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RELIGIOUS SECTS
The survey that has thus been taken of the actual state of the Hindu religion will shew, that its internal constitution has not been exempt from those varieties, to which all human systems of belief are subject, and that it has undergone great and frequent modifications, until it presents an appearance which, there is great reason to suppose, is very different from that which it originally wore.
The precise character of the primitive Hindu system will only be justly appreciated, when a considerable portion of the ritual of the Vedas shall liave been translated, but some notion of their contents and purport may be formed from Mr. COLEBROOKE's account of them", as well as from his description of the religious ceremonies of the Hindus?. It is also probable that the Institutes of MANU, in a great measure, harmonise with the Vaidik Code.
From these sources then it would seem, that some of the original rites are still preserved in the Homa, or fire offerings, and in such of the Sanskáras, or purificatory ceremonies, as are observed at the periods of birth, tonsure, investiture, marriage and cremation. Even in these ceremonies, however, formulæ borrowed from the Tantras assume the place of the genuine texts, whilst on many occasions the observances of the Vedas are wholly neglected. Nor is this inconsistent with the original system, which was devised
Asiatic Researches Vol. VIII. [Essays, p. 1-69.] 2 Asiatic Researches Vol. VII. [Essays, p. 76-142.]
