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THE EARLY VEDIC RELIGION. ing of all these books, there is found an early tradition Tradition of of a flood. Manu, a holy man, was warned by
a flood. a fish that a flood would sweep away all creatures, but he would rescue him. He was directed to build a ship and enter it when the flood rose; he did so, and fastened the fish to the ship, and was drawn by it beyond the northern mountains. When the flood subsided Manu was the only man left; a daughter was mysteriously born to him by virtue of religious rites, and ultimately the world was peopled with the sons of Manu. In later times it was said that the fish was an incarnation of Brahma, who assumed that form in order to preserve Manu.
The doctrine of immortality is more definitely presented in the same Brahmana than in the Vedic hymns. The
gods had by toilsome religious rites become Immortality
wy, immortal. Death complained to the gods that men would follow their example. The gods enacted that no being should thenceforward become immortal in his own body, but should first present his body to Death.
A remarkable passage shows that the ancient Brahmans had a very advanced conception about the sun :
Idea of the “The sun never sets nor rises. When people sun's course. think to themselves the sun is setting, he only changes about after reaching the end of the day, and makes night below and day to what is on the other side. Then when people think he rises in the morning, he only shifts himself about after reaching the end of the night, and makes day below, and night to what is on the other side. In fact he never does set at all.”
There seems little doubt that the origin and establishment of the caste system was largely due to the successful Origin of assertion by the Brahmans of their superior
caste. rank, combined with the growth of a class of cultivators distinct from the warriors, who at first were the great majority of the people. By this time the conquering Aryans had spread themselves over the basin of the Jumna and Ganges, and the Brahmans found it necessary and advantageous to show that they had a more noble, powerful, and important religion than the
| SR No. | 007305 |
| Book Title | Great Indian Religion |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | G T Bettany |
| Publisher | Ward Lock Bowden and Co |
| Publication Year | 1892 |
| Total Pages | 312 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 42 MB |