translators are not very careful, nor is the Latinity of Anquetil du Perron remarkable for precision. His version, therefore, is almost as unintelligible as the original Sanskrit **. Some of the Upanishads have been rendered into very good English by Rammolan Roy'; and the whole are in course of translation into French, by a Prussian gentleman, M. Poley *** There will be no difficulty, therefore, * [According to more recent authorities, 108. See Journal As. Soc. Bengal, Vol. XX, 607 - 19. Weber, Ind. Stud., III, 324 - 26. Muller, History of ancient Sanskrit Lit., 325 - 27. Also Dr. Roer's edition of the Taittiriya and Aitareya Upanishads. Cale. 1850, pref. p. v.] ! Oupnekhat &c. 2 Vol. 4to. Parisiis (IX.) 1801. ** [An analysis of these Upanishads, by A. Weber, is to be found in his "Indische Studien", Vols. I & II.] 2 Translation of several principal books, passages, and texts of the Vedas, by Raja Rommohan Roy. Svo. London, Allen and Co. 1832. *** [The translation of only two of these, the Mundaka and Kathaka, has been published. In the "Bibliotheca Indica" the following Upanishads have appeared in text and English trans

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90 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS in acquiring whatever information the Upanishads may afford regarding the Monotheism and the Psychology of the Vedas. The Vedanta is called also the Uttara-mimansa -- subsequent or supplementary investigation. I have named also a Purva-inimansa, or prior school of investigation; the object of this is to teach the art of reasoning, with the express purpose of aiding the interpretation of the Vedas not only in the speculative but the practical portion. As far as concerns the former, it of course adopts the same monotheistic principles. The Patanjala school teaches also the being of a God; the Nyayika and Vaiseshika teach the existence of one Supreme Soul --the seat of knowledge and the maker of all things; and the Pauranik or Eclectic school maintains the same doctrine. The Sankhya denies the existence of a Supreme Being, although it recognises a twofold distribution of the universe, as matter and spirit. The simple fact, then, of the existence of one supreme spiritual Cause of all things -- supreme over and quite distinct from the mythological divinities - is, with one exception, the received doctrine of the Hindus. When they come to particulars, and attempt to define the Divine nature, their notions, as may be lation: The Brihad Aranyaka, Chhandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Swetaswatara, Kena, Isa, Katha, Prasua, Mundaka, and Mardukya. The eight last- mentioned were also published by the Tattwabodhini Sabha, four of these, the Katha, Mundaka, Isa and Swetaswatara, accompanied with an English translation.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 91 easily conceived, are exceedingly embarrassed and unsatisfactory. Brahma--not Brahma in the masculine, but Brahma in the neuter form, the term commonly applied to the supreme first Cause-is for the most part defined by negatives. He is incorporeal, immaterial, invisible, unborn, uncreated, without beginning or end; he is illimitable, inscrutable, inappreciable by the senses, inapprehensible by the understanding, at least until that is freed from the film of mortal blindness; he is devoid of all attributes, or has that only of perfect purity; he is unaffected by emotions; he is perfect tranquillity, and is susceptible therefore of no interest in the acts of man or the administration of the affairs of the universe. Vyasa declares that the knowledge of the Supreme Being is not within the boundary of comprehension, that what and who he is cannot be explained *. These are the most generally adopted sentiments, and conformably to them no temples are erected, no prayers are even addressed to the Supreme. Texts from the Vedas and other authorities, enjoining the worship of God alone, were adduced, as I noticed yesterday, by Rammohan Roy in support of the reforin which he set on foot; but it is generally and consistently enough maintained by his opponents, that they intend spiritual worship, mental adoration, abstract meditation --- not formal, practical, or external worship--and that they are applicable only to * [Colebr., Essays, p. 216 - 38.]

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92 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS those persons who devote themselves to contemplative devotion, not to those who are engaged in the daily duties of social life. It is, however, undeniable, that in contradiction to these negative descriptions we have affirmative attributes asserted: "God is a Spirit," "the Supreme Spirit;" he is knowledge, he is purity, he is happiness; he sees all, he hears all, he moves whithersoever he will, he takes whatsoever he will, although he has neither eyes, nor ears, nor feet, nor hands; he is omniscient, omnipresent, almighty; he is the maker of all things, and the director and governor of the world; not, however, in his own person, but through the instrumentality of agents, whom he has created for the purpose. That the Supreme Being exercises an immediate personal providential control over the affairs of the world, is, however, the doctrine of the Pauranik school; but it is the progeny of another doctrine, which is also theirs, and theirs alone, the identity of some one personate and perceptible form--some one present deity with the Supreme. There is no difference of opinion with regard to the character of the Gods of Hindu mythology, of Brahma , Vishnu, Siva, and the rest of the thirty-three millions of the host of heaven, at least in their own individualities. The most ignorant Hindu will tell you, that either of these, as considered per se, is an inperfect and finite creature; he is mighty, merely in contrast to the weakness of man; he is immortal only in relation to the shortness of human life. The Gods had a be

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OF THE HINDUS. 93 ginning, they will have an end; their duration ceases at the period of universal dissolution. The Puranas, however, as I have intimated, have it especially in view to elevate to exclusive adoration some individual of the greater mythological divinities; and they can claim this exaltation for their favourite only by identifying him with that Being of whose supremacy and eternity there is no dispute. Their God, their Vishnu or Siva, is then no longer a limited and finite Being; he is no longer a God--he is God. The incongruity of attributes and no attributes, of perfect happiness with feelings of affection or animosity, of perfect purity with the human frailties and vices that reduce the Pauranik deities to weak and profligate men, of almighty power and wisdom with the feebleness and fear and folly ascribed to them on various occasions, is too palpable to be denied. The objection is therefore evaded. It is asserted that the Supreme assumes these disguises for his sport or for the manifestation of his power, or that the whole is an illusion and mystery--which the grossness of human conception is imable to penetrate or comprehend. The philosophical writings are, however, free from these contradictions, and they clearly owe their origin to that spirit of sectarian rivalry of which the Puranas are the champions, and were, perhaps, the source. They are foreign also to the tenor of the doctrine of the Vedas; for although texts are frequent which affirm that Brahma is all that exists, and consequently is Brahma, Vishou and Siva, as well as all other per acatur

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94 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS sons and things, yet none can be cited affirmative of the converse of the proposition, or sanctioning the doctrine that any one of the inferior divinities is Brahma. The doctrine of Pantheism-the identification of God and the universe-is another principle which the Puranas most unequivocally and resolutely maintain. Vishnu, Siva, or Sakti, whatever individual they undertake to glorify, is not only the remote and efficient, but the proximate and substantial cause of the world. Thus, in the Linga Purana, Brahmna addresses Siva, "Glory to thee, whose form is the universe." In the Vishnu Purana, "This world was produced from Vishnu; it exists in him; he is the cause of its continuance and cessation; he is the world." In the Kalika Purana, the goddess Kali is said to be identical with the universe, as well as distinct from it; and in the Brahma Vaivartta, even Radha is eulogized as "the mother of the world, and the world itself; as one with primaeval nature-with universal nature, and with all created forms; with all cause, and with all effect." Expressions of this tenor occur in every page of the Puranas; and although something may be ascribed to the exaggerations of panegyric, and the obscurities of mysticism, yet the declarations are too positive and reiterated to admit of reasonable doubt. And it cannot be questioned that these writers confound the creature with the Creator, and * [Wilson, Vishnu Pur., p. 6.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 95 expose themselves justly to the imputation of gross materialism. Little doubt can be entertained that the materialism of the Puranas derives some countenance from the Vedas. Universality is there predicated of the Supreme Being directly, without the intervention of any one of his hypostases. Thus it is said, "This whole is Brahma, from Brahma to a clod of earth. Brahma is both the efficient and the material cause of the world. He is the potter by whom the fictile vase is formed; he is the clay of which it is fabricated. Every thing proceeds from him, without waste or diminution of the source, as light radiates from the sun. Every thing merges into him again, as bubbles bursting mingle with the air, as rivers fall into the ocean, and lose their identity in its waters. Every thing proceeds from and returns to him, as the web of the spider is emitted from, and retracted into itself*." These and similar illustrations speak the language of materialism too plainly to be misunderstood, although it may be possible that the full extent of their signification was not intended; that these comparisons are not to be interpreted too literally; that they purpose no more than to assert the origin of all things from the same first Cause; that the authors of the texts may have been in the same predicament as the author of the "Essay on Man", and inculeated materialism without being aware of it. * [Transact. R. As. Soc., III, 413.]

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96 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS The distinction however did not escape the notice of the philosophers; and the schools, which are probably the most ancient, carefully discriminate between spirit and matter, as the two opposite elements by whose temporary association the world is compounded. This is particularly the case with the Sankhya, the doctrines of which school may be seen in the translation of one of its text-books (the Sankhya Karika), printed in Oxford'. Matter is by the Sankhyas subtilized, in its undeveloped state, into a principle, the precise character of which is not very intelligible, but to which the vague denomination of "Nature" may be applied. They do not however question the reality of substance: the various forms of substance, gross material forms, they trace back through others more subtile, which proceed from one imperceptible, indefinable Prakriti or nature. They maintain that canses and effects are essentially the same, and there is no real difference between a product and that which produces is. Consequently, as all substances are proJucts of nature, nature itself is substantial; that is, it is matter. Matter and spirit, then, are the two elements of the universe; both unproduced; the former productive, the latter not; both eternal and independent; subject to change of form and condition, but incapable of destruction; combining, from the infuence of a controlling necessity, for a given object 1 Sankhya Karika, translated from the Sanskrit, &c. 1 Vol. 1to, 1937. Allen and Co.

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OF THE HINDUS. 97 and a definite term, but perpetually reverting to a primitive, inert, and reciprocal independence. It might be supposed that the Vedanta philosophy, professing to carry out the doctrine of the Vedas, would have been next in order of time to those works; but this is questionable: and it seems not improbable that the system originated in the purpose of exonerating the Vedas from the charge of materialism, by founding upon such texts as have already been quoted the refinement of spiritual Pantheism, or idealism, and at the same time controverting the doctrine of the Sankhyas and the Nyayikas, which maintained the distinct and independent existence of matter and spirit. The doctrine of the Vedanta is denominated zar Sozir Adwaita, non-duality; and the very title indicates the priority of a dualistic hypothesis: the main proposition contended for, in opposition to that which affirms two elements of creation, matter and spirit, being the existence of one only element in the universe, which universal element or principle is spirit. But then comes the question, the solution of which has puzzled the philosophers, not of India only, but of the world; not only of ancient but modern times: not only Vyasa and Sankara, but Parmenides and Plato; Mallebranche and Berkeley: Fichte and Schelling. If all is spirit, what is substance? The early teachers of the Vedanta school asserted it was the Sakti, the perceptible power, the active energy, the manifested instrumentality of the Supreme Spirit; and 7

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98 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS therefore, though not substantially, yet essentially one and the same. As this solution was possibly found too subtle to satisfy the understanding, later teachers went a step farther, and boldly cut the knot, by maintaining there is no such thing as substance. In the spirit of the Berkeleyan theory, they affirmed that matter exists not independent of perception, and that substances are indebted for their seeming reality to the ideas of the mind. They went still farther, and maintained that until our intellects are purified by abstraction, until we have attained a just appreciation of our own nature, and of that of universal spirit, our ideas are all wrong. Until the day of true knowledge dawn upon us, we are asleep-in a dream; we misconceive of all we perceive; we take a rope for a snake; an oyster-shell for mother-of-pearl; mirage for real water. All that we see in our unilluminated condition is Maya, deception, illusion. There are no two things in existence; there is but one in all. There is no second, no matter; there is spirit alone. The world is not God, but there is nothing but God in the world. Should it be an object to acquire more precise views of this part of our subject, they are easily attainable. The doctrines of the Vedanta philosophy have been recently the topic of controversy, as similar doctrines of idealism or transcendentalism have ever been and will probably ever be. The different schools of Indian philosophy are described by Mr. Colebrooke in several essays, in the Transactions of the Royal

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OF THE HINDUS, Asiatic Society *. In speaking of the Vedanta, he indicates the tendency of the illustrations which its teachers borrow from the Vedas towards materialism, and asserts the explanation of Maya or illusion, to have been an after-thonght. Col. Vans Kennedy, also a distinguished Oriental scholar, had maintained in a work which merits to be consulted on a variety of important points Researches on the Nature and Affinities of ancient and Hindu Mythology'-- that the Hindu philosophers of every school and every period had asserted a spiritual principle alone, and never countenanced materialism. He therefore in defence of his theory controverted Mr. Colebrooke's account of the Vedanta in an essay on the subject, published in the third volume of the Society's Transactions**. Sir Graves Haughton appended to this paper some observations in vindication of Mr. Colebrooke's views, which called forth further comments from Col. Vans Kennedy, a reply from Sir Graves Haughton, and a rejoinder from the colonel. These latter papers were printed in the London Asiatic Journal: whether they have settled the point in dispute may be doubted, but they have had the effect of bringing the principal doctrines of the Vedanta philosophy within the acquirement of European students. * [Essays, London, 1858, p. 143 - 269.] ! Published by Longman and Co, i Vol. Ito. 1831. ** [p. 412 - 36.] ? Asiatic Journal, October, 1835; November. 1935; January, 1839. London. Allen and Co.

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100 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS The observations thus made have anticipated in some degree an explanation of the opinions entertained by the Hindus in regard to the creation. The theories that attempt to elucidate its course are more definite and congruous than those which would ascertain its cause. All the schools admit two sorts, or rather stages of creation, one rudimental and primary, the other formal and secondary. They all admit the infinity and eternal succession of creations, their periodical dissolntion or disintegration, and their periodical regeneration or reorganization. In the season that precedes creation, all agree that there is no perceptible form--all is without shape. According to the Vedanta philosophy there is no substratum even of form, there is no immaterial substance; the illusion is dissipated, the energy has ceased to act separately; all real, that is, all spiritual existence is concentrated in its supreme source, which is still all that is. All the other schools, theistical or atheistical, are dualistic, and agree in recognising the eternity and indestructibility of the principle or element of the sensible world, the major part of the Indian sages adopting as an axiom the prevailing doctrine of classical antiquity, ex nihilo nihil. Whether creation therefore took place from the will of a Creator, or the spontaneous evolution of its principles, it is preceded by a something; by nature, say the Sankhyas, by simple incompomdel imperishable atoms, say the Nyayikas. When the evolution of the first imperceptible material principle into perceptible form takes

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OF THE HINDUS. 101 place without the intervention of the Divine will, it proceeds from necessity. Nature is compelled to assume corporeal form that the ends of Spirit may be fulfilled, namely, that it may be embodied, until by a series of bodily migrations it has no longer need of such a state, it has attained knowledge which is the cause of its liberation, and its connection with matter ceases. "Soul desists," says the Sankhya Karika*, "because he has seen (or fully understood) nature. Nature ceases (or withdraws) because she has been seen; that is, fully understood. It is not very intelligible why the soul, which in its independent state is described as already pure, should be allied with body merely to be purified, and so freed from the alliance. But this is a difficulty for the followers of the Sankhya to explain. The mode in which the Divine will operates as it is alluded to in the Vedas, is not attempted to be explained. He wills creation to be, and it is. In the systems in which primaeval crude matter is the subject of Divine agency, its development is ascribed to an influence communicated to it by the Divine will, by which it receives motion and life. This appears to have been expressed in language originally metaphorical, but some of the Puranas have understood it literally, and abusing the figure of personification, have described the production of the world as if it was analogous to that of animal birth. The abuse is of very old date, and not confined to the Hindus. * [66.]

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102 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS The mundane egg, the form in which, according to Manu *, the rudiments of the world are first manifested, was not imknown, as you are well aware, to the ancient cosmogonies of Greece. In whatever inode movement is imparted to the first inert principle of things, the stages by which it evolves into the actual variety of perceptible forms are much the same in the different systems; the first product is intelligence; thence proceeds egotism, or the consciousness of individuality; thence come the senses; thence the rudiments of the objects of sense or the subtle elements, and from them the gross or perceptible elements ether, air, fire, water, carth are developed, and they are the compound ingredients of all visible and tangible form. A more particular detail may be found in the Sankhya Karika and Vishnu Purana **. The elements of forms thus developed from primary matter remain unaltered for a day of Brahma : a tolerably long interval, 2,160,000,000 years. At the end of this period, Brahma sleeps. The material forms which then occupy the world, and the lower spheres of the universe, are then consumed by fire; the fire is extinguished by mighty rains, and the globe becomes a shoreless ocean. The sages, the gods, the elements survive, and when Brahma wakes and finds what mischief his slumbers have generated, he sets to work to repair it. With the materials ready to his * [I, 9. Vishnu Pur. p. 18. A. H. A. Kellgren, Mythus de ovo mundano. Helsingfors.: 1849, p. 9 ff. Weber, Ind. Stud., II, 382.] ** [S. K. 22 ff. V. P. p. 14 ff.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 103 hands, he remanufactures the earthi and its inhabitants, and this is what is intended by secondary creation. This kind of creation is repeated daily during the 100 years of Bralima's existence;-a term which cannot be expressed in mortal years by any of our scales of numeration, but which may be written with fifteen figures, or 311,040,000,000,000 years *. At the end of this term Brahma himself expires, and with him die all the gods and holy sages, and all forms whatever retrograde successively into their constituent elements, until the whole is finally merged into the single or double rudiment of being, universal spirit, or primary matter and primary spirit, according to the theories of the dualistic or non-dualistic philosophers. After a considerable interval, similar causes produce similar effects; nature and spirit are again in movement, the creation is renewed, and the universe thus eternally fluctuates between existence and non-existence, without any motive, without any end, that rational conjecture can guess at. Upon the subject of the extravagant chronology of the Hindus it inay be remarked, that the enormous periods of which it is composed are of a purely mythological character. The attempts that have been made to account for them on astronomical computations have led to no satisfactory results. How far they are analogous to similar extravagancies in the chronology of other nations of antiquity is also undetermined; * [Dr. J. Muir's Original Sanskrit Texts, I, 18 ff.]

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104 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS the subject is only of importance as furnishing an additional argument against the authority of those works in which it is seriously affirmed as truth. The philosophical systems take no notice of the creation of man except in the abstract: for the origin of the human race we must have recourse to other authorities, and particularly to the Puranas, in which various accounts of the occurrence are narrated. It is not difficult to detect, through all their embellishments and corruptions, the tradition of the descent of mankind from a single pair, however much they have disguised it by the misemployment of the figures of allegory and personification. The embodied creative attribute, the agent in formal creation, Brahma, is fabled to have divided himself into two creaturesone male, one female; from their union the first man and first woman were born, who married and begot children, and from them sprang not only mankind but all living creatures. This is the general outline of the mode in which it is related that the earth was peopled, and it is probably traceable to the Vedas: but the heroic poems and the Puranas have remodelled the tale in a variety of shapes, until it presents an incoherent and conflicting series of legends-- not always very intelligible, and sometimes not very decent. I must refer for details to the Vishnu Purana*. The description of the phenomena of secondary creation includes an account of the disposition of the * [See Dr. J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts I, 18-43.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 105 universe, of the different spheres or worlds, of the situation and size of the planets, and of the divisions of the earth. As long as the geography of the Hindus is restricted to India, it is sufficiently accurate: but as soon as it extends beyond those limits it is wholly fanciful and absurd. The Puranas distribute the earth into seven concentric circles or rings, each forming an annular continent, and being separated from the next in succession by a circumambient ocean. These oceans vary also as to their constituent parts; and besides seas of fresh and salt water, we have them of treacle, honey, milk, and wine. The whole is encompassed by a stupendous mountain belt, beyond which lies the religion of darkness; and in the centre of all, which is also the centre of the continent we inhabit, towers Mount Meru, to the height of 64,000 miles *. The astronomy is more moderate, but the mythologie or Pauranik astronomy is as incompatible with the scientific astronomy of the Hindus as it is with the Copernican system. Much of the astronomy of the Hindus, properly so called, agrees with that of Europe, and advantage has judiciously been taken of the difference between the inventions of their Puranas and the facts of their astronomers to convict the former even by native testimony of absurdity and error. It is also through geography and astronomy that the first and strongest impressions have been made upon the minds of native youths who have re * [Vishnu Pur. p. 166 ff. Bhag. Pur. V, 16 - 20.]

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106 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS ceived an English education: acquaintance with the extent and divisions of the earth, and with the leading phenomena of the heavens, however superficial, is fatal to all faith in the extravagances of the Purauas, and affixes discredit to whatever they inculcate. Man being created and provided with a habitation, the next question to be considered is the object of his existence. For what is he designed? Final liberation. What that is understood to be I shall presently endeavour to explain; but it is necessary first to offer a few words respecting the mode in which it is imagined that the purposes of human life may be best effected. The social institutions of the Hindus appear to have originated with the Vedas, and present, as is well known, the characteristic peculiarity of the distinction of castes. The original scheme contemplates but four-the Brahman, whose duties were to study and teach the Vedas, and conduct the domestic worship of the next two classes. The Kshatriya was the warrior and prince, whose duties were to fight and govern. The Vaisya was the merchant and farmer. Both he and the soldier were enjoined to study, though not permitted to teach the Vedas. The fourth caste, that of the Sudra, supplied artificers, labourers, and servants to the other three. The Sudras were subjected to much indignity and injustice, but their condition was never so bad as that of the Helot, the bondsman or the serf; they were free, masters of their own property, and at liberty to settle where they pleased. Intermarriages between all four castes

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107 took place, and the only check upon them was the degradation of the children. They were not even Sudras; they therefore formed new castes, distinguished according to their mixed descent and the occupation which came to be regarded as peculiarly their own. In the present day the only one of the original castes extant is the Brahman: the Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra are extinct; and the innumerable eastes which are now met with are in part the representatives of the ancient mixed castes, but in a still greater degree are the progeny of later times, and distinctions unauthorizedly assumed by the people themselves. For it is a great mistake to imagine that caste in India is either a burden or a disgrace. The notion is European, springing like many others out of the belief, that our own customs and feelings furnish an infallible standard by which to measure those of other nations. The fact is, that even with the most abject classes caste is a privilege, not a shame: and in proportion as the scale of society descends, so are the people more tenacious of their caste. Even the Mohammedans, to whose religion such a distinction is as uncongenial as it is to Christianity, imitate in India their Hindu countrymen in this particular, and pique themselves upon their caste. The principle of the distinction is of course indefensible, and in some parts of India, or under particular circumstances. it is oppressively enforced. In practice, however, where European influence predominates, little more inconvenience results from it than from the distinctions OF THE HINDUS.

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108 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS of rank in the countries of Europe. The diligent discharge of the duties assigned to each caste is one of the means by which the members are prepared for the attainment of higher grades of perfection. The period of life, of the three master castes, was divided into four portions or stages. The first, that of the student, was to be devoted to sacred study: the second, that of the householder, to the duties of active life; the third, that of the hermit, to solitude and contemplation: the fourth and last, that of the mendicant, to self-denial and abstraction. This distribution leaves, therefore, but one-fourth of existence for the offices of a householder, the father of a family, the citizen; and this is one respect in which the tendency of the Hindu system to depreciate active, social, and moral obligations is most mischievously manifested. It is not to be imagined that the Hindus are ignorant of the foundations of all morality, or that they do not value truth, justice, imtegrity, benevolence, charity to all that lives, and even the requital of evil with good. "The tree," says one of their familiar illustrations, withholds not its shade from the woodman that is cutting it down." "The sandal-tree," says another, "communicates its fragrance to the hatchet that levels it with the ground *." [ tagfaa ayatTaxi TEATTa i chattuH pArzvagatAM chAyAM nopasaMharate drumaH // sujano na yAti vairaM parahitabuddhirvinAzakAle 'pi / chede 'pi candanataruH surabhayati mukhaM kuThArasya // Hitopad. I, 52. Bohlen ad Bhartrih. II. 62.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 109 These duties are all repeatedly enjoined, and Hindu authorities commend as earnestly as those of any other language, and the people practise, in general, as much as most other people, the duties of their social condition, filial piety, paternal tenderness, kindness to inferiors, and obedience to the king. These, however, as well as the duties of caste, and even devotional rites, are held to be only subordinate and preliminary obligations, steps leading towards perfection, but stopping at the threshold, and to be cast away as soon as the interior of the temple is entered. All the obligations of social life do no more than qualify a man to abandon them: they are of no avail, they are impediments in his way when he undertakes to consummate the end of his being, when he would lose himself entirely in imperturbable meditation upon his own nature, by which alone he can know that he himself is one with the Divine nature, by which alone he can be identified with the umiversal soul, and emancipated for ever from the necessity of future existence. Now it is true that in the present constitution of Indian society this distribution of the periods of life, beyond that of the student, is never regarded, except by a few, who prefer a life of lazy mendicity, or by some half-crazed enthusiast, who thinks it possible to realise the letter of the law. The great body of the people, Brahmans included, pursue their worldly avocations as long as their faculties permit, spend the decline of life in the bosom of their families, and die

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110 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS peaceably and decently at home. But although the practice is discontinued the doctrine* remains, and influences opinion; and devotional ceremonies, pilgrimage, penance, and abstract contemplation, have an undue preponderance in the estimation of the people, even the best informed amongst them, over active duties and the precepts of morality. As to the common people, they have, as I indicated in my last, a still lower scale, and they find a ready substitute for the inconveniences of all moral restraint in the fervour of that faith which they place in Vishnu, and the unwearied perseverance with which they train a parrot or a starling to repeat his names, to articulate Krishna-Radha, or Sita-Ram. What then are the consequences which the Hindus propose to themselves from the fulfilment of any description of prescribed duties or acts of merit? Those who profess devoted attachment to a popular deity expect to be rewarded by elevation to the heaven in which he is supposed to dwell, and to reside there for ever in ecstatic communication or union with him. These notions, however, are innovations; and even the independent establishments, the several heavens of these divinities, are modern contrivances. The heaven of Krishna, Go-loka, the sphere or heaven of cows, has grown out of the legends of his boyhood, whilst straying amongst the pastures of Vraj. There is no such place in the celestial topography * [Man. 6, 1. 33.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 111 of the Vedas, or of the most genuine of the Pirranas. According to what appears to be the most ancient and authentic theory of the future state of man, punctual performance of religious rites, with due attention to moral conduct, and entire belief in the holiness of the Vedas, secured for the soul after death a period of enjoyment proportioned to the quantum of moral and religionis merit of the deceased, in the heaven of Indra; a kind of Elysium. Neglect of prescribed rites and duties, irreverence for the Brahmans, and disbelief in the Vedas, incurred punishment for a given term, proportionate to the crime, in various hells, or regions of Tartarus. At the expiration of a limited period, the soul, which in either of its destinations had continued to be invested with a subtile and ethereal, but material and sensible body, returns to earth, and is born again, in union with some gross and elemental body, according to the former merits or demerits of the individual, as a reptile, a fish, a bird, a beast, a giant, a spirit, a divinity, mmtil, after sundry migrations, it ascends or descends to man, to undergo a similar career. Now this, I may remark, is what the Hindus understand by Fate. They do not understand it to depend upon the Divine foreknowledge of what a man will be, or will do, conformably to which he must act and must be; nor is it, in tkeir opinion, an irresistible impulse given to his carcer, which he cannot choose but obey. It is the result of conduct

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112 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS in a previous existence, the consequences of which are necessarily suffered in a succeeding life. A man is poor, miserable, diseased, unfortunate, not because it was so predestined, not because it was so ordained from the beginning of time, but because he was ignorant, negligent, profligate, irreligious in a former life, and is now paying the penalty of his follies and bis sins. He cannot change his actual condition, but he is so far master of his own fate, that by now leading a life of innocence and piety, he will secure his being born again to a better and a happier lot. The consequences of acts, whether moral or devotional, being thus, in the estimation of all classes of Hindus, temporary and transient, the philosophical schools have made it their especial aim to determine by what means a career so precarious and uneasy may be cut short. For it is a remarkable circumstance in the history of Hindu opinion, that, amidst the many varieties of practice and collisions of belief that have from time to time prevailed in India, it does not seem so have occurred to any individual, learned or unlearned, heterodox or orthodox, to call in question the truth of the Metempsychosis. It is not only the one point on which all are agreed, it is the one point which none have ever disputed. Even the Buddhist, who denies every other essential dogma of the Brahmanical religion, adopts, without demurring, as an article of his creed, the transmigration of the soul. It is, as you know, a doctrine of remote antiquity, and it still reigns despotic, without any

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OF THE HINDUS. 113 sign of decrepitude or decay, over the minds of the nations of the extreme east, over Burman, Chinese, Tartar, Tibetan, and Indian; over perhaps the most numerous portion of the human race; over at least six or seven hundred millions of mankind. Adopting, then, this unquestioned dogma as the basis of their argument, all the philosophical schools propose for their object the ascertainment of those means by which the wanderings of the soul may be arrested, its transitions through all the painful vicissitudes of corporeal existence be terminated, and its emancipation from bodily imprisonment and degradation be effected for ever. This is what is termed Moksha, or Mukti - Liberation, emancipation. All the systems agree that this devoutly desirable consummation is to be accomplished only through that knowledge which they profess to teach; not literature, not science, not morality, not devotion, but true knowledge; knowledge, obtained by profound contemplation, of the true nature of the soul, and of the universe; when the contemplatist can say, with perfect conviction, and with truth, I am Brahma, I am all that is, I am one with God. The absolute state of the soul thus liberated is nowhere clearly defined; it ceases to transmigrate; it loses all bodily individuality; it loses all spiritual individuality, as whether, with the Vedanta, we consider it to be reunited with, or absorbed into, the Supreme Spirit, or whether, with the Sankhyas, we hold it to be commingled with the spiritual element of the universe, individual spirit 8

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114 ceases to exist. Annihilation, then, as regards individuals, is as much the ultimate destiny of the soul as it is of the body, and "Not to be" is the melancholy result of the religion and philosophy of the Hindus. RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS I have thus attempted to place before you some of the principal features of the religious practices and opinions of the Hindus, to which it is fit that your attention should be directed in engaging in any investigation of their nature. To have entered more fully into detail would have occupied too much of your time, and particulars will be easily multiplied by inquiry. With the minor incidents of the popular superstition it is not necessary to encumber the argument farther than they are countenanced by authorities considerd sacred. That learned Brahmans will readily admit the unauthorized introduction, and the unprofitable and degrading tendency of much of the popular practice, is not unlikely, as I have before stated; and their indifference is likely to be the chief obstacle to their acknowledging the inefficiency and evil of much even of that which is authorized. They are likely to adhere to their speculative tenets, and particularly to those regarding the nature and condition of the soul, with more tenacious obstinacy. Dependence on authority, veneration for antiquity, pride of learning, confidence in argument, and disdain of defeat, will combine with the inherent difficulties of the controversy to oppose the influence of reason in generating conviction in the minds of the

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OF THE HINDU'S. 115 Pandits. Still there is no occasion to despair. Besides that encouragement which a firm trust in the omnipotence of truth inspires, we may derive animation and hope from the history of the past. It will not have escaped your observation, that in all the most important speculations upon the nature of the Supreme Being and man, upon matter and spirit, the Hindus traverse the very same ground that was familiarly trodden by the philosophers of Greece and Rome, and pursue the same ends by the same or similar paths. The result was equally impotent; but what it more concerns us to remark is, that all these speculations--all the specious systems of philosophers, at once acute and profound--all the plausible and graceful illustrations of the most prolific ingenuityall the seemingly substantial combinations of intellectual powers still unsurpassed, were divested of their speciousness, despoiled of their beauty, deprived of all by which they held reason captive, and shewn to be fallacious and false by the Ithuriel spear of Christian truth. The weapons, which, wielded by the first defenders of that truth, discomfited these delusions, are in your hands. Have they lost their efficacy, or have you not the skill, the courage to employ them? It is however to be recollected that, agreeably to the invitation of the Bishop of Calcutta, an impression upon the minds of learned natives, that is, upon Pandits, Brahmans learned only in Sanskrit learning, is only a contingency. The argument is to be ad 8

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116 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS dressed in the first instance to English-reading natives, to natives who have been educated in the language of our country, and in the learning of Europe. There are many such at the chief cities of the British Indian empire. In Calcutta they are in great numbers, perhaps thousands, and they are of various descriptions. The greater number have only such knowledge of English as qualifies them for public employment, and they rarely coucern themselves with matters of controversy. Some very good native English scholars continue orthodox, nay even bigoted Hindus. They are generally however men of mature years who studied English in early life, when they were taught little else than words. Some who are familiar with our language are amongst the leading members of the society instituted by Rammohan Roy, to which I have already alluded; a much greater number consist of young men whose English education is more recent, and has been conducted on an improved and more effective plan, which proposes to give an English tone to their feelings and principles, as well as to communicate parts of speech. Many of these write English, not only with facility but with elegance: they are familiar with our standard authors, are possessed of an extent of general information, which few young men even in England at the same age surpass, and have learned to think and feel on many important subjects more like natives of the west than of the east. These have almost all become Seceders in different degrees from the religion of

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OF THE HINDUS. 117 their fathers. They have not however yet adopted a better. The last description of English scholars is a branch from that just specified, and consists of a few who have read, reflected, reasoned, and believed. One of them, Kristo Mohan Banerji, a young man of very excellent ability and attainments, by birth a Brahman of the most respectable rank, is an ordained minister of the English church in Calcutta. It is the advantage of those English scholars who halt yet between two opinions, who have no religion at all, that the work to which competition has been invited", is calculated in the first instance to promote. The feeling with which most of them regard Hinduism is favourable to conviction, and it might be supposed, that as they have already disavowed allegiance to it, they require not to be enlightened as to its errors and evils; but this would be a mistake. Their English education has left them no opportunity of native education, and they know almost as little of what they abandon as what they decline to accept. It is not possible to depend upon the durability of impressions, taken up from a wish perhaps to get rid of inconvenient restrictions, or from the vanity of being thought wiser than others, rather than from a rational estimate of the defects of a system grounded * [In a Convocation, holden on Thursday the 13th of February 1840, the University of Oxford accepted the proposal of a prize of PS 200, made through the Bishop of Calcutta, "for the best refutation of Hinduisin in its main systems, both exoteric and esoteric".]

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118 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS upon a knowledge of that system. By placing those defects clearly before them, they will become more aware of their existence and character, and their conviction will be rational and permanent. They will also be able to defend their conviction, perhaps to communicate it to others. At present truth derives not that benefit even from its professed votaries, which they might easily be in a position to render. The mere native English scholar has no common debateable ground on which to contend with his learned countrymen. The contemptuous answer of the Brahman to his objections is, "You know nothing about the matter -- you understand not the language of the Sastras--you are unacquainted with their contentsyou are not qualified to impugn them." If his adversary can shew that he is conversant with the system, he will acquire the right of being listened to, and he will possibly not be listened to wholly in vain. When too at the same time that he is supplied with valid reasons for his own departure from the national superstitions, he is furnished with arguments and inducements to seek shelter from his own uneasy mmdulations of opinion in the harbour of Christian certainty, it may be hoped that he will not only contribute to win his countrymen from their errors, by laying bare their enormity, but that he will afford in his own person an example and a guide to the adoption of a pure and holy system of belief. It is recommended that, with a view to the translation of the proposed Essay, it should be written in

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OF THE HINDUS. 119 the form of a dialogue. The writers are not to understand by this a mere succession of question and answer, or a keen encounter of wit, or even the more equally maintained discussion of which the works of Cicero and Plato furnish classical models. In the style in which the Puranas, for instance, are written, a disciple, or one seeking for information, puts a leading question which furnishes a text on which his teacher or instructor dilates, or he suggests a difficulty or hints an objection, which is thereupon attempted to be solved or answered at length. To those who may undertake the task I have one caution to offer. Let whatever they urge be urged in charity. It is natural to feel impatient of error-it is difficult not to feel indignant with wickedness; but, in instituting a discussion into the truth or falsehood of a religious creed, with the hope of demonstrating the latter to the assent of those by whom it is professed, we have not in view the expression of our own feelings, but a kindly influence over theirs-we are not contending for victory but for conviction--we seek not to humble or incense our adversaries, but to conciliate their confidence and direct their judgment-- we seek to work a salutary change in their principles, and in this we shall most assuredly fail if we commence the operation by disregarding their prejudices and provoking their resentment. The Hindu is not resentful-not unconfiding-not disinclined to discussion-not incapable of appreciating kindness - at

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120 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND OPINIONS OF THE HINDUS. the same time he is sensitive and timid. Treat him rudely, harshly, intemperately, it is like touching the leaf of the mimosa; he shrinks from all contest-he adopts the course recommended by his authorities to the man in quest of true knowledge-he imitates the tortoise who retracts his limbs beneath his shell, and is then alike indifferent to the sunshine or the storm. Let the argument, then, be enforced in a spirit of benevolence - let it be a calm and conciliating appeal to the understanding of intelligent men, and, although it may fail of producing any immediate or ostensible effect, it will not in all likelihood have been wholly unprofitable. Important changes in the opinions of nations are not the work of a day. Many and repeated and long continued efforts are necessary for their consummation, and many causes of little apparent magnitude, and of no immediately observable agency, cooperate for their accomplishment. It is not the earthquake or the tempest only that rives asunder the mountain barriers of the Himalaya, and opens its steep recesses to man and to cultivation. The smallest rill that trickles from the eternal snow contributes to swell the torrents, which, bursting through the rocks, transform declivities into valleys, and precipices into paths, and finally descend a stately river to fertilize the plains of Hindustan.

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ON THE SIKHS. 121 III. SUMMARY ACCOUNT OF THE CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS OF THE SIKHS. From the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. IX (1848), p. 43. THERE have arisen from time to time among what are considered the unlearned classes of the people of India thoughtful and benevolent individuals, who have felt dissatisfied with the religious practices of their countrymen, and with the distinctions of caste and creed by which they are disunited. They have attempted, accordingly, to reform these defects, and to reduce the existing systems of belief to a few simple elements of faith and worship in which the Brahman and the Sudra, the Mohammedan and Hindu might cordially combine, and from which they might learn to lay aside their uncharitable feelings towards each other. Although not professing to be deeply versed with the sacred literature of either sect, with the Vedas or the Koran, the Indian reformers have been in general men of respectable attainments, and have been well

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122 ON THE SIKHS. grounded in the speculative tenets of the two systems which they have sought to amalgamate. Retaining the doctrine of transmigration, they have grafted upon it a philosophy compounded of the Vedanta principle of emanation, or the origin of individual soul from one great pure universal spirit to which the detached portions pine to return, and of the Sufyism of the Mohammedans, in which the language of passion is substituted for that of dogmatism, and the human soul and the divine spirit are typified as the lover and the beloved. These doctrines have been clothed by the reformers alluded to in a popular dress; they have been set forth in short metrical compositions -- odes, or hymns, or songs -- always in the vernacular dialects, and written in a style addressed to the imagination and feelings of the common people. These are usually chaunted to simple melodies, and even where they have not effected any change of opinion, they have become extensively diffused and have exercised considerable influence over the national character. These compositions gradually accumulated, and , preserved in collections of various extent, constitute the literature and the creed of a large portion of the agricultural population of Upper India. The teacher whose instructions have exercised, although indirectly, the most durable influence upon any considerable body and, aided by political events, have tended to form a nation out of a sect, is Baba NANAK, or NANAK SHal, the nominal founder of the religion and nation of the Sikhs. He was born in

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ON THE SIKHS. 123 1469, at a village now known as Dehra', or the village', on the Ravi, about thirty kos from Lahore, and is said to have been at first engaged in trade as a dealer in grain, but to have exchanged in mature age worldly pursuits for a life of meditation and religious instruction. The Panjab was at that time subject to the Patthan Sovereign of Delhi, Behlol Lodi; but then, as now, the lands were distributed chiefly among Hindu chiefs, who united the character of landlord and ruler, as rayas or rajas, over districts of different dimensions, paying revenue and rendering military service to the Mohammedan governors. One of these rayas took Nanak under his patronage, and enabled him to disseminate his doctrines without hindrance or danger. According to the legendary biography of Nanak, he was a great traveller, traversing not only India but visiting Mecca and Medina, working miracles on his journeys and making numerous proselytes. There is probably little truth in his Arabian peregrinations, although it was consistent with his religious character to have spent some time in wandering over Hindustan, and visiting the places held sacred in the estimation of the Hindus. It is most likely, however, that he passed the greater part of his days in the Panjab, endeavouring to inculcate his views among Major Leech, J. A. S. B., 1845, p. 394; (but, query) if it is not the same as Kirtipur Dehra, his burial place. Malcolm, As. Res. XI, 207. Malcolm calls his birth place Talwandi, or Rayapur, on the Beyah.

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124 ON THE SIKHS. his neighbours and countrymen; several of whom, no doubt, adopted his notions; becoming, as the term Sikh implies, his disciples; the word being the provincial articulation of the Sanskrit word Sishya, a scholar or disciple, the sibilant sh being invariably pronounced kh in the western provinces. From those disciples he organised a communion, the superintendence of which he bequeathed to one of his principal pupils, named ANGADA, establishing a sort of hierarchy, to which perhaps it was owing that his followers were kept together as a distinct body. The successor of ANGADA, AMARA Das, became possessed of some temporal power, and built the fort of Kajarawal. It would appear, however, that secular aggrandisement was not regarded as altogether orthodox, and the Sikhs, who restricted their views to purely religious objects, separated from Amara Das and attached themselves to DHARMCHAND, the grandson of Nanak, as their 'Guru' or spiritual head. They then became known as Udasis, or persons estranged from worldly hopes or fears, or as 'Nirmalas', individuals free from soil or sin. It is chiefly from these classes of Sikhs, the Udasis, and Nirmalas, that teachers of the theism of Nanak are to be found in almost every considerable city of Hindustan, sometimes singly or sometimes assembled in Sangats or convents. They have nothing of a political or military character, but devote their time to daily prayers and observances addressed chiefly to the memory of Nanak and the perusal and adoration of the sacred volume which

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ON THE SIKHS. 125 contains illustrations of his doctrines by various hands, in different dialects of Panjabi and Hindi. This exposition of the Sikh faith, if anything so vague deserves the appellation of a faith, is known as the Adi Granth, the First Book' to distinguish it from another scriptural authority of the Sikhs of a later date. It is a large volume but contains no systematic exposition of doctrines--no condensed creedno rules for ritual observances. It is an imconnected compilation of verses of a mystical or a moral purport, ascribed mostly to Nanak, but comprehending the writings of other persons, many of whom had nothing in common with Nanak, except a general accordance in a sort of spiritual quietism and the acknowledgment of one divine cause and essence of all things. The Adi Granth was put together by ARJUNMAL--the fourth Sikh Guru or pontiff in descent from Nanak--who flourished in the reign of Jehangir, towards the end of the sixteenth century. The bulk of the materials are attributed to the predecessors of Arjummal, but it is admitted that thirteen other persons contributed to its contents-or, as the Sikhs say, twelve and a-half, intending, most ungallantly, by the half, a female author. The copies of the Adi Granth, however, found in different parts of India, vary considerably as to the subordinate contributors * ; the greater number of the poems bear the name of Nanak, but the rest are by different hands, as Kabir, * [Comp. also Garcin de Tassy, histoire de la litterature Hindoui et Hindoustani, I, 385 ff.]

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126 ON THE SIKHS. Sheikh Ferid-ad-din, Ramanand, Mira Bai, and other well known sectarian or Vaishnava teachers. The following are specimens of the poems ascribed to Nanak: My holy teacher is he who teaches clemency; The beart is awake within, who seeks may find. Wonderful is that rosary, every bead of which is the breath; Lying apart on its recess it knows what will come to pass : The sage is he who is merciful, the merciless is a butcher. Thou wieldest the knife, and recklessly exlaimest, - "What is a goat? What is a cow? What are animals?" But the Sahib declares that the blood of all is one: Saints, prophets, seers, have passed away in death; Nanak, destroy not life for the preservation of the body. AgainLove and fix thy whole heart upon him, The world is bound to thee by prosperity: While it endures many will come and sit with thee and surround thee; But in adversity they will fly, and no one will be nigh thee: The woman of the house who loves thee, and is ever in thy bosom, When the spirit quits the body, will fly with alarm from the dead. Such is the way of the world; The frailty of human affections. Do thou, Nanak, at thy last hour, rely alone upon Hari. Or again, Thou art the Lord, to thee be praise; All life is with thee: Thou art my parents; I am thy child ; All happiness is from thy mercy: No one knows thy end. Highest Lord among the highest, All that is from thee obeys thy will, Thy movements, thy pleasure: thou alone knowest Nanak, thy slave, is a free-will offering unto thee. Under the tolerant reigns of the first princes of the

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ON THE SIKHS. 127 house of Timur the propagators of the doctrines of Nanak were unmolested, and seem to have risen rapidly in temporal as well as spiritual consideration. Rampas, the third Guru, enjoyed the favour of Akbar', and settled himself in an ancient city in the Panjab, which he so much enlarged and improved that it was called after him Ramdaspur. Among his improvements was the construction of a large tank which was called by the people the lake of Ambrosia or Amritsar, and this has, in modern times, given its designation and sanctity to the town so denominated, Amritsar. The wealth and consequence attained by the Sikh Gurus had, however, the effect of drawing upon them the jealousy and persecution of the Mohammedans, and ARJUNMAL, the fourth Guru after Nanak, was seized and thrown into prison, where he either died or was put to death. The act was resented by the Sikhs of the province, who took up arms under Har Govind *, the son of Arjun, and exacted vengeance from all whom they regarded as hostile to their religion. Their rising, however, seems to have been regarded as a mere local disturbance, involving no political crisis, much less as indicating the future development of an independent state. This persecuting spirit continued through several successions of Sikh Gurus, and in some cases, it might be more correctly termed retribution; for the Sikhs, dispossessed of their acquisitions or inheritance * [According to the Dabistan, II, p. 273, Arjummal was followed by his brother Bharata. See Troyer's note.]

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128 ON THE SIKHS. in the plains, and compelled to secrete themselves in the hills, collected into bands of plunderers and robbers, and by their depredations provoked the fate they suffered. Dissensions among themselves also exposed them to the cruelty of their Mohammedan governors, and their ninth Guru, Tegh BAHADUR, was publicly put to death in 1675, according to the Sikh authorities, at the instigation of a competitor for the Guruship; according to the Mohammedan writers, however, he was executed for his offences against the law by a life of predatory violence. At his death the Sikhs had almost disappeared except as a few inoffensive sectarians, or as scattered gangs of banditti. The succession of the son of Tegh Bahadur-GURU GOVIND-- constitutes the most important era in the political progress of the Sikhs. He, in fact, changed the whole character of the community, and converted the Sikhs of Nanak, the disciples of a religion of spirituality and benevolence, and professors of a faith of peace and good will, into an armed confederacy, a military republic. The worship of "steel" was combined with that of the "book", and instead of attempting to unite Mohammedans and Hindus into one family fraternity, he made his disciples vow implacable hatred to the followers of Mohammed. He finally abrogated the distinction of caste, and opened his ranks to every description of persons, even to the very lowest Hindus, assigning to all his military adherents the name of Sinh--or lion--a term peculiar o the Rajput Hindus. His followers were enjoined

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ON THE SIKHS. always to have steel about their persons, to wear blue dresses, to let their hair grow, and to use as phrases of salutation, as a war-cry, or as responses in prayers, the sentences "Wah! Guru ji ka khalsa: Wah! Guru ji ka fatteh." "Hurra! for the unity of the Guru: Hurra! for the victory of the Guru;" expressions that have been since in use even among the more genuine descendants of Nanak, the Udasis, and Nirmalas. 129 GURU GOVIND was an author as well as a soldier, and has left a record of his own exploits, in a work called the Vichitra Natak, forming the first portion of a larger compilation which shares with the Adi Granth the reverence of the Sikhs. It is called the Dasama Padshah ka Granth*, the Book of the 10th King, or more correctly speaking, Pontiff; and like the Adi Granth it is a compilation of contributions by various writers, but they are more of a martial and narrative than of a moral or speculative complexion. This as well as its predecessor, the Adi Granth, is composed chiefly in the Hindi dialect of the Panjab, written in the Gurumukhi character, a singular perversion of the Devanagari alphabet, retaining the forms but altering the sounds of the letters. To Guru Govind also is ascribed the first attempt at the political organization of the Sikhs by the institution of the Guru mata, or federal council of chiefs, which assembled periodically at Amritsar, as long as * [See Vol. I, 270 f. It is called in Panjabi Daswin patsahi da granth.] 9

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130 ON THE SIKHS. the city was in the possession of the Sikhs, to consult on measures in which the community was interested, and to concert military operations whether offensive or defensive. It does not clearly appear of whom these councils were at first composed, but no doubt they were of a popular character, and every one who, through his hereditary landed property, or his inAuence in a village, or his reputation as a bold and fortunate leader, could command the following of a band of armed adherents, however few in number, was admissible to the conclave, and had a voice in its deliberations. After making head for some years against the generals of Aurangzeb and the hill Rajas, whose enmity Guru Govind provoked by his indiscriminate ravages as much as by his religious tenets, he was reduced to great distress, and after the loss of his friends and his children became a solitary fugitive almost bereft of reason. Much obscurity hangs over the close of his career; but it seems probable that he was expelled from the Panjab by the Lieutenants of the Emperor and led the life of a mendicant wanderer: he is said to have been killed in the Dekhan in 1708. Guru Govind was the last of the religious teachers, or Gurus, of the Sikhs; but the temporal command of his followers was assumed, after his death, by Banda, a bairagi, or religious mendicant, who inflicted a ferocious vengeance for the discomfiture and the death of his friend and teacher. The Siklis rallied under Banda's guidance, defeated the Mohammedan governor

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131 ON THE SIKHS. of the province, took and demolished Sirhind, and crossing the Jamna spread desolation to Saharanpur, giving no quarter to the Mohammedans except on condition of their adopting the Sikh faith. Their progress was at last arrested by Abd-us-samad Khan, a general in the service of Farokhseir. The Sikhs were completely routed and hunted from one stronghold to another until Banda and his most devoted followers who had been shut up in Lohgarh, a fort about 100 miles N.E. of Lahore, were compelled to surrender. According to some accounts they were sent to Delhi and put to death, with circumstances of great ignominy and cruelty; but there is a sect of Sikhs, called Banda-i, who believe that Banda escaped from the fort and settled in Sindh, where he died peaceably and left his sons to propagate his peculiar doctrines. These do not seem to have been of any essential importance, one of them being the abolition of the blue vesture-an innovation acceded to by the Sikhs in general, but stoutly resisted by the Akalis, a class of fanatics calling themselves Immortals, and who are also known as Govind-sinhis, as being in a particular manner the disciples of Govind Sinh. These are still distinguished by the blue colour of their garments and by carrying steel in the form of the chakar or discus always about their persons. So rigorous a persecution of the Sikhs followed the defeat and death of Banda that they were almost exterminated in the plains. Some, however, again found refuge in the hills, and after a period of thirty years 9*

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ON THE SIKHS. re-appeared amid the confusion which followed the invasion of Hindustan by Nadir Shah. Their necessities made them plunderers, and their policy suggested their forming fixed settlements by constructing forts, and compelling the cultivators to pay to them the government revenues. They were occasionally repressed by the energy of the viceroys of Lahore, but the distracted state of public affairs during the repeated incursions of Ahmed Shah of Kabul was propitious to their growth in numbers and independence, and from this period they continued to gather strength and audacity, until they gradually established themselves in Sirhind and the eastern portion of the Panjab, between the Ravi and the Setlej. The death of Ahmed Shah, the dissensions among the Afghans on the one hand, and the total prostration of the sovereignty of Delhi on the other, enabled them to appropriate to themselves the resources of the country, to confirm their authority over the inhabitants, and to complete a kind of national organization. The Sikh constitution grew naturally out of their political situation. During the period of recovery from the depression to which they had been reduced by the vigour of the Mohammedan officers, they issued from their retreats, for the sake of the plunder on which they depended for subsistence, in bodies of various strength under a leader who, from his personal character or his family influence, could gather a party round him. He was assisted by his relations, or by companions also enjoying consideration among 132

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ON THE SIKHS. 133 the fugitives, and bringing contributions to the force of the leader. When they were successful, the party remained located in the country which they had ravaged, and divided it among them; a larger portion of the conquered territory was set apart for the leader, but portions were distributed to every one who had taken a prominent share in the expedition. It might sometimes happen that the land itself, where left desolate and waste, constituted the allotments, but the usual plan was to leave the Rayats, whether Hindus or Mohammedans, unmolested, on consideration of their acknowledging allegiance and paying the government revenue to their new lords. In the fluctuating fortunes of the Panjab these lordships were at first of but ephemeral duration, but as some expired or were extinguished they were replaced by others, and some of them taking permanent root survived the dependencies of the Mohammedan Governments, upon whose ruin they had risen. This was the origin of the various petty Sikh chiefships which, in the beginning of the present century, spread over the eastern portion of the Panjab, from the Jamna to the Ravi, comprising in their subjects different races both Mohammedan and Hindu, the hereditary occupants and actual cultivators of the soil who constituted, as they still constitute, the majority of the population'. M. Jacquemont repeatedly observes that the Mohammedans and Hindus much outnumber the Sikhs. According to Captain Lawrence, the population of the Panjab may be loosely estimated at 1,500,000, of whom 750,000 are Hindus, 500,000 Musal

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134 ON THE SIKHS. The partition of the lands among the relatives and confederates of the leader led to another peculiarity in the Sikh constitution. The portions varied in extent and value according to the power and influence of each member of the confederacy, and the larger allotment as well as a predominating influence was assigned to the leader of the party; but each member of the confederacy, who considered that he had accompanied the leader as his friend and companion, claimed to exercise independent authority over his own share, and to be exempt from every kind of subordination or control. He was willing to be regarded as voluntarily connected with the chief, and with the other members of the original confederacy, and, in general, was prepared to make common cause with them, but he disdained to be fettered by any kind of allegiance either to an individual or the association. In this manner sprang up the several Misals, or voluntary associations of the Sikhs, acknowledging a common designation and a common head, and combining with each other on particular occasions, or in times of emergency to form the Guru mata, the national council or diet, in which every member of each Misal, however limited his resources, had an equal vote. Twelve such Misals existed in the palmy days of the Sikh confederacy; but those on the north and west of the Setlej were annihilated by the all devouring mans, and only 250,000 Sikhs. Captain Burnes made the population larger, but the proportions much the same.

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ON THE SIKHS. 135 ambition of Ranjit Sing, and those between the Setlej and the Jamna spontaneously dissolved innder the protection of the British Government. The last general diet of the Siklis was held in 1805, when the fugitive Holkar, and his pursuer Lord Lake, penetrated into the Panjab. This notion of a unity of interests, or national identity among the Sikls, as forming part also of a community of religion, was designated as the Khalsa, the Church Militant, if it might be so interpreted, for it expressed a vague notion of the Sikhs being under one spiritual guidance in temporal as well as spiritual affairs --a sort of abstract theocracy. Tlie term has since come to be applied to the temporal government alone, and the late Maharaja deposed Guru Govind, Nanak, and the Supreme Being, whom the Sikhs professed to look up to, from even their abstract or typical participation in the Khalsa. At no time, indeed, was this imaginary unity so well maintained as by Ranjit, whose elevation was in a great degree ascribable to the disunion which prevailed among the several Misals, and the conflicting pretensions of their members: a sketch of his rise will best illustrate the characteristics of the Sikh confederacy. The first of the family of the late Maharaja Ranjit Sing, of whom any record has been preserved, was a Jat farmer, whose patrimony, it is said, consisted of three ploughs and a well. His son was a convert to the Sikh faith, and abandoning agriculture enlisted as a private horseman in the service of a Sikh chief.

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136 ON THE SIKHS. His son Charat Sing became a petty chief himself, and levied a small troop of horse with which he plundered the country. Being successful in his incursions he built a fort near Gajrauli, at no great distance from Lahore, and compelled the villages in the vicinity to pay to him the government assessments. The Afghan governor of Lahore attempted to dislodge him, but the Sikhs flocked to his succour in such numbers that the Afghan was glad to desist from the enterprise and shelter himself in Lahore. These events enabled Charat Sing to extend his acquisitions, and while reserving to himself the Sirdari portion lie distributed among his principal associates the remainder of the districts whose revenues lie had appropriated. He was thenceforward the head of a Misal, that of Sukarchak, the name of the village in which his ancestors had resided. His Misal was one of the least considerable of the twelve, being able to send but 2500 horse into the field, while several of the others furnished 10,000 or 12,000. The son and successor of Charat Sing, Maha Sing, distinguished himself by his military and political talents, and greatly extended the power of the confederacy of which he was the leader, although he died in 1792 at the early age of twenty-seven. He was succeeded bis his only son RANJIT, then in his twelfth year, under the regency of his mother, but at the age of seventeen he put her to death for alleged misconduct, and assumed the direction of affairs. His resources were much improved bis his

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ON THE SIKHS. 137 marriage with the daughter of Sada Kunwar, who had been left by her husband the regent of the Ghani Misal, whose possessions extended east of Lahore and included Amritsar. He became possessed also of the city of Lahore under a grant from Shah Zeman, the king of Kabul, on his retreat from the Panjab. The city, it is true, was not Shali Zeman's to give, being in the actual occupation of three other Sikh Sirdars. The grant, however, was held to confer a title and had an influence with the Mohammedans, by whom Lahore was chiefly inhabited. Their ready assistance placed Ranjit in possession of Lahore, important from its situation and extent, and still more from its ancient reputation as the capital of the vice-royalty of the Panjab. It would be incompatible with the object of this sketch to follow Ranjit through the steps by which he rose to the supremacy over the rest of the Sikh chiefs, and transformed an ill-defined and precarious combination of independent military leaders into a compact and despotic monarchy. His first great accession was the annexation of the Bhangi Misal, one of the most powerful of the whole, to his own, upon the death of the Sirdar, by the unjustifiable expulsion of the infant chief and his mother-regent. Taking advantage of hostilities with the Raja of Kahlur, Sansar Chand, he compelled various Sikh chiefs in the Jalandhar Doab to yield him allegiance and to pay tribute, being assisted in his operations by the resources of the Ghani confederacy, under the direction

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138 ON THE SIKHS. of his mother-in-law, and by the Sikh Sirdar of Aluwala, who became in early life and continued to be for many years his personal friend. These proceedings were confined to the east of the Ravi; but in 1804 Ranjit was emboldened by the distracted state of the Afghan monarchy to invade the dependencies of Kabul, lying between the Ravi and the Indus, and, although he did not permanently establish his supremacy, he succeeded in enforcing its acknowledgment in the shape of gifts and tribute from the Mohammedan chiefs who had hitherto held the Afghan kingdom. In 1805 he first became known to the British Government by the advance of Lord Lake's army into the Panjab. No great opinion was then entertained of his power or prospects. Sir J. Malcolm observes, his force did not amount to 8000 horse, and part of that was under chiefs who had been subdued from a state of independence, and whose turbulent minds ill brooked an usurpation which they deemed subversive of the constitution of the commonwealth. The principal efforts of Ranjit for the next few years were directed to the extension of his authority to the eastward, and several of the possessions of the original Misals were either wholly or in part incorporated with his own territories. He repeatedly crossed the Setlej, appropriated lands on its left bank, and interfered in the quarrels of the Sikh chiefs so obviously for his own advantage alone, that they became alarmed and had recourse to the British Government for protection as having succeeded to the power of

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ON THE SIKHS. 139 Delhi, of which they acknowledged themselves to be the subjects, as in truth they as well as all the Sikhs in the Panjab originally were, rising to independence only wlien the descendants of Baber were too weak to reclaim their allegiance. The appeal wos admitted, but Ranjit, although he relinquished his menacing attitude only upon the approach of a military force, was leniently dealt with: he was allowed to keep the places on the left bank of the Setlej, of which he was in actual possession, however unwarrantable the means by which they had been acquired; but the Sikh chiefs who had so far escaped his grasp were thenceforth protected from his violence or his craft: he thence returned to the westward and there sought more promising fields for the employment of his growing power and the gratification of his ambitious designs. In the prosecution of this policy he took Multan, reduced the districts between the Ravi and the Indus to his absolute dominion, crossed the latter river and conquered a considerable portion of the country of the Afghans, ascended the mountains on the north of the Panjab, and compelled the hill Rajas to pay him heavy tribute or to fly from their ancient seats to avoid his tyranny, occupied and ruined Kashmir, and subjected to his will the unoffending princes of Little Tibet, encircling to the north the Himalayan dependencies of British India, and approaching the contines of the Celestial Empire, with which his lieutenants finally came, not very successfully, into collision. To the whole of these possessions he had no other title

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140 ON THE SIKHS. than the sword, and his conquests, unchecked by the necessity of devising any pretext for them whatever, were the rapid growth of little more than twenty years. A kingdom composed of such heterogeneous materials could be held together only by the means by which it was acquired, and an overpowering military force was necessary to preserve the ascendancy which it had been employed to attain. As long as he preserved a good understanding with the only power in India whom he had cause to dread, as long as the British Government favoured his aggrandisement by turning a deaf ear to the urgent appeals made to its protection by the victims of Ranjit Sing's ambition, he confidently prosecuted his system of aggression, and trampled with impunity upon the rights of his neighbours, whether Mohammedans or Hindus. The transactions that have taken place since his decease have sufficiently shewn the rottenness of his system; the instability of a dominion based upon military violence and individual ambition; the certain consequences of relying upon an army as the main instrument and stay of a government. The successors of Ranjit have perished under the presumption of the military chiefs, and the chiefs themselves have been the victims or the puppets of a mutinous and insolent soldiery. That soldiery has now been pretty well destroyed, but the Khalsa has been left in a state of utter imbecility which will ensure its spontaneous extinction at no distant period, if it be not kept alive by the undeserved protection of the British Government.

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141 ON THE SIKHS. Whatever may have been the political organization of the original Sikh confederacy, it is obvious that it had ceased to exist; it had received its death-blow from Ranjit Sing, and was latterly a monarchy of a despotic character, tempered by the necessity of conciliating powerful military leaders, or of holding them in check chiefly through the agency of their mutual jealousies and conflicting pretensions. The Misals were destroyed, the Guru-mata was forgotten, nor has the Sikh religion preserved much more of its primitive character. Its original elements were deism of a mystical tendency, contemplative worship, peace and good-will, and amalgamation of Mohammedan and Hindu. There was not much of dogma or precept, and its doctrines were inculcated through the channel of mystical and moral verses in a popular style. Nanak Shah appears to have sought the amelioration of the principles and feelings rather than an alteration of the creed or usages of the people; he does not seem to have formally abolished caste although he received proselytes from every order, and while he treated the Koran with reverence he acknowledged the whole scheme of the Hindu mythology; so do his followers to the present day, that is, such of his followers as profess the pure Sikh faith. They do not worship images, they worship the visible type of the Khalsa in the book; but they do not question the existence of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva; and the legends relating to them, to Vishnu especially, as popularized from the Purauas in vernacular compositions, con

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142 ON THE SIKHS. stitute much of their favourite literature; except in the mode of performing public worship, and in the profession of benevolent sentiments for all mankind, there is little difference between a Nirmala Sikh and an orthodox Hindu of the Vaishnava sect. Neither are the Govind Sinhis, the disciples of Guru Govind, to be considered as unbelievers in the Hindu mythology. They receive all the Pauranik legends as true, but they appear to be most partial to those of the Saiva sect, as harmonizing best with their fierce and martial character. It is affirmed of their teacher Guru Govind himself, that he was directed to loosen his hair and draw his sword by the Goddess Bhavani, of whom he was an assiduous worshipper. He says of himself, "Durga Bhavani appeared to me when I was asleep, arrayed in all her glory. The goddess put into my hand the hilt of a bright seymetar which she had before held in her own. The country of the Mohammedans,' said the goddess, 'shall be conquered by thee, and numbers of that race shall be slain.' After I had heard this I exclaimed, 'This steel shall be the guard to me and to my followers, because in its lustre the splendour of thy countenance, oh Goddess! is always reflected."" In the account, also, which he gives of his mission, he says that in a preceding life he performed severe penance, meditating on Mahakala and Kalika (or Siva and Durga), in consequence of which he was sent into the world by Parameswara, the supreme god, to establish a perfect system, to teach virtue, and exterminate the wicked.

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ON THE SIKHS. 143 The last-understanding by the term 'wicked' the followers of Mohammed-is the part of his mission which he most laboured to fulfil, and which was the whole spirit of his reform. Hatred of the Mohammedans is evidently the ruling principle of all Guru Govind's institutions. His injunctions were, "It is right to slay a Mohammedan wherever you meet him. If you meet a Hindu, beat him, and plunder him, and divide his property among you. Employ your constant effort to destroy the countries ruled by Mohammedans; if they oppose yon, defeat and slay them." The necessity, inseparable from this state of perpetual hostility, of filling his coffers and recruiting his bands, compelled him to have recourse to indiscriminate plunder, and to admit of the proselytism of Mohammedans; but deadly enmity to the latter is the ruling element of his system. To this he has sacrificed the benevolent spirit of the teaching of Nanak, and the sacredness of the distinction of caste. As far, however, as is allowable by the institutions of Nanak or Govind, the Sikhs observe the domestic usages of the Hindu tribes or castes from which they separated; and, in consequence, those tribes, particularly the Jats or Gujars * in the Panjab or on the Jamna, do not refuse to eat or intermarry with those of the same races who have become converts to the Sikh religion. The Mohammedan converts are not permitted the [H. M. Elliot, Supplement to the Glossary of Indian terms. Agra: 1845, pp. 345 ff. and 411 f.] *

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144 ON THE SIKHS. same indulgence, and are obliged to eat the flesh of swine, and to abstain from the rite of circumcision. The flesh of the cow is the only article of food prohibited to the Sikhs: and on this head their prejudices are almost stronger than those of the Hindus. Smoking is also prohibited, but there is no restriction upon the use of bhang, opium, or spirituous liquor, and drunkenness, from one source or other, is a common vice. Nor is this the only one to which the Sikhs are addicted. The verses of Nanak and his fellow moralists inculcate a pure code of ethics, but this is a portion of his reform to which no reverence is paid; and no race in India is more flagrantly demoralized than the Lions of the Panjab. We do not derive from the travellers in the Panjab any description of the public or private worship of the Sikhs, who are probably more jealous in their own country of admitting strangers to be present at their ceremonies than they are in other parts of India*. Although several persons have been admitted into the city of Amritsar, it is only recently that it was allowable or safe to visit the sacred tank and temples in its vicinity. The only description that has yet been published is to be found in the Travels of Baron Hugel. According to him, the tank is about 150 paces square, and apparently fed by a natural spring. It is surrounded by a pavement 20 or 25 paces in breadth, skirted by houses on one side, and having several * [See, however, "Das Ausland", 1861, p. 1165.]

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ON THE SIKHS. 145 flights of steps to the water on the other. In the centre is the Hari Mandir, or Temple of Hari, in which a copy of the Adi Granth, said to be written by Nanak himself, is preserved-a tradition rather at variance with the assertion that the Adi Granth was compiled by Arjunmal. The temple is connected with the embankment on the west side by a bridge. The temple is described by Baron Hugel as a handsome building inlaid with marble, having a golden roof, and a door of gold; and surrounded by small vestibules, the ceilings of which are supported by richly-ornamented pillars. Before the entrance to the bridge are two large banners of red silk, the "Wah! Guru ji ka fatteh" on one, and "Ram Das" on the other, in white letters. Opposite to the bridge are several small structures, in which the Sikh Udasis and Nirmalas are seated, to receive the gifts and reverences of the people. Fronting this tank was the chief gatheringplace of the Akalis, whose insolence made it dangerous to approach the holy precincts; but they are not noticed by Baron Hugel. The sacred tank and temple of Amritsar were also visited by our noble President*, when Governor-General, in company with Ranjit Sing. Whatever may have been the obstructions heretofore in the way of a personal acquaintance with the observances of the Sikhs in their own country, they seem to have had no objection, when out of the Panjab, to the presence of European visitors; and one of # [Lord Auckland.] 10

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146 ON THE SIKHS. the earliest notices of them is the account given by Mr. Wilkins, in the first volume of the Asiatic Researches, of his visit to the Sikh college at Patna. He was civilly treated, and allowed not only to see the place, but to be present at the public reading of the Granth, which constitutes the public ceremonial of the Sikhs. They have for their private use prayers composed by Nanak, of which those called Arthi are recited on going to bed, and those entitled Jap are repeated the first thing in the morning. Their public worship, in imitation of the Hindu ritual, takes place three times a day, at the three Sandhyas - morning, mid-day, and sunset. I had an opportunity, when at Benares, of assisting at the latter, at the house of a Nirmala Sikh priest, who readily allowed myself and a friend to witness the ceremony. It was very simple. He occupied a lower-roomed house, inclosed in a small court or compound, and having a covered verandah in front. One end of the verandah was shut in, so as to form a small chamber or chapel, in which, upon a table covered with a white cloth, and decorated with lights and flowers, lay the Adi Granth. As the people entered, they went singly into the room, and made a reverential salute to the book, with the exclamation, "Wah Guru ji:" and placed upon the table any small offering they might have to make. They then came forth, and seated themselves on the ground fronting the verandah, where sat the Guru on a chair, and his two guests on either hand of him. When the whole party, amounting to some thirty or

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ON THE SIKHS. 147 forty, had assembled, the Guru recited, in a sort of chaunt, several hymns from the Granth, similar to those already quoted, repeating at the end of each, twice or thrice, "Meditate on the Saheb of the Book, and exclaim Wah Guru!" being answered on each occasion by all present, "Wah Guru -- Wah Guru ji ka fatteh." The assistants then brought from the chapel trays of sweetmeats, which were handed to every one, and were eaten on the spot. The visitors were not forgotten. This concluded the service; but the party assembled did not immediately disperse. Individuals among them, accompanying themselves with the small drum or native lute, sang Hindi rekhtas and padas (moral and religious songs) in succession. We departed, as did several of the natives, when two or three had been sung; but the party did not finally break up until it was time to retire to rest. The persons present were of respectable appearance and decorous manners, being mostly sliop-keepers, dealers in cloth or in grain, and bankers; some were natives of the Panjab, settled in Benares, others inhabitants of the city from different quarters, who had adopted the Sikh ritual, or had grafted it upon Vaishuava tenets. Hari and Ram were as familiar in their invocations, as the Saheb of the Book, or as the teacher or Guru. Besides sacred shrines, connected with the history of the Sikhs, as the places where their Gurus were born or died, the Sikhs share the veneration of the Hindus for several of the holy cities, as Benares, Mathura, Haridwar. They also observe many of the same 10*

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148 ON THE SIKHS. holidays, as the Holi, the Dasahara, the Dewali. The latter is the favourite season of pilgrimage to Amritsar. The initiation of a Sikh convert is termed the Pahul, and is thus described by Captain Murray. "The candidate and the initiator wash their feet in the same water, which they then drink, having put some sugar into it, and stirred it with a dagger; repeating several moral stanzas, and taking a sip between each, exclaiming, 'Wah, wah Govind Sikh. Ap hi Guru chela!' Govind Sikh hail, himself teacher and disciple! It should be performed in the presence of at least five Sikhs. It is ascribed to Guru Govind, who, when he had only five followers, went through this form with them, drinking of the water which had washed their feet, and they drinking that which had washed his." Sir John Malcolm gives a somewhat different* and more dilated account of the ceremony, and says nothing of the previous use of the water, which is administered to the convert by the initiator with this injunction, "This sherbet is nectar: it is the water of life; drink it." Having obeyed, the disciple is told to abstain from all association with five classes of men: the Mina Dhirmal, who, though of the family of Nanak, attempted to poison Arjun; the Musandia, a set of Sikh heretics; the Ram Rayis, the descendants of Ram Raya, who caused the death of Tegh Sinh; the Kudi-mar, or daughter-slayers, or the Rajputs; and the Bhadani, who shave their heads # [See also the Panjabi Dict. Lodiana: 1854, s. v.]

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ON THE SIKHS. 149 and beards. He is then enjoined to be kind and charitable, to reverence Amritsar, to devote himself to the Khalsa, and to study the sacred books. The children of the Sikhs all pass through this form of initiation. From this sketch, imperfect as it must necessarily be, it will be seen that the Sikh religion scarcely deserves the name of a religious faith. A vague notion of a Creator and source of all things, and of a divine guardian and protector, pervades the poetry of Nanak and his fellow bards, but it is little else than a poetical acknowledgment of a deity who is defined by negatives -- who is without form--without time without attributes. The only worship of him, if it can be called such, consists in the allusions that occur in the odes and hymns which are chaunted at the daily services, to a benevolent and powerful being, designated sometimes as Parameswara --the supreme being; Sat Vam- the true name; Tat-karta ---the maker of that which is; Adi-purusha-- the first spirit; Bhagavanthe lord: but still more frequently as Ram or Hari, the popular names of Vishnu. Belief in the intervention of a providence in mundane affairs exercises verly little influence upon Sikh practice. There is no public adoration of any of the Hindu divinities, nor, as far as is known, are any temples erected to them: but their existence is not disputed, and the characters given them by the Hindus and the legends told of them are (levoutly credited: and there are probably some esoteric rites in which the worship of the Tan

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150 ON THE SIKHS. tras is privately practised. The great distinction between the Sikhs and the other Hindus is the abolition of the distinction of caste, and consequent extinction of many of the restraints which, in the more orthodox system, supply, however imperfectly, the want of a purer code of faith and practice. The experiment has not been very successful; and the worship of the Book and of the Sword, and the moral declamations of the contributors to the sacred Granth, have led to as great, if not a greater, laxity of conduct, and as utter a disregard of both religious and moral obligations, as the superstitious belief and multiplied ceremonial of the Brahmans'. 1 The above summary has been drawn up in compliance with a wish expressed by some of the Members of the Society to be possessed of a brief notice of the institutions of the Sikhs which distinguish them from the Hindus in general. It is of course little more than a compilation from the accounts of the Sikhs already in print, especially those of Sir John Malcolm und Captain Murray, as prepared by Mr. H. T. Prinsep; recourse has been also had to the observations of recent travellers in the Panjab-particularly Messrs. Moorcroft, Burnes, Jacquemont, and Baron von Hugel, and to the amusing and characteristic work of Major Lawrence-Adventures of an Officer in the Panjab.

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RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE HINDUS. IV. 151 THE RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE HINDUS. From the Journal of the R. Asiatic Society, 1846, Vol. IX, p. 60-110. AMONG all the nations of the ancient world a considerable portion of the year was devoted to the solemnization of public festivals, at which the people found in the assemblage of multitudes, in the exhibition of games, and in religious pageants and ceremonies, a compensation for the want of those more refined entertainments which are created by the necessities and the luxury of a more advanced stage of civilization. Some of these primitive celebrations have retained their hold upon national tastes and feelings long after their origin and meaning were forgotten, and become interwoven with new conditions of society, with altered manners and institutions, and with a total change of religion. In all the countries of Europe they have left at least traces of their former prevalence in the nomenclature of our calendars, and many of the holidays which are appropriated to the saints of the Christian Church have been borrowed from the public festivals of ancient paganism. In

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152 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS proportion also as nations, or as different classes of the same nation, retain their primitive habits, the observances of olden times enjoy their veneration, and interest their affections. They are, however, fast fading in the Western world, even from the faith of tradition, before the extension of knowledge and refinement, and before the augmented demands for toil which the present artificial modes of life impose, when holidays are denounced as an unprofitable interruption of productive industry, and a festival or a fair is condemned as a wasteful expenditure of time and money. It is only, therefore, in regions remote from the reach of the task-master, where exemption from work is occasionally the equal right of all classes of the community, that we may expect to find the red letters of the Calendar significant signs-importing what they designate-public holidays-days on which the artificer and the peasant rest from physical exertion, and spend some passing hours in a kindly communion of idleness with their fellows, in which, if the plough stands still and the anvil is silent, the spirit of social intercourse is kept alive, and man is allowed to feel that he was born for some nobler end than to earn the scanty bread of the pauper by the unrelaxing labour of the slave. It is in the remote East, and especially in India, that we may expect to find the living representation of ancient observances, and the still existing solemnizations which delighted the nations of antiquity, and we shall not be altogether disappointed: although even

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OF THE HINDUS. 153 here they begin to languish under the influence of a foreign government, uuder the unsympathizing superiority which looks upon the enjoyments of a different race with disdain, under the prevalence of the doctrine which regards public holidays as deductions from public wealth, and under the principles of a system of religious faithi which, although it might be indulgent to popular recreations, camot withhold its disapprobation of them when their objects and origin are connected with falsehood and superstition. From the operation of these causes, the Hindu festivals have already diminished both in frequency and in attraction; and they may become, in the course of time, as little familiar to the people of India as those of European institution are to the nations of the West. They will then, perhaps, become also objects of curiosity and interest; and in anticipation of that period, and in order to secure an account of them whilst it is still possible to learn what they are, I propose to offer to the Society some notices of the religions Fasti of the Hindus and Calendar of their public festivals. The different celebrations of the Hindus are specified in their Almanacs, and are described at length in different works, such as the Tithi Tattwa, Tithi Kiitya, Vratarka, Kala Nirnaya, the Kalpa Druma of Jaya Sinha, and others, and also in passages of several of the Puranas, particularly in the Bhavishyottara, which, as it usually occurs, treats exclusively of the festivals. The observances are, for the most part, the same in the different provinces of India, but there are some

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154 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS peculiar to peculiar localities; and even those which are universally held, enjoy various degrees of popularity in different places, and are celebrated with various local modifications. The periods also vary within certain limits, according as the lunar month is reckoned to begin from the new moon, or from the full moon; the former mode of computation prevailing in Bengal and in Telingana, whilst in Hindustan and in the Tamil countries of the South the latter is followed. My opportunities of personal observation have been in a great degree limited to Bengal, and for the rest of India I can speak but imperfectly of any existing practices which may not exactly conform to those enjoined by original works, or of which no account has been published by actual observers. One object of communicating these notices to the Society is, therefore, the supplying of this deficiency. Amongst the Members of the Society are many who, in the course of their public services, must have witnessed the celebration of the Hindu festivals in different and distant places: their better knowledge will enable them to furnish correct information respecting those local peculiarities with which I am unacquainted; and I hope that they may be induced to favour the Society with the results of their experience, and contribute to render the description of the popular festivals of the Hindus as complete and authentic as those who may take an interest in the topic have a right to expect from us. ** [Prinsep's Useful Tables, ed. E. Thomas, p. 154 f.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 155 Upon examining the Fasti of the nations of antiquity, it is obvious that many of their festivals origimated either from the same or similar motives. They all bear a religious character, inasmuch as religious worship formed part of the celebration; but that was the spirit of the time. However erroneously directed, the feelings of the multitude in the heathen world associated the powers of heaven, real or imaginary, with all their transactions; but the sources to which I more especially refer, however closely linked with this common sentiment, are in some degree varieties of it: they constitute the species, and are obviously reducible to two principal distinctions, which may be regarded as universal or particular. The universal festivals, which are probably traceable among all nations elevated above barbarism, and which may have been handed down by tradition from the earliest periods in the history of the human race, are manifestly astronomical, and are intended to commemorate the revolutions of the planets, the alternations of the seasons, and the recurrence of cyclical intervals of longer or shorter duration. The particular festivals are those arising out of national forms of religious worship, out of the different mythological creations of priests or poets, or out of imperfect narratives, transmitted orally through succeeding generations, of occurrences anterior to historical record. In as far as these traditions may have related to the great mass of mankind, before it was broken up into detached communities, or as the mythological fictions may typify real per

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156 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS sonages or events of the same era, or may embody objects likely to be presented to the imaginations of men under similar aspects, we need not be surprised to meet with analogies of deep interest, even in the festivals which are of particular institution. It is, however, in those which relate to the course of time and the phenomena of the planetary sphere that analogies are most likely to occur, and do, in fact, present themselves in the practices of distant and apparently uncomected races. The coincidences that may be discovered between the universal or particular festivals of the various nations of antiquity, form a subject that well deserves careful and patient investigation. It would, in all probability, tend to confirm the remarkable results which comparative philology has of late xo umanswerably demonstrated, and furnish corroborative testimony of that relationship of races, which, however dissimilar pow, in physical configuration, social condition, and national character, are proved to be of kindred origin by the unequivocal affinities of language. In like manner as the Greek, Latin, Teutonic, Celtic, Slavonic, and Sanskrit tongues have been shown to be allied by principles common to them all, so in all probability it would be fomd that the festivals and holidays which once animated the cities of Athens and Rome, the forests of Germany and the steppes of Russia, are still continuing to afford seasons of public recreation to the dark complexioned tribes that people the borders of the Indus and the Ganges. The full

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OF THE HINDUS. 157 development of these identifications is, however, a work of time and of research exceeding what I can bestow upon it; and I must be content with contributing only that portion of the materials requisite for its investigation which relates to the Fasti of the Hindus, briefly suggesting, as I proceed, one or two of the most obvious points of apparent similarity. The subject of the Festivals of the Hindu year was introdued to the Asiatic Society of Bengal by Sir William Jones, who published a paper on it in the third volume of the Researches. What he thought of the inquiry is evident from the manner in which he speaks of the authority whence his information was derived, and which he calls a wonderfully curious tract of the learned and celebrated Raghunandana. It was no doubt this Tithi Tattwa, a standard textbook, as are all the works of the same author, in Bengal. Sir William Jones, however, has taken from this work only the heads of the descriptions, and omits all the particulars into which it enters, with the exception of a few brief notes: and his details are neither sufficiently full nor interesting to inspire others with the sentiments with which he contemplated the subject. Some years ago I collected materials for its fuller elucidation, and published in one of the Calcutta papers brief notices of the festivals as they occurred: but the notices were merely popular, and were necessarily short and unconnected, and they have never been presented in a collective form. The topic is one, therefore, which, if destitute of other recom

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158 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS mendation, possesses, even in these latter days, that of some degree of novelty, and may on this account be further acceptable to the Society. As remarked by Sir William Jones, although most of the Indian fasts and festivals are regulated by the days of the moon, yet the most solemn and remarkable of them have a manifest reference to the supposed motions of the sun. An attempt is usually made to adjust the one to the other; but the principles on which the adjustment of the solar to the lunar year is based, are of a somewhat complicated character, and are not essential to a knowledge of the periods at which the festivals are held, and which, with a few exceptions, are sufficiently determinate. They will be specified as we proceed. UTTARAVANA.-- First of (solar month) Magha, first lunation dark half or Moon's wane of Pausha or Magha, 12th - 13th of January.-- The Roman poet Ovid, in the opening of his "Fasti"*, inquires of Janus why the new year is considered to begin in January instead of April, in winter instead of spring; as the latter is the true season of the renovation of nature, when flowers bud, birds carol, and animals rejoice. Dic, age, frigoribus quare novus incipit annis, Qui melius per ver incipiendus eratOmnia tunc floreut: tunc est nova temporis aetas. The same question seems to have suggested itself * [v. 149.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 159 to the reformers of the Hindu calendar, and accordingly the new year of the luni-solar computation now in use begins with the first of Chaitra, which falls somewhere in the course of March, and in solar reckoning is said to agree with the entrance of the sun into the sign Mesha, or Aries. There was, however, a period at which a different principle was followed', and one that coincides with the peculiarity that puzzled the poet; the new year then commenced on the first of the solar month Magha, the date of the Makara-Sankranti, or sun's entrance into the sign Capricornus?, identical with the Uttarayana, or return of that luminary to the regions of the North, or, in fact, to the winter solstice; a very important era to the nations north of the equator, amongst whom no doubt were the primitive Hindus, as bringing back to them the genial warmth of the sun and the resuscitation of vegetable life, and deservedly, therefore, held to be the beginning of a new year. The Uttarayana, or winter solstice, although no longer considered as occurring on the first day of the According to Bentley, this was 1181 B.C. [Historical View of Hindu Astronomy, p. 30.] ? The terin Makara denotes an aquatic non-descript animal: the more ancient name of the sign seems to have been Mriga, a deer A chat @ "The two Sankrantis, the deer and the crab.'' - Tithi Tattwa. The same work explains the application of the term, the type of the constellation having the head, not of a goat, but of a deer fit fateh #T: [See Weber, ** Indische Studien", II, 299. 415.]

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160 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS year, and which, even in olden times, as we shall see, was thrown back a fortnight, to the first of the light balf of Pausha, retains the veneration attached to it originally as the renovator of animal and vegetable existence, and is one of the great festivals of the Hindus. It commences, as in our own calendars, with the entrance of the sun into the sign Capricornus; but, although the astronomical period is the same, the actual dates present a considerable deviation. According to our Ephemerides, the sun enters Capricorn on the 21st of December; according to those of the Hindus, on the 1st of their solar month Magha; and this, in actual practice, is identified with the 12th of January or thereabouts. I have already observed that the adjustments of the Hindu calendar are very difficult matters to deal with, and an explanation of the difference between the 21st of December and the 12th of January is to be found only in astronomical calculations. Thus Colonel Warren observes, the dates of the equinoctial and solstitial points, as far as they are regulated by the solar and lunar moveable zodiac, are fixed, but their relation to the sidereal zodiac depends on the precessional variation'. For our present purpose, however, it is sufficient to know that the essential elements of the celebration are the Makara Sankranti, or sun's entrance into Capricorn; the Uttarayana, or commencement of the sun's return to (Journal of the American | Kala Sankalita, p. 4, note. Oriental Soc., VI, 249.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 161 a northern declination; and the actual observance on the 1st of the luni-solar month Magha falling on the 12th of January, or occasionally a day before or after it. The observances enjoined on this occasion are partly of a private, partly of a public character. The first consist of offerings to the Pitris, or progenitors, whether general, as of all mankind; or special, as of the family of the worshipper; to the Vastu devas, the Dii Lares, or doinestic genii; the guardians of the dwelling, or the site on which it is erected; and to the Viswa devas, or universal gods. The ceremonies addressed to all these are performed within the abode of the householder, and are conducted by the family priest. The principal article of the offering is tila, or sesamum seeds, either separately, or, as is more usual, mixed with molasses, or the saccharine juice of the fruit of the date-tree, and made up into a kind of sweetmeat, called Tilua. Pishtakas or cakes also are offered, composed of ground rice, mixed with sugar and ghee; whence the festival has the denomination of Tilua Sankranti and Pishtaka Sankranti, the solar conjunction of the sweetmeat or the cake. The good things prepared on this occasion are not intended exclusively for those imaginary beings who are unable to eat them. They are presented merely for the purpose of consecration, and that they may be eaten with greater zest by the householder and his family; nor is that all, for a portion of them is sent to friends and relations, as memorials of regard, inclosed in tine linen, silk, or velvet, according to the

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162 means of the presenter, and the station of those to whom they are presented. RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS In many places in Bengal a curious practice is observed, called Bawanna bandhana, particularly by the females of the family. In the evening, one of the women takes a wisp of straw, and from the bundle picks out separate straws, which she ties singly to every article of furniture in the house, exclaiming "Bawanna pauti", implying, may the measure of corn be increased fifty-two fold,--pauti denoting a measure of grain. In the villages similar straws are attached to the Golas, or thatched granaries, in which the grain of the preceding harvest has been stored*. Besides these private ceremonies, which expressively typify the feelings of satisfaction with which the re-approch of the sun was hailed by a people to whom the principal phenomena of the heavens were familiar, there are also public celebrations of the same event, expressing similar sentiments, but deriving a more local and peculiar complexion from the physical circumstances of the country, and the superstitions of its inhabitants. According to the Kalpa Druma of Jayasinha, upon the authority of the Padma Purana, the whole month of Magha is especially consecrated to Vishnu, to whom and to the Sun also prayers should be daily addressed, * [A similar enstom is met with in some parts of Germany; see A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, "Norddeutsche Sagen", Leipzig: 1848, p. 407. A. Wuttke, "Der deutsche Volksaberglaube ", Hamburg: 1860, p. 13 f.]

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OF THE HINDUS. and offerings or arghyas presented. The introduction of Vishnu is a modern interpolation'. The same work prescribes daily bathing before sunrise. The Bhavishyottara also directs daily bathing in Magha, with mantras or prayers by the three first classes, silently by Sudras and women, and affirms that the practice is enjoined by the Vedas, a rather questionable assertion. The same may be said of the Vaishnava formulae, given by Raghunandana; according to whom the person performing his ablutions is to invoke various personifications of Vishnu. Thus the Sankalpa, or previous prayer, is, "By this bathing, when the sun is in Makara, be thou, oh Magha, oh Govinda, oh Achyuta, oh Madhava, oh God, the giver of the promised reward to me **." He is then to bathe, calling to mind Vasudeva, Hari, Krishna, Sridhara, and to say, "Salutation be to thee, oh Sun, lord of the world, giver of light, do thou make perfect this great worship, this bathing in Magha' Whatever may be the date of this mixture of tenets, the ablution is no doubt an ancient portion of the rite. 163 ***** *** The ablution is to be preceded by a fast and followed by a feast and gifts to Brahmans. pUrve vratAdikaM kuryAtparedyuH snAnadAnayoH Tithi T. * [c. 107.] [makarasthe ravI mAghe govindAcyutamAdhava / snAnenAnena me deva yathoktaphalado bhava // ] [oM divAkara jagannAtha prabhAkara namo 'stu te / paripUrNa kuruSvedaM mAghasnAnaM mahAvratam // Sabdakalpadruma S. v. magha, p. 3394. The Nirnayasindhu (71, b, s, Benares edition) reads upapate instead of mahAvratam ] 11*

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164 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS Bathing in sacred streams constitutes an indispensable part of most of the ceremonial observances of the Hindus; and where such rivers are not within access, their place is supplied by other pieces of water of less lofty pretensions; a dirty puddle may take the place of the holy Ganga. At the winter solstice, bathing at the confluence of the Ganges with the ocean is particularly meritorious, and accordingly a vast concourse of people is annually assembled at Ganga Sagar, or the mouth of the Hugli branch of the Ganges, at the period of the Makara Sankranti, agreeably to the limitations above assigned to it; that is, its identification with the 1st of Magha or the 12th of January. Wherever such assemblages take place, objects of a secular nature are now, as they have ever been, blended with those of devotion; and the Mela, which originates in purposes of pilgrimage, becomes equally or in a still greater degree a meeting of itinerant merchants, or a fair*. The number of persons who assemble at Ganga Sagar is variously estimated. Some years ago they were considered to average about one hundred thousand: but I have been informed by high authority that latterly the number has increased to double that amount. They come from all parts of India, the larger proportion, of course, from the contiguous provinces of Bengal and Orissa; but there are many from the Dekhan and from Hindustan, and even from * [G. de Tassy, Memoire sur les particularites de la religion Musulmane dans l'Inde. Paris : 1831, p. 26 ff.]

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OF THE HINDUS, 165 Nepal and the Panjab. They are of both sexes and of all ages; many come with smali pedlery for petty traffic; many from idleness or a propensity to a vagrant life, not uncommon in India; and there is a very large proportion of religious mendicants of all sects. The Saivas usually predominate. The place at which the Mela is held is, or perhaps it were more safe to say, was, some years ago, a sand bank, on the southern shore of the island of Sagar, immediately to the west of the inlet called Pagoda Creek, from a small pagoda or temple, also on the west of the creek, nearer to the sea than the bank of sand, and separated from the latter by a smaller creek running inland. South from this to the sea-shore, extended a thick jungle, with a pathway leading into the interior, where was a large tank for the supply of the people with fresh water. Tigers lurked in the jungle, and not unfrequently carried off the pilgrims. Along the sea-side, for more than a mile, extended rows of booths, shops, and small temporary temples, with the travelling gods of the religious mendicants, who received the adoration and contributions of the pious. Besides the numerous shops for the supply of provisions and sweetmeats, a brisk traffic was carried on in small wares, especially in betel-nuts, black pepper, and the red powder that is scattered about at the vernal festival of the Huli. A Pandit in my employ, who had visited the Mela, asserted that an impost was levied by the custom officers of Government, of four anas per oar on each boat; but no such

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166 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS charge appears to have been authorized, except in the case of the Sagar Island Society, who were permitted to make some such charge in consideration of the clearings and tanks made by them. The mendicants, however, petitioned against this privilege, and it was withdrawn from the Society. The petition was not disinterested, as the Samnyasis claimed a right to levy the charge on their own account; a practice that seems to have grown up from long use, and to have been silently acquiesced in by the pilgrims. The total amount was inconsiderable, having been farmed by a native contractor from the Society, whilst in their possession, for 1200 rupees in the first year, and 2000 in the second The Mela lasts several days, but three days are the limit of the religious festival. The first ceremony is the propitiation of the ocean, by casting into it various offerings, with short ejaculatory prayers; the oblations are commonly cocoa-nuts, fruits, or flowers: the most appropriate gift is that of the five gems, Pancha ratna, consisting of a pearl or diamond, an emerald, a topaz, and a piece of coral, along with a cocoa-nut, an areca-nut, and the thread worn by Brahmans. These are wrapped up in a cloth, and cast into the branch of the river which communicates with the sea, at a place called Dhola Samudra, and also at the confluence. The jewels are, in general, of the smaller size, not worth more than a mpee or two. There was a time when the offerings were of a less innocent description, and children were cast into the

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OF THE HINDUS. 167 sea. This horrible and unnatural practice was wholly unsanctioned by anything in the Hindu ritual; and its suppression, by the Government of Bengal, had the cordial concurrence of the Brahmans. The act was not, like the oblation of fruits or jewels, intended to obtain the favour of the deified ocean, but in satisfaction of a vow; as where a woman had been childless, she made a vow to offer her first-born at Ganga Sagar, or some other holy place, in the confidence that such an offering would secure for her additional progeny. The belief is not without a parallel in the history of antiquity, sacred or profane, but it was the spontaneous growth of ignorance and superstition, not only imprompted, but condemned by the Hindu religion, and was confined to the lowest orders of the people. It will easily be credited, that the occurrence was rare, and that no attempt has ever been made to infringe the prohibition. On the first day, bathing in the sea is to be performed; it takes place early in the morning, and is repeated by some at noon; some also have their heads shaved after bathing; and many of those whose parents are recently deceased celebrate their Sraddha, or obsequial ceremonies, on the sea-shore. After ablution, the pilgrims repair to the temple, which is dedicated to a Muni, or divine sage, an incarnation of Vishnu, named Kapila. Vishnu became incarnate in his person for the destruction of the sixty thousand wicked sons of King Sagara. He is said to have stationed himself at this place, which was then upon the

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168 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS brink of a vast chasm leading to the infernal regions. When the sons of the king, who were in search of a horse intended for the solemn sacrifice of the Aswamedha, arrived here, they found the Muni absorbed apparently in meditation, while the steed was grazing near him. Accusing him of having stolen it, they approached to kill him, when fire flashed from his eyes, and instantly reduced the whole troop to ashes. In order to expiate their crime, purify their remains, and secure paradise for their spirits, Bhagiratha, the great-grandson of Sagara, brought down by the force of his austerities the Ganges from heaven; and led her from the Himalaya, where she had alighted, to this spot. The sons of Sagara were sanctified, and the waters of the river, flowing into the chasm, formed the ocean. The Ganges is called Bhagirathi, from King Bhagiratha; and the sea is termed Sagara, after his great-grandsire. The legend is told, in its most ancient and authentic shape, in the Ramayana *. The temple of Kapila is under the alternate charge of a Bairagi and Sannyasi, mendicants of the Vaishnava and Saiva sects; the latter presides at the Mela held at this place in the month Kartik, the former at the Mela of Magha. They exact a fee of four anas from each person who comes to the temple. The aggregate collection of Magla was divided amongst five different establishments of mendicants of the Ramnanandi order, in the vicinity of Calcutta. In front of the temple was * [1, 42 - 45.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 169 a Bur tree, beneath which were images of Rama and Hanuman, and an image of Kapila, of the size nearly of life, was within the temple. The pilgrims commonly write their names on the walls of the temple, with a short prayer to Kapila; or suspend a piece of earth or brick to a bough of the tree, with some solicitation, as for health, or affluence, or offspring; and promise, if their prayers are granted, to make a gift to some divinity. Behind the temple was a small excavation termed Sita kund, filled with fresh water, of which the pilgrim was allowed to sip a small quantity, on paying a fee to the mahant or head manager of the temple. This reservoir was probably filled from the tank, and kept full by the contrivances of the mendicants, who persuaded the people that it was a perpetual miracle, being constantly full for the use of the temple. On the second and third days of the assemblage, bathing in the sea, adoration of Ganga, and the worship of Kapila, continue as on the first; after which the meeting breaks up. During the whole time the pilgrims, for the most part, sleep on the sand; for it is considered unbecoming to sleep on board their boats. This is the great public celebration of the recurrence of the winter solstice in Upper India. In the south there is an equally popular commemoration of the same event, but of which the ceremonies are peculiar, consisting principally of marks of public reverence for cattle, but comprehending also the preparation and distribution of food; whence, indeed,

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170 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS its appropriate appellation, in the Tamil language, Pongal, which according to a native authority, Tiruvakadu Muthia, signifies literally boiled rice, and metaphorically, prosperity or rejoicing'. The word is therefore another denomination of the festival of the Makara Sankranti, or sun's entrance into Capricorn; or, in the words of the same writer, the first day of the Indian January, corresponding, agreeably to the mode of computation followed in the Dekhan, with the 1st of Tye or Taishya, the Paushya of Hindustan, which (as in the latter) falls about the 12th of January. The following particulars of the festival are from a paper published in the Asiatic Annual Register for 1807 by the intelligent native already named, Tiruvakadu Muthia. "On the day on which the sun enters Capricorn, which is the beginning of the auspicious period of the Uttarayana, the Hindus offer libations of water, mixed with tila and kusa, or sesamum seeds and sacred grass, to the manes of their ancestors. They then boil rice with milk and sugar; and when they see it bubble up, they cry aloud "Pongal, O pongal!' meaning, Let the world be prosperous and rejoice. The boiled rice, along with esculent fruits, is offered to the sun, invoking him for the general good, and the production of abundance. Early the next morning, the husband Pongal, according to Rottler, Tam. Dict., means "a bubbling up"?; in Telugu [and Canarese] Pongali denotes a dish of rice mixed with boiled milk and sugar and other articles.- Campbell, Tel. Dict.

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OF THE HINDI'S. 171 men sprinkle water upon corn sown or grown in fields, crying aloud, "Pongal, pongal!' meaning, Let the corn grow in plenty, by the grace of the glorious sun, wlio has begun his northern course (the Uttarayana), which is a day of the gods. At noon rice and milk are again boiled, and are presented to Indra, praying liim to bestow abundant rain, and by thus favouring pasture, cause cattle to increase and multiply. In the afternoon, cows and bulls are washed, and fed with part of an oblation first offered to Indra; and being also painted and adorned with leafy and flowery chaplets, are brought in herds, attended by bands of music, to the public place of the village; there the cow-keepers dress victuals, and provide fresh perfumes and flowers, wherewith to decorate their animals; and sprinkle saffron water with mango leaves upon them, as a preservative from evil, crying aloud, * Pongal, pongal!' meaning, Let cattle be cherished and multiplied, by the grace of Indra, as well as of Gopala (or Krishoa the cow-hierd). Then the Hindus, with joined hands, are to walk round the cows and bulls, and particularly round the Brahmans, and to prostrate themselves before them. This done, the cow-keepers, with their herds of kine and oxen, return home to their several houses!. Hence this day is termed Mattu Pongal; that is, the feast of cattle." The Abbe Dubois adds the following particulars of this part of the ceremony. "On peint de diverses couleurs les cornes des vaches et on leur met au cou une guirlande de feuillages verts entremeles de fleurs a laquelle on suspend des gateaux,

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172 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS "So the day of the Makara Sankranti, or Perum Pongal, is dedicated to the sun, and the day of Mattu Pongal to Indra; they are both comprised in the term Pongal, which is an anniversary festival of a week's duration. During this term the Hindus visit and compliment each other, wishing a happy pongal or many returns of it. Sons and daughters prostrate themselves before their parents, servants before their masters, disciples before their teachers. Some people give alms to the poor, some make presents to their friends and relations, some sport and amuse themselves with diversions of different kinds. This ceremony is said to be a practice of very ancient standing, which the former kings of Madura, of the Pandya dynasty, introduced upon the authority of the Sastras and and Puranas1." des cocos, et autres fruits, qui se detachant bientot le mouvepar ment de ces animaux sont ramasses et manges avec empressement par ceux qui les suivent. Apres avoir conduit les vaches en troupe hors de la ville ou du village, on les force a s'enfuir de cote et d'autre en les effarouchant par le bruit confus d'un grand nombre de tambours et d'instrumens bruyans. Ce jour la ces betes peuvent paitre par tout sans gardien, et quelques degats qu'elles fassent dans les champs ou elles se jettent, il n'est pas permis de les en chasser."-II, 337. This authority acknowledges, therefore, a principal festival of but two days, but we have that of the Madras calendar for three; the first being called the Bhoga Pandikei, the second the Perum [or great] Pongal, and the third the Mattu (or cattle) Pongal. So the Abbe Dubois, "La fete dure trois jours;" the first of which is called Bhoga Pongal (pongal de la joie, from Bhoga, enjoyment), the second Surya Pongal (pongal du soleil),

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OF THE HINDUS. 173 There can be no doubt that the remark of Muthia, that the observance of the Uttarayana is a practice of high antiquity, is perfectly true; and there can be equally little doubt that it was of like universality amongst, at least, the Indo-Teutonic races. The analogies are so obvious, that they must instantly occur to every one's mind; and the offerings and distribution of food and sweetmeats and presents, the sports and the rejoicing, and the interchange of mutual good wishes, which characterize the Uttarayana amongst the Hindus, are even yet, though to a less extent than heretofore, retained by Christian nations at the same season; beginning with the plum-puddings and mince-pies of Christmas, passing through the new year's gifts and happy new years, the strena of the Romans, quae omnia simul strenas appellarunt; and terminating with Twelfth-night. Whatever modifications these types of rejoicing may have undergone, and however changed in their present purport, by their connexion with our religious faith, they are evidently of the same general character as the observances of the Hindus; and designate the commencement of a period, in which the northern hemisphere and the third the Pongal des vaches.-II, 335. In Rottler's Tamil Dict. [III, 432] we have the three days: the first Pogipandikei, dedicated, it is said, to Indra; the second Perum pongal, sacred to the sun; and the third the Mattu pongal, sacred to Krishna. [See Wilson's Glossary of Indian Terms, p. 421. The name Bhogi is given, in Telugu and Marathi, to the eves of some particular feasts, vide Brown's Telugu Dict., and Molesworth's Marathi Dict. s. v.]

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174 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS is again to be gladdened by the proximity of the fountain of light and heat. In looking for the more striking points of coincidence between the observances of the East and West at this particular season, it is not necessary to be restricted to dates, beyond approximate limits. Our own calendar has been subjected to different reforms, which have, even within a recent term, advanced, by twelve days, the enumeration of the days of the month; and alterations of an astronomical nature have also been alluded to, which may perhaps explain further deviations in this respect. The main point of agreement is unaffected. It is not the recurrence of any precise day of the week or month that constitutes the occasion of the celebration; it is the recurrence of the commencement of the sun's north ward course, the Uttarayana, or winter solstice, from which all the manifestations of gladness derive their origin; and whether this be fixed accurately or inaccurately - whether the period at which the phenomenon was first noticed has in the course of ages undergone a change- is immaterial. Little doubt can be entertained that the same event gave rise to the same feelings; and that they have been expressed by actions, varying in form, but not in spirit, by very distant nations, through a very long succession of the generations of mankind. It has already been seen that the Romans connected the beginning of the year with the sun's entrance into Capricorn, and that they then celebrated the

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OF THE HINDUS. 175 renovation of nature. Their mode of celebrating it seems to have had many things in common with the lisages of the Hindus, particularly in the interchange of sweetmeats; only substituting for the rice, cakes, and molasses of the Hindus, figs, dates, and honey. These articles they sent, at this season, to their friends and relations: they were intended, according to Janus, to be ominons of an agreeable year to follow. Omen ait, causa est ut res sapor ille sequatur, Et peragat coptum dulcis ut annus iter". They also interchanged laeta verba, good wishes and congratulations;-et damus alternas accipimusque preces **. The presents made at this season were called strena; and the word, as well as the practice, subsists in the Etrennes of new year's day in France. Strenam vocamus quae datur die religioso ominis boni gratia. According to Festus, the practice is referred by Symmachus to an early period of Roman history, the reign of Tacitus; but it was no doubt much older. How far it prevailed among the Greeks does not fully appear. The Greeks had a festival in the month Poseideon, or January, in which they worshipped Neptune, or the Sea, in like mamer as the Hindus worship the ocean; but no other particulars are recorded; and it is remarkable how little of the Greek calendar is of an astronomical origin. It is almost entirely legendary and mythological, arguing * [Ovid. Fast. I, 187.] ** [1. 1. 176.]

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176 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS a people shut up by themselves in very ancient times, and comparatively late in their observations of planetary phenomena. However, it would seem that the sending of good things to one another was not limited to the Romans, as it is said that the Fathers of the Church rigorously condemned the observances of this season, not because of the exchange of civil missives and mutual pledges of regard, but because of the idolatrous worship. "In calendas Januarii antiqni patres vehementius invehebantur, non propter istas missitationes adinvicem et mutui amoris pignora, sed propter diem idolis dicatum." -- Montacut. Orig. Eccles. pars prior, p. 128. As the Fathers" are named so generally, it may be inferred that the observances which they condemned were known wherever the priinitive church was established. The Christmas and new year's festivities, which have left traces amongst the Teutonic nations, were transferred to them from their German forefathers, in the time of Paganism. Thus Bede observes of the Anglo-Saxons, "they began their year on the eighth of the calends of January, which is now onr Christmas-day." So the yule clog, log or block, which was burnt on the eve of Christmas-day, is considered to have been used as an emblem of the return of the sun, and the lengthening of the days; for, according to Bede, both December and January were denominated Giuli or Yule, upon account of the sun's returning and augmenting the duration of the days: December Giuli- eodem quo Januarius nomine vo

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OF THE HINDUS. 177 catur. Giuli a conversione solis in auctum diei nomen accepit."--Beda de Ratione Temporum. Again, Bishop Stillingfleet states, in his Origines Britannicae, "that the ancient Saxons observed twelve days at this period, and sacrificed to the sun." And Mallet states, "that all the Celtic nations worshipped the sun, and celebrated his festival at the winter solstice, to testify their joy at his return to the northern sky. This was the greatest solemnity in the year."--North. Ant. 2, 68. Identifications too palpable to be denied, with the Uttarayana of the Hindus, and the worship by them also of the sun, at the same season, and on the same account. A like analogy may be suspected in the Yule dough, or cakes of flour and water, which, after the introduction of Christianity, were kneaded into little images; but were originally, in all probability, nothing more than the rice cakes of the Hindus. The extension of the period of festivity, so as to include the new year, brings us also to the interchange of presents and good wishes which, amongst the Saxons, as well as the Romans and Hindus, was thought peculiarly appropriate at this season. Mention is made by Mr. Brand, to whose work on Popular Antiquities * I am indebted for most of the preceding statements, that it was enjoined in the ancient Calendar of the Roman church, to present on * [ed. Sir II. Ellis, I, 17 ff., 467-78. Compare also: Calendrier Belge." Bruxelles: 1861, I, 3-11. "Fest-Kalender aus Bohmen." Wien: 1961, p. XI and 2 - 7. Pfeiffer's Germania, II, 228 - 38.] 12

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178 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS Christmas eve, sweetmeats to the Fathers, "In Vaticano dulcia patribus exhibentur." Of course the Fathers of the Christian church are intended; but it is scarcely possible to avoid a suspicion that something was originally meant, that the practice was, in fact, a relique of heathenism, and that the "Fathers" were in their primitive character, the Dii Manes of the Romans, the Pitris of the Hindus. Whatever may be thought of this coincidence, there can scarcely be a doubt that we have some community of origin between the Pongal and the blessing of the cattle at Rome, on the day dedicated to St. Anthony. According to the legend*, the Saint once tended a herd of swine, and hence possibly his connexion with other animals. A much more intelligible relation subsists between them and the Hindu Indra, or Jupiter pluvius, as provender is plentiful and nutritive in proportion as rain is abundant. The following account of this ceremony is taken from "Rome in the Nineteenth Century", and it will be observed that the time of the year, the decorating of the cattle, the bringing them to a public place, the sprinkling of them with holy water, and the very purport of the blessing, that they may be exempt from evils, are so decidedly Indian, that could a Dravira Brahman be set down of a sudden in the Piazza, before St. Mary's church at Rome, and were he asked what ceremony he * [See J. F. Wolf, "Beitrage zur deutschen Mythologie", 1857, II, 86.]

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179 witnessed, there can be no doubt of his answer; he would at once declare they were celebrating the Pongal. OF THE HINDUS. "January 18th, 1819.-We were present to-day at one of the most ridiculous scenes I ever witnessed, even in this country. It was St. Anthony's blessing of the horses, which begins on that Saint's day and lasts for a week. We drove to the church of the Saint, near the Santa Maria Maggiore, and could scarcely make our way through the streets, from the multitudes of horses, mules, asses, oxen, cows, sheep, goats, and dogs, which were journeying along to the place of benediction; their heads, tails, and necks decorated with bits of coloured ribbon, on this their unconscious gala-day. The Saint's benediction, though nominally confined to horses, is equally efficacious and equally bestowed upon all quadrupeds. The priest stood at the door of the church, holding a brush in his hand, which he continually dipped into a large bucket of holy water, and spirted at the animals as they came in unremitting succession, taking off his little skull cap and muttering every time, 'Per intercessionem Sancti Antonii abbatis haec animalia liberantur a malis"." There can be no doubt that this ceremony is much older than St. Anthony, and it probably is a relique of the Latin village festival of the Paganalia or the Feriae Sementina", which took place about the middle # [L. Preller, "Romische Mythologie ", 1858, p. 404 f.] 12*

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180 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS of January, when, after the seed had been sown, the ploughs were laid up in ordinary, and the cattle were decorated with garlands. - nunc ad praesepia debent Plena coronato stare boves capite.-Tib. lib. XI, El. 1, 1. S. A palpable relique of which rite is also traceable in the Plough Monday of our calendar (13th January), and the games with which it was celebrated. The long course of ages which has elapsed has necessarily impaired the evidence of a perfect concordance between the ceremonies with which the nations of antiquity commemorated the sun's northern journey; yet no reasonable doubt can be entertained that they did agree in celebrating that event with practices, if not precisely the same, yet of a very similar character; and that traces of such conformity are still to be discovered in the unaltered ritual of the Hindus, and the popular, though ill-understood and fastexpiring practices of the Christian world, -- affording a curious and interesting proof of the permanency of those institutions which have their foundation in the immutable laws of nature, and in the common feelings of mankind. The important character of the Uttarayana festival, and the remarkable analogies which, whether indisputable or not, it unavoidably suggests, have led to a more copious detail, perhaps, than the subject deserves. It is only, however, in such cases that prolixity will admit of apology. The greater number of

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OF THE HINDUS. 181 the festivals will receive briefer notices in proportion as they are more or less of a purely local description, and of inferior interest. MANSASHTAKA.-Eighth lunar day of the dark half of the lunar month Magha, about the 20th of January'.--The denomination of this day defines its occurrence, ashtaka meaning eighth it also indicates its purport, mansa signifying flesh. Accordingly, on this day, the Sraddha, or obsequial offerings of flesh, should be made to the pitris or manes. According to the Pauranik authorities', there are three days of this nature, in the months severally of Agrahayana, Magha, and Phalguna; which is also the specification of Gobhila, as quoted by Raghunandana. But according to the Mitakshara, there are four such ashtakas in the course of the year; there being one on the eighth of the moon's wane of each of the two months of the two seasons of Hemanta and sisira, or the four winter months, when sraddhas are positively enjoined (nitya3). The former authorities direct that different offerings shall be made on the three days, or severally, cakes, The specification of the date is to be understood as applicable to Bengal, and even there it is subject to occasional variation. 2 The Vishnu Purana [III, 14] specifies three altogetherAghan, Magha, and Phalguna. Raghunandana quotes the Brahma P. for the same. [In the Sraddhaviveka (12, r, 1. 2) Pausha takes the place of Aghan.] 3 aSTakAzcatasraH hemantazizira yozca turNAmapara pakSANAmaSTamI SvaSTakA CreaT: Mitakshara, 33, r, 1. 16 [ad Yajnav. I, 217].

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182 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS flesh, and vegetables, as will be noticed. The institution appears to have been part of the ancient ritual, and to have fallen into comparative neglect. The Brahmans of Upper India, who maintain a perpetual fire, and are thence called Agnihotras, are said to observe the Mansashtaka; so do the orthodox Saivas and Saktas, and the disciples of Raghunandana in Bengal; but it is usual to substitute cakes of boiled rice flour', inixed with milk and sugar for the meat which was anciently presented, not only at the Ashtaka sraddhas, but, as Manu enjoins, at the periodical sraddhas in general. "Let the Brahman who maintains a household fire, who has performed the funeral ceremonies of his own fainily, repeat the subsequent general sraddha at the conjunction of the moon every month. The wise have called the monthly sraddhas the subsequent, or periodical sraddha, and that is to be offered diligently with excellent flesh." (B. III, 122. 123.) The time is specified in the Mitakshara, upon the authority of an ancient lawgiver, Aswalayana*. The flesh should be that of a goat or a deer, King Ikshwaku having commanded a large deer to be brought to him for the sraddha at the Athtaka. 1 Boiled in a pot, sthalipaka, as Gobhila says, 7 at sthAlIpAkaM kurviit| * [Grihya S. II, t. cf. Paraskara's Gr. S. 11, 2.] 2 ikSvAkustu vikukSiM vai aSTakAyAmathAdizat / mAMsamAnaya zrAddhAya mRgaM hatvA mahAvalam // [Vishnu Pur. IV, 2.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 183 RATANTI CHATURDASI.-- Fourteenth lunar day of the dark half of Magha (26th January).- In Sir William Jones's description of this festival, he merely explains it by the sentence, "The waters speak", the word "ratanti", meaning "they speak"; being the first part of an ancient text importing, "The waters say, We purify the sinner who bathes in the month of Magha, when the sun is scarcely risen, although he be a chandala, or the killer of a Brahman'." Accordingly the essential rite on this day is bathing in some sacred stream or piece of water; which should be performed before dawn, whilst the stars are yet visible. As in many parts of India the temperature of the atinosphere is at this season almost cold, bathing at such an hour in the open air may easily be conceived to be no trifling penance. Offerings should also be presented on this occasion to Yama, the judge of the lower regions; for he who worships Yama at this period, it is said, shall not see death*. Besides the usual libations of water to deceased progenitors, a sraddha should be celebrated, and Brahmans and the family should be fed with rice mixed with pulse, accompanied by a particular Mantra?. Harivansa, as cited by Raghunandana. The text, as quoted by Raghunandana, is - mAghe mAsi raTantyApa: kizcidabhyudite rvii| brahmaghnamapi cANDAlaM kaM patantaM punImahe // * [Sabdakalpadruma s. r. Magha, p. 3395, a.] .. ? As in the Nirnayanrita, from the Brahma Purana. ATEkRpaNacaturdazyAM viSNodehAnmarIcyAdinA vibhajya bandhubhyaH kRzaraM bho

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184 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS These appear to be the ancient directions for a religious rite on the 14th of the dark half of the Magha; but later days have changed both its time and object. According to the present practice, in Bengal at least, ablution is performed, not before sunrise, but after sunset; and instead of Yama one of the terrific forms of Devi is worshipped, Mundamalini, she with the chaplet of skulls, or Syama, the black goddess; particularly when any cause has prevented the adoration of the latter in the month of Kartik. The authority for this modification of the ceremony is that of the Tantras; and, except by the Saktas, is not held in much estimation. The day is little observed anywhere. VARADA CHATURTHI.-Fourth lunar day of the light half of Magha (30th January-1st February).-- According to some of the authorities followed in Hindustan, Siva is to be worshipped on this day in the evening, with offerings of jasmine flowers, whence it is also called Kunda Chaturthi: but the more usual designation Varada Chaturthi implies a goddess, the giver of boons, who in some of the Puranas is identified with Gauri, or more especially with Uma, the bride of Siva. She is on this day to be worshipped with offerings of flowers, of incense, or of lights, with jayetsvayam / The Kalpa Tattwa has brAhmaNebhyaH kRzarAnnaM bhojanaM datvA / 'Hemadri, Nirnayamrita, Padma Purana.

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OF THE HINDUS. 185 platters of sugar and ginger, or milk or salt, with scarlet or saffron-tinted strings and golden bracelets. She is to be worshipped by both sexes, but especially by women; and women themselves, not being widows, are also to be treated with peculiar homage. In the Devi Purana it is enjoined, that various kinds of grain, and condiments, and confections, and plates made of baked clay, should be given on this day by maidens to the goddess. The due observance of the rite is said to secure a flourishing progeny. The worship of Gauri, at this season, seems to be popular in the South of India, as the Calendar specifies the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of Magha to be equally consecrated to her. In Bengal little regard is paid to this celebration, although worship is sometimes offered to Uma, on behalf of unmarried females, in reference to the means adopted by Gauri or Uma, whilst yet a maiden, to propitiate Siva, and obtain him for her husband'. This last circumstance renders it not unlikely, that the epithet Varada ought to be differently interpreted, and that it means the giver of a husband, a bridegroom being one sense of Vara, and the part which is assigned in it to unmarried girls, the presents to be made by and to them--the offerings to be made for them and the reward of the rite-a family of children, leave little doubt of the correctness of the interpretation. Now this festival, it is to be observed, occurs in the last See Sir Wm. Jones's Ode to Bhavani; also translation of Kumara Sambhava, by Dr. Mill, Journal As. S. B., Vol. II, p. 329.

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186 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS days of January or beginning of February, and is not far from that time, when "quisque sibi sociam jam legit ales avem". What St. Valentine had to do with the choosing of mates has perplexed antiquaries; the interposition of Uma, in the selection of a bride or bridegroom, is more intelligible, as she may well be disposed to encourage that of which she set the example. The Romish Church, however, furnishes us with a somewhat nearer approximation in the festival of St. Agnes, which occurs on the 21st January, for on the eve of her day, many kinds of divination are practised by virgins to discover their future husbands. Although the festival is accounted for by a legend ** of the martyrdom and canonization of the virgin Agnes, it is not impossibly a relict of Paganism, like St. Valentine's day ***, which has been supposed to derive its origin from the Roman Lupercalia. These festivals may possibly, however, be merely an illunderstood record of ancient usages with regard to seasons of the year when marriages were most suitably solemnized f. This seems to be indicated by the Hindu worship of Varada, although, even amongst them, the precise import of the festival is forgotten. * [Brand's Popul. Antiqu. I, 34 -- 38. F. Nork's "Festkalender??. 1847, p. 116.) ** [Legenda Aurea, ed. Graesse, p. 113 ff. Fornsvensk Legendarium, ed. G. Stephens, p. 570 f.] *** [Brand, I, 53-62. J. W. Wolf, Beitrage zur deutschen Mythologie, II, 102 f.] + [Festkalender aus Bohmen, Wien: 1861, p. 32. Calendrier Belge, I, 72.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 187 That this season was considered propitious for marriages amongst the Greeks, is evident, from the name of the month corresponding with JanuaryFebruary, Fajor, from marriages (anos) being frequently celebrated in it; and what is very curious, although very possibly no more than an accidental coincidence, the fourth from the new moon-the Hindu Chaturthi-is especially recommended by Hesiod: 'Er de tetarte menos agesthai es oikon akoitin* "Let him (the bridegroom) take home his bride on the fourth of the moon. dr SRI PANCHAMI.-Fifth lunar day of the light half of the month Maga (2nd February),--The designation Sri indicates the bride of Vishnu, the goddess of prosperity and abundance; and the text quoted from the Samvatsara Pradipa, in the Tithi Tattwa, confirms the identification by stating, that upon this day, Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune, (who is also the bride of Vishnu,) is to be worshipped with flowers, perfumes, food, and water: probably the day was originally dedicated to her. The same text, however, proceeds to direct, that pens, and ink, and books, should be reverenced upon this day; and that a festival should be observed in honour of Saraswati, the goddess of learning-hence it is inferred, that by Sri, in the first part of the rubric, Saraswati also is intended, especially as Sri had various significations, one of which may be Saraswati. Saraswati, by the standard mythological authorities,

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188 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS is the wife of Brahma, and the goddess presiding over letters and arts. The Vaishnavas of Bengal have a popular legend, that she was the wife of Vishuu, as were also Lakshmi and Ganga. The ladies disagreed, Saraswati, like the other prototype of learned ladies, Minerva, being something of a termagant, and Vishnu, finding that one wife was as much as even a god could manage, transferred Saraswati to Brahma, and Ganga to Siva, and contented himself with Lakshmi alone. It is worthy of remark, that Saraswati is represented as of a white colour, without any superfluity of limbs, and not unfrequently of a graceful figure wearing a slender crescent on her brow, and sitting on a lotus. On the morning of the fifth lunar day of Magha, the whole of the pens and inkstands, and the books, if not too numerous and bulky, are collected the pens, or reeds, cleaned, the inkstands scoured, and the books, wrapped up in new cloth, are arranged upon a platform or a sheet, and are strewn over with fowers and blades of young barley; no flowers except white are to be offered. Sometimes these are the sole objects of adoration; but an image of Saraswati stands, in general, immediately behind them; or, in place of the image, a water-jar; a not uncommon, although a curious substitute for a god or a goddess, amongst the Hindus, After performing the necessary rites of ablution, Saraswati is to be meditated upon, and invited to the place of worship, with some such mental prayer as

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OF THE HINDUS. the following: "May the glorious goddess of speech, she who is of a white complexion and graceful figure, wearing a digit of the moon upon her brow, and carrying an inkstand and a pen in her lotus-like hands, --may she, sitting on her lotus throne, be present for our protection', and for the attainment of honours and wealth." Water is then to be offered for the washing of her feet; food for her refreshment; flowers, or more costly articles, as pearls and jewels, for her decoration; and three salutations are to be made to her with the mantra, " Reverence to Saraswati, reverence to Bhadrakali, reverence to the Vedas, to the Vedangas, to the Vedanta, and to all seats of learning ai." Of other mantras addressed to her, the following are given in the Matsya Purana*: "As " 2 Brahma Puratia : S. V. Sa * Sarada Tilaka [6, quoted in the Sabdakalpadruma rusvati, p. 5975, b, as follows (see also p. 1824, b and 3395, b): taruNazakalamindorbibhratI zubhrakAntiH kucabharanamitAGgI sannisannA sitAnne / nijakara kamalo dyallekhanI pustakazrIH sakalavibhavasiddhyai pAtu vAgdevatA naH // ]. Sir W. Jones translates this prayer somewhat differently. * 189 [bhadrakAlyai namo nityaM sarasvatyai namo namaH / vedavedAntavedAGgavidyAsthAnebhya eva ca // svAhA // ] [c. 65. Sabdakalpadruma, 1. 1. (comp. p. 3396, <<): yathA na devo bhagavAnbrahmA lokapitAmaha: : tvAM parityajya santiSThettathA bhava varapradA // vedAH zAstrANi sarvANi nRtyagItAdikaM ca yat / na vihInaM tvayA devi tathA me santu siddayaH //

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190 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS Brahma, the great father of all, never, oh Saraswati! lives without thee, so do thou ever be my benefactress." Or, "As the Vedas and all inspired writings, as all the sciences and the arts, are never, oh goddess! independent of thee; so, by thy favour, may my wishes be fulfilled." "In the forms of thy eight impersonations, Lakshmi, Medha, Dhara, Pushti, Gauri, Tushti, Prabha, and Dhriti, do thou, oh Saraswati! be ever my protectress." At the end of the ceremony, all the members of the family assemble and make their prostrations--the books, the pens, and ink, having an entire holiday; and should any emergency require a written communication on the day dedicated to the divinity of scholarship, it is done with chalk or charcoal upon a black or white board. After the morning ceremony, the boys and young men repair to the country for amusement and sport, and some of these games are of a very European character, as bat and ball, and a kind of prisoner's base. School-boys also used to consider themselves privileged, on this day, to rob te fields and gardens of the villages, but this privilege was stoutly opposed, and was all but extinct some years ago. In the evening there are entertainment according to the means of the parties. aftur ci gfentit gfe: nur yfa: 1 varfu: wife agfureifu#i #rafa || See also the Brahmavaivarttapurana, Praktikhanda, c. 4.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 191 The regular celebration of this festival here terminates, but of late years a supplementary observance forms a plea for a second day's holiday in Bengal. The Bengalis have a great passion for throwing the temporary images of their female divinities into the Ganges. It is a rite especially appropriate to Durga, at the end of the Durga Puja; but it has been extended to other goddesses, and amongst them to Saraswati, at this season. Accordingly, on the sixth lunar day, the image, which is commonly of plastic clay painted, is conveyed in procession to the river side, stripped of its ornaments, and tossed rather unceremoniously into the stream. There are some remarkable varieties regarding the seasons of this festival, in different parts of India, whether it be considered as dedicated to Saraswati or to Lakshmi. The Sri panchami, when applied to the former, is observed in Hindustan in Aswin (Auyust - September), and when to the latter, in Margasirsha (October - November), as we shall have future occasion to notice, or the present, the fifth of Magha, is held to be the proper Sri panchami, and dedicated, not to Saraswati, but to Lakshmi. There is, however, both in Upper India and in the Dekhan, a festival on the fifth of the light balf of Magha, which is no doubt the original and ancient celebration, -- the Vasanta Panchami, or the vernal feast of the fifth lunar day of Magha, marking the commencement of the season of Spring, and corresponding, curiously enough, with the specific date fixed for the beginning of Spring

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192 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS in the Roman calendar, the fifth of the ides of February. Quintus ab aequoreis nitidum jubar extulit annis, Lucifer, et primi tempora veris eunt.-Ovid, II, 149. 150. After the Vasanta Panchami, Kama the god of love, and his bride Rati, pleasure, are to be worshipped with offerings of fruits and flowers1. In general observance, however, Vishnu and Lakshmi now take their places, as there are no temples to Kamadeva; nor indeed are the celebrations, which probably once occurred at this season, very particularly observed. The day is retained in the calendars, and constitutes a nominal fixed point, from which festivals, which become conspicuous enough a few weeks afterwards, are still said to commence. SITALA SHASHTHI.- Sixth lunar day of the light half of Magha (3rd of February).-This ceremony is of a strictly private character, and is limited to married women who have children. The object is, in the present day, especially to protect them from the small-pox. The observance, however, seems to -- Rati is personified as a young and beautiful female, richly attired and decorated, dancing and playing on the Vina; and Kama is represented as a youth with eight arms, attended by four nymphs, Pleasure, Affection, Passion, and Power,-bearing the shell, the lotus, a bow and five arrows, and a banner with the Makara, a figure composed of a goat and a fish, or, as before mentioned, the sign Capricorn.

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OF THE HINDUS. 193 have had originally no such specific application, but to have been intended to secure, generally, the healthiness of infants*, by the propitiation of a goddess termed, apparently at the original institution of this rite, Shashthi, but now more commonly Sitala. According to the legend, the ceremony was instituted by King Priyavrata, in gratitude to Shashthi for restoring his dead son, Suvrata, to life'. It should be celebrated on the sixth day of the light fortnight in every month, but this frequent repetition of it has fallen into disuse. Shashthi is said to be so named because she is a sixth part of the goddess Prakriti, but she evidently derives her name from the day of the fortnight of which she is a personification. She is the daughter of Brahma, and wife of Kartikeya, the general of the hosts of heaven, and is to be meditated upon as a female dressed in red garments, riding on a peacock and holding a cock. Sitala, in its ordinary sense, means cold, and is here used as an epithet, in reference, perhaps, to the occasional coolness of the day at this time of the year, as distinguished from the sixth lunar days in other months. The word seems also to have suggested the principal observance on this occasion. Cooking on this day is interdicted, victuals must be dressed on the day preceding, and on this eaten cold. Images of Shashthi are rarely made, but sometimes a small doll represents the god * [See A. K. Frobes, Ras Mala. London: 1856, II, 326 ff.] From the Brahma Vaivartta Purana. Prakriti Khanda, s. 40. 13

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194 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS dess, or she is typified by the stone on which condiments are ground. This is covered with a yellow cloth and placed upon a platform; or in villages, at the foot of the Indian fig-tree. Fruits and flowers are offered to it, with this prayer, "Oh, Shashili! as thou art cold, do thou preserve my children in health." The worship of Sitala, as identical with Shashithi, seems to be retained only in Bengal. In Hindustan, upon this day, the sun is worshipped with fasting and prayers, and with offerings of Akand or Mandara leaves, whence it is called the Mandara Shashtbi. There is, however, a sitala Puja on the eighth of the dark half of Chaitra (or Phalguna), in which case the two minor goddesses are of course distinct. BLASKARA SAPTAMI. -- Twenty - second of Mugha, seventh day of the light fortnight (4th of February).--- This day is in an especial degree sacred to the sun. Abstinence is to be practised on the day preceding; and in the morning before sunrise, or at the first appearance of dawn, bathing is to be performed until sunrise; a rigid fast is to be observed throughout the day, worship is to be offered to the sun, presents are to be made to the Brahmans, and in the evening the worshipper is to hold a family feast; one of the observances of the day is abstinence from study, neither teacher nor scholar being allowed to open a book. At the time of bathing, certain prayers are to be mentally recited, during which the bather places upon his head a platter holding seven leaves of the arka

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OF TIIE HINDUS. 195 plant (calotropis gigantea), or satavari (asparagus racemosus), or the jujube, or a little oil and a lighted wick, and stirs the water around him, according to some, with a piece of sugar-cane; after his prayers, he removes the articles from his head, and sets the lamp afloat on the water. He then makes the usual libations to the Manes, and having gone home, presents food, and money, and clothes, according to his means, to the Brahmans. One of the formula of meditation given is, "Glory to thee, who art a form of Rudra, to the lord of Rasas, to Varuna, ol Harivasa, be salutation to thee." The Kasi Khanda, as quoted in the Kalpa Druma, gives a different prayer: "Of whatever sin committed by me during seven lives, may this Makari Saptami remove both the sorrow and the shame*, and whatever sin has been committed by me in this life, through the influence of time, whether in mind, spirit, or body, wittingly or unwittingly, may every such sin, involving the fruit of seven diseases, be effaced by this bathing, oh thou who art identical with the so, do thou efface it, oh Makari Saptami!" The repetition of this prayer purifies a person from all sin, and the whole rite is considered as securing him from sickness and premature decay. As appears from these latter mantras, the day is * [Sabdak.d., p. 3391, a, and Nirnayasindhu, c. II, p. 73, 1): yadyajjanmakRtaM pApaM mayA saptasu janmasa / tanme rokaM ca zokaM ca mAkarI hantu saptamI // ] 13

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196 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS also termed Makari Saptami, the seventh lunar day of the sun in Capricornus. It may be doubted if the term Makari is rightly understood, even by the original authorities. Raghunandana considers it to designate the whole month of Magha, which, regarded as a solar month, should commence with the sun's entrance into the sign. There may, however, be something more in it, and it may originally have been identical with the Uttarayana, when the sun is equally an especial object of adoration, and either a change of computation depending on astronomical periods, or the purpose of multiplying festivals, has detached it from its primitive position. In Upper India, the day is also called Achala Saptami, the fixed or immovable seventh, because it is said it is always to be held sacred. In the South it is better known as the Ratha Saptami, or Seventh of the Chariot; for it is also the first day of a Manwantara, or period of the reign of a Manu, being that of Vivaswat, when the sun comes abroad in a new carriage. Agreeably to the directions given in the Kalpa Taru, for the proper observance of this rite, the sun should be worshipped in his own temple--a temple it would now be difficult to discover in any part of India--with prayers and offerings upon the sixth; during which abstinence is to be practised, and at night the worshipper is to sleep on the ground. He is to bathe and fast on the seventh, as before described, but he is also to construct a car of gold, or silver, or wood, with horses and driver; and after the

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OF THE HINDUS. 197 mid-day ablutions, to decorate it, and with prayers from the Vedas invite the sun to take his place in it. Worship is then to be addressed to the sun, and the worshipper is to prefer whatever desire he may have formed, which the sun will assuredly grant him. The night is to be spent with music, singing, and rejoicing, and in the morning ablution is to be repeated; presents are to be made to the Brahmans, and the car with all its appurtenances is to be presented to the Guru or spiritual preceptor. This is probably an ancient rite, coeval with the development of the institutions of the Vedas. Various other appellations are specified as belonging to this same lunar day, as the Jayanti Saptami, the victorious seventh; the Maha Saptami, the great seventh, and others; but the characteristic observance is the same, and whatever the designation, the worship of the sun is the prominent ceremony of the seventh of the light half of Magha. The same may be said, however, of the seventh lunar day throughout the year, chiefly of one seventh in each fortnight, that of the moon's increase; but also of the seventh day of the wane. Besides which, there are particular sevenths to which the concurrence of other circumstances, such as its falling on a Sunday*, or when the moon enters certain mansions, [A Riatt Hari saptamo vijayA nAma tatra dattaM mahAphalam // From the Bhavishyapurana, quoted in the Sabdakalpadruma p. 5891, a.]

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198 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS as Rohini*, gives extraordinary sanctity, and renders the worship of the sun more than usually efficacious. The specification of the days of the week by the names of the seven planets is, as it is well known, familiar to the Hindus. The origin of this arrangement is not very precisely ascertained**, as it was unknown to the Greeks and not adopted by the Romans until a late period. It is commonly ascribed to the Egyptians and Babylonians, but upon no very sufficient authority, and the Hindus appear to have, at least, as good a title as any other people to the nvention'. * [See Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 1, 227.] ** [See, however, A. Weber, "Indische Studien", II, 167, and Burgess' translation of the Surya Siddhanta, p. 176-8.] It has been thought that Herodotus alludes to the custom, when he observes, lib. II, e. 82, that the Egyptians assign their months and days to different deities. Pliny also has an obscure intimation that the sovereignty over each day was attributed to the planets in the order of their revolution. In the time of Dion Cassius, or in the beginning of the third century, the nomenclature had come into general use, and he is the authority for its Egyptian origin. As in the Latin version, quod autem dies ad septem sidera illa, quos planetas appellarunt, referuntur id ab Egyptiis institutum. - Lib. 38, c. 18, Christmannus, a modern Latin writer (de Kalendario Romano), attributes the nomenclature to the Babylonians: Sane apud Romanos nulla tunc erat distinctio temporis in hebdomades dierum; ea tamen apud Babylonios et AEgyptios statim a regno Nabonasari in usu fuit cum septem planetarum nominibus dies septimanae appellarentur. He does not give his authorities. It was not impossibly of Chaldaean invention, but was very generally diffused throughout the East at a remote date.

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OF THE HINDUS. 199 Aditya-vara, Ravi-vard, or Rabi-bar in the barbarized vernacular, Dies Solis, or Sunday, is one of every seven. This is somewhat different from the seventh Tithi or lunar day, but a sort of sanctity is, or at least was, attached even to Sunday, and fasting on it was considered obligatory or meritorious'. But the religious Fasti of the Hindus confine their instructions to the Tithi, and declare, that whoever worships the sm, on the seventh day of the moon's increase, with fasting, and offerings of white oblations, as white flowers and the like, and whoever fasts on the seventh of the inoon's wane, and offers to the sun red flowers and articles of a red colour, is purified from all iniquity and goes after death to the solar spliere?. The worship of the sm, on the seventh of the dark fortnight, seems to have gone out of use, but that on the seventh of the light fortnight is strongly recommended in various authorities, beginning with this seventh of Magha and continuing throughout the year. In connexion with this observance, different modes of abstinence are enjoined for each succeeding luar day, such as taking, during the day, small quantities only of milk, or ghee, or water, or acrid leaves ; or fasting wholly from sunset on the sixth till after morning ablutions on the eighth; thence this day is The jackall declines touching the sinewy meshes of the noose, because it is Sunday.--Hitopadesa [I, p. 21, 1.21, ed. Lassen et Schlegel]. ? Commentary on Tithi Tattwa.

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200 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS also termed Vidhana Saptami-the seventh of observance as being the first of the series. On all these occasions Arghyas, or offerings, are presented to the Sun; but the arghya, more peculiarly appropriated to him, consists of eight articles. These slightly vary in different specifications, but they are usually water, milk, curds, ghee, sesamum and mustard seeds, grains of rice, and the blossom of the kusa grass. Perfumes and flowers, especially of a white or a red colour, are also most fit to be presented to the sun, according to some authorities. Gifts of fuel, and the lighting of a large fire on the morning of the seventh lunar day of Magha, are also meritorious acts. The following are two other prayers' usual on these occasions, in which it will be noticed that the number "Seven" makes a conspicuous figure. Upon presenting the Argha, the day itself personified as a goddess is thus addressed; "Mother of all creatures, Saptami! who art one with the lord of the seven coursers and the seven mystic words, glory to thee in the sphere of the sun;" and on prostration before the sun or his image, the worshipper utters, "Glory to thee, who delightest in the chariot drawn by seven worlds; glory to thee on the seventh lunar day-the infinite, the creator"!" It is impossible to # From the Narasinha Purana. [jananI sarvabhUtAnAM saptamI maptasaptike / saptavyAhRtike devi namaste ravimaNDale //

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OF THE HINDUS. 201 avoid inferring, from the general character of the prayers and observances, and the sanctity evidently attached to a recurring seventh day, some connexion with the sabbath, or seventh, of the Hebrew Heptameron. Bhisimash'i Ami. -- Twenty-third of Magha, eighth lunar day of the light half (7th February).--This is a festival which, at first sight, appears to be of special and traditional origin, but which has, probably, its source in the primitive institutes of the Hindus, of which the worship of the Pitiis, the patriarchs or progenitors, the Dii Manes, constituted an important element. According to the Tithi Tattwa, this day is dedicated to Bhishma, the son of Ganga, and great uncle of the Pandava and Kaurava princes; who was killed in the course of the great war, and dying childless left no descendant in the direct line, on whom it was incumbent to offer him obsequial honours. In order to supply this defect, persons in general are enjoined to make libations of water on this day to liis spirit, and to offer him sesamum seeds and boiled rice. The act expiates the sins of a whole year: one of its peculiarities is, that it is to be observed by persons of all the four original castes, according to a text of Dhavala, an ancient lawgiver, quoted by Raghunan saptasaptivahaprIta saptalokapradIpana / saptamyAM hi namastubhyaM namo 'nantAya vedhase // Sabdakalpadrunia s. v. Saptami p. 5896, 6 (comp. p. 3396, b) and, with some various readings, Niruayasindhu, 1. 1.]

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202 dana, "Oh twice-born ! persons of all the Varnas should on the eighth lunar day offer water, sesamum seeds, and rice, to Bhishma. If a Brahman, or man of any other caste, omit to make such offerings, the merit of his good deeds during the preceding year is annulled." According to a different reading of the text, however, it should be rendered : "Let all the twice-born castes make the oblations *." This excludes Sudras, but extends the duty to the Kshatriyas and Vaisyas as well as Brahmans. The intention of the rite, as now understood, is expressed in the formulae uttered at the time of presenting the offerings: "I present this water to the childless hero Bhishma, of the race of Vyaghrapada, the chief of the house of Sankriti. May Bhishma the son of Santanu, the speaker of truth and subjugator of his passions, obtain by this water the oblations due by sons and grandsons**." The simple nature of the offerings which are sufficient on such occasions, water and se RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS * [aSTamyAM tu site pakSe bhISmAya tu tilodakam / annaM ca vidhivaddadyuH sarve varNA dvijAtayaH // sarve varNA ityupAdAnAdbrAhmaNazUdra yorapyadhikAraH / brAhmaNAdyAstu ye varNA dadyurbhISmAya no jalam / saMvatsarakRtaM puNyaM tatkSaNAdeva nazyati // Sabdak.d., p. 2980 f. Hemadri ap. Nirnayasindhu, c. II, 74, a.] ** [vaiyAdyapadyagotrAya sAGkRtyapravarAya ca / aputrAya dadAmyetatsarlilaM bhISmavarmaNe // bhISmaH zAntanavo vIraH satyavAdI jitendriyaH / AbhiradbhiravApnotu putrapautrocitAM kriyAm // Sabdak.d., p. 2981, a. Niruayasindhu, c. II, p. 74, a. Pranatoshani, f. 172, b, 2.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 203 samum seeds, justifies the remark made by Ovid on the Feralia, that the Manes are easily satisfied, - Parva petunt manes. The observance of this ceremony is almost obsolete in Bengal, and in the principal authorities of Hindustan it is not noticed. The Bhavishyottara Purana* has a Bhishma panchakam,-a solemm rite which begins on the 11th of Kartik (light half), and continues to the 13th, which has something of the character of the Feralia, being a period of mortification and fasting, and expiatory of sin, which is worshipped in an effigy made for the occasion, placed upon a measure of sesamum, and invoked by the appellations of Dharmaraja or Yama, the judge of the dead. The ceremony is said to have been ordained by Bhishma, when mortally wounded, and is to be practised by all castes, and even by women. The rite is not found, however, in any of the calendars, and it is probably an expiring reliqne of the once general and public worship of the Manes. BHAIMYEKADASI. -- Eleventh lunar day of the light half of Mugha (10th February).- This is also a festival of traditional origin, said to have been first observed by Bhima, one of the Paudu princes, in honour of Vishuu, according to the instructions of Vasudeva. * [c. 63. See also Padmapurana, Uttarakhanda, c. 132, and Garudapuraua, c. 123, as quoted in the Sabdak.d. s. v. Bhishmapanchakam.]

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204 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS Every eleventh lunar day, it may be observed, is held in extravagant veneration by the Hindus, but more particularly by the Vaishnavas. Fasting on the eleventh is declared to be equally efficacious with a thousand aswamedhas, and eating during its continuance as heinous a sin as parricide, or the murder of a spiritual teacher. This extravagance demonstrates its sectarian character, and consequently its more modern origin. The notion may have grown, however, out of particular appropriations of the lunar day, when the eleventh was set apart, as in the present case, to the adoration of Vishan. According to the ritual, the worshipper on this occasion is to fast on the tenth, and bathe at smset. He is to bathe at dawn on the eleventh, and having previously constructed a temporary temple in the court-yard of his house, he is to cause burnt-offerings to be made to Purushottama and other forms of Vishnu, by Brahmans acquainted with the Vedas; he himself going through a rather coinplicated series of prayers and gesticulations. There is no image of Vishnu, and he is invoked by formula derived from the Vedas. The worshipper observes a strict fast throughout the day, and keeps a vigil at night with music and singing. On the morning of the twelfth he dismisses the Brahmans with presents, bathes, and then takes a meal, of which flesh forms no part. The performance of this ceremony expiates the sin incurred by omission of any of the prescribed fasts during the preceding twelvemonth.

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OF THE HINDUS. 205 Some differences of date and nomenclature occur, in various anthorities, regarding this day. The Kalpa Druma calls it Jaya, but enjoins fasting and watching, and the worship of Vishnu; and attributes to it the same expiatory efficacy, calling it the purifier, the destroyer of sin, the bestower of all desires, and the granter of emancipation to mankind.-Pavitra, papahantri cha, kamada, mokshada niinam. The same work, however, has a day named from Bhima, and refers to the same legend for its origin; but it places it on the following day, as Bhima dwadasi. The Bhavishyottara Purana* also removes the day to the twelfth, and tells a different story to accomt for it, describing it as taught by the sage Pulastya to King Bhima, the father of Damayanti, in reply to his anxious inquiry how sin was to be efficaciously expiated. Like the preceding, its essence is the domestic worship of Vishnu, with the Homa or oblations to fire, and ceremonies and prayers of Vaidika origin. One part of the ceremony consists in the administration of a sort of shower-bath to the institutor of the rite, as towards evening water is dropped upon bis head from a perforated vessel, whilst he sits meditating upon Vishuu. The evening is to be spent in music and singing, and the reading of the Harivansa, or Santi parva of the Mahabharata. The ceremony expiates all possible wickedness. The rite is held in * [c. 65. See also Garudapurana, c. 127, quoted in the Sabdakalpadruma s. v. Bhaimi.]

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206 little esteem, and is evidently compounded of the observances of various eras, -all of which are equally little understood, although the compound is manifestly of a purificatory er expiatory character. RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS SHAT TILA DANAM.-Twenty-seventh Magha, twelfth day of the light half (11th February).-This may be considered as in some sort a continuation of the Bhaimyekadasi, and is intended for the same object -the removal or expiation of sin. As the name implies, six different acts are to be performed, in all which Tila, or sesamum seeds, are an essential ingredient. The person who observes the rite is to bathe in water in which they have been steeped-to anoint himself with a paste made of them-to offer them with clarified butter upon fire-to present them with water to the manes of his ancestors-to eat them-to give them away*. The consequences of so doing are purification from sin, exemption from sickness and misfortune, and a sojourn in Indra's heaven for thousands of years. According to the Brahma Purana, Yama, the deity of the infernal regions, created Sesamum after long and arduons penance upon this day, whence its sanctity. The same title and the same virtues are sometimes attributed also to the twelfth of the dark fortnight of the month, as was explained [tilodvarttI tilasnAyI tilahomI tilapradaH / facyfaqqiut a qzfadi aradiefa II Tithitattvam, quoted in the Sabdakalpadruma, p. 5655, a.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 207 by Agastya to Dattatreya, when he asked by what means the effects of sin would be obviated, and sinners saved from hell without great effort or munificent donations! The ceremonies to be performed with Tila seeds are the easy means of accomplishing the object. The importance attached to the use of Sesamum in most of the offerings, but especially in those to the Manes, is very remarkable and not very explicable. The legend of their being generated by Yama is rather the consequence than the cause of such appropriation. Sesamum seeds did form an ingredient in the offerings of the Greeks, but not with the same frequency, nor apparently with the same object. Cakes of sesamum were distributed by them at marriages, as the grains were considered typical of fertility. Perhaps some such opinion may have prevailed amongst the Hindus, and hence their nse in obsequial offerings, the great end of which is not merely the satisfaction of the dead, but the perpetuation of progeny, and the prosperity of the living. Another festival is observed on this day, in some parts of India, in honour of Vishnu, as the Varaha, his descent as a boar to lift up the earth from beneath the waters being supposed to have occurred on this day; hence it is termed also the Varaha Dwadasi. YUGADY). -- Thirtieth Magha, fifteenth day, light half, or full moon of Mugha (1412 February). Kalpa Druma.

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208 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS Bathing and fasting, and the offering of sesamum seeds to the Manes, are enjoined on the full moon of Magha, and it is also held in additional honour as the anniversary of the commencement of the Kali Yug, or present age of the world, the age of impurity. According to some authorities the anniversaries of the Yugas occur not on the days of opposition, or full moon, but on those of conjunction or new moon, and this is more consonant to the character of the rites principally practised, as bathing and libations of water and sesamum to the Dii Manes. Thus the Vishnu Purana observes, the fifteenth of Magha in the dark fortnight is one of the days called by ancient teachers the Anniversaries of the first day of a Yuga or Age, and are esteemed most sacred; on these days water mixed with sesamum seeds should be regularly presented to the progenitors of mankind; and again, the Pitris are described as saying, "After having received satisfaction for a twelvemonth we shall further derive it from libations offered by our descendants at some holy place at the end of the dark fortnight of Magha." SAKASHTAMI.-Ninth of the solar month Phalguna; Eighth day of lunar month Phalguna, dark half (22nd February).-This is another of the eighth lunar days dedicated to the Manes, when their worship is to be performed with the usual accompaniments of bathing and abstinence, and offerings to the Viswadevas or universal gods. On this occasion the offerings presented to the Pitris are, as the name imports,

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OF THE HINDUS. 209 restricted to vegetable substances, Saka signifying any potherb. VIJAYAIKADASI.-Eleventh Phalguna, dark half (24th February).-A celebration little known or observed. A water jar, decorated with the emblems of Vishnu, and considered as a type of him, is worshipped with the usual oblations; bathing in the morning and a vigil at night are to be observed. This is considered as a purificatory ceremony, first performed by Rama to secure his passage across the ocean to Lanka: according to the authority, the Skanda Purana, quoted by the Kalpa Druma, it is an old ceremony of a purificatory tendency, removing sin and conducing to virtue. Before taking leave of the period which has been latterly described, and which corresponds with the greater portion of the month of February, it is impossible not to be struck with the peculiar character of the ceremonies. From the time of the Vasanta panchami, which ushers in the spring with indications of festivity, all the observances partake more or less of a lustral or purificatory purport; some of them have no other aim than the expiation of sin, whilst this in others is mixed up with the worship of the Manes. Purification from, or expiation of wickedness is, however, the predominating design of the ceremonies; and ablution and fasting, and abstinence of all kinds are the practices considered essential to the attainment of this object. Such are the chief intentions 14

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210 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS of the Makara Saptami, Bhishmashtami, Bhaimyekadasi, Shat-tila danam, Yugadya, and Sakashtami, all occurring within this interval. Now the spirit of the time is precisely that which marked a great part of the month of February among the Romans, and the name of the month itself is said to have been derived from its dedication by Numa to Februus, the god of lustrations, for in that month it was necessary to purify the city and pay to the Dii Manes the oblations that were their due: "Nomen habet a Februo deo lustrationum cui a Numa erat dicatus. Lustrari autem eo mense civitatem necesse erat; quo statuit ut justa Diis manibus solverentur?." According to some, the name is derived from the verb "februor", to be cleansed or purified. The connexion between lustrations and obsequial rites is another analogy, and consonantly with this opinion, the Feralia, or worship of the manes were celebrated for several days in February, ending with the 17th, or according to some with the 23rd. The month was thence called also the Feralis Mensis. This similarity of time and of purposes can scarcely have been accidental, and there can be no reasonable doubt that the Feralia of the Romans and the Sraddha of the Hindus, the worship of the Pitiis and of the Manes, have a common character and had a common origin. SivARATRI. -- Fourteenth of the lunar month Phal Macrobius, Saturn. I, 13.

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211 guna; dark half (27th February).-This, in the estimation of the followers of Siva, is the most sacred of all their observances, expiating all sins, and securing the attainment of all desires during life, and union with Siva or final emancipation after death. The ceremony is said to have been enjoined by Siva himself, who declared to his wife Uma, that the fourteenth of Phalguna, if observed in honour of him, should be destructive of the consequences of all sin, and should confer final liberation. According to the Isana Sanhita, it was on this day that Siva first manifested himself as a marvellous and interminable Linga, to confound the pretensions of both Brahma and Vishnu, who were disputing which was the greater divinity. To decide the quarrel, they agreed that he should be acknowledged the greater, who should first ascertain the limits of the extraordinary object which appeared of a sudden before them. Setting off in opposite directions, Vishnu undertook to reach the base, Brahma the summit; but after some thousand years of the gods spent in the attempt, the end seemed to be as remote as ever, and both returned discomfited and humiliated, and confessed the vast superiority of Siva. The legend seems to typify the exaltation of the Saiva worship over that of Vishnu and Brahma, an event which no doubt at one time took place. OF THE HINDUS. There is some difference of practice in respect to the day on which this festival is observed; according to some authorities, it is held on the fourteenth of the dark half of Magha, according to others on the four 14*

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212 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS teenth of that of Phalguna; but this is a mere nominal difference, arising from the modes of reckoning the beginning of the month from the new or the full moon. Another difference, which is less easily adjusted, is that of date; some considering the festival as properly commencing on the thirteenth instead of the fourteenth; which appears to be the case in the South, according to the published calendars. This arises from the circumstance of the chief part of the ceremony being observed by night, as the name of Sivaratri denotes, and of a variety in the apportionment of the hours of the night to the series of observances. According to some, the ceremony should begin on the evening of the thirteenth Tithi, or lunar day, if it extends to four hours after sunset; according to others, it should begin on whichever of the two tithis or lunar days comprises the larger proportion of the hours of the night; according to some, it should be held on the Tithi, which comprises both evening twilight, and midnight; and according to others, that which includes midnight without the evening. These are knotty points, which are not very intelligible without reference to an almanac, but they are not the less important in the eyes of the worshippers of Siva. When the Tithi coincides with the solar day, or lasts from sunrise, it is called Suddha, or pure, and the rite begins with the morning of the fourteenth and closes on the morning of the fifteenth. The three essential observances are fasting during the whole Tithi, or lunar day, and holding a vigil and

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213 worshipping the Linga during the night; but the ritual is loaded with a vast number of directions, not only for the presentation of offerings of various kinds to the Linga, but for gesticulations to be employed, and prayers to be addressed to various subordinate divinities connected with Siva, and to Siva himself in a variety of forms. After bathing in the morning, the worshipper recites his Sankalpa, or pledges himself to celebrate the worship. He repeats the ablution in the evening, and going afterwards to a temple of Siva, renews his pledge, saying, "I will perform the worship of Siva, in the hope of accomplishing all my wishes, of obtaining long life, and progeny, and wealth, and for the expiation of all sins of whatever dye I may have committed during the past year, open or secret, knowingly or unknowingly, in thought, or act, or speech." He then scatters mustard-seed with special mantras, and offers an argha; after which he goes through the matrika nyasa, -a set of gesticulations accompanied by short mystical prayers, consisting chiefly of unmeaning syllables, preceded by a letter of the alphabet: as, A-kam, A-sran, salutation to the thumb; I-chan, I-srin, salutation to the forefinger; U-stan, U-stum, salutation to the middle-finger; and so on, going through the whole of the alphabet with a salutation, or namaskar, to as many parts of the body, touching each in succession, and adding, as the Mantras proceed, names of the Matris, female * OF THE HINDUS. [See Pranatoshani, f. 173, b, 1. 2.]

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214 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS Saktis, or energies of Siva, who, by virtue of these incantations, are supposed to take up their abode for the time in the different members of the worshipper. Other objects are supposed to be effected by similar means; impediments are obviated by stamping thrice, and repeating as often the Mantra "Haun, to the weapon, plat;" next, with the same inantra, and by thrice snapping the finger, the ten quarters of the sphere, or universal space, are aggregated in the Linga; and the purification of all beings is to be effected by thrice clapping the hands together, and uttering the same Mantra each time. The repetition of nyasa, or touching parts of the body whilst repeating mystical ejaculations, accompanies every offering made to the Linga, as fruits, flowers, incense, lights, and the like, during the whole ceremony. When the rite is performed, as it most usually is, in the perforier's own residence, a Linga, if not already set up, is consecrated for the purpose; and this is to be propitiated with different articles in each watch of the night on which the vigil is held. In the first watch, it is to be bathed witli milk, the worshipper, or the Brahman employed by him, uttering the Mantra "Haun-reverence to Isana." An offering is then made with the prayer: "Devoutly engaging in thy worship, oh Iswara, and in repeating thy names, I celebrate the Sivaratri rite according to rule, do thou accept this offering *!" Incense, fruits, flowers, * [fTatizada 577997eu: 1 karomi vidhivaddattaM gRhANAr2yA mahezvara // ]

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OF THE HINDUS. and articles of food, as boiled rice, or sometimes even dressed flesh are offered with the customary prostration, and with the repetition of other Mantras. A similar course is followed in the other three periods, with a modification of the formulae, and the articles used to bathe the Linga with. Then in the second, it is bathed with curds, with the Mantra, "Haun-reverence to Aghora;" and the mantra of the Argha is "Reverence to the holy Siva, the destroyer of all sins; I offer this Argha at the Sivaratri, do thou with Uma be propitious*." In the third, the bathing is performed with ghee, with the Mantra "Haun, reverence to Vamadeva;" and the Argha-mantra is, "I am consumed by pain, poverty, and sorrow: oh Lord of Parvati, do thou, oh beloved of Uma, accept the Argha I present thee on this Sivaratri**!" In the fourth watch the Linga is bathed with honey, with the Mantra "Haun, reverence to Sadyojata;" and the Argha-prayer is, "Oh Sankara! take away the inany sins committed by me, accept, beloved of Uma, the oblation I present thee on this the night of Siva*** " At the end of the watch, or daylight, the ceremony is to be concluded with the radical mantra, "Sivaya * [ namaH zivAya zAntAya sarvapApaharAya ca / zivarAtrau dadAmyardhe prasIda umayA saha // ] [duHkhadAridryazokena dagdho 'haM pArvatIzvara / zivarAtrau dadAmyarghyamumAkAnta gRhANa me // ] ** *** 215 [mayA kRtAnyanekAni pApAni hara zaGkara / zivarAtrI dadAmyarghyamumAkAnta gRhANa me // ]

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216 namah", and some such prayers as these: "Through thy favour, oh lswara! this rite is completed without impediment: oh look with favour, oh lord of the universe, Hara, sovereign of the three worlds, on what I have this day done, which is holy and dedicated to Rudra! Through thy grace has this rite been accomplished. Be propitious to me, oh thou most glorious! Grant to me increase of affluence: merely by beholding thee I am assuredly sanctified*." Oblations to fire are then to be made, and the ceremony concludes with further offerings to the Linga, and with the Mantra, "By this rite may Sankara be propitiated, and coming hither, bestow the eye of knowledge on him who is burnt up by the anguish of worldly existence **." Brahmans are to be entertained, and presents are to be made to them by the master of the house and his family holding a feast. Those modes of adoration which are at all times addressed to the different forms of Siva, and those articles which are peculiarly enjoined to be presented to the Linga, form, of course, part of the observances of the Sivaratri. Amongst the forms is the Japa, or # RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS ** [avighnena vrataM deva tvatprasAdAtsamarpitam // kSamasva jagatAM nAtha trailokyAdhipate hara / yanmayAdya kRtaM puNyaM tadrudrasya niveditam // tvatprasAdAnmayA deva vratamadya samarpitam / prasanno bhava me zrImanmadbhUtiM pratipadyatAm // tvadAlokanamAtreNa pavitro 'smi na saMzayaH / ] [saMsAraklezadagdhasya vratenAnena zaGkara / prasIda sumukho nAtha jJAnadRSTiprado bhava // ]

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OF THE HINDUS. 217 muttered recitation of his different names as the worshipper turns between his fingers the beads of a rosary, made of the seeds of the Rudraksha, or Eleocarpus. The fullest string contains one hundred and eight beads, for each of which there is a separate appellation, as Siva, Rudra, Hara, Sankara, Iswara, Maheswara, Sulapani, Pasupati, and others. Amongst the latter are certain leaves and flowers, and fruits, and especially those of the bel-tree, as in the text"The Vilwa is the granter of all desires, the remover of poverty; there is nothing with which Sankara is more gratified than with the leaf of the Vilwa*." The flower of the Dhattura is another of his favourites, and a single presentation of it to a Linga is said to secure equal recompense as the gift of a hundred thousand cows. At the Sivaratri worship, the Linga may be crowned with a chaplet of Ketaki flowers, but only on this occasion. According to the legend, a Ketaki blossom fell from the top of the miraculous Siva-linga, already alluded to as having appeared to Brahma and Vishnu, and being appealed to by the former, falsely affirmed that Brahma had taken it from the summit of the Linga. Vishnu, knowing this to be untrue, pronounced an imprecation upon the flower, that it should never more be offered to Siva. * [sarvakAmapradaM vilvaM dAridyasya praNAzanam / vilvapatrAtparaM nAsti yena tuSyati zaGkaraH // The preceding quotations are from the Tithitattwa. See Sabdakalpadruma p. 5359. 60 and 63, 6.]

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218 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS He was moved, however, by the penitence of the flower, so far to remit the penalty, as to allow its decorating the Linga worshipped at the Sivaratri puja. The worship of Siva at this season is permitted to all castes, even to Chandalas, and to women, and the use of the Mantras seems to be allowed to them; the only exception being the mystical syllable "Om". This they are not to utter; but they may go through the acts of worship with the prayer "Sivaya namah". The same rewards attend their performance of it with faith, elevation to the sphere of Siva, identification with him and freedom from future birth, and these benefits accrue even though the rite be observed unintentionally and unwittingly, as is evidenced by the legend of a forester which is related in the second part of the Siva Purana, ch. XXXIV. Being benighted in the woods on the Sivaratri, the forester took shelter in a Vilwatree. Here he was kept in a state of perpetual wakefulness by dread of a tiger' prowling round the foot of the tree. He therefore observed, though compulsorily, the Jagarana or vigil. The forester had nothing with him to eat, consequently he held the fast. Casting down the leaves of the tree to frighten the tiger, some of them fell upon a deserted Linga near the spot, and thus he made the prescribed offering. On the ensuing morning the forester fell a prey to the tiger, but such was the fruit of his involuntary observance of the rites of the Sivaratri, that when the messengers of Yama came to take his spirit to the infernal regions they were opposed by the mes

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OF THE HINDUS. 219 sengers of Siva, who enlisted him in their ranks, and carried him off in triumph to the heaven of their master. Notwithstanding the reputed sanctity of the Sivaratri, it is evidently of sectarial and comparatively modern, as well as merely local institution, and consequently offers no points of analogy to the practices of antiquity. It is said in the Kalpa Druma, that two of the mantras are from the Rig veda, but they are not cited, and it may well be doubted if any of the Vedas recognise any such worship of Siva. The great authorities for it are the Puranas and the Tantras; the former-the Siva, Linga, Padina, Matsya, and Vayu, are quoted chiefly for the general enunciations of the efficacy of the rite and the great rewards attending its performance: the latter for the mantras: the use of mystical formulae, of mysterious letters and syllables, and the practice of the Nyasa and other absurd gesticulations being derived mostly, if not exclusively, from them, as the Isana Sanhita, the Siva Rahasya, the Rudra Yamala, Mantra-Mahodadhi, and other Tantrika works. The age of these compositions is unquestionably not very remote, and the ceremonies for which they are the only authorities, can have no claim to be considered as parts of the primitive system. This does not impair the popularity of the rite, and the importance attached to it is evidenced by the copious details which are given by the compilers of the Tithi Tattwa and Kalpa Druma regarding it, and by the manner in which it is observed in all parts of India.

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220 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS The performance of the ceremonies of the Sivaratri is possessed of enhanced efficacy when conducted at those places which are in an especial manner dedicated to Siva, partienlarly at the shrines which were known to have been celebrated seats of worship of the Linga before the Mohammedan invasion. Such is the temple of Vaidyanath in Bengal, about 110 miles w. by n. from Murshedabad. The Linga worshipped there is one of the twelve great Lingas which were worshipped in India at least ten centuries ago, and still retains its reputation. In consequence of the establishment of the Mohammedan rule, and its position in a rugged and mountainous country overrun with thickets, the shrine fell for a season into neglect and decay, but it was repaired and restored to popularity by a Maithila Brahman about two centuries since. An annual Mela takes place at Vaidyanath*, at the Sivaratri, when more than a hundred thousand pilgrims assemble. The meeting lasts three days, and the offerings made to the temple ordinarily exceed a lakh and a half of rupees. The shrine has some credit as an oracle, and a course of worship and fasting on the spot is productive of dreams, which are believed to convey the answers of Siva to the prayers and petitions that have been preferred to him. A still more numerous concourse of pilgrims occurs annually on the Sivaratri at the temple of Mallikarjuna ** in the Dekhan, also one of the twelve ancient * [Sivapurana, c. 55.] ** [ib. c. 44.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 221 Lingas, the temple of which is situated in a country quite as difficult of access as Vaidyanath. An account of the Mela held here is given by the late Colonel Mackenzie, in the fifth volume of the Asiatic Researches. He calls the place Sri-parvatham-properly Sri Parvata, or Sri Saila, the holy mountain-he specifies the name of the Linga, however, as Mallikarja, that is to say Mallikarjuna. According to the Bombay Calendar, there is a numerous assemblage of Hindus at the Sivaratri on the Island of Elephanta, the great cave temple of which place contains the well known three-headed image of Siva. GOVINDA DWADASI.- Twenty-seventh solar Phalguna; twelfth day, light half (13th March). This is a festival, which, as observed in Bengal, is held in honour of Krishna, who is worshipped in his juvenile form as a cowherd. In Hindustan it is termed the Nrisinha dwadasi, and is dedicated to Vishnu in his Avatara of the Nrisinha, or man-lion. In neither is it an observance held in much repute*. GHANTA-KARNA PUJA.-Twenty-ninth solar Phalguna; fourteenth day, light half (14th March). This is also a minor festival, and apparently confined to Bengal. Ghanta-karna, one of Siva's ganas, or attendants, is to be worshipped under the type of a water [Bhavishyottarapurana, c. 67.]

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222 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS jar: the object of the rite is expressed in this prayer, which accompanies the presentation of fruits and flowers to the jar: "Oh Ghauta - karna! healer of diseases, do thou preserve me from the fear of cutaneous affections *." Ghanta-karna is described in the Siva Purana as endowed with great personal beauty, and is, therefore, reputed to sympathise with those who suffer any disfigurement. In Hindustan there are directions for worshipping Maheswara, or Siva himself, on the fourteenth of the light half of Phalguna. Dola YATRA, or Holi.-Thirtieth solar Phalguna, or first of Chaitra; fifteenth day, light half, or full moon of Phalguna (16th March).--Although named together, and in various parts of India, especially in Bengal, confounded with each other, yet in other places these festivals are still, as they no doubt were originally elsewhere, distinct'; the Dolotsava, or Swinging Festival, taking place at a date something later, and this period belonging, most appropriately, to the Holi. It will be convenient to notice them here together however, for the Holi, as a distinct celebration, is not known in Bengal, although many of the observances which are there practised at the Dola Yatra are in many respects the same, are influenced * [quera hartt Haarfufaattai visphoTakabhaye prApte rakSa rakSa mahAbala // Tithitattwa.] " The Kalpa Druma does notice a Dolotsava, -the swinging of Krishua on the Phalguni purnima.

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OF THE HINDUS. 223 by the same spirit, and express in the like style of language and deportment the feelings of exuberant gladness which hail the return of spring. When India was governed by native princes, and the institutions of the Hindus were in full vigour, there is reason to believe, that at this time of the year a series of connected and consistent festivities spread through a protracted period of several weeks, and that the whole constituted the Vasantotsava, the feast of Vasanta or Spring. The proper commencement of this period was, perhaps, the Vasanta Panchami, the fifth of the light half of Magha, which, as we have had occasion to notice, was regarded as the beginning of Spring. After this, however, ensued the gloomy succession of lustral and purificatory rites which have been described, and which suspend the season of festivity until the period now under consideration, when the Holi takes the place of the initiatory Vasanta Panchami, and is followed by celebrations in honour of Spring, and the friend of Spring, Love. Whether there has been any dislocation of times and observances here-whether the lustral days did not at one time precede the vernal rejoicings, we have no means of determining; but it is somewhat remarkable, that such was the case with the February of the Romans, which, in the days of Numa, when their year consisted of but ten months, was the last of the year, and therefore, was fitly enough the season for expiating the accumulated iniquities of the preceding months. However this may be, such is now the case, and the

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224 vernal festival is broken in upon and interrupted by observances of a different complexion-the effect of which may, perhaps, have been to heighten by the contrast the sense of exhilaration when the time for it recurred. RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS It is also to be remarked, that although traces of the original purport of the festival are palpable enough, yet that Love and Spring have been almost universally deposed from the rites over which they once presided, and that they have been superseded by new and less agreeable mythological creations; new legends have also been invented to account for the origin and object of the celebration, having little or no obvious relation to the practices which are pursued. Thus, in Bengal, the divinity worshipped at the Dola Yatra is the juvenile Krishna, whilst in Hindustan the personified Holi is a female hobgoblin, a devourer of little children. As publicly commemorated in Bengal, the Dola Yatra, or swinging festival, begins on the fourteenth day of the light half of Phalguna (about the middle of March). The head of the family fasts during that day. In the evening fire-worship is performed; after which the officiating Brahman sprinkles upon an image of Krishna, consecrated for the occasion, a little red powder, and distributes a quantity of the same among the persons present. This powder, termed Phalgu, or Abira, is made chiefly of the dried and pounded root of the Curcuma Zerumbet, or of the wood of the Caesalpinia Sappan, which are of a red colour, or in

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OF THE HINDUS. 225 some places the yellow powder of Turmeric is substituted. After this ceremony is concluded a bonfire is made on a spot previously prepared, and a sort of Guy Fawkes-like effigy, termed Holika, made of bamboo laths and straw, is formally carried to it and committed to the flames. In villages and small towns the benfire is public, and is made outside the houses. The figure is conveyed to the spot by Brahmans or Vaishnavas, in regular procession, attended by musicians and singers. Upon their arrival at the spot, the image is placed in the centre of the pile, and the ministering Brahman, having circumambulated it seven times, sets it on fire. The assistants should then immediately return to their homes. The remainder of the day is passed in merriment and feasting. Before daylight on the morning of the fifteenth, the image of Krishna is carried to the swing, which has been previously set up, and placed in the seat or cradle, which, as soon as the dawn appears, is set gently in motion for a few turns. This is repeated at noon, and again at sunset. During the day, the members of the family and their visiters, who are numerous on this occasion, amuse themselves by scattering handfuls of red powder over one another, or by sprinkling each other with rose-water, either plain or similarly tinted. The place where the swing is erected is the usual site of the sport, and continues so for several days. Boys and persons of the lower orders sally forth into the streets and throw the powder over the passengers, or wet them with the red liquid thrown 15

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226 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS through syringes, using, at the same time, abusive and obscene language. In the villages, the men generally take part in the mischief, and persons of respectability and females are encountered with gross expressions, or sometimes with rough usage, and rarely, therefore, trust themselves out of their houses whilst the license continues. The people of Orissa have no bonfire at the Dola Yatra, but they observe the swinging and the scattering of the abira; they have also some peculiar usages. Their Gosains, Bralimans, followers of Chaitanya, carry in procession the images of the youthful Krishna to the houses of their disciples and their patrons, to whom they present some of the red powder and atr of roses, and receive presents of money and cloth in return. The caste of Gopas, or cowherds, is everywhere prominently conspicuons in this ceremony, and especially so amongst the Uriyas; and at the Dola Yatra, or Holi, they not only renew their own garments, but all the harness and equipments of their cattle; they also bathe them and paint their foreheads with sandal and turmeric. They themselves collect in parties, each under a leader or clioraegus, whom they follow through the streets, singing, and dancing, and leaping, as if wild with joy. A curious part of their proceeding, snggesting analogies, possibly accidental, with some almost obsolete usages amongst ourselves, is their being armed with slender wands; and as they go along, the leader every now and then

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OF THE HINDUS. 227 halts and turns round to his followers, and the whole clatter their wands together for an instant or two, when they resume their route, repeating their vociferations and songs, chiefly in praise of Krishna or in commemoration of his juvenile pastimes. Although the Holi is considered in some parts of Hindustan to begin with the vernal fifth, or Vasanta Panchami, yet the actual celebration of it, even in Upper India, does not take place till about ten days before the full moon of Phalguna. The two first days of this term are of preparation merely; new garments, red or yellow, are put on, and families feast and make merry together; on the eighth day, the work proceeds more in earnest: images of Krishna are set up and worshipped, and smeared with red powder, or sprinkled with water, coloured with the same material. In the villages and towns, where there is no Anglo-Indian police to interfere, the people, having selected an open spot in the vicinity, bring thither gradually the materials of a bonfire,-wood, grass, cowdung, and other fuel. The head men of the villages, or the chiefs of the trades, first contribute their quotas; the rest collect whatever they can lay hands npon,-fences, door-posts, and even furniture, if not vigilantly protected. If these things be once added to the pile, the owner cannot reclaim them, and it is a point of honour to acquiesce--any measures, however, are allowable to prevent their being carried off. During the whole period, up to the fifteenth day, the people go about scattering the powder and red liquid 15

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228 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS over each other, singing and dancing, and annoying passengers by mischievous tricks, practical jokes, coarse witticisms, and vulgar abuse. In the larger towns, which are subject to British authority, the festival is restricted to three days, and the celebrants are not permitted to attack indifferent passers by of any degree. In Calcutta little of the festival is witnessed, except among the palankiu bearers, who are generally permitted by their masters to devote a few hours of the forenoon, for two or three days, to amuse themselves by staining each others' faces and clothes, and singing and dancing, and sometimes getting tipsy. They do not venture to throw the powder over their masters, but they bring a small quantity with some sweetmeats on a tray, and the courtesy is acknowledged by those who do not despise national observances and the merry-making of their dependants by placing two or three rupees upon the platter. In the native regiments a little more licence is allowed, and the officers are gently bepowdered with the abira ; and at the Courts of Hindu princes, when such things were, the British Resident and the officers of his suite were usually participators in the public diversions of their Highnesses. An amusing account of the proceedings at the Court of Maharaj Dowlat Rao Sindhia is given by Major Broughton, in his letter from a Marhatta camp. We have, however, in this digression rather anticipated matters, and must return to the fourteenth day, by which time the pile of the bonfire is completed.

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OF THE HINDUS. 229 It is then consecrated and lighted up by a Brahman, and when the flames break forth, the spectators crowd round it to warm themselves, an act that is supposed to avert ill-luck for the rest of the year; they engage also in some rough gambols, trying to push each other nearer to the fire than is agreeable or safe, and as the blaze declines, jump over and toss about the burning embers; when the fuel is expended and the fire extinct, which is not until the fifteenth or full moon, the ashes are collected and thrown into the water. Such of the celebrants as are Saivas take up part and smear their bodies over with them in imitation of Siva. According to Colonel Tod, the practice of the Rajputs conforms so far to the original institution, that for forty days after the Vasanta Panchami, or up to the full moon of Phalguna, the utmost licence prevails at Udaypur, both in word and action; the lower classes regale on stimulating confections and intoxicating liquors, and even respectable persons roam about the streets like bacchanals, vociferating songs in praise of the powers of nature. The chief orgies, however, take place after the beginning of Phalguna, when the people are continually patrolling the streets, throwing the common powder at each other, or ejecting a solution of it from syringes, until their clothes and countenances are all of the same dye. A characteristic mode of keeping the festival is playing the Holi on horseback, when the riders pelt each other with balls of the red powder, inclosed in thin plates of talc which break when they strike.

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230 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS On the full moon, or Purnima, the Rana goes in state to an open pavilion in the centre of a spacious plain, where he is attended by his chiefs, and passes an hour listening to the Holi songs. The surrounding crowd amuse themselves with throwing the red powder on all within their reach. After this, the Rana feasts his chiefs, and presents them with cocoanuts and swords of lath, in burlesque of real swords; "in unison," Tod observes, "with the character of the day, when war is banished, and the multiplication not the destruction of man is the behest of the goddess who rules the Spring." At nightfall the forty days conclude with the burning of the Holi, when they light large fires into which various substances as well as the abira are cast, and around which groups of children are dancing and screaming in the streets. The sports continue till three hours after sunrise, when the people bathe, change their garments, worship and return to the state of sober citizens; and princes and chiefs receive gifts from their domestics. Amongst the Tamils, or people of Madras and the farther south, the Dolotsava, or Swing Festival, does not occur until about a month later; but on the fifteenth of Phalguna they have a celebration more analogous to the Holi of Hindustan, and which is no doubt a genuine fragment of the primitive institution, the adoration of the personified Spring as the friend and associate of the deity of Love. The festival of the full moon of Phalguna is the Kama-dahanam, the burning of Kamadeva, whose effigy is committed to

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OF THE HINDUS. 231 the flames. This is supposed to commemorate the legend of Kama's having been consumed by the flames which flashed indignant from the eye of Siva, when the archer god presumed to direct his shaft against the stern deity, and inflame his breast with passion for Parvati, the daughter of the monarch of the Himalaya Mountains. Kamadeva was reduced to a heap of ashes, although he was afterwards restored to existence by the intercession of the bride of Mahadeva. The bonfires in the Dekhan are usually made in front of the temples of Siva, or sometimes of Vishnu, at midnight, and when extinct the ashes are distributed amongst the assistants, who rub them over their persons. The scattering of the abira, the singing and abuse, and the ordinary practices of the festival in Upper India, are also in use in the South. The prominence given to Kamadeva at this season by the Tamil races, and their preserving some remnant of the purport of the primitive festival, are the more interesting, that little or no trace of the chief object of worship is preserved in Upper India. Kamadeva and Vasanta are quite out of date, and legends of a totally different tendency have been devised to explain the purpose of the bonfire and the effigy exposed to it. The heroine of these legends is a malignant witch, or a foul female goblin, or Rakshasi, named Hori, Holi, or Holika, a word which, although it occurs in some of the Puranas, is not of a very obvious Sanskrit etymology?. It appears from the Bhavishyottara Purana, as given below,

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232 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS According to one account Holi is the same as the female demon Putana, of whom it is related in the Vishnu and Bhagavata Puranas", and in the popular biographies of Krishna taken from them, that she attempted to destroy the baby Krishna, by giving him her poisoned nipples to suck. The little god, knowing with whom he had to deal, sucked so hard and perseveringly, that he drained the Rakshasi of her life. The popular legend adds, that the dead body disappeared, and the Gopas, or cowherds of Mathura, burnt the Rakshasi therefore in effigy. The chief authority for the institution of the Holi, however, is the Bhavishyottara Purana **, and as an authentic representation of the popular notion which now prevails, and which is nevertheless no doubt erroneous, I shall give a translation of the legend told in that compilation. "Yudhishthira said, "Tell me, Janardana, wherefore on the full moon of Phalguna, a festival is celebrated in the world, in every village, and in every town; why are children playing and dancing in every house, why is the Holika lighted, what words are uttered, what is the meaning of the name Attataja, what of Siloshna, what divinity is worshipped at this to be derived from Homa, burnt offering, and Loka, mankind; because the latter are made prosperous by the performance of the former on this occasion: an evidently fanciful derivation. * [V. P. V, 5. Bhag. P. X, 4. Harivansa, 3423 ff.] ** [c. 117.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 233 season, by whom was the rite instituted, what observances are to be practised? Give me, Krishna, a full account of these things.' Krishna replied: 'In the Krita age, Yudhishthira, there was a king named Raghu, a brave warrior, endowed with all good qualities, a kind speaker, and deeply read in the Vedas; he had subdued the whole earth, had brought all its princes under his authority, and virtuously cherished his subjects, as if they had been his own children. In his reign there was neither famine, nor sickness, nor untimely death, nor any iniquity, nor departure from the precepts of religion. Whilst he was thus governing his kingdom, agreeably to the duties of his regal caste, all his people came to him and called upon him to preserve them. They said, 'Lo, into our houses a female Rakshas named Dundha enters, both by day and by night, and forcibly afflicts our children, and she cannot be driven out either by charmed bracelets, or by water, or by seeds of mustard, or by holy teachers skilful in exorcismus. Such, oh king! as we have related, is the story of Dundha.' "When the king heard these things, he consulted the Muni Narada. The Muni replied: 'I will tell you by what means the fiend is to be destroyed. This day is the fifteenth of the light fortnight of Phalguna; the cold season has departed, the warm weather will commence with dawn. Chief of men! let the assdlrance of safety be this day given to your people, and let them, freed from terror, laugh and sport; let the children go forth rejoicing, like soldiers delighted to

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234 go to battle, equipped with wooden swords. Let also a pile of dry wood and stones be prepared, and let it be lighted according to rule, while incantations are recited destructive of wicked fiends. Then let the people, fearless, thrice circumnambulate the fire, exclaiming, 'Kila, kila!' and clapping their hands; and let them sing and laugh, and let every one utter, without fear, whatever comes into his mind. In various ways, and in their own speech, let them freely indulge their tongues, and sing and sing again a thousand times, whatever songs they will. Appalled by those vociferations, by the oblation to fire, and by the loud laughter (attahasa) of the children, that wicked Rakshasi shall be destroyed, and thenceforth the festival of the Holika shall be renowned among mankind. Inasmuch as the oblation to fire (homa), offered by the Brahmans upon this day, effaces sin and confers peace upon the world (loka), therefore shall the day be called the Holika; and inasmuch as the day of full moon comprises the essence of all lunations, so from its intrinsic excellence is Phalguna the bestower of universal happiness. On this day, upon the approach of evening, children should be detained at home; and into the court-yard of the house, smeared with cowdung, let the master of the house invite many men, mostly youths, having wooden swords in their hands: with these they shall touch the children, with songs and laughter, and thus preserving them, shall be entertained with boiled rice and sugar. Thus Dundha is to be got rid of at the hour of sunset, RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS

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OF THE HINDUS. 235 and by this means the safety of children is ensured on the approach of night."" The same authority describes a domestic ceremony to be held on the following morning, when offerings are to be made to a water-jar, as a type of Vishnu; and presents are to be given to bards, singers, and Brahmans. The observance of this secures the enjoyment of all desires, and the continuation of life, wealth, and posterity. Of the songs that are sung at this season, the character is generally said to be higly exceptionable. All that I have had an opportunity of seeing are characterised by little else than insipidity; they are short, seldom exceeding two or three stanzas, the first of which is repeated as a sort of refrain or burden, and the whole song is sung da capo, over and over again. They are either praises of the month or allusions to the juvenile Krishna, in connexion with the festival, and are supposed to be uttered by the female companions of his boyish frolics in Vrindavana. The following are a few of them: I. "Oh friend! proud as you are of your youth, be careful of your garments. The month of Phalguna fills with grief those whose lovers are far away. Oh friend! proud as you are of your youth," &c. II. "The month of Phalguna has arrived; I shall mingle with the crowd, and partake of the sports of the Hori.

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236 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS Oh friend! an hour of pleasure is worth a night of mortification. The month of Phalguna has arrived," &c. III. "I met on my way the lord of Vrindavana: how can I go to fetch water? If I ascend the roof, he pelts me with pellets of clay; if I go to the river, he sprinkles me over with red powder; if I repair to Gokul, he showers upon me tinted dust. Thus he drives me distracted. I met in the way the lord of Vrindavana." IV. "My beloved has sent me a letter to summon his bride home; I blush for my unworthiness. How can I repair to one who knows my imperfections? I blush for my unworthiness. The litter is prepared, but no female friend accompanies me. I blush for my unworthiness, now that my lover summons me home." v. "My boddice is wet through; who has thrown the tinted liquor upon me? It is Kanhaiya, the son of Nanda. It is the month of Phalguna. My boddice is wet through," &c. VI. "Oh lord of Vraj! gaily you sport to the merry sound of the tabor, and dance along with the nymphs of Vrindavana. Oh lord of Vraj!" &c. * * [M. Garcin de Tassy gives a description of this festival, extracted from the works of Jawan, Mir Taqi and Zamir, in his

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237 OF THE HINDUS. The deviation from ancient times and practices which marks the recurrence of the Vernal Festival among the Hindus themselves, renders it far from surprising that we should fail to find an exact accordance, in all respects, between the Indian observance, as now followed, and that which has prevailed in other seasons and places, with respect to celebrations, the general purport and character of which present probable analogies. We have no right to look for a minute agreement, but it can scarcely be doubted, that there were festivals among the Romans, and that there are even yet observances in Europe which express a similar intention, and originated in the same feelings, and which are, possibly, as well as the Hindu Holi, reliques of what was once the universal method adopted by mankind to typify the genial influence of Spring upon both the inanimate and animated creation, and to express the passionate feelings inspired by the season, and the delight which the revival of nature diffused. The season of Spring began with the Romans, as with the Hindus, as has been observed, early in the year, on the fifth of the Ides of February; between this and the middle of March different festivals occur, "Notice sur les fetes populaires des Hindous". Paris: 1834, p. 38-46, and his "Histoire de la Litterature Hindoui et Hindoustani", I, 549 f. See also Chrestomathie Hindoustani. Paris: 1847, p. 122. Price's Hindee and Hindoostanee Selections. Calcutta: 1827, I, 250 and 276, and the articles Dolah and IIolaka in the Sabdakalpadruma, p. 1442-6, and p. 7230 f.]

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238 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS which exhibit some, though not very striking points of coincidence with the Holi. It is clear, however, that their origin and character were not very well understood by the Romans themselves. Thus of the Lupercalia, when young men ran naked through the city, and married women placed themselves in their way to be struck by them as they passed with leather thongs, under an idea that they were to become prolific thereby, little seems to have been known, except that the festival was of foreign origin and high antiquity, and that it was referable to the rustic sports of the shepherds and cowherds, the Gopas of Arcadia. Again, of the Festum Stultorum, the accounts are meagre and by no means satisfactory. The Matronalia Festa, on the Kalends of March, were more intelligible, and had for their object the increase of progeny, in harmony with the foliation of the trees, the budding of the grass, the pairing of birds, which were the effects of the season of Spring, and which are equally held in view in the celebration of the Holi, which is considered to be especially promotive of the multiplication of offspring, and preservative of the health and life of children. Another festival of the period, held on the fifteenth of March, is very imperfectly described, and still more imperfectly explained, the worship of the goddess Anna Perenna; a goddess identified with Themis, with Io, with Atlantis, with Luna, or with Anna, the sister of Dido*. This was * [L. Preller, Romische Mythologie. Berlin: 1858, p. 304 ff.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 239 celebrated in the open air by country people with rustic sports, as drinking, singing, and dancing; and a remarkable and unaccountable part of the celebration was the use of ancient or vulgar jokes and obscene language, joci veteres obscenaque dicta canuntur. Finally, on the sixteenth of the Kalends of April, or the seventeenth March, occurred the Liberalia, or Festival of Bacchus, of whom, in this place, Ovid makes a singular remark, possibly embodying an ancient tradition, that burnt-offerings and oblations originated with Bacchus after his conquest of India and the East. Ante tuos ortus arae sine honore fuere, Liber, et in gelidis herba reperta focis. Te memorant Ganga, totoque oriente subacto, Primitias magno seposuisse Jovi.-Fasti III, 727-30. The character of these festival days in the Roman Calendar, and the period during which they took place, suggest probable analogies to the practices of the Hindus at the same season. The analogies are, it is true, very general and unprecise, but to use the words of Brand, "in joining the scattered fragments that survive the mutilation of ancient customs, we must be forgiven if all the parts are not found closely to agree. Little of the means of information have been transmitted to us, and that little can only be eked out by conjecture." Nothing can be more meagre than the Fasti of Ovid in respect to the celebrations above adverted to, and it is obvious that some of them, at least, had become obsolete, even in his day, and that

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240 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS he knew little concerning their origin, or their mode of observance!; yet little doubt can be entertained that their influence is traceable in practices which are to be found about this time of the year in several of the nations of Europe, particularly in the Carnival and in the day of All Fools. The Carnival is derived, according to Moresin, from the times cf Gentilism, and he quotes Joannes Boemus Aubanus for an account of the extravagancies and indecencies with which it was formerly observed in Germany, that identify its affinity to the Lupercal on the one hand, and, as we should say, the Holi on the other. On the three days preceding Lent he observes?, That this was by no means singular is plain, from the adinission of Macrobius, which he puts into the moutlis of two of his interlocutors, Horus and Vettius. - 1 Saturn. cap. XV. ? Quo item modo tres praecedentes quadragesimale jejunium dies peragat, dicere opus non erit, si cognoscatur qua populari qua spontanea insania caetera Germania, a qua et Franconia minime desciscit, vivat, comedit enim et bibit, seque ludo jocoque omnimodo adeo dedit, quasi usus nunquam veniant, quasi cras moritura hodie prius omnium rerum satietatem capere velit; atque ne pudor obstet qui se ludicro illi comunittunt, facies larvis obducunt, sexum et aetatem mentientes, viri mulierum vestimenta, mulieres virorum induunt. Quidam Satyros aut malos demones potius repraesentare volentes, minio se aut atramento tingunt; habituque nefando deturpant; alii nudi discurrentes Lupercos agunt, a quibus ego annuum istum delirandi noren ad nos defluxisse existimo. Naogeorgus, in his description, has a variety of passages as applicable to the Holi as the Carnival:Then old and young are both as much as guests of Bacchus' feast; And four days long they tipple, square, and feede, and never rest.

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OF THE HINDUS. 241 "the whole of Germany eats and drinks and gives itself up to jokes and sports, as if there was not another day to live, and people wear disguises and masks, or stain their faces and vestures with red and black paint, or run about naked like the Luperci, from whom, I think, this annual exhibition of insanity has descended to us." The practices of the Carnival, as now observed in Italy, have been trimmed of their excesses, but even in them there remain vestiges which denote their community of origin with the Holi of the Hindus. The time properly embraces the whole period from the beginning of the year, but as in the festival of Phalguna, the last few days are those on which the principal demonstrations take place, and in the licence which is permitted both in speech and conduct, the wearing of masks and disguises, the reciprocal pelting - feare and shame away; The tongue is set at libertie, and hath no kind of stay. All thinges are lawfull then and done, no pleasure passed by, That in their mindes they can devise, as if they then should die. He also speaks of the nudity of some of the revellers, an indecency of which even the Holi players are never guilty:Some naked runne about the streetes, their faces hid alone With visars close, that so disguised they may of none be knowne, and of the insults to which decent people were subjected, - No matrone olde, nor sober man can freely by them come. [Brand's Pop. Ant., I, 64 ff.] According to Spalding, the Carnival is supposed to begin from New Year's Day. Matthews says it lasts eight days, with intervals, before Lent. 16

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242 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS with real or with mock comfits, and in some places sprinkling with water or throwing powder over each other, obvious analogies exist'. There is another practice which presents also a parallel, the extinguishing of the Carnival. This, in Italy, is refined into frolicsome attempts to blow out each other's lighted candles; but the notion appears to be the same as the burning of the Holi, the lighting and extinction of the bonfire, and scattering of the ashes. There is another of the usages of the Holi which finds a parallel in modern times, althongh at a somewhat later period. It is mentioned by Colonel Pearce, that one subject of diversion during the Holi, is to send people on errands and expeditions that are to end in disappointment, and raise a laugh at the expense of the person sent. He adds that, Sura-addaula, the Nawab of Bengal, of Black Hole celebrity, was very fond of making Holi Fools?. The identity of this practice with making April Fools as noticed by Colonel Pearce, is concurred in by Maurice, who remarks, "that the boundless hilarity and jocund sports, prevalent on the 1st day of April in England, Amongst the Portuguese the practices are these: "on the Sunday and Monday preceding Lent, as on the first of April in England, people are privileged here (Lisbon) to play the fool. It is thought very jocose to pour water on any person who passes, or throw powder in his face, but to do both is the perfection of wit."-Southey's Letters [p. 497]. ? Asiatic Researches, Vol. II, p. 334.

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OF THE HINDUS. 243 and during the Holi Festival in India, have their origin in the ancient practice of celebrating, with festival rites, the period of the vernal equinox, when the new year of Persia anciently began." There was a Festum Stultorum about this period amongst the Romans, the purport of which is not very clearly expressed, but some antiquaries have supposed that it constituted the original of the festivals of the Romish Church, the Festa Stultorum, Innocentium, and the like, the extravagances of the Abbot of Unreason, and the sleeveless errands of All Fools, or April Fool day. The periods at which these rude and boisterous manifestations of merriment took place were something different; but, as Brand observes, the crowded state of the Romish Calendar often led to the alteration of the days set apart for festivity, and in the case of the feast of Old or All Fools he quotes authority for its removal to the first of November from some other date, it being expressly stated in the calendar, Festum Stultorum veterum huc translatum est. The period, therefore, is little material -- the identity of designation, and similarity of practice render it not unlikely that the day of All Fools had originally something in common with the Festum Stultorum and with the Holi". * [See Brand's Popular Antiquities (Bohn), I, 63-102. 131-41. Still more striking coincidences between the Holi and the other above-mentioned festivals and customs will be found in the following books: Fest-Kalender aus Bohmen. Wien und Prag: 1861, 16*

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244 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS BURWA MANGAL.-On the first Tuesday after the Holi, a supplementary repetition of it is held at Benares, with sundry modifications of a not uninteresting description. An account of the festival has been given by the late Mr. J. Prinsep, in his valuable views of Benares, and I had also an opportunity of witnessing its observance. During the day the people go in crowds to a place called Durga kunda, a large tank pp. 56-64. 162-8. Calendrier Belge. Bruxelles: 1861, pp. 116-32. 203-6. Nork, Fest-Kalender. Stuttgart: 1847, p. 261-6. 791828. J. Grimm, deutsche Mythologie (2nd ed.), p. 724-34. Montanus, die deutschen Volksfeste. Iserlohn und Elberfeld: 1854, I, 20-26. Wolf, Beitrage zur deutschen Mythologie. Gottingen: 1852, p. 78. Wolf's Zeitschrift fur deutsche Mythologie. Gottingen: 1853, I, 89. W. Muller, Geschichte der altdeutschen Religion. Gottingen: 1844, p. 135 f. Simrock, deutsche Mythologie. Bonn: 1856, p.547-60. Panzer, Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie. Munchen: 1855, II, 246-52. Liebrecht, Gervasius von Tilbury. Hannover: 1856, p. 173-204. Wuttke, der deutsche Volksaberglaube. Hamburg: 1860, p. 21 f. 182 ff. Rochholz, Schweizersagen aus dem Aargau. Aarau: 1856, II, 190. 196. Rochholz, Allemannisches Kinderlied. Leipzig: 1857, p. 505 f. Vernaleken, Alpensagen. Wien: 1858, p. 350 ff. and Mythen und Brauche des Volks in Oesterreich. Wien: 1859, p. 293 ff. Zingerle, Sitten und Brauche des Tiroler Volkes. Innsbruck: 1857, p. 88-91. Kuhn und Schwartz, Norddeutsche Sagen. Leipzig: 1848, p. 369 ff. Kuhn, Markische Sagen. Berlin: 1843, p. 307-11, and Sagen aus Westfalen. Leipzig: 1859, II, 124-31. Schmitz, Sitten und Sagen des Eifler Volkes. Trier: 1856, I, 13-22. Meier, deutsche Sagen aus Schwaben. Stuttgart: 1852, p. 371-80. 395 f. Lynker, deutsche Sagen und Sitten. Cassel: 1860, p. 236 f. von Hahn, Albanesische Studien. Jena: 1854, pp. 156. 200.] * [Hence its name mangal. See also Price's Hindee and Hindoostanee Selections, I, 277, 1. 4-6.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 245 and temple dedicated to Durga, who is worshipped on this occasion. Although there are no regular processions, yet horses and elephants, gaily caparisoned, are plentifully scattered amongst the throng, and the garden walls along the road are crowded with spectators. Strolling actors, disguised as religious mendicants, or as individuals of inferior caste, both male and female, mingle with the crowd, and divert them with singing and dancing and absurd buffoonery. Sometimes different parties oppose each other in a contest of poetical improvisation. In the evening, the more opulent inhabitants of Benares embark on board boats fitted up for the occasion with platforms and awnings, and parade up and down the river throughout the night, having with them bands of musicians, and singers, and dancing girls. When the evening is advanced, the pinnace of the Raja of Benares moves from his residence at Ramnagar, and slowly descends the stream, followed by other boats, lighted up, and displaying fireworks from time to time, until they take their station off one of the principal ghts. The boats on the river are also illuminated, and are rowed up and down the stream, accompanied by numerous lesser craft selling refreshments, or bearing less wealthy amateurs to catch the strains of some popular songstress. The shore is thronged with people, and discharges of fireworks, with the river pageantry, amuse them until the end of the night. At day-break they are again clustered along the magnificent ghats of Benares, and by their numbers, their order, their

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246 RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS OF THE HINDUS. diversified and many-tinted costumes, in harmony with the elegant architecture of the surrounding edifices, the broad river, and the unclouded sky, present a picture of singular richness, gracefulness, animation, and beauty. Upon the occasion on which I witnessed this festiAal, the Raja, on the morning, received the visits of the Governor-General's agent, Mr. Brooke, and other European gentlemen of the station. They were entertained as usual with naching, but upon taking leave, in addition to the ordinary aspersion of rose-water, which was bestowed so copiously as to amount to a ducking, the guests were pelted with rose-leaves, immense trays of which were brought in for the purpose. The attack was retaliated by a shower of the same missiles, which have at least the character of greater refinement than the confitti di gesso, the plaster of Paris pellets of the Carnival. According to Mr. Prinsep, the ceremony originated with Zemindar Balwant Sing, the father of Raja Chait Sing, who adopted the celebration of the Holi on the river, for the gratification of Mir Rustam Ali, the Mohammedan Governor of the province, who had a house on the river-side. As he observes, however, the name Burwa, old, indicates higher antiquity.

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ON HUMAN SACRIFICES. V. ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE 247 ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. From the Journal of the R. Asiatic Society, Vol. VIII (1852), p. 96-107. I PROPOSE to offer to the Society some illustrations of the sacrifice of human beings as an element of the ancient religion of India. In the first book of the Ramayana* a curious legend is narrated of the son of the Rishi Richika, named Sunansepha, who was sold by his father for a hundred thousand cows to Ambarisha, the king of Ayodhya, to supply the place of a sacrificial animal or victim' * [c. 61 f. Schlegel, c. 63 f. Gorresio. Comp. also Muir's Sanskrit Texts, I, 104 ff.] Schlegel's reading is yajna-pasu, which he renders simply by victima. Gorresio's text is more explicit: in the first place the victim is carried off from the post whilst the king is engaged, nara-medhena, "intanto ch'egli offriva un sacrifizio umano ;" and in the next it is said, in a rather questionable hemistich, however, that the theft was a man endowed with all lucky marks, appointed to be a victim, naram lakshana-sampuriam pasutwe niyo

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248 ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE intended for a sacrifice, but stolen by Indra. Sunahsepha is accordingly conveyed to the place of sacrifice, and being dressed in red garments and decorated with garlands of red flowers, is bound to the stake. By the advice of Viswamitra he prays to Indra and Agni with two sacred verses (gathas, according to Schlegel's edition; richas, in Gorresio's) communicated to him by the Rishi, and Indra bestows upon liim long life, whilst at the same time the king is not disappointed of his reward. This version of the legend leaves it doubtful whether an actual sacrifice of the victim, or one only typical, is intended. The reference made in the Ramayana to the sacred verses by which Sunahsepha propitiated Indra, might lead us to expect some account of the transaction in the text of the Veda; and accordingly, in the first Ashtaka of the Rig-veda the sixth section contains a series of seven hymns, attributed to Sunahsepha, who addresses different divinities in succession. The object of his prayers is not, however, very decidedly pronounced, and in many respects they resemble those of any other worshipper soliciting food, wealth, cattle, and long life; and although liberation from bonds is asked for, yet the text itself intimates that these are only figurative, being the fetters of sin. Neither does it appear that any of the deities called upon to rescue jitam. Schlegel's edition also has a passage to the same purport, that the stolen victim is to be recovered, or a man substituted in its place, and virtually, therefore, the two editions agree, although not exactly in words.

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249 him from any situation of personal peril, and the recompense of his praises is the gift of a golden chariot by Indra, a present rather incompatible with his position as an intended victim. Hence the late Dr. Rosen was led to infer that the Vaidik hymn, except in one or two doubtful passages, bore no relation to the legend of the Ramayana, and offered no indication of a human victim deprecating death.-"In nullo autem horum carminum (si initium hymni quatuor-vigentesimi excipias, quod sane ita intelligi potest) ne levissimum quidem indicium hominis in vitae discrimen vocati et mortem deprecantis*." Whatever may be the conclusions to be drawn from the legend of Sunahsephas as it appears in the Ramayana or in the Rig-veda, there is no question of its purport as it is found in the Aitareya Brahmana which is considered to be the Brahmana portion of the Rigveda; and as the story as there told is characteristic of the style of that and similar works, the precise nature of which is yet but little known, none having been translated or printed, and as several curious circumstances are comprised in the tradition, it will not perhaps be uninteresting to have the story as it is there narrated**. * [Rigveda, ed. Rosen. Adnotationes p. LV.] [Aitar. Br. VII, 13-18. Translated also by R. Roth, in A. Weber's "Indische Studien", I, 458-64 (his further remarks ib. II, 112-23), and M. Muller, in his History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 408-19; the original Sanskrit text ib. p. 573-88.] ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. *Ben

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250 ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE Harischandra, the son of Vedhas, was a prince of the race of Ikshwaku: he had a hundred wives, but no son. On one occasion the two sages, Narada and Parvata were residing in his palace; and he said one day to Narada, "Tell me, why do all creatures, whether possessed of intelligence or devoid of it, desire male progeny? What benefit is derived from a son?" Narada thus replied: "A father who beholds the face of a living son discharges his debt [to his forefathers], and obtains immortality. Whatever benefits accrue to living beings upon earth, in fire, or in water, a father finds still more in his son. A father, by the birth of a son, traverses the great darkness [of both worlds]. He is born as it were of himself, and the son is a well freighted boat to bear him across [the ocean of misery]. What matter the impurity (of childhood), the skin (of the student], the beard fof the householder], the penance (of the hermit). Wish, Brahmans, for a son, for he is a world without reproach. Food, vital air, vesture, dwelling, gold, beauty, cattle, wedlock, a friend, a wife, a daughter, are all contemptible: a son is the light (that elevates his father] to the highest heaven. The husband is himself conceived by his wife, who becomes as it were his mother, and by her in the tenth month he is newly born; therefore is a wife termed genitrix (jaya), for of her is a man born again (jayate). Gods and Rishis implant in her great lustre, and the Gods say to men, this is your parent. There is no world for one without a son. This even know the beasts of the

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251 field, and to beget offspring pair indiscriminately with their kind. [A son] is the much-commended certain path to happiness, by which all [rational] beings having male progeny travel; and birds and beasts are conscious of the same." ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. Having repeated verses to this effect, Narada advised Harischandra to pray to Varuna for a son, promising to present him as an offering to that divinity. "So be it, "said the prince; and repairing to Varuna he said: "Let a son be born unto me, and with him, I will sacrifice to you."-"So be it," said Varuna, and a son was born to the king, who was named Rohita. "A son has been born to you," said Varuna, "sacrifice with him to me."-"An animal," replied the king, "is fit for sacrifice only after ten days from birth. When the term of purification shall have passed, I will sacrifice to you."-"Very well," said Varuna. The ten days expired, and Varuna said, "Now sacrifice with him to me." The king replied, "An animal is fit for sacrifice only when the teeth are cut; let the teeth come through, and then I will sacrifice to you." Varuna consented: the teeth were cut: "and now," said Varuna, "sacrifice with him to me."-"No," replied the king, "an animal is fit for sacrifice only when the first teeth are shed: let the teeth be shed, and then I will sacrifice to you."-"So be it," said Varuna. Well, the teeth were shed; "And now," said Varuna, "sacrifice with him to me."-"No," objected the king; "an animal is fit for sacrifice only when his

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252 ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE [second] set of teeth are through; wait till then, and I will perform the sacrifice." Varuna assented. The second teeth were cut. "Now," said Varuna, "his teeth are produced; sacrifice with him to me.""No," replied the king, "for a Kshatriya is not fit for sacrifice until he has been invested with arms: let him receive his martial investiture, then I will sacrifice to you."-"So be it," said Varuna. The youth grew, and was invested with arms; and Varuna said, "now sacrifice to me with him." The king replied, "Be it so." But he called his son, and said, "My child, Varuna gave you to me, and I have also promised to sacrifice with you to him."-"By no means," said the youth; and taking his bow, he set off to the forest, where he wandered for a twelvemonth. Upon Rohita's disappearance Varuna afflicted the descendant of Ikshwaku with dropsy; which when Rohita heard he set off to return home. On the way he was met by Indra in the shape of a Brahman, who said to him, "We have heard, Rohita, that prosperity attends him who undergoes great labour, and that a man, although excellent, is held in disesteem if he tarries amongst his kin. Indra is the friend of the wanderer, therefore do thou wander on-wander on." Thus spake the Brahman; and Rohita passed a second year in the woods. At the end of that period he turned towards home, but Indra, as a mortal, again met him, and said, "The feet of the traveller bear flowers, his body grows and puts forth fruit. All his sins are effaced by

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ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. 253 the fatigue he incurs in travelling a good road', and they fall asleep. Wander on, therefore-wander on." So said the Brahman; and Rohita spent another year in the woods. At the end of the third year the prince resumed his journey homewards. He was met as before by Indra in a human form, who said to him, "The prosperity of a man who sits down inactive sits also still. It rises np when he rises, it slumbers when he sleeps, and moves when he moves. Wander on, thereforepersist-wander on;" and Rohita remained a fourth year in the forests. At the end of the fourth year, Rohita was again stopped by Indra, who said, "The sleeper is the Kali age; the awaker is the Dwapara; the riser is the Treta, but the mover is the Krita age*. Wander on, therefore--wander on;" and Rohita tarried a fifth year in the woods. At the close of the fifth year he was returning home, but as before Indra encountered him, and said, "The wanderer finds honey--the wanderer finds the sweet fig-tree. Behold the glory of the Sun, who, ever-moving, never reposes. Wander on, therefore --wander on." So Rohita returned for the sixth year to the forests. Whilst wandering thus in the woods he encountered the Rishi Ajigartta, the son of Suyavasa, who was gh. The commentary says, "in going to tirthas," &c. * [Weber's Ind. Stud. I, 286.]

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254 ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE distressed through want of food. He had three sons, Sunahpuchchha, Sunahsepha, and Sunolangula. Rohita said to him, "Rishi, I will give thee a hundred cows for one of these thy sons, that by him I may redeem myself." But the Rishi, taking hold of the eldest, said, "Not this one;" "No, nor this one," said the mother, securing the youngest; but they both agreed to sell the middle son Sunahsepha, and Rohita having paid the hundred cows, took the youth and departed from the woods. He proceeded to his father and said, "Rejoice, father, for with this youth shall I redeem myself." So Harischandra had recourse to the royal Varuna, and said, "With this youth will I sacrifice to you." And Varuna replied, "Be it so-a Brahman is better than a Kshatriya;" and thence directed the king to perform the sacrificial ceremony termed the Rajasuya; and he, on the day of initiation, appointed Sunaksepha to be the human victim. At that sacrifice of Harischandra, Viswamitra was the Hotri or reciter of the Rich; Jamadagni the Adhwaryu or repeater of the Yajush; Vasishtha the Brahma or superintending priest, and Ayasya the Udgatri or chaunter of the Sama; but they had no one who was competent to perform the office of binding the victim, when consecrated, to the stake, whereupon Ajigartta said, "If you give me another hundred cows I will perform the duty;" and they gave him the cows, and he bound the victim. But for the victim thus consecrated and bound, sanctified by the divinities of sacrifice, and thrice circumambulated

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ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. 255 by the priests bearing burning brands of sacred grass, no immolator could be found [amongst the ministrant Brahmans), when Ajigartta again offered himself, saying, "Give me another hundred cows, and I will immolate him;" accordingly they gave him the cows, and he went forth to sharpen his knife? In this interval Sunaksepha reflected, "These [people) will put me to death as if I were not a man', but an animal; my only hope is the aid of some of the gods, to whom I will have recourse." So thinking, he prayed to Prajapati, the first of the gods, with the prayer Kasya nunam,' &c. *; but Prajapati said, "Agni is the nearest of the gods, appeal to him." He did so, saying, 'Agner vayam**:' on which Agni said to him, "Savitri is the lord of all the protecting powers, pray to him;" so Sunaksepha repeated 'Abhi twa deva *** Savitri said, "You are dedicated to the royal Varuna, appeal to him," which Sunahsepha did in the thirty-one following stanzas, beginning "Na hi te kshatram f.' Varuha said "Agni is the mouth of the gods, and most friendly [to man], praise him, and we will set you free," which Sunaksepha did in twenty-two stanzas", Or sword, "asim nihsanay cyaya." ? Or, "as if I were not a man;" for according to the Veda, in the case of a man, after circumambulating, they let him go, and substitute a goat. * [Rig-V. I, h. 24, 1.] ** [ib. 2.] *** [ib. 3.] + [h. 24, 6-15 and h. 25.] 3. We have twenty-three in the text; the last is to be omitted, as not addressed to Agui.

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256 ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE beginning "Vasishtha hi*' Agni said, "Praise the Viswadevas, and then we will liberate you;" so Sunaksepha praised them, saying, 'Namo mahadbhyah,' &c. **; but the Viswadevas said, "Indra is the mightiest of the gods, the most excellent, and the most able to lead men to happiness; worship him, and we will loose you;" so Sunahaepha praised Indra with the hymn beginning "Yach-chi-dhi satya somapa ***;' and Indra, being pleased by this prayer, gave him a golden chariot'. He nevertheless recommended him to propitiate the Aswins; he did so, and they desired him to praise Ushas, or the personified dawn, which he did in three concluding stanzas, on repeating which his bonds fell off, and he was set free; and the king, the father of Rohita, was cured of his complaint. Then the priests said to him, "Perform the completion of this our rite to-day;" on which he showed to them the (mode of] offering the libation of the Soma juice, accompanying it by four stanzas, beginning Yach-chid-dhit;' then having brought the pitcher (drona kalasa), he directed the remainder to be poured into it, with the stanza "Uchchbishtam chambortt;' * (h. 26 and 27, 1-12.] ** [h. 27, 13. See also Muir's Sanskrit Texts II, 195 f.] *** [h. 29.] It is said, "in his mind;" perhaps meaning that he purposed to give it to him. + [h. 29, 1-4.] tt [h. 28, 9.]

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ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. 257 and then with the swaha, preceded by four stanzas *, made the oblation, concluding with an offering to fire'. When the rite was completed, Sunaksepha placed himself by the side of Viswamitra, to whom Ajigartta the son of Suyavasa said, "Give me my son;" but Viswamitra answered, "No, the gods have given him to me." Hence he was called Devarata? (the Godgiven), the son of Viswamitra, from whom descended the Kapileyas and Babhravas. Ajigartta then appealed to Sunahsepha, and said, "My son, your mother and I entreat your return;" and finding him silent, continued, "you are by birth the son of Ajigartta of the race of the Angirasas, learned and renowned; do not separate from your great grandsire's descendants, but come back to me." To which Sunaksepha answered, "All present saw you with the implement of immolation in your hand": such a sight was never beheld even amongst Sudras. Descendant of Angiras, you have preferred three hundred cows to me." Then said Ajigartta, "My child, the wicked act that I have committed afflicts me sorely. I repent me of it. Let the three hundred cows be thine." Sunahsepha an * [h. 28, 1-4.] This is obscure, being little else than the text; but it relates to a particular ceremony called the "Anjas Sara" (Sara Abhishava rijju-margera), "the rightway oblation." Theodotus, Deodatus. 3 Sasa-hastam sarve api adrisuh. Sasa is explained by risanahetuh, the cause or implement of immolating, or khariga, a sword. 17

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258 ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE swered, "He who has once done a wicked deed will be liable to repeat it. Thou canst never be free from the disposition of the vile [Sudras]. Thou hast done what is unpardonable."-"Unpardonable!" repeated Viswamitra, and said, "Dreadful appeared the son of Suyavasa, armed with a weapon, intending to slay. Let not his son be his, but become a son of mine." But then said Sunaksepha to Viswamitra, "Son of a king, explain to me how this may be, that I, of the race of Angiras, can be in the relation of a son to thee?" Viswanitra answered, "Thou shalt be the eldest of my own, and an excellent progeny shall be thine. Thou comest to me as the gift of the gods, and therefore I welcome thee."-"But," said Sunahsepha, "who will assure me, best of the Bharatas, of the concurrence of these [thy sons] for my affiliation and seniority if I become thy son?" Thereupon Viswamitra called his sons together and said, "Madhuchhandas, Rishabha, Renu, Ashtaka, and all the rest of the brethren, listen to my commands, and dispute not the seniority of Sunahsepha." Now Viswamitra had a hundred and one sons, fifty of whom were senior and fifty junior to Madhuchhandas. The seniors did not approve of the adoption, and Viswamitra cursed them and said, "Your progeny shall be degraded;" and consequently their descendants were the Andhras, Pundras, Sabaras, Pulindas, and Mutivas. Thus there are numerous degraded races sprung from Viswamitra, forming the greater portion of the barbarous tribes [Dasyus]. On the other hand, Madhuchhandas and

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259 the fifty who were his juniors said, "We accede to whatever our father considers right. We all give thee, Sunaksepha, precedence, and acknowledge ourselves to be subordinate to thee." Viswamitra, therefore, much pleased with them, said, "Your sons shall be affluent in cattle and possessed of offspring." The latter circumstances told by the Aitareya Brahmana of the descent of barbarous tribes from the sons of Viswamitra, although suggestive of inquiry, are foreign to our present purpose, and need not be further noticed. The main purport of the quotation, the actual sacrifice of a human victim, is fully established, at least at the period of the compilation of the Brahmana: how far that expresses the practice of the Veda period may admit of question. It is the received opinion of Hindu writers that the Brahmanas are an integral part of the Veda. Thus Sayana, the great scholiast on the Vedas, in the introductory discussion on these writings prefixed to his explanation of the text of the Rich, observes upon the authority of Apastamba, "Veda is the denomination of the Mantras and the Brahmanas *." By the Mantras are meant the hymns and prayers; and the Brahmanas, say the Mimansakas, are intended to elucidate and, as it were, individualize the objects which are only generally adverted to in the hymns, as where it is said in the Sukta, or hymn, "give abundantly," the Brahmana explains it, "give or offer * ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. [Rig-V. ed. M. Muller, I, p. 4.] 17.

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260 clarified butter in abundance." The same authorities declare that the Veda consists of two parts, Mantra and Brahmana; and that the only unexceptionable definition which can be given of the latter is, that all that portion of the Veda which is not Mantra is Brahmana*. In exact conformity to these original authorities is the following statement of Mr. Colebrooke. "Each Veda consists of two parts, denominated the Mantras and the Brahmanas, or prayers and precepts. The complete collection of the hymns, prayers, and invocations belonging to one Veda is entitled its Sanhita. Every other portion of Indian Scripture is included under the general head of divinity-Brahmana. This comprises precepts which inculcate religious duties, maxims which explain those precepts, and arguments which relate to theology* To these may be added narratives which illustrate precepts and practices, or explain incidents connected with the origin or objects of the Mantras, such as that of Sunaksepha, which has been cited. ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE Notwithstanding the concurrence of these authorities and the generally prevalent opinion of the Hindus, it requires but a cursory inspection of such a work as the Aitareya Brahmana to deny the accuracy of the attribution. This Brahmana is not an integral part of the Rig-veda, and never could have been so. It is a work of a totally different era, and a totally different # "" [ib. p. 22. History of Ancient Sanskrit Lit. 342 ff.] [Essays, p. 7. Weber, Ind. Stud., I, 3. 14. Manava-kalpasutra, ed. Th. Goldstucker, Introduction, p. 70 fr.] **

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ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. 261 system, and if, as is likely it may be, it is to be received as a type of other similar compilations, conforming as it does accurately enough to the general description, we shall be authorized to draw the same inference with respect to all, and to separate the Brahmanas from the Hindu religion as it appears in the Sanhitas, or collections of the prayers and hymns. The Aitareya Brahmana, as will have been observed in the translation of the legend of Sunahsepha, refers to the lymns or Suktas of the Sanhita, specifying the number of verses in which he was fabled to have addressed the gods, agreeably to their order and place in the Sanhita. Again, in stating that he taught to the priests the manner of offering libations, it quotes the leading phrases of different Suktas which are to be found in different and distant portions of the Sanhita. This, it may be observed, is in strict agreement with the general arrangement of the Brahmanas: directions are given for the performance of various religious rites, and the hymns, or portions of the hymns which are to be repeated on such occasions, are quoted in the same manner, merely by a few initial phrases, and taken from separate and unconnected parts of the Sanlita, very commonly having little relation to the actual ceremony. Now the fact, and still more, the manner of quoting the texts of the Sanhita, necessarily lead to the conclusion, that the Sanhits must have existed in its present form before the compilation of the Bralmana was undertaken, and as it inust have been widely

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262 ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE current and familiarly known, or the citation of broken and isolated texts could neither have been adopted nor verifiable, it must bave assumed its actual arrangement long anterior to the compilation of the Brahmanas. But the Sanhita itself is of a date long subsequent to its component parts. There is no doubt of the accuracy of the tradition that the hymns of the Vedas had long been current as single and iconnected compositions, preserved in families or schools by oral communication, probably for centuries; and that they were finally collected and arranged as we now have them, by a school or schools of learned Brahmans, of which Vyasa (possibly an abstraction, as it means merely an arranger') was the nominal head. Allowing, therefore, a considerable period before the Sanhitas were collected into forin, and another interval before they could be familiarly referred to, it follows that the Bralmanas cannot be an integral part of the Veda, understanding thereby the expression of the primitive notions of the Hindus, and that they are not entitled to be classed as authorities for the oldest and most genuine system of Hindu worship. In fact, in the Brahmanas we find fully developed the whole Brahmanical system, of much of which we have but faint and questionable indications in the Mantras. We have the whole body of both religious and social institutions -- a variety of practices alluded to of a more complicated texture than the apparently simple ritual of the Sanhita; and the complete recognition both in name and practice of the different

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ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. 263 castes, the Brahman, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra: we have also the Brahmans distinguished as differing among themselves in tribe and dignity, and sometimes engaged in disputes for precedence and the exclusive performance of particular rites, all which it may be observed is incontrovertible proof that a very long interval had elapsed between the composition of the Suktas and the Brahmanas - between the first dawn and the noon-day culmination of the Brahmanical system. Having come to the conclusion then that the Brahmanas are not an integral part of the primitive Veda or Hindu system, but admitting that they may be considered as an essential part of the Veda of the Brahmans, or as a scriptural authority for the Brahmanical forms of worship, and for their social institutions when fully developed, we have next to consider the period to which they may belong, and how far they may be regarded as authentic representations of an ancient (though not the most ancient) religious and social system in India. This, as usual with all Hindu chronology, is a difficult question: certainty is unattainable, but we may come to probable conclusions within reasonable limits from internal evidence. The Brahmanas are posterior to the discontinuance of exclusively oral teaching; they could not cite miscellaneous and unconnected texts to the extent to which they cite them, unless those texts had been accessible in a written shape. They are subsequent therefore to the use of writing, to which the hymns or Mantras

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264 were in great part, if not wholly, anterior. They are prior in all probability to the heroic poems, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, as we have no allusions to the demigods and heroes whom they celebrate; no allusion to Krishna and Rama, although the latter name occurs as that of a Brahman, the son or a descendant of Bhrigu, which has nothing to do with Rama, the son of king Dasaratha, any more than the name of Krishna, which occurs in the Sanhita as the name of an Asura, implies any allusion to the Krishna of the Mahabharata. There is no reference to any controversial opposition to the doctrines, or rites of Brahmanical Hinduism, although differences of opinion as to the purport of the performance of some ceremonies are adverted to, and so far therefore, we have no reference to Buddhism. Again, the Aitareya Brahmana is prior to the Sutras, or rules for conducting religious rites, ascribed to Aswalayana, Baudhayana, and others who are undoubtedly authors of a remote period. It is, perhaps, not far from the period of the oldest passages in the laws of Manu, in some of which we find allusions to the narratives of the Brah mana, as in the case of Sunahsepha, and also of a prince named Paijavana, who is not named in later works. In the etymology also of the term jaya, a wife, as one in whom a man is born again in the person of a son, we have the very same words'. The ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE + [VII, 41 f. X, 105 ff. Mahabh. XII, 2304, quoted by Weber, Ind. Stud., II, 194.] 1 Manu, b. IX, v. S.

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ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. 265 Brahmana may be the earlier of the two, but not by any very great interval. Finally, the style, although more modern than that of the Veda, is ancient and obscure, and contains many words and phrases of Vaidik antiquity. Upon the whole, as a mere matter of conjecture, subject to reconsideration, I should be disposed to place the Aitareya Brahmana about six or seven centuries before the Christian era. So far, therefore, it may be received as authority to a qualified extent for the primitive practices of the Hindus, and for including amongst them the sacrifice, on particular occasions, of human victims. Not that the practice ever prevailed to the extent to which it spread throngh most of the ancient nations, or partook in general of the same character. These, it has been asserted, were entirely of an expiatory nature, performed under an impression of fear, and intended to deprecate the anger of the Gods. Such were the sacrifices of the Druids, the Scythians, and the Phaenicians; and such were the Thargelia of the Athenians, when a man and woman were annually put to death in order to expiate the sins of the public, and redeem them from any national calamity. They were not, however, restricted to this source, but were not unfrequently vindictive, as when prisoners taken in war were sacrificed, like the three hundred citizens of Perusia whom Augustus offered in one day to his deified uncle (Divo Julio); or as the Grecian navigators whom the barbarians of Tauris sacrificed to Artemis whenever cast upon their shores. They had their

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266 ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE origin also in notions of divination, as was the case in the worship of Mithra, when anguries were taken from the entrails of human victims*; and they seem in some instances to have been suggested by a purely sanguinary spirit, as was the case with the perpetually recurring sacrifices to Baal and Moloch in the Phaenician Colonies, and especially in Carthage'. No inti. mations of any such purposes are traceable in the indistinct allusions to human sacrifices in the Veda. Their object seems to have been the propitiation of some divinity, by devoting to him that which was most precions to the sacrificer. This feeling seems also to have been very widely diffused throughout the East in the most ancient times, as was the practice of the individual of pledging himself to the act by a solemn promise or vow. We might infer that the practice was not imknown to the patriarchal era, from the conduct of Abraham when commanded to offer up his son; for although he would not under any circumstances have hesitated to obey the divine command, yet he might, consistently with his obedience, have expressed some surprise at the injunction, had the pour port of it been wholly unfamiliar. At a later date in the Jewish history we have a similar sort of sacrifice under a solemn previous engagement in the vow of Jephtha; and it is worthy of remark that one of * [Windischmann, Mithra. Leipzig: 1857, p. 68.] See Bryant's Chapter on Anthropothusia and Teknothusia, Vol. VI, p. 296.

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ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. 267 the causes assigned by the Greek writers to the detention of the feet at Aulis, and consequent sacrifice of Iphigenia, was Agamemnon's violation of the vow which he had made to offer to Diana the most lovely thing which the year in which his daughter was born should produce: Iphigenia was that thing, and the sacrifice was insisted on in satisfaction of the vow. The offering of children to Moloch, subsequently borrowed by the Jews from their idolatrous neighbours, originated probably in a similar feeling, which it is evident exercised a very extentive influence over the nations of Western Asia in remote antiquity, and, as appears from the story of Sunahsepha, was not confined to that quarter, but had reached the opposite limits of Asia at a period at least prior by ten or twelve centuries to the Christian era. Further, we find a like community of ideas in the institution of vicarious sacrifices. In the story of Sunahaepha, one human victim is substituted for another, whilst in the parallel cases of antiquity the substitutes were animals. It is not unlikely that this was also a primitive notion of the Hindus, and at any rate it had become so by the time of the Brahmanas; for Sunahsepha is made to say, "They will put me to death as if I were not a man"--that is, according to Sayana's commentary, founded upon a text of the Veda which he cites, but which is not easily verified, when the assistants had circunambulated the person bound to the stake, they set liim free without any detriment, and substituted an animal (a goat) in his

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268 place. Hence Mr. Colebrooke concluded that the Purusha-medha, or sacrifice of a man, was never anything but typical; and the ceremony as enjoined in the Satapatha Brahmana of the Yajush, on which his opinion was founded, is evidently of that character. In this, one hundred and eighty-five men of various specified tribes, characters, and professions, are bound to cleven yupas, or posts, and after recitation of a hymn celebrating the allegorical immolation of Narayana, they are liberated unhurt, and oblations of butter are offered on the sacrificial fire". Hence Mr. Colebrooke** concludes that human sacrifices were not authorized by the Veda itself, but were either then abrogated and an emblematical ceremony substituted in their place, or they were introduced in later times by the authors of such works as the Kalika Purana, for instance, in which minute directions are given for the offering of a human victim to Kali, whom it is said his blood satisfies for a thousand years. That human offerings to the dark forms of Siva *** and Durga were sometimes perpetrated in later times, we know from various original sources, particularly from that very effective scene in the drama of Madhava and Malati, in which Aghoraghanta is represented as about to sacrifice Malati to Chamunda, when she is it ** ON HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE *** [White Yajurveda c. 30 & 31.] [Essays, p. 35.] [India three thousand years ago, by Dr. J. Wilson. Bombay: 1858, p. 68, Note.]

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ANCIENT RELIGION OF INDIA. 269 rescued by her lover*. No such divinities, however, neither Siva nor Durga, much less any of their terrific forms, are even named, so far as we know, in the Vedas, and therefore these works could not be authority for their sanguinary worship. That the practice is enjoined on particular occasions by the Tantras and some of the Purauas connected with this branch of the Hindu faith, is, no doubt, true; but these are works of a much later date, within the limits mostly of the Mohammedan government within the period of which the works were compiled, and under which their injunctions could not safely have been carried into operation; and they never amounted perhaps to more than the expression of the feeling inspired by the character of the divinities worshipped, although they may have been occasionally attempted to be realized by some fierce and fanatical enthusiasts. These practices, therefore, are of a very different character from those which there is reason to believe might have actually taken place, though rarely and under special circumstances, under the authority of the Veda, and which originated in a common feeling and faith diffused throughout the most civilized nations of the world--the nations of the East-in the remotest periods of antiquity. * [Act V, p. 82 ff.]

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270 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES VI. ON THE SUPPOSED VAIDIK AUTHORITY FOR TIIE BURNING OF IUNDU WIDOWS, AND ON THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF THE IIINDUS. From the Journal of the R. Asiatic Society, Vol. XVI (1854), p. 201-14. In the lecture on the Vedas which I read during our last session I had occasion to notice some very remarkable passages in one of the Suktas, or Hymns of the Rich, relating to the disposal of the dead, and especially to the burning of widows, for which the hymn in question was always cited as authority. I stated then that the text quoted for that purpose had a totally different tendency, and that there was some reason to doubt if it was the ancient practice of the Hindus to burn their dead at all, quoting texts which seemed to enjoin burying, not burning. I added, however, that I had not had time to consider the passages with that care which they required, and that I communicated only the results of my first impressions. I have since examined the passages more deliberately, and propose now to offer to the Society the conclu

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OF THE HINDUS. 271 sions which I have deliberately formed; namely, that the text of the Rig Veda cited as authority for the burning of widows enjoins the very contrary, and directs them to remain in the world, and that, although the expressions relating to the disposal of the dead are somewhat equivocal, yet it seems most probable, upon a comparison with other texts and authorities, that the corpse was burned, although the ashes and bones were afterwards buried. The Sukta or hymn affording the ground of these observations is a remarkable one: it is the second of the second Anuvaka of the tenth Mandala, or the twenty-sixth to the twenty-eighth Varga of the sixth Adhyaya or section of the seventh Ashtaka. It is attributed to Sankusuka, the son of Yama, of course a fabulous attribution, and is addressed, at least in the earlier verses, to Mrityu, or Death, and in the last to the Pitris, the Manes or progenitors. To leave no doubt of its purport, I propose to give the following translation of the entire Sukta, as well as a transcript of the original Sanskrit. 1. Depart, Mrityu, by a different path, by that which is thine own, different from the path of the Gods. I speak to thee who hast eyes, who hast ears. Injure not our female progeny, harm not our male. 2. Ye who approach the path of death, but are possessed of prolonged existence, ye who are entitled to reverence, prosperous with offspring and wealth, may ye be pure and sanctified.

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272 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES 3. May those who are living be kept distinct from the dead; may the offering we present this day to the gods be propitious. Let us go with our faces to the east, to dance and be merry; for we are in the enjoyment of prolonged life. 4. I place this circle [of stones] for the living, on this account, that no other may go beyond it. May they live a hundred years; keeping death at a distance by this heap. 5. As days follow days in succession, and seasons are succeeded by seasons, as one man follows another, so, Dhatri, do thou prolong the lives of these [my kinsmen]. 6. Reaching to old age with still-ascending life, and following active in succession as many as may be, may Twashtri, being propitiated, grant you prolonged life. 7. May these women, who are not widows, who have good husbands, who are mothers, enter with unguents and clarified butter: without tears, without sorrow, let them first go up into the dwelling. 8. Rise up, woman, come to the world of living beings, thou sleepest nigh unto the lifeless. Come; thou hast been associated with maternity through the husband by whom thy hand was formerly taken. 9. Taking his bow from the hand of the dead, that it may be to us for help, for strength, for fame, [I say] here verily art thou, and here are we: accompanied by our valiant descendants, may we overcome all arrogant adversaries.

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OF THE HINDUS. 273 10. Go to the mother earth, this wide-spread blessed earth; to the liberal man she is a maiden soft as wool; may she protect thee from the proximity of the evil being 11. Lie up slightly) earth, oppress him not, be bounteous to him, treat him kindly, cover him, earth, as a mother covers an infant with the skirts of her garment. 12. May earth lying lightly up, stay well; may thousands of particles (of soil] rest upon it; may these abodes be ever sprinkled with clarified butter, and may they, day by day, be to him an asylum. 13. I heap up the earth above thee, and placing this clod of clay, may I not hurt thee; may the Manes protect this thy monument, and Yama ever grant thee here an abode. 14. New days sustain me, as the feather upholds the shaft, but I restrain my voice now grown old, as the reins hold in a horse*. The language of this hymn is, as usual, sometimes obscure; and may admit, if not in essentials, at least in some of the details, of a different version from the above. I have had the advantage, however, of comparing my translation of verses 7 to 13 inclusive with a translation of the same, as I shall presently mention, * [This hymn was translated into German by R. Roth in the "Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft" Vol.VIII (1854), 467 ff. and by M. Muller ib. Vol. IX (1855), p. vi ff., both translations being accompanied by the Sanskrit text.] 18

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274 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES by Dr. Max Muller, and except in one or two particulars of no very great importance, our versions agree. In verse 8, which has the most important bearing upon the question of Sati, there is no difference; and its meaning is confirmed by other circumstances which I shall presently notice. In the first place, however, we must take the seventh verse, as it has been supposed to authorise the practice of the burning of the widow. It has been, no doubt correctly, thus translated by Mr. Colebrooke: "Om. 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, excellent; let them pass into fire, whose original element is water." From the Rig Veda.-As. Res. IV, p. 213*. Now this is evidently intended to be the same verse as the text before us, with the addition of the last clause, "whose element is water," for which we have no equivalent; the rest of the stanza may be readily compared and the variations accounted for. Our verse has, "may these women not widows," avidhava, a reading that at once overthrows the authority for cremation; as, if they are not widows, there is no necessity for their burning. A somewhat different version may be admitted, by interpreting the "words not to be widowed," although even in this case it implies the absence of the only condition upon * [Essays, p. 71.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 275 which a woman's ascending the funeral pile depended; but avidhava cannot be so rendered; it is present, not future. "Good wives" might be the rendering of supatni, although as an epithet it would be preferably "those having good husbands." In either case the reason for burning is wanting. The collyrium or inguents, and the ghee, are much the same in both, but, in the next phrase, "consign themselves to the fire,"--the versions are widely at variance. The text has, in the first place, merely samvisantu, -"let them enter," or as the commentator explains it, -"let them take their own place," swastunam pravisantu ; in the second half we have, "let them go up," urohantu; but it is not said, where to they are to go up; and here we have no doubt the origin of the error, if not a wilful alteration of the text,- the words are arohantu yonim agre, literally, "let them go up into the dwelling first;" the reading to which it has been altered is, urohuntu yonim agneh, "let them go up to the place of the fire:" agneli, the genitive of agni, having been substituted for agre, locative of agra used adverbially: there is no doubt, however, that the latter is the correct reading, not only by the concurrence of the manuscripts, and the absence of the visarga, the sign of the genitive, but by the explanation given by the commentator Sayana, himself a Brahman of distinguished rank and learning, and who explains it sarvesham prathamato griham agachchhantu,-"let them come home first of all;" the phrase having reference, therefore, to some procession, 18*

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276 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES one possibly accompanying the corpse, and having nothing whatever to do with consigning themselves to the fire. The succeeding verse of the hymn is confirmatory of the purport of the preceding one. It would be rather inconsistent with any intention of burning the woman to enjoin her to repair to the world of living beings, jiva-lokam, the sense of which is wholly unequivocal, as we have proof in the verse of the Hitopadesa*: "acquirement of wealth, constant good health, a beloved mistress, a gentle wife, a dutiful son, and knowledge bringing emolument, are the six sources of happiness (jiva-lokeshu) in the world of living beings;" jiva-lokam must, therefore, imply an exhortation to the widow to return to her social duties, cherishing the recollection, but not sharing the death of her husband. Sayana explains the term precisely to this effect, when he interprets jiva-loka, putra pautradi, "sons and grandsons," evidently understanding that the widow is to return to the bosom of her family. The author of the Grihya sutra, Asvalayana, furnishes further proof of what is meant, as he specifies the person who is to address the stanza to the widow, placed on the north of her deceased husband's head, and who is to be her husband's brother, or a fellowstudent, or an old servant, and who, having thus spoken to her, is to take her away. The authority of * [Pr. 18. See the St. Petersburgh Dictionary s. v.]

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OF THE HINDUS. 277 the Sutras is little inferior to that of the Veda; and here, therefore, we have additional and incontestable proof, that the Rig Veda does not authorise the practice of the burning of the widow. In order that there may be no room for cavil, I subjoin the whole of the hyinn in the original, with Sayana's comment on the seventh and eighth verses; the passage from the Sutra also occurs subsequently". | 1. paraM mRtyo anu parehi paMthAM yaste sva itaro devayAnAta cakSuSmate zRNvate te bravImi mA naH prajAM rIriSo mota vIrAna // 2. mRtyoH padaM yopayanto yadaita drAghIya AyuH prataraM dadhAnAH ApyAyamAnAH prajayA dhanena zuddhAH pUtA bhavata yajJiyAsaH // 3. me jIvA vi mRtairA vavRtrannabhUdbhadrA devahUtinoM adya prAJco agAma nRtaye hasAya drAdhIya AyuH prataraM dadhAnAH // 4. imaM jIvebhyaH paridhiM dadhAmi maiSAM nu gAdaparo arthametaM zataM jIvaMtu zaradaH purUcIraMtarmRtyu dadhatAM parvatena // 5. yathAhAnyanupUrva bhavaMti yatha Rtava Rtubhiryati sAdhu ____ yathA na pUrvamaparo jahAtyevA dhAtarAyUMSi kalpayaiSAM // 6. A rohatAyurjarasaM vRNAnA anupUrva yatamAnA yati STha ____ iha tvaSTA sujanimA sajoSA dIrghamAyuH karati jIvase vaH / 7. imA nArIravidhavAH supatnIrAMjanena sarpiSA saM vizaMtu ___anathavo 'namIvAH saratnA A rohaMtu janayo yonimagre // 8. udIrgha nAryabhi jIvalokaM gatAsumetamupa zeSa ehi ___hastagrAbhasya didhiSostavedaM patyurjanitvamabhi saM babhUtha // 9. dhanurhastAdAdadAno mRtasyAsme kSatrAya varcase balAya atraiva tvamiha vayaM suvIrA vizvAH spadhI abhimAtIrjayema // 10. upa sarpa mAtaraM bhUmimetAmuruvyacasaM pRthivI suzevAM UrNamradA yuvatirdakSiNAvata eSA tvA pAtu nirdhaterupasthAt // 11. ucchRcasva pRthivi mA ni bAdhathAH sUpAyanAsmai bhava sUpavaMcanA mAtA putraM yathA sicAbhyenaM bhUma Uhi // 12. ucchaMcamAnA pRthivI su tiSThatu sahasraM mita upa hi zrayaMtAM te gRhAso ghRtazcuto bhavaMtu vizvAhAsmai zaraNAH sNvtr| 13. uttai stabhAmi pRthivIM tvatparImaM logaM ni dadhanmo ahaM riSaM etAM sthUNAM pitaro dhArayaMtu te 'trA yamaH sAdanA te minotu //

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278 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES The other prominent topic of the Sukta, the disposal of the dead body, is of less importance, but is not without interest; it is treated of especially in the three verses succeeding those relating to the widow, and the phraseology is certainly more in favour of burying than of burning. The consigning of the deceased to the earth, and the anxiety expressed that 14. pratIcIne mAmahanISyAH parNamivA dadhuH pratIcI jagrabhA vAcamazvaM razanayA yathA // The following is Sayana's commentary on the seventh and eighth verses. 7. imAnArIriti // avidhavAH dhavaH patiH avigatapatikAH jIvadbhartakA ityarthaH // supatnIH zobhanapatikAH imA nArI: nArya AMjanena sarvato janasAdhanena sarpipA ghRtena aktanetrAH satyaH saMvizaMtu svagRhAnpravizaMtu tathA anazravaH azruvarjitAH arudatyaH anamIvAH amIvA rogastadUrjitA mAnasaduHkhavarjitA ityarthaH // suratnAH zomanadhanasahitAH / janayaH janayaMtyapatyamiti janayo bhAr2yAH // tA agre sarveSAM prathamata eva yoniM gRhaM ArohaMtu AgacchaMtu / devarAdikaH pretapatnImudIrgha nArItyanayA bhartRsakAzAdutthApayetsUtritaM ca // 8. udIrveti / he nAri mRtasya pani jIvalokaM jIvAnAM putrapau trAdInAM lokaM sthAnaM gRhamabhilakSya udIrdhva asmAtsthAnAduttiSTha / Ira gatI AdAdikaH / gatAsamutkrAMtaprANametaM patiM upazeSe tasya samIpe svapiSi tasmAttvaM ehi Agaccha yasmAttvaM hastagrAbhasya pANigrAhaM kurvataH didhiSoH garbhasya nidhAtuH tavAsya patyu: saMbaMdhAdAgataM idaM janitvaM jAyAtvamabhilakSya saMbabhUtha saMbhUtAsi anusaraNanizcayamakArSIH tasmAdAgaccha // From the expression anusarana nischayam akarshih, "thou hast made the determination of following," it would appear as if Sayava considered the burning as only delayed; but, besides that subsequent burning is not consistent with the presence of the corpse, we must recollect the commentator expresses only the notion of his own time, or the 14th century, when of course the practice existed.

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it may lie lightly upon, and may defend, his remains, is clearly enjoined, but it is possible that it may refer only to the ashes and remaining bones after burning, the collection and formal burial of which is always directed. We have here also the analogy of other ancient people, by whom we know the dead were burned and the ashes entombed, over which a mound or monument was raised. And again: OF THE HINDUS. Moerentes altum cinerem et confusa ruebant, Ossa focis tepidoque ornabant aggere terrae. * 279 At pius AEneas ingenti mole sepulcrum Imponit And a common funeral inscription was: Sit tibi terra levis; although nothing but the reliquiae were to be pressed upon. So far, therefore, it is possible, that the verses refer only to the burying of the ashes and the bones, and that the bodies were burned. There are other passages in favour of this view of the subject, whilst the Grihya Sutras are sufficiently explicit. The following directions for the burial of the dead are derived from the Sutras of Aswalayana; and as they differ in many respects from the actual practice described by Mr. Colebrooke in the seventh volume of the Asiatic Researches, and are obviously of a much more ancient [Essays, p. 97.]

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280 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES and primitive character, they may be thought to deserve publication. I have been favoured with the version by Professor M. Muller, but I have verified it by comparison with the original text: the commentary which he has used I have not had the means of consulting "The burial ceremonies, as observed by the Brahmans during the Vaidik period, are explained in Asvalayana's Grilya-sutras, in the fourth or last chapter*. The Grihya-sutras describe what might be called the domestic or family rites of the Hindus. They lay down general rules which are to be observed at marriages, at the birth of a child, on the day of naming the child, at the tonsure and investiture of a boy, &c. In fact, they describe all those essential and purificatory ceremonies which are known under the general name of "Sanskara"l. Although in the performance of these festive rites, allowance is made for local customs, still, according to the Bralimans, these should be followed only as long as they are not opposed to the general and more sacred rules of the Grilya-sutras. These general rules of the Grihya must be obeyed first, and the omission of any one of the ceremonies prescribed by them as "nityani karmani" or "obligatory rites", is sinful. Here lies the distinction between the Grihya and Srauta -sutras. * [Edited, with a German translation and notes, by M. Muller in the sZeitschrift der deutschen morgenl. Gesellschaft", Vol. IX.] i Cf. Wilson's Sanskrit Dict. s. v.

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OF THE HINDUS. 281 The Srauta-sutras describe the great sacrifices (Haviryajnas and Soma -yajnas) which can be performed by rich people only, and which therefore are obligatory only under certain restrictions. They require the assistance of a number of priests, and great preparations of all kinds. They are called "vaitanika", from "vitana", spreading, because the fire in which the oblations are to be burnt has to be spread or divided on three hearths (dakshina, garhapatya, ahavaniya). This is done at the Agnyadhana, "the placing of the fires", the first Srauta sacrifice which a Brahman has to perform after his marriage. Although the Srauta sacrifices are enjoined by the Sruti (the Brahmanas), and the highest rewards on earth and in heaven are held out for their performance, still their non-performance is not sinful, as is that of the Grihya rites. Another characteristic of the domestic ceremonies is this, that the person for whose benefit they are performed is himself passive. It is only after his marriage that he becomes himself the Yajamana or sacrificer, though even then he may still be assisted by other priests in the performance of his sacrifices. A third class of rites, besides the Grihya and Srauta ceremonies, are those laid down in the Samayacharika or Dharma sutras. They are rather observances based on secular authority than sacred rites. They detail the duties of a boy while living as Brahma - charin or catechumen, in the house of his Guru. They determine the proper diet of a Brahman, what food may be eaten or not, what days should be kept for fasting,

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282 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES and what penance ought to be performed for neglect of duty. The duties and rights of kings and magistrates, civil rights, and even rules of social politeness, are determined by them in great detail. They are the principal source of the latter lawbooks', and are considered as sacred and indirectly revealed, because, according to the notions of the Brahmans, no law can derive its sanction except from a divine authority. "All these Sutras have come down to us, not as one single code, to be acknowledged as such by every Brahman, but in the form of various collections which are represented as the traditional property of some of the most prominent families or communities of India. The ceremonies described in these different collections of Sutras, are almost identical in their general bearing. With regard to the Srauta sacrifices, there are different collections of Sutras for the different classes of priests, who have peculiar parts to perform at each sacrifice, and employ respectively the hymns as collected in the Rig-veda, Sama-veda, or Yajur-vedasanhita. However, each class of priests has again not one, but several collections of Sutras, coinciding in many places almost literally, and kept distinct only by the authority of the name of their first collectors. The Grihya ceremonies, though they are less affected by the differences of the three or four classes of priests employed at the great sacrifices, are yet described in of Indian Cases, Introduction, See Morley's Digest page cxcvI.

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OF THE HINDUS. 283 different collections of Sutras belonging to the same classes, and depending apparently on the authority of one of the three or four collections of sacred hymns (Rik, Sama, Yajus, Atharvana). Thus we have for the Rigveda or Hotii priests, the Grihya-sutras of Asvalayana and Sankhayana; for the Samaveda or Udgati priests, the Grihya-sutras of Gobhila; for the Yajurveda or Adhvaryu priests, the Grihya-sutras of Paraskara , and several collections (Baudhayana, &c.) belonging to the Taittiriya branch; for the Atharyana the Grihya-sutras of Kausika. "The ceremonies to be observed at a burial have been described in detail by Asvalayana only, and it is possible that the burial was not considered as an essential part of that class of rites which is comprehended under the name of Sanskara. However, the burial also is an obligatory rite to be performed by others for the benefit of the dead, who of course performs as passive a part in it as could be required in a Grihya rite. The following details are taken from the Grihya ascribed to Asvalayana. "First comes some medical advice. If a person who keeps the sacrificial fires in his house be ailing, let him betake himself away from his home towards the east, north, or north-east, and carry his fires with him. People say that the fires love their home, and therefore they will wish to return home, and will therefore bless the sick and make him whole. After he has recovered, he should perform a Soma - sacrifice, or an animal - sacrifice, or a burnt-offering. But

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284 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES if he cannot afford to perform any of these sacrifices, lle must go home without "But if he should not recover but die, then a piece of ground must be dug, south-east or south - west of the place where he lived and died. The ground should be slightly inclined toward the south or the southeast; or, according to others, to the south-west. It should be in length as long as a man with his arms raised, a fathom in width, and a span in depth. The burning and burying-ground (for both according to the Commentator are called smasana) should be open on all sides, rich in shrubs, particularly of thorny and milky plants (as has been explained before, Asv. Grihya, II, 7), and be elevated in such a manner that waters would run down on every side. The last requisite, however, belongs more particularly to a burning ground. "How the body of the dead is first to be washed, how his nails, his hair, and his beard are to be cut, and similar matters, are not explained in this place, because, as our author says, they have been explained before, that is to say, in the Srauta-sutras (Asv. Srautasutras, VI, 10). The case under consideration there was, what should be done if a person who is performing a great sacrifice, for which all preparations have been made, and where numbers of priests are engaged, should happen to die before the whole sacrifice, which, in some cases, may last for weeks, months, and years, is finished. Different views are entertained on this point, but the leading idea seems to be that a

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OF THE HINDUS. 285 sacrifice once commenced is to be finished although the person who offers it should happen to die before. Asyalayana says, that as soon as he dies his body should be carried to the place where the sacrificial utensils are cleaned, that there his nails, his hair, his beard, and the hairs on his body should be cut off, that the body should be anointed with spikenard, and a wreath of spikenard be placed on his head. He remarks, that in some places the crdure also is taken out of the body, and the body filled with melted butter and curds. The corpse is then covered with a new cloth, but so that the feet remain uncovered. The seam of the cloth is cut off, and must be kept by his sons. "So much is to be supplied here from the Srautasutras. After this the Gribya-sutras continue. It is enjoined that a large quantity of sacred grass and melted butter, which is to be offered to the Manes, must be of a peculiar kind, a mixture of milk and butter, called Prishadajya. It need not be mentioned that as the whole ceremony of burning and burying belongs to the "ancestral rites", the persons engaged in it have always to look toward the south-east, and to wear their brahmanical cord passing over the right and under the left shoulder. "The relations of the deceased take his three sacred fires and his sacrificial implements and carry them to the place where the ground is prepared. Behind follow the old men, without their wives, carrying the corpse. Their number should not be even. In some

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286 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES places the corpse is carried on a wheel-cart drawn by an ox; an animal, either a cow, or a kid of one colour, or a black kid, is led behind by a rope tied to its left leg. This is called the Anustarani, because it is afterwards to be strewed over the corpse and to be burnt with it. This, however, is optional; nay, some authors, for instance Katyayana, rather discountenance the custom, because after burning, it might become difficult to distinguish which were the bones of the man or the animal. Then follow his friends, the old ones first, the young ones last, their brahmanical cord hanging down, and their hair untied. "After the procession has reached the ground, he who has to perform the sacrifice steps forth, walks three times round the place towards the left, sprinkles it with water with a branch of the Samitree, and repeats this verse of a hymn of the Rig-veda (X, 14, 9, or VII, 6, 13): "Depart, disperse, fly away [ye evil spirits]! The fathers (our ancestors) made this place for him (the dead). Yama grants him this restingplace, which is day and night sprinkled with waters." Thereupon the fires are placed on the borders of the pit, so that the Ahavaniya fire stands south-east, the Garhapatya north - west, and the Dakshina fire south-west, and a person skilled in these matters piles the wooden pile in the midst of these fires. All is ready now for the corpse to be burnt. But before this is done, fresh water, as the commentary says, is to be brought in a chamasa or ladle, and a piece of gold is to be placed in the pit: oily seeds also are to

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OF THE HINDUS. 287 be sprinkled over it. Asvalayana mentions nothing about this, but only enjoins that grass should be strewed upon the pile; that the hide of the black antelope, the fur outside, should be spread over it; and that on this the corpse is to be placed, so that it lies north of the Garhapatya fire, and with the head toward the Ahavaniya fire. His wife' is placed to the north of her husband. If he be a Kshatriya, a bow also is placed there. The wife is then to be led away as already stated, and in respect of the bow, that also is to be removed by the same persons, with the repetition of the following Rik: As this is a critical passage, I subjoin the ipsissima verba of Asvalayana and his commentator. uttarataH patnI // Com. tataHpretasyottarataHpatnI saMvezayati / zAyayaMtItyarthaH / citAveva upazeSa iti liMgAt // etAvadvarNa trayasyApi samAnaM // dhanuzca kSatriyAya // Com. pretaH kSatriyazceddhanurapyuttarataH saMvezayaMti // tAmutthApayeddevaraH patisthAnIyo'tevAsI jaradAsI vodIla nAryabhi jIvalokamiti // Com. atha patnImutthApayet kaH / devaraH patisthAnIyaH / sa patisthAnIya ucyate / anena jJAyate patikartakaM karma puMsavanAdi patyasaMbhave devaraH kuryAditi // aMtevAsI ziSyaH / sa vaa| yo bahu kAlaM dAsyaM kRtvA vRddho 'bhUta sa vA // kI vRSale japet // Com. jaraddAsa utthApayitari kI maMtra brayAt / anyadotthApayitaiva maMtraM brUyAt // "dhanurhastAdAdadAno mRtasyeti dhanuH // Com. dhanurityUcA dhanurutthApayet / apanayedityarthaH // The last word, "apanayet" (he may lead away), as an explanation of "utthapayet" (he may lift up), which is applied to the bow and the wife, leaves no doubt that, according to the intention of the sutras, the wife is to be removed from the pile, and not to be burned with the dead.

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288 "I take the bow from the hand of the dead, to be to us help, glory and strength. Thou art there: we are still here with our brave sons; may we conquer all enemies that attack us."-Rv. X, 18. THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES Hereupon he fixes the bow-string, walks round the pile, and after having broken the bow he throws it on the pile. If this act is performed by an old servant, somebody else must recite the verses for him (because as a Sudra he would not be allowed to recite sacred verses). After this, according to the Commentary on the Sutras, pieces of gold are to be placed on the seven apertures of the head, and oily seeds with butter are to be sprinkled over the dead. Asvalayana himself proceeds to give rules as to how the different sacrificial implements, which are to be burnt with the dead, are to be attached to different parts of the corpse. After this is done, the animal which was led behind is brought, the fat is cut out, and put like a cover over the face and head of the dead. The following verse is used at this occasion: "Put on this armour [taken] from the cows [to protect thee] against Agni, and cover thyself with fat! that he, the wild one, who delights in flames, the hero, may not embrace thee, wishing to consume thee!"-Rv. VIII, 16, 17. The kidneys also are taken out and put into the hands of the dead with the following words: "Escape on the right path the two dogs, the foureyed, tawny breed of Sarama; then approach the

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OF THE HINDUS. 289 wise fathers who, happy with Yama, enjoy happiness."--Rv. X, 14, 10. The heart of the animal is put on his heart and, according to some, two cakes of ground rice. Others recommend these cakes only if the kidneys are wanting; nay, according to some accounts, all these parts of the animal may be shaped of ground rice and be burnt instead of the real animal. However, where a real animal is burnt with the dead, it is first to be cut up, and the limbs so thrown on the dead that every limb of the animal lies upon a corresponding part of the corpse; the hide is to be thrown over the whole, and a libation to be made with the following words: "Agni, do not destroy this vessel, which is dear to the gods and our exalted fathers; this is the vessel from which the gods drink; in it the immortals rejoice." --Rv. X, 16, 8. The chief performer of the sacrifice then kneels down on his left knee, and throws the oblations of Ajya into the Dakshina fire, saying "Svaha to Agni, the lover of Svaha, Svaha to the world, Svaha to Anumati, Svaha! The fifth oblation is to be offered on the breast of the dead, with the following (not-vaidik) words: Thou (fire) hast been produced by hiin; may he be reproduced from thee, that he may obtain the region of eternal bliss! Thereupon the word is given, "Light the fire at once!"

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290 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES As the fires are burning round him, and consuming him, twenty-four verses of the Rig-veda, the same as specified in the Srauta-sutras, are to be recited. Then the dead body is left burning; all turn to the left and go away without looking back. A verse is recited from the Rv. X, 31, 3: "These men are still alive and separated from the dead. There was to-day amongst is a holy invocation of the gods. Let us go forward now to dance and mirth; for we are leading a longer life!" When they arrive at a place where there is flowing water', they stop, immerse themselves, and on rising throw a handful of water into the air, while they pronounce the name of the deceased and that of his family. They then get out of the water, put on dry clothes, and after once wringing those they had on before, they spread them out toward the north and sit down there themselves till the stars are seen. According to others, they do not go home before sunrise. Then the young ones walk first, the old ones last. And when they arrive at their home, they touch (by way of purifying themselves) the stone, the fire, cow-dung, grain, oil, and water, before they step in. They must not cook food that night, but according to 1 This portion of the ceremonial is called the udakakarma, and described in other Grihya-sutras also [e. g. in that of Paraskara, III, 10. See Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenland. Ges., VII, 540 f.). Yajnavalkya explains it in the beginning of the third book of his Dharma-sastra; Mamu in the fifth book, verse 68 seq.

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OF THE HINDUS. 291 some, food may be bought. Again, for those nights, they have to abstain from salt and spices. After the death of a parent or spiritual father (Guru), reading of the Veda and alms-giving must be omitted for twelve days. After the death of a near relative, the same abstinence must be observed for ten days. If they are females, the morning lasts for ten days, if they had not been given away in marriage. The same number of days must be observed, if a spiritual teacher (Guru) die, though he was not a near relative. For other teachers (Acharyas), the mourning lasts three nights. The same for more distant relations; but if females, only if they had not been given away in marriage. Children also wlio die before breathing, or those stillborn, are mourned for three nights only. If a schoolfellow dies, and if a Srotriya-brahman dies who lived in the same village, mourning is to be observed for one day. It is to be remembered, however, that the corpse is still left smothering on the pile. Therefore Asvalayana, in the fifth Section, proceeds to direct that after the tenth of the dark half (i. e., of the waning moon) on odd days (i. e., on the 11th, 13th, or 15th), under any Nakshatra except Asladha, Phalguni and Proshthapada, the bones must be collected. The general rules as to how people are to walk, &c., are the same as before. Milk and water are sprinkled on the spot with a sami-branch, and he who is doing this, walks thrice round the pile, always towards the left, saying: "Pale 19*

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292 THE FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF THE HINDUS. earth with pale leaves, propitious earth with blessed fruits! go and be well embraced by a frog (a shower of rain), and make this fire cheerful "-Rv. X, 16, 14. The bones are to be taken up carefully with the thumb and the little finger, without cracking them. They are to be placed in a vessel, the feet first, the head last. For a man the vessel is to be a simple kumbha or water pot (without a spout); for a woman a simple kumbhi (with a spout). After the bones have been well put together, the place is to be swept with a broom (pavana), and the vessel or coffin is placed in a hole in a place over which the water cannot flow, except perhaps in the rainy season. It is now that the concluding verses of the hymn are recited: "Go to the mother earth," &c. (Rv. X, 31, 10), as the earth is thrown upon the coffin and heaped up over the spot in which it is deposited. Thereupon all walk home without looking back, and after they have performed an ablution, they offer the first Sraddha to the deceased (ekoddishta), who thenceforth is enrolled amongst the Pitiis or Manes, and receives oblations with them on their appointed days.

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ON THE BURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 293 VII. REMARKS BY RAJA RADHAKANTA DEVA, ON ART. XI, JOURNAL ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, VOL. XVI, PAG. 201; WITH OBSERVATIONS. From the Journal of the R. Asiatic Society, Vol. XVII (1859), p. 209-20. The sixteenth volume of the Journal of our Society* has given insertion to a communication made by me on the supposed authority of the Vedas for the burning of Hindu widows, in which I have shown that the passage quoted as enjoining the practice, and as published by Mr. Colebrooke, in his Paper in the Asiatic Researches **, upon the "Duties of a Sati or Faithful Widow," had been either purposely or accidentally wrongly read, and that so far from authorizing the rite, its real purport was the reverse; and that it expected the widow to repress her affliction and return to her worldly duties. This view was entirely * [See the preceding Article.] ** [Essays, p. 70 - 75.]

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294 VAIDIC AUTHORITY FOR THE confirmed by the explanation of the passage given hy the celebrated commentator, Sayana Acharya, and by the precepts of Aswalayana, cited by Professor Maximilian Muller, published in continuation of my remarks on the same occasion. The revised reading has not proved acceptable to the Pandits of Calcutta, and the following letter is the expression of their sentiments. The writer, a friend of many years, Raja Radhakant Deb is well known as a leading member of the Native Society of Calcutta, who adds to the distinction of rank and station that of a foremost place amongst Sanskrit scholars, as evinced by his great Lexicon or Literary Encyclopaedia of the Sanskrit language, in seven quarto volumes, the Sabdakalpadruma, which enjoys a European as well as Indian celebrity. Any opinion coming from him on subjects connected with the ancient literature of his country is entitled to the greatest deference. The question of the authority for the Sati cremation is now, as he rightly observes, a matter merely for literary discussion, but as it is not without interest for the historian and antiquarian, his remarks will, I doubt not, be highly acceptable to those scholars who are engaged in the investigation of the ancient religion and history of the Hindus; and as he has no objection to their being laid before the public, I have thought it advisable to request a place for them in the Journal, although, as I shall subsequently explain, they have not induced me to modify in the least my opinions on the subject, as my esteemed correspondent seems to anticipate.

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BURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 295 MY DEAR DR. Wilson, Although the abolition of the practice of Sahamarana in the British Indian territories has legally set the question at rest, and deprived it of all interest in the public eye, yet its discussion will always afford pleasure to the historian and antiquarian, and has its peculiar value in a literary point of view. The perusal of your very interesting article "On the supposed Vaidic authority for the burning of Hindu Widows, and on the Funeral Ceremonies of the Hindus", which appeared in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. XVI, Part I, having induced me to inquire whether any trace of this custom can be found in the Vedas, I have made certain discoveries and come to a conclusion, which I believe would lead you to modify considerably the opinion you have formed on the subject. The most explicit authority for the burning of a widow with her deceased husband is to be found in the two verses of the Aukhya Sakha of the Taittiriya Sanhita, quoted in the eighty-fourth Anuvaka of the Narayaniya Upanishad, of which I give the following literal translation, and subjoin' the original text with the commentary of Sayanacharya: | Text. 7 ani gagfatih Tetaan afrafa - keyaM tanme rAdhyatAm // 1 // Com. he agne karmasAkSin / yataH tvaM vratAnAM prAjApatyAdyakhilavratAnAM vratapatirasi / punavratagrahaNaM tvameva vratAnAmadhipatinAnya iti niyamabodhanAya // tasmAnmayAcaryamANaM yatsAMpratikaM vrataM tadyathAhaM kartuM zakeyaM tathArAdhyatAM kriyatAmityarthaH /

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296 1. "Oh Agni, of all Vratas 1, thou art the Vratapati+-, I will observe the vow (Vrata) of following the husband. Do thou enable me to accomplish it!" 2. "Here (in this rite), to thee, oh Agni, I offer salutation; to gain the heavenly mansion I enter into thee; (wherefore) oh Jatavedahs, this day, satisfied with the clarified butter (offered by me), inspire me with courage (for Sahagamana) and take me to my lord." VAIDIC AUTHORITY FOR THE Agreeably to this general Vaidic injunction, the Sutrakaras direct that the widow, like the sacrificial utensils of a Brahmana, should be made to lie upon the funeral pile of her husband, and accordingly as he was a Brahmana, Kshatriya, or Vaisya, a piece of gold, a bow, or a jewel is to be respectively placed thereupon. dhAtUnAmanekArthatvAt / kiM tvayAcaryamANaM tadvratamiti patyAnugameti patyA bhatrI saha anusRtyagamanatrataM cariSyAmi kariSyAmItyarthaH // Text. iha tvA agne namasA vidheya suvargasya lokasya sametyai / juSANo adya haviSA jAtavedo vizAni tvA sattvato naya mA ptyurgre|| Com. he agne iha asminkarmmaNi / tvA tvAmuddizya / haviSA havibhAgena / namasA namaskAreNa ca / vidheyaM namo vidadhAmItyarthaH / kimarthamityuktau tatrAha / suvargasyeti suvargasya patisaMprApyalokasya / sametyai samyakprAptyarthaM / tvA tvayItyarthaH saptamyarthe dvitIyA chandasI / vizAni pravizAni ata eva adya asmindine / he jAtavedo haviSA maddattena havibhAgena / juSANaH santuSTaH san / sattvataH sattvamArgapradarzanadvArA sahagamanaviSayaka sAhasapradAnadvAreti yAvat / mA mAM patimAtraikadevatAM patyurmama bhartturagre samakSaM naya prApayetyarthaH // 1 Vowed or voluntary observances. 2 Lord of Vratas. 3 Source of the Vedas.

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BURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 297 To the widow so placed beside the lifeless body of her husband, the Mantras beginning with "... Udirshwa, &c.," and "Suvarna goong hastat, &c., Dhanurhastat, &c.," or "Manigoong hastat, &c.," are to be addressed' to her by her husband's brother or fellowstudent, accordingly as he belonged to the priestly, military, or mercantile class. If the widow thus addressed has not made up her mind for her' immolation, she obeys the call; but should she be firm in her resolve, she consoles her friends and relatives, and enters the fire. Extracts? from Bharadwaja and Aswalayana, and | The first part of the address beginning with "Udirshwa," &c., is the saine in respect of the funeral of the first three classes: by this Mantra the widow is requested to leave the corpse and to return to her abode. The remaining three Mantras are to be addressed to the widow of a Brahmana, Kshatriya, and Vaisya respectively, whereby she is required to lift up from the funeral pile the respective symbols of the deceased, and therewith to rub his hands. This call forms an important part of the ceremony. 2 athainaM citAvuparyadhyUhatyatraiva vA patnyAH saMvezanA kriyata iti // Bharadwaja's Sutra, Prasna 1. athaitAni pAtrANi yojayeddakSiNe haste juhaM savya upabhRtaM dakSiNe pArzve sphayaM savye 'gnihotrahavaNImurasi dhruvAM zirasi kpaalaaniityaadi| Aswalayana's Grilya Sutra, Adhyaya IV, 3. [M. Muller in " Zeitschrift der d. morgenl. Ges.", IX, p. VI.] uttarataH patnI // Com. tataH pretasyottarataH patnI saMvezayanti / zAyayantItyarthaH / citAveva upazeSa iti liGgAt etAvadvarNatrayasyApi samAnaM // Ibid. Adh. II, 3. ___ udIrghanAryabhijIvalokaM gatAsametamupazeSa iti / hastagrAbhasya didhiSostavedaM patyurjanitvamabhisaMbabhUtha //

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298 VAIDIC AUTHORITY FOR THE from the Salamaranavidhi, a work of much repute in Dravida, are quoted below in elucidation of these practices. From these Vaidic and Sautric injunctious have been derived the rules and directions for the immolation of the Sati, in the Smritis and Puranas. After having thus shown the Vaidic authority for the Sahamarana, I shall offer some observations upon the conclusions you have drawn, on perusing the seventh and eighth Verses' of the second Sukta of the second Anuvaka of the tenth Mandala of the Rigveda, In the first place, on referring to Raghunandana's Suddhitattwa, whence Colebrooke derives his mate hastau sammArTi suvarNena brAhmaNasya suvarNa hastAditi / dhanuSA rAjanyasya dhanurhastAditi / maNinA vaizya sya maNiM hastAditi // Bharadwaja's Sutra. tAmutthApayeddevaraH patisthAnIyo 'ntevAsI jaradAso vodIrgha nAryabhijIvalokamiti // Asmalay. II, 2. uttarataH ptnii| tAM pretasyottarataH suptAM sattvarahitAM devaraH ziSyo vA kare dhRtvA namaskRtya udIrvati dvAbhyAmutthApayet / sattvAdhikAttu svayameva suhRdaH saMbandhinaH putrAMza samAmaMtrya bhatAraM viSNarUpaM dhRtvA hutAzanaM pravizedityuktaM // * Salhamaramavedhi. ' mA nArIravidhavAH sapatnIrAJjanena sarpiSA saM vizantu anazravo 'namIvAH suratnA Arohantu janayo yonimagre // 1 // / udIrgha nAryabhi jIvalokaM gatAsumetaM upa zeSa ehi hastagrAbhasya didhiSostavedaM patyujenitvamabhi saM babhUtha // 2 // * Her (the widow) lying on the north of the deceased, if she want courage, her liusband's brother, or fellow-student, or old servant shall, by reciting the two Mantras Udirshwa, &c., raise, holding her by the hand and saluting her'; but if slie have sufficient courage, she bidding adieu to her friends, relatives , aud children, and contemplating the Vislmn-like form of her husband, enters the fire.

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BURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 299 rials for his "Essay on the Duties of a faithful Widow", published in the fourth volume of the Asiatic Researches, we find the author citing a verse' from the Rigveda and a passage from the Brahma Purana, in order to show that the Veda authorizes Sahamarana. You suppose this verse to be an incorrect reading of the seventh Rich above alluded to, and support your reasoning by the Commentary of Sayana and the directions of Aswalayana. Now, the shortest way in which our pandits would dispute this opinion, would be to assert that for anght that we moderns know, Raghunandana's citation may be altogether a different verse from the seventh Rich, and may be found somewhere, in any of the Sakhas of the Rigveda; inasmuch as the same verse, with slight variations of reading, and hence with different import and application, often occurs in the different Vedas, in various Sakhas of the same Veda, and sometimes in different places of the same Sakha of a Veda. The objection to the use of the epithets "Avidhava" and "Sapatni", whereby you suppose the reason for burning to be wanting, can be easily answered by supposing the Sati (whose soul is, as it ITAT 777tfayat: FORTHOT #fuut afati 79svaro'namIvAH suratnA Arohantu janayo yonimagre // RgvedavAdAtsAdhvI strI na bhavedAtmaghAtinI // * AzvalAyaNI, sAMkhyAyanI, zAkalA, vApkalA, mANDukeyI. * "The loyal wife (who burns herself) shall not be deemed a suicide."

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300 VAIDIC AUTHORITY FOR THE were, wedded to that of her husband), not to be widowed; actual practice, when it prevailed in India, may be considered as confirmatory of this opinion. The Sati, in making preparations for ascending the funeral pile, used to mark her forehead with Sindura, and to deck lierself sumptuously with all the symbols of a Sadhava. But so long as the proper place of the verse quoted by Raghunandana is not pointed out, the occidental pandits, who are making wonderful progress in Vaidic learning, may regard it an idle assertion. I shall therefore, for argument's sake, grant Raghunandana's citation to be a false reading of the seventh verse in question. On this supposition you may be justified in coming to the conclusion, that the genuine reading of the passage rather discountenances than enjoins Sahamarana; but by referring to the subjoined Sutras' of / navamyAM vyuSTAyAM yajJopavItItyantarAgrAmaM zmazAnaM cAmimupasamAdhAya saMparistIryApareNAgniM lohitaM cAnaDuhaM prAcInagrIvamuttaralomAstIrya vetasamAnino jJAtInArohatyArohatatyathainAnana pUrvAnkampayati yathAhAnIti pratilomakRtayA cAraNyA srucA dve caturgRhIte juhoti na hi te agne tanuva iti daza ca sruvAhutIraapanazzo zucadaghamiti hutvApAzyAM sampAtayatyatrobhayaM praharati yena juhotyaparenAgniM lohito 'naDAnprAGmakho 'vasthito bhavati taM jJAtayo 'nvArabhante inaDAhamanvArabhAmaha iti prAJcI 'JcantIme jIvA iti jaghanyo vetasazAkhayA avakAbhiza padAnityalobhayate mRtyoH padamityathaibhyo 'dhvaryurdakSiNato 'zmAnaM paridhiM dadhAti imaM jIvebhyaH paridhiM dadhAmIti strINAmaJjaniSu saMpAtAnavanayatImA nArIriti tairmukhAni majante yadAJjanaM caikakudamiti caikakudenAMjanenAMte yadi traikakudaM nAvagacchedyenaiva kenacidAJjanenAJjIran // Bharadwija's Sutra, Prasna 1, Khanda II.

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BURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 301 Bharadwaja and Aswalayana, wherein they specify the rites in which many of the verses of the tenth Mandala quoted by you are to be respectively cited as Mantras, you will at once see what you rightly guess that the verse in question has nothing to do with the concremation of a Sati; it is directed to be chaunted on the tenth day after the burning of the dead, when the relatives of the deceased assemble on the Smasana to perform certain ceremonies, on the conclusion of which, the Adhwaryu takes butter with a new blade of kusa grass, or clarified butter between the thumb and ring finger, and applying it, as collyrium, to the eyes of Sadhavas, recites the seventh hymn in question, the moment they are directed to depart towards the east. Now, as the text, which has been supposed to authorize Sahamarana, clearly appears to be appropriated to quite a different occasion, the argument based upon its interpretation proving it to discountenance concremation, necessarily falls to the ground. The succeeding verses (to wit, the eighth and ninth), uttarasmAdathAgnimupasamAdhAya pazcAdasyAnaDuhaM carmAstIrya prAGgIvamuttaraloma tasminnamAtyAdInA rohayedAro hatAyurjarasaMvRNAnA iti imaM jIvebhyaH paridhiM dadhAmIti paridhiM dadhyAdantarmRtyuM dadhatAM parvatenityasnAnamuttarato 'neH kRtvA paraM mRtyo anuparehi panthAmityAdi catasRbhiH pratyRcaM hutvA yathAhAnyanupUrva bhavantItyamAtyAdInIkSeta / yuvatayaH pRthakpANibhyAM darbhataraNakairnavanItenAMguSThopakaniSThikAbhyAmAjyenAkSiNI Ajya parAcyo visRjeyurimA nArIravidhavAH supatnIriti aJjanA IkSeta / azmanyatIrayite saMrabhaSyamiti // Aswaliyana's Grihya Sutra, Adhyaya III.

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302 VAIDIC AUTHORITY FOR THE as I observed before, are enjoined to be addressed to the widow, lying on the funeral pile of her husband, and therefore have no relation with the seventh. Had there been no explicit Vaidic injunction for Sahamarana, these passages, taken by themselves, would certainly have justified the conclusion that the Rigveda prohibits or ignores, by these texts, the selfimmolation of a Sati, but when we find in the Aukhya Sakha of the Taittiriya Sanlita, the Sati's address to Agni while throwing herself into it, and thus discover the Vaidic sanction for concremation, we must pause before we regard the eighth verse as an authority against this tragic act. The Mimansakara wonld argue thus,-"Where there are two authorities of a contradictory character, but of equal cogency, an alternative must be supposed to have been allowed'." The Sutrakaras, upon the Vaidie anthorities above set forth, direct that the widow as well as the sacrificial utensils of the deceased Brahmana should be placed upon his funeral pile; but, as the widow has a will of her own, she cannot be disposed of like the inert utensils. The Rigveda therefore gives her the option of sacrificing herself or not, according as she may or may not have her courage "screwed up to the sticking place." When the Sati lies on the funeral pile, it is presumed? gaafartu fama: 1 Gotama quoted by Kullukabhatta in his Com. on Manu, v. 14, B. 2, which see. ? Sayana, when he says, in his Commentary on the Sth Rich:

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BURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 303 she is inclined to immolate herself, and the eighth verse is addressed to her, as the author of the Sahamaranavidhi explains, only to test her resolution, and to induce her to retire, if she be not sufficiently firm in her purpose. The necessity of giving her this option and trying her fortitude beforehand, appears the more strong, when we find it declared that the Sati who becomes Chitabhrashta, who retires from the funeral pile after the conclusion of the rites, commits a highly sinful act, although it admits of expiation by the performance of the Prajapatya. Our personal observation of the actual practice when it prevailed in British India confirms this view; from the moment a Sati expressed her desire to follow her lord, up to the time she ascended the funeral pile, every persuasive language was used to induce her to continue in the family, and to discharge her proper duties there, and it was not until she was found inflexible that she was allowed to sacrifice herself; this was perfectly in keeping with the Udirsliwa, &c., Mantra. Thus the Sth verse of the Rigveda, above alluded to, appears to be, in fact, a Salamarana Mantra, "Yasmad anusarana nischayam akarshis tasmad agachchha," he takes the same view; he does not consider the burning as delayed, as may be supposed from a technical interpretation of the word - anusarana", because, as you say, subsequent burning is inconsistent with the presence of the corpse. ___1 citAbhraSTA tu yA nArI mohAdvicalitA bhavet / prAjApatyena zuddhyettu tasmAdipApakarmaNaH //

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304 VAIDIC AUTHORITY FOR THE though its interpretation, apart from other considerations, may, on a first view, seem to discountenance the practice. A very strong presumption in support of the opinion, that Sahamarana rests upon Vaidic authority, arises from the circumstance of its having prevailed in India in very remote times, when Vaidic rites only were in vogue. On referring to the Mahabharata, for instance, we find the widows of the heroes slain in the battle of Kurukshetra consuining themselves in the funeral fires of their husbands, when there lived great kings and sages imbued with Vaidic learning, and devoted to the observance of Vaidic rituals. Nearly two thousand years ago Propertius describes the prevalence of this custom in India, in a passage of which the following is a translation by Boyses (see Brit. Poets, Chalmer's Ed., Vol. XIV, p. 563): "Happy the laws that in those climes obtain, Where the bright morning reddens all the main, There, whenso'er the happy husband dies, And on the funeral couch extended lies, His faithful wives around the scene appear, With pompons dress and a triumphant air; For partnership in death, ambitious strive, And dread the shameful fortune to survive! Adorned with flowers the lovely victims stand, With smiles ascend the pile, and light the brand! Grasp their dear partners with unaltered faith, And yield exulting to the fragrant death." Cicero, also, who lived about the same time, mentions this fact in his Tusculum Questions. Herodotus

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BURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 305 speaks of a race of Thracians, whose women sacrificed themselves on the tombs of their husbands: these people, as well as the Getae by whom this custom was also observed, were perhaps some tribe of degraded Kshatriyas. You may, if you think it worth while, read this paper at the next meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society. I remain, My dear Dr. Wilson, Yours sincerely, RADHAKANT DEB. CALCUTTA, 30th June, 1358. Observations. In disproving the genuineness of the citation of the passage which had been quoted as authority for the Sati, I confined my objections to the particular passage in question, and in this respect the Raja is obliged to admit, that I may be justified in coming to the conclusion, that the genuine reading rather discountenances than enjoins Sati. This was all I maintained. Of course I never intended to deny, that there were numerous texts in the Sutras and law - books, by which it was enjoined. I restricted my argument to the individual text quoted from the Rigveda, and with Raja Radhakant Deb's own concurrence, I have no occasion to modify the view I have taken, as limited to this object: the text of the Rigveda, that has been 20

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306 VAIDIC AUTHORITY FOR THE quoted as authority for the burning of the widow, is no such thing, "it rather discountenances than enjoined the practice." I have not expressed any opinion, whether any such injunction is to be found in any other part of the Sanlita of the Rigveda, or of the Sanhitas of the White or Black Yajush, or the Samaveda. That is quite a different question, although, as the topic is started by the Raja. I may venture to intimate an opinion, that the burning of a widow will not be found even alluded to in the genuine text, the Sanhita, of either of the three principal Vedas. Whatever may be the antiquity of the rite, and that it is of long standing is not to be disputed, I suspect its origin is later than the Sanhita, or primary Vedic period. I have now translated, although not yet published, nearly the whole of the Suktas, or hymns, the primitive portions of the Rigveda, and have yet found no notice of any such ceremony: the prohibition which would imply the existence of the rite, is matter of inference only; the direction, that the widow is to be led away from the proximity of her deceased husband, does not necessarily imply that she was to depart from his funeral pile, and there is no term, in the text, that indicates such a position. In the course of my translation of the Rigveda, I have had a great number of occasions to refer to the printed texts of the Vajasaneyi Sanhita, of the Yajurveda, published by Professor Weber, of the Samaveda printed by the late Mr. Stevenson and Professor Benfey, and I do not remember to have met with any

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BURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 307 allusion whatever in either of those works to the Sati ceremonial. There remains therefore only the Taittiriya Sanhita of the Black Yajush to be examined: a part only of this has been printed by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in their Bibliotheca Indica, and, as far as it goes, the same absence of allusion to the Sati occurs: so far, therefore, I have reason to believe, that the burning of widows was unknown to the Vedic period of Hindu ritual or belief. That the Sutras of Aswalayana, Bharadwaja, and other Sutrakaras contain Sutras, or rules, for the cremation, is indisputable, but all Vedic scholars agree in considering these works as of much more recent date than the Sanhita, or text period; they, therefore, prove nothing, and of still less weight are the Sahamarana-vidhi or the Tattwas of Raghunandana, or other equally modern writings: the question is not whether there be any authorities at all for the practice, but whether such authority be discoverable in the original Vedic texts; there is no lack whatever of the former--I cannot yet positively deny, but I question the existence of the latter. To this Radhakant replies, "the most explicit (Vedic) authority is to be found in the two verses of the Aukhya Sakha of the Taittiriya Sanlita, quoted in the 84th anuvaka of the Narayaniya Upanishad," of which he gives the literal translation as well as of the comment; unfavourably for his argument, the authority is liable to obvious exceptions. In the first place, the two verses are not cited di 20*

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308 VAIDIC AUTHORITY FOR THE rect from the text of the Taittiriya Sanhita itself; they are a quotation of a quotation, and, as in the case of the passage of the Rigveda, which has given rise to this discussion, we know that quotations cannot always be trusted. The Pandits should have made a reference to the Taittiriya Sanlita itself, and have given us chapter and verse for the passages; we should then be able to test their accuracy by collation with the printed text when complete. In the next place, the quotation occurs in an Upanishad, the Yajniki, or Narayaniya: the Upanishad period is of doubtful determination, because the Upanishads, which are numerous, one list enumerating above a hundred, are evidently of widely different dates, and not unfrequently of equivocal character. The Narayaniya Upanishad is not altogether wexceptionable, for it constitutes the tenth Prapathaka, or section, of what is usually considered a Brahmana, the Taittiriya Aranyaka; Sayana calls it even khilarupa, or of the nature of an additional or supplementary section, so that it is scarcely acknowledged to be a part of the original Aranyaka* Upon referring to the manuscripts of the library of the India House, another difficulty arises; neither text nor comment consists of more than 64 anuvakas, whilst the verses quoted by Radhakant are said to be taken from the 84th anuvaka; consequently no such verses could be expected to be found in our copy, * [See A. Weber, Ind. Stud., 1, 75 ff.]

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PURNING OF HINDU WIDOWS. 309 and accordingly they do not occur. Sayana, however, observes, that different recensions do exist, of which the Dravira has 64 anuvakas, the Andhra 80, the Karnata 74, others 89. There may be a copy belonging to a different Sakha, Aukhva for instance, of which we have no copy, with 84 anuvakas. Sayana, however, avowedly follows the Dravira recension, containing only 64 anuvakas, the actual number of two copies consulted, and in which no such passages are met with; whence then do the Pandits derive their scholia of the 84th? it is for them to give a satisfactory explanation. Therefore, as the matter stands, the verses cited, together with their commentary, wear a somewhat suspicious appearance, not less observable that the different recensions specified are all named after the divisions of Southern India, where the Vedas did not penetrate probably till long after their compilation. Although, however, their authenticity be admitted, their occurring in an Upanishad, or even in a Brahmana, is no proof that the Sanhita of the Taittiriya Yajush contains them, or sanctions the burning of widows, or that the rite was cotemporary with the ritual of the Vedic period.

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310 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. VIII. ON BUDDIIA AND BUDDHISM. From the Journal of the R. Asiatic Society, Vol. XVI (1856), p. 229-65. [Read as a Lecture, April 8, 1854.] Much has been written, much has been said in various places, and amongst them in this Society, about Buddha, and the religious system which bears his name, yet it may be suspected that the notions which have been entertained and propagated, in many particulars relating to both the history and the doctrines. have been adopted upon insufficient information and somewhat prematurely disseminated. Very copious additions, and those of a highly authentic character, have been, but very recently, made to the stock of materials which we heretofore possessed, and there has scarcely yet been sufficient time for their deliberate examination. Copious also and authentic as they are, they are still incomplete, and much remains for Oriental scholars to accomplish before it can be said that the materials for such a history of Buddha as shall command the assent of all who study the subject, have been conclusively provided. I have,

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 311 therefore, no purpose of proposing to you in the views I am about to take, that you should consider them as final; my only intention is to bring the subject before you as it stands at present, with some of that additional elucidation which is derivable from the many valuable publications that have recently appeared, and particularly from the learned and authentic investigations of the late Eugene Burnouf, the only scholar as yet who has combined a knowledge of Sanskrit with that of Pali and Tibetan, and has been equally familiar with the Buddhist authorities of the north and south of India: unfortunately he has been lost to us before he had gone through the wide circuit of research which he had contemplated, and which he only was competent to have traversed; and although he has accomplished more than any other scholar, more than it would seem possible for any human ability and industry to have achieved, it is to be deeply and for ever regretted that his life was not spared to have effected all he had intended, and for which he was collecting, and had collected, many valuable and abundant materials. Still he has left us, in his "Introduction a l'Histoire du Bouddhisme", and in his posthumous work "Le Lotus de la Bonne Loi", an immense mass of authentic information which was not formerly within our reach, and which must contribute effectually to rationalize the speculations that may be hazarded in future on Buddha and his faith. Some of those which have been started by the erudition and ingenuity of the learned in past ages will

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312 best introduce us to the opportunity we now have of ascertaining what is probable, if we cannot positively affirm that it is all true. BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. It is sometimes supposed that the classical authors supply us with evidence of the Buddhist religion in India three centuries before the era of Christianity, drawing this inference especially from the fragments which remain of the writings of Megasthenes, the ambassador of Seleucus to Chandragupta, about the year B. C. 295, according to his latest editor, Schwanbeck *, and to whose descriptions of various particulars respecting India the other ancient writers are almost wholly indebted. It is well known that he divides the Indian philosophers into two classes, the Brachmanai and the Sarmanai; and the latter it has been concluded intend the Sramanas, one of the titles of the Buddhist ascetics. This is not impossible. If we trust to the traditions of the Buddhists, their founder lived at least two centuries before the mission of Megasthenes, and in that case we might expect to meet with his disciples in the descriptions of the ambassador. At the same time Sramana is not exclusively the designation of a Buddhist, it is equally that of a Brahmanical ascetic, and its use does not positively determine to which class it is to be applied'. In truth, it is clear * [Megasth. Indica, p. 20. Lassen, Ind. Alt., II, 209. 663.] When Arjuna goes to the forest he is attended amongst others by Sramana Vanaukasah, forest-dwelling Sramanas: these could not have been Buddhists,-Mahabharat, Adi Parva, v. 7742.

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 313 from what follows that the Brahman was intended, for Megasthenes proceeds to say: "of the Sarmanai, the most highly venerated among them are the HyTobii," that is, as he goes on to explain the term, "those who pass their lives in the woods (ortas ir muistics), and who live upon wild fruits and seeds, and are clothed in the barks of trees," in other words the Vanaprastha of the Brahmanical system; literally, the dweller in the woods, the man of the third order who, having fulfilled his course of householder, is enjoined by Manu to repair to the lonely wood to subsist upon green roots and fruit, and to wear a vesture of bark. Major Cunningham *, indeed, who is a courageous etymologist, derives Hylobii from the Sanskrit Alobhiya, "one who is without desire", that is, the Bodhisattwa, who has suppressed all human passions; but Alobhiyu is not a genuine Sanskrit word, nor is there any authority for its application to a Bodhisattwa, and Megasthenes may be presumed to have understood his own language. His interpretation of Hylobii, the dwellers in the woods, is in such perfect conformity with the meaning of Vanaprastha, that we cannot doubt the identity of the two designations. Nothing of any value, upon this subject at least, is derivable from classical writers in addition to the information furnished by Megasthenes; but when we come later down, or to the early ages of Christianity, various curious notices of Buddhism occur in the * [The Bhilsa Topes, 185+. p. 64. See Lassen, II, 700 ff.]

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314 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. writings of the Fathers of the Church, which though meagre are in the main correct. We need not be surprised at this: there is no doubt that Buddhism was in a highly flourishing state in India in the first centuries of Christianity, and it is not extraordinary that some indications of its diffusion should have found their way to Syria and Egypt. Clemens of Alexandria, who lived towards the close of the second century, liad evidently heard of the monastic practices, and of the peculiar monuments or Topes of the Buddhists. When he speaks of the Brachmanai and the Sarmanai as two distinct classes of Indian philosophers, he uses the very words of Megasthenes, and merely, therefore, repeats his statement; but that he does not understand Buddhists by Sarmanes is clear enough, for he proceeds to add, "there are of the Indians some who worship Buddha, or Boutta, whom they honour as a yod"; and in another passage he observes: "those of the Indians who are called Semnoi cultivate truth, foretell events, and reverence certain pyramids in which they imagine the bones of some divinity are deposited, they observe perpetual continence; there are also maidens termed Semnai." Semnoi and Semnai might be thought to have some relation to Sramanas, but the words, perhaps, bear only their original purport, "venerable or sacred". About the middle of the following century, Porphyry repeats information gathered from Bardesanes, who obtained it from the Indian envoys sent to Anto

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 315 ninus; and although the account is somewhat confused, there is an evident allusion to Buddhist practices. "There are," he says, "two divisions of the Gymnosophists, Brachmans, and Samanai,"--not Sarmanai, but Samanai,-"the former are so by birth, the latter by election, consisting of all those who give themselves up to the cultivation of sacred learning: they live in colleges, in dwellings, and temples constructed by the princes, abandoning their families and property: they are summoned to prayer by the ringing of a bell, and live upon rice and fruits." Cyril of Alexandria also mentions that the Samanaeans were the philosophers of the Bactrians, showing the extension of Buddhism beyond the confines of India; and St. Jerome, who, like Cyril, lived at the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century, was evidently acquainted with Buddhistical legends, for he says that Buddha was believed to have been born of a virgin, and to have come forth from his mother's side. From Cyril of Jerusalem and Ephraim, writers of the middle of the fourth century, we learn that Buddhism tainted some of the heresies of the early Christian Church, especially the Manichaean, which the latter terms the Indian heresy; the former states that Terebinthus, the preceptor of Manes, the Persian Mani, took the name of Baudas. Hyde and Beausobre explain this to mean no more than that the word Terebinthus in Greek was the same as Butam in Chaldaic, a kind of tree; but the word in Cyril is Baudas, not Butem, and it is more likely that Terebinthus

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316 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. styled himself a Bauddha, or a Buddha, especially as an Indian origin was assigned to the doctrines he introduced. Epiphanius, indeed, explains how this happened by going a step further. According to him Scythianus, quusi Sakva, the master and instructor of Terebinthus, was an Arabian or Egyptian merchant, who had grown rich by trading with India, whence he imported not only valuable merchandise, but heretical doctrines and books. Suidas calls Manes himself a Brahman), a pupil of Bauddha, formerly called Terebiuthus, who, coming into Persia , falsely pretended that he was born of a virgin. These accounts are no doubt scanty and in some respects inaccurate, but they demonstrate clearly that the Buddhism of India was not wholly unknown to the Christian writers between the second and fifth centuries of our era. Without at present referring more particularly to the information furnished us by Chinese travellers in India between the third and sixth centuries, we may next advert to the strange theories which were gravely advanced, by men of the highest repute in Europe for erudition and sagacity, from the middle to the end of the last century, respecting the origin and character of Buddha. Deeply interested by the accounts which were transmitted to Europe by the missionaries of the Romish Church, who penetrated to Tibet, Japan, and China, as well as by other travellers to those countries, the members of the French Academy especially set to work to establish coincidences the most improbable, and identified Buddha with a variety of

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 317 personages, imaginary or real, with whom no possible congruity existed; thus it was attempted to show that Buddha was the same as the Toth or Hermes of the Egyptians, the Turm of the Etruscans; that he was Mercury, Zoroaster, Pythagoras; the Woden or Odin of the Scandinavians:- Manes, the author of the Manichaean heresy; and even the divine author of Christianity. These were the dreams of no ordinary men; and, besides Giorgi and Paolino, we find amongst the speculators the names of Huet, Vossius, Fourmont, Leibnitz, and De Guignes. The influence and example of great names pervaded the inquiry, even after access to more authentic information had been obtained, and shews itself in some of the early volumes of the researches of our venerable parent the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Thus Chambers is divided between Mercury and Woden. Buchanan looks out for an Egyptian or Abyssinian prototype, and even Sir William Jones fluctuates between Woden and Sisac. In the first instance he observes: "nor can we doubt that Wod or Odin was the same with Budh;" but in a subsequent paper he remarks: "we may safely conclude that Sacya or Sisak, about 200 years after Vyasa, either in person, or by a colony from Egypt, imported into this country [India] the mild heresy of the ancient Bauddlias." This spirit of impossible analogies is, even yet, not wholly extinct; and writers are found to identify Buddha with the prophet Daniel, and to ascribe the appearance of Buddhism in India, to the captivity and dispersion of

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318 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. the Jews. When, however, a more profound acquaintance with the literature of the principal Buddhist nations began to shed genuine light upon the subject, it soon scattered the shadows which the darkness of ignorance had begotten. The language of the Chinese and of the Mongols were assiduously studied in the early part of the present century, especially by Klaproth, Remusat, and Schmidt; and the application of their acquirements to the illustration of Buddhism was evinced in numerous interesting and authentic contributions to the early volumes of the Journal Asiatique, and the transactions of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburgh, and more particularly in the copious annotations which accompany the French translation, by Remusat, Klaproth, and Landresse, of the travels of the Chinese priest, Fa Hian, in the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth centuries. Valuable as this work undoubtedly is as a Buddhist picture of the condition of India at that period, it would have been in many respects almost unintelligible without the amplification of its brief notices into the extensive views of the sytem and its authors, which are to be found in the notes attached to the text; the details contained in which are mainly derived from the Buddhist literature of China, with some accessions from that of the Mongols. In the mean time, however, the interest, which had languished in India, subsequently to the first vain conceits of the Bengal Asiatic Society, revived; and a whole flood of contributions of a character equally

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 319 novel and important was poured upon the public, both from the north and from the south. The former took the lead, and Buddhism as still prevalent in Nepal and the adjacent Himalayan regions was zealously investigated by Mr. Hodgson, the results of whose inquiries were communicated to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and subsequently to the Royal Asiatic Society. Besides the information which he himself collected, he contributed still more importantly to the progress of the investigation by first bringing to our knowledge the existence of a number of Buddhist writings in Sanskrit, as well as that of a most voluminous body of works, chiefly if not exclusively Buddhist, in the language of Tibet. He did more; he procured the the books, and in the exercise of a sound judgment, as well as generous liberality, sent them where they were likely to be turned to good account, to the several Asiatic Societies of Calcutta, London, and Paris. To the former, between 1824 and 1830, he presented nearly 50 volumes in Sanskrit, and 200 in Tibetan: to this Society he presented above 100 volumes in Sanskrit and Tibetan, and at various dates he forwarded to the Societe Asiatique 88 volumes of Sanskrit, besides the whole of the great Tibetan collections, the Kah-gyur and Stan-gyur, in more than 300 volumes. He finally presented to the East India Company a copy of the two Tibetan collections, which are now at the India House. Mr. Hodgson sent these books to Europe, not, as M. Burnouf observes, that they might slumber in undisturbed repose upon the shelves

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320 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. of a library, but that they might be made to yield the information they might contain. That these expectations have not been wholly disappointed is due, I am sorry to say, to no zeal or acquirement native to the soil; and the books in the Society's possession have done little more than repose in dust and oblivion upon the shelves where they were originally deposited. The accumulations of Mr. Hodgson have, however, not been made in vain. The Tibetan volumes especially were fortunate in finding an expounder in Alexander Csoma Korosi, whose ardent aspirations after knowledge led him, penniless and friendless, from Transylvania to Ladakh, where, with the aid of our equally adventurous countryman Moorcroft, he was enabled to study and to master the language of Tibet. Placed subsequently in communication with the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, he devoted much of his time to the examination of the volumes of the Kah-gyur, and has given the results of his labour to the public in the Journals of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and in the 20th Vol. of the Researches; he has also afforded, by a grammar and dictionary of Tibetan, the means of prosecuting the cultivation of the language in Europe; and the Transactions of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburgh, as well as other publications, evince the scholarship of Mr. Schmidt in Tibetan as well as in the literature of the Mongols. We have also a very valuable contribution to the History of Buddhism in a life of Buddha, translated originally from Sanskrit into Tibetan, and from that language into French, and

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. published two or three years since by M. Foucaux M. Burnouf also qualified himself to make use of the Tibetan books supplied by Mr. Hodgson, but found abundant occupation for his time in translating from the Sanskrit originals. His Introduction to the History of Buddhism contains copious translations from many of the principal Buddhist works, whilst the work published after his death, the "Lotus de la bonne Loi", is a translation of a Sanskrit Buddhist work which has been known to be highly estimated for centuries wherever Buddhism is professed. At the same time that Hodgson and Csoma were illustrating the literature of Buddhism, as it existed in the north of India, a like spirit of research animated the regions of the south, and the Pali scholars of Ceylon began to draw from the stores within their reach new and valuable sources of information. Besides various contributions to the Ceylon periodicals, and to the Journal of the Bengal Society **, the late Mr. Turnour has in his edition and translation of the Mahawanso furnished us with an authentic record of the notions which are current not only amongst the 321 [Soon after the appearance of Foucaux's translation and edition of the "Rgya tch'er rol pa", A. Schiefner gave from the Tibetan a full analysis, with copious notes, of a more modern life of Buddha. See his article "Eine tibetische Lebensbeschreibung Sakyamuni's" in Vol. VI of the St. Petersb. "Memoires des Savants Etrangers".] ** [Ceylon Almanacs for 1833 and 1834. Beng., Vols. V-VII.] Journ. As. Soc. 21

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322 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. people of Ceylon, but those of Ava and Siam, who belong to the same school, and whose authorities are identical. The course commenced by Mr. Turnour has been followed up with great ability by the Rev. Mr. Gogerly* in the Friend of Ceylon, and the proceedings of the branch Asiatic Society instituted on the island, whilst Mr. Hardy in his Eastern Monachism, and Manual of Buddhism, has brought together all that is at present known of the Buddhism of the South. We are not, therefore, in want now of genuine means of forming correct opinions of the outline of Buddhism, as to its doctrines and practices, but there are still questions of vital importance to its history for the solution of which our materials are defective. Disregarding all the fancies of speculation which are based upon imperfect knowledge, and receiving with caution the accounts given us by the Chinese missionaries, the most rational course to be adopted in seeking for information on which dependence may be placed, is, to consult the works which the Buddhists themselves regard as their scriptures, and from which their own history and doctrines are derived: but then, who will answer for the authorities? what is the history, what is the date, of the numerous works that are available, and which consist of two great divisions, the Sanskrit and the Pali? and what is the comparative value of the respective classes? Are they to be Journ. Ceylon Br. R. A. * [Ceylon Friend, Vols. I - IV. Soc. I, No. 1-4. II, 1. 3. IV, 1.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 323 regarded as synchronous and independent? and if not, which is the senior, which is the original? These are questions which M. Burnouf himself declares cannot yet be answered with confidence: an exact comparison between the two series of works, he declares to be impossible in the present state of our knowledge. We are not yet in possession of all the works that may exist in either class, but even if they were all collected in any European library, they must be read and studied, translated and commented upon, and the translations and comments must be published. This task, more tedious than difficult, would require the cooperation of many laborious and patient scholars, and upon its completion in a satisfactory manner could critical investigation alone commence. Although, however, it is perfectly true that conclusions on which implicit reliance is to be placed must be preceded by such a series of operations as M. Burnouf indicates, yet, as that preliminary process is indefinitely deferred and may never be perfected, we must be content in the meanwhile to make use of such means as we possess, and from them to form a conjectural approximation, if not a positive propinquity, to the solution of the question upon which the whole depends-the antiquity and authenticity of the writings in which the Buddhists themselves record the history of their founder and the doctrines which they maintain, and from which alone we can derive information that is of any real value. The great body of the Buddhist writings consists avowedly of transla 21*

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324 tions; the Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese, Cingalese, Burman, and Siamese books, are all declaredly translations of works written in the language of India-- that which is commonly called Fan, or more correctly Fan-lan-mo, or "the language of the Brahmans"; and then comes the question, to what language does that term apply? does it mean Sanskrit or does it mean Pali? involving also the question of the priority and originality of the works written in those languages respectively; the Sanskrit works as they have come into our hands being found almost exclusively in Nepal, those in Pali being obtained chiefly from Ceylon and Ava. BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. Until very lately, the language designated by the Chinese Fan was enveloped in some uncertainty. Fa Hian in the fourth century takes with him Fan books not only from India but from Ceylon, and the latter it has been concluded were Pali. No Sanskrit Buddhist works, as far as we yet know, have been met with in the south any more than Pali works in the north, although Sanskrit works are not unfrequent in Ceylon in the present day. The mystery, however, is now cleared up. In the life and travels of Hiuan Tsang, written by two of his scholars and translated from the Chinese by M. Julien, the matter is placed beyond all dispute by the description and by the examples which the Chinese traveller gives of the construction of the Fan language, in which he was himself a proficient, having been engaged many years in the study whilst in India, and in translating from

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it after his return to China. We learn then from him, that the words of the Fan language are distinguished under two classes, Ting-anta and Sup-anta, the Sanskrit grammatical designations of verbs and nouns ; that the former have eighteen modifications or persons, in two divisions, nine in each, one called Panto-sa-mi, or, in Sanskrit, Parasmai; the other O-tamo-ni, or, in Sanskrit, Atmane. All verbs and nouns have three numbers, singular, dual, and plural, of which he gives us examples both in conjugation and declension. All this is Sanskrit; and what is more to the point, it is not Magadhi, the proper designation of the dialect termed in the south Pali. No form of Prakrit, Pali included, has a dual number, and the terminations of the cases of the noun are, in several respects, entirely distinct'. Hiuan Tsang also cor 'CHINESE. Third Person. The following examples are given by Hiuan Tsang of the inflexions of a verb and noun [Hist. de la vie de HiouenThsang, 168-71]: VERB. Sing. P'o-po-ti Du. P'o-po-pa Pl. P'o-fan-ti BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. Second Person. Sing. P'o-po-sse Du. P'o-po-po Pl. P'o-po-t'a First Person. Sing. P'o-po-mi Du. P'o-po-hoa Pl. P'o-po-mo V. P'o-po-mo-sse 325 SANSKRIT. ENGLISH. Bhavati He is Bhavapa (for Bhavatah) They two are Bhavanti They are Bhavami Bhavaval Bhavamah Bhavasi Thou art Bhavapa (for Bhavathah) You two are You are Bhavatha I am We two are We are

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326 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. rectly adds that the grammar in use in India, in his time, was the work of a Brahman of the north, a native of Tula or Salatura, named Po-ni-ni, or Panini, the well known Sanskrit grammarian; and he notices NOUN SANSKRIT. ENGLISI. Purushal' Purushau Purushas Man Two men Men Purusham Purushau Purushan Man Two men Men By a man By two men Purushena Purushabhyam Purushabhil Purushais By men CHINESE Nominative. Sing. Pu-lu-sha Du. Pu-lu-shao Pl. Pu-lu-sha-so Accusative. Sing. Pu-lu-shan Du. Pu-lu-shao Pl. Pu-lu-shoang Instrumental. Sing. Pu-lu-shai-na Du. Pu-lu-sha-pien 2 Pu-lu-sha-pi Pu-lu-sha-sse Dative. Sing. Pu-lu-hia-ye Du. Pu-lu-sha-pien Pl. Pu-lu-shai-sho Ablative. Sing. Pu-lu-sha-to Du. Pu-lu-sha-pien Pl. Pu-lu-she-sho Genitive. Sing. Pu-lu-sha-tsie Du. Pn-lu-sha-pien Pl. Pu-lu-sha-nan Locative. Sing. Pu-lu-ch'ai Du. Pu-lu-sha-yu Pl. Pu-lu-shai-tseu Purushaya To man Purushabhyam To two men Purusheshu (for Puru- To men [shebhyah) Purushat From a man Purushabhyam From twomen Purusheshu (for Puru- From men [shebhyah) Purushasya Of a man Purushabhyam(for Puru- Of two men Purushanam [shayoh) of men Purushe Purushayoh Purusheshu In a man In two men In men

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 327 a form of the verb peculiar to the Grammar of the Vedas (Fei-to). The evidence of Hinan Tsang, therefore, is conclusive as to the language of the books which were sought for and studied by the Chinese Buddhists in India, and carried with them to China, and there translated into the form and under the appellation in which they still exist. Whether the books they took from Ceylon were Sanskrit or Pali, we have no further indication than the name Fan, which it seems most probable that Fa Hian employed in the same sense as Hiuan Tsang, or that of Sanskrit; and it is also to be observed that the principal works of Ceylon are subsequent to his time, which makes it further almost certain that the Fan books of Ceylon were also in Sanskrit. The Buddhist authorities of India Proper, then, were undeniably Sanskrit; those of Ceylon might have been Pali or Magadhi: were they synchronous with the Sanskrit books, or were they older, or were they younger, more ancient or more modern? To answer these questions we must endeavour to determine their CHINESE SANSKRIT. EnglisII. T'ocative. Sing. Hi (He) Pu-lu-sha Purusha O man Du. Hi (He) Pu-lu-shao Purushau O two men Pl. Ii (He) Pu-lu-sha Purushah O nien The verb does not differ materially from the Pali verb; but the inflexional terminations of the cases of the noun differ very widely: some of them are misstated, but this is probably from errors of transcription.

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328 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. relative chronology, from the imperfect means which are within our reach. Both sets of authorities imdoubtedly, Sanskrit and Pali, were in existence in the fifth and sixth centuries of our era. The Sanskrit works, according to the testimony of Chinese trayellers, were carried from India to China in very considerable numbers from a much earlier date; in one instance it is said two years before Christ, but it was not till after A.D. 76, the date of the introduction of Buddhism into China, that they were imported in any number, and not till the third and fourth centuries that they had become very numerous. In a Chinese history of celebrated Buddhist teachers, published between 502 and 556, and from which M. Julien has given us extracts, a Buddhist priest named Dharma, is said to have brought to China one hundred and sixty-five works, amongst which were several that may be readily identified with the Sanskrit works procured by Mr. Hodgson: we cannot hesitate, for example, to recognise in the Ching-fa-hua, meaning "The Flower of the right Law", the Sad Dharma Pundarika, "Le Lotus de la bonne Loi", which, as has been mentioned, was the last labour of M. Burnouf. Of this work repeated translations have been made into Chinese *, the first of which dates A. D. 280, whilst of the Lalita Vistara, or life of Sakya Muni, the earliest Chinese version was made between A.D. 70 - 76. We may be satisfied, therefore, that the * [W. Wassiljew, der Buddhismus. 1860, I, 163. Burnouf, ntroduction, I, 8 f.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 329 principal Sanskrit authorities which we still possess were composed by the beginning of the Christian era at least; how much earlier is less easily determined. According to the Buddhists themselves, the doctrines of Sakya Muni were not committed to writing by him, but were orally communicated to his disciples, and transmitted in like manner by them to succeeding generations. When they were first written is not clearly made out from the traditions of the north; but they agree with those of the south in describing the occurrence of different public councils or convocations at which the senior Buddhist priests corrected the errors that had crept into the teaching of heterodox disciples and agreed upon the chief points of discipline and doctrine that were to be promulgated. The first of these councils was held, it is said, immediately after Sakya Muni's death; the second 110, and the third 218 years afterwards, or about 246 s.c. The northern Buddhists confound apparently the second and third councils, or take no notice of the latter in the time of Asoka, but place the third in Kashmir under the patronage of Kanishka or Kanerka, one of the Hindo - Scythic kings, 400 years after Buddha's Nirvana, or B.c. 153. Both accounts agree that the propagation of Buddhism, by missions dispatched for that purpose, took place after the third council. According to the traditions which are current in the south as well as the north, the classification of the Buddhist authorities as the Tripitaka (the three collections) took place at the first council; tlie portion

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330 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. termed Sutra, the doctrinal precepts, being compiled by Ananda; the Vinaya, or discipline of the priestlood, by Upali; and the Abhidharma, or philosophical portion, by Kasyapa--all three Buddha's disciples. Their compilations were revised at the second council, and were finally established as canonical at the last. Their being compiled, however, does not necessarily imply their being written; and, according to the northern Buddhists, they were not committed to writing until after the convocation in Kashmir, or 153 B.C.; whilst the southern authorities state, that they were preserved by memory for 450 years, and were then first reduced to writing in Ceylon. It is to the former of these periods that M. Burnouf would ascribe the composition of the principal Sanskrit works which are still extant. That they continued to be written for four or five centuries afterwards is obvious from internal evidence, and even from their number and extent. In the sixth century Hiuan Tsang and his assistants translated 740 works, forming 1,335 volumes. Of these he himself took to China 657, and they had been brought thither in great numbers before his time. There is also a considerable body of works of a still more recent date, forining the basis upon which many adulterations have crept into Buddhism, evidently borrowed from the Tantras of the Brahmans: 700 works, however, all undoubtedly prior to the sixth century, must have been the work of many years, and have furnished full occupation to the Buddhist scholars of several centuries preceding.

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 331 We may consider it then established upon the most probable evidence, that the chief Sanskrit authorities of the Buddhists still in our possession were written, at the latest, from a century and a half before, to as much after, the era of Christianity. Now what is the case with the Pali authorities of the South? We have it most explicitly stated in the great Singhalese authority, the Mahawanso *, that the doctrines of Buddha were handed down orally, for more than four centuries after his death; and that they were not reduced to writing till the reign of Wattagamini, between B.c. 104 and 76. And that then the Pitakam was first written in Pali, and the commentary upon it (the Atthakatha) in Singhalese. The latter did not exist in Pali until the fifth century of the Christian era, or between A.D. 410, 432, when Buddhaghosa, originally a Brahman of Magadha, arrived in Ceylon, and gave the first impulse to the cultivation of his own dialect, the Magadhi, to which the people of the south have applied the term Pali; meaning, according to M. Turnour, "perfect, regular". * [c. XXXIII, 106 ff. with which the following verses of the Dipawansa, c. 20, almost literally agree: Wattagainani abhayo panchamasesu adito Evam dvadasa vassani raja rajjam akarayi 11 Pitakattayapalincha tassa aithakathani cha Mukhapathena anesum pubbe bhikkhu mahamata 11 Hanim disvana sattanan tada bhikkhu samagata Thiratthitattliam Jhammassa potthakesu likhapayuni 11 See also N. L. Westergaard, Om de aeldste Tidsrum i den indiske Historie. Kjobenhavn: 1860, p. 39.]

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332 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. The word is not known in India: it is not an Indian term. Buddhaghosa, it is said, repaired with his books to Pegu, and thence also dates the introduction of Pali as the sacred language of the Buddhists of Ava and Siam. Shortly after his time, or between A.D. 459 and 477, the other great Pali work of the Singhalese (the Mahawanso) was composed. Of the Dipawanso, another of their authorities, the date is not specified; but as it brings down the history of Ceylon to the beginning of the fourth century* when it was left unfinished, and as Buddhaghosa was the main instrument of introducing the use of Pali into Ceylon, it must be of the same period, or the fifth century. The principal Pali works of the South are, therefore, of a period considerably subsequent to the Sanskrit Buddhistical writings of India Proper, and date only from the fifth century after Christ. Their subsequent date might also be inferred from internal evidence; for, although they are in all essential respects the very same as the Buddhist works of India -- laying down the same laws and precepts and narrating the same marvellous legends -- they bear the characteristics of a later and less intellectual cultivation, in their greater diffuseness, and the extravagant and puerile additions they frequently make to the legendary matter. They seem also to be very scantily supplied with the Abhidharma or metaphysical portion of the Tripitaka, as compared with the Sutra and Vinaya. Such portions * [Journal As. Soc. Bengal, VII, 922.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 333 of the Pitaka as have been translated are, however, essentially the same as the Sanskrit Sutras, whilst the Atthakathas, or the commentaries, take a more discursive range, and are of a less authentic character; being in fact the compositions of Buddhaghosa, taken, as he himself states, not translated, from the Singhalese Afthakatha, which are no longer extant. How much therefore is his own, cannot be now determinated. Of the three classes of works constituting the Tripitaka, that of the Sutras is historically the most important. A Sutra is properly a brief aphorism or precept, conveying a position or dogma in a few concise, and not unfrequently obscure, terms. The Buddhist Sutras are not exactly of this nature. They are supposed to be the ipsissima verba of Sakya himself, the Buddha-vachana, repeated by Ananda as he had heard them; and they all begin, whether in Sanskrit or in Pali, with the expression: "This has been heard by me.-Etan-maya srutam, Evam maya suttam." They are in the form of a dialogue, in which the disciple asks questions and Sakya explains; illustrating his explanation by parables and legendary tales of various extent. M. Burnouf has shewn, however, that the Sutras are of two different descriptions. In one class, no doubt the oldest, the style is much more simple, and is wholly prose; and the legends are less extravagant. They are called by M. Burnouf the simple Sutras. In the other, which the Buddhists themselves term Vaipulya Sutras, "expanded or developed Sutras", the style is more diffuse, and is

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334 mixed prose and verse; and the latter is very remarkable, as containing many ungrammatical forms; the narratives are prolix and marvellous; and new persons are introduced who, although unknown to the simple Sutras, evidently performed a conspicuous part in the subsequent dissemination and corruption of the Buddhist religion; such are Nagarjuna or Nagasena, Manjusri, and Padmapani, to the latter of whom the invocation that is now so conspicuous in the temples of Nepal and Tibet is addressed under a modified name in ungrammatical Sanskrit, and with additions palpably borrowed from the Tantras of the Brahmans-Om! Manipadme! Hum!-Glory to Manipadma-Hum! Another personage is also, for the first time, introduced, -Avalokites wara, who is regarded by the Tibetans as their particular patron, and who is an object of especial worship to the Mongols and Chinese, amongst whom he is sometimes represented as having eleven heads and eight arms; or sometimes a thousand eyes and a thousand hands, as expressed by his Chinese name Kwan-shi-in*. Many absurd legends respecting this Bodhisattwa are current amongst the Buddhists of the north, but they, and the multiplied limbs of Avalokiteswara, are, no doubt, unauthorized additions, even to the texts of the Vaipulya Sutras. The introduction of such legendary and mythological personages is, however, sufficient evidence that these works are later than the * BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. [See Wassiljew, 1. 1., I, 135.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 335 simple Sutras, although most of them were current in India when visited by the Chinese in the fifth and sixth centuries. It is, therefore, to the simple Sutras that we are to look for the earliest and least corrupt form in which, according to Buddhist notions, the doctrines of their founder are delivered. M. Burnouf has given us specimens in the Mandhatii and Kanakavarna Sutras *, portions of a larger work, the Divya - avadana; they record severally the names of Buddha when he was the king Mandhatii, a name well known in Pauranik fiction, and when, as king Kanakavarna, he gave away to a Bodhisattwa the last morsel of food which a long dronght and famine had left for his sole sustenance. Of course this act of charity was followed by an immediate fall of rain and the return of plenty. To judge from these specimens, the simple Sutras, although the earlier, are not the most interesting of the Buddhist writings, and details which are of more value to the history, if not to the doctrine only, are to be found in the Vaipulya Sutras --constituting the authorities of the Mahayana, the great vehicle, which were the particular objects of Hiuan Tsang's studies and collections. Amongst these we may particularize the Lalita Vistara ---the expansion of the sports [of Buddha); being his life--and in Buddhist belief, his antobiography-- having been repeated by himself. The Sanskrit original is not very rare in India, and * [Introduction a l'histoire du Bouddhisme Indien, p. 74 ff. 90 ff.]

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336 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. the Asiatic Society of Bengal has undertaken the publication of the text and translation by Rajendra lal Mitra. The entire work has been published at Paris, translated from the Tibetan, as I have mentioned, by M. Foucaux *, who has compared it carefully with the Sanskrit, and bears testimony to the closeness of the Tibetan translation. He ascribes its composition to a period subsequent to the third convocation, or about 150 years B.C. It was translated, as I have stated, into Chinese in the first century after, which is compatible enough with the date assigned to its first composition, and there is internal evidence in favour of the same date ** It is, undoubtedly, subsequent to the Mahabharata, which I have elsewhere conjectured to be about two centuries prior to Christianity; for it is said, that when the choice of the family in which the Buddha should be born was under consideration in the Tushita heaven, that of the Pandavas of Hastinapura was objected to, because they had filled their genealogy with confusion, terming Yudhishthira the son of Dharma, Bhimasena the son of Vayu, Arjuna of Indra, Nakula and Sahadeva of the Aswins; all very correct citations *** In the proofs also of his skill in archery * [See A. Schiefner in "Melanges Asiatiques". St. Petersbourg: 1852. I, 217 ff.] ** [Wassiljew, 1. 1., I, 192. St. Julien in Foucaux's Lalitavistara, II, p. xvi.] *** (Lalitavistara, Calcutta edit., p. 24.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 337 which Sakya displays in his youth he pierces with his arrow an iron effigy of a boar, the very feat which Arjuna performs, only that the Pandu prince achieves it within the reasonable compass of a meadow, whilst, in the usual strain of Buddhist exaggeration, Sakya hits the mark at the distance of ten kos, or twenty miles off*: these circumstances clearly refer to the Hindu poem, and concur in placing the age of the Lalita Vistara about a century and a half before the Christian era. It embodies, however, no doubt, the traditions of an earlier date, traditions not long subsequent to the first dissemination of the principles of Buddhism. The circumstances of Buddha's life, as told in the Lalita Vistara, have furnished all the Buddhist nations with their traditions. The life and acts of Buddha are always related to the same purport, and very nearly in the same words, in Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian, Pali, Burman, Siamese, and Singhalese. After an infinitude of births in various characters, during ten millions of millions and one hundred thousand millions of kalpas, the shortest of which consists of sixteen millions of years, and the longest of thirty-two millions, he attained the rank of Bodhisattwa, that which is inferior only to a Buddha, in the Tushita heaven, where he taught his doctrine to innumerable millions of Bodhisattwas, or future Buddhas, and gods and spirits; and was glorified by Sakra, Brahma, Maheswara, Nagas, Gandharbas, Yakshas, Asuras, * [1. l., p. 175 f.] 92

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338 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. and other creations of the Brahmanical mythology. To rise to the elevation of a perfect Buddha one existence more on earth was necessary, and he, therefore, becomes incarnate as the son of the Sakya prince Suddhodana, king of Kapilavastu, and Maya his wife: he is born miraculously from his mother's side, who died seven days after his birth: as soon as born he took seven steps to each of the four quarters, announcing aloud his supremacy in language, which the Lalita Vistara and the Buddhist writings of Ava and Ceylon similarly repeat, at least substantially. The Lalita Vistara, for instance, makes him say in the east, "I shall proceed, the first of all existences, springing from the root of virtue:" in the south, "I shall be worthy of the offerings of gods and men:" in the west, "This is my last birth; I shall put an end to birth, old age, disease, and death:" in the north, "I shall have no superior amongst beings *." So Mr. Hardy **, translating from various Buddhist works in Pali, says: "at his birth he was received by Maha Brahima in a golden net, from which he was transferred to the guardians of the four quarters, who received him on a tiger's skin, from the dewas he was received by the nobles, who wrapped him in folds of the finest and softest cloth, but at once Bodhisat * [1. l., p. 96 f.] ** [Manual of Buddhism, p. 145 f. See also Bigandet's "Legend of the Burmese Budha", in the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, Vol. VI (1852), p. 500; and Bennett's "Life of Gaudama", in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. III (1853), p. 11.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 339 descended from their hands to the ground, and looked to the four points, and to the four half points, and above and below; when he looked towards the north he proceeded seven steps in that direction and exclaimed: 'I am the most exalted in the world. I am chief in the world. I am the most excellent in the world. Hereafter there is to me no other birth."" The legend is evidently the same although slightly varied. Siddhartha, his name as a prince, was educated as a prince, married to different wives, and led a life of pleasure and enjoyment, until the vanity of worldly existence was impressed upon his conviction by his meeting, on three several occasions, with a sick man, a corpse, and a mendicant, on which he resolved to abandon his royalty and devote himself to solitary meditation. His father disapproves of his intention, and places him under restraint; but he makes his escape miraculously by night, with one attendant, and having reached a convenient distance from the city changes his dress with a hunter, - a demigod in disguise,-and with his sword cuts off his own hair. According to a Pali authority quoted by M. Burnouf*, this was the origin of the curly hair of the figures of Sakya, which induced early European writers to consider him as of Abyssinian origin, for the hair, shortened to the length of two fingers, turning upwards, remained in that position the rest of his life. He then engages in sacred study under different Brah * [Lotus de la bonne Loi, p. 660 ff. 864. Bigandet, 1. 1., p. 519. Bennett, 1. l., p. 23.] 22.

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340 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. mans, but, dissatisfied with their teaching, retires into solitude, followed by five of his fellow - disciples, and for six years practises rigorous austerities: finding their effects upon the body unfavourable to intellectual energy, he desists and adopts a more genial course of life, on which his five disciples quit him and he is left alone. He is then assailed by the demon of wickedness, Mara, "the killer", who is identical with Kamadeva, or the God of Love; but terrors and temptations fail to disturb his serenity, and the Tempter is compelled to acknowledge his defeat, and to withdraw. Buddha, resuming his meditations, contemplates the causes of things, which is the key to the well-known formula of the Buddhists found upon so many of their images, and of which the various readings, as given in a communication by Colonel Sykes, in the forthcoming number of our Journal", are evidently nothing more than the blunders of ignorant transcribers, or defects in cutting the letters on clay or stone. In the Lalita Vistara, Buddha's meditations are thus recapitulated: "Thus thought the Bodhisattwa: 'from what existing thing come disease and death? age and death being the consequences of birth, birth is the cause of disease and death." He then proceeds to analyse in the same strain the causes of birth, of conception, of desire, of sensation, of contact, of the senses, of name and form, of comprehension, of ideas; and concludes that igno * [Journ. R. As. Soc., Vol. XVI, p. 37 ff.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 341 rance, Avidya, is the cause of ideas, and is the remote cause of existence*. The next subject of his meditations is the means by which this chain of causes is to be counteracted, and he concludes: "Birth being no more, old age and death are annihilated; and as ignorance is the ultimate cause of existence, then by the removal of ignorance all its consequences are arrested, and existence ceases, by which means old age, death, wretchedness, sorrow, pain, anxiety, and trouble, the whole mass of suffering, becomes for ever extinct **." This is the summary of Buddhistic wisdom set forth in the popular stanza, "Ye dharma hetu-prabhava." with which we have long been familiar *** The Lalita Vistara is somewhat silent on the subject of Sakya's peregrinations, and represents him as chiefly engaged in discourses to his Bhikshus, or mendicant followers, or in intercourse with the Nagas and the Devas. He attains to the perfection of a Buddha at Bodhimanda t, which is apparently ancient Gaya, and resides there until he thinks it necessary to look out for some person who may succeed him as teacher of the law; he then proceeds to Benares, and on his way, having no inoney to pay for being ferried across the Ganges, he transports himself over it in the air. * [1. l., p. 144.] ** [1. l., p. 145.] *** [Burnouf, Lotus, p. 521 ff. Journal R. A. Soc., Vol. XVI. 38 - 44. Koeppen, Religion des Buddha, I, 223.] + [Rgya tch'er rol pa, II, p. 47. Hiuen thsang, Memoires, II, 456. Wassiljew, I, 46.]

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342 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. At Benares he recovers his five original disciples, but it does not appear that they are appointed to succeed him: on the contrary, Buddha addressed these words, it is said, to Maha Kasyapa, Ananda, and the Bodhisattwa Maitreya: "Friends! the Supreme Intelligence, perfect and full, which I have acquired in a hundred thousand millions of kalpas, I deposit in your hands. Do you yourselves receive this part of the Law, teach it fully in detail to others." He then praises the Sutra, the Lalita Vistara, after which, "the sons of the gods, the Maheswaras, and the rest of the gods, the Suddhakavasakayikas, Maitreya, and all the other Bodhisattwas, Mahasattwas, Maha Kasyapa, and the rest of the Maha Sravakas, Ananda, and the worlds of the gods, of men, of Asuras, of Gandharbas, rejoiced, and praised aloud the instructions of Bhagavan *." As the Lalita Vistara is attributed to Sakya himself, it cannot contain any account of his death. For this we must have recourse to the Maha Parinirvana Sutras, of which we have only the Tibetan translation, in the eighth and two following volumes of the Nya division of the Do Class of the Kahgyur, and of which Csoma has given us on abridged translation; we have it also in the life of Sakya in the Mongol, as translated by Klaproth in the Asia Polyglotta, and we have what is no doubt the same work in Pali, the Parinibbana Suttam, a section of the Digha nikayo, of which Mr. Turnour has given us an analysis (J. A. * [Rgya tch'er rol pa, II, p. 406 f.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 343 S. B., VII, 991)*. The accounts, as far as they go, are substantially the same, but the proximate cause of Sakya's death, illuess brought on by eating pork, seems to be an addition of the compiler of the Singhalese narrative; no such incident is alluded to by either Csoma or Klaproth, and it seems very inconsistent with Sakya's recommendation of abstinence: as also Sakya liad attained the age of eighty he might have been allowed to die of natural decay. The Pali legend adds that the pork was provided for him, and for him alone, by his host, at his particular desire, because lie knew it would cause his death **. According to both narratives he directed' his disciples to dispose of his remains after the fashion of that of the Chakravarttis, or universal monarchs, the ashes of whose bodies, after burning, were collected and deposited in stately pyramidal monuments. Accordingly his ashes were at first placed in a monument erected where he died, in Kusinagara, or Kusia in Goraklipur, but portions were claimed by various persons; and the warriors of Kusa, although they at first refused to give up any of the precious deposit, were at last induced by the mediation of a Brahman, who is not named in Csoma's analysis, but is termed Dono, that is, Drona, by Turnour, to assent to a division. The distribution is in some respects not very intelligible; one part is for the champions of Kusa, one for those of Digpachan or * [Burnouf, Introduction a l'histoire, p. 74.] ** [Koeppen, 1. 1. I, 114 f.]

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344 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. Tibet, one for the royal tribe of Baluka, one for the royal tribe of Krodtya, one for a Brahman of Vishnudwipa, one for the Sakyas, one for the Lichhavis of Allahabad, and one for Ajatasatru, king of Magadha: they all built chaityas over them and paid them worship. The urn in which the reliques had first been placed was given to the Brahman who had mediated, and another Brahman received the cinders: they also erected chaityas. Of the four eye-teeth, two were distributed to the deities called Trayastrinsats, and the Nagas; one was placed in "The Delicious City", and one in the country of the king of Kalinga, whence in time it found its way to Ceylon, where it is still preserved. Hence originated the practice of constructing the monuments called Sthupas, or Topes, which have excited so much interest of late years, and of which a subsequent sovereign of Magadha, Asoka, is said to have constructed 84,000. In many parts of Tibet, where they are more usually termed Chaityas, or Chaits, they are numerous but small, containing, it is supposed the ashes of distinguished Lamas. Chaitya, which is a Sanskrit term, is in fact equally applicable to any sacred object, a temple, or a tomb; every Sthupa may be a Chaitya, but a Chaitya may be also something else of a religious character*. These accounts of Sakya's birth and proceedings, laying aside the miraculous portions, have nothing very impossible, and it does not seem improbable that * [Koeppen, 1. 1. I, 533 ff. Lassen, Ind. Alt., II, 266.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 345 an individual of a speculative turn of mind, and not a Brahman by birth, should have set up a school of his own in opposition to the Brahmanical monopoly of religious instruction, about six centuries before Christ; at the same time there are various considerations which throw suspicion upon the narrative, and render it very problematical whether any such person as Sakya Sinha, or Sakya Muni, or Sramana Gautama, ever actually existed. In the first place, the Buddhists widely disagree with regard to the date of his existence. In a paper I published many years ago in the Calcutta Quarterly Magazine, I gave a list of thirteen different dates, collected by a Tibetan author, and a dozen others might be easily added, the whole varying from 2420 to 453 B.C. They may, however, be distinguished under two heads, that of the northern Buddhists, 1030 B.C. for the birth of Buddha, and that of the southern Buddhists, for his death B. C. 543. It is difficult, however, to understand why there should be such a difference as five centuries, if Sakya had lived at either the one or the other date. The name of his tribe, the Sakya, and their existence as a distinct people and principality, find no warrant from any of the Hindu writers, poetical, traditional, or mythological; and the legends that are given to explain their origin and appellation are, beyond measure, absurd. The most probable affinity of the name is to that of the Sakas, or Scythians, or Indo-Scythians, as if they were an offshoot from the race that dislodged the Indo-Bactrian Greeks, but

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346 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. this is not countenanced by any of the traditions, Bralimanical or Buddhist. The name of Sakya's father, Suddhodlana, she whose food is pure," -- suggests an allegorical signification, and in that of his mother, Maya, or Mayadevi, "illusion, divine delusion,"--we have a manifest allegorical fiction; his secular appellation as a prince, Siddhartha, "he by whom the end is accomplished," - and his religious name, Buddha, "hie by whom all is known," are very much in the style of the Pilgrim's Progress, and the city of his birth, Kapila Vastu, which has no place in the geography of the Hindus*, is of the same description. It is explained, "the tawny site," but it may also be rendered, "the substance of Kapila," intimating, in fact, the Sankhya philosophy, the doctrine of Kapila Muni, upon which the fundamental elements of Buddhism, the eternity of matter, the principles of things, and final extinction, are evidently based. It seems not impossible, after all, that Sakya Muni is an unreal being, and that all that is related of him is as much a fiction as is that of his preceding migrations, and the miracles that attended his birth, his life, and his departure. At the same time, although we may discredit the actuality of the teacher, we cannot dispute the introduction of the doctrine, and there may have been, about the time attributed to Sakya's death by the southern Buddhists, a person, or what is more likely, * [But compare L. Vivien de St. Martin in "Memoires sur les contrees occidentales", II, 356 ff.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 347 persons of various castes, comprising even Bralimans, who introduced a new system of hierarchical organisation, for that seems to have been the chief, if not the sole innovation intended by the first propagator's of Buddhism. The doctrine of transmigration was common to the Buddhists and to every division of the Brahmanical Hindus: the eternity of matter and tlie periodical dissolution and renovation of the world were also faniliar to all the schools; the Buddhists did not abolish caste, they acknowledged it fully as a social institution, but they maintained that it was merged in the religious character, and that all those who adopted a religious life were thereby emancipated from its restrictions, and were of one community: the moral precepts which they inculcated, with at least one exception--the prohibition of taking away animal life, were common to them and to the Brahmans; and the latter seem to have adopted from the Buddhists, very possibly, the merit of Ahinsu: the Buddhists recognised the existence of all the gods of the Brahmanical pantheon, with perhaps one or two exceptions which may have been of later date, such as Krishna for instance: the notion of final extinction or Nirvana, although more unqualified, was not exclusively confined to the Buddhists. In short, the philosophy of Buddhism, as is observed by Mr. Gogerly, was essentially eclectic, and the main point of disagreement was the political institution of a religious Society which should comprise all classes, all castes, women as well as inen, and should throw off the authority of

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348 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. the Brahmans as the sole teachers of religious faith. It seems likely also that the same innovators discarded the ritual of the Vedas, and discontinued the adoration of the Hindu divinities, placing the observance of moral duties and the practice of a life of self-denial and restraint above the burthensome and expensive charges of formal worship. Their departure from the Brahmanical system started about the time ascribed to Sakya's teaching, became gradually developed as the organization of those by whom they were professed became more perfect, and by the middle of the third century before Christ, they may have enjoyed the patronage of Asoka, the Raja of Central India, as the Buddhist traditions maintain, and under his encouragement a convocation may have been held, at which the associated Buddhists commenced that course of propagation which spread their religion throughout India and beyond its confines to the north and to the south. I do not think that the difficulties which attend the identification of Asoka with Piyadasi have yet been cleared up, but we may admit that the edicts on the columns and the rocks were inscribed about the time of Asoka's reign, or in the third century before Christ. We may adunit also that they are intended to recommend Buddhism, but their tone is not that of a triumphant or exclusive form of belief, and the spirit of toleration which they breathe is an unequivocal proof of a nascent faith, a system that courts compromise rather than provokes and defies hostility. At this period we may conceive the marvels of Sakya's life and the more de

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 349 tailed expansion of the doctrines ascribed to him to have been devised, as calculated to excite the admiration and win the belief of the natives of India, ever ready to give credit to the supernatural, and to pay superstitious homage to the assumption of divinity. Besides the inscriptions attributed to Asoka, he is said to have been a profuse constructor of Viharas, Buddhist monasteries, and of Sthupas or monuments over Buddhist reliquia. Viharas were probably multiplied about this time or even earlier: we have not yet met with any Sthupas to which so high an antiquity can be confidently assigned. It seems little likely that Sakya, or the first propagators of the system, would have enjoined the construction of monuments to preserve the frail relics of humanity, when their first dogma was the worthlessness of bodily existence, and it could not have been until Sakya was elevated by his followers to the rank of something more than a god that his relics, or those of his early disciples, should have been held entitled to such veneration; at any rate we have no evidence of the erection of any Sthupa as early as the middle of the third century before Christ, whilst we have several proofs of their construction after the era of Christianity, down as late as the sixth century afterwards. These are afforded by the discovery, in the solid body of the monuments, of the coins of the consular families of Rome, and of the first Caesars; of the coins of the emperors of Constantinople, Theodosius, Marcian, and Leo, who reigned from A.D. 407 to A. D. 474; and

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350 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. of great quantities of the coins of the Sassanian princes of Persia, down to Kobad, who died A.D. 531. These coins are found in the Topes of the Panjab and Afghanistan, and establish beyond dispute that the practice of constructing monuments of this class prevailed in the north-west of India from some time after the beginning of the Christian era until the sixth century. The most remarkable monument of this class in Central India is that of Bhilsa or Sanchi, in its neighbourbood. This was first brought to notice by Captain Fell, who published a description of it in the Calcutta Journal in 1819; this description, with additions, was reprinted by Mr. J. Prinsep *, in the third volume of the J. B. Asiatic Society, and at his suggestion sketches of the most remarkable objects and facsimiles of inscriptions abounding on the spot, were sent him by Captains Smith and Murray, and published by him, with translations and important comments, in the sixth volume of the Journal. More recently, Lieutenant Maisey has been employed by the government of Bengal to make careful drawings of these remains; and some of his sketches which have been sent home evince his great merit as an artist as well as an antiquarian. The publication of these documents has been anticipated by Major Cunningham, who had associated himself with Lieutenant Maisey in the investigation, and who has published the results of his own labours in a work entitled The Bhilsa Topes, in which he has ** [See also J. Prinsep's Essays on Indian Antiquities, ed. E. Thomas. 1, 171 ff.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 351 given not only sketches of various interesting objects, but copies and translations of more than 200 inscriptions. They are mostly short, merely specifying the liberality of some devont Buddhist in a gift which is not specified; as, Dhamma raklitasa bhichlimo danam, "the gift of the mendicant Dharma Rakshita*." Major Cunningham conjectures the gifts to have been stones or sculptured contributions to the structure. From one of them he infers the date of the inclosure to have been the early part of the reign of Asoka"Subalitasa Gotiputasa Raja * lipikarasa danam--the gift of the king's scribe, Subalita, son of Goti**;" Gotiputra being the teacher of the celebrated Moggaliputra. From an inscription in one of the gateways in which the name of Sri Sat Karui occurs, Major Cumningham concludes the gateways were erected about the beginning of the Christian era, in which Lieutenant Maisey concurs *** These, however, he considers long posterior to the body of the building, which he would carry as far back as 250 B.C., or even 500 B.C., on somewhat insufficient evidence; its being as old as Asoka depending upon the identification of Gotiputra the teacher of Moggali-putra, who presided, it is said, at the third council in A. D. 241, a statement altogether erroneous, as Moggali-putra, Mandyala, or Maudgalyayana, was one of Sakya's first disciples, three centuries earlier. In the second and third of the topes of Sanchi, Major Cunningham found relic boxes, * [Bhilsa Topes, p. 238, No. 19.] ** (1. l., p. 251, No. 110.] *** [1. I., p. 264 ff.]

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352 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. inscribed with the names of Kasyapa, Moggaliputra, and Sariputra, from which he would seem to infer that the topes must have been erected soon after their deaths, or some time between 550 B.C. and 250 B.C.; but, as he himself remarks, the reliques of Buddha and his principal disciples were very widely scattered, being found in different places; and once the notion of their sanctity was adopted, they were no doubt multiplied, as so many pious frauds, in order to give a reputation to the building in which they were said to be enshrined; similar vases were also found at Satdhara and Andher, furnishing examples of this multiplication of relics in the same immediate neighbourhood. Their asserted presence, in any monument, is no more a proof of its antiquity than would the hairs of Buddha, if ever dug up, prove the Shwedagon of Rangoon to have been built in his day. No legitimate conclusion can be drawn, therefore, from inscriptions of this class, as to the date of the Sanchi monuments, whilst the name of a Sat Karni prince is a palpable indication of their being erected subsequent to the Christian era. The topes of Ceylon, however, appear to be of an earlier date, if we may credit the tradition which ascribes the erection of the Ruanvelli mound at Anuradhapura to king Dutthagamani, who reigned, 161 B.c. to 137 B.C.* A somewhat earlier period than that of the Indian Sthupas may be assigned to another important class * [Lassen, Ind. Alt., II, 428 f. Journ. As. Society Bengal, XVI, 221.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 353 of Buddhist monuments--the Cave Temples belonging to that persuasion--but they also, as far as has been yet ascertained, are subsequent to Christianity. The Rev. Mr. Stevenson has lately furnished important illustrations of this subject to the Journal of the Branch Asiatic Society of Bombay, in his translations of the inscriptions in the Cave Temples of Kanheri, Karlen, Junir, Nasik, and other places in the Sahyadri range of hills, from facsimiles taken under the authority of the government by Mr. Brett. They, like the inscriptions on the Sthupas, are usually brief records of gifts not specified, by persons, for the most part, of no mark or likelihood, but there are a few names of historical value, as well as a few dates. In one case, the excavation at Nana Ghat, Mr. Stevenson conjectures for it an antiquity of 200 B.C., but there do not seem to be sufficient grounds for such a conjecture*. In another case he proposes **, for a colum at Karlen, the date 70 B.C., as it was set up by Agnimitra, son of Maharaja Bhoti, whom he would identify with the last of the Sunga dynasty, Devabhuti; but this, to say the least, is problematical, and in this, as well as in the preceding, Mr. Stevenson himself queries the chronology: the dates which he proposes without hesitation begin with A.D. 189, but we tread upon tolerably safe ground when we come to various dates from 20 B.C. to A. D. 410, because the inscrip * [Journ. Bombay Br. R. A. Soc., V, 174 f. 428.] ** [ib. 3 f. 152 f. 426 f. (where he corrects Vhoti into yoti).] 23

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354 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. tions give us several of the names of the Andhrabhritya, or, in the dialect of the inscriptions, Adhabhati princes; such as Balin, Kripa Karna, Gautamiputra, and Yajna Sri Sat Karni, members of a dynasty who were the powerful princes of the "Andhra gens", noticed by Pliny, and who, we learn from the Puranas, confirmed by the accounts of the Chinese travellers, extended their authority to Central India, and reigned at Pataliputra from the commencement of the Christian era to the fifth century after it, which period we may consider as the date of the principal Buddhist excavations in the west of India. The evidence thus afforded by the Sthupas, and the caves, of the time in which the principal monuments of Buddhism were multiplied, harmonises with that which we have derived from the more lasting literary monuments of the same faith, and leaves no doubt that the first four or five centuries after Christ, were the period during which the doctrine was most successfully propagated, and was patronized by many of the Rajas of India, particularly in the north and in the west. Ever ready as the Chinese traveller, FaHian, at the end of the fourth century, is to see Buddhism everywhere dominant, he furnishes evidence that in the east, and particularly in the place of its reputed origin, the birth place of Sakya, which had become a wilderness, it had fallen into neglect. In the seventh century, Hiuan Tsang abounds with notices of deserted monasteries, ruined temples, diminished number of mendicants, and augmented pro

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 355 portion of heretics. It has been already conjectured that this was the term of its vitality, and that the seventh century witnessed its disappearance from the continent of India. Traces of Buddhism lingered, no doubt, till a much later period, as is shewn by the inscription found at Sarnath as late as the eleventh century * ; but it was then limited to a few localities, and had shifted its scene to the regions bordering on its birth-place, being shortly afterwards so utterly obliterated in India Proper, that by the sixteentli century the highest authority in the country, the intelligent minister of an inquiring king, the minister of Akbar, Abulfazl, could not find an individual to give him an account of its doctrines. It would be impossible, in the limited time at our disposal, to enter upon a detail of what those doctrines are; but I may briefly advert to one or two of those which may be regarded as most characteristic. Some of those which are common to Buddhists and Brahmans have been noticed, and of those which are peculiar, the difference is rather in degree than in substance. Thus the attribution to a Buddha of power and sanctity, infinitely superior to that of the Gods, is only a development of the notion that the gods could be made subject to the will of a mortal, by his performance of superhuman austerities; only the Buddhists ascribed it to the perfection of the internal * [Lassen, Ind. Alt., III, 741 ff.] 23

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356 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. purity acquired during a succession of births. The notion of Buddha's supremacy once established, the worship of the gods became superfluous; but as the mass of mankind are in need of sensible objects to which their devotions are to be addressed, Buddha came to be substituted for the gods, and his statues to usurp their altars. In the course of time, in some of the Buddhist countries, at least other idols, several of them very uncongenial with the spirit of Buddhism, and evidently borrowed from Hinduism, came to be associated with him, particularly in Tibet and China, in which latter country the temples commonly present three principal colossal images, which are the representatives of Buddha and two of his chief disciples, Sakya, Sariputra, and Maudgalyayana; or, according to some authorities, of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, or Buddha, the Law and the Community. They are sometimes also said to be the Buddhas of the past, present, and future ages. The temples, however, present many other idols, such as a goddess of mercy, a queen of heaven, a god of war, a god of wealth, a tutelary divinity of sailors, tutelary divinities of cities, and various other fanciful and not unfrequently grotesque beings, amongst whom we have Ganesa with his elephant head. In Japan, if we may trust to Kaempfer, we have representations of the avatars of Vishnu; and in Nepal and western Tibet, as already remarked, we have the Dhyani Buddhas, and Bodhisattwas, Manipadma, Manjusri, and Avalokiteswara, and a host of inferior spirits and divinities, of whom

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 357 pictures or statues fill the courts, or cover the walls of the temples. The representation and worship of these idols, although not prohibited by anything in the religion of Buddha, is obviously incompatible with its spirit, and must be regarded as exotic corruptions; no such auxiliaries seem to be adinitted in those countries where the system exists in its greatest purity, as in Ava, Siam, and Ceylon, as, although the images in the temples are often exceedingly numerous, they are, with exception of subsidiary figures which are not worshipped, such as dragons and lions, all of the same character, representing Gautama or his disciples generally in a sitting posture, with the legs crossed, and the hands in the act of prayer or benediction; the indefinite multiplication of the images arising from its being considered an act of merit to set up a statue of a Buddha or of a Buddhist priest of reputed sanctity. The organization of a regular priesthood from all classes, and their assemblage in Viharas or monasteries under a superior, is also one of the distinguishing features of Buddhism, as opposed to Brahmanism, although not wholly unknown to the institutes of the latter. The monastic system, however, does not seem to have originated with Sakya himself, for he and his immediate followers were migratory, passing from one part of central India to another, except during the rainy season, when they dispersed to their respective homes, reassembling after the rains; the organization commenced probably with the first convocation, and

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358 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. was brought to perfection by the third. In the first instance, the heads of the communities were elected by the associates, on account of their superior age and learning; but other motives, no doubt, soon came to influence the choice, and in time new principles were introduced, which were not originally recognized, although not wholly foreign to the spirit of the system, particularly the notion that guides the election of a successor to a deceased Dalai Lama of Lhassa, or a Tashi Lama of Tashilumbo, the selection of a child in whose person the soul of the deceased is supposed to have become regenerate, being in fact that of a Buddha on his way to perfection. This notion is now, at least, no longer confined to Tashilumbo, or to Lhassa; but is spread very generally through Tartary, according to the French missionaries; and every monastery of note seeks, upon the demise of its Superior, for a child to succeed him, sending usually to western Tibet to discover him, and detecting liiin by placing before the boy a variety of articles, from which he picks out such as had belonged to the deceased, and which he is supposed to recognize as having been his property in a prior existence. This, if true, may no doubt be easily managed by a little dexterity, but Messrs. Huc and Gabet suspect that Satan is at the child's elbow, and prompts the verification of the articles. The notion however is admitted to be of comparatively modern introduction, as late as the thirteenth or fourteenth century * * [Koeppen, 1. 1., II, 120 - 31.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 359 Another essential difference between Brahmanism and Buddhism, was the proselyting spirit of the latter. Although Brahmanism has spread into countries where it could not have been indigenous, yet a Brahman, like a poet, "nascitur non fit;" and, consistent with the spirit of the code, a man must be born a Hindu, he cannot become a Hindu by conversion. The Buddhist adopted the opposite course, and hence, no doubt, their early success. The public teaching of Buddha or of the founders of the faith must have been so novel and attractive, that we can easily believe the Buddhist narratives, that vast multitudes of all classes and of both sexes attended the public preaching of the Buddhist missionaries, an encouraging precedent we may observe, by the way, for those of pure religion. There are, however, some peculiar features in the teaching of Sakya and his disciples, which render it more surprising that it should ever have been successful than that its success should have been of temporary duration. Its object is not the good of the people in their social condition: it no doubt enjoins the observance of moral duties, and reverence to parents and teachers, and the general practice of compassion and benevolence, but to whom are these injunctions addressed? according to the authorities of the religion, whether Sanskrit or Pali, to Bhikshus and Bhikshunis, persons who have separated themselves from the world, and who, besides professing faith in Buddha, engage to lead a life of self-denial, celibacy, and mendicancy, and to estrange

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360 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. themselves from all domestic and social obligations: with all its boasted benevolence it enjoins positive inhumanity where women are concerned, and in its anxiety for the purity of the mendicant, prescribes not only that he should not look at or converse with a female, but that, if she be his own mother and have fallen into a river, and be drowning, he shall not give her his hand to help her out; if there be a pole at hand he may reach that to her, but if not, she must drown. An interesting illustration of this barbarity occurs in the drama called Miichchhakati *, which represents Buddhist institutions with singular fidelity. In this spirit is the whole of the Vinaya or Buddhist discipline conceived: it is a set of rules for individuals separated from society, in whom all natural feeling is to be suppressed, all passions and desires extinguished, consistently enough with the doctrine that life is the source of all evil, and that one means of counteracting it is by the checking the increase of living beings. Rigid compliance with the restraints imposed, has, however, been found impracticable, and considerable latitude has been allowed in practice. The rules of abstinence and celibacy must be strictly observed whilst the individual continues in the order of the priesthood, but he may withdraw from that order, either for ever or for a season, and may marry and lead a secular life; he may, after an interval, be readmitted, and his second admission is considered as * [End of Act VIII.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 361 final, but even this does not seem to be very rigorously enforced. Belief in a Supreme Being, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, is unquestionably a modern graft upon the unqualified atheism of Sakya Muni: it is still of very limited recognition. In none of the standard authorities translated by M. Burnouf, or Mr. Gogerly, is there the slightest allusion to such a First Cause, the existence of whom is incompatible with the fundamental Buddhist dogma, of the eternity of all existence. The doctrine of an Adi Buddha, a first Buddha, in the character of a Supreme Creator', which has found its way into Nepal, and perhaps into Western Tibet, is entirely local, as is that of the Dhyani Buddhas and the Bodhisattwas, their sons and agents in creation, as described by Mr. Hodgson. They are not recognised in the Buddhist mythology of any other people, and have no doubt been borrowed from the Hindus. There can be no first Buddha, for it is of the essence of the system that Buddhas are of progressive development: any one may become a Buddha by passing through a series of existences in the practice of virtue and benevolence, and there have been accordingly an infinitude of Buddhas in all ages and in all regions. One of the Pali authorities records the actions of twenty-fou* ; Schmidt, from a Mongol work, has given us the names of a thousand Buddhas. (Trans. Soc. St. Petersburg, 2, 68.) There are Sans * [Mahawansa, Introd. xxxii ff.]

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362 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. krit authorities for seven in the present age of the world, whose praises I have translated (Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVII)* and who are represented in the Ajunta paintings. An eighth, Maitreya, is to come; but these are only a few, confined to certain periods : the number during all the extravagant intervals of Buddhist chronology has no limitation, and there can no more be a first than there can be a last, each passing on his turn to the end and aim of his existence,extinction--nirvaua. Utter extinction, as the great end and object of life, is also a fundamental, and in some respects a peculiar, feature of Buddhism. Nirvana is literally a blowingont, as if of a candle, -- annihilation: it has been objected to this that Buddhism recognises a system of rewards and punishments after death, and no doubt its cosmology is copiously furnished with heavens and hells; but this it has in common with Brahmanism: it is a part of the scheme of transmigration; the wicked are punished and the good rewarded, but the punishment and reward are only in proportion to their bad or good deeds, and when they have been balanced the individual returns to earth to run up a fresh score, to incur in fact, according to Buddhism, a fresh infliction of suffering, life being the cause of evil from which there is no escape, but by finally ceasing to be. Brahmanical speculation comtemplates, equally with Buddhism, exemption from being born * [Art. I of this volume.]

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363 again as the summum bonum, but proposes to effect this by spiritual absorption either into universal spirit, or into an all-comprehending divine spirit; but the Buddhists recognize no such recipient for the liberated soul. No doubt, amongst the Buddhists, as amongst the Brahmans, differences of opinion occasionally prevailed, giving rise to various schools; four of these were known to the Brahmanical controversial writers before the sixth century; but, besides them, who are styled Sautrantika, Vaibhashika, Madhyamika, and Yogachara*, there was an Aiswarya, or theistical school, with which the notions admitted into Nepal may have originated: the more ancient and genuine school, however, was that of the Swabhavikas, whose doctrine is thus summarily indicated in a Buddhist Pali book: "Whence come existing things? from their own nature, swabhavat. Were do they go to after life? into other forms, through the same inherent tendency. How do they escape from that tendency? where do they go finally? into vacuity,--sunyatu," such being the sum and substance of the wisdom of Buddha** That this was the meaning of Nirvana is shown in numerous passages both in Sanskrit and in Pali. In the Saddharma Lankavatara *** Sakya is represented as confuting all the Brahmanical notions of Nirvana, and concludes by expounding it to be the complete annihilation of the thinking principle, illusKoeppen, 1. 1., 1, 151 ff. St. Julien in Journal Asiatique, Vol. XIV (1859), p. 327 ff.] 9 [Wassiljew, 1. l., 1, 285-367. [Burnouf, Introd., 441 ff.] [ibid., 514 ff.] * ** BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. ***

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364 BUDDHA AND BUDDRISM. trating his doctrine by the comparison generally employed of the exhaustion of the light of a lamp which goes out of itself. In the Brahma-jala *, a Pali Sutra, where again Sakya is made to confute sixty-two Brahmanical heresies, he winds up by saying: "Existence is a tree; the merit or demerit of the actions of men is the fruit of that tree and the seed of future trees; death is the withering away of the old tree from which the others have sprung; wisdom and virtue take away the germinating faculty, so that when the tree dies there is no reproduction. This is Nirvana." The segregation of the Buddhist priesthood from the people, although, in the first instance, probably popular, froin the priestly character being thrown open to all castes alike, must have been unpropitious to the continued popularity of the system, and its success can only be attributed to the activity of its propagators, and the indolent acquiescence of the Brahmans. When the influence acquired by the Buddhists with the princes of India gave them consideration, and diverted the stream of donations as well as of honours, the Brahmans began to be aroused from their apathy, and set to work to arrest the progress of the schism. The success that attended their efforts could have been, for a long time, but partial; but that they were ultimately successful, and that Buddhismi in India gave way before Brahmanism, is a historical fact: to what cause this was owing is by no means * [Burnouf, Lotus, p. 850 ff. Journal Ceylon Br. R. A. Soc., 1, 2, p. 18 - 62.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 365 established, but it was more probably the result of internal decay, than of external violence. There are traditions of persecution, and it is very possible that local and occasional acts of aggression were perpetrated by the Brahmanical party: the Buddhist writings intimate this when they represent the Bodhisattwas as saying to Buddha: "When yon have entered into Nirvana, and the end of time has arrived, we shall expound this excellent Sutra, in doing which we will endure, we will suffer patiently, injuries, violence, menaces of beating is with sticks, and the spitting upon us, with which ignorant men will assail us. The Tirthakas, composing Sutras of their own, will speak in the assembly to insult us. In the presence of kings, of the sons of kings, of the Brahmans, of Householders, and other religious persons, they will censure is in their discourses, and will cause the language of the Tirthakas to be heard; but we will endure all this throngh respect for the great Rishis. We must endure threatening looks, and repeated instances of contumely, and suffer expulsion from our Viharas, and submit to be imprisoned and punished in a variety of ways; but recalling at the end of this period the commands of the chief of the world, we will preach courageously this Sutra in the midst of the assembly, and we will traverse towns, villages, the whole world, to give to those who will ask for it, the deposit which thou hast entrusted to us*." This is the language of * [Burnouf, Lotus, p. 165 f.]

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366 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. the Sad - dharma Pundarika, which, as I have mentioned, had been translated into Chinese before the end of the third century, and shows that the career of the Buddhists had not been one of uninterrupted success, even at so early a date, although the opposition had not been such as to arrest their progress: this, if it at all occurred, was the work of a later period, but we have no very positive information on the subject. According to Madhava Acharya, a celebrated writer of the fourteenth century, the Buddhists of the south of India were exposed to a sanguinary persecution at the instigation of Kumarila Bhatta", the great authority of the Mimansakas, who, as he preceded Sankara Acharya, may have lived in the sixth or seventh century, or earlier. Madhava asserts that, at his recommendation, a prince named Sudhanwan issned orders to put the Buddhists to death throughout the whole of India: "A-setor-a-tushadre tu Bauddhanam vriddabalakan na hanti yah sa hantavyo bhrityan ityanwasad niipah." "The king commanded his servants to put to death the old men and the children of the Banddhas, from the bridge of Rama to the snowy mountain; let him who slays not be slain." We do not know who Sudhanwan was, but his commands were not likely to be obeyed from Cape Comorin to the Himalaya, and whatever truth there * [Colebrooke, Essays, p. 190. Lasseu, Ind. Alt., IV, 708 ff.]

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 367 may be in his making Buddhism a capital crime, his authority must have been of restricted extent, and the persecution limited to his own principality. The dissemination of Buddhism, however, in the countries beyond the Bay of Bengal does seem to have received a fresh impulse about the sixth or seventh centuries, and this may have been connected with some partial acts of persecution in India, and consequent emigration of the Buddhists; we have no record, however, of its having been universal, and its having been of any great extent may be reasonably doubted: it seems more likely that Buddhism died a natural death. With the discontinuance of the activity of its professors, who, yielding to the indolence which prosperity is apt to engender, ceased to traverse towns and villages in seeking to make proselytes, the Buddhist priest in India sunk into the sloth and ignorance which now characterise the bulk of the priests of the same religion in other countries, especially China, and seem there to be productive of the same result, working the decay and dissolution of the Buddhist religion. Although expelled from India, and apparently in a state of decline in some of the regions in which it took refuge, Buddhism still numbers amongst its followers a large proportion of the human race. According to Berghaus, as quoted by Lassen, there are four hundred and fifty-five millions of Buddhists, whilst the population of the Christian states is reckoned at four hundred and seventy-four millions: Mohammedans and Hindoos are very much fewer. The enumeration

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368 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. of the Buddhists, however, includes the whole of the population of China, without adverting to their distribution as the followers of Confucius or Tai-sse, or, as we have lately learned, as the professors of a composite Christianity. * Numerous, however, as the Buddhists still are, the system seems to be on the decline, where it is not upheld by the policy of the local governments, or where the priesthood does not constitute a very large share of the population. The people in general do not seem to take much interest in the worship of the temples, nor to entertain any particular veneration for tlieir priests. The temples are always open, and service is regularly performed, usually three times a day, like the Sandhya of the Brahmans: on these occasions the priests assemble, usually seated in two divisions or semi-choirs, who chaunt passages from the sacred books, Tibetan, Pali, or Sanskrit, the two latter being utterly unintelligible to the people, and understood by very few of the priests. The chaunting is relieved by the accompaniment of bells, and cymbals, and drums, and the blowing of the conch shells or brass trumpets, or, in the eastern Himalaya, of trumpets made of human thigh bones; incense is burnt before the images of the Buddhas, and fruit and flowers, and dishes of food placed before them. The people take no part in this performance, and come in small numbers, at their own convenience, and make their offering and prostration, and then depart. The priests, again, are said to enjoy little personal consideration:

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. * not that they forfeit it by any conduct inconsistent with their profession, for, although there may be occasional exceptions, they seem in general to lead inoffensive, if useless, lives. In Ceylon, according to Sir Emerson Tennent, the people pay more respect to the garb than to the wearer, and take every opportunity of making it known that the yellow robe, and not the individual, is the object of their veneration. According to Mr. Hardy, the whole number of priests in Ceylon, although many of the communities possess extensive landed estates, the gifts of the piety of former princes, does not exceed 2,500, dispersed in monasteries, the largest of which has seldom more than twenty resident members. In Fa Hian's time there were, according to him, from 50,000 to 60,000 priests in Ceylon, and in one of the monasteries at Anuradhapura, there were 5,000. Mr. Hardy adds: "in no part of the island that I have visited, do the priests as a body appear to be respected by the people: although occasionally an individual may recommend himself by agreeable manners:" they are sometimes treated unceremoniously; and he mentions an instance in which a priest was driven out of a village by the women armed with their brooms, and threatening him with personal castigation. In the Burma country the priests are more numerous, but there also they are said to have but little influence over the minds of the people, who sometimes say, not without some reason in excuse of impropriety of conduct, that the precepts of [Eastern Monachism, p. 309.] 369 24

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370 the law are not for them but for the priests. The system, however, is supported by the Government, and a high priest resides at the capital, by whom all the Punghis, or heads of establishments, are appointed. Although tolerant of the practice of other religions by those who profess them, secession from the national belief is rigidly prohibited, and a convert to any other form of faith incurs the penalty of death. The condition of Buddhism is said to be prosperous; from 2,000 to 3,000 lay worshippers make daily offerings at the great temple of the Shwe-dagon, near Rangoon: and new temples and Kyums are daily springing up, even in the districts under British authority. One great source of influence in Ava is the monopoly of education by the priesthood, and which, such as it is, is very general. Almost every Burman can write and read, for which he has to thank the Kyum or monastery of his village. Buddhism is also flourishing in Siam, where, as in Ava, it is connected with the political institutions of the state, and with the mass of the population: every male must enter the order of the priesthood at some period of his life, for however short a time; even the king must become a priest for two or three days, wearing the mendicant dress and soliciting alms of his courtiers. The high officers of the state sometimes take up their abode in a monastery, and conform to all the rules of the fraternity for two or three months together. The priests, or Talapoins as they are termed, from carrying a Tala or palm-leaf as a fan, are consequently numerous, BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM.

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 371 but the permanent inhabitants of the monasteries are either persons disgusted with life, or the old and infirm; the younger and more active inembers continually falling back into society. The share taken by the sovereign in the organisation of the system seems to be the chief source of its prosperity. We have no very recent accounts of the condition of Buddhism in Japan, although, to judge from the drawings of Col. Siebold in his "Nippon", the ordinary objects of Buddhist worship are numerous, and comprehend many of the later saints of the system as well as personages apparently of peculiar and local sanctity. Buddhism also is broken up into various sectarial divisions. In China, as far as there has been any opportunity of ascertaining, which however is almost coufined to the maritime districts, it is evidently on the wane: although a few monasteries are respectably tenanted, the residents are much less numerous than they have been, and many are altogether deserted; many of the temples also are in a state of decay. The majority of the priests are illiterate, and seem to hold their offices and their idols in little veneration; the people regard the priests with little respect, or in some instances with contempt, and attach no great sanctity to the objects of their worship, - a curious instance of this indifference in both is mentioned by the Right Rev. Dr. Smith, the present Bishop of Victoria. In a temple belonging to a monastery, where he was allowed to occupy a residence, he first inadvertently and then designedly, overthrew several idols, 24*

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372 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. which, being of clay, were broken by the fall, amidst, he says, the laughter of the bystanders. He resided several weeks in the monastery of Teen-tsung near Ningpo, where he constantly distributed Christian tracts in Chinese, without any hindrance or molestation. The late Mr. Gutzlaff, in a paper in our Journal now in course of printing', agrees entirely in the description given by Bishop Smith of the ignorance of the Buddhist priesthood, of the low estimation in which the priests are held, and the absence of all really religious feeling in the people. It is in the north and north-west of China, extending thence through Mongolia and Eastern Tibet to Lhassa, that the chief seats of Buddhism are to be found, as we learn from the travels of the French missionaries, Messieur's Huc and Gabet, who traversed the whole interval. Throughout their entire route they met with, or heard of, what they term Lamaserais, that is, Viharas, or monasteries connected with temples, inhabited by numerous resident Lamas, as well as having attached to them a number of itinerant mendicant brethren. At a monastery, at a place called Chor-chi, there were two thousand resident Lamas. At a city, which they translate Blue-town, there were twenty establishments, large and small, inhabited by at least twenty thousand Lamas. At the monastery of Kunlun, where they were allowed to take up their residence for several months, there were four thousand resident Lamas. At the chief monastery of Tartary, that of 1 Vol. XVI, p. 73.

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 373 the Khalkas and in its vicinity, there were, it is said, thirty thousand Lamas, the head of whom exercised the temporal as well as spiritual authority of the whole country, and was an object of uneasiness to the court of Pekin. In the province of which Lhassa, the acknowledged bigh seat of Lamaism, is the capital, there were said to be three thousand monastic establishments, in three of which, Khaldan, Prebung, and Sera, there were in each fifteen thousand Lamas. The missionaries estimate the Lamas at one-third of the whole population; all the males of a family, except the eldest, being expected to enter the order, at least for a term; it being allowable in Tartary, as well as in other Buddhist countries, for a member of a monastery to return to active life. Every monastery has its Superior, who is very commonly originally a boy brought from Tibet, being supposed to be the late principal regenerated; he being, in fact, as before observed, a Buddha on his way to perfection. The vast number of the Lamas of Tartary and Tibet naturally suggests the inquiry, how countries so poor, upon the whole, and thinly peopled, can support so large a proportion of unproductive meinbers. Some of their subsistence is derived from grants and endowments made by the Emperors of China, whose policy it has been to encourage Lamaism, as tending to keep down the population, and repress the martial spirit of the nomadic tribes: further means are supplied by the people, who are a simple and credulous race, and who, although not animated by any devotional fervour,

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374 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. are liberal contributors to the temples at public festivals, and to the itinerant mendicant brethren, giving largely from their stores of sheep, and wool, and butter, and various articles of consumption. The chief maintenance of the Lamas is, however, their own industry. In the Buddhist countries of the south, as Ceylon, Siam, and Ava, and apparently in China, a priest is strictly prohibited from exercising any mechanical art, or following any secular occupation; but in Tartary, the Lamas are permitted to support themselves by their own industry, even whilst living in the monastery: the monastery being, in fact, a small town of a priestly population, dwelling in houses, in streets collected round a principal temple or temples, and the main buildings occupied by the Pontiff with his staff and servants. The other Lamas are the sculptors, painters, decorators, and printers of the establishment; those who are qualified are the schoolmasters of the children of the neighbourhood, who have no otlier teachers; and those who are not engaged in the service of the monastery may employ their time for their own profit. There are amongst them, consequently, handicraftsmen, as tailors, shoemakers, hatters; some keep cattle and sell the milk and butter to the brethren, and some even keep shops; the consequence is great inequality of condition; those who are active and enterprising become opulent, whilst the inert and idle, who trust solely to the pittance which is doled out periodically to every member, from the common fund, may be almost in a state of starvation.

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375 The general organization of the monasteries in Tartary and Tibet, the costume of the Lamas, and many particulars of the manner in which religious service is celebrated in the temples, have often struck travellers as presenting close analogies to the conventual system and the religious offices of the Roman Catholic Church. In this latter respect, we have the admission of the French missionaries, whose enumeration we may safely follow, and who specify the use of the cross, the mitre, the dalmatic, the hood, the office of two choirs, the psalmody, the exorcisms, the censer of five chains, the benediction of the lamas by placing the right hand on the head of the faithful, the rosary, celibacy of the clergy, spiritual retirement, the worship of saints, fasts, processions, litanies, and holy water, as so many coincidences with the Romish ritual, the origin of which cannot be accidental. The present costume and ceremonial are said to have originated with a celebrated reformer, who was born in the latter half of the fourteenth century, named Tsong Kaba, who founded the monastery of Khaldan, near Lhassa, in 1409, and died in 1419*. The chief pontiff of Lhassa at first opposed the innovations of Tsong Kaba, and having in vain invited him to a conference, paid a visit to the reformer, and expatiated at great length upon the sacredness of the ancient practices and his own preeminence; he was interrupted in his harangue by Tsong Kaba, who had pre BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. * [Koeppen, 1. 1., II, 108-120. Comp. also "Arbeiten der K. Russischen Gesandtschaft zu Peking". Berlin: 1858, I, p. 315-17.]

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376 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. viously taken no notice of him, and who suddenly exclaimed: "Wretch, let go the flea that you are torturing between your thumb and forefinger! I hear his groans, they penetrate to my heart." Fleas, it seems, are very abundant in Tibet, and the Grand Lama, in violation of the precept that says, Thou shalt not kill, was privily in the act of committing murder, when thus rebuked by Tsong Kaba. Struck by this proof of Tsong Kaba's divine perception, the Grand Lama acknowledged his supremacy, prostrated himself before him, and adopted his reforms. Tradition speaks of a stranger Lama from the west, who was Tsong Kaba's preceptor, and who was remarkable amongst other things for a long nose; noses in Tartary are somewhat of the shortest; from which circumstance, as well as from the palpable resemblances adverted to, Messieurs Huc and Gabet infer*, not without some plausibility, that Tsong Kaba derived his innovations from the instructions of a European missionary, several of whom at this early period had penetrated into Tibet, Tartary, and China. The peculiarities of the costume are certainly foreign to the original institutes of the Vinaya, which is much more faithfully followed in the south. The shaven head and yellow robes of the priests of Ceylon, Ava, and Siam, are much more orthodox than the red robes and yellow hats or mitres of the Lamas of Tartary and Tibet. Notwithstanding the liberality shewn by the people [So uvenirs d'un voyage, &c., II, 104 ff.] *

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BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. 377 of Tibet, especially at particular festivals, to their monasteries and temples, they take no part in the celebration of the religious services, nor do they evince any stronger devotional interest than prevails in other Buddhist countries. In all of them, however, there are powerful means by which the priests work upon their feelings, and secure their adherence, and extort their bounty. Everywhere, except in China, learning, such as it is, is confined to the priesthood, and they are the sole instructor's of youth; they are also the collectors and vendors of drugs, and the practisers of medicine. They still, as in the days of Clement, foretell events, determine lucky and unlucky times, and pretend to regulate the future destiny of the dying, threatening the niggard with hell, and promising heaven, or even, eventually, the glory of a Buddha, to the liberal. Their great hold upon the people is thus derived from their gross ignorance, their superstition, and their fears; they are fully imbued with a belief in the efficacy of enchantments, in the existence of malevolent spirits, and in the superhuman sanctity of the Lamas, as their only protection against them; the Lamas in Tartary are, therefore, constantly exorcists and magicians, sharing, no doubt, very often the credulity of the people, but frequently assisting faith in their superhuman faculties by jugglery and fraud. In the most northern provinces of Russia, Buddhism, degraded to Shamanism, is nothing more than a miserable display of juggling tricks and deceptions, and even in the Lamaserais of Tibet, ex

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378 BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM. hibitions of the same kind are permitted, whatever may be the belief and practice of those of the community who are better instructed, and take no part in them themselves. Ignorance is at the root of the whole system, and it must fall to pieces with the extension of knowledge and civilisation. A striking conformity in this conclusion is expressed by the missionaries of different Christian communities. Messieurs Huc and Gabet observe: "After all we have seen in our long journey, and especially during our sojourn in the monarchy of Kun Lun, we are persuaded that it is by education, not by controversy, that the conversion of these people is to be most efficaciously promoted;" and we learn from Erman, in his late travels in Siberia, that both the Russian and English missionaries at Irkutsk, and on the Selinga, had abandoned all attempts at direct conversion, and had confined themselves to the cultivation of the Mongol and Manchu languages, in order to qualify themselves to give education to the people. The process is inavoidably slow, especially in Central Asia, which is almost beyond the reach of European activity and zeal, but there is no occasion to despair of ultimate success. Various agencies are at work, both in the north and the south, before whose salutary influence civilisation is extending; and the ignorance and superstition, which are the main props of Buddhism, must be overturned by its advance.

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ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION OF AKBAR. 379 IX. ACCOUNT OF TIIE RELIGIOUS INNOVATIONS ATTEMPTED BY AKBAR. From the Quarterly Oriental Magazine. Calcutta : 1824, Vol. I, P.1, p. 49-62. The Ayini Akbari contains many allusions to the peculiar notions, introduced or countenanced by the illustrious patron of the author, but forbears to enter into any particular details of them. The work of Abulfazl is therefore calculated to excite, rather than to gratify curiosity, and instigates the reader to examine other anthorities, in order to supply the deficiency. It could not be expected that the Muhammedan historians should dwell with any complacency upon a deviation from the doctrines of Islam, and accordingly no mention of the new tenets of Akbar occurs in the works of Ferishta, or of the annalists of Akbar's reign. The Dabistan* gives is an account of the religious disputations, which were held in Akbar's presence, and in the character of a philosopher may be sup * [Engl. transl., III, 49 - 138.]

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380 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION posed to personify the opinions of the king. This work does not, however, state the particular dogmas of the sect instituted by the monarch, and the sentiments of the sage are more of a negative than affirmative description, subversive of all existing systems rather than the foundations of a new code of belief. From this uncertainty, however, we have a very satisfactory appeal, and find in a work written towards the close of Akbar's reign, a most minute recapitulation of progress of the Emperor's deflections from the faith of Mohammed, and the new institutes and observances which he laboured to introduce. The work is the Muntakhab at Tawarikh compiled by Abd ul kader Maluk Shah Bedaoni". Abd ul kader was a man of great learning; he was the fellow student of Abulfazl and Feizi, and shared with them the countenance of the Emperor; he executed, at least in part, the translations from the Mahabharat and Ramayana into Persian, and had completed that of the Sanskrit History of Cashmir, when in the 36tli year of Akbar's reign he received the monarch's instructions to compile an historical account of Mohammed, the sovereigns of India, and the annals of his own reign. Abd al kader accordingly began his work in the 36th year of Akbar's accession; in the manuscript we have consulted his history comes down to the 40th: but then stops rather abruptly, and seems to be in * [H. M. Elliot's Bibliogr. Index. Vol. I. Calcutta 1849, p. 219ff.]

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OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 381 complete. The author intimates his having incurred the Emperor's displeasure by remitting his personal attendance at court, and it is not impossible, that his perseverance in a sullen adherence to Mohammedanism may have cut short the Emperor's patronage, and the history together. His acquirements. however, his attachment to the Moslem faith, and his reasonable regard for his own security, if not his own interest, render him a very valuable testimony; and we may credit the aggressions on the Mohammedan system made by Akbar and his followers, as he details them, and may also conclude, that he would not venture to pervert or misstate the laws and enactments of the reformer king. We shall therefore extract from his work the substance of those passages, which relate to the new religion of Akbar, in the order in which they occur. The bias, which Akbar felt in favour of innovation, is said to have commenced in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, and is with great probability ascribed to the discredit brought upon religion altogether by the acrimony of the polemical disputes, which took place amongst the expounders of the Law and the Prophets. In the year mentioned Akbar resided at his new palace at Fatehpur Sikri', and in the spirit of orthodox Sikri was the name of the village where Akbar built a palace, and the town that was formed about it was named Fatehpur. The two names form the modern collective denomination of the place. It is about 24 miles from Agra. Extensive remains of the palace built of sandstone still exist, and the Mosque there dedicated to Sheikh Selim Chishti, which is kept in good repair,

Page #392
382 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION Mohammedanism he appropriated the Friday evenings to religious conversaziones, assembling all the most celebrated Mullas and Sheiklis. The discussions that occurred, and in which the king, who was undoubtedly a prince of liberal feeling and enlightened curiosity, evinced a warm interest, were often protracted till day-break. The dispntes, from being earnest and serious, became violent and angry, and the pious controversialists, when they had in vain interchanged argument, had recourse to abuse, and liberally bestowed upon each other the epithets of infidels and schismatics. In this manner much scandal was occasioned, and the controversies between the Shiah and the Sunni', the Hanifiah and the Shafi'ah, the advocate of anthority and the assertor of independent reason, inflicted serious injuries on the first principles of the Mohammedan faith. Concurrent circumstances con is one of the most stately specimens of Mohammedan architecture to be met with in Gangetie Hindustan. 1 The two first distinctions are well known, as the respective seetaries who rank Ali superior or inferior to the earliest successors of Mohammed. The Hanifi is the follower of Abu Hanifah, one of the great law authorities of the Sunui sect. The Shafei'ah is the follower of Abu Abdallah Shafi', a lawyer of the same sect; bnt opposed to Abu Hanifah in many of his doctrines. Abu Hanifah was also much disposed to admit the exercise of reason, sometimes eren in opposition to tradition; but Ikram Daoud rejected it altogether, and other eminent authorities seldom admitted it, where a positive rule or a tradition could be applied. See Harington's account of the Authorities of Musalman Law. As. Res. X, 482.

Page #393
OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 383 spired to extend the mischief, and amongst other effects to msettle the orthodoxy of the Emperor. A learned and pious writer, Makhdum al Mulk, published about this time a tract injurious to Sheikh Abd un Nabi*. He accused that teacher of having been wrongfully instrumental to the deaths of Khizr Khan Shirwani, who had been condemned for reviling the Prophet, and Ali Habsh, who had been charged with beresy. He added also, that the Sheikh was unworthy to mount the pulpit, both because he was subject to a bodily infirmity, and because he had been disavowed by his own father for his perverse and udutiful conduct when a youth. To these attacks Sheikh an Nabi replied by calling Makhdum al Mulk a heretic and a fool. Opinions were divided, some of the religious men sided with one, and some with another; the dispute ran high, and a complete schism ensued. The enemies of Islam took this opportunity to augment the king's disgust and dissatisfaction, and those impressions becoming progressively more intense, he lost in the course of five or six years every particle of his original belief. One of the first effects of this secession was the assemblage of the professors of various religions from all countries, who were not only admitted to the royal presence, but there allowed openly to assert and advocate their peculiar tenets. From the confliction of notions, with which the Emperor thus be * [H. M. Elliot, I. l., p. 245 and p. 253.]

Page #394
384 came familiar, all his ideas were confounded, and he proceeded to select and compose a religion for himself, out of such dogmas as struck his fancy, amidst the multitude of those new opinions amongst which he fluctuated. As his chief principles for his rule of action, he adopted these conclusions:-That every system of religious belief could adduce learned advocates; that saints, revelations, and miracles, were recorded by every people; that the principle of doing no wrong was recognised by every sect; that truth was equally common to all; that there was consequently no sufficient reason to accept one creed, and reject another; and that still less was it necessary to set aside all ancient ideas, in favour of the newfangled opinions, which could boast no higher date than a thousand years'. The Brahmans had some time before these occurrences been growing into great favour with the Emperor, who with the utmost secrecy had admitted some of them to private and nocturnal conferences. One Purushottama was employed by him to teach him the denominations of all things peculiar to the Hindu faith; and Devi, a reader of the Mahabharat, was introduced after dark into the palace, and hoisted up on a seat into the Emperor's bed-chamber, where he remained throughout the night, relating to Akbar the mythological fables of the Hindus. He also explained the adoration of material substances, of fire, ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION That is to say, the religion of Mohammed. Akbar, according to Dow, ascended the throne Hij. 963, and died 1014.

Page #395
OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 385 of the planets and the sun, and of Brahma, Vishnu, Krishna, Mahamaya, and others, who in the estimation of some were gods, and of others angels; but who, if they ever existed at all, were probably the children of men. These teachers influenced Akbar to form a favourable opinion of the Hindu code, and especially of the doctrine of the metempsychosis, traces of which, he maintained, conld be detected in every form of belief. This last assertion was echoed by the Emperor's flatterers, and many tracts were published in its vindication. The mystical unitarianism of the Sufis was also at this period brought to the particular notice of the Emperor. Sheikh Man of Panipat, who was considered as second to Sheikh Mahi ad din Ibn Arali alone, and who was the author of a commentary on the Lowaia', and other celebrated Sufi works, had amongst his chief disciples Sheikh Zechariah of Delhi, surnamed by many Taj ul Arafin. This teacher was succeeded by his son Taj ud Din, who at this time published a copious elucidation of the Nezhet al Ma'arij. The celebrity thus acquired introducing him to the knowledge of Akbar, he was summoned to the presence of the Emperor, and in many private interviews contributed to lead the monarch still farther into the paths of impiety and irreligion. ' A work on Sufyism, by Maullana Jami. ? The diadem of the wise, using the term wise to imply uu adept iu Sufi mysticism. 25

Page #396
386 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION One of the errors to which Taj ud Din was chiefly instrumental was this: he maintained that the epithets "pure and perfect" might be properly applied to a temporal prince; that being then invested with the character of the most holy, he was to be reverenced by prostrations, to be considered as the source of merit, and to be regarded as the Ka'ba of all desire, and the Kibleh of all pilgrimage. A number of teachers concurred in these sentiments, and it was agreed that Insan kumil' meant a just and pious kiny. Sheikh Yakub of Kashmir was one of them, and he also asserted that Mohammed implied merely a guide, and Eblis, a misleader. Another authority of this school, and a personal friend of the emperor, Muhammed Yezdi of Tebrez, added vehement invectives against the three khalifs, the companions of the prophet, and their descendants, and all past and to come of the Sunni persuasion. Such absurdities, and the contradictory tenets of the 'Ulemas, impressing Akbar with a conviction of the imbecility of all those, who were reputed learned men about his court, he was led to infer that their predecessors were no wiser, and to contemn the Ghazalis and Razis of antecedent times. In the proper import of this terin, it is necessary, no doubt, that we should look to Sufi interpretation; and that it implies one exempt from human infirinities: its application in this place accords with Abulfazl's definitions of a just king, in the introduction, and several other parts of the Ayini Akbari. Ghazali, or Gazali, named also Abu Ahmed Mohammed Zein addin at Tusi, a celebrated writer on religion and jurisprudence,

Page #397
OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 387 Amongst the religions characters who appeared at court were certain learned men of the Franks, vamed Padres, the head of whom is styled Papa, and exercises authority over all their princes and kings. They introduced the Injil, the doctrine of the Trinity, (Sales as Silaseh,) dut and the religion of Christ. The emperor ordered the Prince Murad' to read the gospel with them, and Abulfazl was commanded to translate it. In place of the inceptive bismillah, he w dstw ,opted the follnula) Ai illui ,, 'y nmy dy we Jezu Kristo"*. And, Oh that, which as thy name, 'y 'n yh nmy tw mn byn ,is beneficent and bolutiful wel as do Sheikh Feizi added to this, www. so wlowy Praise to thee, who art without thy like, O God. Again, Birbal", that profligate, corrupted the em in the end of the fifth century of the Hijra. Ar Razi was another learned teacher of a similar class, born at Rey. Hijra 513. His appellation at length is Imam Fakhr addin Mohammed Ben 'Omar Ben Khatib Rey attemimi al Bekri. The second son of Akbar, who died in his father's life time, Hijra 1005. " [Elliot's Bibliogr. Index, I, 245.] ? Raja Birbal is the supposed utterer and hero of an endless list of facetiae, which are familiar to both Hindus and Mohammedans in the western provinces. He was a Brahman of the Bhai tribe, or order of Bards, and was a man of ready wit, and considerable acquirements. He was the constant companion of Akbar, and the whetstone of the monarch's wit, not scrupling, however, to retort freely, if traditions are genuine. His original name was Mahi Dos, or, according to some, Siva Das. But Akbar gave him the title of Kabirai, or Malk ash Shu'ara, King of the Poets. Afterwards he gave him, in Jaghir, the fort of 25*

Page #398
388 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION peror by arguing, that the sun, as the type of all perfection, and the source of light and life, was entitled to human veneration, and that it was much more rational to address the face in prayer to the rising than to the setting of his brilliant orb. He persuaded Akbar to extend this reverence to the elements, and all nature, to fire and water, stones and trees, cows, and even cow-dung; and the frontal mark and brahmanical cord became the current fashion. The learned men of the court acknowledged, that the sun is the great fire, the benefactor of mankind, and protector of princes; and the festival of the new year, Nauroz Jelali, was henceforth celebrated throughout the rest of Akbar's reign'. On these occasions the following solemnities were observed. For seven days the emperor wore every day a new dress, of the colour sacred to one of the seven planets. Prayers borrowed from the Hindus were formally addressed to the sun, at sunrise and at midnight. Cows were ordered to be held sacred, and cow-dung pure. Beef was prohibited, and pork made lawful; and an opinion was obtained Nagarakot, which was commuted for an assignment of money with the old possessor, and on this occasion he entitled him Birbal, or Birber, or Vira vara, the eminent hero. Apparently the wit indifferently merited the title, although it cost him his life. He was sent with reinforcements to Zein Khan Khota, who commanded an army against the Afghans. The generals disagreed. and their dissension or incapacity brought on their ruin. They were surprised in a narrow pass amongst the mountains, and lost most of their army. Birbal was amongst the slain. See also Ay. Ak., Vol. I, 288.

Page #399
OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 389 from the physicians, that the flesh of kine is difficult of digestion, and the cause of many disorders. A number of fire worshippers, who arrived from Nausari in Guzerat, gained many converts to the religion of Zerdusht. The emperor was, to a certain extent, amongst them; and he committed the charge of maintaining a sacred fire in the palace night and day to Abulfazl. He also assisted at the Homa, a species of fire worship, which was performed daily in the inner apartments by those ladies of the haram, who were of Hindu descent. On the new year's day of the 25th year, the emperor worshipped fire in public, and in the evening, when the candles and lamps were lighted, all the court stood up in reverence. On the eighth day after the sun's entering Virgo in this year, the king came into the audience chamber with the sika, or mark, on his forehead, and the Brahmans present tied a string of pearls round his wrist, a ceremony which they suppose secures good fortune'. The omras then presented the monarch with gifts suited to their station, and having gone through the same ceremonial of tying bracelets round their wrists, took their leave. In all these innovations Abulfazl conformed to the emperor's fancies, and was affected with a similar malady. He used to revile the faith of Mohainmed, and hold disputations with the head Kazi and other This is called the Rakhi bandhana, and is still observed by the Hindus of the Upper Provinces of the full moon of Srarana. [See Glossary of Indian Terms. p. 136. and Elliot, 1. 1., p. 250.]

Page #400
390 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION eminent professors, with the success his great powers ensured, much to Akbar's amusement and satisfaction. The consequence was, that almost all the chief men of the court were tempted or awed into conformity with the doctrines of Akbar and his minister, except Hakim Abul fateh and Mulla Mohammed Yezdi. Abdul Kader states, of himself, that he withdrew as much as possible from these iniquities, and thereby lost the favour of the monarch. In consequence of this compliance, the learned authors of many books omitted the usual prefatory forms, and, after glorifying the unity of God, proceeded to the praise of Akbar. The head Kazi, the Mufti, and principal lawyers, set their seals to a decree, that the decisions of a truly just king were of equal authority with the law and tradition; that just monarchs were highly esteemed of God; that Akbar was a most just and wise king; and that in all cases where any difference of opinion existed amongst the doctors and teachers, the fiat of the emperor should be held decisive. In the following year, Hij. 988, the conduct of Akbar exposed him to much derision, even amongst his professed adherents. He performed a pilgrimage to Ajmir, and walked five cos on foot to the shrine of Sheikh Mohin ad Din'. On this occasion, it was said, he puts Ferishta notices one of these pilgrimages; but if he is correct in his dates, he refers to one considerably anterior to this. Dow, II, 359. [G. de Tassy, sur des particularites de la religion Musulmane dans l'Inde. Paris: 1831, p. 62 - 68.]

Page #401
OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 391 faith in the Khajali of Ajmir, and rejects the prophets. At this time the Mohammedan creed was very widely disused, and the current formula was khlyf@ ntH La Ill illa Allali, wa al l lh lllh . l db Akbar Khalifat Allah. There is no God but God, and the Mighty (or Akbar), is his vicegerent. An insurrection in Jainpur was one consequence of these innovations. It is asserted in the Koran, that all children are born in the faith," and Akbar determined to put this to the test of experiment. He procured twenty infants, and ordered them to be brought up in a retired place, and separate apartments, without being allowed any communication with society. At the expiration of a few years, such as survived were liberated, when it was found that they could not talk at all. The place where they had been reared was thence called Gung Mahal, the Dumb Asylum. A number of new edicts were now promulgated. Wine was allowed to be drunk, with the caution, that any excesses consequent upon the use of it would be rigorously punished. Places were established for the sale of it, under the authority of the court, and the names of all purchasers were registered. It is said, that pieces of swine's flesh were put into the barrels. Singers and dancers, and persons of loose character, were confined to a particular quarter, thence called Sheitanpur, and placed under the charge of a special police. Gaines of chance were also sanctioned under proper superintendence, and money was advanced

Page #402
392 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION from the royal treasury to those who played, at usurious interest. It was enacted, that the contact of hogs and dogs entailed no impurity; and both were kept in the palace, and led forth every morning. The flesh of dogs, cats, and tigers, was declared lawful food. The distribution of viands and alms at funerals was prohibited, as was marriage between first cousins: such affinity, it was said, inducing the degradation of the breed. And on the same plea it was enacted, that boys should not marry under 16, nor girls under 14 years of age! A covenant was now proposed, and signed by many persons of rank, to this effect: 'I such a one, the son of such a one, with entire consent and cheerfulness of mind, declare myself liberated from the lying traditions of Islam, which I had heard and witnessed from my forefathers, and I hereby profess my adhesion to the Ilahi religion of Akbar the king; in testimony of which, I am willing to abandon wealth, life, fame, and faith? It was one of Akbar's notions, that the prescribed duration of Mohammedanism was one thousand years, and he considered this period to have expired. Accordingly he abolished the era of Hijra, and substituted that of his accession, which was called the Tarikh Akbar's sentiments on these subjects are repeated precisely to the same purpose by Abulfazl. Ay. Ak., I. 290. ? The ceremony of initiation is rather differently described in the Ay. Ak., I, 219. [See also the Dabistan, III, 97 f.]

Page #403
OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 393 llabi': the names of the months also were changed to those known to the ancient Persians, and their festivals were adopted in place of those of the Mohammedan faith. These latterly were formally abolished, except the Friday's prayer. This service was allowed to continue; but it was rarely attended, except by the aged and the poor. The study of the language and literature of the Arabs was next discountenanced, and that of its law and theology prohibited. A provision was subsequently made in favour of arithmetic, astronomy, natural history, and philosophy. In the mean time, it became fashionable to avoid the use of the Arabic alphabet as much as possible; and Abdullah was softened to Abdullah (or ain was changed to alif). The name of Mohammed was particularly obnoxious, and several persons changed it: thus Mohammed Khan adopted the appellation of Rahman Khan. In the year of Hijra 991, fresh regulations were published. No animals were to be killed on a Sunday, nor on any days held sacred to the solar fire. The emperor was desirous, indeed, of abolishing the use of animal food altogether, and abstained from it himself, at least six months in the year?. Prayers were This account concurs also with that given in the Ayini Akbari, I, 346 [and the Dabistan. III, 99]. ? So Abulfazl: "His majesty has a great disinclination for flesh, and he frequently says, Providence has prepared variety of food for man; but through ignorance and gluttony, he destroys living creatures, and makes his body a tomb for beasts. If I

Page #404
394 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION now addressed to the sun four times a day, at his rising and setting, at noon, and at midnight. At noon, the thousand and one names of the sun in Hindi were repeated. The celebrant bore the frontal mark, and closing each ear with one finger, whilst he rested the closed fist on either cheek, he kept whirling round during the repetition. At midnight and at sunrise, the royal drums were beaten. In the morning, the king neither bathed nor ate imtil he had seen the sun; after which he repeated the names of the planet on his beadroll, and then presented himself to the people, all ranks of whom were assembled below his window, and prostrated themselves on the ground, as soon as he made his appearance. The Brahmans now composed a new string of the thousand and one names of the sun. They pretended to consider the emperor as an Avatar, like Rama or Krishna. They cited texts from their old books, prophesying the birth of a king in India, who should be of foreign extraction, but who should protect cows, patronize Brahmans, and govern the world with justice. They shewed these prophecies to Akbar, and he gave credit to them. The patronage of Akbar was not confined to the Brahmans, nor even to the Hindus, as he erected two extensive edifices without the city, one appropriated to Mohammedan, and one to Hindu ascetics: these were called Kheirpur and Dharmapur. He also were not a king, I would leave off eating flesh at once; and now it is my intention to quit it by degrees." Ay. Ak., I, 104.

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OF THE EMPEROR AKB R. 395 gave a habitation to the Jogis, amil associated with them on the most familiar footing, visiting the math by night almost umattended, and holding scientific and religious conversations with them. They initiated him into all their knowledge and practices, so that he sometimes showed gold, which he pretended was of his own making. On the Siva Ratri, a great festival of the Jogis, he eat and drank with them, expecting to prolong his life fourfold thereby. He wore his hair after their fashion, and anticipated the liberation of his soul by the fontenelle, as they teach. His attachment to the solar worship, however, was not weakened; and by his encouragement Mulla Shiri wrote a poem in praise of that planet, in a thousand verses, which he called the Hazar Shai'a. In the year of the Hijri 990, at the Sankranti (or passage of the sun from one sign to another), at the commencement of the year, a grand festival was held, on which occasion many adopted the new religion, receiving instead of a certificate the picture of the king!. This they had richly ornamented, and wore about their persons, on their turbans, or some conspicuous part of their dress. The form of address used by the followers of Akbar, on their meeting or in their notes, was Allahu Akbar, God is great; and when two of them met, one used the same phrase, to which the reply was, Jil o Jelalahn, To him be glory. Abulfazl calls this certificate the Shust. See Ay. Ak., I, 219.

Page #406
396 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION About his time the Prince Selim', having attained his sixteenth year, was married to the daughter of Raja Bhagavan Das. A portion of two crore of rupees was settled on the bride. The king, with the head Kazi and other law officers, went to the palace of the Raja, where the marriage ceremony was performed in their presence, agreeably to the Hindu ritual. The king conducted the bride to the palace. In Hij. 995 new enactments were issued. A man was restricted to one wife, unless she proved barren. Widows were permitted to marry again. Virgin widows, amongst the Hindus, were not allowed to burn with the bodies of their husbands; but this law was subsequently cancelled, and permission to burn was granted to all, provided the act was voluntary, and nothing like compulsion was used. In the first case, a whimsical compromise was sanctioned: the living widow might be transferred to a man whose wife was at the same time dead; and his dead wife was then burnt in her place, on the same pile with the husband of the widow. In all legal causes between Hindus, a Brahman was to judge; in those between Mohammedans, the Kazi. The ordeal was administered to the defendant in the former case, where an oath was otherwise required. Bodies were to be buried with the feet to the east, and people were commanded to repose in the same direction. Persons in the lower orders of society were interdicted from Akbar's eldest son, who succeeded him under the title Jehangir.

Page #407
OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 397 the study of poetry, which was only calculated to foster refractory humours, and occasion public com motions. In the thirty-sixth and thirty-ninth years of the emperor's reign some additions to these provisions were made. The flesh of cows, buffaloes, horses, camels, and sheep, was prohibited. The Mohammedan rite of circumcision was not to be practised on boys under the age of twelve, and after that only with their own consent. In all marriages, the age of the parties was verifiable before the Kotwal. All persons were declared free to choose their own religion: but if a Hindu female were induced, by affection for a man of the Musalman persuasion, to join that faith, she might be compelled to abandon it, and be compulsorily reattached to her original creed. Every one was permitted to erect temples, mosques, churches, or tombs, according to their own inclination. This terminates the code of religious legislation which our author has commemorated, and these different enactments enable us to form a tolerably correct notion of the system which Akbar was anxious to introduce. The first thing that is very apparent, is a decided hostility to the Mohammedan religion. It would not probably have been safe to have attempted its direct suppression; and it would have been also inconsistent with the miversal toleration, intimated in the above rules, and, as is expressly stated, frequently enjoined by Akbar himself. The Mohammedan creed was there

Page #408
398 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION fore undermined, rather than assaulted, and its subversion aimed at by throwing it into contempt and disrepute. And whilst all its leading dogmas were denied, its observances contemned, and its laws counteracted by opposing regulations, many enactments apparently of an insignificant nature are not, with advertence to the general object, without importance. Akbar was probably aware of the necessity of a popular system for the maintenance of religious impressions; and with this view, he may have endeavoured to give currency to the adoration of the planets, and especially of the sun. How far he concurred in this worship, except as symbolical, since he professed to inculcate the unity of the Deity, and called his faith, according to our author, the Tauhid llahi, is doubtful. That he did incline to the moral and metaphysical notions of the Hindus, is very probable; and he may have been tempted to attach more importance to their mysticism than became an intelligent mind. At the same time, the following anecdote, related by Abd ul Kider, shews he was not so readily the dupe of credulity, as might be inferred from the interest he is said to have taken in the acquirement of the Yoga. In the thirty-fifth year of Akbar's reign, it was said of Sheikh Kamal Biabani, that he was endowed with the miraculous power of transporting himself instantly to a distance, so that a person who had taken leave of him on one side of the river would, upon crossing to the other, be again saluted by his voice. Akbar went to see him, and begged him to communicate his

Page #409
OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR. 399 skill, offering in exchange for it his whole kingdom. The Sheikh refused to instruct him. On this Akbar ordered him to be bound hand and foot, and threatened to have him tossed into the river, where, if he possessed the faculty to which he pretended, he would suffer no injury; and if he was an impostor, he would be punished deservedly for his fraud. This menace alarmed the Sheikh: he confessed the whole to be a trick, practised in confederacy with his son, who was covertly stationed on the opposite side of the stream, and counterfeited his father's voice. Whatever we may think of the proposed result, we can scarcely question the judiciousness of the means; and the enactments above enumerated were well calculated to abrogate the Mohammedan creed, and erect on its ruin a modification of Hinduism less gross than the prevailing polytheism. There is one part of the plan, however, which is less entitled to approbation; and we can scarcely reconcile Akbar's assumption of a more than human character with the good sense displayed in the general prosecution of his reform). At the same time, it is not improbable that the personage was only politically enacted, in order to give greater weight to his innovations. In fact this seems to be intimated by our author, who alludes to a discussion between Akbar and Bhagavan Das, in which he says, they concurred in the opinion, that many would be ready to acknowledge the existence of defects and errors in both the Mohammedan and Hindu creed, but that few or none would submit the correction of

Page #410
400 ACCOUNT OF THE RELIGION OF AKBAR. them to any existing authority. It was therefore to obtain the influence so necessary, and yet so difficult to be acquired, that Akbar made himself be recognised as the vicegerent of God. We are now, then, in possession of the leading features of Akbar's religious system; and although it might have been an improvement upon any one then established, it was too little in harmony with the feelings of any class of his subjects to be generally or permanently diffused. The author of the Muntakhab mentions one insurrection occasioned by the attempt; and as we find these years of Akbar's reign continually agitated by domestic disturbances, it is probable that they were not unconnected with religious resentments. At all events, the new code enjoyed a very short existence and quickly expired under the indifference of Jehangirl to any mode of faith. At the same time, it is probable that Jehangir was rather, for some period at least, inclined to imitate his father's example; and the famous Zodiac Coins are evidently connected with the planetary worship, and the festival of the new year. The set, nearly complete, have been all met with, it is believed; and one of the most common is a gold coin bearing the figure of Jehangir on the face, and the sun on the reverse. This is dated at Ajmir 1023, or nine years after his accession. We have heard also of one of this description, which was struck apparently by Akbar, dated in Ferwardin Ilahi, or the first month of the first year of Akbar's era, leaving consequently no doubt of these coins being rather medals than coins, struck at the festival of the Nauroz, or new year. Their being only accidentally struck will explain Abulfazl's omission of them in the various coins of Akbar's currency.

Page #411
INDEX Aba ul kader p. 350. 390. 395. Abd un nabi 383. Abd as semad kham 131. Abhayaprada 24. Allihanolta 330. Abjapani 24. 29 f. Abu abdallah shafi 382. Abu hanifah 382. Abulfazl 355. 380. 356. 389. 392 ff. Achala saptami 196. Achamana 35. Acharya 18. 291. Achyuta 163. Adhara 23. Adhwaryu 254. 283. 300. Adibuddha 12. 14. 25. 30. 361. Adigranth 124 f. 129. 145 f. Adipurusha 149. Adityabandhu 91. Adityavara 199. Allwaita 97. Agastya 207. Agastyatirtha 29. Aghora 215. Aghoraghahta 268. Agni 23. 38. 248. 255 f. 288 ff. 296. 302. Agnihotra 182. Agnimitra 353. Agnipur 23. Aynyddhina 281. Agrahayana 181. Ahavaniya 281. 286 r. Ahinsa 317. Ahmad shah 132 f. Aitareya brahmanu 249.259 A'. 264 f. Aiswariku 12. 21 f. 25. 28. Aiswarya 363. Ajatasatru 314. Ajigartta 253 ff. Ajita 24. Ajita 38. Ajya 289. Akalamrityu 21. Akali 131 f. 115. Akaratirtha 19 1. Akusayogini 21. Akbar 127. 335. 379-400. Akshobhya 11 f. 14. 35 f. Ali 382. Ali habsh 383. Alobhya 313. Aluwala 139. Amara 9. Amaradas 12.1. 26

Page #412
402 Amaravati 16. Ambarisha 247. Amita 18 f. Amitabha 12. 14. 35 f. Amitaruchi 11. Amogha 11. 14. Amoghapasa 23. 34. Amoghasiddha 12. 35 f. Amoghavati 16. Amritsar 127. 137. 144 f. 149. Ananda 23. 330. 333. 342. Anantaganja 13 ff. Anantatirtha 22. Angada 124. Andhra 257. Andhrabhritya 354. Angiras 257. Ansa 30. Anumati 289. Anupama 5. Anuradhapura 352. 369. Anustarani 286. Aparajita 24. Aparajita 38. Apastamba 259. Aparimitagu 24. Apsaratirtha 22. Argha 213. 215. Arghamantra 215. Arghya 163. 200. Arhat 21. 37. INDEX. Arjuna 22. 312. 336 f. Arjunmal 125. 127 f. 145. 148. Arkabandhu 10. Arthi 146. Aruna 5. Aryavartta 32. Ashadha 291. Ashiaka 258. Ashiakasraddha 182. Ashiamivratavidhana 4. 31 ff. Asoka 344. 348 f. 351. Asura 337. 342. Aswalayana 182. 264. 276. 279 ff. 287. 291. 294. 297 ff. 307. Aswattha 6. Aswina 191. 256. Aswini 336. Atharvaveda 46. 283. Allahasa 231. Allataju 232. Althakatha 331 ff. Aukhyasukhi 295. 302. 307. 309. Aurangzeb 130. Avalokita 27. Avalokiteswara 13 f. 334. 356. Avatura 65. 221. 356. 394. Avidhava 274 ff. 299. Avidya 341. Ayini akbari 379. 386. 392 f. Ayodhya 247. Baba nanak 122 ff. Babhrava 257. Balaka 344. Balasura 20. Balwant sing 246. Banda 130 f. Bandai 131. Bandhudatta 29. Bandumati 5. Banga, Bangadesa 29. Bauddha 2 ff. 13. 21. 25 ff. 316. Baudhayana 264. 283.

Page #413
INDEX. 403 Bawannabandhana 162. Bawannapauti 162. Bhadani 148. Bhadrakali 38. 189. Bhadrakalpa 32. Bhagavan 149. Bhagavan das 396. 399. Bhagavatapurana 69. Bhagavati 22. Bhagiratha 168. Bhugirathi 168. Bhaimyekadasi 203 ff. 206. 210. Bhairava 24. 30. 33. Bhangi 137. Bharadwaja 297, 300 ff. 307. Bharata 32. Bhaskarasaptami 194. Bhavani 142. Bhavishyottarapurana 153. 163. 203. 205. 231 f. Bhikshu 21. 35. 341. 359. Bhikshuni 359. Bhilsa 250. Bhima 203. 205. Bhimadwadasi 205. Bhimasena 336. Bhishma 201 ff. Bhishmapanchaka 203. Bhishmashtami 201 ff. 210. Bhogapandikei 173. Bhogapongal 173. Bhot, Bhotiya 2 ff. Bhrigue 264. Bhuta 34. Bijisoko 19. Birbal 387 f. Bodhimanda 341. Bodhisattwa 15. 18. 23. 25. 29. 37. 313. 334, 337. 340. 342. 356. 361. 365. Brahma 91. 93. 95. 113. Brahma 15. 47. 53. 55 f. 63. 91 ff. 102. 141. 188. 193. 211. 217. 337 f. 385. Brahmajalasutra 364. Brahmana 49 ff. 106 f. 202. 263. 296. 302. Brahmana (n.) 249.259 ff. 265.281. Brahmani 21. Brahmapurana 63. 181. 183. 189. 206. 299. Brahmavaivarttapurana 69. 94. 193. Buddha 1. 4. 12 f. 21. 24. 26. 31. 35 ff. 310 ff. Buddhaghosa 331 f. Buddhamandala 31. Buddhavachana 333. Burwamangal 244 ff. Chailaka 21. Chaitanya 226. Chaitra 159. Chait sing 246. Chaitya 344. Chakravartti 343. Chamasa 286. Chamunia 268. Chandavira 24. Chandi 39. Chandragiri 22. Chandragupta 312. Charak puja 78. Charat sing 136.

Page #414
404 Charugiri 17. Charvaka 86 f. Chintamanitirtha 19 f. Chitabhrashia 303. Chobhadev 23. Chuda bhikshuni 21. Chishini 39. Dabistan 379. Daitya 66. Dakini 34. Dakshina 281. 286. 289. Dalai lama 358. Danaga 20. Dandi 28. Dasahara 148. Dasama padshah ka granth 129. Dasaratha 55. 264. Dattatreya 207. Desana 36. Deva 341. Devabhuti 353. Devadattagraja 10. Devali 148. Devarata 257. Devasuka 32. Deri (m.) 384. Devi 22. 38. 184 f. Devimahatmya 68. Devipurana 185. Dhanada 24. Dhanada 27. Dhantila 19. Dhanuhasta 39. INDEX. Dhara 190. Dharma 328. 336. 356. Dharmamandala 37. Dharmaraja 203. Dharmarakshita 351. Dharmasutra 281. Dharmapur 394. Darmchand 124. Dhatri 272. Dhattura 217. Dhavala 201. Dhriti 190. L'holasamudra 166. Dhyanibodhisattwa 14. Dhyanaprochha 22. Dhyanibuddha 12 f. 24. 26. 356. 361. Dighanikaya 342. Dipani 39. Dipankara 13. Dipawansa 331 f. Divya avadana 334. Dolayatra 222 ff. Dolotsava 222. 230. Dono, Drona 343. Drishtarupa 39. Dundha 233 f. Durga 15. 78. 142. 191. 244. 268. Durgakunda 244. Durgapuja 78. 191. Durva 34. Duti 39. Dutthagamani 352. Dwaparayuya 253. Dwaraka 74. Ekoddishta 292. Fa hian 318. 324. 327. 351. 369. Fan 324 f. 327.

Page #415
Farid ad din 126. Ferishta 379. Feizi 380. 387. Futtehpur 381. Ganapatihridaya 12. Gandharta 38. 337. 342. Gandhesa 18. 32. Ganesa 21. 28. 33. 356. Gangasagar 163 ff. Garhapatya 281. 286 f. Gartta, Garttesa 17. Gatha 248. Gauri 184 f. 190. Gautama 7 ft. 345. 357. Gaya 341. Gayatri 56. Ghani 137. Ghantakarna 221 f. Ghantakarnapuja 221 f. Ghateswara 17. 32. Ghazzali 386. Ghorarupa 39. Ghori 39. Girdhara 75. Gobhila 181 f. 283. Gokarna 16. 19. Gokarneswara 16. 32. Gokula 235. Gola 162. Goloka 110. Gopa 226. 232. Gopala 55. 66. 171. Gorakhnath 30. Gorakhpur 343. Gosain 226. Gotama 302. INDEX. Gotiputra 351. Govinda 55. 163. Govindadwadasi 221. Govindsinhi 131. 142. Grahamatrika 12. Grihyasutra 276 ff. Guhyadevi 23. Guhyeswari 14. 22. 32. Guhyeswari ghai 19. Gujar 143. Guuakar 23. Gung mahal 391. Guru 33. 36. 54. 124 ff. 197. 281. 291. Gurugovind 128 ff. 142. 148. Gurumata 134. 141. Hakim abul fateh 390. Hanifiah 382. Hanuman 21. 28. 33. 169. Hara 217. Hargovind 127. Hari 75. 145. 147. 149. 163. Harihariharivaha 23. Harimandir 145. Harischandra 250 ff. Hariti 21. 33. Harivansa 205. Harivasa 195. Haviryajua 281.. Hayagriva 24. 405 Hazar shaia 395. Hemachandra 8 ff. 26. Hemanta 181. Hevajra 24. Hiuan tsang 324. 327. 330.335.354. Holi 148. 165. 222 ff. 244,

Page #416
406 INDEX Ilolika 231 ff. Jinendra 5 f. Iloma 205. 232. 231. 389. Jialoka 276. Ilotri 254, 283. Jnanatirtha 19 f. Jogi 395. I kram daoud 382. Ikshwaku 250 ff. Kabir 125. Ilahi 393. Kakutsa 13. Indra 20. 38. 50 f. 11. 206. 248 f. Kalanirnaya 153. 252 f. 256. 336. Kali 78. 82. 94. 142. 268. Indri 39. Kalikapurana 94. 268. Isana 38. 178. 214. Kalinga 314. 1sanasanhiti 211. 219. Kaliyuga 253. Iswara 18. 214. 216 f. Kalpa 9. Kalpadruma 153. 162. 195. 205. Jagarana 215. 209. 219. 222. Jaganmata 78. Kalpataru 196. Jagannath 55. Kama 192. 230 f. 340. Jaina 10. 86 f. Kamadahana 230 f. Jamachho 22. Kamal biabani 398. Jamadagni 254. Kamarupa 29. Jambuki 39. Kamatirtha 19 f. Janurdana 232. Kambojini 39. Japa 146. 216. Kanaka 6 f. 13. Jat 143. Kanakararnasutra 335. Jata 24. 30. Kanchana S. Jatadhara 24. Kanishka 329. Jatavedah 296. Kansa 66. Jatochha 22. Kapalamala 39. Jaya 24. Kapalini 39. Jaya 38. 205. Kapila 167 ff. 346. Jaya 264. Kapilapur 6. Jayadeva 74. Kapilarastu 338. 346. Jayantisaptami 197. Kapileya 257 Jayasinha 153. 162. Karkota 23. 32. Jayatirtha 20. Kartik 168. 184. 203. Jehangir 396. 100. Karttikeya 193. Jina 11. 13. 17. Kasikhanda 195.

Page #417
INDEX. 407 Kumbha, Kumbhi 292. Kumbheswara 32. Kundachaturthi 184. Kurukshetra 304. Kusa 313. Kusinagara 343. Kasyapa 6 ff. 13. 27. 330. 312. 352. Katyayana 236. Kausika 283. Kesa chaitya 22. Kesarati 22. 32. Ketaki 217. Ketumati 7. Khadgi 28. Khadgahasta 39. Khaganja 16. Khagarbha 13 ff. 19. Khalsa 135. 110 f.: 149. Khatwanga 39. Kheirpur 391. Khir khin shirwani 383. Khristasangita 82. Kila 17. Kileswara 17. 32. Kiticaravadana 12 f. Kobad 350. Kotilakshikshi 12 f. Krakuchchhanda 6 ff. 13. 22. Krishna 16. 55. 65 ff. 110. 163. 173. 221. 221 f. 232 ff. 264. 347. 385. 394. Krishnagurh 77. Krishnurudri 38. Kritayuga 233. 253. Kshatriya 22 f. 47. 49. 106 f. 202. 251. 254. 263. 287. 296. Kshemavati 6. Kshitigarbha 13 ff. 18. Kudimar 148. Kulika 17. Kullikabhaita 302. Kumara 24. 25. 33. Kumarilabhatta 366. Lakshmi 187 ff. Lalitachaitya 22. Lalitapur 25. 29. Lalitaristara 328. 335. 337 ff. Lanka 209. Lankaratura 21. Lichhari 314. Linga 15 ff. 55. 63. 211. 214. 216 44. Lingapurara 91. 219. Lingayit 71. Lochana 12. 27. 35 f. Loka 234. Lokadhatu 29. 32 f. Lokaikabandhu 9. Lokanath 16. 18. 27. Lokesa 27. Lokeswara 17 ff. 23 ff. Madhara 163. 366. Madhuchhandas 255. Madhyamika 363. Magadha 344. Magha 158 ff. 181 ff. 211. 223. Mahabharata 66. 205. 261. 301. 312. 336. 380. 384. Blahach 27. Mahadera 231. Mahakala 21. 33. 142. Mahakali 38. Mahakasyapa s. Kasyapa.

Page #418
408 Mahamantranusarini 13. Mahamaya 385. Mahamayuri 13. Mahaparinirvanasutra or Mahaparinibbanasuttam 342. Maharudri 38. Maharupa 39. Mahasahasrapramarddini 13. Mahasaptami 197. Mahasattwa 342. Mahasetavati 13. Mahasing 136. Mahasravaka 342. Mahatattwa 39. Mahatmya 68. Mahawanso 321. 331 f. Mahayana 335. Mahesa 17. Maheswara 217. 222. 337. 342. Mahi ad din 385. Mahidas 387. Maitreya 7. S. 13 ff. 342. 362. Makara 159. 163. 192. INDEX. Makarasankranti 159 f. 164. 170. Makarasaptami 210. Makarisaptami 195 ff. Makhdum al mulk 383. Malatimadhava 268. Malini 39. Mallikarjuna 220 f. Mamaki or Mamukhi 12. 35 f. Man 385. Mandala 34. 36 f. Mandarashashihi 194. Mandhatrisutra 335. Mangala 15. Manibhava 12. | Manichida 16. Manikusuma 13. Manilingeswara 32. Manimati 32. Manipadma 356. Manjubhadra 28. Manjudeva 15. 17. Manjugartta 17. Manjughosha 28. Manjunath 13 ff. 24. 27. Manjupaliana 27. Manjusri 27 f. 32. 334. 356. Mansashiaka 181 ff. Mantra 183. 213 ff. 259 ft. 297. 300. 303. Mantramahodadhi 219. Manu 49. 53. 61 f. 102. 182. 264. 390. 302. 313. Mara 340. Margasirsha 15. 191. Marsainya 24. Marichi 13. 27. Math 395. Mathura 66. 148. 232. Matri 213. Matrika 22. 33. Matrikanyasa 213. Matsyapurana 189. 219. Matsyendranath 30. Mattupongal 171 ff. Maudgalyayana 351. 356. Maya 98 f. 338. 346. Mayadevisuta 10. Medha 190. Mela 164 f. 220 f. Mesha 159. Mimansaka 259. 366.

Page #419
INDEX. 409 Mimansakara 302. Narada 233. 250 ff. Mina dhirmal 148. Narasinhapurana 200. Mirabi 74 f. 126. Narayaniyopanishad 295. 307 f. Misal 131. 141. Narendra deva 25. 29 ff. Mitakshara 181 f. Nat 26. Mitra 51. Nauroz jelali 3SS. 400. Moggaliputta 351 f. Nausari 359. Mohammed 128. Neuar 1. Mohammed yesdi 356. 390. Newari 5. Mohin ad din 390. Nezhet al ma'arij 355. Moksha 113. Nila 28. Mrichchhakati 300. Nirmala 124. 142. 145 f. Mriga 159. Nirmalatirtha 19 f. Mrityu 271. Nirnayamrita 183. Mukti 113. Nirrana 329. 347. 362 ff. Mulamandala 37. Niryatana 36. Mulla shiri 395. Nitya 181. Mundamalini 181. Nrisinha 221. Muntakhab at tewarikh 350. 400. Nrisinhailwadasi 221. Murad 387. Nyagrodha 6. Musan dia 148. Nyayika 85. 90. 97. 100. Mitica 258. Pachilivairi 19. Nadir shah 132. Pada 147. Naga 17. 19. 23. 337. 311. 344. Padmapani 14. 18. 27. 29. 31. 334. Naga (tree) 7. Padmapurana 162. 219. Nagarakot 3SS. Pahul 148. Nagarjuna 334. Paijarana 264. Nagasena 334. Panchadakini 39. Nagarasa 14. 32. Panchala 32 Nagpur 23. Pancharakshi 12 f. Naipoliyadevatakalyanapancha- Pancharatna 166. vinsatika 5. 11 fr. Panchavinsati 5. 29. 31 f. Nakshatra 292. Pandava 336. Nakula 336. Panini 326. Namsangiti 24. Paneura 12. 36. Nanak shah 122. 135. 141. 144. | Parameswara 142. 149. 27

Page #420
410 INDEX. Paraskara 283. Parasuhasta 39. Parcata 250. Purrati 20. 24. 30. 77 f. 215. 231. Purratiya 1. Pasupata 30 f. Pasupati 28. 217. Patala 5. Patala 17. Pataliputra 354. Patanjala 85. 90. Patan 19. Paushu 158. 160. Paushya 170. Parana 292. Perum pongal 172 f. Phalgu 224. Phalguna 181. 208 ft. Phalguni 291. Phanikeswara 32. Phurindresuara 1S. Phulchok 22. Phullochha 22. Phusinkhel 19. Pishiaka 161. Pishtakasankranti 161. Pitri 61 ff. 161. 178. 201. 205. 210. 271. 292. Piyadasi 318. Pogipaulikei 173. Pongal 170 ff. 178. Potala 24. Prabha 190. Prabharati 32. Prachanula dera 23. Prajapati 255. Prajapatya 303. Prajna 12. 14. 27. 32. Prajnapti 26. Prakriti 96. Pramodatirtha 20. Pratingira 13. Pratisara 13. Prithwigarbha 18. Priyavrata 193. Proshihapada 291. Puchhagra 23. Pulastya 205. Pulinda 253. Puuurika 5. Panra 258. Punyatirtha 19. Purina 67 ff. 86 ff. 93. 101. 141. 153. 219. 231. 269. 298. 354. Purnima 230. Purushamedha 205. Purushottama 201. 391. Purvaminansa 35. 90. Pushkara 63. Pushpanyusa 35. Pushii 190. Putana 232. Rudha 66. 70 ff. 94. 110. Radhukonta deva 294 ft. Raghu 233. Raghunandana 60. 157. 181 ft. 196. 201. 298. 300. 307. Rujasuya 254. Rajatarangini 33. Pajatirtha 19 f. Rakhibandhana 339. Rakshasi 231 ff.

Page #421
Rama 21. 55. 65 f. 75. 110. 147. Sabara 25S. 149. 169. 209. 261. 366. 394. Ramananda 72. 126. Ramanandi 168. Ramanuja 71 f. Ramayana 65. 247 ff. 264. 380. Ramdas 127. Rammohan ray 44. 52. S9. 91. Ramrayi 148. Ranachhor 74. Ranjit sing 135 ff. Ratantichaturdasi 183 f. Ratnasaptami 196. Rati 192. Ratnachida 16. Ratnagarbha 13. Ratnalingeswara 15. Ratnasambhava 12. 14. 35. Ratnodbhava 35. INDEX. Ravana 21. Ravivara 199. Razi 386 f. Rekhta 147. Renu 257. Ribhu 48. Richika 247. Rigveda 45 ff. 219. 248 f. 254. 259. 270 f. 274. 282. 286. 290 ff. 298. 302. 305 ff. Rishaba 257. Rishi 47. 247. 365. Rohini 198. Rohita 251 ff. Rudra 20. 216 f. Rudraksha 217. Rudrayamala 219. Sabdakalpadruma 294. Saiva 15. 26. 30. 67. 71 ff. 142. 165. 182. 211. 229. 411 Sakashiami 208 ff. Sakra 337. Sakta 26. 28. 78. 182. 184. Sakti 12. 14. 34. 78. 94. 97. 214. Sakya 6 ff. 10. 13. 21. 23. 27. 32. 36. 328. 333. 336 f. 339. 341 ff. Sankara 215 ff. Sankaracharya 71. 79. 366. Sankaratirtha 19 f. Sankusuka 271. Santanu 202. Santapur 23. Santasri 23. Santatirtha 19 f. Saradatilaka 189. Sardulavahana 28. Sariputra 352. 356. Satapathabrahmana 268. Sikhadhara 28. Sikhi 5. S. 13. Sikhs 121 ff. 150. Siloshna 232. Sirisha 6. Sirsha 24. 27. Sishya 124. Sisira 181. Sitala 21. Sitalapuja 194. Sitalashashihi 192 ff. Siva 1. 15. 21. 24. 28. 30. 34. 53. 55 f. 63 f. 71 ff. 91 ff. 141 f. 184 ff. 18S. 211. 213. 217. 222. 229. 231. 268.

Page #422
412 INDEX. Siva 38. Sivalinga 217. Sivamargi 30. Sivapura 22. Sivapurana 218 f. 222. Sivarahasya 219. Sivaratri 210 ff. 395. Smasana 300. Sobhanavati 6. Sraddha 61 ff. 87. 167. 181 ff. Sramana 312. 314. 345. Srautasutra 250 ff. 290 ff. Sravaka 21 Sri 187. Sridhara 163. Srigiri 17. Srimanju 23. Sripanchami 187 ft. Sriparvata 221. Srisanta 23. Srivatsa 15 f. Srotriya 291. Suddha 211. Suddhakavosakayika 342. Suddhitattwa 298. Suddhodana 9 f. 338. 346. Sudra 49. 106 f. 163. 202. 263. 288. Sulapani 217. Sunahpuchchha 251. Sunahsepha 247 ff. Sunolangula 254. Syama 78. 184. Sadhava 300 f. Sudlwi 74. Sadyojuta 215. Sagara 167 ft. Saha 32. Sahadeva 336. Sahagamana 295. Sahalokadhatu 33. Sahamarana 298 fl. Sahamaranavidhi 298. 303. 307. Sahyadri 353. Salatura 326. Samareda 46. 254, 282. 306. Samantabhadra 14 f. 17. Samayacharikasutra 281. Sambhu 14. 23. 28. Sambhunath 14. 21. Sambhupuraria 14. 19. 23. 27. Sampatprada 12 f. 27. Samrara 24. 32. Samvatsarapradipa 187. Sanchi 350. 352. Sandhya 145. Sangat 124. Sangha 356. Sanghamandala 37 Sanhita 55. 260 ff. Sankalpa 163. 213. Sankhya 85. 90. 96 f. 100 1. 113. Sankhyakarika 96. 101 f. Sankochha 22. Sankhoyana 283. Sankrinti 159. 395. Sankriti 202. Sansar chand 137. Sanskara 280. 283. Sapatni 299. Sada kunwar 137. Saddharmalankaratara 363. Saddharmapundarika 328. 366.

Page #423
INDEX 413 Saptabuddhastotra 5 fl. Somnath 64. Saraswati 187 ff. Sthalakuli 38. Sarnath 354. Sthupa 314. 319. 352 ft. Sarcaniraranarishkambhi 136. 1S. Subahita 351. Sarrapada 17. Sudhana 24. Sarrartthasiddha 10. Sudhanwan 366. Sarresuara 17. Sufi 73. 122. 385 f. Sati 60. 274 ff. 293 fl'. Sugata 6. 37. Satlakshanatirtha 20. Sunni 382. Satnam 149. Suraj ad daula 242. Saukharuti 24. 29. Suryapongal 173. Santrantika 363. Sutra 329. 332. 342. 365. Savitri 255. Sutrakdra 302. 307. Sayana 259. 267. 275 ff. 294 ft. Suvrata 193. 308 f. Suyarasa 253. 257. Selim 396. Swabharika 12 f. 21 f. 24 ft. 363. Selim chishti 381. Swayambhu 11. 15. 27. Shufiah 382. Swayambhuchaitya 32. Shah senin 137. Swayambhunatha 34. Sheitanpur 391. Swayambhupurdia 23. Shashihi 193. Shattiladana 206 AT. 210. Tadahong 23. Shi anh 382. Taisluja 170. Shipphuchchhu 22. Taittiriya 283, 295. 302. 307 f. Siddhartha 339. 346. Taittiriya uranyaka 308. Sikri 381. Tuj ad din 385 f. Sindura 300. Taj al arafin 385. Sing, Sinh 128. Tantra 2. 29. 33. 77. 79. 81. 150. Sinhakeli 25. 184. 219. 330. Sinhini 22. 33. Tantrika 1. 21. 30 ff. 39. Sita 65. 110. Tapas 10. Sitakuud 169. Tara 12. 27. 35 f. Skanda 22. | Taratirtha 22. Skandamirana 209. Tarkshya 20. Smriti 29S. Tathugatha 31. 39. Soma 50. 283. Tatkarta 149. Somayajna 281. Tauhid ilahi 398.

Page #424
414 INDEX. Tegh bahadur 128. 14S. Tika 389. Tila 206. Tilua 161. Tiluasankranti 161. Tirtha 19. 22. Tirthaka 365. Tithi 211. Tithikritya 157. Tithitattwa 153. 157. 187. 201. 219. Trayastrinsat 314. Tretayuga 253. Tridaseswari 39. Trikandasesha 27 f. Trilokavasankara 23. Trilokarira 24. Tripitaka 329. 331 ff. Tsong kaba 375 f. Tushita 336 f. Tushitapur 7. Tushti 190. Tai khoa 23. Twashiri 272. Vadiraj 28. Vagdwora 22. Vagmati 16. 18. 22. 32. Vaibhashika 363. Vaidyandth 220 f. Taipulyasutra 333 f. l'airochana 12. 14. 35 f. Vaiseshika 85. 90. Vaishnara 67. 71ff. 126. 142. 163. Vaisya 49. 106 f. 202. 263. 296. Taitanika 281. Tairasuata 32. Vajasaneyisanhita 306. Vajra 35. Tajracharya 17. 20. 29. l'ajradhatwi 12. Vajradurva 35. Vajrahastu 39. Vajrapani 13 ff. 17. Vajrapushpa 35. Vajrasattwa 12. 37. 39 Vajrasattuatmika 12. Vajravidravini 12. Vajravira 21. Vajrayogini 21. l'ajreswari 39. Vallabha 72. Vamadeva 215. Vanaprastha 313. Varada 24. Taradachaturthi 184 ff. Varaha 207. Varahadnadasi 207. Varuna 51. 195. 251 ff. 251 ff. l'asanta 231. l'asantapanchami 191 f. 209. 223. 227. 229. Udakakarma 290. Udasi 124. 145. Udgatri 254. 283. Udiya, Udiyana 18. Udumbara 6. Uma 38. 78. 181 II. 211. 215, Upachhandoha 32. Upali 330. Upanishad 65. SS ff. Ushas 256. Ushnisharpana 12. Uttaramimansa 85. 90. Uttariyana 158 ff. 196.

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INDEX. 415 Vasantotsara 209. 223. J'asishiha 251. l'ustudleva 161. Tasuderu 55. 163. l'usuleru 203. T'asundhari 3. 7. 13. 22. l'usupur 23. Vatlagamini 331. l'uyu 23. 50 f. 336. l'ayupur 23. l'uyupuruna 219. l'eda 44 ff. So ff. 101. 197. 239. 265. 209. 291. 295 ff. 327. 348. l'eilanta 52. 73. 85. SS. 90. 97 ff. 113. 122. l'enga 25. 8. Banga. l'edhas 250. l'ichitrandlak 129. Jidhunusuptami 200. T'idhati 39. Vidydderi 26. Vittyudhari 26. lighuuraja 23. Jihura 349. 357. 365. Vijamantra 21. l'ijaya 24. Vijaya 38. Vijayaikudasi 209 f. Vikramesu 19. Tikrameswara 32. Viha 217 1. l'ina 192. Tinaya 330 ff. 360. Vindhyarasini 78. Tipasyi 5. 8. 13 f. 22. J'irupa 20. Vishnu 2. 15. 28. 32. 53. 55 f. 63 ff. 71 f. 91 ff. 141. 149. 162. 167. 157. 203. 205. 209. 211. 217. 221. 235. 356. 355. l'ishaudwipa 314. l'ishrupurana 18. 70. 94. 102. 104. 181. 208. 232. l'iswabhi 5. 8. 13. T'iswadera 161 208. 256. Visuumitra 218. 251. 257 ff. l'ishkambhi 18. l'itaraga 15. 17 f. 27. 32. l'iruswat 196. J'opaleru 69. J'raj 110. J'rata 295. Tratapati 295. Vraturka 153. Vrinduran 66. 235 1. Vyoghrapala 202. J'yoghrini 22. 33. V'yusu 47 f. 67. 91. 97. 202. 317. Yajamona 281. Yajnaralkya 290. Yajniki upanishad 308. Yajurveda 46. 254. 265. 232. 306. Yaksha 38. 337.. Yakshamalla 23. Yakshivi 21. Yama 24. 38. 74. 183 1. 206 1. 218. 271. 273. 286. 289. Yamahardika 39. Ya'kub 356. Yantra 33. Yoga 30. 398.

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416 INDEX. Yuga 208. Yugadya 207 f. 210. Yogachara 363. Yogambara 24. Yogi 30. Yogini 21. 33 f. 39. Yudhishthira 232 f. 336. Zechariah 385. Zen lam kota 388. CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. Page 21 I. 15 read: Sitala. - 23 - 17 - GUNAKAR. - 39 - 10 - Yoga. - 129 - 11 - Natak. - 163 - 16 - Vasudeva. - 178 - 5 - something else. - 186 add to Note ***: M. Richard, Traditions populaires de l'ancienne Lorraine. Remireinont: 1848, p. 61 ff. - 187 1. 13 read: Magha. - 193 - 28 - Forbes. - 203 - 14 - Dharmaraja. - 217 add to Note *: Cfr. also Vratarka, Calcutta edition, fol. 136. - 244 1. 25 add: N. Hocker, die Stammsagen der Holienzollern und Welfen. Dusseldorf: 1857, p. 139. Berlin, edited by Unger Brothers, Printers to the King,

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TRUBNER & CO.'S LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 6d ENGLISH PHILOLOGY. A DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH ETYMOLOGY. BY HENSLEIGH WEDGWOOD, M.A., late Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. In 3 volumes. Vol. I, embracing letters A to D. Svo. Pp. xxiv, 508. clothi. 148 "Dietionaries are a class of books not usually esteemed light reading: hut no intelligent mau were to be pitied who should find himself shut up on a rainy day, in a lonely house, in the dreariest part of Salisbury Plain, with no other means of recreation than that which Mr. Wedgwood'a Dietionary of English Etymology eould afford him. lle would read it through from cover to cover at a sitting, and only regret that he had not the second volume to begin upon forthwith. It is a very able book, of great research, full of delightful surprises, a repertory of the fairy tales of linguistie seienee."-Speetator. PROPOSALS for the publication of a NEW ENGLISH DICTIONARY. By the Philological Society. 8vo. pp. 32. sewed. CANONES LEXICOGRAPHICI; or Rules to be observed in editing the New English Dictionary of the Philological Society, prepared by a Committee of the Society. Svo. pp. 12. sewed. 6d THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S NEW ENGLISH DICTIONARY. Basis of Comparison. Third Period. Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries. Part I. A to D. Svo. pp. 2+, sewed. 60 A GLOSSARIAL INDEX to the printed English Literature of the Thirteenth Century. By HERBERT COLERIDGE. Eso.. of Lincoln's Inn, Barristerat-law. In 1 vol. 8vo. cloth, pp. 103. 58 AN ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ALL ENGLISH WORDS, being a list of all the Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes in English, with all the words containing each Prefix, Root, and Suffix under it. Made by Dr. C. LOTTNER, of the University of Berlin, and edited by F. J. FURNIVALL, Esq., M.A., Trin Hall, Cambridge, Editor of the Philo logical Society's Proposed New English Dictionary. Svo. (In the Press.) A CONCISE EARLY ENGLISH DICTIONARY for the period 1250--1526, the Beginning of Early English to the Date of the First English New Testament. Edited by F. J. FURNIVALL, Esq., M.A., Trin. Hall, Cam bridge. Svo. (In the Press.) A CONCISE MIDDLE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY for the period 1526-1671, the date of the First English New Testament to Milton's death. Edited by F. J. FURNIVALL, Eso., M.A. Sro. (In the Press.) ON THE STUDY OF MODERN LANGUAGES in general, and of the English Language in particular. An Essay. By DAVID ASIER, Pui.D. 12mo. cloth, pp. viii, 80. 2s I have read Dr. Asher's Essay on the Study of the Modern Languages with profit and pleasure, and think it might be usefully reprinted here. It would open to many English students of their own language some interesting points from which to regard it, and suggest to them works bearing upon it which otherwise they might not have heard of. Any weakness which it has in respect of the absolute ur relative value of English author's does not matcrially atlect its value. -RICHARD C. TRENCH. -1 l'estminster, June 25, 1859." DICTIONARY OF AMERICANISMS: A Glossary of Words and Phrases colloquially used in the United States. By Joix RCSSELL BARTLETT. Second Edition, considerably enlarged and improved. 1 vol. 8vo. pp. xxxii, 524. cloth. 16s SUFFOLK SURNAMES. BY N. I. BOWDITCH. Third Edition. 8vo. pp. xxvi, 758. cloth. 158

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SPANISH PHILOLOGY. ESTUDIOS FILOLOGICOS o sea Examen razonado de las dificultades Principales en la Lengua Espanola. Por MANUEL M. DE MORENTIN. Un tomo en 8vo. mayor, de 576 paginas. 12s A SKETCH ON THE COMPARATIVE BEAUTIES of the French and Spanish Languages. By M. DE MORENTIN. Part I. 8vo. pp. 38, sewed, 1s 6d. Part II. 8vo. Pp. 60, sewed, 2s. GREEK PHILOLOGY. A GLOSSARY of later and Byzantine Greek. By E. A. SOPHOCLES. 4to. pp. iv, 624. cloth. 21 2s AFRICAN PHILOLOGY. THE MONUMENTAL HISTORY OF EGYPT, as recorded on the Ruins of her Temples, Palaces, and Tombs. By WILLIAM OSBURN, RS L. Vol 1.- From the Colonization of the Valley to the visit of the Patriarch Abram. Vol. 2.- From the Visit of Abram to the Exodus. Illustrated with maps, plates, etc. 8vo. pp. xii, 461; vii, 643. 21 2s THE ISIZULU. A Grammar of the Znlu Language; accompanied with a historical introduction, also with an Appendix. By the Rev. LEWIS GROUT, Missionary of the American Board; and Corresponding Menber of the American Oriental Society. Svo. pp. Lii, 432. cloth. 21 JAPANESE PHILOLOGY. A PRACTICAL GRAMMAR of the Japanese Language. By RUTHERFORD ALCOCK, Resident British Minister at Jelldo. ito. pp. 120. cloth. 21s SHOPPING DIALOGUES in Japanese, Dutch, and English. By J. HOFF MANN, Japanese Interpreter to the Government of the Dutch East Indies. Oblong 8vo. sewed. CHINESE PHILOLOGY. A GUIDE TO CONVERSATION in the English and Chinese Languages, for the use of Americaus and Chinese, in California and elsewhere. By STANISLAS HERXISZ, M.D., Attache to the U. S. Legation at Paris; late Attache to the U.S. Legation in China; Member of the American Oriental Society, etc. etc. square 8vo. pp. 274. sewed. Boston. 188 The Chinese characters contained in this work are from the collection of Chinese groups, engraved on steel, and cast into moveable types, by Mr. Marcellin Legrand, Engraver of the Imperial Printingoffice at Paris; they are used by most of the Missions to China. THE CHINESE CLASSICS: with a translation, critical and exegetical notes, Prolegomena, and copious indexes. By JAMES LEGGE, D.D., of the London Missionary Society. In Seven Volumes Vol. I., containing Confucian Analects, the great learning, and the Doctrine of the Mean. Roy. 8vo. pp. 14, 136, 376. cloth bds. 21 2s INDIAN PHILOLOGY. A DICTIONARY, SANSKRIT AND ENGLISH, extended and improved from the second edition of the Dictionary of Professor H. H. WILSON, with his sanction and concurrence; together with a Supplement, Grammatical Appendices, and an Index, serving as a Sanskrit-English Vocabulary. By THEODOR GOLDSTUCKER, Ph.D., Professor of the Sanskrit Language

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and Literature in University College, London. Parts I. to IV. 4to. pp. 1-320. 1856-1860. each part, 68 MANAVA-KALPA-SUTRA; being a portion of this ancient work on Vaidik Rites. together with the Commentary of Kumarila-Swamin. A Facsimile of the MS. No 17 in the Library of Her Majesty's Home Government for India. With a Preface by THEODOR GOLDSTUCKER. Oblong Folio. pp. 268 of letterpress, and 121 leaves of Facsimiles. Cloth. 4 4s PANINI: His Place in Sanskrit Literature. An investigation of some Literary and Chronological Questions which may be settled by a Study of his work. A separate impression of the Preface to the Facsimile of MS. No. 17 in the Library of Her Majesty's Home Government for India, which contains a portion of the Manava-Kalpa-Sutra with the Commentary of Kumarila-Swamin. By THEODOR GOLDSTUCKER. Imp. 8vo. pp. xvi. 268. cloth. 128 SELECT WORKS of H. H. WILSON, M.A., F.R.S., late Boden Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Oxford. Volume I. 8vo. Also under the separate Title: SKETCH OF THE RELIGIOUS SECTS OF THE HINDUS. Reprinted from the Asiatic Researches, Vols. XVI and XVII, and edited by R. ROST, PH. D. 8vo. (A detailed Prospectus may be had on application to Trubner & Co.) SELECT SPECIMENS OF THE THEATRE OF THE HINDUS, trauslated from the Original Sanskrit. By HORACE HAYMAN WILSON, M.A., F. R. S. Second edition. 2 vols. 8vo. cloth, pp. lxxi, 384, 415. 158 CONTENTS. Vol. 1.-Preface.-Treatise on the Dramatic System of the Hindus.-- Dramas translated from the Original Sanskrit.- The Mrichchakati, or the Toy-Cart.- Vikrama and Urvasi, or the Hero and the Nymph. - Uttara Rama Cheritra, or continuation of the 11istory of Rama. Vol. 2.- Dramas translated from the Original Sanskrit:-Malati and Madlava, or the Stolen Marriage:- Mudra Rakshasa, or the Signet of the Minister.-- Retnavali, or the Necklace.Appendix. containing short Accounts of different Dramas. COMMENTARY on the Hindu System of Medicine. By T. A. WISE, M. D., Bengal Medical Service. 8vo. pp. xx, 432. cloth. 7s 6d GUJARATI EXERCISES; or a new mode of learning to read, write or speak the Gujarati language, on the Ollendorffian System. By ROBERT YOUNG, F.E.S.L. 8vo. pp. 500, sewed. 12s RUSSIAN PHILOLOGY. A NEW RUSSIAN GRAMMAR, based upon the phonetic laws of the Russian language. By BASIL KELSYEFF. 8vo. (In the Press.) POLYGLOTTS. GRAMMATOGRAPHY. A Manual of Reference to the Alphabets of Ancient and Modern languages. Based on the German Compilation of F. BALLHORN. Imp. 8vo. pp. 80. cloth. 78 6d A LATIN, ENGLISH, ITALIAN, AND POLYGLOT ANTHOLOGY, with a variety of translations and illustrations. To be published once a year; designed to contribute to the cause of classical learning, as well as to forward the cultivation of the English language and literature in Italy. and that of the Italian in Great Britain, America, and Australia. Edited by JonN SPAGGIARI. Oct. 1861. No. 1 oblong 4to. 28 6d A HANDBOOK OF AFRICAN. AUSTRALIAN, AND POLYNESIAN Philology, as represented in the Library of His Excellency SIR GEORGE

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GREY, K. C.B., Her Majesty's High Commissioner of the Cape Colony. Classed, annotated, and edited by SIR GEORGE GREY and DR. W. H. J. BLEEK. Vol. I. Part 1.-South Africa, 8vo. pp. 186. 78. 6d. Vol. I. Part 2.-Africa (North of the Tropic of Capricorn), 8vo. pp. 70. 2s. Vol. I. Part 3.-Madagascar, 8vo. pp. 24. 18. Vol. II. Part 1.-Australia, Svo. pp. iv, 44. 1s. 6d. Vol. II. Part 2.-Papuan Languages of the Loyalty Islands and New Hebrides, comprising those of the Islands of Nengone, Lifu, Aneiteum, Tana, and others, 8vo. pp. 12. 6d. Vol. II. Part 3.-Fiji Islands and Rotuma (with Supplement to Part 2, Papuan Languages, and Part 1, Australia). Svo. pp. 34. 1s. Vol. II. Part 4.-New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and Auckland Islands, Svo. pp. 76. 3s. 6d. Vol. II. Part 4 (Continuation).-Polynesia and Borneo, 8vo. pp. 77 to 154. 38. 6d. The above is, without exception, the most important addition yet made to African Philology. The amount of materials brought together by Sir George, with a view to elucidate the subject, is stupendons; and the labour bestowed on them, and the results arrived at, incontestably establish the claim of the Author to be called the father of African and Polynesian Philology. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "We congratulate the Governor of the Cape on the production of a most important aid to the study of the twin sciences of philology and ethnology, and look forward to the completion of the Catalogue itself as a great and permanent step towards civilization of the barbarous races whose formation, habits, language, religion, and food, are all, more or less, most carefully noted in its pages."- Leader. "It is for these substantial reasons that we deemed it worth a brief notice to call attention to these excellently arranged Catalogues (with important notes), describing the various works in the library of Sir George Grey, and by which this great philanthropist will greatly aid in civilizing the numerous peoples within the limit of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope."Brighton Gazelle. AMERICAN PHILOLOGY. COLLECCAO DE VOCABULOS E FRASES usados na Provincia de S. Pedro de Rio Grande do Sul no Brazil. 16mo. pp. 32. sewed. 2s 6d EVANGELIARIUM, EPISTOLARIUM ET LECTIONARIUM AZTECUM, sive Mexicanum, ex Antiquo Codice Mexicano, nuper reperto, depromptum cum praefatione interpretatione adnotationibus Glossario edidit BERNARDINUS BIONDELLI. Folio. pp. 1, 574. 1858. (Only 400 copies printed, on stont writingpaper. Bound half Morocco, gilt top, uncut edges.) price 67 68 The very interesting Codex of which the above is a careful reprint, was discovered in Mexico by Beltrami in the year 1826, and came into the hands of the present editor by purchase from the heirs. It is composed in the purest and most elegant Nahuatl, that was ever written, by Bernardino Sahagun, a Spanish monk of the Franciscan order, with the assistance of two Scions of royalty in Anahuac, one the son of Montezuma, the other the son of the Prince of Tezcueo--and purports to be a "postilla" (post illa, scilicet textus verba) on the Gospels and Epistles. Sahagun arrived at Mexico in the year 1529, and lived and laboured with great success in that country for fully sixty years. Of his many works in and on the Nahuatl language the above is the only one which has been saved from perdition. Mr. Biondelli has accompanied Sahagun's text by a Latiu version, has added a copious Vocabulary, Nahuatl and Latin, and, by his introductory observations, has thrown considerable light not alone upon the Nahuatl language, its affinity to other families of languages, its grammatical peculiarities, but also upon the traditions, institutions, and monuments of the Aztecs thus forming a complete treasury of everything appertaining to the ancient Aztecs. Altogether this work is probably one of the most important contributions ever made to American philology, and cannot henceforth be dispensed with by the Student of this branch of linguistics. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICAN ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES. By HERMANN E. LUDEWIG. With Additions and Corrections by Professor WM. W. TURNER. Edited by NICOLAS TRUBNER. Svo.; fly and general Title, 2 leaves; Dr. Ludewig's Preface, pp. v-viii; Editors' Preface, pp. ix-xii; Biographical Memoir of Dr. Ludewig, pp. xiii, xiv; and Introductory Bibliographical Notices, pp. xiv-xxiv, followed by List of

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potic lang historities, den no one lang TRUBNER'S BIBLIOTHECA GLOTTICA-continued. Contents. Then follow Dr. Ludewig's Bibliotheca Glottica, alphabetically arranged, with additions by the Editor, pp. 1-209; Professor Turner's additions, with those of the Editor to the same, also alphabetically arranged, pp. 210-246; Index, pp. 247 -- 256; and list of Errata. pp. 257, 258. One volume, handsomely bound in cloth, price 10s 6d This work is intended to supply a great want, now that the study of Ethnology has proved that exotic languages are not mere curiosities, but essential and interesting parts of the natural history of man, forming one of the most curious links in the great chain of national affinities, defining as they do the reciprocity existing between man and the soil he lives tipon. No one can venture to write the history of America without a knowledge of her aboriginal languages; and unimportant as such researches may seem to men engaged in the mere bustling occupations of life, they will at least acknowledge that these records of the past, like the sternlights of a departing ship, are the last glimmers of savage life, as it becomes absorbed or recedes before the tide of civilization. Dr. Ludewig and Professor Turner have made most diligent use of the public and private collections in America, access to all of which was most liberally granted to them. This has placed at their disposal the labours of the American Missionaries, so little known on this side of the Atlantic that they may be looked upon almost in the light of untrodden ground. But English and Continental libraries have also been ransacked; and Dr. Ludewig kept up a constant and active correspondence with scholars of "the Fatherland", as well as with men of similar tastes and pursuits in France, Spain, and Holland, determined to leave no stone unturned to render his labours as complete as possible. The volume, perfect in itself, is the first of an enlarged edition of Vater's "Linguarum lotius orbis Inder". The work has been noticed by the press of both Continents, and we may be permitted to refer particularly to the following: OPISIONS OF THE PRESS, "This work, mainly the production of fidence to persevere in his arduous and the late llerr Ludewig, a German na- most honourable task." - The Critic, 15th turalized in America, is devoted to an Dec. 1857. account of the literature of the aboriginal Janguages of that country. It gives an "Few would believe that a good octavo alphabetical list of the varions tribes of volume would be necessary to exhaust whose languages any record remains, and the subject; yet so it is, and this handrefers to the works, papers, or manuscripts, some, useful, and curious volnme, carein which such information may be found. fully compiled by Mr. Ludewig, assisted The work has evidently been a labour of hy Professor Turner, and edited by the careful hand of Mr. Trubner, the wellTove; and as no pains seems to have been spared by the elitors, Prof. Turner and known publisher, will be sure to find a Mr. Trubner, in rendering the work as place in many libraries." - Bent's Adreraccurate and complete as possible, those liser, 6th Nov. 1857. who are most interested in its contents "The lovers of American linguistics will be best able to judge of the labour will find in the work of Mr. Trubner and assiduity bestowed upon it by anthor, scarcely any point omitted calculated to editors, and publisher."- Atheneum, 5th aid the comparative philologer in tracing April, 1858. the various languages of the great Western "This is the first instalment of a work Continent."- Galiray Mercury, 30th Jan. which will be of the greatest value to 1858. philologists; and is a compendium of the "Only those deeply versed in philologiaboriginal languages of the American con cal studies can appreciate this book at its tinents, and a digest of all the known full value. It shows that there are upliterature bearing upon those languages. wards of seven hundred and fifty abMr. Trubner's hand has been engaged original American languages." --- Gentlepassim, and in his preface he lays claim man's Magazine, Feb. 1858. to about one-sixth of the whole; and we have no doubt that the encouragement "The work contains an account of no with which this portion of the work will fewer than seven hundred different abbe received by scholars, will be such as original dialects of America, with an into inspire Mr. Trubner with sufficient con- troductory chapter of bibliographical in

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TRUBNER'S BIBLIOTHECA GLOTTICA-continued. formation; and under each dialect is an to the bibliography of American languages account of any grammars or other works has been executed, both by the author, illustrative of it." - The Bookseller, Jan. Mr. Ludewig, and the able writers who 1858. have edited the work since his death, is "We have here the list of monuments spoken of in the highest terms by gentlestill existing of an almost innumerable men most conversant with the subject." series of languages and dialects of the - American llistorical Magazine, Vol. II, American Continent. The greater part No. 5, May, 1858. of Indian grammars and vocabnlaries exist "Je terminerai en anoncant le premier only in MS., and were compiled chiefly volume d'une publication appelee a rendre by Missionaries of the Christian Church; de grands services a la philologie comand to Dr. Ludewig and Mr. Trubner, we paree et a la linguistique generale. Je are, therefore, the more indebted for the veux parler de la Bibliotheca Glottica, great care with which they have pointed ou vrage devant renfermer la liste de tous ont where such are to be found, as well les dictionnaires et de tontes les gramas for enumerating those which have been maires des langues connnes, tant impriprinted, either in a separate shape, in mes que manuscrits. L'editeur de cette collections, or in voyages and travels, and precieuse bibliographie est M. Nicolas elsewhere."-Leader, 11th Sept. 1858. Trubner, dont le nom est honorablement "I have not time, nor is it my purpose, connu dans le monde oriental. Le preto go into a review of this admirable work, mier volume est consacre aux idiomes or to attempt to indicate the extent and Americaines; le second doit traiter des value of its contents. It is, perhaps, langues de l'Inde. Le travail est fait enough to say, that apart from a concise avec le soin le plus consciencieux, et fera bnt clear enumeration and notice of the honneur a M. Nicolas Trubner, surtout various general philological works which s'il poursuit son oeuvre avec le meme treat with greater or less fulness of Ame- ardeur qu'il mise a le commencer."-L. rican languages, or which incidentally Leon de Rosny, Revue de l'Orient, Fevrier, touch upon their bibliography, it contains 1858. not less than 256 closely-printed octavo' "Mr. Trubner's most important work pages of bibliographical notices of gram- on the bibliography of the aboriginal lanmars, vocabularies, etc., of the aboriginal 1 guages of America is deserving of all languages of America. It is a peculiar praise, as eminently useful to those who and valuable feature of the work that not study that branch of literature. The value, only the titles of printed or published too, of the book, and of the pains which grammars or vocabularies are given, but its compilation must have cost, will not also that unpublishell or MS. works of be lessened by the consideration that it these kinds are noticell in all cases where is first in this field of linguistic literature." they are known to exist, but which have -- Petermann's Geographische Mittheilundisappeared among the debris of the sap- gen, p. 79, Feb. 1858. pressed convents and religious establish "Undoubtedly this volume of Trubner's ments of Spanish America."--E. G. Squier, Bibliotheca Glottica ranks amongst the in a paper read before the American most valuable additions which of late years Ethnological Society, 12th Jan. 1858. have enriched our bibliographical literature. "In consequence of the death of the To ns Germans it is most gratifying that author before he had finished the revisal the initiative has been taken by a German of the work, it has been carefully examined bookseller himself, one of the most inby competent scholars, who have also made telligent and active of our countrymen many valuable additions." - Imerican abroad, to produce a work which has Publishers' Circular, 30th Jan. 1858. higher aims than mere pecuniary profit, "It contains 256 closely-printed pages and that he, too, has laboured at its proof titles of printed books and manuscripts, duction with his own hands; becanse daily and notices of American aboriginal lan- it is becoming a cireumstance of rarer guages, and embraces references to nearly occurrence that, as in this case, it is a all that has been written or published bookseller's primary object to serve the respecting them, whether in special works cause of literature rather than to enrich or incidentally in books of travel, periodi- himself." - P. Trumel, Borsenblatt, 4th cals, or proceedings of learned societies." Jan. 1858. - New York Herald, 29th Jan. 1858. "In the compilation of the work the "The manner in which this contribution editors have availed themselves not only

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TRUBNER'S BIBLIOTHECA GLOTTICA -- continued. of the labours of Vater, Barton, Duponl- est un des livres les plus ntiles qui aient ceau, Gallatin, De Souza, and others, but jamais ete rediges pour faciliter l'etude also of the MS. sources left by the mission de la pbilologie comparee. Le premier aries, and of many books of which even tome de cette grande bibliographie linthe library of the British Museum is de- guistique comprend la liste textuelle do ficient, and furnish the fullest account of tontes les grammaires, de tous les dicthe literature of no less than 525 lan- tionnaires et des vocabulaires meme les guages. The value of the work, so ne- moins etendus qui ont ete imprimes dans cessary to the study of ethnology, is les differents dialectes des deux Ameriques; greatly enhanced by the addition of a en outre, il fait connaitre les ouvrages good Index." --- Berliner National-Zeitung, manuscrits de la meme nature renfermes 22nd Nov. 1857. dans les principales bibliotheques pu bliques et particulieres. Ce travail a du "The name of the author, to all those necessiter de longlies et patientes rewho are acquainted with his former works, cherches; aussi merite-t-il l'attirer tout and who know the thoroughness and pro- particulierement l'attention des philologues. found character of his investigations, is Puissent les autres volumes de cette bia sufficient guarantee that this work will bliotheque etre rediges avec le meme soin be one of standard authority, and one et se trouver bientot entre les mains de that will fully answer the demands of the tous les savants auxquels ils peuvent present time." -- Pet:holdt's Anzeiger, Jan. rendre des services inappreciables." --Re1858. rue Americaine et Orientale, No. I, Oct. 1858. "The chief merit of the cditor and publisher is to have terminated the work "To every fresh addition to the bibliocarefully and Incidly in contents and form, graphy of language, of which we have a and thus to have established a new and most admirable specimen in this work, largely augmented edition of " Valer's the thoughtful linguist will ever, as the Linguarum totius orbis Inder", after Pro great problem of the mnity of human fessor Julg's revision of 1847. In order speech approaches towards its full soluto continue and complete this work the tion, tum with increasing satisfaction and editor requires the assistance of all those hope. who are acquainted with this new branch But Mr. Nicolas Trubner, however, has of science, and we sincerely hope it may perhaps, on the whole, done the highest be accorded to him."- Magazin fur die service of all to the philologer by the Literatur des Auslandes, No.38, 1858. publication of "The Literature of American Aboriginal Languages". IIe lias, with "As the general title of the book in the aid of Professor Turner, greatly endicates, it will be extended to the lan larged, and at the same time most skilguages of the other Continents in case fully edited, the valuable materials acit meet with a favourable reception, which quired by his deceased friend II. Ludewig. we most cordially wish it." - A. F. Poll, We do not indeed, at this moment, know Preussische Jahrbucher, Vol. II, part 1. any similar work deserving of full con"Cette compilation savante est sans parison with it. In its ample enumeracontredit, le travail bibliographique le plus tion of important works of reference, and important que notre epoque ait vu surgir careful record of the most recent facts in sur les nations indigenes de l'Amerique." the literature of its subject, it, as might - Nouvelles Annales des Voyages. Avril, have been expected, greatly surpasses 1859. Julg's "Vater", valnable and trustworthy thongh that learned German's work un"La Bibliotheca Glottica, dont M. Ni- doubtedly is." - North British Review colas Trubner a commence la publication, No. 59 (February 1859). The Editor has also received most kind and encouraging letters respecting the work from Sir George Grey, the Chevalier Bunsen, Dr. Th. Goldstucker, Mr. Watts (of the Museum), Professor A. Fr. Pott (of llalle), Dr. Julius Petzholt (of Dresden), Hofrath Dr. Grasse (of Dresden), M. F. F. de la Figaniere (of Lisbon), E. Edwards (of Manchester), Dr. Max Muller (of Oxford), Dr. Buschmann (of Berlin), Dr. Julg (of Cracow), and other linguistic scholars.

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HISTOIRE LITTERAIRE DES FOUS. PAR OCTAVE DELEPIERRE. 8vo. pp. 188. Cloth. Price 5s. In Two Volumes 8vo, pp. 1950 of Letter-press, Seven Chrono-Lithographic Plates of Binding-Specimens, Sixteen fac-simile Plates of Papyri and Early Types, numerous Woodcuts, etc. Price PS2:8; Large Paper, PS4: 4. MEMOIRS OF LIBRARIES: INCLUDING A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF LIBRARY ECONOMY. BY EDWARD EDWARDS. Important Work on English and American Literary History. A Critical Dictionary of English Literature, AND BRITISH AND AMERICAN AUTHORS, LIVING AND DECEASED, FROM THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS TO THE MIDDLE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Containing 31,000 Biographies and Literary Notices. With an Index of Subject-Matter. By S. AUSTIN ALLIBONE. Vol. I. 21s. In one Volume 8vo, of 750 pages, half-bound, price 18s. TRUBNER'S BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE TO AMERICAN LITERATURE: A Classed List of Books published in the United States of America, FROM 1817 to 1857. With Bibliographical Introduction, Notes, & Alphabetical Index. COMPILED AND EDITED BY NICOLAS TRUBNER. MAPOTECA COLOMBIANA: CATALOGO DE TODOS LOS MAPAS, PLANOS, VISTAS, ETC., RELATIVOS A LA AMERICA-ESPANOLA, BRASIL, E ISLAS ADYACENTES. Arreglada cronologicamente i precedida de una introduccion sobre la historia cartografica de America. Por el Dr. EZEQUIEL URICOECHEA, de Bogota, Nueva Granada. 1 vol. Svo. of 232 pages. price 6s. Berlin, printed by Unger Brothers, Printers to the King,

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BL1201.7738 v.2 Essays and lectures on the religions of Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 00163 2795 MA