^mn)X %mtxi\% ^ibtJatg THE GIFT OF {jjlA^., Sr^ r"^.--^^ \^s'Qn HtlaUA."?^ Date Due <^^B ?8!9 if4 .^ L- cyr r- f^7i?> ^^mm. pM-i&ii--- J-^'-UX, 3 1924 022 960 ~LI2lB.S^ HINDU LITERATURE; THE Al^OIENT BOOKS OF INDIA BY ELIZABETH A. EEED, A- M., Atithqr of "Persian Literature," "Primitive Buddhism," etc. CHICAGO : SCOTT, FORESMAN AND CO. 1907. J5 H-^^e-^3- ;\.'%!7^ or Copyright, 1890, By S. C. GRIGGS AND COMPANY. TABLE OF CONTENTS. HINDU LITERATUKE; OR, THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. PAGES. CHAPTER I. HINDU LITERATURE. WHAT IS THE YEDA ? — THE AGE OP THE VEDAS — WHEN WKITTBK — THE RIG-VEDA, . . 1-37 CHAPTEE II. MYTHOLOGY OP THE VEDAS. RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE MYTHOLOGIES OF INDIA AND GREECE — AGNI — SUEYA — — VARUNA — YAMA — USHAS — MARUTS — HYMNS OF EXECRATION — INCONSISTENT THE- ORIES — INDRA — SIMILARITY OF NORTHERN MYTHS, 38-49 CHAPTER III. MYTHOLOGY OP LATER HINDU WORKS. MULTIPLICATION OF DEITIES — ANALOGY BE- TWEEN INDIAN AND GREEK GODS — MODERN DEITIES — BRAHMA, VISHNU, AND SIVA — INCARNATIONS OF VISHNU — GAEUDA — iii IV TABLE OF CONTENTS. BECOVERT OF THE LOST NECTAR OF THE GODS — SIVA, 50-65 CHAPTEK IV. THE VEDAS AND THE SUTTEE. LITERARY IMPORTANCE — DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN EUROPEAN AND NATIVE SCHOLARS — COLE- BROOKE'S TRANSLATION OF DISPUTED TEXT — MUTILATION OF THE TEXT — TESTIMONY OF RAJA RADHAKANT DEB — THE RITE NOT ADVOCATED IN THE RIG-VEDA — DISGRACE OF AVOIDING THE SUTTEE — INSTANCE OF ESCAPE — ENTHUSIASM OF NATIVE POETS — LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK, .... 66-73 CHAPTER V. THE BRAHMANAS. THE SECOND GRAND DIVISION OF VEDIC LITER- ATURE — AGE OF THE BRAHMANAS — BURDEN OF CEREMONIES — PENANCE FOR BAD DREAMS — SACRIFICES — EXTRACT FROM THE FOURTH BBAHMANA — THE STORY OF SUNAHSEPA A HUMAN SACRIFICE- — TRADITION OF THE FLOOD AS FOUND IN THE SATAPATHA-BRAH- MANA, 74^87 CHAPTER VI. THE CODE OP MANU. THE DATE OF THE CODE — THE TRIBE OB SCHOOL OF MANAVAS — THE CODE A MEANS OF PER- PETUATING THE RULES OF CASTE — DIVINE TABLE OF CONTENTS. V ORIGIN CLAIMED FOR THE LAWS OF MANU — CASTE — DIVINE BIGHTS OF BRAHMANS — THE KSHATRIYA — THE VALSYA— THE SUDEA — MARRIAGE A PURIFYING RITE — RULES FOR CHOOSING A WIFE — MARRIAGE — WOMAN's RIGHTS — PENANCES — CRIMINAL CODE — FU- NERAL CEREMONIES, 88-98 CHAPTER VII. THE UPANISHADS. THE THIRD GRAND DIVISION OF VEDIC LITER- ATURE — THE UPANISHADS — THE DOCTRINAL PORTION OF THE VEDA — DERIVATION — RAM- MOHUN ROY — NUMBER OF THE UPANISHADS — PLACE IN VEDIC CHRONOLOGY — SRUTI OR REVEALED KNOWLEDGE — CHAND06YA UPA- NISHAD — IMPORTANCE OF OM — EXTRACTS FROM THE CHANDOGYA — THE KENA UPA- NISHAD — EXTRACT FROM THE KENA — THE KATHA UPANISHAD — THE AITAREYA UPA- NISHAD — EXTRACT FROM THE AITAREYA — THE KAUSHlTAKI BRAHMANA UPANISHAD — DISCOURSE UPON FUTURE LIFE— THE VAJA- SANEYI-SAOTHITA UPANISHAD — EXTRACT FROM THE VAJASANEYI — THE ISA UPA- NISHAD — THE COMPLETION OF REVELATION, 99-113 CHAPTEE VIII. THE MONOTHEISM OF THE UPANISHADS. PANTHEISM — CONFESSION OF FAITH — DEATH OF THEIR SUPREME GOD — DESCRIPTIONS OP Vi TABLE OF CONTElirTS. BRAHMA — THE FEET OF BRAHMAN^ — VISHNU AS THE SUPREME GOD — THE SVETASVATARA- UPANISHAD — PANTHEISM THE .CREED OF VEDIC LITERATURE, 114-120 CHAPTER IX. COSMOGONY. ABSURD THEORIES — EXTRACT FROM CHANDOGYA UPANISHAp — COSMOGONY OF MANU — A DAY OF BRAHMA — SLEEP OP BRAHMA AND ITS RESULTS —RE-CREATION — LENGTH OF BRAH- MA's LIFE — THE SERPENT SESHA — THE NAGAS OR SERPENT DEMONS — DEATH OF BHAHMA — REPEATED CREATIONS — THE WILL OF BRAH- MA — INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF MATTER — EVO- LUTION AND PANTHEISM — COSMOGRAPHY OF THE MAHA-BHARATA AND THE PURANAS — THE LENGTH OF A KALPA — TEACHING OF THE RAMAY'ANA — CREATION BY VISHNU — COMPARISON BETWEEN THE COSMOGONY OF THE VEDAS AND OTHER ANCIENT WRITINGS — TESTIMONY OF BARON VON HUMBOLDT — MOSAIC COSMOGONY, 121-130 CHAPTEE X. THE ORIGIN OP MAN. DESCENT OF MAN FROM A SINGLE PAIR — THE EARTHLY AND HEAVENLY PART OF MAN — RECONSTRUCTION OF MEN AT THE END OF EACH KALPA — CREATION OF ANIMALS DIFFERENT CHARACTERS AND RACES OF MEN ' — RUDRA — DEVOLUTION — EXTRACT, . . 131-138 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Vli CHAPTEE XL METEMPSYCHOSIS. XEANSMIGRAXIOK NOT TAUGHT IN THE KIG- VEDA — THE TRIPLE SYSTEM OF TKANSMI- GBATION — THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHAN- DOGYA — DANGER DURING TRANSMIGRATION — DISTINCTION BETWEEN ASCENDING AND DESCENDING SOULS — HINDU EXPLANATION OF INEQUALITIES OF FORTUNE — SINS AGAINST CASTE RECEIVE THE GREATEST PUNISHMENT — NO CRIME BECOMES A SIN IF THE WORDS OF THE RIG-VEDA BE REMEMBERED, . . 139-145 CHAPTEE XII. REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS. IMMORTALITY. OF THE SOUL — HEAVEN ONLY A STEPPING-STONE TO HAPPINESS — EXPE- RIENCE OF THE FAITHFUL HINDU — THE HEAVEN OF INDRA — THE HEAVEN OF VISH- NU — FUTURE PUNISHMENT — TWENTY-ONE HELLS — VICTIMS SEE THE INHABITANTS OF HEAVEN — TRANSMIGRATION OF SINNERS, . 140-15:2 CHAPTEE XIII. THE RAMAYANA. ONE OF THE SACRED EPICS OF INDIA — THE LAND OF THE HINDU — THE RAMAYANA AND THE ILIAD — HELEN AND SITA — HECTOR CHAINED TO THE CHARIOT WHEEL — FU- NERAL HONORS PAID TO RAVANA — AGE OF VIU TABLE OF CONTENTS. THE RAMAYAXA — THE SANCTITY OF THE POEM — AUTHOR OF THE WOKK — BASIS OF THE POEM — LENGTH OF THE RAMAYANA, . 153-160 CHAPTEE XIV. THE STORY OP THE RAMAYANA. AYODHYA — DASARATHA AND THE ASVA-MEDHA — THE CONCLAVE OF THE GODS — PLEA MADE TO BRAHMA — REFERRED TO VISHNU — HIS HOME IN THE SEA OF MILK — REQUEST GRANTED — THE BIRTH OF RAMA — THE BOW OF SIVA — MARRIAGE OF RAMA — RAMA AP- POINTED YUVA-RAJA — KAIKEYl — KAUSALYA — SlTA — THE FAREWELLS — THE DEATH OF THE BAJA — BHARATA, . ... 161-303 CHAPTER XV. THE STORY OP THE RAMAYANA, CONTINUED. LEAVING THE ATTENDANTS — THE GANGES — CITRA-KtJTA — LIFE IN EXILE — BHARATA's ARRIVAL — THE INTERVIEW — A WARNING AND DEPARTURE — ATRI AND ANASUYA — THE NEW HOME — StJRPA-NAKHA — EAVANA — THE ABDUCTION — THE SEARCH — SUGRIVA THE MONKEY KING — EXPEDITION OF THE MONKEY GENERAL HANUMAN — LANKA — THE PALACE OF RAVANA — THE ASOKA GROVE — INTERVIEW BETWEEN HANUMAN AND SlTA — HANUMAN DESTROYS THE MANGO GROVE — THE BURNING OF LANKA — HANU- MAN REJOINS THE MONKEY ARMY, . . 304-347 TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XVI. THE STORY OP THE RAMAYANA, CONCLUDED. THE MONKEY EXPEDITION AOAINST LANKA — THE, SOUTHERN SEA — THE OCEAN BRIDGE — INVASION OF LANKA — RAVANA AND RAMA IN SINGLE COMBAT — THE DEATH OF RAVANA — RESTORATION OF SITA — SITA's TRIAL AND VINDICATION — TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO AYODIIYA — THE BANISHMENT OF SiTA — THE SONS OF SITA — THE DEPART- URE, 248-271 CHAPTER XVII. THE MAHA-BHARATA. THE COMPANION OF THE RAMAYANA — A COLOS- SAL POEM — DERIVATION OF THE NAME — HISTORICAL VALUE OF THE MAHA-BHARATA — THE RELIGION OF THE GREAT EPIC — LITERARY STYLE — THE AGE OF THE MAHA- BHARATA — TRANSLATION OF THE WORK, . 272-382 CHAPTER XVIII. LEGENDS OP THE MAHA-BHARATA— THE GREAT WAR. THE KAURAVAS AND PANDAVAS — THE TOUR- NAMENT — THE SVAYAOT-VARA — THE HOME COMING — DRAUPADi MARRIES FIVE HUS- BANDS — THE COUNCILS OF WAR — PREPAR- ATIONS FOR THE GREAT WAR — THE CHAL- LENGE GIVEN AND ACCEPTED — RULES OF WARFARE, . ■ 383-303 X TABLE OF COXTENTS. CHAPTEE XIX. LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHABATA— THE GREAT WAR, CONCLUDED. THE BHA6AYAD-GITA — THE ATTACK AXD RE- PULSE OF THE KAUEAVAS — THE THIED DAY — FALL OF BHISHMA — A NIGHT SCENE — WAE OF EXTERMIXATIOX — EAJA YUDHI- SHTHIEA — DESTRUCTION OF THE TRIBE OF YADAYAS — DEATH OF KRISHNA — ABDICA- TION AND PILGRIMAGE OF THE EAJA — ASCENSION, 304-32fi CHAPTEE XX. LEGENDS OP THE MAHA-BHARATA, CONCLUDED. SAVITRI AND SAT YA VAN. THE king's daughter — SAVITRl's CHOICE — THE MARRIAGE — LOVE CONQUERS DEATH, . 337-341 CHAPTER XXI. THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. EVIDENTLY AN INTEEPOLATION — AGE OF THE GITA — ITS ORIGIN — "THE DIVINE SONG" — SELF-ADULATION OF KRISHNA — DIVINE FORM OF KRISHNA, 342-353 CHAPTEE XXII. THE PURANAS. EXTENT OF THE PURANAS — SIGNIFICATION OF THE NAME — THEIR TEACHING — COMPARA- TIVELY MODERN ORIGIN — THE HARI-VANSi TABLE OF COIfTEKTS. XI — THE BRAHMA PUEAKA — THE PADMA OR GOLDEK LOTUS — THE YAISHXAYA OR VISH- NU — -BIRTH OF KRISHNA — WIVES AND CHILDREN OF KRISHNA — DEATH OF KRISH- NA — THE SAIVA — -SRi BHAGAVATA — THE MAKKANDE YA ■ — THE AGNI — THE VAYU — THE BHAYISHYA — THE BRAHMA VAIA'^ARTA — THE LINGA — THE VAEAHA — THE SKANDA — ^THE VAMANA ■ — THE KURMA^HE MATSYA — THE GARUDA — THE BRAHMANDA, . . 353-375 CHAPTER XXIII. KRISHNA. A MULTITUDE OF PERSONS NAMED KRISHNA — LIFE OF KRISHNA, SON OF VASU-DEVA — DEATH OF KRISHNA — RESEMBLANCES TO CHRISTIAN HISTORY VERY SLIGHT — WOR- SHIP OF THE "DARK GOD " — SUMMARY, . 376-393 CHAPTER XXIV. CONCLUSION. HINDU LITERATURE — HINDUISM — TEACHINGS — THE RIG-VEDA — THE UPANISHADS — THE EPIC POEMS — THE PUR ANAS — VEDIC WOR- SHIP BETTER THAN IDOLATRY, . , . 394-400 PEEFACE. rriHE ancient books of India comprise such an -*- enormous mass of literature that the labor of a single lifetime would not suffice for the mastery of their contents and a solution of the problems which they present ; yet such has been the progress of Ori- ental philology during the last decade, that an intel- ligent survey of this great field of research is quite possible to the student. A careful study of the Puranas alone in the origi- nal Sanskrit would occupy half a century, but a valuable series of extracts and analyses can be found in twenty-six large folio volumes of manuscripts in the library of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, and a year of patient work devoted to Professor Wilson's translations gives one an intelligible idea of their contents. Colonel Colin Mackenzie occupied his leisure time for years in collecting and arranging thirty-four large folio volumes of manuscripts, and his careful methods were of great value to scholars who came after him. Historical students have also been greatly aided by the pioneer work of those who have examined and compared genealogical lists, deciphered inscriptions, and discovered the sites of ancient cities. The Vedas xill XIV PEEFAOE. themselves have been carefully copied and translated, and, indeed, all of the most important portions of Indian lore are now available to the English reader. Still, the books themselves, with their commentaries and the works connected with their history and philology, constitute so large a library that the busy people of modern times cannot aflord to spend their years in sifting the contents of these colossal works in order to find the gems of thought which they may contain. In a field so vast it is only by a division of labor that satisfactory results can be accomplished, and hence an effort has been made in the present volume, to give the chronology of these ancient books, showing where they belong in the world's history, together with a re- sume of their teachings and specimens of their literary style. The work has been done as briefly as was con- sistent with accuracy, in the belief that an intelligible idea of Hindu literature in a condensed form would be acceptable to many readers. Beginning with the earliest composition of the Ary- an race, the current of Brahmanic thought has been traced down through their most important works, which have been considered in chronological order from the earliest songs of the Eig-veda to the fanciful con- ceits of the latest Puranas. The primary object of the work has been accuracy of statement ; therefore the quotations from Hindu works have been carefully chosen from the best avail- PKEFACE. XV able translations, and no historical or chronological statement has been made without the concurrence of the highest authorities. It is a pleasure to acknowledge one's indebtedness to such i-are scholars as Professor F. Max Miiller, the late Horace Hayman Wilson, a distinguished foreign member of the French Academy, and of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg, and Sir M. Monier-Williams, K. C. I. E., the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, who has devoted iifty years of his life to the study of Sanskrit literature and to a solution of the problems of India. Although many other Orientalists have been con- sulted, and credit duly given where the quotations are made, yet the author is especially indebted to Professor F. Max Miiller and Sir M. Monier-Williams, for assist- ance derived from their personal letters, and particu- larly desires to acknowledge their great kindness in examining portions of the work. The manuscript of the chapter entitled "Krishna" has been carefully revised by Sir M. Monier-Williams, who has also added valuable foot-notes, while other portions of the copy have been revised by Professor F. Max Miiller. In giving a brief synopsis of the great Indian Epics, the main lines of thought and incident in the original poems as given by Wheeler, Griffiths, and others, have been carefully followed. It has been deemed best, however, to present these classic gems in XVI PREFACE. simpler forms of narration and description than can be found in literal, translation. The work has been prepared in the hope that it may attract the attention of the general reader to the beauties of Hindii literature, and be of real service to careful students in this field of thought. To their interests it is commended by THE AUTHOR. PRONUNOIATIOK A LITTLE attention to the diacritical points will -^-*- enable the reader to pronounce correctly the musical names of the Hindtis. In the present volume Sir M. Monier-AVilliams' method of transliteration, as presented in his Sanskrit Grammar, has been chiefly used ; the nasal m, however, is repre- sented here as in the works of Prof. Max Miiller by the italic letter; n, as pronounced in "singe," is also indi- cated by the italic. Diacritical points are omitted from the foot-notes, the system of pronunciation being clearly presented in the body of the work. A — a is pronounced as in rural. A— a a tar, father, etc. I— i a fill. I— I ti poU'ce. U— u t( iuW. tj— u ec r«de. Ei— ri tc merrily. KI— rl c marine. E e t prey. Ai — ai c aisle. Au — au ii Haws (German) N — n sounded like n in the French mo?*. N — n " as in none. (nun). m (italic) has a nasal sound. h is a Visarga, or a distinctly audible aspirate. XVIU PEONUlfCIATIOIir. Kli — kli sounded like ch in clmxch. Kh — kh pronounced as in inMom. G-g " gww. or Aog. Gh— gh " lo^-/iut. C-c " dolce (in music) =Engli8h cli in cAurc^. Ch ch '• thurcMill. T— t , " i!rue. Th— th " an;; Aill. P^ " rZrum. Dh— 4h '•' re<^/jaired (red Aaired). Th— th " nu^Aook, though more dental. Dh— dh " at^Aere, though more dental. S s " «ure, sessions. S— s •' sir or miss. THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. CHAPTEE I. HINDU LITBKATURB. WHAT IS THE VEDA — THE AGE OF THE VEDAS — WHEN WRITTEN — THE RIG-VEDA. A MOST fascinating field for research is to be found in the ancient literary productions of the Hindiis. These gems of antiquity belong to that region where the peaks of the Himalayas lift their icy brows to the morning light, and where in the groves at their feet were chanted the early Vedic hymns. India is the land of the cocoauut and the palm, of the feathery tamarind and the stately mango tree. The brightest bii'ds from the southern isles come to feast in her spicy groves and linger among her flowers. Her sacred Ganges is indeed ''the gift of heaven." Find- ing a birthplace in the snow fields between the moun- tain peaks, the pure current rushes down the rocky pathway in a long cascade, bringing life and hope to the green valleys below. The literature born in this dream-land of beauty and fragrance bears within its bosom the eloquence of poe- try and the rhythm of song ; but India's ancient books are so colossal in their proportions that European 1 a THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. scliolars looked upon them for years in dismay. Life is too short to enable any one student to obtain a complete knowledge of Oriental philology, language, and history. The late Horace Hayman Wilson devoted his vast learning and many years of arduous labor to the trans- lation of a portion of the ancient books of India, while Prof. Max Miiller has given twenty of the best years of his life to the Veda alone. It was not until our own generation that Indian lit- erature was properly classified and published, even in the Sanskrit tongue. Hitherto the veil of antiquity and mysticism had hidden these works from investi- gation. The Vedas were chanted for ages before they were ever written, being handed down orally from one generation to the next. The years which were devoted to education by the better class of Hindus were largely occupied in learning the Veda from the lips of the teacher.' The fact that these books for a long time existed only in the living volumes of memory gave them a weird influence over the European as well as the Hindu, and when we consider that the Veda occupies nearly the same position in Sanskrit that the Old Tes- tament holds in Hebrew literature, that it is as sacred to the Hindii as our own Scriptures are to the Chris- tian, we cannot wonder that it has attracted the atten- tion of scholars and antiquarians in every part of the world. After a time the Veda was committed to writ- ing, but still it existed only in manuscript, and when the directors of the East India Company invited the 1 Origin and Growth of Religion, page 148. HINDU LITEKATUBE. 3 Pandits, or Hindu professors, to publish a complete edition of their own sacred books, it became apparent that there was not a single Brahman in Bengal who could edit or supervise such an edition. The work therefore devolved entirely upon European scholars, and bravely they have accomplished their formidable task. Prof. Max Miiller patiently copied the entire text of the Eig-Veda and also the commentary upon it. And thus it came to pass that the whole of the work was first published, not on the banks of the sacred Ganges, but under the shadow of an English university. In restoring these old manuscripts and placing their thoughts in permanent form, our scholars have pre- served relics more ancient than the ruins of Nine- veh and Babylon ; more fascinating to the student of literature than the foundation stones of Thebes or Memphis. The Sanskrit edition was translated by the inde- fatigable Wilson, and this ancient literary monu- ment of India became the property of the English- speaking wx)rld. The work of restoring and translat- ing Hindii works was greatly facilitated by Colin Mackenzie, the enthusiastic collector of Indian MSS.; but to such men as Sir "William Jones, H. T. Cole- brook, Horace Wilson, and Max Miiller, the world owes a debt which it can never pay. Orientalists were at first unable to resist the temp- tation of giving to the public the gems only, which they recovered from masses of almost worthless lit- erature, and it is evident that much harm has been done by this partial work at the hands of enthusiastic translators who have given us, unintentionally, no 4 THE AS^CIEN^T BOOKS OF INDIA. doubt, far more exalted ideas of the general char- acter of these books than are justified by impartial views of even one complete section. The time has come when the Vedas must be treated with more candor, even though with less enthusiasm ; when they must receive honest criticism and impartial repre- sentation at the hands of scholars. Later translators,, feeling that fancy must yield to fact, and imagination give place to fair investigation, have sought to make their task a faithful one. Paragraphs which are too gross for translation have been appended in the original text, so that the critical historian may decipher even these if necessary. A fair estimate of 1 these books can, of course, be obtained only irt^ complete translations, and one of the grandest results of the life-work of Max Miiller is the service he has rendered in the translation of these large volumes of The Sacred Books of the East into the English tongue. He has been assisted in this arduous and discouraging work by such distinguished scholars as Beal, West, Biihler, Palmer, Cowell, Darme-. steter, Rhys Davids, Eggeling, Jacobi, Jolly, Kern, Legge, Oldenberg, each one of whom is found in the front rank of his own special department of Oriental literature. The scholarship and character of these men place the integrity of their translations beyond question, and they have opened before us a most fascinating field for investigation. When we add to this valuable series, the Eig-veda Sanhita, the Vishnu Purana and other translations by Prof. Wilson, the Rama- yana by Griffiths, the digest of the two great epics HISDU LITERATUKE. 5 by J. Talboys Wheeler^ and the various partial trans- lations of the Maha-bharata by different scholars, .besides a multitude of translations from Hindu drama and romance, the collection of Indian works now avail- able to the English reader is a very extensive one. According to Max Miiller, the Pandits were seriously opposed to the publication of the Veda in Sanskrit by English scholars, for although they are honest enough to admit that the edition is complete and authentic, its publication has taken from them their principal weapon against Christian missionaries. In former times the Brahmans claimed that there was no commandment in the Old Testament, no precept in the 'New, which had not been anticipated in the Veda, and if the in- credulous missionary called for the manuscript he was coolly informed that so sacred a book must not be pro- faned by the touch of an unbeliever. But Hindii as- sumptions are now discredited by the publication of the Veda in both Sanskrit and English. It was also claimed that the Veda was thousands of years older than the Old Testament, and that the historic portions of the Hebrew Scriptures were borrowed largely from Hindu sources. Many honest men, and even scholars, who should have been more careful in their statements, in- dorsed this theory, the novice with loud and confident assertion — in which some of them still indulge — the scholar with more reserve. Lieut. Wilford, who was an honest enthusiast, de- termined, with praiseworthy zeal, to find out the truth of the statements which were being freely made by a certain class of critics. With this object in view, he interviewed Hindu scholars, but without obtaining any 6 THE XNCIEST BOOKS OF INDIA. information. Becoming more explicit, he related the stories of Adam and Eve, of Abraham and Sarah, and assured them that they would find these narratives in their sacred books. To stimulate^ their zeal, he ofEered ample rewards if they would find in their ancient man- uscripts the stories he had told them. The reserve of the Pandits was fully conquered by the hope of gain, and ere long Lieut. Wilford was delighted to have placed in his hands Sanskrit manuscripts containing the very proofs he sought. Great was the enthusiasm in Calcutta, London, Paris, and throughout the uni- versities' of Germany when these manuscripts were pro- nounced genuine by such experts as Sir William Jones and others. At last, however, the coincidences became so numerous, and the supply corresponded so exactly to the financial reward, that the manuscripts were again carefully examined, when it was found that clever forgeries had been committed ; that leaves had been carefully inserted in ancient manuscripts, and on them had been written in Sanskrit the Bible stories which the Hindus had learned from the lips of the enthusiastic Wilford. Lieut. Wilford, to his honor be it said, did not for a moment hesitate to acknowledge that he had been imposed upon.^ But in the meantime, his essays had been widely read, and they are still quoted by men who have never heard of his public confession. The literature of the Vedas is not logical in its construction. There is no page of lucid reasoning or convincing argument in all its ancient lore. It is not scientific ; its theories of cosmogony and anthropology I Chips, Vol. v., pp. lOS-109. HIKDU LITERATUBE. 7 are wild and fanciful in the extreme, and tliough of great historic value in many ways, it is in no sense whatever the production of historians. The dreamy sons of the Southland had very little taste for historic facts, and much of the literary value of their writings is found in their poetry. It is true that many of their hymns and songs are childish or vulgar- — in the language of Max Miiller, they are "tedious, low and commonplace." But amidst masses of literary rubbish we find poetic gems which are worthy of any age or clime. Some of the songs of the Veda are entitled to high rank, and in many points the great epics of India will compare favorably with the immortal productions of Homer. The imagination of the Hindu is as luxuriant as his own tropical forests. His mighty rivers come pouring down from the grandest mountain ranges of the world, where amid the lightnings that flash around their peaks, Sublimity holds her court. Poetry lives in the very atmosphere of the Himalayas — it haunts the rich verdure at their feet, and kisses their snowy brows in the crimson light of the setting sun. The romance of India's people is as irresistible as the current of her Indus or the musical waves of her Ganges. The exploration of this labyrinth of thought is like wandering through a troj)ical forest, where the grandeur of towering trees alternates with sunny glades of vine- wreathed beauty and fragrant flowers ; but the student must not gather the roses of romance and avoid the sterner work of careful analysis ; it is the province of fair investigation to examine every tree and floral vine in this wilderness of literature, and to keep carefully 8 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. along the path of honest criticism even in the Indian land of enchantmedt. WHAT IS THE VEDA ? The word Veda means knowledge and is the term applied to divine unwritten knowledge. In the ^lindu world it is not only the earliest literary production, but the acknowledged standard of authority referred to in all their important works, both sacred and profane. The Veda is quoted or alluded to in philosophical, grammatical, lexicographical and metrical, as well as theological treatises. Indeed, this important work may be said to form the background of the whole literary world of India, and upon all subjects it is considered the best and highest authority, from which there is no appeal. The name Veda is applied by the Brahmans to the whole body of their sacred writings. The earliest col- lection of Vedic literature may be classed in three grand divisions : 1. Mantra, or the Hymns of Prayer and Praise, as found in the Rig-veda. By this is meant the col- lection of hymns and invocations, which were doubt- less composed by a succession of poets in very early times, and which, while they are of unequal poetical merit and contain many foolish repetitions, are still important as embodying the earliest forms of relig- ious conception known in the history of this strange people. 2. The Brahmana, or the ritualistic precepts and illustrations which are intended to direct the priests in the performance of their religious ceremonies. They HIKDtJ LITEKATUEE. 9 also give long and tedious explanations of the origin and meaning of the sacrifices themselves. 3. The Upanishaus, which are supposed to teach the doctrines of the Vedas, although it would be a difficult task to deduce any system either of faith or practice from this labyrinth of confused philosophy and fanciful conceits. The later important divisions of Hindu literature are: 1. The Efimayana and the Maha-bharata. These co- lossal epic poems' of themselves form a grand division of literature and reflect the romance and poetry of the Hindi! people. They present" the most brilliant pictures of Oriental coloring, and the most gorgeous scenes of Eastern magnificence to be found upon the pages of fancy. 2. The Puranas, which are confessedly the latest of all productions in Hindu sacred literature; they claim to have been written by a generous sage in order to simplify the doctrines of the A''eda for the benefit of women and others who might not aspire to the reading or comprehension of the earlier works. Although they do not, critically speaking, belong to the Vedic age, they contain Vedic legends which have been worked up in more modern form, showing that these works were finally given to the world at a time when "the world of the Veda," in its strictest sense, was living only in tradition. The Vedas proper are only four in number, viz. : the Kig-veda, which is the book of praise, and of whose iProf. Williams speaks of the great epics as being "the bible of the mythological phase of Brahmanism." 10 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. hymns there is but one genuine collection. The Sama- Teda is merely an extract from the older work ; the Yajur-veda is another manual of extracts intended for the use of the priests ; and the fourth^ or Atharva- veda/ is of much la'ter origin, and of inferior literary value. Therefore the Rig-veda is the primary work of its class, and the only one of importance. Each of the Vedas is an unarranged and' promis- cuous mass of hymns, prayers, exhortations, and dog- mas, without either system or harmony. According to the teaching of the Hindu priests, the Vedas were coeval with the creation, being simul- taneous with the first breath of Brahma — the creative power — or, at all events, Brahma was their author and they were among the first things created. In the Ohandogya TJpanishad, 17th jOanda and 4th Prap^^/iaka, it is said of the productions of the Ve- das, " Pra^^pati [the Creator) brooded over the worlds, and from them, thus brooded on, he squeezed out the essences, Agni (fire) from the earth, Vayu (air) from the sky, Aditya (the sun) from heaven. " He brooded over these three deities, and from them, thus brooded over, he squeezed out the essences — the 1 The Atharva-veda, which has been ably edited by Professors Roth and Whitney, is confessedly the most modem of the four, and was not recog- nized as a fourth Veda until n much later period, according to some au- thorities, not until after Mann. Says Prof. Whitney, "The most prominent characteristic feature of the Atharvan is the multitude of incantations which it contains; . . they are directed to the procuring of the greatest variety of desirable ends; most frequently, perhaps, long life or recovery from grievous sickness is the ob- ject sought ; in that case a talisman, such as a necklace, is sometimes given, or in numerous instances, some plant endowed with marvelous virtues is to be the immediate external means of cure ; further, the attainment of wealth or power is aimed at, the downfall of enemies, success in love or in play, the removal of petty pests, and so on, even down to the growth of hair on a bald ^aXe."— Oriental and Im. Studies, Vol. l, page SO. HINDU LITERATUKB. 11 Rik verses from Agni; the Ya^us verses from Vayu; the Saman verses from Aditya. "He brooded over the three-fold knowledge (the three Vedas), and from it, thus brooded over, he squeezed out the essences, the sacred interjection Bhus from the Rik verses, the sacred interjection Bhuvas from the Ya^us verses, and the sacred interjection Svar from the Saman verses." Each Vedic hymn is said to have its Rishi — the sage or philosopher by whom it was first communicated — some of whom were members of the military, and others of the Brahmanical order. Each Veda consists of two parts, called the Mantra and the Brahmana, or pray- ers and precepts. The complete collection of hymns, prayers, and invocations belonging to one Veda is called its Sanhita. AGE OF THE VEDAS. The Sanskrit language is antique in form and per- fect in structure ; it has the refinement of the Greek and the fluency of the Latin, while it bears a strong afl&nity to both. This classical language of the Hindiis held the same position in India which was accorded to the Greek at Alexandria, and its importance was equal to that of the Latin during the Middle Ages. But the Sanskrit tongue does not disclose the origin of the races that first spoke it,^ and the power of historic narration is entirely wanting in its earliest writers. Klaproth, Kennedy, and others, claim that at a re- mote period the tribes which were descended from Ja- pheth, the third son of Noah, came from the northwest 1 It had ceased to be a spoken language at least 300 B. C.—Sci. of Lang., p. 147. 13 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. and settled in the plains of Hindustan, bringing with them their own language, which was the stock of the Sanskrit. This position is apparently endorsed by Adelung,^ but the data concerning the iirst peopling of India is not entirely satisfactory. The Sanskrit fur- nishes no key with which to unlock the vaults of its own historic treasures. From the first hymn of the Vedas to the last fable of the Puranas — a period extending over three thousand years — there is no page of clear historic fact ; no biographical account that is not so mixed with legend as to make it unintel- ligible." The Vedas are confessedly the oldest of the Hindu scriptures. But their age has been greatly overesti- mated. It has been customary for a certain class of writers to ascribe to them an antiquity greater by thous- ands of years than they can justly claim. So long as the question of their age was purely guess-work and the wish was father to the thought, a few thous- ands, or even a million of years could be added with- out scruple, and as Sir William Jones remarked, "The comprehensive mind of an Indian chronologist has no limits." History, however, is taking the place of specu- lation in this, as well as other departments. Says Max Miiller, "It will be difficult to settle whether the Veda is the oldest of books, and whether some portions of the Old Testament may not be traced back to the same, or even an earlier date than the oldest hymns of the 1 Hist. Sans. Lit;, p. 1. 2 The one reliable date which we have for , Indian history before Christ is the mention by Greek historians of an Indian prince (Sandrokottos). He was a contemporary of the early successors of Alexander. ... He was the founder of a new dynasty upon the Ganges, and his grandson Asoka was the Constantine of Buddhism.— ^Vhitney. HINDt. LITEKATUEE. 13 Veda."^ We have no Vedic' manuscripts ■ffhiph extend back further than 1300 or 1500 years after Christ, but their contents have been handed down orally from the time of their earliest composition until they were committed to writing, at a comparatively modern date. In the face of these facts it is no wonder that the eminent Orientalist remarks that "It is not very easy to bridge over this gulf of three thousand years." And again, "It is by no means certain that a further study of Sanskrit will not deprive many a book of its claims to any high antiquity. Certain portions of the Yeda even, which, as far as our knowledge goes at present, we are perfectly justified in referring to the. tenth or twelfth century before our era, may dwindle down from their high estate, and those who ** have believed in their extreme antiquity will then be , held up to blame or ridicule."^ There is very little historic data on which to for^n an opinion concerning the time when the Veda began to be 'written. Max Miiller says, "We shall not be able to trace the Indian alphabet much beyond Alexan- der's invasion. It existed, however, before Alexander." And again, "The Sanskrit alphabet has always been suspected of being derived from a Semitic source and has not certainly been traced back to a Greek source."'' He argues that while the alphabet itself existed earlier, the practice of writing came in "toward the latter part of the Sutra period," and was probably at that time applied to the preservation of the Vedic hymns and other forms of Brahmanic literature. The Maha- 1 Chips, Vol. 1, p. 5. 3 Hist. Sans, Lit., pp. 516 and 521. 2 Int. Sci. of Bel., p. 301. 14 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. bharata says, however, that " Those who sell the Vedas, and even those who write them, shall go to hell,'' show- ing that although writing was in use at the time of the compilation of the Maha-bhilrata, it was by no means popular as the medium of communication for the Vedas. The fact that there are no Brahmanic inscrip- tions earlier than the third century before Christ shows the comparatively late date of the art of writing in India, and Max Miiller maintains that until the latter part of the Sutra period " the collection of hymns and the immense mass of Brahmanic literature were pre- served by means of oral tradition only."' The Siitra period here alluded to was about 500 B. C; it was an era of remarkable activity in the intel- lectual world. In India it marked the formulation of Brahmanism by her priesthood as shown in her system of jurisprudence collated by Manu, and witnessed the reformation of Buddha, who led the reaction against her recognized code. It is looked upon, too, as the ap- proximate date for the beginnings of her great epics. Greece had then her Pythagoras, and, according to Mitford, "no Grrecian state had its laws put into writ- ing until about the same jJeriod"^ (the reign of Cyrus, king of' Persia.) Persia at this important epoch had not only her Cyrus, but also her Zoroaster. The He- brews had their Daniel, and China's intellectual horizon was illumined by her Confucius. Vedic literature is classified by Prof. Max Miiller in four strata : 1st. Sutra Period, 500 B. C. 2d. Brahmana Period, 600-800 B. C. 1 Hist. Sans. Lit., p. 584. 2 Hist, of Greece, Vol. I., p. lag. HINDt LITERATURE. 15 3d. Mantra Period, 800-1000 B. C. ( To this pe- riod he ascribes the collection and systematic arrange- ment of the Vedic hymns and formulas.) 4th. ifAandas Period, 1000 B. C. (" Eepresenting the free growth of sacred poetry." ) There are but few hymns, however, belonging to the earliest or ^jandas period. Close investigation has greatly reduced the supposed antiquity of the Vedas, and is very likely to reduce it still further. But in the light of their present knowl- edge. Prof. Max MuUer and Sir Monier Williams agree in assigning the original composition of the early hymns to the time between 1000 and 1500 B. C Kennedy places the period " at which they began to be com- posed" at 1100 to 1200 B. C. Stevenson, Wilson, Wheeler, and Barth61emy St. Hilaire express similar opinions. Thus it will be seen that the ablest Orien- talists assign to these books an origin which is far this side of Abraham; indeed, the extreme limit sanctioned by modern scholars scarcely reaches back to the birth of Moses. The Vedas furnish no chronology save their fabulous millions of years. In the whole of their literature there is not a single reliable date by which any event or series of events may be assigned to its proper place in the world's chronology. Still, the fact remains that these early hymns and songs are hoary with the frost of centuries. Beaching back in the world's history almost to the birth of Moses, they were chanted in the sacred groves of India long before the Persian conqueror crossed the Indus. iCbips, Vol. I., p. 13; also Biah. and Bin., p. 7. 16 THE ANCIBKT BOOKS OF IXDIA. Since their musical numbers were first breathed upon the air, cities have risen and fallen, and the earth has been swept by successive storms of conquest. The palaces of Nineveh and the temples of Babylon have slept for ages in the long night of time, but the simple hymns of the Veda still live in the hearts of men. They belong to the realm of song, and thought must live though monarchs die and thrones decay. THE RIG-VEDA. This is by far the most important, as well as the most primitive of the collection, the others comprising little more than extracts from it, together with a variety of incantations, charms, and formulas for different cere- monies. The Rig-veda means the hymns of praise, or hymns to celebrate praises. Some of them are written in metre, and others in prose. They are dedicated to a variety of gods, and some of them are beautiful com- positions. The gods are constantly invoked to protect their worshipers, to grant them food, large flocks, large families, and a long life, for all of which they are to be rewarded with praises and sacrifices, offered day after day, or at certain seasons of the year. Sanskrit literature without this book would be like Greek without the works of Homer. The Rig-veda belongs to universal history as well as to the history of India, and fills a place in the Aryan world of letters that can be supplied by no other book. This venera- ble work, which is the fountain head of Vedic litera- ture, is composed of about one thousand and twenty- eight hymns, each hymn containing an average of ten verses each. In the language of Miiller, "Large num- HINDU LIXEBATURE. 17 bers of the Vedic hymns are childish in the extreme." Translations of these compositionSj even when en- riched by all the graces of modern scholarship, are often marked with tedious repetitions and offensive epithets. .They sometimes pass abruptly from sound wisdom to childish foolishnese, and from high culture to the lowest grade of morality, while sudden transi- tions from the sublime to the ridiculous are not at all infrequent.' The Eig-veda does not teach idolatry, although there is no doubt that multitudes of the Brahman devotees are now veritable idol worshipers. The worship of images is declared to be an act of inferior merit, and it is claimed that in reality even the idolaters worship only one God, who is. manifested in various forms, and that their images of stone and clay are used merely to represent him. This is done upon the principle that the ignorant classes cannot raise their conceptions to abstract deity, but need some tangible object to which their devotions may be ad- dressed. It is said that "The vulgar look for their gods in the water ; men of more extended knowledge, in the celestial bodies : the ignorant, in wood, brick, and stone." Another theory is that in the beginning there was only one God — but that he made many others, and hence all the phenomena of nature were personi- fied and worshiped. The greater number of the prayers and invocations are mythological and unmeaning, some of them claiming that the gods are all equal, as in the stanza, "Among you, gods, there are none that are I Sir Monler Williams says, " Although the majority of the Hindus believe that the four Vedas contain all that is good, great and divine, yet these com- positions will be found, ^Then taken as a whole, to abound more in puerile ideas than in lofty conceptions."— .BraA. and Bin., p. i8. 18 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. small, none that are young — you are all great indeed." Still, the hymns addressed to individual deities are very liable to claim supremacy for the god addressed, while others claim that there is but one, as in the following : " In the beginning there arose a golden child ; He was the one born Loi'd of all that is; He established the earth and this sky, Who is the God to whom we offer sacrifices. "He who gives life, he who gives strength. Whose command all the bright gods revere ; Whose shadow is immortality, whose shadow is death. Who is the God to whom we shall offer our sacrifice. " He whose greatness these snowy mountains. Whose greatness the sea proclaims with the distant river. He whose these regions are, as it were his two arms. Who is the God to whom we shall offer our sacrifice. "He to whom heaven and earth, standing firm by his will. Look up tremblingly, inwardly. He over whom the rising sun stands forth. Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifices. " He who by his might looked even over the water clouds — The clouds which gave strength and lit the sacrifice. He who alone is God, above all gods. Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice.'" >B.-v., 10-12, Miiller's trans. HISDtJ LITEEATURB. 19 But what we sometimes regard as monotheism is in reality pantheism, or the belief that the creation and Creator are identical with each other. Brahman in the neuter form means simply infinite being — the only eternal essence, which, when it passes into actual manifested existence, is called Brahma, and develops itself in various forms. The creed of many of the Hindus at the present day asserts that there is only one real being in existence, and that he constitutes the universe. While some of the hymns seem to teach monotheism, there are allusions in the Eig-veda to thirty-three gods.' One hymn assigns all the phenomena of nature to one first cause, while another attributes them to several causes operating independently, and still another argues that the whole visible creation is animated by one uni- versal, all-pervading spirit. As the Semitic races relapsed occasionally into poly- theism, so the Hindus have sometimes ^returned to mono- theism, but says Prof. Miiller, "In both cases these changes were not the result of a gradual and regular progress, but of individual impulses and peculiar in- fluences. The mere occurrence of monotheistic ideas is not sufficient to stamp any class of hymns as of modern date."^ The religion of the Kig-veda was either poly- theism, monotheism, tritheism, or pantheism, according to the individual preference of the worshiper, but it was not yet idolatry. The forces of nature were spoken of as being under the control of divine personages, but 1 Max Muller says, " No doubt if we must employ teolinical terms, the religion of the Veda is polytheism, not monotheism."— CAips, Vol. i, p. 87. 2 Hist. Sans. Lit., p. 559. 30 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. they were not as yet represented by images and wor- shiped. A beautiful hymn in the Veda is addressed to the sky godj Varuna, as follows : "The mighty Varuna who rules above, looks down Upon the worlds, his kingdom, as if close at hand. When men imagine they do aught by stealth, he knows it. No one can stand, or walk, or softly glide along. Or hide in dark recesses, or lurk in secret cell. But Varuna detects him, and his movements spies ; Two persons may devise some plot, together sitting. And think themselves alone ; but he, the king, is there, A third, and sees it all. . . . His messengers descend Countless from his abode, forever traversing This world, and scanning with a thousand eyes its in- mates, Whate'er within this earth and all within the sky ; Yea, all that is beyond. King Varuna perceives. The winkings of men's eyes are numbered all by him ; He wields the universe as gamesters handle dice."' Another gem is found in the hymn of adoration to the sun god (Surya): " Behold, the rays of dawn like heralds lead on high The Sun, that men may see the great, all-knowing God. The stars slink off like thieves in company with Night, Before the all-seeing eyes whose beams reveal his presence. Gleaming like brilliant flames, to nation after nation. 1 Atharva-veda, IV., 16, Williams' tram. HINDU LITERATURE. 21 Surya, with flaming locks, clear-sighted god of day, Thy seven ruddy mares bear on thy rushing car. With these thy self-yoked steeds, seven daughters of thy chariot. Onward thou dost advance. To thy refulgent orb Beyond this lower gloom, and upward to the light. Would we ascend, Sun, thou god among the gods."' These are representatives of the finest poetry of early Vedic literature. There are others like the following " Purusha hymn of the Rig-veda," which is remarkable for its peculiar theological combination, and seems to teach monotheism and polytheism, as well as pantheism and the institution of caste, which has been the bane of India for more than two thousand years : "The embodied spirit has a thousand heads, A thousand eyes, a thousand feet, around On every side enveloping the earth. Yet filling space no larger than a span. He is himself this very universe ; He is whatever is, has been, and shall be ; He is the Lord of immortality. All creatures are one-fourth of him, three-fourths Are that which is immortal in the sky. From him called Purusha was born Viraj, And from Viraj was Purusha produced. Whom gods and holy men made their oblation. With Purusha as victim, they performed A sacrifice. When they divided him. How did they cut him up ? What was his mouth ? 1 WilUams' trans. 33 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. What were his arms ? and what his thighs and feet ? The Brahman was his mouth, the kingly soldier Was made his arms, the husbandman his thighs. The servile Siidra issued from his feet."' Viraj was a secondary creator, considered sometimes of the feminine and sometimes of the masculine gender. Manu says that Purusha, the first male, was called Brahma and was produced from the supreme self-ex- istent spirit. It is easy to see how the system of caste was fos- tered by a hymn which declares that the priestly class issued from Purusha's mouth, the soldier from his arms, the husbandman from his thighs, and the slave from his feet. The hymns of the Veda too often descend to bac- chanalian songs in honor of the god Soma,'' the Bac- chus of India, and the whole of the ninth book of the Kig-veda is devoted to his praise. The soma is a plant said to have been brought "by a fair winged falcon from afar" and planted in India. It is a creeper with succulent leafless stems, bearing the botanical name of Asclepias Acida. The juice, after being expressed by stones and mixed with milk or barley juice, became a strong intoxicant with whose exhilarating properties the Aryans were so infatuated that they supposed it was endowed with its wonderful powers by a god. The soma became to them the king of plants, and its juice was largely used in offerings to their gods, some of whom were supposed to have a peculiar weakness for iB.-Y. (Man. 10-90), Williams' trans. 2 In later times the name of Soma was also applied to the moon. HINDtJ LITERATURE. 33 the intoxicating draught. Therefore not only the one hundred and fourteen hymns of the ninth book of the Rig-veda are devoted to the praise of the Hindu Bac- chus, but there are many others in different parts of the work, as well as frequent references to his favorite beverage in those songs which are not entirely devoted to its glory. The following is a sample of the hymns to Soma : " Oh, soma drunk by us, be bliss to our hearts as a father is indulgent to a son. May these glory-con- ferring, protecting soma streams knit together my joints as cows draw together a chariot falling in pieces ; may they keep us from a loosely knit worship ; ' may they deliver me from sickness."* The various gods to whom the soma juice is offered in sacrifice are represented as partaking of it even to drunkenness. For instance, "When bright Maruts (the storm gods) you harness to your car over the mountain, then you exhilarate yourselves with the soma juice."' And again, " Drinker of the pure soma, Vayu, come to us. I offer thee the exhilarating food of which thou hast the prior drinking."* Also the following, to be chanted when offering soma to Mitra and Varuna, both names being often applied to the sun, although Varuna is generally spoken of as the god of the firmament, or sky god : 1 When tbe soma is drunk the worship becomes consolidated. 2 B.-V. San. Vol. V. p. 93, Wilson's trans. In a recent letter to the author Prof. Max MuUer says of Wilson's translation, " It professes to give the traditional rendering of the hymns according to Sayami's commentary, and as such it will always retain a place of honor." syoL VI., p. 249. 4 Ibid, Vol. IV., p. 185. 34 THE AlfCIBKT BOOKS OF INDIA. " May this soma libation' be gratifying to Mitra and Varuna, to be enjoyed by them as they drink of it in- clining downwards. A divine beverage, fit to be en- joyed by the gods, may all the gods well pleased to-day accept it."' The intoxicating liquid was presented in ladles to the deities invoked, and in all cases, says Wilson, "the residue of the liquor was taken by the assistants." The condition of the worshipers after the rites were ac- complished may be better imagined than described. One of the favorite gods of the Rig-veda was Indra, who was the Jupiter of the Aryan race. He is re- peatedly referred to as the " rain god," " the air-born Indra," "the thnnderer." In the earliest age he is represented as inhabiting the sky between the earth and the sun, riding upon the clouds and pouring forth the rain, hurling the forked lightning upon the earth, and speaking to men in the awful tones of thunder. But Indra's special weakness is for soma juice, which he quaffs in fabulous quantities, and thus invigorated be- comes invincible, and hastens away to vanquish the hos- tile powers of the atmosphere which are withholding the rain from the parched earth. "Indra, animated by the soma juice, thou didst en- gage in battle. . . Exhilarated by the soma, thou hast expelled the waters from the clouds. . . In thee, Indra, is all vigor fully concentrated. Thy will delights to drink the soma juice."* ' Tol. II., p. 53. 2 Indra will be treated more fully in the following chapter. 8 B.-T., San., Vol. I., p. 137. HINDU LITEBATUBE. 25 Again he is addressed as follows : "Lord of steeds! Thou art exhilarated when the sacred soma juice has been imbibed by thee. . . It is exhilarating, inebriating, invigorating, and the yielder of delight, satisfying as food, and the giver of a thou- sand pleasures. May the soma libation reach you, for it is exhilarating, invigorating, inebriating, most pre- cious. It is companionable, Indra, enjoyable, the over- thrower of hosts — immortal. Thine inebriety is most intense, nevertheless thine acts are most beneficent. Thou desirest, bountiful giver of horses, that both thy inebriety and thy beneficence should be the means of destroying enemies and distributing riches."' Indra is also repeatedly invoked as "Voracious drinker of the soma," " Indra with the handsome chin . . . drinker of the soma, showerer of blessings," etc. He is also repeatedly hymned as "Handsome- jawed Indra," and it is said "The exhilarating soma juices flew toward the shining Indra as milch kine hasten to their calves,"^ and again, " The stomach of Indra is as capacious a receptacle of soma as a lake, for he has partaken of it at many sacrifices, and inas- much as he has eaten the first viands he has been the slayer of Vritra and has shared the soma juice with the gods."^ The condition of the inferior deities who shared Indra's generosity is perhaps best illustrated in the following verse : "Swift is the excessive and girth-distending inebria- tion of Yajata and Mayin. By drinking these juices 1 Vol. 11., p. ITO. a E.-V. San., Vol. V., p. 307. 3 Vol. HI., p. 60. 26 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. they urge one another to drink. They find the copi- ous draught the prompt giver of intoxication.' "1 The hymn from which the above is an extract also represents the wife of a great sage as joining in the convivialities of the occasion, while at another " festive scene the gods and sages are represented as " screaming like swans" when exhilarated by the flowing bowl. The doctrine of metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, which afterward became a cardinal doctrine of . Hindu faith, finds no place in the Eig-veda, which is also free from the crime of child marriage, the barbar- ous customs of caste, and the idolatry of modern times. The people were then rich in flocks and herds ; they practiced the art of agriculture, and to a certain extent that of architecture. Polygamy existed, but was not the rule of life. They killed animals and ate ani- mal food, not even objecting to the flesh of cows. Their vices were sensuality and gambling, as well as drunkenness. Hymns of a still more indelicate nature than the foregoing might be cited, but it is pleasanter to close these extracts from the Eig-veda with the following beautiful " Hymn to Ushas " (the Dawn). 1. "She shines upon us like a young wife, rousing every living being to go to his work. When the fire had to be kindled by men, she made the light by strik- ing down darkness. 2. " She rose up spreading far and wide, and moving everywhere. She grew in brightness wearing her bril- 1 Ibid, Vol. HI., p. 311. HINDtJ LITEBATUBE. 87 liant garmetit. The mother of the cows (the mornings), the leader of the days, she shone gold-colored, lovely to behold. 3. " She, the fortunate who brings the eye of the gods, who leads the white and lovely steeds (of the sun), the Dawn, was seen revealed by her rays, with brilliant treasures following every one. 4. "Thou art a blessing where thou art near. Drive far away the unfriendly ; make the pasture wide ; give us safety! Scatter the enemy, bring riches! Eaise up wealth to the worshiper, thou mighty Dawn."' This vision of the dawn personified as a pure and lovely woman is fair enough to atone for many a sin against rhythm and measure. Wearing her garments of silver and tinted pearl, she comes leading the white steeds of the sun. With her fair brow flushed with the gold and crimson light of the morning, she appears as the "leader of the days," and marshals her host in golden splendor before the sons of men. Wearing the hallowed crown of maternity, she becomes in Sanskrit poetry "the mother of the mornings," and the infant days begin the journey of life amidst the tinted clouds of rose and amber that float around the morning sun. The Rig-veda is a book of startling contrasts. Amidst coarse bacchanalian songs we find such poetic gems as "The Golden Child," the eloquent pleas to Varuna and Agni, and this Vedic vision of the morn- ing, with many others of equal beauty. 1 B.-V., 7, 77, MiUlet'* trans. OHAPTEE IL MYTHOLOGY OP THE VBDAS. RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE MYTHOLOGIES OF IKDIA AND GEEECE — AGNI — StJKYA — VAEUNA — YAMA — tISHAS — MAKUTS — HYMNS OF EXECRATION — IN- CONSISTENT THEORIES — INDRA — SIMILARITY OE NORTHERN MYTHS. THE mythology of India is as fascinating as that of Greece. The storm-swept peaks of her Hima- layas are grander than the heights of Olympus, and the golden eagle that floats on burnished wing beneath her solemn sky is dearer to the hearts of her peo- ple than was the imperial bird of Jove to the dwell- ers by the -^gean sea. India is the home of the beryl and the amethyst ; her sunlight flashes • in her diamonds, and her moon- light gleams amidst her pearls. Hence, her dreamy sons have invested the heavens of their gods with the splendor of her gems and the fragrance of her roses. Their loveliest flowers are said to bloom only in Para- dise, and Vishnu sits upon a throne of lotus blossoms, while the pillars of Indra^s heaven are enwreathed with rose-colored flowers.^ The many striking similarities between the gods of the Hindu and Grecian mythology suggest the common 1 The Camalata or Love's Creeper. as MYTHOLOGY OP THE VEDAS. 39 origin of these early mythis: It is a well-attested his- toric fact that in the early days of the Aryan races they dwelt together in a common country. The va- rious tribes which left this central home to settle in different parts of the world carried with them a lan- guage which was the stock of their later tongues/ and also a common mythology. In India, Greece, Persia, and even in Northern Europe, the similarities between the various myths are so striking that they continu- ally remind the reader of the common origin of the Aryan nations. The character of Indra, especially, so strongly resembles that of Jove that the similarity cannot be considered accidental. In the earliest Vedic hymns there appears to be no regular system either of religion or mythology. The worship which they prescribe is generally of a domes- tic nature, consisting of oblations to fire, prayers to the god of fire, of the firmament, of the winds, of the seasons, or to the sun and the moon. The Brahman who offers the sacrifice, or the priest who offers it for those who are not Brahmans, invites these deities to be present and accept the offering, which often con- sists of melted butter or the juice of the soma. In return for these gifts the gods are supplicated to con- fer life, wealth, and prosperity upon the worshiper. The myths exhibit no settled genealogy, the same name being sometimes used as an adjective, and sometimes as a noun. The same goddess is addressed in one hymn as the mother, in another as the wife. The brother is 1 Says Max MuUer, " English, together with all the Teutonic dialects of the Continent, belongs to that large family of speech which comprises besides the Teutonic,, the Latin, Greek, Slayonlc, Celtic, and the Oriental languages of India.and Persia." (.See Chips, Vol. II., p. 221.) 30 THE AXOIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. spoken of now as husband and again as son, while each god in his turn is supplicated and praised as superior to all the others. The most prominent and sacred deities of the early Hindus are Agni, Surya, Indra, Varuna, Yama, TJshas, and Maruts. AGKI, the god of fire, is addressed as the supreme god who created all things; he is represented by the light of the sun, the flashing lightning, and the clear flame of the domestic hearthstone. He is the guardian of the home, the minister of the sacrifice, and comprehends within himself a multitude of other deities, as the cir- cumference of a wheel embraces its spokes. He is one of the eight guardians of the world, his special prov- ince being the southeast quarter. As the protector of mankind and the guardian of the home, his presence is invoked at the nuptial cere- mony, and indeed upon all solemn domestic occasions. From his body' issue seven streams of glory, and in his right hand he holds a spear, while a tongue of forked fire issues from his mouth. As a symbol of social union and the guardian of the domestic hearth- stone, his mission is almost identical with that of the Grecian goddess Hestia, who was the daughter of Sat- urn and Rhea. In the Prytaneum of every Grecian city stood the hearth on which the sacred fire flamed, and where the offerings were made to Hestia. In like • He is usually described as having two faces, three legs and seven arms, and liding upon a sheep. But he is sometimes represented as a corpulent man of ruddy complexion, with eyes, eyebrows, and hair of a tawny color, and appears riding on a goat.— 5e« OarreWs Olas. Die. InO., page is. MYTHOLOGT OF THE VEDAS. 31 manner the sacred fire was kept alive in every Hindu home, and oblations of butter and rice were offered to the god of the flames. It will also be remembered that the early Romans worshiped at the shrine of Vesta, who like the Greek Hestia presided over the public and private hearths. A sacred fire, watched over by six vir- gin priestesses called Vestals, burned in her temple at Rome, and upon the continual preservation of this fire the safety of the city depended. If it went out it must be lighted only from the sun, the great fountain of light. Among the Hindus, Agni is invoked as father, mother, brother, and son. He presides at the marriage service, receives the offerings upon the domestic altar, and at the death of his worshipers, takes their bodies to his bosom, and bears the "unborn part" away to the unseen world. HYMlf TO AGNI. 1. "Agni, accept this log which I am about to offer thee, accept this my service, listen well to these my songs. 2. "With this log, Agni, may we worship thee, thou son of strength, conqueror of horses ; and with this hymn, thou high born. 3. "May we thy servants serve thee with songs, granter of riches, thou who lovest songs and delight- est in riches. 4. "Thou Lord of wealth and giver of wealth, be thou wise and powerful, drive away from us the ene- mies. 5. "He gives us rain from heaven. He gives us in- vincible strength, he gives food a thousand-fold. 6'Z THE ANCIEJiTT BOOKS OF INDIA. 6. "Youngest of the gods, their messenger, their invoker most deserving of worship, come at our praise to him who worships thee and longs for thy help. 1'. "For thou, sage, goest wisely between these two creations (heaven and earth, gods and men) like a friendly messenger between two hamlets. 8. "Thou art wise, and thou hast been pleased; perform, thou intelligent Agni, the sacrifice without interruption.'" StJEYA, THE SUN. One of the first objects to attract the Vedic wor- shiper was the god of day. He was adored under various names, being addressed sometimes as Arvat, or even Varuna, and again as Aditya or Mitra. Coming out of the chambers of the east, with their draperies of scarlet and pui-ple, this monarch of the day received the early oblation of his worshipers. As his golden chariot swept across the heavens they fancied they saw the milk-white steeds that drew the car of the king. At evening as he rolled away in a sea of splendor, leaving his crimson mantle upon the mountain peaks, the devotee knelt again to receive his parting blessing. After a time, when the pearly tints of morning again announced his coming, he was hailed with joyous songs: TO StJEYA. 1 , " The wonderful host of rays has risen ; the eye of Mitra, Varuna, and Agni the sun, the soul of all that moves or is immovable, has filled (with his glory) the heaven, the earth, and the firmament. 1R.-V., 2-6, MUUer'B trans. MYTHOLOGY OF THE VJJDAS. 33 2. "The sun follows the divine and brilliant Ushas as a man follows a young and elegant woman, at which season pious men perform the ceremonies established for ages, worshiping the auspicious sun for the sake of good reward. 3. "The auspicious, swift horses of the sun, well- limbed, road-traversing, who merit to be pleased with praise, reverenced by us, have ascended to the summits of the sky, and quickly circumambulate earth and heaven. 4. " Such is the divinity, such is the majesty of the sun that, when he has set, he has withdrawn (into himself) the difEused (light which had been shed) upon the unfinished task. AVhen he has unyoked his coursers from the car, then night extends the veiling darkness over all. 5. " The sun in the sight of Mitra and Varuna dis- plays his form (of brightness) in the middle of the heavens, and his rays extend, on one hand, his infinite and brilliant power, or on the other (by their depart- ure), bring on the blackness of night. 6. " This day, gods, with the rising of the sun, deliver us from heinous sin ! and may Mitra, Varuna, Aditya, ocean, earth, and heaven, be favorable to this our prayer."' VARUNA, THE GOD OF THE FIRMAMENT AND OF THE OCEAN. Varuna is derived from the root Var (to cover). In the Veda it is used as a name for the firmament, -but only in connection with the night, being opposed IB. -v., Vol. I., page 304, Wilson's trans. 34 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. to Mitra (the day). It will be remembered that Hesiod uses the name of Uranos for the sky, and it is repeatedly said that Uranos, or Ouranos, covers every- thing, and that when he brings the night he is stretched out everywhere embracing the earth. But the Indian Varuna is the god of the sky, as well as the sky itself. It is said that "Varuna stemmed as- under the wide firmaments ; he lifted on high the bright and glorious heaven; he stretched out apart the starry sky and the earth."' Like the other gods, Varuna is hymned as the Supreme Being : " Thou art lord of all, of heaven and earth ; thou art the king of all, of those who are gods and of those who ai"e men." He dwells in all worlds as their sovereign; he made the sun to shine in the firmament, and the moaning winds are but his breath. He formed the channels of the rivers which flow by his command into the sea which they can never fill. He knows the pathway of the birds through the blue ether, and the trackless course of the ships upon the wide ocean. He witnesses the truth or falsehood of men, and nothing escapes his countless eyes. The two oceans ( aerial and terrestrial ) are Varuna's stomachs, and the stars of night are his all-seeing eyes. Varuna is not only the Uranos, or Ouranos, of the Greeks, but he is their Neptune as well, being the "god of the raging main" and "monarch of the deep." It was Varuna who supplied the sage Ridika 1E.-V.. 7, 861, MuUer's trans. MYTHOLOGY OF THE VEDAS. 35 with a thousand fleet horses, an allusion which is sug- gestive of the production of the horse by Neptune in his fabled contest with Minerva for the right of nam- ing the city of Athens. Indeed, the horse in Greek mythology was sacred to Neptune and the rivers, and Homer represents the "monarch of the watery main" as whirling over the crystal chambers of the deep in his chariot drawn by "brass-hoofed steeds," while "The parting waves before his coursers fly. The wondering waters leave his axle dry." Even so Varuna rides upon the waters or hides in caves beneath a rocky strand ; but he also fills the halls of night with his presence and draws near to his worshiper in the cooling touch of evening, and when the veil of darkness covers them he comes to the hearts of men with the blessed "peace and calm of evening rest. YAMA Is the king of death and the judge of the dead. He is the Pluto of Hindu mythology, and like him he is the lord of the world from whose dominion there is no return. The regions of Pluto were guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus,' who watched at the en- trance, but Yama has two terrible dogs of the "four- I There is a diversity of expression among classic autliors in relation to the famous dog of hades. The first mention of him is by Hesiod, who describes the furious creature as having fifty heads. Sophocles, however, speaks of him as the three-headed dog of Pluto, and the Latin poets generally agree with this author. Horace, however, ealle the dog hundred- headed. ChampoUion traces a strong analogy between the Egyptian and Grecian mythology in relation to the dog of hades.— (5i!« Awthori's Clat. 36 THE ANCIESTT BOOKS OF INDIA. eyed tawny breed of Sarama." This "King of Death" is the first of men who died, and he guides the spirits of other men to their destination in heaven or hell. In the later mythology he is represented as the judge of the dead, but not in the Vedas. The region over which Pluto presides is represented in the Iliad and in Hesiod's Theogony as being within the earth, while in the Odyssey it is placed in the dark region beyond the stream of ocean.' But Yama himself dwells in celestial light, and in one place he is represented as taking part with other gods in a festive scene beneath a tree. The following fine poetic tribute is paid to the King of Death in the Eig-veda: HYMN TO YAMA. "To Yama, mighty king, be gifts and homage paid. He was the first of men that died ; the first to brave Death's rapid rushing stream, the first to point the road To heaven, and welcome others to that bright abode. No power can rob us of the home thus won by thee ; Oh king, we come ! the born must die, must tread the path That thou hast trod — the path by which each race of men In long succession, and our fathers too, have passed. Soul of the dead ! depart ; fear not to take the road — The ancient road — by which thy ancestors have gone; Ascend to meet the god — to meet thy happy fathers. Who dwell in bliss with him. Fear not to pass the guards — lOd. 10, 508. MYTHOLOGY OF THE VEDAS. 37 The four-eyed brindled dogs— that watch for the de- parted. Return unto thy home, soul ! Thy sin and shame Leave thou behind on earth; assume a shining form — Thy ancient shape — refined and from all taint set free."' USHAS. Perhaps the most beautiful and poetic of all the Vedic deities is Ushas, the dawn. This radiant god- dess is the Aurora, or Eos, of the Greeks. " Now fair Aurora lifts her golden ray. And all the ruddy Orient flames with day." Even so does the Hindu goddess light up the east- ern sky with the tints of opal and morning gray. She lives in their poetry as a beautiful woman pursued by her devoted lover, the sun, who at length overwhelms her with his ardent kisses. She is borne onward through the sky in a gleaming chariot drawn by ruddy horses, dispelling darkness, waking the birds, and illum- ining the world. Sometimes she is hymned as a beau- tiful maiden, sometimes adored as a wife and mother (see page 27) ; sometimes she is pictured as deso- late and deserted by the sun, who disappears in the western skies, leaving only the clouds of primson and gold to comfort his dying bride. But she is always young, for she is born every morning with the crown of immortal youth. Like Aurora, she wears a golden robe and comes out of her cloud-curtained palace to ascend her triumphal car The gates of the morning 1 Williams' trans. 2 Odyssey, Bk. 8, 1. 38 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. are opened by her rosy fingers, and her. fair brow is crowned with the morning star. She is addressed as the " daughter of -the sky/' the " kinswoman of Varuna." In one passage the moon is said. to be born again, and ever new to go before Ushas as the herald of the day. In the Rig-veda the early morn is saluted thus: " Hail, Ushas, daughter of the sky. Who, borne upon thy shining car By ruddy steeds from realms afar And ever lightening, drawest nigh — Thou sweetly smilest, goddess fair. Disclosing all thy youthful grace. Thy bosom fair, thy radiant face. And luster of thy golden hair. " So shines the foud and winning bride Who robes her form in brilliant guise. And to her lord's admiring eyes Displays her charms with conscious pride. Or virgin by her mother decked, AVho, glorying in her beauty, shows In every glance her power; she knows All eyes to fix, all hearts subject. " But closely by the amorous sun Pursued and vanquished in the race. Thou soon art locked in his embrace. And with him blendest into one. Pair Ushas! though through years untold Thou hast lived on, yet thou art born Anew on each succeeding mom, And so thou art both young and old."* 1 Dr. Mnlr's tram. MYTHOLOGY OF THE VEDAS. 39 MARPTS OK EUDBAS. Maruts or Rudras is the god, or, rather, the gods, of wind and storm, to whom the people prayed for protection for themselves, and for the destruction of their enemies. They were addressed as "shakers of the earth," and besought to tear in pieces whatever fiends might be aroused to attack the people. They dash through the heavens in chariots drawn by dap- pled deer; they are termed "worshipful and wise," and implored to come with their whole help "as quickly as lightnings come after rain." Rudra was afterwards the god of destruction — Siva, the world dissolver. The following hymn in praise of the storm gods is one of the most vivid conceptions of Hindii poetry that can be found upon the pages of the Rig-veda. It is radiant with life and strength through all its elo- quent periods : HYMN TO THE MABUTS. 1. "The active, the strong, the singers, the never flinching, the immovable, the wild, the most beloved and most manly, they have shown themselves with their glittering ornaments, a few only like the heavens with the stars. 2. "When you see your way through the clefts, you are like birds, Maruts, on whatever road it be. The clouds drop (rain) on your chariots everywhere, pour out the honey like fat for him who praises you. 3. " At their ravings the earth shakes as if broken, when on the (heavenly) paths they harness their deer for victory. They the sportive, the roaring, with 40 THE ASrCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. bright spears, the shakers of the clouds, have them- selves praised their greatness. 4. "That youthful company (of the Maruts) with their spotted horses, moves by its^f, hence it exercises lordship and is invested with powers. . . . Therefore thou the strong hast, and thou wilt cherish this prayer. 5. " We speak after the kind of our old father ; our tongue goes forth at the sight of the soma ; when the shouting Maruts had joined Indra in the work, then only they received sacrificial honors. 6. " For their glory these well-equipped Maruts ob- tained splendors ; they obtained rays and men to praise them ; nay, these well-armed, nimble, and fearless be- ings found the beloved home of the Maruts. On your bodies there are daggers for beauty ; may they stir up our minds as they stir up the forests. 7. "For your sake, well-born Maruts, you who are full of vigor, they have shaken the stone for dis- tilling soma. Days went round you and came back, Maruts, back to this prayer, and to this sacred rite — the Gotamas making prayer with songs have pushed up the lid of the well (the cloud) to drink. 8. "No such hymn was ever known as this which Gotama sounded for you, Maruts, when he saw you on golden wheels — wild boars, rushing about with iron tusks. This refreshing draught of soma rushes toward you like the voice of a suppliant — it rushes freely from our hands, as these libations are wont to do."' The hymns of the Veda are not all of them hymns of praise. The denunciations of their priests were tE.-v., Vol. I., pp. 143-153, MuUer's trans. MYTHOLOGY OF THE TEDAS. 41 poured out upon the people, and even upon each other, in the breath of these poets. For instance : "'No, by heaven ! no, by earth ! I do not approve of this ; no, by the sacrifice ! No, by ttese rites ! May the mighty mountains crush him ! May the priest of Atiy^a perish ! " "Whosoever, Maruts, weans himself above us, or scoffs at the prayer (Brahma) which we have made, may hot plagues come upon him ; may the sky burn up that hater of Brahmans." " Did they not call thee Soma, the guardian of Brahmans ? Did they not say that thou didst shield us against curses ? Why dost thou look on when we are scoffed at ? Hurl against the hater of the Brahmans the fiery spear."' And again, " Indra and Soma, burn the devils ; de- stroy them ; throw them down, ye two bulls, the peo- ple that groan in darkness ! Hew down the madmen, suffocate them, kill them ; hurl them away, and slay the voracious. Indra and Soma, up together against the cursing demon ! May he burn and hiss like an oblation in the fire ! Put your everlasting hatred upon the villain who hates the Brahman, who eats flesh, and whose look is abominable. Indra and Soma, hurl the evil-doer into the pit, even into unfathomable darkness ! May your strength be full of wrath to hold out that no one may come out again.'" The numerous deities are fully described and mul- tiplied to a certain extent, even in the early songs ; 1 B.-T., VI., 52. 2 MuUer's trani. 43 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. for instance, instead of the one god of storms, we have many. Yet, although hymns and prayers to the various gods abound in the Vedas, it is declared in some texts that there are but three deities — the air, the sun, and fire — and their places are the earth, the middle region (between heaven and earth), and heaven. There are also repeated texts which claim that there is but one deity — the supreme spirit. " He who from the univer- sal world proceeds, who is Lord of the earth, and whose work is the universe, is the Supreme Being."' It is fortunate that our translators have not under- taken the task of reconciling the Vedas with them- selves. They have simply tried to give us a faithful reproduction of these books, with all their contradic- tions and inconsistencies. Although the pages of the Eig-veda abound with incongruities and absurdities, they are free from the grosser immoralities which pol- lute the later literature of the Brahmans. There is no account in the Eig-veda of such characters as Siva and Kali ; no trace of the miraculous stories concern- ing Vishnu. These, with the descriptions of the licen- tious Krishna, were i-eserved for the later fables of that romantic clime. INDKA. This was, perhaps, the most popular of all the early Vedic deities. Like Agni, his brother, he is hymned as the Supreme Being, superior to all the other gods of the pantheon. Though sometimes called the sun- light, he is looked upon as the watery atmosphere, ever seeking to dispense his dewy treasures (indu), and 1 Eeligion of Hin., Vol. n., p. 51. MYTHOLOGY OF THE VEDAS. 43 constantly opposed by a spirit of evil called Vritra. He is also styled the " thunder-bearer," or god of bat- tles. He was the Hindu ideal of a hero, who was always fighting and was never conquered. He was the Jove of early Indian mythology, and the favorite deity of a people who were fighting for new homes and rich herds of cattle. Hence the great number of prayers and hymns addressed to him. He is repre- sented as "the king of heaven," as "the showerer of blessings," and as "the thunderer." Many passages suggest the scene upon Olympus " Where far apart the Thunderer fills his throne, O'er all the gods superior and alone." Like Jove, he has supreme control of the elements ; he rides upon the storm cloud and flashes his light- nings across the darkened sky. He is the archer who uses the rainbow as his weapon, whose quiver is filled with lightnings, while his wrath is like that of the Grecian god to whose will Vulcan counsels submis- sion, " Lest roused to rage he shake the bless'd abodes. Launch the red lightning and dethrone the gods." Indra, the wielder of the thunderbolt, may also be compared to the German Donar, the Saxon Thunar, and the Thor of the ancient Norseman. Indra is the king of the Devas, or millions of ce- lestials who belong especially to his own Paradise. Be is represented with four arms and hands, with two of which he holds a lance, while a third carries a thun- 44 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. derbclt. His reign is to continue one hundred years of the gods, after which another may, by great sacri- fices, usurp his position. One hundred successful Asva- medhas, or horse sacrifices, are said to qualify the devotee for becoming the successor of Indra, therefore the god usually sends one of his celestial atten- dants to steal away the horse before the sacrifice can be performed. The reign of this popular deity extends from the early Vedic period down to the Puranic age, when his star declines before the supremacy of more modern gods. Still, he is a chieftain among inferior deities and is always at war with the giants and demons, by whom he was at one time deposed. Indra's partiality for the intoxicating draught has been discussed in the previous chapter, and in this, too, he resembles the Grecian Jove, as well as Bacchus. It will be remembered that in the First Book of the Iliad Vulcan stayed the quar- rel between Jove and his angry queen by counseling his "goddess mother" to submit to the imperial will, and then " Rising with a bound The double bowl with sparkling nectar crowned," he passed to all the deities in the assembled conclave, and they drank freely of its contents, while " Vulcan with awkward grace his office plies. And "unextinguished laughter shakes the skies." The frequent offerings of the intoxicating beverage made to Indra in the Vedic age were accompanied by the chanting of hymns urging him to drink, that he MYTHOLOGY OF THE VEDAS. 45 might become " invigorated " and able to cope with his enemies. These copious offerings of soma so frequently made to the "king of heaven" suggest that classic scene where the Greek and Trojan powers were feast- ing through the night, the troops of Greece upon the field, and those of Troy within her towers : " But Jove adverse, the signs of wrath displayed. And shot red lightnings through the gloomy shade. Humbled they stood, pale horror seized on all. While the deep thunder shook the aerial hall. Each poured to Jove before the bowl was crowned. And large libations drenched the thirsty ground." The heroes of northern mythology also share in this weakness of the Indian and Grecian deities. Odin, the chieftain of the North and the father of Thor, lived exclusively upon wine or beer, giving the food which was set before him to the two wolves that lay at his feet. Indra is represented as swiftly obeying the Summons of his worshipers when the soma is poured out in floods for the gratification of his palate and the exhilaration of his whole being. It is claimed that he receives strength from this beverage to such an extent that he not only vanquishes his foes, but supports the earth and sky. Heaven and earth tremble with fear at the crash of his thunder ; his enemies are pierced and shattered by his arrows of lightning, and the waters descend in torrents to the earth, filling the rivers which rush in rolling floods toward the sea. The following hymn to Indra is a sample of the songs which are chanted in his praise : 46 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. "Let no one, not even those who worship thee, delay thee far from us ! Even from afar come to our feast ! Or, if thou art here, listen to us. For these here who make prayers to thee s!t together near the libation, like flies round the honey. The worshipers anxious for wealth have placed their desire upon In- dra, as we put our foot upon a chariot. Desirous of riches, I call him who holds the thunderbolt with his arm, and who is a good giver, like as a son calls his father. These libations of soma mixed with milk have been prepared for Indra. Thou, armed with the thunderbolt, come with the steeds and drink of them for thy delight — come to the house . "He who prepares for thee, Vritra killer, deep libations and pours them out before thee, that hero thrives with Indra, never scorned of men. "OfEer soma to the drinker of soma — to Indra, the lord of the thunderbolt ; roast roasts ; make him to protect us. Indra, the giver, is a blessing to him who gives objatious. "Do not grudge, ye givers of soma; give strength to the great god, make him to give wealth. He who alone preserves, conquers, abides, and flourishes; the gods are not to be trifled with. "No one surrounds the chariot of the liberal wor- shiper, no one stops it. He whom Indra protects and the Maruts, he will come with stables full of cattle. "A mortal does not get riches by scant praise — no wealth comes to the grudger. " The strong man it is, mighty ! who in the day MYTHOLOGY OF THE VEDA8. 47 of battle is a precious gift to thee like as to me. We call to thee, hero, like cows thab have not been milked ; we praise thee as ruler of all that moves, Indra — as ruler of all that is immovable. "There is no one like thee in heaven or earth; he is not now and will not be born. mighty In- dra ! we call upon thee as we go fighting for cows and horses. Let not evil-disposed wretches and un- hallowed tread us down. Through thy help, hero, let us step over the rushing eternal waters."' Food is provided for the horses of Indra by the worshiper who pours out libations of soma to the mas- ter, for "the king of heaven" is repeatedly represented as driving furiously through the sky in his chariot drawn by tawny steeds, So in Book Eighth of the Iliad the sire of the gods " Called his coursers, and his chariot took. The steadfast firmament beneath them shook; Eapt by the ethereal steeds the chariot roll'd. Brass were their hoofs, their curling manes of gold," His fleet-footed horses rush along between the ex- tended earth and sky until they reach the top of Mount Ida, when "Prom his radiant car the sacred sire Of gods and men released the steeds of fire." These numerous and startling coincidences between the early Vedic deities and the gods of Greece point 1 R.-v., II., 32, Wilson's trans. 48 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. to the common origin of these Aryan myths, espe- cially in view of the fact that the Iliad itself has been traced by Grote and Buckley to 776 B. C. Herodo- tus gives still earlier dates, for he places Homer with Hesiod, 400 years before his own time. The figures given by Herodotus (who wrote 444 B. C.) are cor- roborated by the arguments of Wood' and Haller,* and also of Mitford, who makes a strong argument for the historic value of Homer's works,' These authorities place Homer about the middle of the ninth century B. C, while the Arundelian marbles assign him to 907 B. C. When we consider that the myths of Greece existed long before her epic poems, we must refer them back almost to the early songs of the Veda. The mythology of Northern Europe also bears un- mistakable evidence of having been brought from the common home of the Aryan race, although it has been developed in harmony with the temperament of the Northern people. Even amidst these rugged rocks and icebergs we find almost a counterpart of Indra and of Jove in the descriptions of the gigantic Thor, before whom the mountains burst and the earth blazed. Sleipnir, the fleet-footed horse of Odin, compares favor- ably with the "tawny steeds" of Indra, or the flying coursers of Jove. If Neptune's " brass-hoof d steeds" were "Fleet as the winds and deck'd with golden manes," the famous horse of the Northern god cleared the gates 1 Essay on the Original Genius of Homer, iHeyne, Bzcurs. 4 ad. II., 24. s mstoty of Greece, pp. 81 and 139. MYTHOLOGY OF THE VEDAS. 49 of HeP at a single bound, while his speed rivaled that of the winds, and the golden bridge of GyoU trembled more beneath his tread than when five bands of dead men rode over its solemn arches. Ty, or Tyr, the son of Odin, is the god of war — the Mars of Northern Eu- rope — who rides fearlessly into the thickest of the fight. Gerd, the beautiful maiden with shining arms, resisting the advances of Frey, the god of rain and sunshine, represents Ushas, the fair goddess of the morning, fiee- ing from the kisses of the sun. CEgir is the storm god of the ocean — the Neptune of the Northern seas — ^before whose trident the angry billows roll upon the helpless shore. Loki, the god of fire, bears to the Northmen the relation that Agni holds to India. His servants are the subterranean forces which, even though chained in darkness, throw from throbbing mountains their burn- ing breath and liquid fires. These are only a few of the many parallels which might be cited. The Persian myths could also be shown to belong to the same common stock; but the illustrations ah'eady given are sufficient to prove that it was in the early days of the Aryan race, when the people dwelt in a common home and used a common language, that their myths were either born from the realms of fancy or builded upon, the fragments of his- tory. 1 1 Hel Is derived from at helja, signifying to hide. It is used in tlie Edda to denote the kingdom of death, and all who died, whether saints or sinners, hastened to this dark region, or concealed place— the world of the tomb. It is said that Hermod, or HermSdhr, the son of Odin, rode the fleet horse Slelpnir for nine days and nights before he came to the barred gates of Hel, hoping to recover his brother Balder. CHAPTER III. MYTHOLOGY OP LATER HINDU WORKS. arULTIPLICATIOS^ OF DEITIES — ANALOGY BETWEEN IN- DIAN AND GREEK GODS — MODERN DEITIES — BRAHMA, VISHNU AND SIVA — INCARNATIONS OF VISHNU — GARUDA — RECOVERY OF THE LOST NECTAR OF THE GODS — SIVA. nrpROM the foregoing examination of the early Vedic -*- deities it has been seen "that Vedism was little more than reverent love for the forces of nature, and a desire to propitiate them in order to receive temporal blessings at their hands. No one can examine the Vedic hymns without being struck with the great num- ber of prayers offered for cattle and horses, for rain and abundant food, as well as for vengeance upon enemies. The gods were at first few in number and simple in form, but these early deities were soon multi- plied a thousand-fold, and at length the Hindu pan- theon contained three hundred and thirty millions of gods. Out of this vast number it is impossible to do more than glance at the most prominent characters of Indian mythology. Strong pointy of analogy might also be shown between the Grecian deities and the later forms of Hindu myth. For instance, the goddess Durga, the wife of Siva, may be said to represent Juno, the imperious queen of Jove. Sri might also be com- pared with the Latin Ceres — 50 MYTHOLOGY Of LATER HINDtJ WORKS. 51 "As when on Ceres' sacred floor, the swain Spreads the wide fan to clean the golden grain, And the light chaff before the breezes borne. Ascends in clouds from off the heapy corn."' SarasvatI, the goddess of speech and of the arts, rep- resents Minerva, who was born from the head of Jove, and who taught Epeus to frame the wooden horse which caused the downfall of Troy. Kama, the god of love, is the Cupid of the Hindus, while Eati, his wife, may be compared to "the silver-footed dame" of the Iliad. Karttikeya, the god of war, was, like Mars, "With slaughter red, and raging round the field." Narada was the inventor of the lute in Indian my- thology, while Mercury of the Greeks invented the lyre. Vayu, the god of the wind, represents the Grecian ^olus, who tied up all the winds (except Zephyrus) in a bag of ox-hide for the benefit of Ulysses, that he might have a favorable passage homeward. Ganesa, who presided over the beginning of all undertakings, repre- sents Janus, the two-faced deity of the Latins, who was invoked at "the commencement of campaigns." BRAHMA, VISHNU, ASTD SIVA are the most popular deities in modern times. In the Middle Ages bitter rivalries sprang up between the advocates of the various theological systems, the Puranas - being divided in their allegiance to these gods. But at the present time a more tolerant spirit prevails, and the names of Brahma Vishnu, and §iva, are by many 1 Iliad, v., 500. 52 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. regarded merely as manifestations of one Supreme Be- ing. Brahma is confessedly the most difficult deity in the Hindu pantheon to locate intelligently. The dif- ficulty arises from the fact that the word brahman originally meant force, will, or wish ; it was imper- sonal, but came to be considered as the creative force in the universe, even before it was endowed with per- sonality, and while it existed only in a neuter form. Brahman (neuter) in the sense of a creative principle does not occur in the Eig-veda. It does occur, however, in the later productions, the earliest of which is the Atharva-veda. In the Brahmanas this Brahman is called "the first-born, the self-existing, the best of the gods," etc. The word Brahmana is derived from Brahman, which is afterward developed into a per- sonal deity. In Manu (whose code dates from about 500 B. C.) Brahman is represented as evolving his essence in the form of Brahma, the creator. In one of the Upanishads there is an account of the creation of all things by this deity, which will be examined in a future chapter, under the head of Cosmogony. The word Brahma is the nominative case, of the neuter Brahman. AVhen Brahma decided to create the universe he assumed the quality of activity and became a male deity, Brahma. He also willed to invest himself with preserving power, and thus became Vishnu, the pre- server; then wishing to obtain the destructive power, he became also Siva, the destroyer. This doctrine of the triple development of the previously neuter form does not occur, however, until we reach the Brahmanized version of the Indian Epics. These three manifestations of Brahma, Vishiju and Siva exhibit MYTHOLOGY OF LATER HINDU WORKS. 53 the principal forms of Hinduism as expressed in the epic poems, and stronger still in the later Puranas. ' And yet Brahma, who in his later form is the creator of all things, is said to have been born in the lotus blossom that sprang from Vishnu, and is described as having four faces. In the Vishnu-purana, which dates from about the eleventh century of the Christian era, Brahma is said to live one hundred years, each day of which consists of 4,330,000,000 of the years of mortals. During the nights of Brahma the universe ceases to exist, but it is reproduced at the beginning of the next day. Like other prominent gods of the Hindiis, he is repeatedly praised as the Supreme Being and the creator of all the others. But the myth grew slowly, for in the Maha-bharata, a work hundreds of years subsequent to the Atharva-veda, Maha-deva is represented as the creator of Brahma. "From his right side he produced Brahma, the originator of worlds ; from his left side, Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, and when the end of the age had arrived the mighty god created Rudra" (afterward Siva).' VISHNU. There is mention of a god Vishnu in the Rigrveda, but he is there spoken of as a manifestation of solar energy, or rather as a form of the sun. He is repre- sented as stepping over the heavens in three paces, sym- bolizing the sun's rising, his passage across the meri- dian, and his setting. Afterwards Vishnu takes his place among the twelve Adityas, or twelve phases of the sun during the twelve months of the year. Later, llnd. Wis., pp. 384-387. aMujr's Sans. Texts, pp. 156-162. 54 THE AXCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. in the Brahmanas, he is identified with sacrifice. It was the Vedic Vishnu who afterward became the world preserver, while Eudra (connected with Indra and the Maruts), the god of tempests, became the world dis- solver, §iva. There is no trace of Vishnu in the In- stitutes of Manu, unless the allusions to inferior gods may apply to him. In the Maha-bharata he is some- times regarded as the most exalted deity, and again he is represented as paying homage to Siva and recog- nizing the superiority of that deity over himself. He is quite prominent in the Eamayana, but it is in the Puranas that the most wonderful exploits and the greatest glory are assigned to him. From the begin- ning of the Christian era to the Puranas there were from six to eight centuries, during which Vishnu was growing in importance, till in the 11th century A. D. he was glorified in the most extravagant terms in the voluminous Vishnu-purana. The writer of this work exhausts the resources of language in extolling the deity who has reached the zenith of his popularity only in mediaeval times. No exploit is too great, no descrip- tions too wild, no mythology too fabulous to be applied to the god^ who is here claimed to be the conqueror of Indra and the creator of Brahma. He is alluded to in various forms in these later books (the Puranas), as it is claimed that he had ten avatars, or incarna- tions. The doctrine of the avatars of Vishnu is not fully developed until we come down to the Puranas, about the middle of the Christian era. It is true that the legends of the fish, the boar, and the tortoise are found in the Satapatha-brahmana, but it is only in the" MYTHOLOGY OF LATER HINDU WORKS. 55 much later Puranas that they are described as incarna- tions of Vishnu.' 1. Matsya, or fish,' in which character he saved the seventh man, the progenitor of the human race, from the deluge. (This story is graphically told in the Satapatha-brahmana, and is repeated in the Maha- bharata.) 2. KuRMA, the tortoise, In this form he descended to aid in recovering certain valuable articles lost in the deluge. \ 3. Varaha, the boar. Having assumed this form, he descended to deliver the world from the power of the golden-eyed demon, who had seized it and car- ried it down to the depths of the sea. Vishnu as a boar dived into the abyss, and after a contest of a thousand years he slew the monster and raised the earth. In other legends the universe is represented as a mass of water, and the earth, being submerged, was upheaved by the tusks of the divine boar. "It is a noticeable fact," says Sir Monier Williams, "that the first three incarnations of Vishnu are all connected with the tradition of a universal deluge." 4. Nara-sinha, the man lion. He assumed this shape to deliver the world from the tyranny of a demon, who had obtained from Brahma the promise that he should not be slain either by a god, a man, or an animal. (These four incarnations are said to 1 Trans, vie. Inst., Vol. XXI., p. 167. 2The first Incarnation of this god as a fish is suggestive of Janus, the two-faced deity of Roman mythology, who, with his wife and his sister Camasane Is often represented as half fish and half human. ' Compare also the avatar as a fish with the Babylonian legend of Cannes and the Syrian goddess Atergatis, who was worshiped at Hierapolis, having a woman's figure, the lower part of which was a fish. 56 THE AKTCIEKT BOOKS OF INDIA. have taken place in the Satya, or first age oi the world.) 5. Vamana, the dwarf, which character he assumed to deprive the demon Bali of the dominion of the three worlds. Vishnu presented himself as a very di- minutive man, and solicited as much land as he could step over in three paces. When this request was granted he strided over heaven and earth, but in compassion to the demon he left hell in his posses- sion. 6. Parasu-eama, Kama with the ax ; in this char- acter Vishnu is said to have cleared the earth twenty- one times of the Kshatriya, or military class. t. Rama-6andra, hero of the epic poem Eamayana. 8. Krishna, the dark god, which form he assumes at the end of the Davapara, or third age of the world. Krishna was the younger brother of Bala-rama, "the strong Rama," who has sometimes been called the eighth avatar of Vishnu. But in later times Krishna appears to have supplanted his brother as the eighth incarnation.' As Krishna worship is nowhere mentioned in the early Vedic writings, this god Will be treated in connection with the later forms of Hindi! literature, where he chronologically belongs.' 9. Buddha. According to the Brahmans, Vishnu assumed this form to delude the demons into neglect- ing the worship of the gods, and thus exposing them- selves to destraction. It appears that Buddha was canonized, so to speak, by receiving the rank of the ninth avatar of Vishnu after the expulsion of Buddhism as a sect from India. 1 Trans. Vic. Inst., Vol. XXI., p. 177. 2 Chap. 83. MTXHOIOGY OF LATER HINDC WOBKS. 57 10. Kalki, or Kalkin, who is yet to appear at the close of the fourth age, when the world has become wholly depraved, for the final desti-uction of the wicked, the re-establishment of righteousness upon the' earth, the renovation of all the earth, and the return to a new age of purity. According to some, he will be seen in the sky, seated on a white horse, with a drawn sword in his hand, blazing like a comet. This last picture — taken in con- nection with the well-established fact of the modern char- acter of the Puranas — seems to have been drawn from Revelation xix: 11 and 15: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. . . . And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." Some works give twenty-four avatars, and some call them numberless, but the generally received mythol- ogy accords to Vishnu only the ten which are here spoken of. Vishnu is represented as riding upon Garugla, a crea- ture which is half man and half eagle. This is the king of birds and the fearless enemy of the serpent tribe. The intrepid Garu^a of the Hindus is represented in Persia by the Simurgh,' that ancient bird which has seen the 1 The golden-pinioned Simurgli is a fabulous bird tliat is said to live in the Caucasian mountains, and Prof. Eastwick supposes that the idea was derived from the Jewish tradition of a huge bird mentioned in the Talmud under the name of Yukhush. A picture of the Simurgh, which was taken from a Per- sian drawing, represents him as flying with an elephant in his beak and another in each of his talons. 58 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. great cycle of seven thousand years twelve times, and twelve times beheld an unpeopled earth. He finds a parallel in the fabled Anka of Arabia which is said to be "known in name and unknown in body," the Eorosh of the Zend, and the Kerkes of the Turks. The Japanese also have their Kirni, while China rejoices in her nondescript dragon, a combination of bird and reptile. The Hindu Garuda suggests, too, the Grriffin of Chiv- alry," the fabulous monster, half bird and half lion, that protected the gold of the Hyperborean regions from the one-eyed Arimaspians, and the Phoenix of Egyptian fable — the bird of gold and crimson plumage that is burned upon her nest of spices every thousand years, and as often springs to life from her ashes. To these wonderful parallels we might add the ancient bird in Scandinavian mythology which sits in the branches of Yggdrasil, the great ash tree, which is the most sacred place of the gods, and where they daily sit in judgment.^ 1 In the Second Book of "Paradise Lost" Milton makes a comparisjon with the Griffin as follows ; "As when a Gryphon through the wilderness With winged course, o'er hill and moorydale, Pursues the Arimaspian who by stealth Hath from his wakeful custody purloined His guarded gold," etc. 2 The branches of the Yggdrasil spread themselves over the whole world and tower far above the heavens. It has three roots, and various theories are given as to their exact location ; but according to the prose Edda, the first root reaches to the middle of the world ; the second to the frost giants and the third is constantly gnawed by the great serpent Nidhogg. Under tbe first root is the sacred fountain of Urd, where the gods sit in judgment, and a fair hall, from which go forth three maidens, the past, the present, and the future. In the branches of the tree sits an eagle that knows many things. Between his eyes sits the hawk. The squirrel runs up and down the tree and carries bitter messages between the eagle and the serpent, while four harts run among the boughs and bite the buds of the tree. MYTHOLOGY OF LATER HIKDC WORKS. S9 RECOVERY OF THE LOST NECTAR OF THE GODS. One of the most interesting exploits of Vishnu is his recovery of the lost nectar of the gods. In this beautiful legend the gods are represented as having been conquered in battle by demons and robbed of their strength, where- upon Vishnu gives orders to have the ocean churned into a nectar for the gods, declaring that this nectar will at once restore their supernatural power and enable them to destroy their enemies. For this purpose the gods are ordered to collect all plants and herbs and cast them into the sea, taking the mountain Mandara for. a churning stick and Vasuki, the serpent, for a rope, while Vishnu himself, in the form of a tortoise, becomes a resting-place for the mountain. Then they churn the ocean until they have produced the ambrosial food of immortality. " Straightway they gathered herbs, and cast them Into the waters; then they took the mountain To serve as a churning stafE, and next the snake To serve as cord, and in the ocean's midst Hari (Vishnu) himself present, in tortoise form, Became a pivot for the churning staff. Then they did churn the sea of milk,' and first Out of the waters rose the sacred cow, God- worshiped Surabhi — eternal fountain Of milfe and offerings of butter; next, . . . With eyes all rolling, Varuni uprose. Goddess of wine. Then from the whirlpool sprang Fair Parijata, tree of Paradise, delight Of heavenly maidens, with its fragrant blossoms Perfuming the whole world. 1 The sixth cliconunQbieDt ocean of the world, accoidiiig to Indian coi- mogocji. SD TH£ ANCIENT BOOKS OS INDIA. "... Then seated on a lotus Beauty's bright goddess, peerless Sri/ arose Out of the waves ; and with her, robed in white. Came forth Dhanvantari, the gods"physician. High in his hand he bore the cup of nectar — Life-giving draught — longed for by gods and demons. Then had the demons forcibly borne ofE And drained the precious beverage. Had not the mighty Vishnu interposed. Bewildering them, he gave it to the gods ; Whereat incensed, the demon troops assailed The hosts of heaven. But they with strength renewed Quaffing the draught, struck down their foes, who fell Headlong through space to lowest depths of hell." This poetic legend is given in the beautiful transla- tion of Sir Mohier Williams. The dark and turbid waters of Oriental literature became gradually purified as they flowed through the poetical natures of some of our translators. The vulgarity and meaningless repe- tition which we often find in the works of native schol- ars gives place in other hands to expressions of high poetic beauty. Their own literary style is so refined that, unconsciously perhaps to themselves, English schol- ars have elevated Hindu poetry to a rank which it never could have occupied without them. The con- trast is never more forcible than when comparing their work with the translations of the Pandits. Boldness then gives place to beauty ; vulgarity yields to refine- 1 According to Hesiod Venus was bom from the foam of the sea (Hes. Tbeog. 188 seq.) and Homer speaks of Thetis as rising from the ocean: "When like the morning mist in early day Bose from the flood the daughter of the sea." MYTHOLOGY OF LATER HINDC WORKS. 61 ment and delicacy; while crude ideas are so clad in the graceful drapery of language as to seem like the mas- terpieces of thought. The modern triad of Hindu theology is completed by SIVA, THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION. Says Max Muller, "The stories of Siva, Kali, Krishna, etc., are of late growth, indigenous to India, and full of wild and fanciful conceptions." In the form of Siva, Brahma is supposed to pass from the work of creation and preservation to that of destruction. Even the god of dissolution was repre- sented by the human form. Hence, he was said to be living in the Himalaya Mountains, together with his wife ParvatI, the daughter of the mountain. She was worshiped in Bengal under the name of Durga. The name Siva means "auspicious;" like the other deities, he is represented as the Supreme God, though having over a thousand names, such as " The Lord of the Universe," " The Destroyer," " The Eeproducer," "The Conqueror of Life and Death," etc., etc. His especial worshipers are called Saivas, who exalt him to the highest place in the heavens ; he is represented as Time, Justice, Fire, Water, The Sun, as also the Cre- ator and the Destroyer. His personal appearance must be rather striking, as his throat is dark blue and his hair light red, thickly matted together on the top of his head. He is well supplied with hands, the number varying with different authorities from four to eight or ten. He has five faces, in one of which is a third eye situated in the centre of the forehead, and pointing up and down. These three eyes are said to denote his 63 THE AKCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. view of the three divisions of time — past, present, and future. He holds a trident in his hand, to denote that the three great attributes of Creator, Destroyer, and Kegenerator are combined in him. He wears a tiger's skin for a garment, while his neck is encircled with two necklaces, one made of human skulls and the other of serpents, which twist their hor- rid forms around his body and neck. The shield of Jove is described as " Dire, black, tremendous ! Round the margin roU'd A fringe of serpents, hissing, guards the gold." In like manner this Hindu deity bristles everywhere with snakes. They are bound in his hair, they twine around his neck, their slimy forms encircle his wrists, his arms, and his legs. He wears them as rings about his fingers; they hang like mammoth pendants from his ears, until he is like " Gorgon rising from the infernal lakes. With horrors armed, and curls of hissing snakes." According to Wilson, Sveta (white), Svetasva (white- horsed), Sveta-sikha (white-haired), and Sveta-lohita (white-blooded), were the names of four disciples of Siva. Prof. Weber thinks that this form of myth has grown from the teachings of Syrian Christians, and claims that both the Upanishad and the Gita — ^the lat- ter especially — may have borrowed ideas from Chris- tianity. The ideal Hindu deity taxes the imaginative mind of the worshiper to the utmost, and the grotesque is MYTHOLOGY OF LATER HINDU M^ORKS. 63 everywhere mingled with the beautiful. For instance, Indra is represented as having a thousand eyes, and Agni two faces, three legs and seven arms, with eyes, eyebrows, and hair of a tawny color. He is sometimes represented as riding a ram, and again he appears on the back of a goat, and still later in a gleaming chariot drawn by "tawny steeds." Varuna has two stomachs, each of which contains an ocean. Ushas, the beauti- ful woman who personifies the dawn, is said to be the "mother of cows or mornings." Karttikeya, the god of war, and also the god of thieves, is a handsome young man with six faces. Ravana, the denjon king of Ceylon, has ten heads, twenty arms, copper-colored eyes, and a heavy beard composed of the shining bodies of black serpents. Brahma is described as having four faces, golden tusks, and wonderfully complicated feet. Ganesa has the body of a man and the head of an elephant, on which he wears a crown. His ears are adorned with jewels and his forehead is sprinkled with sacred ashes. He has four arms, two of which being elevated hold a rope and an elephant goad; the other two grasp respect- ively an elephant's tooth and a pancake. He is said to be very fond of pancakes, and his image stands in almost every house, where he is worshiped by men and women at the beginning of any important event. In- deed, the whole pantheon teems with horrible and grotesque creations, half man and half god. In the Indian Epics, troops of deities and semi- divine personages are constantly appearing, while gods, animals, and men keep changing places. The gods often look to mortals for their daily sustenance. They 64 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. are represented as actually living on the sacrifices which are offered them by human beings, and are sup- posed to gather in hungry troops at every sacrificial ceremony to feed on the oblations. It is supposed that the gods would starve to death but for these offerings. They are also represented as being dependent upon animals and plants for the means of conveyance. Brah- ma is carried on a swan, sometimes on a lotus. Lakshml is seated on a lotus, or carries one in her hand. Siva rides a white bull, which is his companion. Karttikeya, the god of war and of thieves, appears astride a peacock. Indra is borne on an elephant; Yama, the god of death, appears mounted on a buffalo. Kama, the god of love, rides either a parrot or a fish. Ganesa is as- sociated with a rat, a symbol of great sagacity; Varuna with a fish. Durga, the wife of Siva, rides a tiger, though she is sometimes represented as being on the bull with ^iva and his countless serpents. Vishnu is represented as the Supreme Being sleep- ing on a thousand-headed serpent called §esha, and Sesha in his turn is the chief of a race of Nagas, or semi-divine beings, half serpents and half men, their heads being human, and their bodies snake-like.' The simple faith of the Hindu accepts the most incongruous fiction without a doubt or a question. There is ap- parently no demand for history in their literature. The Oriental imagination craves the most impossible creations, and worships with simple devotion at the shrine of the most repulsive combinations. It has been shown that the Aryan people at one iInd.Wis., p. 4S». MYTHOLOGY OF LATER HINDC WORKS. 65 time shared a common home, and that when the various families migrated to different countries they carried with them a language which became the stock of the modern languages of Europe, and also the germs of their later mythologies. But in those early days when their worship was simple adoi'ation of the forces of nature, their faith was purer and their lives consequently better than when in later centuries their pantheon con- tained millions of deities, and the worship of painted idols was mingled with the adoration of the host of heaven. CHAPTEE IV. THB VBDAS AND THE SUTTEE. LITEKAKT IMPOETANCE — DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN^ EUEO- PEAIf AND NATIVE SCHOLARS — COLEBROOKE'S TRANS- LATION" OF DISPUTED TEXT — MUTILATION OF THE TEXT — TESTIMONY OF RAJA EADHAKANT DEB — THE RITE NOT ADVOCATED IN THE RIG-VEDA — DISGRACE OF AVOIDING THE SUTTEE— INSTANCE OF ESCAPE — ENTHUSIASM OF NATIVE POETS — LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK. AN examination of the historic suttee is peculiarly in- -^--^ teresting in connection with the teaching of the Vedas, as the question became purely a literary one. The English government had pledged itself not to inter- fere with Hindu religion ; therefore, if the Vedas proper, really sanctioned the horrible crime of burning a living woman with her dead husband, the govern- ment would be powerless to prevent it. For many years an animated discussion was carried on between our own scholars and natives of high posi- tion and learning in relation to the teaching of the Vedas upon this subject.' When the English govern- ment proposed to prohibit the terrible custom the na- tives appealed at once to the official pledge that they 1 While this question was being discussed the number of women burned alive varied from three hundred to eight hundred per year. S6 THE VEDAS AND THE SUTTEE. 67 should not be deterred from the exercise of their relig- ious rites. For a time the country was threatened with a fanatical rebellion in consequence of the agitation of this question. Eaghu-nandana and other learned natives quoted the Rig-veda in support of their claim for the suttee, and H. T. Colebrooke, a Sanskrit scholar of world-wide fame, translated this passage in harmony with their views: " Om : Let these women not be widowed, good wives adorned with collyrium, holding clarified butter, consign themselves to the fire. Immortal, not childless, not husbandless, well adorned with gems, let them pass into the fire, whose original element is water." It has been claimed that the natives mutilated this text by changing the word "agre" into "agneh," but no one was then able to detect this literary outrage, and women continued to be offered as living sacrifices upon the dead bodies of their husbands. In India, where human life was so lightly esteemed, these human sacrifices failed to inspire the horror that they would have aroused in the early history of the Jewish people, whose laws were so emphatically against such practices. The first Oriental scholar to discover the imposition which had been practiced upon the people by the cor- ruption of the text, was Prof. Horace Hayman Wilson, who makes an elaborate argument to prove that the Rig-veda teaches no such thing as the natives claim. Max MuUer stands faithfully by Wilson, and claims that the true rendering of the mutilated passage should be : " May these women who are not widows, but have good husbands, draw near with oil and butter. Those who are mothers may go up first to the altar without 68 THE ANCIEXT BOOKS OF INDIA. tears, without sorrow, but decked with fine jewels." He also claims that the verse which the Brahmans have mutilated in the support of their claim is followed by these words, which are addressed to the wife of the dead man : " Eise, woman, come to the world of life; thou sleepest nigh unto him whose life is gone. Come to us, thus hast thou fulfilled thy duties of a wife to the husband who once took thee by the hand and made thee a mother."' In J. H. Bushby's valuable work on this subject, he claims that the weight of evi- dence, from both native and European Orientalists, is in favor of the humane exposition of the Veda. But on the other side we have the testimony of the most distinguished scholar of Calcutta, Raja Radhakant Deb, who occupied a foremost place amongst the Sanskrit scholars of the world, and whose literary encyclopedia of the Sanskrit language in seven quarto volumes occu- pies a prominent place in Europe, as well as India. Prof. Wilson says that " any opinion coming from him on subjects connected with the ancient literature of this country is entitled to the greatest deference." His views in relation to the suttee were fully expressed to his friend. Dr. Wilson, in a cordial letter. This communication was written after the abolition of the hideous practice in the Indian territories belonging to the English government. The question having been legally settled, its discussion was looked upon by the learned Hindu as being of interest to the historian only, and that merely from a literary point of view. This being the case, his most strenuous opponents could hardly accuse him of literary dishonesty or -mis- representation. 1 Chips, Vol. II., pp. 33-37. THE VEDAS AiTD THE SUTTEE. 69 It is a noteworthy fact that he does not base his opinion upon the text, which, Prof. Wilson confidently- stated, had heen mutilated by the natives. Raja Ead- hakant Deb claimed that the most explicit authority for the burning of a widow with her deceased hus- band was to be found in one of the Upanishads, and he gave the following literal translation of the extract: 1. " Agni, of all Vratas,' 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, Agni, I offer salutation : I enter into thee : (wherefore) this day satisfied with the clarified butter (offered by me) in- spire me with courage, and take me to my lord." "Agreeably to this Vaidic instruction, the Siitrakaras direct that the widow, like the sacrificial utensils, should be made to lie upon the funeral pile of her husband. To the widow placed beside the lifeless body of her husband, a certain part of the Mantras are to be addressed by her husband's brother or fellow stu- dent."' This eminent authority also cites extracts from various sacred books, from which the rules and directions of the cruel rite have been derived. Eadhakant Deb admits that there is some variance among the sacred works upon this subject, and says : "Where there are two authorities of a contradictory character, but of equal cogency, an alternative must be supposed to be allowed. The Sutrakaras upon the Vedic authority above set forth direct that the widow as well as the sacrificial utensils of the deceased Brah- 1 Vowed or voluntary observances. 2 Lord of Vratras. 3 Works of H. H. Wilson, Vol. H., p. 296. 70 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. man be placed upon his funeral pile ; but as the widow has a will of her own, she cannot be dispased of like the inert utensils. The Rig-reda, therefore, gives her the option of sacrificing herself or not, ac- cording as she may or may not, have courage. When the widow lies on the funeral pile, it is presumed that she is inclined to immolate herself, and a verse is then addressed to her, which is designed to test her resolution, and to induce her to retire if she will." It is also declared, in view of such a contingency, that although the SatI who retires from the funeral pile com- mits a highly sinful act, it may nevertheless be expi- ated by performing the Prajapatya penance — ^that is, she must for three days eat only in the morning ; for three days only in the evening ; for three days she must par- take of food which is given unsolicited, and during the last three days she must eat nothing at all. It is true that the Hindu woman was allowed to choose between being burned alive and leading the life of a widow, but if she chose the latter, she was con- sidered a dishonor to her relatives, and the disgraced family lost no opportunity of visiting penalties upon the cause of their reproach. They made her life so intolerable that in most instances the woman preferred to be burned alive rather than lead a life of contin- ual torture and disgrace. Instances are also on rec- ord where women, horribly burned, have been driven by their agonies from the funeral pile, only to be captured and thrown back again by their loving (?) relatives. Dr. Massie relates several instances of this kind. In one case the poor victim was driven by her sufferings from the flames, upon which some gentle- THE VEDAS AND THE SUTTEE. 71 men who were spectators immediately plunged her into the river. She retained her senses, and complained that the funeral pile was so badly constructed that it burned slowly, and with wonderful heroism expressed her willingness to go back into the flames if they would change its construction, so that her sufferings would be sooner at an end. This the cruel natives refused to do, and taking their suffering relative by the head and feet they held her in the fire until driven away themselves by the heat, when they threw her into the blazing pile ; but she again made her escape, and going toward the river, ran into the arms of a European gentleman, and cried to him to save her. The writer says : "I arrived at the grounds as they (the natives) were bringing her a second time from the river, and I cannot describe to you the hor- ror I felt on seeing the mangled condition she was in." (Here follows a description too revolting for repetition.) She was rescued by the Europeans, lingered in agony about twenty hours, and then died.' Men who had kept at a safe distance from the fire were sometimes very eloquent on the beauties (?) of this ceremony. Boyses translates from a poet of about two thousand years ago the following eulogy upon the horrible custom, and the extract is quoted by Kaja Ead- hakant Deb in his celebrated letter to Dr. Wilson : " Happy the laws that in those climes obtain, Where the bright morning reddens all the main. There whensoe'er the happy husband dies, And on the funeral couch extended lies, I Uncivilized Races, p. 1409, , , 72 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. His faithful wives around the scene appear. With pompous dress and with triumphant air, For partnership in death ambitious strive. And dread the shameful fortune to survive. Adorned with ilowers 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." Eaja Eadhakant Deb also argues with great force that the custom must be derived from Vedic authority, from the fact of its having prevailed in India in very remote times — when Vedic rites only were in vogue. He claims that it was practiced during the lives of their early kings and sages, who were imbued with Vedic learning and devoted to the observance of Vedic rituals. It appears, therefore, from the evidence of the best Orientalists, both European and native, that although the early mythological songs of the Eig-veda do not teach that a living woman must be burned upon the dead body of her husband, the Vedic teach- ers have not prevented it. The Eig-veda is not a ritual; the directions for performing this horrible rite of human sacrifice and self-immolation are found, however, in other ancient and sacred books of the Hindus — all of which are classed by the Brahmans under the general name of Vedas. Certain it is that this terrible custom prevailed in India for more than two thousand years, and it would doubtless be prac- ticed even now if that country had not been pene- trated by the advancing light of Christian civilization. At the close of the 18th century seventy widows were THE TEDAS AND THE SUTTEE. 73 burned alive with the body of one of the rajae. When Lord Wm. Bentinok was appointed Governor-General of India, he determined that this terrible crime should cease, and the Hindu dignitaries were astonished by a sudden decree, which they found it impossible to repeal or modify. Under the wise administration of Lord Bentinck the suttee was abolished in 1830, and the venerated Ganges flowed to the sea with her waves un- stained with blood. Marshman accuses Prof. Wilson of being an advocate of non-interference with this barbarous rite, but we must remember that we are indebted to this very scholar for the detection of the mutilated text, by the aid of which the natives long held the English government at bay, under the promise of the latter that their religion was not to be interfered with. Lord Bentinck and others who have been brought into daily contact with the practical cruelty of this people are far less enthusiastic over the race than is the European scholar who studies the finest specimens of Hindu poetry in the quiet seclusion of his own library. CHAPTEE V. THE BRAHMANAS. THE SECOIi THE WILL 03? BRAHMA. An explanation of the mode in which the will of Brahma operates, seems never to have been attempted. He wills creation to be, and it is ; still, various schools of India seem to unite in according to matter the property of eternal existence, and also claim that it is indestructible — ^the most of the Hindii sages having advocated the doctrine of ex nihilo nihil. All of these schools agree in advocating the infinity and eternal succession of creation, and the periodical dissolution and reorganization of the world. EVOLUTION AKD PANTHEISM. At times these books teach instead of a creation, a system of evolution in its clearest type. First, there was simple matter, then being sprang out of non-being, and finally Brahma became the universe. Says Prof. Duncker, Brahma, according to the Vedanta, "is the one eternal self-existent essence, unutterable and un- changeable. It develops into the world and is thus creative and created. As milk curdles, as water be- comes snow and ice, Brahma congeals with matter." ^ t Chan. Upa„ 6-3, Williams' trans. i Hist, of Antiq., Vol. IV, p. 300. 136 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. COSMOGRAPHY OF THE MAHA-BHABATA AND THE PUBANAS. The cosmography which is taught in the Maha-bha- rata, and afterwards adopted by the Puranas, divides the earth into seven concentric circles or rings, each of which is surrounded by a circumambient ocean or belt, which separates it from the next annular continent. The first ocean is a sea of salt water ; the second is composed of the juice of the sugar cane ; the third, of wine ; the fourth, of clarified butter ; the fifth, of curdled milk; the sixth, of sweet milk; and the seventh, of fresh water. In the center of this vast annular sys- tem a mountain called Meru rises to the height of sixty- four thousand miles.' These seven circumambient worlds are supposed to rest on the thousand heads of the serpent Sesha, which support the Supreme Being in the intervals between the creative acts, and which also support the worlds which are created at the commencement of each Kalpa, or two billion, one hundred and sixty millions of years. It is claimed in the Eamayana that the earth is supported on the heads and backs of sixteen immense elephants ; eight of these are males and eight are females. In order to be explicit, the names of the ele- phants are given ^ and it is said that when one of them shakes his body the motion produces earthquakes. Hence, it is fair to suppose that if they all happened to shake their bodies at the same time, a universal earthquake would be the result. 1 Vish. Fur., Wilson's trana., p. 166. 2 Ind. Wis., p. 430. ' COSMOGOSrY. 13? CEEATIOHr BY TISHKU. There are almost as many creations in Hinda litera- ture as there are gods in the pantheon, the most of them being represented as creators ; for as the Hindus have the past eternity filled with successive creative acts, there is time enough for each deity to assume the part of Brahma in the work of creation. The Vishnu-purana gives an eloquent description of the process of recon- struction by Vishnu. This deity, who is repeatedly addressed as the Supreme Being, is described as a huge boar, a thousand yojanas (forty-five hundred miles) in height, and ten yojanas (forty-five miles) in breadth. He had the color of a dark cloud ; his roar was like thunder ; his bulk vast as a mountain ; his tusks white, sharp, and fearful. Fire flashed from his eyes like lightning, and he was radiant as the sun. His should- ers were round, fat, and large, and he strode along like a powerful lion. This ''auspicious supporter of the world," whose eyes were like the lotus after receiving hymns of praises, emitted a low murmuring sound, like the chanting of the Sama-veda, and uplifted the earth from the lower regions by means of his ample tusks. As he raised his enormous head from the water the drops which fell therefrom purified the great sages, Sanandana, and others resid- ing in the sphere of the saints. Through the indenta- tions made with his hoofs, the water rushed into the lower worlds with a thundering noise, while the Munis sought for shelter among his sacred bristles as he rose up supporting the earth and dripping with moisture. Then the great sages were inspired with delight, and 128 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. bowing lowly they praised the stern-eyed upholder of the earth. EULOGY OF THE GREAT BOAB. The Yogis then eulogized the great boar as follows : •'Triumph lord of lords, supreme, sovereign of the earth, wielder of the, mace, the shell, the discus and the sword, cause of production, destruction, and exist- ence. Thou lord art the person of the sacrifice, for thy feet are the Vedas ; thy tusks are the stake to which the victim is bound; in thy teeth are the offerings; thy mouth is the altar; thy tongue is the fire; and the hairs of thy body the sacrificial grass. "Thine eyes, oh omnipotent, are the day and night; thy head is the seat of all — the place of Brahma. Thy mane is all the hymns of the Vedas ; thy nostrils are all the oblations. Oh thou, whose snout is the ladle of oblations — whose deep voice is the chanting of the Sama veda — whose body is the hall of sacrifice — whose joints are the different ceremonies and whose ears have the properties of both voluntary and olbligatory rites. Do thou who art eternal — who art in size a mountain, be propitious. "We acknowledge thee who hast traversed the earth, oh universal form, to be the beginning, the continu- ance, and the destruction of all things. "Have pity upon us, oh lord of conscious and un- conscious beings! "The orb of the earth is seen seated on the tip of thy tusks, as if thou hadst been sporting amidst a lake where the lotus floats, and hadst borne away the leaves covered with soil. COSMOGONY, 129 "The space between heaven and earth is occupied by thy body, oh thou of unequal ed glory, resplendent with the power of pervading the universe for the benefit of all. . . . Thou art the aim of all, there is none other than thee, sovereign of the world! This is thy might by which all things, fixed and movable are per- vaded. "This form which is now beheld is thy form, as one essentially with wisdom. Those who have not practised devotion conceive erroneously the nature of the world. The ignorant who do not perceive that this universe is of the nature of wisdom and judge of it as an object of perception only, are lost in the ocean of spiritual ignorance.^ "The supreme, being thus eulogized, upholding the earth, raised it quickly and placed it on the summit of the ocean where it floats like a mighty vessel and from its expansive surface does not sink beneath the waters. "Then, having leveled the earth, the great eternal deity divided it into portions by mountains. He who never wills in vain, created by his irresistible power those mountains again upon the earth, which had been consumed at the destruction of the world. "Having thus divided the earth into seven great portions or continents as it was before, he constructed in like manner the four (lower) spheres, earth, sky and heaven, and the sphere of the sages. " Thus Hari, the four-faced god, invested with the quality of activity, and taking the form of Brahma, ac- complished the creation." The cosmogonies of India and Egypt, of Assyria and ' Vishnu-purana, Wilson's trans., pp. 31-32. 130 THE ANOIEKT BOOKS OF INDIA. Persia, of Greece and Kome, and of the isles of the seas, hare been canvassed in vain for satisfactory expo- sitions of physical law. The sublime sentence "In the ' beginning God created the heavens and the earth" stands forever with- out a rival in literature. It is the closed gateway be- tween the illimitable past and the long aisles of earthly time. In the dim vista beyond it lies a silence as pro- found as the primeval darkness that rested on the face of the deep. In a few brief sentences is given a graphic description of the great cycles of time, during which the stars were lighted and the earth was born. "And the earth was without form and void." How long? The question is rolled backward through the halls of time, but its echoes bring no answer. Chro- nology has tried in vain to measure these cycles, and geology has opened her rock-bound pages, but her clear-cut inscriptions tell not of "the beginning." God wrought alone in those grand periods, but tide and tor- rent, restless surge and burning mountain, were His agents. At last, through the unvarying laws of na- ture's God, a finished globe, with sunlit vales and snow- crowned mountains, with silvery streams and peaceful hills rolled in its orbit, while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. CHAPTEE X. THE ORIGIN OP MAN. DESCENT OF MAN FROM A SINGLE FAIK — THE EARTHLY AND HEAVENLY PART OF MAN — RECONSTRUCTION OF MEN AT THE END OF EACH KALPA — CREATION OF ANIMALS — DIFFERENT CHARACTERS AND RACES OF MEN — RUDRA — DEVOLUTION — EXTRACT. THE pMlosopliical systems of India seem to take little notice of man except in the abstract. It is easy, however, to detect through all the embellishments of Hindu literature, the tradition of the descent of mankind from a single pair. Brahma is repeatedly fabled to have divided himself into two creatures — one male and the other female — and from the union of these two one man and one woman were born, from whom came not mankind alone, but all other living creatures as well. This gen- eral outline is found in the Vedas themselves, but it has been changed, remodeled, and repeated in a variety of shapes. The origin of the human species is sometimes strangely mixed up with the creation of the world. For instance, in the Upanishads we find the following expositions : "Adoration to the highest self, Hari, Om. 131 133 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. "1. Verily in the beginning all this was self — one only there was; nothing else blinking (living) what- soever. "2. He thought, 'Shall I send forth worlds?' He sent forth these worlds : "3. Ambhas (water), mariM (light), and mara (mortal). "4. That Ambhas (water) is above the heaven; and it is heaven, the support. The mari^is (the lights), are the sky. The Mara (mortal) is the earth, and the waters under the earth are the Ap (world). "5. He thought, 'There are these worlds; shall I send forth guardians of the worlds?' He then formed the Purusha (the person) taking him forth from the water. "6. He brooded on him, and when that person had thus been brooded on, a mouth burst forth like an egg. Prom the mouth proceeded speech; from speech, Agni (fire). "Nostrils burst forth; from the nostrils proceeded scent ; from scent, air. "Eyes burst forth ; from the eyes proceeded sight ; from sight, Aditya (sun). "Ears burst forth; from the ears proceeded hear- ing; from hearing the Dis (quarters of the world). " Skin burst forth ; from the skin proceeded hairs ; from the hairs, shrubs and trees. The heart burst forth; from the heart proceeded mind, etc. • • • He thought, 'There are the worlds and the guardians of the worlds. Let me send forth food for them.' He brooded over water. Prom the water thus brooded on, matter was born • • • that verily was food. THE ORIGIN OF MAN'. 133 When this food had been sent forth it wished to flee, crying and turning away. He (the subject) tried to grasp it by speech. If he had grasped it by speech, man would be satisfied by naming food. He tried to grasp it by scent. If he had grasped it by scent, man would have been satisfied by smelling food. He tried to grasp it by the eye . . . If he had grasped it with the eye, man would have been satisfied by seeing food. He tried to grasp it with the ear . . If he had grasped it with the ear, man would have been satisfied by hearing food. He tried to grasp it by the skin ... If he had grasped it by the skin, man would be satisfied by touching food. He tried to grasp it by the mind ... If he had grasped it by the mind, man would have been satisfied by thinking of food. He tried to grasp it by the down breathing breath, which helps to swallow food by breath- ing through the mouth ... He got it." Hence man is satisfied only by the eating of food.' These endless vagaries are pursued through a wilder- ness of literature, apparently without thought or purpose. Vayu, the getter, is then represented as saying: "How can all this be without me?" and then he thought " By what way shall I get there ? " Then opening the suture of the skull he got in by that door and found there were three dwelling places for him, viz. : the eye, the throat, and the heart. "When born (that is, when the Highest Self had entered the body), he looked through all things in or- der to see whether anything wished to proclaim here 1 Aitareya Aran., 11, 4, 3-3. 134 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. another (Self), He saw this person only (himseU) as the widely spread Brahman." This verse is under- stood to mean that the Self looked carefully around in order to learn what there was which might pro- claim another self; and when he saw there was noth- ing which did not come from himself, he recognized the fact that the person which he had created was the developed Brahman, the Atman — in other words, him- self. Again, we are taught that "Every man is in- deed like an egg ; - there are two halves of him. This half is the earth ; that half, heaven. And there be- tween them is the ether (the space of the mouth) like the ether between heaven and earth. In this ether there (in the mouth) the breath is fixed, as in that other ether the air is fixed. And as there are those luminaries (in heaven) there are these luminaries in man. As there is that sun in heaven, there is this eye in the head. As there is that lightning in the sky, there is this heart in the body."' The half of man which represents the earth is that part from the feet to the lower jaw, and the part which represents heaven is the intellectual part found between the upper jaw and the skull. RECONSTKUCTION OF MEN AT THE END OF EACH KALPA. Created beings, although destroyed in their individ- ual forms, are never exempted from the consequences of their acts ; for whenever Brahma creates the, world anew they are at the mercy of his will, either as gods, men, animals, or inanimate things. Brahma being de- girous at one of these periods of creating gods, de- ) Aitftreya, 2. 4-1. THE ORIGIN OF MAN. 135 mens, progenitors and meUj collected Ms mind into it- self. Whilst thus concentrated, the quality of dark- ness pervaded his body, and the demons were born first, issuing from his thigh. Brahma then abandoned the form he had used, and the form thus abandoned became night. Then from his mouth proceeded gods, and the form which he then abandoned became day, for good- ness predominated in it. He next adopted another form, and the progenitors (the pitnis) were born from his side, and the body which he then abandoned be- came the evening twilight. Brahma then assumed another body pervaded by foulness, and from this men were born, and the body thus abandoned became the morning twilight Thus gods, men, demons and progenitors were re- constructed from previous forms, and the bodies which Brahma abandoned became day, night, dawn and even- ing. Afterward the hairs of Brahma which were shriv- eled up, fell from his head and became serpents. The creator of the world, being incensed by the loss of his hair, created fierce beings who were denominated gob- lins ; they were malignant fiends and eaters of flesh. The divine Brahma then created birds from his own vitality, sheep from his breast, goats from his mouth, cows from his sides, horses, elephants, and other animals from his feet, whilst from the hairs of his body grew herbs, roots, and plants. THE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS AND RACES OF MEN are accounted for in the Vishnu-purana by the following legend of Eudra : The mind-engendered progeny of Prahma were inspired with holy wisdom, and being 136 THE AM-CIENT BOOKS OF IlfDIA. estranged from the world, they were not desirous of prog- eny. When Brahma perceived this " he was filled with wrath capable of consuming the ' three worlds ; the flame of his anger invested like a garland heaven, earth, and hell. Then from his forehead, darkened with angry frowns, sprang Eudra, radiant as the noontide sun, fierce and of vast bulk, and of a figure which was half male and half female. ' Separate yourself,' commanded Brahma. Obedient to the command, Rudra imme- diately disjoined his two natures and became twofold. His male being he again divided into eleven persons, of whom some were agreeable and some were hideous ; some were fierce and some were mild of disposition. He also multiplied his female nature manifold, some of them being of fair complexion and others very dark, or even black. "^ DEVOLUTION-. The Upanishads also teach that the lower animals are descended from man, and seem to claim that degen- eracy is easier than improvement. The doctrine that the lower animals are the direct descendants of man is taught in the fourth Brahmana and also in the Upan- ishads, from which we quote as follows: "In the beginning there was Self alone in the shape of a person (purusha), and looking around he saw nothing but his Self. He wished for a second. He then made this his Self to fall in two, and thence arose husband and wife." Then men were born, and afterward the brute cre- 1 Vish-PuT., Wilson's trans., p. SO. THE ORIGIN OF MAN. 137 ation, whose origin from degenerate man is expressed in the most explicit terms. "She became a cow hence cows were horn. They then became one- hoofed animals . . . and one-hoofed animals were born . . . They became goats, and goats were born . . . They became sheep and sheep were born . . . and thus he created everything that exists in pairs, even down to the ants." In this quotation the universal doc- trine of pantheism is presented in the following words : "He knew I, indeed, am this creation, for I created all this. Hence he became the creation, and he who knows this lives in his creation."' In intimate connection with this doctrine of devolu- tion, we find Prof. Wilson quoting the statement of the Commentator Madhwa, who asserts that in the compil- ation of his own work he consulted eight other com- mentaries, one of which was written by a monkey, and Prof. Wilson's comment upon the statement is that " While the Hindu disputant may believe in the reality of such a compilation, yet we may receive its citation as a proof that Madhwa was not very scrupulous in the verification of his authorities."'' There is a story in Hindii literature of a great drama in fourteen acts, composed by the monkey chief Han- uman, but it is claimed that this was not preserved, because Valmika feared that it would cast his poem (Ramayana) into the shade. Therefore the generous ape who wrote it threw it into the sea. We read, too, in the Eamayana of the ourang-outang lUpanlshads, Part 2, pp. 85, 86 sWilson, Vol. VI, p. 49 of Int. 138 THE ANCIEST BOOKS OF INDIA. who lived on the banks of Lake Pampa. He is Su- griva, the king of the monkeys^ with whom Eama makes an alliance. Several of the monkey generals are mentioned, and a wonderful feat in bridge building by the privates of this strange army is recorded. If the Hindus believed that the monkeys wrote com- mentaries in the days of Madhwa and dramatic poems in the time of Valmika, that they commanded armies and built bridges, as recorded in the Kamayana, we cannot wonder that they feel that the theory of evolu- tion is working the other way — that degeneracy and not development is the law of nature, so far at least as the quadrumanous family is concerned ; and yet we find a certain class of the natives of India advocating the claims of the Sankhya philosophy. CHAPTER XI. METEMPSYCHOSIS. TEANSMIGBATION NOT TAUGHT IK THE BIG-TEDA — THE TRIPLE SYSTEM OF TKANSMIGEATION — THE DOCTEINE OF THE CHA2JD06YA — GREATEST DANGER DURING TRANSMIGRATION — DISTINCTION BETWEEN ASCEND- ING AND DESCENDING SOULS — HINDU EXPLANATION OF INEQUALITIES OF FORTUNE — SINS AGAINST CASTE RECEIVE THE GREATEST PUNISHMENT — NO CRIME BECOMES A SIN IF THE WORDS OF THE BIG-VEDA BE BEMEMBEBED. r I "^HE Eig-veda, not being a doctrinal work, does not -L teach the theory of metempsychosis in any decided way. But there are frequent allusions to the immortality of the soul, and one of the hymns in the last Man^ala is addressed to the spirits of departed ancestors, who have attained to a state of heavenly bliss and are supposed to occupy three stages of blessedness, the highest inhab- iting the upper sky, the middle the intermediate air, and the lowest the regions of the atmosphere near the earth. THE TRIPLE SYSTEM OF TBANSMIGEATION. A most elaborate theory, however, of the transmi- gration of the souls of men through plants, animals, and gods, was inculcated in the Code of Manu, which, dates back to about 500 years B; C. According to 139 140 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Manu (12 : 3), every act and every thought produces either good or evil fruit, and the various transmigra- tions of men are the result of their conduct upon earth. A threefold alternative is presented to the soul : it may pass through deities, through men, or through heasts and plants. It will go through deities if good- ness predominates in its nature ; through men if it is ruled by passion ; through beasts and plants if it dwells still lower in the moral scale. Each of these three degrees of transmigration has three sub-degrees. The highest and first is Brahma himself, and the lowest is either a vegetable or a mineral. But souls in these latter forms may ascend through various insects, fish, reptiles, snakes, tortoises, etc.^ "Let the man who has renounced the world reflect on the transmigration of men caused by their acts ; on their downfall into hell and their torments in the abode of Yama ; on their formation again in the womb and the glidings of the soul through ten millions of other wombs.'" A passage in the Satapatha-brahmana is quoted by Weber and Dr. Muir, asserting that in a future state animals and plants will revenge upon men the injuries and death received here. The absence of all memory of wrong done, and indeed of all consciousness of a former existence, does not appear to the Hindu as any objection to this creed which has been handed doAvn to him through so many generations, although mythol- ogy claims to record cases where men were gifted with the power of remembering former existences. The Upanishads which contain the doctrinal teach- ings of the Vedas have not by any means neglected the I Manu, 1:3-40. 26:61-63. METEMPSYCHOSIS. 141 doctrine of metempsychosis, which forms so important a part of the Hindu faith. This doctrine is found and most enthusiastically taught in the very first of the series. DOCTRIKE OF THE CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD. This book, belonging to the Yajur-veda, has sup- plied the most important materials for- what is called the Vedanta, which is the end, the purpose, and the highest object of the Veda. This Upanishad teaches that after various changes, the bodies of those who have performed good works are turned to water ; so that when a man is dead and his body burned, the water from the body rises upward with the smoke and carries him to the moon, where he enjoys the fruit of his good works as long as they last. When, like the oil in the lamp, they are consumed, he is obliged to return to a new round of existences. "When born he (man) lives whatever the length of his life may be. When he has departed his friends carry him as appointed to the fire, from whence he came and from whence he sprang."' 1. " Those who know this, and those who in the forest follow faith and austerities go to light ; from light to day, from day to the light half of the moon ; from the light half of the moon to the six months when the sun goes to the north ; from the six months when the sun goes to the north, to the year ; from the year to the sun ; from the slin to the moon ; from the moon to the lightning. There is a person not human. 1 5th Prap., 9th Khan. 142 THE AN-ClEKl BOOKS OF IlfDlA. 2. "He leads them to Brahman ; this is the path of the Devas. 3. "But they who living in a village practice sacrifices, works of public utility, and alms, they go to the smoke ; from smoke to night ; from night to the dark half of the moon ; from the dark half of the moon to the six months when the sun goes to the south ; but they do not reach the year. 4. "Prom the months they go to the world of the fathers ; from the world of the fathers to the ether ; from the ether to the moon. That is Soma, the king. Here they are loved (eat,en) by the Devas ; yes, the Devas love (eat) them. 5. " Having dwelt there till their good works are consumed, they return again the way they came to the ether; from the ether to the air. Then the sacrificer having become air, he becomes smoke. Having become smoke, he becomes mist. 6. "Having become mist, he becomes a cloud; having become a cloud, he rains down. Then he is born as rice and corn, herbs, and trees, and beans. From thence the escape is beset with most difficul- ties, for whoever the persons may be who eat the food and beget offspring, he henceforth becomes like unto them. 7. "Those whose conduct has been good will quickly attain to some good birth. But those whose conduct has been evil will quickly attain to an evil birth — ^the birth of a dog, or a hog. 8. " On neither of these two ways those small creat- ures (flies and worms) are continually returning, of whom it may be said, they live and die. Theirs is a METEMPSYCHOSIS. 143 third place. Therefore, that world never becomes full. Hence, let a man take care to himself."' TIME OF GREATEST DANGER DURING TRANSMIGRATION. In these stages of transmigration, the greatest danger is incurred after the man has been changed into rain. For if the rain should fall into the sea it might be swallowed up by the fishes; if it should fall upon a desert it might be swallowed by serpents or other rep- tiles ; so that it would require an almost endless round of existences to reach any comfortable degree either of intelligence or dignity. But even if the rain is fortu- nate enough to be absorbed by the rice, the com, and the beans, these products might be eaten by a man who has foresworn marriage, in which case the victim of unfortunate circumstances would lose the opportu- nity of a new and more desirable birth. There are also perils arising from the uncertain character of the man who eats the rice and corn, who thus becomes a new seed, and still another danger that even if he is good himself, he may marry a wicked wife, and make her the mother of this wandering soul. All these dangers must be safely passed before a new birth as a Brahman, Kshatriya, or Vaisya can be secured. DISTINCTION BETWEEN ASCENDING AND DESCENDING SOULS. Another peculiar distinction is made by Sankara in his commentary. There are some, he says, who assume the form of rice and corn, etc., not in their descent from a higher world, as described in the Upani- 1 5th Prap., 14tb Khan. 144 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. shad, but as a definite punishment for certain evil deeds which they have committed. They remain in that state until the consequences of their evil deeds are past, when they assume a new body, like caterpil- lars. These guilty ones retain a consciousness of these states and of the acts which caused them to assume the particular body which they wear. This is not the case with those who, in their de- scent from the moon, pass_ through the same vegetable forms ; for while in their ascent to the moon they are conscious, they lose this consciousness in coming down. Otherwise, a man who by his good works deserved re- wards in the moon would sufEer while corn is being ground the very tortures of hell, and the object of good works, as taught by the Veda, would be defeated. As a man who is made unconscious by a severe blow, so it is with souls in their descent, until they are born again as men and thus get a new start toward the highest Brahman.^ HINDU EXPLANATION OF INEQUALITIES OF FORTUNE. The popular theory is that every being must pass through eighty-four lakhs of births, a lakh being one hundred thousand, making a grand total of eight mill- lion, four hundred thousand births for every human being. By this doctrine the Hindus easily explain all inequalities of fortune and all diversities of char- acter. The fortunate are supposed to be enjoying the benefits of their good deeds in a former life, while the unfortunate man, however viri^ous he may be, is being punished for former misdeeds. Even intellect- 1 Upanisbads, Ft I, pp. 81-83. METEMPSYCHOSIS. 145 ual strength or ability in any given direction is sup- posed to have been acquired by careful training in some previous form of existence, and to liave been cultivated through millions of previous bodies. Disease is looked upon as a legitimate punishment, not for disobedience to nature's laws, but for some sin committed in a pre- vious state — a murder, or the omission of some pen- ance, or some act of disrespect toward the priesthood. SINS AGAINST CASTE OR THE PRIESTHOOD RECEIVE THE GREATEST PUXISHMENT. It is noticeable, however, that the ecclesiastical sins and offenses against caste are more severely punished than the crimes against morality. For instance, if a man steals grain, he will be born a mouse ; if he steals brass, he will be born a gander ; but if a Brahman neg- lects his own appointed caste, he will be born a vomit- eating demon. If a Kshatriya violates the rules of his caste, he will be born a demon, feeding on excrement and dead bodies. If a Yaisj'a is guilty of the same offense, he will become a demon, feeding on putrid carrion. NO CRIME BECOMES A SIN TO A BRAHMAN IF THE WORDS OF THE RIG-VEDA BE REMEMBERED. But there is no crime so heinous that it cannot be forgiven, provided only the criminal is a priest and re- tains his caste remembering the sacred text. Hence, it is said in the Code of Manu, " A Braliman by re- taining the Rig-veda in his memory incurs no guilt though he should destroy the inhabitants of the three worlds, and even eat food from the foulest hands."^ 1 Book II, !J6. CHAPTER XII. REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS. tMMOKTALITY OF THE SOUL — -HEAVEN OKLY A STEP- PING-STONE TO HAPPINESS — BXPEEIENCE OF THE FAITHFUL HINDU — THE HEAVEN OF INDRA — THE HEAVEN OF VISHNU- — FUTURE PUNISHMENT — TWEN- TY-ONE HELLS — VICTIMS SEE THE INHABITANTS OF HEAVEN — TRANSMIGRATION OF SINNERS. rr^HE survival of the soul after the death of the -•- body is everywhere implied; but Manu's doctrine is that if a man has been wicked the soul is clothed in a body composed of coarse and impure elements, which goes with it into hell ; whereas, if he has been virtuous, the soul is invested with a luminous and ethereal body, composed of the purer elements of air and fire, and this body goes with the righteous soul into heaven. A place of reward and punishment is indeed very necessary for the proper compensation of man's conduct, but neither the reward of heaven nor the punishment of hell, according to the Hindu theology, is full, ef- fectual, or final. HEAVEN ONLY A STEPPING-STONE TO HAPPINESS. The heavens of the Hindu system are only steps on the road to complete happiness, and the hells, though 146 REWAEDS AND PUNISHMENTS. 147 places of terrible torture, are merely temporary purga- tions. The soul must leave both heaven and hell, and re- turn to corporeal existence, migrating into higher, in- termediate and lower forms, according to its degrees of guilt or virtue, and passing in its progress towards emancipation from separate existence, through the four stages of bliss, called saloka (living in the same heaven with God) ; samipya (nearness to God) ; sarupya (as- similation to the likeness of God), and sayujya, when a complete union with the Supreme is attained. EXPEKIBNCE OF THE FAITHBUL HINDU. The faithful Hindu after death soon reaches the path of the gods and comes to the world of fire and air — to the world of Indra and Brahma. Here is the beautiful river of eternal youth, whose banks are crowned with majestic trees, and by whose side stands the city and the palace of ''the unconquerable." Here is the magnificent hall of Brahman, with the imperial throne and luxurious couch of splendor. Here also are the crystal streams which lead to the knowledge of Brahman. When the devotee approaches. Brahman orders his servants to run and meet him, and to render him the same homage which they yield to their lord. Then five hundred celestial nymphs approach him. One hundred of them bring him beautiful garlands of flowers ; one hundred bear precious ointments ; one hundred come laden with choice perfumes; one hun- dred are burdened with rich and luxurious garments for his apparel, and one hundred bring the choicest fruits for his enjoyment, and adorn him like Brahman himself. 148 THE AN-CIEITT BOOKS OF INDIA. In the beautiful waves of the ageless river he shakes ofE his good and evil deeds, and receives the crown of eternal youth. The good deeds here disposed of are bequeathed to his beloved relatives, who are to receive the benefits arising from them, while his unfortunate relatives, who are not beloved, receive the full value of his transgressions. He approaches the beautiful tree Ilya, and the odor of Brahman reaches him. He approaches the great city, and finds there the flavor of Brahman. He then approaches the magnificent palace, and the splendor of Brahman greets him. He approaches the spacious hall, and the glory of Brahman meets his eyes. He finally comes to the great throne and the royal couch, where he finds Brahman himself, who catechises him very carefully and, his answers being satisfactory, be- stows the whole Brahman world upon him.' HEAVEN OF INDRA. The beautiful heaven of Indra is supposed to be sit- uated upon the very summit of Mount Meru, which is the centre of the earth and many thousand miles in height. Here the heavenly gardens are found planted with luxuriant trees, which are burdened with delicious fruits. The fragrant groves are haunted with fairy nymphs, whose faces and forms are visions of loveliness. Low, sweet strains of music are borne upon the air. The city of Indra is eight hundred miles in circumfer- ence and forty miles high. Its pillars are of diamonds and its palaces are of pure gold. The air is laden with the rich perfume of the rose-colored flowers of the 1 Kaushitaki Upanishad, 1-3. BEVVARDS AND PUNISHMENTS. 149 Camalata, the beauty of which has brought it the name of Love's Creeper ; by this deUcate flower all wishes are granted to the inmates of Indra's heaven. THE HEAVEN OF VISHNU. The home of Vishnu is built entirely of gold and is much larger than Indra's, being eighty thousand miles in circumference. The crystal waters of the Ganges fall from the higher heavens upon the head of Siva, and from there into the hair of the seven sages, from which they descend to the earth and form a river. On a throne of white lotus blossoms sits Vishnu, and his wife Lakshmi beside him. She is radiant with the splen- dor of precious stones, and the sweet perfume of her body extends eight hundred miles. FUTURE PUNISHMENT. Eealizing that this is a subject which attracts uni- versal interest, the Hindu philosophers have elabor- ated it very extensively. They have provided ample accommodations for sinners of all classes and degrees, in twenty-one hells of various descriptions, each of which is provided with an unpronounceable name in addition to other horrors. The names and number of these places of pun- ishment vary • with different authors, the Vishnu- purana and also the Bhagavata giving a list of twenty-eight instead of twenty-one. The names of these places of punishment as translated are : 1st, darkness ; 2d, complete darkness ; 3d, place of howling ; 4th, place of much howling ; 5th, thread of time or death ; 6th, great hell ; 7th, restoring 150 THE AXOIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. to life ; 8th, waveless ; 9th, burning ; 10th, parching ; 11th, pressing together ; 13th, ravens ; 13th, bud ; 14th, stinking clay ; 15th, iron spiked ; 16th, frying- pan ; 17th, rough or uneven roads ; 18th, thorny sal- mali tree ; 19th, flame river, which has a fearful odor and is full of blood (it is a torrent of hot water car- rying bones, hair, and other refuse in its course) ; 20th, the sword-leaved forest ; 31st, iron fetters. This enumeration is from the institutes of Vishnu. The Purana has also the following details: "Men when they die are bound with cords by the servants of King Tartarus, and beaten with sticks, and have then to encounter the fierce aspect of Yama, and the hor- rors of their terrible route. In the different hells there are various intolerable tortures, with burning sand, fire, machines, and weapons. Some are severed with saws, some roasted in forges, some are chopped with axes, some buried in the ground, some are mounted on stakes, some cast to wild beasts to be devoured, some are gnawed by vultures, some torn by tigers, some are boiled in oil, some rolled in caustic slime, some are precipitated from great heights, some are tossed upwards by engines. The number of punishments inflicted in hell, is infinite."' There is also a descrip- tion of the Krishna, a black hell, a red-hot iron hell which appears to have been prepared expressly for trai- tors and horse dealers, a swine hell which is provided for wine drinkers and for those who associate with them, and the "hell of pincers" for those who violate vows or break the rules of their order. " These hells,'' say the Purana, and indeed " hundreds and thousands of 1 Vis. Pur., Wilson's trans., p. 640. KEWAKDS AND PUNISHMENTS. 151 others are the places in which sinners pay the penalty of their crimes. As numerous as the offences which men commit are the hells in which they are punished."' VICTIMS SEE THE INHABITANTS OF HEAVEN. The inhabitants of heaven are beheld by the suffer- ers in hell as they move with their heads inverted, whilst the gods, as they cast their eyes downward, behold the sufferings of those in hell. This arrange- ment has a twofold purpose. It serves to enhance the sufferings of the wicked and to temper the enjoy- ment of the righteous, who are thereby reminded that even the happiness of heaven is but temporary in its duration ; for when they have received their due pro- portion of reward, they, too, must be born again as stones or plants, or must gradually migrate through the inferior conditions until they again become human. After this their future is in their own hands, and their future births are in direct proportion to their merit. The time to be spent in hell is a kalpa (two bill- ions and one hundred and sixty millions of years). The criminal then reaches the stage of metempsychosis, when he is relieved from the acute suffefipgs and has an opportunity to ascend to a higher mode of exist- ence through the bodies of worms, reptiles, or demons. For instance, a gold stealer must pass a thousand times into the bodies of spiders, snakes and noxious demons ; a spirit drinker becomes a worm, insect, or moth. 1 Vish. Pur., Wilson's trans., p. 209. 153 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF IKDIA. In these various changes there is sometimes a curi- ous consistency. For instance, a man who has stolen perfumery becomes a musk-rat ; one who has stolen grain becomes a rat ; one who has stolen water becomes a water-fowl ; one who has stolen honey becomes a gad-fly ; one who has stolen meat becomes a Culture ; one who has stolen oil becomes a cockroach ; one who has stolen linen becomes a frog, etc., etc., etc. When the evil-doers have undergone all these trans- migrations and passed through various animal bodies, they are born as human beings, with the following marks indicating their crime : A criminal of the high- est degree has leprosy ; a killer of Brahmans, pulmon- ary consumption ; a drinker of spirits, black teeth ; a malignant informer, an offensive breath ; a stealer of food, dyspepsia; the breaker of a convention, a bald head. After these changes and a multitude of others follows a list of penances comprising many pages.' Having briefly presented the character and teaching of the Upanishads with correlative testimony from other works, we shall now consider a much more fascinating department of Sanskrit literature. Following the Upan- ishads chronologically come the Epics of the Hindus, a very important division of their literature. The Ea- mayana and the Maha-bharata are the two great poems of India and, although by no means historical from a European point of view, they comprise nearly all of history that we have from Hindii sources. I Institutes of Visli., pp. 140-149. CHAPTEE XIII. THE RAMAYANA. OKE OF THE SACRED EPICS OF INDIA— THE LAND OF THE HINDU — THE BAMAYANA AND THE ILIAD — HELEN AND SITA — HECTOR CHAINED TO THE CHAR- IOT WHEEL — -FUNERAL HONORS PAID TO RAVANA — AGE OF THE RAMAYANA — THE SANCTITY OF THE POEM — AUTHOR OF THE WORK — BASIS OF THE POEM — LENGTH OF THE RAMAYANA. r I iHE land of the Hindu is the natural birthplace of -^ poetry and song. The great Himalayas, with rai- ment of cloud and robe of sunlight, seem to commune with the stars that crown with radiance their snowy brows ; in their wild crags are the silvery fountains of the rivers which flash and sparkle through forest and vale. The Ganges, the " bride of the heavens," receives in her crystal tide the sins of her people and bears them away between her flowery banks. The wild swans float amid the lotus blossoms upon her bosom, and the gazelles come down to slake their thirst at her sacred brink. The tropical forest is darkened with the shade of lofty trees and perfumed with the odor of a thousand blossoms. The long, deep grass and feathery ferns are kissed here and there by the stray sunbeams that find their way between the glossy leaves of dense thickets, 163 154 THE ANCIEJSTT BOOKS OF INDIA. and the dreamy song of the kokila is borne on the air. The wide plains are illumined with the dazzling flowers of the cactus and the snowy wreath of jessa- mine blossoms, while here and there the sweet lime-tree and feathery acacia wave their delicate boughs in the sunlight, and the orange groves unfold their pearly cups of rich perfume. Delicate butterflies float slowly away on the fragrant air, and golden bees nestle amid the rose petals and revel in life and beauty. Down by the gleaming shores of the ever sounding sea, the white-crested waves come marching in ; with song and psalm and chanted praise they come, and the children of the wildwood hear in their waves the song of the sea-nymphs, and see in coral groves the home of the ocean queen. So they bring oblations to the fair goddess of the sea, Avho is robed in azure and pearl, with garlands of scarlet flowers in her heavy hair and her snowy hands gleaming amidst the darkling waves. Above the mountain crest and beyond the silvery sea is the changeful sky of crimson and gold— of ame- thyst and azure — which is to them the ■•Mantle of Indra." Whether this radiant mantle is tinted with the rosy light of morning, or gilded with the golden glory of noon, or flashing with diamonds in the halls of night, it receives the earnest adoration of the worship- ers. They bring their oblations to the morning light, their songs of praise to the god of day, and their rever- ent thanksgiving to the silvery soma that illumines the night. The imagination of the Hindii has long been cultivated by the beautiful scenes around him. THE eImayasta. 155 and the results are manifested, not only in the songs of the Vedas, but also in the great Hindu Epics. The two colossal poems of Sanskrit literature, the Ramayana and the Maha-bharata, have been called " The Iliad and the Odyssey of the Hindis." THE EAMAYANA AND THE ILIAD. The Eamayana has been beautifully termed "The Iliad of the East," and in some respects this great In- dian production does resemble the Grecian classic. The subject of both Epics is a war undertaken to recover the wife of one of the warriors, who was car- ried off by 'the hero on the other side. In this respect Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, corresponds to Men- elaus, while in others he more nearly represents Achilles. Ayodhya may be compared to Sparta and Lanka to Troy. But it would be unjust to compare Sita, the chaste and beautiful wife of Rama, with the treacherous Helen. The Indian princess, pleading eloquently to be allowed to follow her husband into exile, is a loyal, loving woman, while the beautiful Helen is a faithless, fickle wife, utterly unworthy of the life-blood of an honest man. The descriptions of Ayodhya and of Lanka imply greater luxury and a higher degree of refinement than those of Sparta and Troy. But so far as art and har- mony are concerned the Asiatic poems cannot com- pete with those of Greece. The Eamayana and Maha- bharata are burdened with description and simile, with wearisome repetition and amplification, while the Iliad and Odyssey have the polish and the rounded propoi'- tions of Grecian sculpture. 156 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. The Indian Epics sometimes lay aside all delicacy and give the most revolting particulars of ancient leg- ends, but the Ramayana shows far more humanity to a fallen foe than does the Iliad. The duty of returning good for evil, which had been so clearly taught in a previous age,' is well illustrated in the character of Eama, who ordered elaborate funeral honors to be paid to his conquered foe. In striking contrast with this scene is the barbarous pictiire so vividly described in the Hiad when the dying Hector pleaded with his foe : " By thy own soul, by those who gave thee breath. By all the sacred j)revalence of prayer. Ah, leave me not for Grecian dogs to tear! The common rites of sepulture bestow. To soothe a father's and a mother's woe. Let their large gift procure an urn, at least. And Hector's ashes in his country rest." But the furious Greek, who is almost glorified by Homer, degrades his own manhood and taunts the dying man with insult : " No, wretch accursed, relentless he replies, (Flames as he spoke shot flashing from his eyes), Not those who gave me breath should bid me spare. Nor all the sacred prevalence of prayer ; Could I myself the bloody banquet join. No — to the dogs that carcass I resign. Should Troy, to bribe lue, bring forth all her store. And giving thousands, offer thousands more, lEz. zxiil: 4, 5; Sd Sam. zyi: 12; Prov. zxy : 31, HH. THE EAMlYANA. 157 Should Dardon Priam and his weeping dame, Drain their whole realm to buy one funeral flame, Their Hector on the pile they should not see, Nor rob the vultures of one limb of thee." The funeral pyre of Ravana was adorned with wreaths of flowers and costly jewels at the command of the victor, while the body of th« gallant Hector was chained to the chariot wheel of Achilles and dragged around the walls . of Troy, in full view of his aged father and broken-hearted mother. " Purple the ground and streak the sable sand. Defamed, dishonored in his native land. And the whole city wears one face of woe. No less than if the rage of hostile fires. From the foundations curling to her spires. O'er the proud citadel at length should rise. And the last blaze send Ilion to the skies." AGE OF THE EAMAYASTA. Quite a difference of opinion prevails among schol- ars in relation to the age of this work. Dowson and Sir Monier Williams claim its earliest origin to be about 600 B. C, and Williams speaks of "the beginning of the third century B. C." as the time of the first orderly completion of the work in its brahmanized form. He also assigns a portion of it to the early centuries of our own era. Prof. Weber claims that it belongs to the begin- Und. Wis., pp.319,3%0. 158 THE ANCIEIifT BOOKS OF INDIA. ning of the Christian era "after the operation of Greek influence upon India had already set in."' The noted Indian scholar, Kashinath Trimbak Te- lang, in a note on the Ramayana says, "The received chronology refuses to allow to the bulk of classical literature an antiquity of more than eighteen centuries, if so much."" But while there is a variety of opinion on the sub- ject, it seems to be well established that the work be- longs' to an age subsequent' to the Iliad, and this fact in connection with the striking similarities of the two poems certainly gives some weight to the opinion of Prof. AVeber that the Indian poets really borrowed ideas from Homer. THE SACBEDNESS OF THE POEM. The Eamayana is held to be one of the most sacred of all the Hindii productions.' Like other works of the same class, it boldly lays claim to supernatural powers, declaring that "Whoever reads or hears the Eamayana will be freed from all sin . . . Those who read or hear it for the sake of riches will cer- tainly acquire wealth. . . . The Eamayana heals diseases, removes all fear of enemies, compensates for the loss of wealth or fanle, prevents loss of life, and secures all that is desired. The mere utterance of the name of Eama is equal in religious merit to the giv- ing of a hundred ornamented cows to a Brahman, or 1 Sans. Lit, p. 194. 2 Ind. Ant., Vol. ili, p. 267. 3 The Hindus, who are the devoted followers of Eama, acknowledge two bibles in two different versions of the great Epic, the one by Val- miki and the other by Tulasi-dasa, THE BAMAYA]SrA. 159 the performance of an ASva-medha.^ A follower of Kama enjoys happiness in this world, and in the next is ahsorbed into Eama in the heaven of Vishnu." Rama is still faithfully worshiped in India, and devotees will sit for days and nights together upon the sacred banks of the Ganges or beneath the stately pipal trees re- peating in low monotonous tones, " Earn, Ram, Rama." The mere utterance of the words without any con- ception of the ideas accompanying them will secure a birth into a higher life either to men, birds, or animals. AUTHOR OF THE WOEK. The plot and unity of the poem show it to have been originally the work of one man ; but his name is lost to the historian, and there are three different ver- sions now in existence. The one best known and most popular among Europeans is ascribed to Val- miki ; another to Tulasi-dasa, who was born A. D. 1544, and is said to have written in A. D. 1575, two copies of whose work, claimed to be in his own hand- writing, are still preserved in India ; while the third is ascribed to Vyasa (the editor or arranger). These authors took a crude legend which had for generations been repeated from father to son, and remodeled and finished it, each in his own peculiar style. Wilkins and some other Oriental scholars claim that the pas- sages in the Hindu Epics which speak of Rama as an incarnation of Vishnu are among the interpolations of a much later date than the original. iThe great hoise Bacrlfice, whicli required a year of preparation. A hundred of tbese offerings entitled the sacrificer to the tbrone of India, 160 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. BASIS OF THE KAMATANA. Prof. Williams and J. Talboys Wheeler think that it may have some foundation in fact ; that at some early period soon after the settlement of the Aryan races in the plains of the Ganges, a body of invaders headed by a bold leader may have attempted to force their way into the peninsula of India, in which case the heroic exploits of the chief would naturally become the theme of song and. the hero himself would be de- ified. Prof. Weber claims that the work is purely al- legorical, being based upon the single historical fact of the spread of Aryan civilization toward the south and the feuds connected therewith. Be this as it may, we have in the Kamayana a mass of literature which, although radiant with Oriental coloring, is a wilderness of myths and extravagant fables. LENGTH OF THE POEM. This interminable Indian Epic consists of twenty- four thousand si okas, or verses, but even this state- ment does not give us an intelligible idea of the formidable volumes through which it leisurely wan- ders. Its literary value would be greatly increased by condensation. Pew busy people of modern times would lind time to read it in its present form, even if it possessed the marvelous properties which ai-e ascribed to it. We therefore give briefly in the following chapters the principal story of the poem, which is here presented in a simple style of narration. CBAPTER XIV. THE STORY OP THE RAMAYANA. ATODHYA — -DASAKATHA AXD THE ASVA-MEDHA — THE CONCLAVE OF THE GODS — PLEA MADE TO BBAHMA — BBFEERED TO AISHSTU — HIS HOME IN THE SEA OE MILK — REQUEST GRANTED — THE BIRTH OE RAMA — THE BOW OF SIVA — MARRIAGE OF RAMA — RAMA APPOINTED "SUVA-RAJA — KAIKEYl — KAUSALYA — SlTA — THE FAREWELLS — THE DEATH OF THE RAJA — BHARATA. r 1 1HB opening scene of this fascinating Indian -*- romance is laid in the ancient city of Ayodhya, which in modern times is called Oude. Beautifully situated upon the banks of the river Sarayu, Ayodhya was in olden times one of the most magnificent cities of Hindustan. But the great scythe of time has swept her glories away, leaving only a pitiful scene of ruin. Even the name of her river has been changed, which now sweeps along its course under the name of Gogra. She was the capital of the great raj of Kosala, which ex- tended from the Gogra to the banks of the Ganges. But little is now known of this fertile kingdom. The rajas who governed it claimed to be descendants of the san, and hence they were called the solar kings. History claims that the ancient Ayodhya was a city of considerable importance, but the vivid imagination 161 163 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. of the Hindu poet has made it a dream of fairyland. In the Eamayana it is represented as being built en- tirely of large and well-arranged houses, while the streets were continually cooled with streams of running water. Its temples were richly decorated with gold and gems, and its stately palaces lifted their great domes toward the heavens, like the crowns of the dis- tant mountain tops. Its parks were filled with tropical flowers and shaded here and there with massive trees. Birds of bright plumage darted like flames through the heavy foliage. Crystal fountains sparkled in the air, and on the quiet pools below them the white lotus blossoms, fair daughters of the moon, raised their fragrant cups in rich profusion. On the banks of the great river the stately plantain trees drooped with golden fruit, and the magnolias loaded the air with the rich odor of their creamy blossoms. The whole city shone in splendor and waved its gorgeous banners on the fragrant breeze, and strains of richest music mingled with the twanging of bow- strings and the low chanting of Vedic hymns. The city was encompassed with great walls, which were set with Jewels, and her towers and the porti- coes above her gates were filled with archers. Every part of the city was guarded by heroes, who were as strong as the eight gods that rule the universe, and vigilant as the many-headed serpents who watch at the entrance of the regions below. There was no poverty within her gates, but every merchant owned storehouses, which were filled with jewels. There were no misers, nor thieves, nor liars THE STOEY OF THE EImItAKA. 163 inside her beautiful walls, and no one lived less than a thousand years. Men loved their own wives only, none of whom was without a marriage crown, or rich laces and jewels. Their clothing never became soiled ; their gold was never tarnished. All the women were beau- tiful, witty, and wise, for there was no disease or un- happiness in the favored city. " In bygone ages built and planned By sainted Manu's princely hand, Imperial seat ! her walls extend Twelve measured leagues from end to end ; Three in width, from side to side With square and palace beautified. Her gates at even distance stand. Her ample roads are wisely planned. Right glorious is her royal street. Where streams allay her dust and heat. On level ground in even row Her houses rise in goodly show. Terrace and palace, arch and gate The queenly city decorate. High are her ramparts, strong and vast. By ways at even distance passed. With circling moat both deep and wide. And store of weapons fortified."' In the midst of the wonderful city was the magni- ficent palace of the raja, encompassed by walls so high that the birds could not fly above them, while over the massive gateways, strains of music floated by day 1 The poetical extracts in this story, unless otherwise indicated, are from Griffiths' translation. 164 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. and by night. In the midst of the palace was the throne, which was set with precious stones. The palace itself was guarded by thousands of warriors, who were as fierce as flames of fire and as watchful as the lions which guard their mountain dens. DASAEATHA AND THE ASYA-MEDHA. In the midst of all this magnificence there lived a childless king, Dasaratha. Although descended from the sun, his line threatened to become extinct, for there was no heir to his royal throne, his beautiful city, and his fertile kingdom. He was a perfect charioteer, a royal sage, and famous throughout the three worlds for his virtues and his magnificence. His kingdom was inspected by his spies as the sun in- spected it by its rays, but the great Dasaratha found in it all no disloyalty or disobedience. The raja re- solved to perform the great Asva-medha' sacrifice in order to propitiate the gods and obtain a son. So the long ceremony was begun and the rajas from all the surrounding kingdoms came to attend the sacrifice. Thousands of priests were feasted by themselves, the most delicious viands were served to them in dishes of gold and silver, and their attendants were the warriors of the kingdom. Eighteen sacrificial pits were pre- 1 The liorse for this sacrifice was turned out to wander at his will for a year, followed by a faithful priest or perhaps a large body of attendant*. If no one touched him during the year of preparation, he was considered fit for the sacrifice, but if he had been caught another had to be turned loose and the ceremonies postponed. If the first horse proved fit for the oflfering, when the year was completed and the long preliminary arrangements were finished, the sacrifice was performed with almost endless ceremonies, which were purposely made vei^y difficult and tedious. No one could perform them except Brahmans, who received enormous gifts in return for their services. THE STOEY OF THE RAMAYANA. 165 pared in the form of the bird Garuda, and the pits which represented the wings of the bird were lined with bricks of gold. The king gave to the priests a million cows, one hundred million pieces of gold and four hundred million pieces of silver, besides gen- erous presents to the whole multitude. Then the horse and the birds and the animals were duly sacri- ficed, and the presiding priests proclaimed to Dasaratha the welcome news: " Four sons, monarch, shall be thine, Upholders of the royal line." THE CONCLAVE OF THE GODS. The gods assembled at the sacrifice in obedience to the summons of the priests, who slowly chanted : " For you has Dasaratha slain The votive steed, a son to gain. Stern penance rites the king has tried. And in firm faith on you relied." Having partaken of the food furnished them by the offering, and being pleased with the sacrifice, they went in a body to Brahma to intercede with him on behalf of the raja, and to present a petition of their own. The whole body of deities, with the glorious Indra at their head, presented themselves at the heaven of Brahma, and there beneath the golden dome and be- fore the throne of white lotus blossoms they pleaded with their sovereign to grant the petition of Dasara- tha and also to rid the world of the hideous ten- headed demon, Eavana, who had long persecuted the 166 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OE IITDIA. gods and the priests, destroying the sacrifices and violating every law of virtue and every principle of right. The celestial band stood before Brahma in all their beauty and brightness, surrounded on every side by a host of joyous storm gods, and with joined hands chanted their petition: " 0, Brahma, mighty by thy grace, Eavan, who rules the giant race. Torments us with his senseless pride. And penance-loving saints beside." For thou, well pleased in days of old, Gavest the boon that makes him bold. That gods nor demons ere should kill His charmed life, for so thy will. We honoring that high behest. Bear all his rage, though sore distrest. That lord of giants, fierce and fell. Scourges the earth and heaven and hell. Mad with thy boon, his impious rage Smites saint and bard and god and sage. The sun himself withholds his glow ; The wind, in fear, forgets to blow; The fire restrains his wonted heat Where stands the dreaded Eavan's feet ; And necklaced with the wandering wave, The sea before him fears to rave. Kuvera's self in sad defeat Is driven from his blissful seat. We see, we feel the gianf s might. And woe comes o'er us and affright. THE STORY OF THE EAMAYA^STA. 167 To thee, lord, thy suppliants pray To find some cure this plague to stay." Ravana had secured from Brahma the promise that he should not be slain by gods or demons or genii. This assurance had been gained by a long pen- ance on the part of Ravana, during which he had stood upon his head in the midst of five fires for ten thousand years. In addition to this wonderful boon he had thereby gained a gratuity of nine additional heads, with a full complement of eyes, ears, noses, and other features, besides eighteen additional arms and hands. Brahma having bestowed these gifts upon Ravana, found himself in a dilemma. He therefore replies: " One only way I find To slay this fiend of evil mind. He prayed me once his life to guard From demon, god, and heavenly bard. And spirits of the earth and air. And I, consenting, heard his prayer. But the proud giant in his scorn Recked not of man of woman born. None else may take his life away. And only man the fiend can slay." Brahma then conducted them to the home of Vish- nu, on an island in the sea of milk, which is the sixth circumambient ocean of the world. When they arrived at the gorgeous court of Vishnu, the god was not to be seen. They began, however, to sing his praises, and soon the glorious lord of the world ap- 168 THE ASrCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. pearedj arrayed in garments of golden texture and riding upon his eagle steed (Garuda). In his four hands were the symbols of his power — the shelly the mace, the 6akra, and the lotus, while his beautiful wife, Lakshmi, sat upon his lap. Then the assem- bled gods fell upon their knees before him and im- plored him to deliver them from the fatal power of Eavana. The great Vishnu was gracious to his noble petitioners, and answered: "Be no longer alarmed; your foe shall fall before my feet. Eavana in his pride of power did not ask Brahma to preserve him from men or from monkeys, for he deemed them be- neath his notice. But I will take advantage of this omission, and cause his destruction by the very means which he despises. I will myself be born as the son of Da^aratha, you shall assist me by assuming the form of monkeys, and together we will overthrow this terrible enemy of gods and men." Then the gods re- joiced and sang the praises of Vishnu as they went away to do his bidding, and were borne to their homes across the creamy billows of the sea of milk. BAMA. Soon after the conclave of the gods had received from Vishnu a favorable answer to their petition, the principal wives of Da^aratha bore him four sons. Kau^alya was the mother of Eama, and Kaikeyi the mother of Bharata, while Sumitra became the mother of two sons, Lakshmana, who was always the firm friend of Eama, and Satru-ghna, who was equally attached to Bharata. It is claimed that when Eama was born he wore a THE STOBY OF THE BAMAYANA. 169 crown set with jewels. In his ears were rings in the form of crocodiles. He had four arms, and in eacli hand he held one of the symbols of Vishnu. A string of rubies was around his neck, and a million suns and moons would hide their faces at the sight of his coun- tenance. After explaining to his mother his reason for assuming a human form, he concealed his four arms, and in the form of a human babe began to cry. When it was announced in the streets of Ayodhya that four heirs were born to the raja, the great city was filled with rejoicing. The happy father distributed gener- ous gifts among the people, and received in return their congratulations and praises. Prom every gate of the city the joyful notes of music rang out upon the clear air, and the houses were decorated with the blossom-laden branches of the mango tree. Kama, the beautiful boy,^ grew rapidly toward manhood, and even in his childhood became an expert archer. In early youth he was the best shot in the kingdom, and his strength was such that everything he touched yielded to the power of his hands. THE BOW OF SIVA. The raja Janaka, who ruled over a neighboring province, was the possessor of the wonderful bow of Siva. This was said te be the veritable bow with which Siva had destroyed the gods, when he overturned the altars and tore up the groves of Daksha, because 1 Each nation has an undoubted right to its own ideal, b\it the per- sonal appearance which is ascribed to Rama hardly accords with mod- em ideas of beauty. He is represented as being of "a beautiful color like green grass, with fine glossy hair and a large bead. His nose was like that of the green parrot, his legs resembled plantain trees, and his feet were red as the rising sun." 170 THE AKCIENX BOOKS OF INDIA. Daksha, having prepared a great sacrifice, invited all the gods to the festival except Siva and his wife. But no man could handle the great bow or the heavy ar- rows of the vindictive god. Janaka therefore issued a prpclamation that he who could bend the bow of Siva should receive in marriage his beautiful daughter, Sita.^ The loveliness of this young girl had at- tracted rajas from all parts of the country to enter the contest for her hand, but they had gone home in dismay when they saw the mammoth bow. The fame, of Sita's beauty had also reached the city of Ayodhya, and Eama determined to test his strength and win, if possible, the lovely princess. One beautiful morn- ing he started with Lakshmana, who was ever his de- voted companion, to the city of Mithila, where the raja Janaka lived. When they arrived and the raja saw them, he in- quired of his attendants, ''Who are those two young men who are as majestic as elephants, as heroic as tigers, and as beautiful as the two Asvins?"^ And they answered, " They are the sons of Maharaja Dasa^- ratha, and they come hither to inquire about the great bow." Then the raja exhibited to his royal guests the great bow with which Siva destroyed the gods at the sacrifice of Daksha, and which had ever since been preserved in the royal house of Mithila, and wor- shiped by devotees. lit Is claimed that Sita was bom of the earth and not of woman. Janaka said that one day while he was ploughing, the ploughshare struck a silver vessel, and taking it out of the ground he opened it and found a beautiful babe therein, whom he adopted as his own daughter. 2 Two deities, ever young and beautiful, who riding in a golden car announced the coming of TJshas (the dawn). They are also caUed di- vine physicians. THE STORY OF THE RAMAYASTA. 171 When the bow was brought into the royal presence it lay in a great car, which moved upon eight wheels and was drawn by five thousand strong men. Then said raja Janaka to the young princes, "I have prom- ised to give my beautiful daughter Sita to the raja who shall succeed in bending the bow, and all the ra- jas of the earth have come hither ; but no one has been strong enough even to lift it from its resting-place." No sooner had he uttered these words then Eama stepped forth in his magnificent strength and took the bow from the car with his right hand, while the multitude around him were hushed with amazement and expec- tation. Then, taking the other hand he bent the bow nearly double, so that it broke with a crash, like one of the thunder-bolts of Indra. The people were stunned as if a mountain had fallen into the sea, and many of them were thrown to the ground. Kaja Janaka turned to his attendants and said, " This deed of Rama's is without a parallel, and he shall receive my daughter Sita in marriage. Let messengers be mounted upon swift horses, and let them carry this joyful news to the raja Dasaratha, and bring him to this city." MARRIAGE OF RAMA. "When the messengers arrived at the palace of Da- saratha the king was rejoiced to learn of the prowess of his son, and also that the two royal lines were to be joined by the marriage of Rama with the lovely prin- cess Sita. Early the next morning the raja set out with a magnificent train of attendants upon the four days' journey to the city of Mithila. In his splendid reti- 173 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. nue a large corps of royal archers rode upon swift horses, and the priests of the royal household were mounted upon elephants with rich trappings and dec- orations. All the treasures of the kjng were also car- ried in a long line of chests, which were drawn by elephants. The raja and his household were mounted upon white elephants and attended by dancing girls and musicians. The great procession moved gaily out of the city, amidst the rejoicing of the people, and wound its way slowly along to the city of Mithila. It was joyfully received, the raja Janaka and his court coming out to meet his royal guest, whom he saluted, saying to Dasaratha, "Happy am I this day and de- livered from all distress, for by this alliance with your royal line my family will be honored and purified." On the morrow when the two kings with their priests and other attendants were assembled, the great sage Vasishtha recited to raja Janaka the names of all the ancestors of Dasaratha, and Janaka repeated to his guest the long list of his own progenitors. Thus the two royal lines were compared and the marriage was decided upon. Then Dasaratha retired from the scene and performed the great ceremony of ^raddha, or offer- ing, to the ghosts of his ancestors, giving a great number of cows to the officiating priests. Each cow had horns of pure gold. When the ceremonial night had passed away, Dasa- ratha, attended by his four sons, all richly adorned with jewels, went again to the raja of Mithila. When they reached the chamber of the gods where the cere- mony was to be performed, they found it draped on every side with the richest flowers of the tropics. THE 8T0BY OF THE BAMAYAITA. 173 There were great vases filled with the branches of magnolias, whose white blossoms loaded the air with their fragrance. The pearly flowers of the orange tree surrounded its golden fruit, contrasting with the rich green of its foliage. The floor was carpeted with the sacred kusa grass, and the sacred flre was lighted upon the altar, where the homa, consecrated with mantras, was placed upon the flame. While Kama stood upon the eastern side of the altar, Janaka led his peerless daughter to the other side. Costly jewels studded the folds of her white robe and glittered in the braids of her dark hair. Then raja Janaka placed her hand in that of Eama and said to him, " This is my daughter Sita, endowed with every virtue. Take her hand in yours, son of Dasaratha, and she will ever attend you like a shadow. Maintain her for life, and be not offended if she commits a fault." The bride was consecrated with holy water, the trumpets sounded, and Eama led her three times around the sacred fire upon the altar and performed all the ceremonies according to the Hindii law. Then a shower of blossoms fell upon them from the heavens, and celestial music was heard in the sky, as the Gandharvas, or celestial musicians, played a sweet and solemn wedding hymn. After Kama and his bride were taken to an inner room, her veil was removed, and he looked for the first time upon her lovely face. Her large dark eyes were veiled with heavy lashes and cast down in the presence of her lord, while her crimson blushes lighted up with new beauty her soft golden complexion. As Kama took his trembling bride in his arms and gazed upon her girlish form, a great love was born in his heart for l'J'4 THE AlfCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. the woman upon whom he now looked for the first time. Her ruby lips were pressed with a warm and eager kiss, which was at once a lover's tribute and a hus- band's offering. And she, the timid girl, felt the brave heart of her husband beating against her own, and nestled in his bosom, like a trembling bird that has found a refuge from the storm. The next morning after the marriage of Eama, the raja Dasaratha and his family took leave of Janaka, who caressed his daughter Sita and loaded her elephant with valuable presents. The splendid troops of archers and the great retinue of horses and elephants with their rich trappings were made ready, and amidst the strains of joyous music the procession set out for the capital city of Dasaratha. Couriers had announced their approach, and upon their arrival they found Ayodhya adorned with banners and decorated with flowers. The air was filled with the clangor of trumpets, and thou- sands of people thronged the gates to welcome their king, the heir apparent, and his beautiful bride. After a great feast to the musicians and the warriors, the dancers and the singers, the priests and the kinsmen, they were dismissed with rich presents, and the royal party entered their own apartments Within the beautiful palace. EAMA APPOINTED YUVA-RAJA. It was the custom for the heir to the throne to re- ceive the appointment of Yuva-raja, that he might assist in the management of the affairs of state, even during the life of the raja. This arrangement intro- duced the young prince to his life work, and at the THE STOKY OF THE BAilAYANA. 175 same time lightened the burdens of the reigning king, while it effectually prevented any dispute as to the proper successor when the death of the raja occurred. Therefore, the ministers and counselors went to the pal- ace and entreated Dasaratha to appoint Eama as the Yuva-raja, for all the people loved the young heir and were anxious to see him share in the honors of the government. The ministers said to Dasaratha, " Maha-raja, listen to the voice of your people. You are the raja of rajas. You are the greatest among men. At a great sacrifice of your happiness you have gov- erned us for nine thousand years, and under your rule every one has been happy and no one has dreamed of misfortune. Now it is the wish of all that Eama should also be placed upon the throne." So Dasaratha called together all of his ministers and counselors, and the chieftains and officers of the army, and all the people of the city to hear his pro- clamation. Then from the throne of the Council Hall the raja addressed them as follows: "To-day I am the happiest of men, and I cannot reward you sufficiently for the joy which your proposal has given me. I have long been desirous of placing Kama upon the throne, but have waited to know your wishes. Therefore, let there be no further delay. I have constantly pre- served my subjects to the utmost of my power, but this frame of. mine has grown old under the shadow of the royal canopy. I am worn out with the weight of my duties, and desire rest. My excellent son I wish to appoint Yuva-raja. To him I commit the government of the raj. This delightful month, Caitra, in which the forests are adorned with flowers, is sacred 176 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. and auspicious ; prepare all things for the installation of Kama as Yuva-raja." Then all the chieftains and the people rejoiced and great shouts went up from the assembled multitude. But the raja turned to Vasishtha and said, " chief of sages, it is proper for you to say what ceremonies shall be per- formed at the installation of Kama." And Vasish- tha said to the servants of the king, " Prepare the gold and the Jewels and the purifying bath of the gods, the incense, the garlands of white flowers, the parched grain, the honey, the clarified butter, the insignia of royalty, and all things necessary for the installation of the Yuva-raja, and place them in the house set apart for the sacred fire. Provide, also, abundance of food, with curds and milk for one hun- dred thousand priests, and fill the golden pots with water from the sacred rivers. Let the Brahmans be invited to attend and the throne be prepared and the banners be elevated, and let the musicians and beauti- ful dancing girls gaily adorned, fill the inner court of the royal palace, and let garlands of flowers" be placed in all the temples and beneath the sacred trees." Then Da^aratha said to his chosen counselor Sumantra, "Bring hither the accomplished Eama." So Eama was brought to the great council hall of the palace, and descending from his royal chariot went into the presence of his father and bowed himself at his feet. ' But the raja clasped both the hands of his son and drew him toward him, and commanded a lofty throne set with Jewels to be placed before the heir apparent. Then addressing his son he said. THE STORY OF THE BImIYANA. 177 "All men owe three great debts: the first to the gods, the second to the Kishis, and the third to their ancestors. The first I have paid with sacrifices and ceremonies ; the second^ by learning the Vedas, and your birth has freed me from the third. I have now one wish remaining, which you must not refuse. You are my eldest son, born of my first wife, and all my chieftains, counselors, and subjects are anxious to see you upon the throne. I.wish you, therefore, to comply with their request. Do not hesitate because I am alive, for it has always been the rule of my race for the raja to take his son to the throne when he grows old. To-morrow is auspicious ; therefore, to-morrow I will install you as Yuva-raja." And Eama bowed his head to the king and went away to the apartments of his devoted mother to inform her of his good for- tune, before he began the " ceremonies which were to purify him for the morrow. KAIKEYi. The youngest and most beautiful wife of Dasaratha was Kaikeyi, the mother of Bharata. Her heart had been burning with jealous rage ever since the joy and feasting over Eama's marriage began. The magnifi- cent presents and the beautiful wife of the heir appar- ent had filled her with envy, and now the great prepa- rations to install him as Yuva-raja made her resolve to defeat him if possible. She therefore retired to her own apartments to work out her wicked scheme. She remembered that some years before, when the raja was wounded in battle, she had nursed him tenderly, and in his gratitude he had promised her any two boons 178 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. that she might ask. A promise of this kind is pecu- liarly sacred in the East, and as she had never yet claimed its fulfilment, she felt that she now held the key to the situation. When the preparatory ceremonies were over, the king hastened to the apartments of his beloved KaikeyT, to give her the joyful tidings and receive her congratu- lations upon the accession of his son. He hurried along the hall, which was decorated with peacocks and made vocal with the songs of birds, where beautiful vines and flowers twined around the marble pillars, fill- ing the air with their fragrance. With a joyful heart he entered a magnificent room, which was as bright as the southern sky beneath a mantle of fieecy cloud. But he saw only the magnificent appointments of the room ; the beautiful creature who haid hitherto met him with her smiles was not there. Then his heart sank within him, for he longed to see her. But the doorkeeper said, " Oh, raja of rajas, the rani is in a great rage, and she has fled to the chamber of displeasure." Puzzled and grieved, the king hurried to the cham- ber of displeasure, and beheld his beautiful rani lying upon the floor, in sordid garments He caressed her and tried to arouse her, like one who awakens a sleep- ing serpent that will surely cause his death. "Why, my beloved, are you in the chamber of displeasure? Why are you without ornaments, and why do you weep? Surely I have never offended you by night or by day. Say if you are ill, that I may send for the most eminent physicians, or if any one has offended you, that I may punish him according to your pleasure. I will do whatever you command ; I will slay the inno- THE STOKY OF THE EAMAYANA. 179 cent or release the guilty,, for I am a raja of rajas. I will give you whatever you request, even if it be my own life." And he clasped the evil creature in his arms, even as men will sometimes take a serpent to their bosoms. Seeing that he was still infatuated with her, Kaikeyi told him of the boons he had promised and that the time had come when he must grant them, if, indeed, he really loved her. " Now pledge thy word if thou incline To listen to this prayer of mine. If thou refuse thy promise sworn I die despised before the morn." Then the foolish raja smiled upon her and said, '■Know, beautiful one, that no one is more beloved than you except my son Eama, and by Bama, who is dearer than my life, I swear that I will perform your request, whatsoever it may be. May I lose all the merit of every good deed that I have done upon earth if I fail to perform your request." Then the evil creature demanded of him, " Grant me the boon, even as thou hast sworn. Let all the gods, with Indra at their head, and all the regents of the universe bear witness to the promise of the illus- trious, the upright, the faithful Maha-raja." Then putting her arms around him, she entreated him to remember the two favors which he had promised when she had saved his life by her care, and which she now claimed. " The first favor is that my son Bharata be installed this day instead of Rama, and the second is that Rama may be banished to the forest of 180 THE ANCIEHrX BOOKS OF INDIA. Danclaba,' to lead the life of a hermit, and to clothe himself in deerskins and in the bark of trees for four- teen years." When the raja heard these fatal woi'ds, he fell upon the floor in his anguish, like a majestic plantain tree that has been prostrated by the wind. Then Kaikeyi said to herself, ''After he has installed Bharata I shall not be sorry for his death, but now I must bring him to his senses, for if he dies Eama will surely receive the kingdom." So she called her attend- ants to apply restoratives, and at last he became again sensible of his pain and exclaimed, " Am I tormented with demons or have I lost my reason?" When he fully remembered all that she had said, he quivered in pain like an antelope in the grasp of a tigress, but he felt as powerless in her vile presence as a bird in the face of a serpent that has charmed it. At last he recovered him- self enough to exclaim, "Oh, cruel wretch! what has Eama done to you? He has always yielded to you the same reverence that he pays to his own mother; why, then, are you bent upon his ruin? You, the daughter of a raja, have crept into my house like a venomous serpent in order to destroy me. Oh, Kaikeyi ! have pity upon an old man, who humbly supplicates you. Save my life by relinquishing your evil purpose. Take jewels instead — take a thousand cities, or anything else that will satisfy you," and he fell at her feet while he pleaded. But the cold-hearted woman replied,"! am in possession of my senses. People call you truthful, and it is said that you always adhere to your promise. The time has This forest is described as a terrible wilderness infested with wild ani- mals and Inhabited by savages or demons. THE STORY OF THE RAMAYANA. 181 come for you to grant me the two favors that you swore should be mine." She was met with a toiTent of indignant reproach, to which she angrily replied by accusing him of falsehood. He remembered his oath, and bitterly exclaimed ; " Oh, Kaikeyi ! in what evil hour have I entered your room ? I have been entrapped by my love for you as a mouse is entrapped by a bait. The race that has descended from the sun has hitherto been without stain ; and I am the first to pollute it. Never before was it heard that a father sent his eldest son into exile in order to gratify a capricious woman. Be the con- sequence what it may, I shall place Rama upon the throne as soon as it is morning. But I fear lest Eama should hear of my promise. Then he would volun- tarily go into exile rather than send his father to a liar's hell.' Oh, Kaikeyi ! relinquish this cruel wish ! What will the rajas say when I tell them that, tortured by you, I have given the kingdom to Bharata and sent Rama into the jungle ? The whole world will abhor me for the sake of the female who sends my beloved son into the forest. Oh, Kaikeyi ! I fall at your feet ; be gracious to me." But the evil creature replied, " I have three times repeated my requests, and your promises must be fulfilled or I will take poison in your presence." Then answered the raja, "I reject you for- ever, and your son Bharata I reject with you, although 1 J. Talboys Wheeler remarks that the "great stress •which Is here laid upon the performance of a promise is somewhat remarkable, from the fact that it scarcely tallies with tlie ^am^e% which have been so frequently brought forward against flie truthfulness of Hindus." Neither is it quite consistent with Jiielieacliiugof their sacred Code of Manu, that lying is some- times JwJSfiatole. (See Manu VIII, 103, 104.) A similar precept occurs in another ancient code, but an expiation is there prescribed. 182 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. he is my son as well as yours." While the king still lingered in this chamber of torture darkness came down upon him and he passed a terrible night of agony, a helpless raja within his palace walls. REVELATION TO RAMA. The morning dawned clear and beautiful. Bright banners and garlands of flowers saluted the rising sun, and all was made ready for the great installation of the heir to the kingdom. The golden throne was set up and covered with the white canopy, which was the symbol of royalty. The sacred tiger's skin, the bow and the cimeter, and the sacrificial fire, with the ele- phants and the chariots and horses were at hand. The golden pots were filled with water from the sacred Ganges, and surrounded with the fruits and gorgeous flowers of the favored clime. There, too, were the priests, and the eight beautiful damsels to rub tumeric on the body of the raja ; there was the great white bull, girded with a golden rope, and the shaggy lion, and a multitude of musicians, and thousands of people, besides the beautiful dancing girls. At the rising of the sun the magnificent procession filled the street leading to the palace, and there the patient people waited for the coming of the raja and the excellent Rama. Vasishtha requested Sumantra to go and "hasten the Maha-raja, "so that Rama may re- ceive the raj as the moon enters the mansion of Push- ya." Sumantra joyfully entered the palace, and ap- proaching the curtain of the door he remained outside of the apartment and saluted the raja thus: "As the ocean when illumined by the rising sun gives pleasure THE STORY OF THE RAMAYANA. 183 to the beholders, so a great raja by his benign presence diffuses happiness around him. As the charioteer of Indra aroused the mighty god before he went forth, so do I arouse you. As the moon awakens the earth, permit me this day to awaken you. ' The god of day rises propitious from his couch ; may he and all the gods command that success attend you. Oh, Maha-raja, all is ready for the installation of Rama. As an army without a commander, as the night without the moon, so is a country when the Maha-raja does not appear." These joyous words fell upon the ear of a monarch who was speechless with anguish : but the heartless Kaikeyi responded, " Go you, Sumantra, and bring Rama hither, for the raja has something of great importance to tell him." Then Sumantra went out of the palace and has- tened to the home of Rama, which was as resplendent as the palace of Indra. In the lovely grounds the deer were feeding in fearless serenity, and the gay peacocks displayed their gorgeous feathers in the morning sun- light. Sumantra passed the brilliant militia guard at the door, and going toward the inner apartments, he ordered the attendant to inform Rama immediately that Sumantra waited for an audience. When Rama heard that his father's chosen counselor had come, he directed that the guest should be con- ducted at once to his presence. When the great coun- selor entered the room he beheld Rama sitting on a golden couch, tastefully draped with the richest fabrics of the Indian looms. The air- of the room was fragrant with the odor of sandalwood and rich masses of tropi- cal flowers. The beautiful Sita stood by her lord fan- 184 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. ning him with peacock's feathers, while her young face was lighted with love and happiness. Then Sumantra delivered his message, and Eama turned to Sita with the words, "Oh, divine one ! I will go at once to the Maha-raja, and you may remain here and amuse your- self with your maids." The dark-eyed wife followed her lord to the door saying, " May the gods of all the four quarters of the universe protect you. May Indra who wields the thunderbolt, Yama the judge of the dead, Varuna, god of the waters, and Kuvera, the lord of wealth, guard you from harm." Then Kama went gaily out with Su mantra, and they ascended Rama's bright chariot, lined with tiger skins, adorned with gold and gems, and drawn by magnificent horses. Lakshmana, his younger brother, attended the crown prince, standing behind him in the chariot. His appearance on the street was greeted with shouts and cheers and the great multitude pressed around his chariot, while thousands of horses and trained elephants followed and the brightly uniformed militia guarded the line of his approach. Thus amidst the strains of music and the triumphal acclamations of the multitude he was escorted to his father's palace, where he. was met with garlands of flowers, the palace itself appearing as resplendent as the milk-white cars of the gods. Having passed through the five outer courts he ordered his people' to halt, while with his brother only he entered his father's presence. The whole multitude waited without in joyous antici- pation, while a terrible scene was enacted within the palace walls. Rama beheld his wretched father sitting by the side of Kaikeyi on a magnificent couch, with THE STOBY OF THE KAMAYANA. 185 his whole face and form withered and blasted by the terrible hand of sorrow. Rama knelt at his feet, but the eyes of the raja were overflowing with tears. Sob- bing with anguish, he could only exclaim, "Oh, Rama! Rama ! " The young heir shrank from the presence of Kaikeyi as if he had been touched by a loathsome serpent, for his father was convulsed with grief, like an ocean which is swept by a tempest. But Kaikeyi displayed neither gi-ief nor shame. She coolly said, "Rama, the Maha-raja is not angry, neither is he in distress ; but he has something on his mind which he forbears to tell you, though it is necessary that yovi should know it. The Maha-raja has made me two solemn promises and confirmed them with an oath ; but lie now repents of it like one of low caste. In former times when I saved his life he offered me two boons and swore to perform them. I have now requested that my son Bharata may be installed as coadjutor with the Maha-raja, and that you may be sent into exile in the wilderness of Dan^aka for four- teen years. If, therefore, you desire that your father shall act according to his oath, you will go out of the city this day and return not for fourteen years." She coolly uttered this merciless speech, well know- ing that it was a dagger which pierced the hearts of both father and son. The Maha-raja was overcome with grief, but Rama bravely replied: "Be it so. I will depart into the forest that the Maha-raja may ful- fil the promise he has made, lict messengers be sent upon swift horses to bring Bharata here from the city of Gririv-raja, and I will hasten to the forest of Dan- 186 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. ^aka and abide there fourteen years." And Kaikeyi replied, " So let it be. Let not your father's shame af- fect you, but depart immediately, for your father will neither eat nor bathe until you are out of the city." Although goaded thus by her merciless tongue, he qui- etly answered, " I obey the will of the Maha-raja, for there is no act of virtue greater than that of obeying the command of a father and fulfilling his engagements. But I go fij'st to take leave of my loving mother, Kausalya, ,and to comfort my beautiful Sita." And bowing himself again at the feet of his wretched father, lie left the apartment, followed by Lakshmana, who had witnessed the whole interview. KAU.SALYl. When Rama entered the elegant rooms of his devo- ted mother, he saw that she was propitiating the gods in his behalf. She was even then fanning the sacrifi- cial fire, while around her lay the curds, the rice, the sweetmeats, the white garlands, the sacrificial wood, and the jars of holy water. She joyfully arose and em- braced her son, saying, " May you attain the age, the renown, and the virtue which are worthy of your race, oh, Rama, for even this day you are to be installed in the office of coadjutor of the raj, according to your father's promise." Then Rama saluted her, and said, " Oh, mother ! Are you vinacquainted with the heavy calamity now pending ? It is Bharata who is to be installed, and as for me, I am to . go for fourteen years into the forest of Dan^aka and live upon roots and fruits." When Kausalya heard these terrible words she fell THE STOKY OF THE EAMAYAS^A. 187 in the agony of her grief to the floor. But her son raised her up and tenderly comforted her. At last she exclaimed : " Oh, Eama ! Oh, my son ! If you had never been born I should have been saved this bitter sorrow. A barren woman has only the grief of being childless ; she knows not what it is to lose a son. Oh, Rama ! I am the chief rani, the first and the rightful wife; I am the mother of the heir to the throne, and yet even whilst you are here I have been supplanted and am insulted by the very servants of my rival, and now even my own servants will see Kaikeyi's son installed in the raj ! You, too, will be doomed to hunger and fatigue and all the horrors of exile. Surely there is no room in the mansions of Yama, or death would have seized upon me this day, like a lion springing upon a trembling doe. The Maha- raja is the victim of a bad woman ; he has brought contempt upon himself by becoming the slave of his mistress. Oh, Eama ! Before this thing is made pub- lic you ought to assume the reins of government. You can now do so without the aid of the old raja, who has sunk into his second childhood and is the slave of Kaikeyi." "You are right, mother," exclaimed Lakshmana. " You have spoken what I had in my own mind. I long to see Eama upon the throne, and should anyone oppose him, I swear to yoti that he shall soon behold the mansions of Yama." But Rama answered, " I can not transgress the commands of my father. I therefore entreat your permission, oh, my mother, to depart into the forest. No one is degraded by obedience to his father, and having promised to obey him, I can not make my promise void." 198 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. SlTA. Still another terrible trial awaited the loyal heart of Rama. Taking tender leave of his mother he went to his own home, where his loving wife awaited his com- ing. Seeing that he was sorrowful, Sita inquired, "Why is it, Rama, that you are not yet installed ? "Has the moon not yet entered the palace of Pushya ?" He then repeated to her the sad story he had already told his mother and added, "By the command of my venerable father I go this day into the forest. It will therefore become you to devote yourself to my aged mother, who is wasted with grief. Oh, beloved one ! I must depart to the great forest and you must remain here, obedient to the commands of raja Bharata." But the brave wife answered, "Oh, Rama! What words are these ? A wife must share the fortunes of her husband, and if you go to the forest, I must go with you and smooth away the thorns. Wherever the hus- band may be, the wife must dwell in his shadow. I shall live with you in the jungle, and we shall be happy together in the fragrant woods. I am not afraid, and I long to roam through the forest with my husband ; but if you leave me, oh, Rama ! I shall die." And a flood of hot tears filled her eyes at the thought of separation, although banishment from home and throne, with the man she loved, had no power to bring them forth. Taking his brave young wife into his arms, Rama said, " Oh, Sita ! The forest is not always pleasant ; indeed, it is dangerous. You are the delicate daughter of a raja. You have never braved even the hot sun THE STORY OP THE RAMItANA. 189 of the city streets; how then could you live in the wilderness ? Your feet are as delicate as the petals of a lily ; how could you walk on the cruel thorns of the wood ? There are terrible serpents and crocodiles and tigers. The rank weeds conceal snakes so veno- mous that even their breath will kill a man. Some- times you would have to live upon bitter roots and fruits. You would thirst when you could have no water. For garments you would have to wear the bark of trees and the skin of an antelope, and at night sleep upon grass or the bare earth. Reptiles, mosqui- toes, flies, and scorpions would bite and sting you in your sleep. Fearful Rakshasas' (demons) infest the wilderness, and they will eat a man at a single meal. Besides, you would be without friends, and how can that be endured by a woman ? You are dearer to me than my own life, and I cannot take you into the wilderness and expose you to these terrible perils. You will always be in my thoughts, but you must remain here, where I can at least know that you are safe and comfortable." But she only nestled closer in his arms, and answered : " A wife must share her husband's fate. My duty is to follow thee Where'er thou goest. Apart from thee I would not dwell in heaven itself ! 1 These Rakshasas are elsewhere described as shapeless and cruel monsters who perpetrate terrible outrages, changing their forms at pleasure. They are represented as hiding in the thickets, casting away the ladles and sacrificial vessels of the devotees, and defiling their offerings with blood. The most revolting descriptions are given of their natural appearance, although it is claimed that they can at will assume the most fascinating features. The myth has probably grown from exaggerated descriptions of the aboriginal tribes found in the jungles of India. 190 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Deserted by her lord, a wife is like a miserable corpse. Close as thy shadow would I cling to thee in this life, and hereafter. Thou art my king, my guide, my only refuge, my divinity. It is my fixed resolve to follow thee. If thou must wander forth Through thorny, trackless forests, I will go before thee, treading down The prickly brambles to make smooth thy path. Walking before thee I Shall feel no weariness. The forest thorns will seem like silken robes ; The bed of leaves, a couch of down. To me the shelter of thy presence Is better far than stately palaces, and Paradise itself. Protected by thy arm, gods, demons, men, shall have no power to harm me. With thee I'll live contentedly on roots and fruits. Sweet or not sweet, If given by thy hand, they will to me be like the food of life. Eoaming with thee in desert wastes, a thousand years will be a day. Dwelling with thee, e'en hell itself \^^ould be to me a heaven of bliss."'' But Eama yielded not to her pleadings, and seeing her tears he bowed his head in sadness. Then she drew her form up to its full height, and with her dark 1 Williams' trans. Ind Wis., p. 366. THE STORY OF THE RAMAYANA. 191 eyes flashing through her tears, she exclaimed, "Shame on my father for giving me to a man who has no spirit! They say that Eama is brave and courageous, but ho is too effeminate to protect even his own wife in the wilderness. Surely the Maha-raja has acted wisely in not giving the kingdom into the hands of such a cow- ard ! After having married me and pretended to love me, he is willing to desert me and leave me in deso- lation and loneliness for fourteen years.'' But her love was stronger than her indignation, and breaking down in the midst of her upbraiding, she said, " If I have done wrong, oh, my husband, forgive me ! I can bear anything but separation from you. I entreat you to take me with you. Do not refuse me, oh, Eama ! " and weeping bitterly she threw herself at his feet. Eama could no longer withstand her pitiful plead- ing. Taking her in his arms, he said, " Why do you blame me, beloved, without understanding me ? My heart's desire is always to remain with you. I would not care for the throne of Brahma without you. But when I thought of your delicate frame, I felt that I could not take you into the wilderness. Still, if you are determined to go, take leave of your friends, for you shall accompany me." Sita, overjoyed, hastened to arrange for their departure. Then Lakshmana ap- proached his brother and entreated that he might be allowed to accompany them. Eama gladly consented ; whereupon they took off all their jewels and orna- ments, and even their shoes, and went after the man- ner of devotees to the palace to take leave of Da^ara- tha. 192 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. THE FAREWELLS. A rumor had spread through the city that instead of the installation, Eama and his wife Sita, and his half-brother Lakshmana, were to be' sent as exiles into the forest of Dandaka. The people loved Rama as they loved no one else, and the terrible news fell upon Ayodhya like a funeral pall. The gorgeous procession gradually separated, and mournful crowds with tear- stained faces took its place. At last the two princes and the wife of Eama were seen walking with bare feet toward the palace of the Maha-raja. The indignation of the populace could not longer be suppressed and bitter denunciations were mingled with wailings. The Maha-raja was bitterly denounced, some declaring that he must be possessed of demons or he could not do so cruel a thing. ' Oth- ers sneered at his weakness in being controlled by a wicked woman, and others still proposed that all the inhabitants and their families should take their wealth and follow Eama into the wilderness, leaving a de- serted city for Bharata and his heartless mother to rule over. While the people were lamenting, the little party approached the palace, and Counselor Sumantra made known to Dasaratha that Eama was at the door. The Maha-raja had summoned all the inmates of the pal- ace, and in their presence was still cursing Kaikeyi when Eama and Sita and Lakshmana entered the room. The Maha-raja arose from his seat to receive them, but overcome with grief he sank back again. Eama and Lakshmana took him up in their arms and laid THE STORY OF THE RAMATANA. 193 him upon the royal couch, while the cries of the ■women, mingled with the clanging of their ornaments, filled the palace. Then Kama with joined hands said, "I entreat you, oh, Maha-raja, to look with a pro- pitious eye upon me who am ready to depart to the wilderness of Dandaka. Permit also Lakshmana and Sita to accompany me to the forest." Then the Maha-raja answered, " Oh, Eama ! I have been infatuated with this wicked woman — set aside my command — become this day the raja of Kosala." But Eama replied, " My lord, the Maha-raja has yet a thou- sand years to live upon the earth, and I will abide in the forest fourteen years, but when I have com- pleted the vow I will again embrace the feet of my father." "Go, then, beloved son," returned the Maha-raja, "but go in a safe and good road, and go not away to-day. Spend this night with your mother and me, and to-morrow do as you think best. Oh, Eama ! I have been deceived by a vile woman, who has cov- ered her evil designs as a fire is covered with ashes." But Eama persisted in going immediately as he had promised. All the women of the palace wept bitterly except the remorseless Kaikeyi. The chief counselor also mingled his tears with theirs, but his indignation overcame his grief, and turning with fierce denuncia- tions upon Kaikeyi, he accused her of murdering the raja and his family, and uttered the threat which the people were making — that they Trould with one accord desert the raj and leave her and her son in a deso- late city. Then the Maha-raja gave the following command to 194 THE ANCIBIfT BOOKS OF INDIA. Sumantra: "Order the troops' to make ready at once to accompany Rama. Let beautiful dancing girls and musicians and rich merchants adorn the train of my son. Let the warlike engines follow Eama, and the citizens also. Let all my storehouses of grain and treasure accompany my children that they may dwell happily in the wilderness." But Rama supplicated the Maha-raja to countermand the order, declaring he had no use for soldiers or followers. So with many lov- ing words to the Maha-raja and tender caresses to Kau- salya, the exiled trio left the palace. But the raja declared that Rama should not go away on foot ; if he must go, he should at least travel in a style befit- ting the great prince that he was. The royal chariot was ordered, and Rama and Sita and Lakshmana were seated therein, while the chief counselor himself took the reins, and guided the willing steeds as they moved proudly away. The whole city was now in a state of excitement, and the afflicted people ran after the chariot or hastily mounted horses to accompany it. Every carriage that happened to be ready was pressed into service, and a great crowd of people followed them. Even the Ma- ha-raja and Kausalya came after them and cried to Sumantra to rein in the horses that they might once more look into the face of Rama. But the young prince commanded his charioteer to drive on and said, " When the Maha-raja asks you why jon did not obey him, tell him that you did not hear his order. My deep distress has driven me to this falsehood." And so the great chariot went out of the city, fol- lowed by a vast concourse of mourning geople ; while THE STOKY OF THE EAMAYAKA. 195 those who were left behind were overcome with grief. The black pall of sorrow rested upon the great city. DEATH OF THE EAJA. The Maha-raja entered the palace with a breaking heart J and said to his attendants, " Carry me at once to the apartments of Kauialya, the mother of Eama, for only with her can I find rest for my tortured heart." They carried him in and laid him upon a gorgeous couch, from which he never arose. As the city watch- man called the hour of midnight, he said, " Oh, excel- lent Kausalya, take my hand while I confess to you the great sin of my youth — the sin for which the gods are now sending this terrible woe upon me. " And holding the hand of his faithful wife he confessed that he had years before accidentally caused the death of an only child, and that the father in cursing the author of his suffering, had declared that sorrow for a child should one day bring tlie wanton prince to his grave. Said the heart-broken king : " One day when rains refreshed the earth and caused my heart to swell with joy. When after scorching with his rays the parched ground, the summer sun Had passed toward the south ; when cooling breezes chased away the heat. And grateful clouds arose ; when frogs and pea-fowl sported, and the deer Seemed drunk with glee, and all the winged creation, Gripping as if drowned. Plumed their dank feathers on the tops of wind-rocked trees, and falling showers 196 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Covered the mountains till they looked like watery heaps, and torrents poured Down their sides, filled with loose stones, and red as dawn with mineral earth. Winding like serpents in their course ; then at that charming season, I, Longing to breathe the air, went forth, with bow and arrow in my hand. To seek for game, if haply by the riverside a bufEalo, Or elephant, or other animal, might cross at eve, my path. Coming to drink. Then in the dusk I heard the sound of gurgling water ; Quickly I took my bow and, aiming toward the sound, shot off the dart. A cry of mortal agony came from the spot, — a numan voice Was heard, and a poor hermit's son fell pierced and bleeding in the stream. 'Ah, wherefore then,' he cried, 'am I, a harmless her- mit's son, struck down ? Hither to this lone brook I came at eve to fill my water jar. By whom have I been smitten ? whom have I offended ? Oh, I grieve Not for myself or my own fate, but for my parents, old and blind. Who perish in my death. Ah ! what will be the end of that loved pair. Long guided and supported by my hand ? This barbed dart hath pierced THE STORY OF THE KAMAYANA. 197 Both me and them/ Hearing that piteous voice, I, Da^aratha, Who meant no harm to any human creature, young or old, became Palsied with fear ; my bow and arrows dropped from my senseless hands. And I approached the place in horror ; there with dis- may 1 saw. Stretched on the bank, an innocent hermit-boy, writh- ing in pain and smeared With dust and blood, his knotted hair disheveled, and a broken Jar Lying beside him. I stood petrified and speechless. He on me Fixed full his eyes, and then, as if to burn my inmost soul, he said : ' How have I wronged thee, monarch ? that thy cruel hand has smitten me — Me, a poor hermit's son, born in the forest. Father, mother, child Hast thou transfixed with this one arrow ; they, my parents, sit at home Expecting my return, and long will cherish hope, — a prey to thirst And agonizing fears. Go to my father — tell him of my fate. Lest his dread curse consume thee, as the flame devours the withered wood. But first in pity draw thou forth the shaft that pierces to my heart. And checks the gushing life-blood, as the bank obstructs the bounding stream.' 198 THE ANCIEM-T BOOKS OF INDIA. He ceased, and as he rolled his eyes in agony, and quivering writhed Upon the ground, I slowly drew the arrow from the poor boy's side. Then with a piteous look, his features set in terror, he expired. Distracted at the grievous , crime, wrought, by my hand unwittingly. Sadly I thought within myself how best I might repair the wrong. Then took the way he had directed me toward the hermitage. There I beheld his parents, old and blind; like two clipped, wingless birds Sitting forlorn, without their guide, awaiting his arrival anxiously. And to beguile their weariness, conversing of him tenderly. Quickly they caught the sound of footsteps, and I heard the old man say With chiding voice, ' Why hast thou lingered, child ? Quick, give us both to drink A little water. Long forgetful of us, in the cooling stream Hast thou disported ; come in — for thy mother yearneth for her son : If she or I in aught have caused thee pain, or spoken hasty words. Think on thy hermit's duty of forgiveness ; bear them not in mind. Thou art the refuge of us refugeless — the eyes of thy blind sire. THE STORY OF THE BAMAyAIjrA. 199 Why art thou silent ? Speak ! Bound up in thee are both thy parents' lives.' He ceased, and I stood paralyzed — till by an effort res- olutely Collecting all my powers of utterance, with faltering voice I said, 'Pious and noble hermit, I am not thy son; I am the king; Wandering with bow and arrow by a stream, seeking for game, I pierced. Unknowingly, thy child. The rest I need not tell. Be gracious unto me.' Hearing my pitiless words, announcing his bereavement, he remained Senseless awhile ; then drawing a deep sigh, his face all bathed in tears. He spake to me as I approached him suppliantly, and slowly said, 'Had'st thou not come thyself to tell the awful tale, its load of guilt Had crushed thy head into ten thousand fragments. This ill-fated deed Was wrought by thee unwittingly, 0, king, else had thou not been spared. And all the race of Raghavas had perished. Lead us to the place : All bloody though he be, and lifeless, we must look upon our son For the last time and clasp him in our arms.' Then weeping bitterly. The pair led by my hand came to the spot and fell upon their son. 300 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Thrilled by the touch, the father cried, 'My child, . hast thou no greeting for us ? No word of recognition ? Wherefore liest thou here upon the ground ? Art thou offended ? or am I no longer loved by thee, my son ? See here thy mother. Thou wert ever dutiful towards us both. Why wilt thou not embrace me ? Speak one tender word. Whom shall I hear Reading again the sacred -Sastra in the early morning hours ? Who now will bring me I'oots and fruits to feed me like a cherished guest ? How, weak and blind, can I support thy aged mother pining for her son ? Stay ! Go not yet to Death's abode — stay with thy pa- rents yet one day. To-morrow we will both go with thee on the dreary way. Forlorn And sad, deserted by our child, without protector in the wood. Soon shall we both depart toward the mansions of the King of Death.' Thus bitterly lamenting, he performed the funeral rites ; then turning Towards me thus addressed me, standing reverently near — ' I had But this one child, and thou hast made me childless. Now strike down The father. I shall feel no pain in death. But thy requital be THE STOBY OF THE BAMAYANA. 301 That sorrow for a child shall one day bring thee also to the grave. "'^ When he had finished the sad recital, the king fell back exhausted, but rallied under the influence of restor- atives applied by the physicians around his bed, and taking her hand again he drew his stricken wife more closely to him, saying in pitiful, heart-broken tones, '' Come nearer, my wife, let me feel your loving arms. I cannot see you — my sight has gone after Eama." There was darkness in the city, but the darkness of grief lay like a pall upon the palace where the faithful watchers stood around the dying king. Soon the throbbing pulse was still, the tortured heart had ceased to beat, and the fainting wife was carried away by her attendants. BHAEATA. The prince, who had been summoned, came with joy to attend, as he supposed, the installation of Eama, the rightful heir to the throne. He went first, however, to his mother Kaikeyl, who told him in exulting tones all that had taken place. But instead of receiving his gratitude and congratulations, she was overwhelmed with his reproaches and denunciations for her wicked- ness.^ "Have you come into this family," he demand- ed, "to destroy it as darkness destroys the universe ? My father, the Maha-raja, who suspected no evil, has embraced burning coals, and met with his death through you ! Oh, you are bent upon evil ! This family has been forever robbed of happiness through your infatua- 1 Williams' trans. Ind. Wis., pp. 350-352. 2 It is stated In the original that the guiltless Bharata was pained by his mother's conduct as hy a tumor that had been opened with a knife. 302 THB ANClEiirT BOOKS OF IKDIA. tion. The eldest among the sons of a raja is always appointed to the raj. This is the rule amongst all rajas, and especially those of our race. But I will bring back Kama from the wilderness of Dandaka. I will bring the young heir from the forest and install him upon his rightful throne." Bharata's half-brother, Satru-ghna, heard his words and applauded the position he had taken, and leaving Kaikeyi overwhelmed with shame and confusion the two brothers went together to the apartments of Kau- salya with the glad news that her beloved son was to be brought back from exile and seated upon the throne which was his rightful inheritance. On the fourteenth day after the funeral obsequies of the Maha-raja, the official time for mourning having passed by, the great council convened in the court hall of the royal palace, and the counselors for- mally offered the throne to Bharata. But he replied, "Oh, excellent men ! in our family the raj has ever been considered the inheritance of the eldest son, and it is right that my eldest brother, Rama, should become your raja, and that I should reside fourteen years in the forest. Therefore, prepare a large army and I will lead them into the forest and restore the rightful heir. We will go forth with a splendid retinue of troops with horses and elephants, bearing till the sacred utensils necessary for his installation, and he shall return to his throne and kingdom." These generous words were received with shouts and cheers, even from the high officials, and as the news sprea i through the city, the people took uj) the glad re- frain, and their mourning was turned to joy. Happy THE STOEY OF THE RAMATANA. 303 songs and laughter again sounded in the streets which had for days been oppressed with a pall of sadness. Strains of joyous music again floated upon the air, gorgeous banners were once more flung to the breeze, and the very trees and flowers seemed to share in the general rejoicing. CHAPTER XV. THE STORY OP THE KAMAYANA, CGNTINTJBD. LEAVING THE ATTENDANTS — THE GANGES — CITRA- KtJTA — LIFE IN EXILE — BHAKATA'S AKEIYAL — THE INTERVIEW — A WARNING AND DEPARTURE — ATRI AND ANAStJTA — ^THE NEW HOME — SURPA-NAK- HA — HAVANA — THE ABDUCTION — THE SEARCH — SU- GElVA, THE MONKEY KING — EXPEDITION OF THE MONKEY GENERAL — HANUMAN — LANKA — THE PAL- ACE OF RAVANA — THE ASOKA GROVE — INTERVIEW BETWEEN HANUMAN AND SITA — HANUMAN DESTROYS THE MANGO GROVE — THE BURNING OF LANKA — HAN- UMAN REJOINS THE MONKEY ARMY. rxIHE people continued to follow the chariot of Kama J- even after the Maha-raja had been carried back to the palace. Determined to share in his fortunes and hardships, the great procession continued almost un- broken until they reached the banks of the beautiful river Tamasa, where it was determined to encamp for the night. So the horses were loosed and allowed to drink from the clear flood before being tethered for the night, while the people ate of the wild fruits, and making beds of the forest leaves lay down to sleep beneath the great trees. In the early morning Rama awakened Sumantra and his brother and said to them, "These devoted 204 THE STORY OF THE KAMAYANA. 305 people have vowed to take us backj and they will never leave us while their lives remain. Let us there- fore quietly mount the chariot and depart while they are still asleep." Then Sumantra harnessed the horses as quietly as possible, and Rama with his wife and brother entered the chariot. The charioteer, in com- pliance with Rama's request, drove the horses slowly backward over the route by which they came, that the people might not be able to follow their track, and then turning took a different direction into the wilderness. When the people awoke and found that the chariot had gone, they followed its backward track until it was lost in a multitude of others ; then they returned with sad hearts to the city of mourning. CROSSING THE GANGES. In the meantime the chariot of Rama pursued its way to the sacred shores of the Ganges. The deep, cool waters were dashing between the green banks in a rapid current, then rolling away into the quiet pools below, where the creamy lotus blossoms raised their heads above the bright surface and loaded the air with their fragrant breath. Just above them the fair river gleamed like a stream of silver against the golden sands upon the shore, and around them were massive trees, some of which were laden with flowers, and others bending low beneath a weight of golden fruit. Here they paused to pay their tribute of devotion to the beautiful river by chanting the musical Hindu name of Granga ! Ganga ! Then the fair goddess of the stream raised their chariot in her hands and bore it in the air above the 306 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. waters to the other side. This was the river which fell to earth from the divine feet of Vishnu.^ Ganga was the eldest daughter of Himavat, "Lord of the Moun- tains," but the beautiful river flowed* only through the fields of heaven. Sagara, an early king of Ayodhya, had sixty thou- sand sons, and he sent them out one day to recover a horse which had been designed for the Asva-medha sacrifice, but had been stolen by a Eakshasa. The gigantic sons of the solar race having searched the earth unsuccessfully, proceeded to dig through into the lower regions ; they found many wonderful things in the course of their excavations, and at last met a living sage, Kapila. They promptly accused him of having stolen the horse, when he responded to their accusation by reducing them all to ashes. The grand- son of Sagara attempted to perform the funeral rites, but was told that the Ganga must water the ashes with her sacred stream. Bhagiratha, the great-grand- son of Sagara, then performed severe penances to induce the gods to send down the celestial river. He was told that his request should be granted, but he must secure the intervention of Siva, or the earth would be destroyed by the force of the torrent. "As thou prayest it shall be. Ganga, whose waves in heaven flow. Is daughter of the Lord of Snow. Win Siva that his aid be lent To hold her in her mid descent. For earth alone will never bear These torrents from the upper air." IThe fountain of the Ganges is said to be in the great toe of this god. THE STORY OF THE EAMAYANA. 307 He therefore propitiated §iva, who at last consented to stand beneath the descending torrent and break its fall. "On diva's head descending first, A rest the torrents found. Then down in all their might they burst And roared along the ground; On countless glittering scales the beam Of rosy morning flashed, Where fish and dolphins through the stream Fallen and falling dashed. Then bards who chant celestial lays. And nymphs of heavenly birth. Flocked round upon that flood to gaze That streamed from sky to earth. The gods themselves from every sphere. Incomparably bright, Borne in their golden cars drew near To see the wondrous sight. The cloudless sky was all aflame With the light of a hundred suns Where'er the shining chariots came That bore these holy ones. So flashed the air with crested snakes And flsh of every hue As when the lightning's glory breaks Through fields of summer blue. And white foam-clouds and silver spray Were wildly tossed on high. Like swans that urge their homeward way Across the autumn sky."' » Griffith's trans., Vol I, p. 194. 308 THE AJSrCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Thus flowing down the long coils of Siva's hair, the fearful torrent reached the earth and fell into Vindu Lake/ whence proceed the seven sacred streams of In- dia. Immediately after crossing the Ganges, Rama dis- missed Sumantra, sending him back to Ayodhya with the chariot and with admonitions to be careful of the feelings of the Maha-raja, and thoughtful for the hap- piness of his mother, Kausalya. He also sent kind salutations to Bharata, as the ruler of the raj. In vain the faithful Su mantra pleaded to be allowed to spend the fourteen years of exile with them and carry them home in the chariot. He was kindly but firmly sent back to the city without them. CITKA-KUTA. " Lakshmana, " said Rama, "my poor Sita will now be obliged to endure the privations of forest life, and the fear of lions and tigers and other wild animals. We will protect her as far as lies in our power. You may go on before and I will follow behind her, that she may be shielded on all sides." Then taking their bows and arrows in their hands they walked bravely into the forest. They traveled slowly and carefully, with occasional rests on account of Sita's tender feet, until they came near to the beautiful moun- tain of Citra-kiita. A fair green slope which lay at its feet was cov- ered with flowering trees, in whose fragrant blossoms the wild bees drowsily hummed as they gathered the honey from the tinted cups and stored it away in the 1 No such lake is known, and of the seven sacred streams men- rioned in the legend only two (the Ganges and the Indus) are known to geographers. THE STORY OF THE EAMAYANA. 309 great combs hanging beneath the shelving rocks In the crevice of the cliff the crystal springs formed cas- cades that went dashing down the mountain-side and poured their cool waters into the river Mandakini as it swept around the base of the slope and rolled away in the distance. Beyond the flowering trees and just at the foot of the mountain stood a group of lofty pipals, whoso trunks were enwreathed with flowering vines, like garlands festooned upon the columns of some fair temple. While they looked a gazelle, which had never been startled by man, walked carelessly out of the shade and went down to the river to drink of its clear waters. Enchanted with the scene, Eama turned to his brother with the words, " This shall be our wildwood home ; we will build a cot beneath those trees, and in the shade of the sacred mountain we will spend the years of our exile." Then turning to Sita, he put his arm around her and said : " Look round thee, dear ; each flowery tree Touched with the fire of morning see. The Kinsuk,' now the frosts are fled. How glorious with his wreaths of red ! The bel trees see, so loved of men. Hanging their boughs in every glen, O'erburdened with their fruits and flowers ! A ptenteous store of food is ours. See, Lakshman ! in the lofty trees, Where'er they make their home, Down hangs the work of laboring bees. The ponderous honey-comb ! 1 The Imtea frondosa, which has gorgeous red bloesoms. 210 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. In the fair wood before us spread The startled wild cock cries. Hark, where the flowers are soft to tread The peacock's voice replies ! Where elephants are roaming free. And sweet birds' songs are loud. The glorious Citra-kuta see. His peaks are in the cloud. On fair, smooth ground he stands displayed. Begirt by many a tree. Oh, brother, in that holy shade •How happy we shall be ! " ' LIFE IX EXILE. Beneath the dense foliage of the tropical trees Lakshmana built a tent with graceful branches and entwined it with the gigantic flowermg vines that grew around it, forming a bower of beauty and fragrance. Free from the cares of state, the young prince gave himself ujd to the offering of sacrificial rites and to the compajiy of his beautiful wife. To Eama and Sita every tree and flower were glori- fied by the divine light of love. Hand in hand they wandered through the long aisles of woodland beauty and gathered the rich fruits and fragrant flowers of the forest. Luxury can never taste of happiness, if it is not offered by the hand of affection ; but love can be su- premely happy even in the home of poverty, for priva- tion has no power to break the chain which gilds even her own ruggedness with beauty. 1 Book 2, Canto 56. THE STOKY OF THE RIMATAKA. 211 As each day was ushered in by the golden Hght of morning, which touched the sacred peak with fire, it brought a new crown of peace and happiness to the inmates of the leafy cot in the shade of the mountain. bharata's arrival. At the close of a peaceful day the exiles stood in the balmy air making their oblation to the setting sun, as he passed through the crimson gates of evening, when they were startled by a group of wild elephants that dashed in terror through the waves of the Manda- kini and rushed into the Jungle beyond. In another moment a herd of frightened deer ran by the mountain, and the birds flew over their heads in wild confusion. " My brother," said Eama, " do you hear this ominous roar, deep and terrible as thunder ? It sounds like the approach of a hostile army, but it may be that the animals and birds are terrified by lions that have come into the jungle." Then Lakshmana hastily ascended an eminence and looking far away into the distance beheld the approaching army of Bharata. No wonder that the denizens of the forest had fled in wild affright, for there in the light of the setting sun were nine thousand elephants richly caparisoned, sixty thousand chariots with archers, a hundred thousand horsemen, and a multitude of footmen, the whole city having followed Bharata upon his journey into the wilderness. There were the ladies of the royal household, with Kausalya, the royal widow, at their head. There were the priests and the royal counselors in chariots vying in splendor with the chariot of the sun. There were 312 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. musicians and dancing girls, gaily appareled in brilliant colors. Lakshmana gazed for a moment in silence upon the gorgeous pageant ; then he said to his brother, " Oh, chief of men ! This must be the army of Bharata, the son of Kaikeyi. Jealous even of exiles in the wilderness, he is coming to destroy us both. I see his flag upon the chariot ; he comes like a destroying king." But Rama answered, "Perhaps Bharata has come hither for affection only, or to surrender the raj to me. Why do you speak so harshly of him ?" Lakshmana replied, "Possibly the Maha^raja has come to see you, and will take us home again. I see the great imperial elephant marching at the head of the army, but I cannot see the white canopy of our royal father." When the procession came near the mountain, Bha- rata ordered a halt, that only himself and his brother, ^atru-ghna, with the chief counselor, Sumantra, should first approach the exiled prince. THE INTEKVIEW. The three men approached the mountain and came toward the large and pleasant tent. Above the door of the outer room was placed an enormous bow, gleam- ing with gold, like the bow of Indra, and beside it rested a great quiver of arrows, as bright as the rays of the sun and as keen as the face of a serpent. Be- fore the door of the tent Bharata saw his elder brother, dressed in the garb of a devotee, and near him Lak- shmana, also wearing garments of bark, while the bean- THE STOBY OF THE EAMAYANA. 213 tiful Siba was nestling close to her husband, her great dark eyes dilated with wonder and fear. Then Bharata bowed himself in tears at the feet of Rama, saying, "'This is my elder brother, who once had thousands of suits of apparel, who is now wearing vestments of bark. The. body of that excellent one, which was formerly perfumed with costly sandalwood, is covered with the dust of the forest. Eama, who is worthy of all happiness, has undergone all of these privations because of nie ! " But Rama embraced his brother, saying, " Oh, be- loved brother! where is our father Dasaratha that you have come to this forest ? Is the Maha-raja alive, or has he departed from this life ? ' Bharata replied with joined hands, " Oh, excellent one ! my valiant father, having sent you into exile at the instance of my mother Kaikeyl, has departed to heaven, overwhelmed with grief." At the announcement of this terrible news, which fell upon Rama like a thunderbolt from Indra, the prince sank upon the ground, like a lofty tree that has been felled with the ax. It was a pitiful scene of mourning at the foot of the silent mountain, when the gallant brothers mingled their tears together over the memory of their dead father. Then Rama and his brothers walked down to the river Mandakini, and descending into the stream performed the funeral oblations for their father. As the prince sprinkled the water toward the regions of Yama, he exclaimed, " Oh, raja of rajas ! may this pure water given to you by me always quench your thirst in the spirit-land." Then holding the hands of his brothers he led them again to the door of the tent. 314 THE AlfCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. The troops now advanced, bringing Kaugalya and the ladies of the royal household, including the hu- miliated Kaikeyi. Eama fell down at the lotus-like feet of his mother, who wiped the dust from his hair with her soft caressing hands ; then twining her arms around him as he arose to his feet, she wept for joy in the arms of her manly son. At length Bharata addressed Rama in the presence of the troops and the attendants with the words, "My mother Kaikeyi having given the raj to me is satis- fled, and now I " give it to you. Oh, Rama ! with bowed head I entreat you to wipe off the guilt of my mother's anger and deliver my father from sin. But if you turn your back upon me and persist in going farther into the forest, I will surely go with you." But Rama answered him, "Nay, Bharata, you must be the raja of men, and I will be the raja of wild beasts. The royal canopy sha,ll shade your head from the sun, while mine shall be shaded by the trees of the wood." In this useless pleading the night wore away. When the morning sun again illumined the peaks of Citra- kiita, Bharata brought to the prince a pair of sandals embroidered with gold and besought him to put them on. Rama did so and returned them to his brother, who bowed low before them, saying, " For fourteen years I will wear the garb of a devotee and live upon roots and fruits. I will reside without the city, await- ing your return, and I will commit the management of the raj to your sandals. If you do not return to Ayodhya within five days after the completion of the fourteenth year, I will enter my pyre." THE STORY OB THE BAMAYANA. 215 Bharata then embraced his two brothers, and plac- ing the sandals upon his head, mounted his chariot, and with all of his attendants, both horse and foot, returned to Ayodhya. But the deserted city was trav- ersed by bats and owls ; it was bereft of music and song. It was like a necklace from which the jewels have been taken, or a star which has fallen to the earth. Bharata refused to enter its walls. The grand procession swept slowly and sorrowfully in, while Bha- rata stayed at Nandi-grama, just outside the city. Here he assumed the garb and matted hair of a de- votee, and here he was installed, while he himself held the royal canopy over the sandals of Rama. All the afEairs of the government were transacted under the authority of the sandals, and Bharata, while rul- ing the raj, paid homage to them. All the presents and offerings which were brought to the sovereign were laid before the sandals, and all matters of state were first presented there and afterward adjusted by Bharata. A AVAENIKG AND DEPARTUEE. After the departure of Bharata and his army, the quiet life at the foot of Oitra-kuta flowed on in its peaceful channel. The seasons came and went, bring- ing new glory with every change. The outside world, rushed on, wearing its cares and bearing its burdens, but they came not to the woodland home of the ex- iles. Sita had made friends with the wild gazelles, that came down to drink from the cool waves of the Mandakini, and as she approached them they raised their beautiful eyes and looked fearlessly into her own. 216 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. The birds made their nests in the trees above her head and fluttered down to the door of h«r leafy home to find the food -vvhich she never failed to furnish them. But a great sage who lived in a Jiermitage not far away, came to them one day and bade them beware of the Eakshasas who infested the great jungle be- yond them. The Eakshasas were demons who fed upon living men and changed their own forms at pleasure. Of late they had become more abundant and obtrusive, and the hermits had all decided to leave the dangerous region. The sage besought Eama, also, to heed the warning and go. So they bade farewell to the bright bower beneath the massive trees and went forth again into the wilder- ness. ATEI AND ANAStJYA. At the close of the second day of their journey they arrived at the hermitage of a holy sage named Atri, who lived in the wild forest with his excellent wife, Anasuya, and had sanctified his life by long penance. He gave them a cordial, welcome, for even the birds seemed to have heard the story of the illustrious Eama. He introduced his wife to the exiled prince, saying : " Oh, sinless one ! This, my wife, is a Brahmani, renowned for her vows and the constant performance of pious deeds. By the power of her austerities rain was brought and fruits and flowers were produced during a ten years' dearth, and the holy Ganga was brought near our dwelling. If she ask of the gods any boon it will be granted her. I beseech you to let your beau- tiful Sita go into her presence." Then Eama said to THE STOBY OF THE KAMATANA. 317 his wife, "Do you hear the words of the sage? You may go now into the presence of Anasuyii." Then Sita approached with reverent mien the aged woman and bowed at her feet. The venerable matron said to her, ''Oh, honorable Sitfi! You have abandoned your relatives and friends to follow your brave husband into exile. The woman who loves her lord will ob- tain a great reward hereafter." Sita replied : " It is true that a woman should love her husband, even though he be poor and wicked, but how much more must she reverence him when he is the embodiment of virtue and kindness." The aged woman then drew the fair face of Sita toward her, and im- pressed a reverent kiss upon her forehead, saying, "I am greatly pleased with thee, beautiful one, and I wish to confer a blessing upon thee. Thou shalt ever wear thy youthful beauty, and thy silken raiment shall never become soiled or frayed — thou shalt always remain thy beautiful self. Time cannot tarnish thy beauty nor soil thy fair robes."' On receiving the crown of eternal youth and beauty, Sita thought only of Eama and the pleasure that it would bring to his heart. "1 shall be more beautiful in his sight," she whispered. " Oh, pearl amongst wo- men ! Thou hast filled my heart with gladness." When Rama and Lakshmana heard that Sita was to retain her youthful beauty through all the coming years, they rejoiced with her that she was thus favored above all others. They were cordially tendered the modest hospitali- ties of the hermitage for the night, and in the morn- ing inquired of the devotees where they could find a 218 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. pleasant home in the forest. But they were told that the whole wilderness of Dan^aka was infested with the terrible Eakshasas, whom it was hoped Prince Eama would be able to destroy, or stop their depreda- tions. THE NEW HOME. The morning sunlight was crowning the distant mountain tops with glory and piercing with its rays the dense foliage of the tropical forest, when the homeless ones again set out jto find a resting-place. The air was perfumed with the breath of the blossom- laden mango trees ; the tall tamarinds lifted their feathery plumes in the distance ; flowering creepers of gigantic size and gorgeous colors festooned the jungle ; and water lilies rested their pearly cups upon the bosom of every pool. They wandered through the beautiful scene with the enthusiasm of children, for the changeful face of nature never wearies her faithful lovers, and this was the flow- ery forest of Pa«cavati. " Here is beauty and happiness," exclaimed Bama. " Let us seek a place for our hermitage in some pleas- ant thicket, where the sacrificial wood may be obtained, and near a flowing stream whose banks are covered with flowers and kusa grass." They found the place they sought in a beautiful spot on the shores of the bright river Grodavari, whose gentle current sang in a musical monotone as the clear waters wandered away. Near it, gleaming like a gem in the sunshine, was a lake, which fed the stream and made the breezes fragrant with the breath of its white lilies. THE STOfiT 01' THE KAMATANA 319 Their hermitage was built of the flexible bamboos, and the rooms were tapestried with branches of broad- leaved evergreens and beautified with floral vines and bunches of golden fruit. AVhen Lakshmana had finished his task he went down to the shores of the lake to gather fruits and water -lilies. He made an oblation of the flowers to the god of dwellings and sprinkled water, according to the ordinance, to secure peace to the new habitation. There in their leafy home the exiles dwelt happily for many days ;^ but even amidst the fruits and flowers of Pawdavati they wei-e still in the doleful wilderness of Dandaka. Loath- some serpents were coiled in the flower-wreathed jun- gle and the Kakshasas roamed the woods, unseen by mortal eye. SUKPA-KAKHA. One of the Eakshasas was a female demon, who often watched Eama and Sita as they sat beneath the plantain trees or gathered lilies from the clear surface of the lake. Their innocent love and happiness was gall and bitterness to her vile nature, and as evil crea- tures cannot witness domestic happiness without wish- ing to destroy it, Surpa-nakha began to plot for their ruin. As she gazed upon the noble form and rich complexion' of Eama, she became enamored of his manly beauty, which formed so strong a contrast to her own repulsive features ; for while he was pure, noble, and chaste, she was so vile that she failed to win the respect even of the low creatures with whom she lived. iRama is frequently represented as having a complexion which is of a bright green " like new grass," although as an incarnation of Vishnu bis color should be dark blue. 330 THE ANCIESTT BOOKS OF INDIA. " She, grim of «ye and foul of face, Loved his sweet glance and forehead's grace — She, whose foul wig uncleanly hung. Him, whose dark locks on high torows clung." Day after day she haunted their footsteps, becoming more and more infatuated with Rama, and more deter- mined to destroy their happiness and ruin this pure man by polluting him with her vile associations. She saw him chaste and true, and longed to degrade him to her own level by bringing him under her vile influ- ence. What a grand chief he would make for a Rakshasas tribe, if she could but decoy him into their camp and use his noble life for her own base service ! She loved Rama, if it be lawful to call that love, which was only the passion of a degraded creature seek- ing to pollute and destroy her victim. If, then, she could steal from Sita the loving heart of her husband and rob them of their leafy home, both her lust and her avarice would be gratified. As she lingered one day gazing upon them, she turned green with envy and ground her teeth in her rage. But she could assume other forms at her pleasure, and she muttered, "I, too, can wear the face and form of beauty ; I, too, can as- sume the manners of an innocent woman, and I will show her that she cannot stand between me and my wishes." So saying, she sprang to her feet and assumed a form of beauty and grace. Then going out into the thicket she uttered a piercing shriek of distress to lure Rama from the side of his wife. He gallantly rushed I THE STORY OF THE RAIIAYANA. 221 into the forest to rescue a woman in distress and be- held the beautiful creature, who appealed to his sym- pathies so effectually that he could not at once tear himself away from her. She approached him and with pleading eyes besought him to flee from the terrible Eakshasas of the wood, while her own loveliness and ap- parent helplessness appealed to him for protection. Drawing nearer and holding her beautiful face up to- ward his own she poured forth a passionate story of her love for him. Flattered by the approaches of the siren he addressed her with winning compliments, but at last explained that he was already bound by the marriage tie, and she would not wish to share his caresses with a rival. "There shall be no rival between me and Rama!" she screamed; "I will destroy this odious Sita." She ran towards the tent ; but Lakshmana divined her cruel purpose and with a drawn sword cut off her nose and ears, whereupon she rushed into the woods, making the echoes ring with her shrieks and vowing vengeance upon the mortals who had thus thwarted and disfigured her. She cast off her disguise and wore a personal appearance corresponding to her moral depravity ; her claw-like hands retui'ned, and demon that she was she bounded through the forest, howling with rage and pain, and rushed into the pres- ence of her brother Khara. Seeing his sister covered with blood and almost ex- hausted with fury, he exclaimed, " Who has done this ? AVho is there, who even in sport would vex with his finger a black serpent full of venom ? Who would take the rope of death and tie it around his own neck ? Yet the man who has done this has drunk of the deadly poison." 323 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Then ^urpa-nakha told her story in her own way, and the enraged brother, calling fourteen powerful Eakshasas, commanded them to go with his sister and bring the three exiles to him as prisoners. Wild with rage and filling the air with their maledictions the Eakshasas fell upon the hermitage, but only to receive from the bow of Rama fourteen bright arrows, which sped through the air like meteors, piercing their black hearts and carrying them to the regions of Yama. Siirpa-nakha gave one piercing shriek and fled to Khara with the tidings that his bravest warriors were slain. He replied in a voice like thunder, " Wipe away your tears and shake off your terror, for this day I will send these mortals to the abode of Yama." Then turn- ing to his brother Dushana, he said, " Equip fourteen thousand Eakshasas who are dreadful as a thunder- bolt and valiant as tigers. Bring also my chariot, my bows, and my arrows. I myself will go to the front and drink the life-blood of Eama." When Eama heard the demon troops approaching with loud beating of drums and terrible war cries, he commanded Lakshmana to carry Sita for safety to a cave in the mountains, while he prepared to meet the foe alone. The black horde came on with screams and yells and peals of hideous laughter. They poured down upon Eama like a black, raging sea, but he received their missiles as the ocean receives her rivers, and drawing his bow in a circle sent his death- dealing arrows into their ranks until the conquered army lay in slaughtered heaps upon the plain. Khara then rushed toward Rama in his own chariot, but Eama seized the bow of Vishnu and discharged a THE STOEY OF THE KAMAYAKA. 323 flaming arrow, which laid the demon dead at his feet. The contest being over, Lakashmana and Sita came out of the cave. The young wife joyfully embraced her brave husband, and as he took her into his arms he appeared to his adoring brother as glorious as Indra in his heaven of the golden dome. ElVANA. On the beautiful island of Lanka, where the wealth of art had vied with the luxuriance of nature, stood the palace of Ravana, the demon king of Ceylon. He was the enemy of gods and men. There were ten hideous heads upon his colossal form, and twenty strong arms bade defiance to his foes. His immense black body was as smooth as polished ivory, but it bore the marks of his terrible contests. The lightning bolts had scorched him and a monstrous elephant had torn him with his tusks, while on his broad chest was a great scar that had been left from a wound made with the shield of Vishnu. His ten necks were ornamented with ten huge golden necklaces set with flashing gems, and on his twenty wrists gleamed costly bracelets of gold and jewels. Each frightful head wore a golden serpent as a crown. He was taller than the Himalayas, and reaching upward he could stop the stars in their courses. He could shake the sea with his fearful strides, and with his mighty arms rend asunder the tops of mountains. This was he who went to Bhoga- vat!, the city of resplendent serpents, and conquering Vasuki, carried away the beloved wife of the glittering 234 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. snake Takshaka.' Such was the fear he inspired, that every living thing shuddered and shrunk out of sight upon his approach. Even the winds crept silently by, and the angry sea forgot to rave and only moaned in terror when he looked upon her billows. "The courage of the Three Worlds," as he was often called, sat upon the golden throne in the great council hall of his palace, surrounded by his chieftains and counselors. On either side of the languid demon were great masses of fragrant flowers which had been gathered and brought to him as offerings, while at his feet were piles of gold and jewels which he had extorted as tributes from his terror-stricken subjects. Over his numerous heads his attendants in misty Oriental garb waved fans whose handles were of pearl and set with diamonds. As they moved them gracefully to and fro they kept time to a dreamy musical measure, which floated through the air. But while the demon sat holding council with his chiefs, he was disturbed by a confusion among his courtiers outside the palace, and in a moment, to his angry astonishment, his sister, the terrible Surpa-nakha, dashed into the room. Her gar- ments were torn, her long hair was disheveled, and her mangled face was covered with blood. The dreadful Ravana sprang to his feet, and shouted, " Spieak ! who has dared to molest the sister of Ravana, the victor of the gods?" "Who has dared, indeed!" burst from the lips of the vindictive female fiend. "Here I find you surrounded by luxury and fanned to ' Vasuki and Takshaka are leading Nagas, to whom a separate dominion over a portion of the serpent race is sometimes assigned. In company with 5esha, they rule over snakes in general and their dominion is in the lower regions. THE STOKY OF THE BAMAYANA. 235 sleep by the perfumed breath of flowers, while I come bleeding from the battle-field, where the vultures are feeding upon our warriors who perished in trying to avenge my wrongs. And who is the cause of all this ? — a mortal," she screamed, " a man by the name of Rama ; a mere youth who has been exiled from his father's court ! But he carries a bow like a rainbow, and from it he sends forth blazing arrows, which are fatal as the poison of serpents. I saw the army falling before him like a crop of grain that is smitten by the rains of Indra. Oh Havana ! this Rama has a beautiful wife of charming face and lovely form, and her com- plexion is bright as molten gold. Oh, my brother ! It was because I wanted to bring this beautiful woman away to be your wife, that I was disfigured by the cruel Lakshmana. raja of the Rakshasas, avenge the death of your brothers upon Rama and Lakshmana, and take the beautiful Slta to be your wife ! " Bending down the haughty demon laid his hand caressingly upon the rough head of Surpa-nahka, and answered in tones of thunder, "1 will indeed avenge my fallen brothers, and I will bring this dainty beauty to my own court." Then ordering his golden chariot, which moved through the air at the will of the charioteer, he called one of his courtiers to accompany him, and while they moved on their way he gave his orders. He was met with expostulations and warnings, but he only replied : "The sovereign of the world is not to be contradicted. I did not ask your advice ; J only commanded your assistance. You must assume the form of a golden deer, and going into the presence of Sita you must 236 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. attract her attention. Having done this, you are at liberty to go where you please, for I shall have no fur- ther need of you. " Doubt not the lady, when she sees This wondrous deer among the trees. Will bid her lord and Lakshman take The creature for its beauty's sake. Thy life, if thou the task essay. In jeopardy may stand. Oppose me, and this very day Thou diest by this hand." THE ABDUCTION. It was evening in the wilderness of Danclaka. The day with her sandals dipped in dew was passing through the golden gates of the west, and the cres- cent moon and the evening star had come forth to bid her good-night. Kama and his young wife stood at the door of their leafy tent looking in silence upon the glories of the western sky, when a beautiful fawn came out of the thicket and entered the plantain grove, which had been cleared of its undergrowth. In the evening light he shone like burnished gold flecked with spots of silver, and his tiny horns seemed to be tipped with sapphire, while his delicate mouth and fine nostrils were like the red lotus blossoms, and his dark eyes looked fearlessly into the face of the princess. Sita was delighted with his beauty, and appealed to Eama to capture him for her. "We could keep it," said she, "in our leafy dwelling, and when our term of exile is finished we could take it with us to Ayodhya. THE STORY OF THE BAMATAKA. 337 But if you cannot capture it alive, bring at least its beautiful coat as a covering for our couch." The will- ing husband acceded to her request, but Lakshmana offered a word of warning: ''Do you not know, my brother, there was never a fawn of such brilliant hues ? Surely it is an illusion furnished by demons. Be not BO rash, oh prince, as to pursue it." But Rama an- swered, " Be not alarmed — even if it proves to be a de- mon I will slay it, and bring the skin to the daughter of Janaka. During all the time she has been in this forest she has made only this one request. Do you think I will fail to comply with it ? Stay with her, my bro- ther, and guard her from all harm until I return." Then throwing his golden bow over his shoulder, he started in pursuit of the beautiful fawn. But grace- fully eluding his grasp the pretty creature bounded into the thicket, cautiously pursued by Rama. It often seemed to be upon the point of capture, but as often it evaded the hunter's touch and fled farther toward the inaccessible hills in the distance. It was now growing dark beneath the trees, although it was still light above them, and at last the fawn paused as if wearied, while its little mouth quivered and foamed, seemingly with exhaustion. "Wow," thought Rama, " my game is secure," and again he attempted to lay his hand upon its graceful neck ; but there was an- other bound, and this time it was far beyond the hunt- er's Teach. Dismayed and out of patience and already far from home Rama drew his bow and sent his un- failing arrow through the side of his victim. The fawn fell to the earth with a human shriek, and in the very tones of Rama it called upon Lakshmana for 228 THE AXCIESTT BOOKS OF INDIA. aid. The distant cry was heard by the listening pair at the door of the hermitage, and Sita besought Laksh- mana to fly to her husband's aid. In vain he argued that it was a deceitful cry — that Kama's power was such that he needed no aid ; she would not listen to a re- fusal, and at last taunted him with cowardice and with motives which were even more unworthy. Stung by her severity he darted into the forest, leaving the beautiful princess alone amidst the rapidly falling shades of night. A feeling of loneliness and terror came over her at once, but she would not call him back, and she was soon comforted by seeing a humble priest approach- ing her little dwelling. In one hand he bore a staff and in the other a scrip. On his forehead was a straight mark and on his fingers were large rings of sacred grass. His body was emaciated and his feet only partially covered by his torn sandals. He meekly approached her, asking for food, and supposing him to be a true hermit she paid him lowly reverence and gladly invited him to enter her little home and rest until her husband returned. "Beautiful lady," he said, "your smile is entrancing, and your radiant eyes illum- ine with brightness even the approaching darkness. How came so beautiful a gem to be in this rough set- ting ? Why should so fair a lady be found in this gloomy forest?" Sitfi innocently told him the story of their exile, when the mighty raja of the Eakshasas said to her, "I am Riivana, the terror of the world I have assumed this lowly form only to gain admission to your presence, for my power is known throughout the universe. Your beauty, oh, radiant one, eclipses THE STORY OF THE RAMATASTA. 229 in my eyes the beauty of all my own wives ! Will you not be my rani — tbe chief of them all ? Lanka, my beautiful city, is on an island of the sea. Built of palaces and filled with glories, it is as renowned as the city of Indra. There, Sita, you shall walk with me among the groves and feel no wish to return to this forest. You shall be the chief of all my wives, and five thousand beautiful handmaids shall attend you." But she indignantly replied, " Know that I am the daughter of raja Janaka, and my husband is my deity. As a lioness attends a strong lion, so am I the con- stant attendant of the majestic Rama ! Do you, a pit- iful jackal, wish to obtain a lioness, who is to you like a ray of the sun to a firefly ?" Then the demon was enraged, and he exclaimed, "Infatuated as you are, oh, Sita, you cannot know of my power. I can torment the sun and pierce the earth through with my arrows. I can slay the King of Death himself in single-handed combat. Behold me in my own form." And assuming his own personality, he seemed as vast as a mountain and as terrible as Yama. His red eyes glared upon her, and his enormous body seemed to be covered with bristles of fire, and great earrings of molten gold gleamed in all his ears. With his ten horrible heads and twenty terrible arms he stood before her, like a black, angry cloud flashing with light- . nings. With one pitiful cry of " Rama ! Rama ! " she fainted at his feet. Then with a fiendish laugh he lifted her from the ground and calling for his chariot he entered it, bearing his beautiful prey in his arms. 330 THE AlfCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. THE SEARCH. The grass and ferns were heavy with the evening dew when Bama turned from the Rakshasa that had in death revealed his true character, and started with a heavy heart toward his home. Soon he saw his brother hastening toward him, and upbraided him bitterly for leaving Sita alone. Lakshmana explained that he came only in obedience to the command of Sita, who felt that her husband was in danger. Then they knew they were the victims of a plot, and hurrying in silence to the hermitage their fears were realized ; for the beau- tiful Sita was not to be found. They searched around the little tent and down by the crystal stream that went murmuring by, singing in its dreams, all uncon- scious of their agony. Then their lamentations were pitiful to hear. Rama bewailed the cruel losses of his life, which had culminated in the loss of her who was dearer far than life itself. "Tossing his mighty arms on high. He sought her with an eager cry. Erom spot to spot he wildly ran. Each corner of his home to scan. He looked, but Sita was not there. His cot was desolate and bare, Like streamlet in the winter frost. The glory of her lilies lost. With leafy tears the sad trees wept As a wild wind their branches swept. Mourned bird and deer; and every flower Drooped fainting round the lovely bower. The sylvan deities had fled THE STOEY OF THE EAMAYASTA. 331 The spot where all the light was dead. He saw and maddened by his pain Cried in lament again, again, 'Where is she ? dead or torn away ? Lost, or some hungry giant's prey ? Or did my darling chance to rove For fruit and blossoms through the grove ? Or has she sought the pool or rill Her pitcher from the wave to fill ? ' His eager eyes on fire with pain, He roamed about with maddened brain. Each grove and glade he searched with care. He sought, but found no Sita there."' Then beneath the dark foliage of the sandal trees the brothers swore by the stars of night to find their beloved Sita and to slay him who had carried her away, whether he proved to be a man, a god, or a demon. In his own terrible agony Eama requested his brother to direct the search, and taking only his bow with his quiver of arrows, among which was the wonderful arrow that Brahma had given him to be used only in a dire emergency^ he followed Lakshmana. Neither of them thought of sleep. Through the dark and pathless forest they sought a charmed cavern in the depths of the wood, whose inmates, they thought, might give them the information they sought. At the foot of a mountain they found the entrance to the cave; day was now breaking, and there, resting upon the thick foliage of a laurel bush, lay a delicate wreath which Sita had worn in her hair. Rama caught up ISoQk m, Canto 61. 232 THE AKCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA, the half-withered flowers, and while he pressed them to his lips his eye caught sight of a friendly vulture. The vulture told them that Eavana, the demon king, had hurried by a short time before, bearing a beauti- ful woman in his arms, and pointed out the way he had gone. They stayed for a few questions, and then performed the funeral rites of the vulture, who died before their eyes, having received a death wound from Eavana, in consequence of his vain attempts to rescue Sita from the grasp of the fiend. Having performed this labor of love for their lost friend and thereby as- sured to him a higher birth and an entrance to heaven, they hastened onward. SUGKlVA, THE MONKEY KING. After a long and wearisome journey, Eama and Lakshmana came to the beautiful lake of Pampa, with its wealth of water lilies and lotus blossoms. The sweet breath of the flowers mingled with the rich odor of the sandal trees, and multitudes of water birds with radiant plumage stood upon the green bank of the lake or hovered joyously over its crystal surface. Amidst the dense foliage on the other shore the wild cotton tree of India lifted here and there its leafless branches, glowing with heavy crimson blossoms, and over all the peaceful scene rested the benedictiori of the parting day. Here they remained through the night, the faithful Lakshmana making a bed of lotus for his brother and bringing water from the lake to bathe his weary feet. Eising early in the morning, they performed their customary ablutions in the clear waters of the lake. THE STOKY OF THE BAMAYANA. 333 and pressed forward toward the mountain Eishya- mukha, where lived the monkey raja, Sugriva.' Sugriva and his monkey counselors beheld their ap- proach from a fort on the top of the mountain, and the raja said, "There are two men coming from the Pampa ; they are dressed like devotees, but they carry arms. I fear they are enemies." But Hanuman, who was the chief among his coun- selors, answered, "Be of good cheer, oh Sugriva, for these are the sons of a raja, and they have come for our deliverance. '' Then Hanuman descended the moun- tain to meet the travelers, and escorted thenj into the presence of his king. Bama told his story to Sugriva, and the monkey king replied, " Some days ago I was sitting here with my counselors, when a fearful darkness came over the whole mountain, and looking upward we saw the terrible Eavana passing over us. In his arms he held a beautiful woman, who was calling upon the trees and the sun to rescue her, and who, as they passed us, threw down her ornaments and her veil, which we have kept, hoping to identify her by them." I In the southern part of India theie are multitudes of monkeys of great intelligence and shrewdness. Their successful trips over almost impassable barriers and their apparent organization have made a strong impression upon the superstitious natives, who seem to regard them as creatures half human and half divine. In the " Conclave of the Gods," when Vishau promised to overthrow the demon, he commanded the other deities to assume the form of monkeys and come to his assistance. It is very proba- ble, however, that the monkeys of Southern India have been confounded with a race of aboriginal natives who worshiped this animal as a god. In a recent letter to the author on this subject Sir Monier Williams says, "The monkeys of the great Epics are really the aboriginal tribes of India, who belong to a lower type of humanity, and were in ancient times very like monkeys or apes In appearance (as they are even now where the aboriginal type Is preserved). In the same way, the powerful Dravidians, who con- quered the aborigines and were a terror to the Aryan invaders, are called 234 THE AKCIEHT BOOKS OF INDIA. Sngriva then sent for the ornaments and handed them to Eama. He took the little silver bells that had tinkled round her graceful ankles and raised them to his lips amidst a flood of tears ; the delicate veil he kissed over and over again, while all around him were deeply afEected by the scene. Hanuman built a fire, and Eama and Sugriva made a covenant of mutual friendship before it. Then the monkey king told the story of his own grievance as follows : '• I am the younger son of a great monkey raja. One day, going out to hunt with my brother Bali, who had just ascended the throne, we found a demon, who fled into a cave. Bali directe'd me to stand at the mouth of the cave while he went in and killed the demon. I stood there until I saw a stream of blood issuing from the cavern. Still my brother came not out. So, supposing that the demon had slain him, I stopped up the mouth of the cave with a rock and went back to the city. The monkeys accepted me as their raja. In a few days, however, my brother returned, and was very angry with me for supplanting him in the raj. He took my wife to be his own and banished me to this mountain, where I have no raj, as you may see, but only a few faithful followers, who chose to share my exile." Then said Eama, "Cast aside, my friend, all fear of Bali ; I promise to make you free. Put on your war dress and go to the gates of the palace and chal- lenge your brother to single combat, and when he comes out against you I will slay him." Then Sugriva set out for the monkey city, accom- panied by Eama and Lakshmana. When they arrived. THE STORY OF THE RAMAYANA. 33ft the two brothers concealed themselves, in the forest, while Sugriva went forward and in tones of thunder challenged Bali to single combat. Tara, the wife of Bali, tried to prevent him from going out, but maddened by the repeated challenge of his brother he finally flung himself upon him, and they struggled until Eama, seeing that the battle was going against Sugriva, sent an arrow through Bali and killed him. All of the monkeys set up pitiful cries and howls of rage when they saw that their king was slain, and the moans of the female monkeys were piteous to hear. But Sugriva was beside himself with joy when he learned that his brother had fallen before the arrow of Rama. The chosen monkeys placed the dead body of Bali upon a litter and taking it upon their shoulders car- ried it to the burning pyre, followed by the other mon- keys, crying bitterly. The hypocritical Sugriva occu- pied a prominent place among the mourners. After the funeral rites were completed, Sugriva took again his own wife, Euma, and also appropriated Tara, the widow of Bali. It was agreed by all the monkeys that Sugriva should be their raja, and that Angada, the son of Bali, should be installed as the Yuva-raja. Sugriva was therefore installed as the raja of the whole kingdom of monkeys,' and as the rainy season ij. Talboys Wheeler says, in his "History of India," "The narra- tive of Rama's alliance with the monkeys exercises a weird influence upon the imagination. . . . The mind is called upon to deal with nondescript beings, half monkey and half man ; having long tails and walking upon all fours, and yet performing funeral rites for a deceased raja, and installing a successor upon the throne, with all the form and ceremony of human beings. It was a monkey raja, surrounded by his monkey counselors, who beheld the approach of Rama and his brother from the bastion of their fort on the mountain. The combats between 336 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. had now commenced, Kama told Sugma to enjoy him- self in his new capital until the rains were over, and then go with him in search of Sita. EXPEDITION OF THE MONKEY GENERAL, HANUMAN. When the rainy season closed, and tlie land of India was luxuriant with the glories of her new foliage and delicate blossoms, a large force of monkeys was gath- ered together and sent out in search of Sita. The troops were under the command of Hanuman, who was the shrewdest and most powerful of all the mon- key generals. When he departed he asked of Bama some token which he could give to Sita if he found her, as a proof that he was indeed a messenger sent from her husband. Rilma gave him a ring which he had received on his wedding day from Janaka, thp father of Sita. The expedition moved to the southward and searched the country in every direction without finding any clew to the location of the fair captive. After a month spent in this way they were returning to Sugriva, discouraged and disconsolate, when one evening, as they had composed their weary limbs for the night, they saw upon a distant crag the chief of vultures, Sampati. One of the monkeys ventured to climb up the crag where he was sitting and inquired Sugriva and Bali are the combats of monkeys. As regards the narra- tive, it certainly seems to refer to some real event among the aborigi- nal tribes : viz., the qnarrel between an elder and a younger brother for the possession of a raj, and the subsequent alliance of Bama with the younger brother. It is somewhat remarkable that Kama appears to have formed an alliance with the wrong party, for the right of Bali was evidently superior to that of Sugriva, and it is especially worthy of note that Kama compassed the death of Bali by an act contrary to all the rules of fair fighting." (See Vol. II, pp. 333-3^.) THE STORY OF THE EAMAYANA. 337 reverently of him if he remembered having seen the demon king rushing through the air during the last few months. "Indeed/' answered the vulture, "I remember it well^ for I was upon the wing in search of food, and not a living creature was in sight. A terrible horror seemed to fill the very air, and not even a mouse ventured forth that I might appease my hunger. As I searched everywhere in vain I noticed that the sky was growing dark, as if a tem- pest were hovering above us, and glancing upward I saw the terrible Eavana. His fiery eyes glared upon me ; but his attention was diverted from me by a pit- iful cry from a beautiful woman whom he held in his arms, and hurrying into a thicket I escaped with my life." "That beautiful woman is ' the object of our search," said the monkey. " Can you tell me which way the demon went ? " " Yes, he went toward the island of Ceylon, and it is doubtless in his palace in the city of Lanka that you will find his captive," responded Sampati, as he smoothed his feathers and began to make himself com- fortable for the night. "I have often soared above it, and it is the finest city in this part of the world ; but the Rakshasas who inhabit it are even more dan- gerous and terrible then men are, and I would advise you monkeys to stay away and let them alone." But the adventurous messenger, overjoyed at the reception of the tidings, hastened to his commander with the information. As soon as the morning dawned Hanu- man awoke his followers, and after a hasty breakfast of fruit and leaves in the branches of the trees the little fellows started bravely for the sea coast. But 238 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. they beheld the island they sought fully sixty miles from the shore, nor were there boats or bridges to en- able them to make the hazardous passage. Hanuman called for volunteers to go to the island and obtain the desired information, but not one of the dismayed little soldiers raised a hand. At last Hanu- man said, '^As none of you dare to undertake it, I will go myself. But I shall jump all the way across these great billows, and land upon the island." Then there was a great cheering and chattering, for besides the admiration felt for their brave commander, every ape was greatly relieved to know that he would not be compelled to undertake the task. Hanuman then distended his form until it was as large as a moun- tain, and his body glittered like gold in the sunlight, while his face was as red as rubies. His arms were extended like the wings of a great dragon, and his tail was so long that the end of it could not be seen. He took his position upon the mountain Mandara (the fabled center of the earth) and cried in a voice of thunder, "Swift as a shaft from Eama's bow To Kavan's city I will go." Then extending his long arms he drew in his neck, erected his ears, and raising himself upon the moun- tain sprang toward the south and alighted upon the island of Ceylon with a bound that made the island tremble. The demon king sent 'for his counselors and demanded of them why the earth was quivering beneath his capital city. They answered that it was an earth- quake, but one who was bolder than the others vent- THE STORY OF THE RAMAYANA. 239 ured to hint that the earthquake had been sent by the gods on account of the detention of Sita, and ad- vised that she be restored to her friends before the island was entirely destroyed. But the haughty king replied that he had not sent for them because ho needed any advice, and angrily dismissed his coun- selors. LANKA. Hanuman had alighted upon the summit of the Sa- bula mountain, and stood looking down upon the city of Lanka, which was a hundred miles in length and thirty in breadth. It was completely surrounded by numerous walls and canals, one within another. Inside of the great outer canal was a broad belt of thick for- est, which was infested with wild animals. Inside of that was an impenetrable wall of iron, with a gate on each of the four sides, guarded by hundreds of Bak- shasas. Lanka itself was beautiiied with lakes and parks and palaces of Oriental magnificence. In the center of the city rose the lofty domes of the palace of Kavana, and every parapet was crowded with armed demons, whose duty it was to guard their king, whether he was asleep or awake. In order to reconnoiter without alarming the foe, Hanuman assumed the form of a cat. In this shape he slipped by the guards and through the gates with perfect impunity. The broad streets were set with gems, but such was the discipline of Eavana that no one dared to pick one up, even if it became loosened in its setting. The magnificent houses were open to receive the cool air of the evening, and within them he 240 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. saw hideous Eakshasas, of every shape and form. Some of them were as tall as the trees and others were dwai^fs. Some of them had only two legs, while others had three or four. Some had heads like serpents, others wore the features of donkeys. Some had heads like horses, while the faces of others were decorated with trunks like elephants. While the monkey general in the shape of a cat was carefully observing these things, the shades of night settled down upon the city and the streets were deserted. THE PALACE OF EAVANA. After the demons had fallen asleep, the strange scout slipped quietly into the palace of raja Havana. This resplendent mansion was surrounded on all sides with a canal, from whose clear waters rose the green leaves and bright blossoms of the lotus, while the even- ing air was laden with their fragrance. Within this watery barrier the golden walls arose to such a height that the birds could not fly above them, and the pil- lars on each side of the gates were made of black crystal. The gates were guarded by thousands of Eakshasas, and over the walls floated the soft strains of music. "Surely," thought the little spy, "this raja Eavana must have been a very virtuous man in his former life, and for this reason he enjoys so much wealth now." Then he slipped through the gate and into the inner apartments of the palace, where he found fountains and pools of clear water, with masses of gorgeous tropical flowers around them. The sleeping room of Eavana presented a scene of THE STORY OF THE RAMAYANA. 241 barbaric splendor. The walls were blazing with gold and gems, while the floor was inlaid with black crys- tal. The royal couch was as beautiful as art could make it. The draperies were as soft and white as waves of milk. Golden jars filled with water stood in the corners of the room, and lamps of precious stones were hung from the ceiling. Hundreds of beautiful women were sleeping in various parts of the great room, and the demon king lay upon his royal bed, a crown of gold upon each black and terrible head, 'and his twenty hands laden with heavy jeweled rings. While he slept, Hanuman looked carefully around the room, but among all the beautiful women there he found no one that answered to the description of Sita. Leaving the palace, he entered a luxuriant ASOKA GROVE. He hastily climbed into the branches of one of the trees' and looking around him saw not far away a , beautiful woman, whose eyes were red with constant weeping. She was sitting sadly upon the ground sur- rounded by hideous Rakshasa women. The fair girl reminded him of a beautiful doe surrounded by tigresses, which were ready at any moment to feed upon her delicate flesh. Her attendants were pleading with her to become the wife of Ravana, but she only replied by chanting in a sweet minor key the name of " Rama ! " " Rama ! " While Hanuman still looked, the demon king him- self appeared, attended by all the women of his court. 1 The Jonesla A£ the Chris- tian era. THE MAHA-BHABATA. 381 the more importanb portions, wliich was probably made by the late Prof. H. 11. Wilson. This valuable docu- ment was placed some years ago in the Calcutta library, under the head of Bhagavad-glta, but it was at last found to contain the bulk of the Maha-bharata. The .discovery was made by J. Talboys Wheeler, who pre- pared a critical and valuable digest of the whole paper, consisting of nine folio volumes. Sir Monier Williams, Dr. Muir, Kev. H. Milman, and others have also made careful translations of some portions of it, and other parts have been rendered into English by a prominent native scholar. We have, besides, more than one careful analysis of the whole poem. In the two following chapters we shall give as briefly as possible the principal story of the Maha-bharata. A full . translation of the whole of this colossal poem would fill about seventeen volumes, but we shall present merely an outline of what purports to be the historical portion. The events here recorded are represented as taking place in an age previous to the one in which the poet wrote, the heroes of the great war having lived and died perhaps a thousand years before their deeds were placed upon record. These events, which took place (if at all) in the early Vedic period of Indian history, ■have been very much colored and changed by the opinions of the succeeding age. The religion which flourished at the time of the great war had to a great extent passed away, and a new one had been estab- lished before the poems were composed. Hence, the heroes of the Maha-bharata are more or less deified by 2b3 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. the fancy of the Brahmanical compilers, and the stu- dent of modern times can only guess at the amount of historical fact which may have been transmitted orally from one generation to another during this long period. CHAPTER XVm. LEGENDS OP THE MAHA-BHARATA. THE GREAT WAR. THE KAUKAVAS AND PANDATAS— THE TOURNAMENT — , THE SVAYAmVARA— THE HOME-COMING — DRAUPADI MARRIES FIVE HUSBANDS — THE COUNCILS OF WAR — PREPARATIONS FOR THE GREAT WAR — THE CHAL- LENGE GIVEN AND ACCEPTED — RULES OF WARFARE. ~rif early times the royal house of Bharata was rep- -■- resented by two rajas, who were brothers. Raja Panclu was a mighty warrior, the hero of many con- quests, and his kingdom, the raj of Hastinapur, was as great and glorious as it had been under the reign of raja Bharata. He was the father of five princely sons, who were called the Pan(Javas. The name of. the eldest was Yudhi-shthira. BhTma, the second son, was dis- tinguished for his voracious appetite, it being the fam- ily cufitoHi to serve as much food to him as was eaten by his four brothers. The next was gallant Arjuna, tall, handsome, and kingly in his bearing. The two youngest sons were Nakula and Sahadeva. The royal brother of raja Pan^u was the blind king Dhrita- rashtra, who was the father of a family called Kaura- vafi, after their ancestor Kura.' The eldest son was named Duryodhana, but the bravest was DuhSasana. 1 It Is said that Qandhari, the wife of the blind raja, once hospitably en- tertained a great sage, whereupon be offered ber any boon that she might 284 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Raja Pan(Ju died while yet comparatiyely young, and the blind king took the surviving widow of his brother and her five sons into his own palace. He tried to nurture in the young princes a genuine re- spect and affection for each other, but a spirit of rivalry and jealousy seemed to exist between them from the first hour in which they shared the same home. A famous preceptor named Drona was engaged to edu- cate them in the use of arms, but he was so indis- creet as to exhibit a preference for the Panclavas, es- pecially in the case of Arjuna, who was evidently his favorite. This manifest preference of the preceptor added fuel to the flames of jealousy, and Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, was especially vindictive against Arjuna, who under the instruction of Drona became the most famous archer of his time. THE TOURNAMENT. After yeai'S of careful instruction and faithful prac- tice, the royal pupils were all experts in the depart- ments they had chosen. Bhima, the young man of the voracious appetite, applied his herculean strength to the dexterous use of the club, Xakula was master of the art of taming and managing horses, and the others had been taught to handle skilfully the sword and spear. Drona then approached his royal patron and said to him, "Your own sons and the sons of your brother Pandu are now expert in the use of weapons, and they choose, and she requested that she might hecome the mother of a hundred sons. Accordingly she gave birth to a lump of flesh, which the sage divided into a hundred and one small pieces, placing each piece in a jar, where they ultimately became children. LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 386 are prepared to meet any foe upon the battle-field." The Maha-raja replied, " Let a place be prepared on the great plain outside the city where your pupils may engage in a mock combat and display their skill before all the chiefs and the people of the raj." So Drona ordered that preparations be made for a great tourna- ment without the city, and had the vast space assigned for the sport protected by barriers. On one side of the ground galleries were built for the Maha-raja and his chieftains ; on the other were placed galleries for all the ladies of the royal house of Hastinapur. The morning of the tournament dawned without clouds. The great trees in the amphitheater stood like tall columns supporting the heavy roof of foliage above them, and were decorated with bright flags. Long garlands of rich tropical flowers were festooned around the galleries, loading the air with their fragrant breath. At an early hour the populace from all parts of the raj filled the great plain, pressing as closely as possible around the barriers of the amphitheater. Soon the blind raja was led in and escorted to his place on a throne which had been erected for him and covered with the fairest blossoms of the land. At his right hand sat his faithful uncle, Bhishma, who man- aged the affairs of the raj for the king, who had been his care from childhood. On the left of the Maha-raja sat Vidura, his half-brother, who was appointed to ex- plain to him the scenes that took place on the plain below them. The ladies of the royal house occupied the other galleries, which were bright with the sheen of silken garments and the radiant light of jewels flashing amidst the flowers. But the most highly 286 THE AXCIEST BOOKS OF IXDIA. favored of the ladies were Gandharl, the mother of the Kauravas, and KuntI, the mother of the Panclavas. Their womanly hearts were throbbing with joyous an- ticipation over the gallant deeds of their princely eons, and they waited anxiously for the opening of the tour- nament. When all was ready Drona, the preceptor, entered the arena clad in garments of the purest white and offered the incense of praise to their gods. Then came the princes lightly girded for exercise and bearing their bows in their hands. Bowing low at the feet of their preceptor they awaited his commands. As they stood there in the glory of their young manhood, a loud cheer went up from the multitude, for their training had developed every muscle, and their fine physiques and princely bearing won the hearts of the people. Their skill was tested in shooting arrows — first on foot ; then galloping around the amphitheater on horses they still struck the mark with wondrous pre- cision. Afterward they exhibited their archery from chariots or the backs of elephants, always winning loud huzzas from the spectators. Then there were brilliant mock fights with the sword and buckler. Drona at last called upon his favorite pupil, Arjuna, and the young chieftain stepped forth as stalwart and handsome as one of the gods. He entered the arena clad in golden mail and gracefully bearing in his hand a bow inlaid with pearl. The multitude greeted him as another Indra, and the glad heart of his mother who sat in the gallery above him throbbed with exul- tation. There had been set up the figure of an iron boar, and Arjuna sent five arrows into its mouth at LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 387 one bending of the bow. Then mounting his chariot he was driven swiftly along, while he shot his arrows with such marvelous rapidity and dexterity as to be- wilder the cheering spectators. In his sword-play the weapon flashed so rapidly in the sun that men fancied the lightnings were playing around him. Then arm- ing himself with » noose^ he threw it so dexter- ously that every horse or deer at which it was hurled was brought down. At last, having finished his exer- cises, he gracefully saluted his preceptor, who em- braced him amidst the wild applause of the multitude. The Pandavas, of course, had been exulting in the triumph of their brother; but Duryodhana was wild with jealous rage, and when they came to the exercise of clubs the fighting became real, and the scene was terrible. These young athletes gave a practical exhi- bition of their envy and Jealousy, and the blood flowed freely on both sides. At one end of the great arena Duryodhana engaged with Bhima, and the contestants rushed furiously upon each other. "With ponderous mace they waged the daring fight. As for a tender mate two rival elephants Engage with frantic fury, so the youths Encountered, and amidst the rapid sphere Of fire their whirling weapons clashing wove Their persons vanished from the anxious eye. Still more and more incensed their combat grew. And life hung doubtful on the desperate conflict ; "With awe the crowd beheld the fierce encounter And amidst hope and fear suspended tossed. Like ocean shaken by conflicting winds." 388 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. The glad cheers of the multitude gave way to cries of horror, but some of the spectators caught the spirit of the fray and ran wildly to and fro, shouting each for his favorite in the iight. Drona sent his son~to separate the combatants, but no one heeded him ; then Drona hastened to them, but his words had no influence, and he was compelled to lay hands upon them and separate them by main force, and send them to their home. The multitude went away in sorrow; the flowers drooped and wilted in sadness, and the loving mothers grieved in solitude, for blood had been shed in anger. This tournament which had opened so joyously was the beginning of those long feuds and terrible contests which stained for many years the escutcheon of the noble house of Bharata. The blind king, thinking to dispel the ill will be- tween the two factions, at last divided his raj and gave to the Pancjavas the most distant portion of it. So the Pandavas took leave of their beloved preceptor, Drona, and bidding farewell to their kindred took their mother with them asd went into a strange land. On the banks of the beautiful river, Jumna, they built a fort and collected their subjects together under the rule of the eldest brother Yudhi-shthira. The new raja soon won the hearts of his people by his wisdom and kindness. He promptly punished evil-doers, and those who had been wronged went to him for aid, as children go to a loving father. His fame as a wise and beneficent ruler extended throughout India, and he built a fair city called Indra-jsrastha. But before it was finished the brothers attended the Svayawvara of the princess Draupadi, which proved to be one of the most important events of their lives. LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 389 I THE STAYATOVARA. One of the iastitutions of India in early times was the Svaya?«vara ; it resembled the tournament of the Middle Ages, wherein the victor was crowned with the laurel wreath by the Queen of Love and Beauty. But in the Hindu contests the prize was a lovely bride — usually the daughter of a royal house. The raja Draupada, who reigned over the kingdom of Paw6ala, was blessed with a beautiful daughter. The fair princess was as radiant and graceful as if she were descended from the gods. Her dark eyes beamed with intelligence, and her cheeks glowed with the rich crimson blood of her race. The fame of her love- liness spread even beyond that of her father's name, and the rajas of the neighboring kingdom came to ask her hand in marriage. But her proud father deter- mined that no ordinary ruler should win his beautiful solitaire ; therefore, when she came to a marriageable age he announced a great Svaya/Hvara, in which the neighboring rajas were invited to take part, and an- nounced that the prince who performed the greatest feats of archery should be rewarded with the lady's hand. It was said that all the rajas from the four quarters of the earth would be present to compete for the hand of the lovely princess Draupadi. The five Pandavas had been greatly interested in the accounts they had heard of the lady's beauty and decided to join the illustrious throng of competitors ; but they dis- guised themselves as Brahmans and appeared upon the brilliant scene in the garments of the priesthood. When they reached the city they found a vast number 290 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. of rajas encamped there with their hosts of troops and attendants, and a multitude of horses and elephants. There were also Brahmans, Kshatriyas, traveling mer- chants, and a great throng of spectators. Outside of the city a great plain had been enclosed with barriers and supplied with glittering pavilions for the benefit of the most distinguished guests, and the long galleries were draped with bright flags and decor- ated with masses of flowers. At one end of the amphi- theater stood a tall pole which upheld a golden fish, and Just below the fish a large wheel was rapidly re- volving, so that any arrow striking the fish must first pass through the spaces in the revolving wheel. The rule of the Svayamvara was that whoever dis- charged an arrow through the wheel at the first shot and struck the eye of the golden fish should be the husband of the princess Draupadi. The assembled throng spent many days in sporting and feasting before the time arrived for the contest, but at last the memorable morning dawned upon the fair city of Kampilya. At the rising of the sun the whole city was awak- ened by the joyous strains of martial music. At an early hour the great galleries and vast pavilions of the amphitheater were thronged with distinguished guests, while the multitude gathered in dense~-masses around the inclosure. "Without the barriers pressed the countless crowd. Skirting the distance multitudes beheld The field from golden lattices, or thronged The high housetops, whose towering summits touched LEGEKDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 391 The clouds, and like a mountain of the gods The sparkling peaks streamed radiant through the air. A thousand trumpets braj'ed, and slow the bi-eeze With incense laden wafted perfume round." The well-armed troops of the raja maintained per- fect order, and the people were entertained with the preliminary exercises of dancers. Jugglers, actors, ath- letes, wrestlers, and swordsmen. Delicate refreshments were served to the guests and cup-bearers sprinkled the throng with the choicest perfumes of the East. At last the beautiful princess was led to the floral throne in the arena, the soft sheen of her rich garments mingling with the blaze of her jewels. Bnt richer than her costly robes was the crim- son of her lips, and brighter than her gems was the light of her beautiful eyes, as she held in one graceful hand the garland of flowers destined for the victor. Low murmurs of admiration rang through the vast throng, and choirs of Brahmans chanted her praises in softly modulated notes. In the deep silence that fol- lowed the strains of the song the brother of the princess announced that he who sent the arrow through the flying wheel and struck the eye of the golden fish should have the princess for his wife, and he invited the rajas and great chieftains who were present to come forward and try their skill. "Quick from their gorgeous thrones the kings uprose. Descending to the conflict, and around The lovely Draupadi contending pressed. Like the bright gods round Siva's mountain bride. Love lodged his viewless arrows in their hearts, 293 THE AN-CIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. And jealous hatred swelled their haughty aiinde. Each on his rivals bent a lowering glance. And, friends till now, they met as deadliest foes." The rajas looked in dismay at the golden fish beyond the flying wheel and then at the huge bow and heavy arrow that was to be used. The more prudent suitors retired from the field, but at last one raja who was braver than the others stepped forward and lifting the bow tried to bend it, but failed in the attempt and retired at last amidst the derisive laughter of the spec- tators. One after another the great rajas then made the attempt, but no one of them succeeded. "No hand the stubborn bow could bend — they strained Fruitless each nerve, and many on the field Kecumbent fell, whilst laughter pealed around. In vain they cast aside their royal robes And diamond chains and glittering diadems. And with unfettered arm and ample chest Put forth their fullest strength — the bow defied Each chief, nor left the hope he might succeed." At last a young man of princely bearing, wearing the garb of a priest, came forward. As he lifted the great bow the eyes of the princess brightened, for she had seen his handsome face and admired his godlike form. A cry of astonishment rang through the assembly upon seeing a Brahman enter the competitive list at a Svayawivara. The Brahmans feared that such an act would offend the rajas so that they would not be- stow the customary gifts, and they pleaded with him LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHAEATA. 293 to withdraw from^the contest. But the new competi- tor was Arjuna, the hero of the Pan(;lavas, and heed- less alike of praise or blame "He grasped the ponderous weapon in his hand And with one yigorous effort braced the string. Quickly the shafts were aimed ; swiftly they flew ; The mark fell pierced ; a shout of victory Rang through the vast arena; from the sky Garlands of flowers crowned the hero's head. Ten thousand fluttering scarfs waved in the air. And drum and trumpet sounded forth his triumph."' The beautiful princess came gladly forward and crowned the handsome victor with the garland she held in her hand, and permitted him to lead her away, according to the rules of the Svayamvara. The cheer- ing of the multitude, however, was quickly drowned by the voices of discontent that came from the dis- comfited rajas. "Is raja Draupada to invite us to a Svayawivara and then give his daughter to a Brah- man?" they cried. "Down with the guilty race of Draupada ! " and they gathered angrily around the king with naked swords and threatened to burn the princess alive unless she chose a Kshatriya for a hus- band. But at the first onset upon the raja Draupada they were met by the Pandavas. The herculean Bhima tore up a tree, using it effectively as a club. Arjuna, too, rushed upon his foes like a wild elephant, and 1 Williams' traus. Thia description reminds one of the scene in the Odyssey where Ulysses "Then notched the shaft, released, and gave Jt wing ; The whizzing arrow vanished from the string, Sung on direct, and threaded every ring." (Book 21.) 394 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. the royal suitors, vanquished in archery and conquered in fight, were glad to leave the fair princess in the hands of the gallant youth who had fairly won her and retire from the field in sullen anger. THE HOME-COMING. At evening the Pandavas arrived at their home, ac- companied by Arjuna's beautiful prize, and one of the sons hastened to his mother's apartment exclaiming, "We have made a fine acquisition to-day." The moth- er supposing they had brought home some trophies of war answered, " Share it equally among yourselves, my sons." Then Yudhi-shthira exclaimed, "Oh, mother, what have you said ? Arjuna has to-day won a beau- tiful damsel at the Svayamvara." Arjuna led the fair princess into his mother's presence, but the whole family were in grievous trouble ; for the words of a parent thus spoken could not be set aside without bringing sad misfortune. The five brothers, it is true, were all in love with DraupadI, but Yudhi-shthira said to Arjuna, " You have fairly won her, and we will marry her to you according to law." Arjuna mod- estly replied, "You are the eldest brother; to you be- long the trophies of war, and this damsel is worthy of being espoused by you." Then the eldest brother said, "It is the raja Drau- pada who has the disposal of his own daughter, and we will leave the matter to him." DRAUPADI MARRIES FIVE HUSBANDS. In the meantime, the raja had been greatly troubled with the thought that his daughter had been won by LEGENDS OS' THE MAHA-BHARATA. 2'Jj a Brahman ; but learning that the young men were the sons of the raja Pancju, he was much pleased with the thought of being allied to the royal house of Bharata. He therefore invited the Pan^ava princes to a great feast, and after the festivities were over he asked Yudhi-shthira if it was his will as the elder brother of the family that the princess should be mar- ried to Arjuna, who had fairly won her at the Svay- awvara. The young prince answered that he thought it would be proper to ask the counsel of the great sage Vyasa. The sage being summoned to the couilcil had the matter presented to him, whereupon he gravely re- plied, "Many years ago there lived a maiden lady who besought the gods to send her a good husband, and at last the god Siva appeared to her and announced that she could have no husband in that life, but in her next transmigration she should have five husbands. But the lady replied, 'I do not want five husbands, I want only one.' 'I cannot help it,' answered Siva, 'you have petitioned me five different times for a good husband, and each time your petition has been answered by a decree that you should have one hus- band, therefore in the next life you shall have five good husbands.' Time passed on and the maiden lady died, but only to be born again as DraupadI, the beautiful Hindii princess, who is the only daughter of the raja Draupada. The gods have therefore decreed that the princess shall wed all of the brothers." Yudhi-shthira replied, " What Vyasa has said is just, and, moreover, we hold our mother's word to be right and true when she commanded that we should ail 296 THE AN-CIESTT BOOKS OF IKDIA. share the prize which Arjuna had won." The raja then gave his consent to this strange union. The princess was therefore arrayed in the richest fabrics of the Eastern looms, and adorned with many Jewels. She was first married to the eldest brother and then to each of the others in the order of their ages.' The ceremony was celebrated with all the pomp and mag- nificence pertaining to royalty, and both families were greatly strengthened by the alliance. THE COUNCILS OF WAE. A long mythical account is given of the feuds and adventures of the following years. Yudhi-shthira was invited to visit the Kauravas, and while thei'e played dice with an accomplished gambler and lost all of his wealth, his kingdom, his brothers, his wife, and finally his own liberty. Draupadi was finally restored to them, but by the terms of the game they were all banished to the jungle for a series of years. Their exploits and adventures are interminable, even the stories told by them during their exile being given ; a part of the Ramayana is recited ; the story of the deluge as found in the ^atapatha-brahmana (see page 81) is also re- peated and many other digressions are made. After the years of their banishment had expired, a council of princes was called by Virata and a consul- 1 Polyandry is still practiced among the hill-trjb^s in the Himalaya range near Simla; it also prevails among the Todas and the Nayar tribes in Mala- bar, and among some of the tribes of the Pacific Islands, Africa atid Aus- tralia. Caesar charges the ancient Britons with the same practice. {See De Bello Gallico, V, 14.) The custom of polyandjy must also have existed in very early times among the Vfidic Aryans, there being a hymn in the Rig-veda which repre- sents a maiden as the prize of a chariot race, which was won by the two Asvins. (See R.-v., Mand. I, Hymn 119, Verse B.) LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 297 tation was held as to what course the Pauglavas ought to pursue. Having honorably complied with their agreement, they were entitled to their portion of the vaj, which had been held during their exile by the Kaura- vas, but Duryodhana, who had become the virtual master of his blind and aged father, refused to give it up. To this council Krishna was invited ;' also their father-in-law, the raja Draupada, and indeed all the allies of the Pandavas. The courtly company was gathered in the magnificent council hall of raja Virata, whose daughter had just been wedded to the son of Arjuna. The great hall was transformed into a floral bower, and the rich perfume of tropical blos- soms filled the gorgeous room. When all the chieftains were seated, the situation was freely discussed, and it was decided to send the family priest of raja Draupada to Hastinapur as a messenger of peace, demanding, however, that the Kauravas make a fair treaty and restore to the Pan- davas their own territory. Having little faith in the success of their ambassador, the Pandavas and their allies proposed to make war in case of a refusal. But even before the priest had started, Duryodhana had determined to go to war rather tlian relinquish his ill-gotten territory. With this pui'pose in view he visited Krishna, "the rude and amorous warrior of the Yadava tribe," in order to gain his assistance. Arriving at his residence, he was told that Krishna 1 J. Talboys Wheeler says, " The great mass of details which associate him (Krishna.) with the Pandavas bears every trace of being a series of mythical Interpolations of the Brahmanical compilers, who sought to deify the hero." (fflst. of Ind., Vol. I, p. 846.) 398 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. was asleep, but the haughty raja of the provinces did not stand upon courtesy ; entering Krishna's sleeping room he took a seat at the head of his bed to await his awakening. Before the chief of the tribe awoke, however, Arjuna entered the room with the same ob- ject in view, modestly takiiig his seat at the foot of the bed. On awakening, therefore, the eyes of Krish- na rested first on Arjuna. But Duryodhana pressed his own claim as being paramount, on the gi'ound that it was he who first entered the room. At last Krishna said to them, "I will put myself alone into one scale and all the warriors of my army into the other, and you can choose between the two; but if you choose me, remember I shall not fight, though I will give counsel." Arjuna at once decided to take Krishna alone, and Duryodhana was pleased to receive all the warriors of Krishna's army, though the chief himself was on the side of the foe.' Duryodhana re- turned to Hastinfipur in time to receive the Brahman envoy from raja Draupada. The blind Maha-raja called a council to listen to the message, and when the chieftains were gathered together the Brahman spoke as follows: "An envoy is the tongue of the party by whom he is sent, and if he fails in the discharge of his trust, he is guilty of an act of treachery. Have I, therefore, your permis- sion to repeat the message sent by the Panda vas ? " The assembled chieftains answered with one accord, 1 wheeler poiiils out the impossibility of auy such interview taking place, Hastinapur being seven hundred miles in a, direct line from Dvara-ka, and shows the mythical character of the interpolation, which was evidently in- serted to promote " the \vorship of Kcishraa as a deity." (Hist. of Ind., Vol. I, pp. 846-248.) LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHAEATA. 299 "Speak plainly the words of the Pan^avas, without extenuation and without aggravation." Then said the Brahman, "The Pandavas send their salutations, and speak thus : ' Eaja Dhrita-rashtra and raja Pandu were brothers, as all men know. Why then should the sons of Dhrita-rashtra inherit the whole raj, while the sons of Pandu are shut out ? You, Duryodhana, from the time of your childhood up to this day have taken every opportunity to injure us. You caused false dice to be made and then invited us to a gambling match ; by foul play you dispossessed us of all we had and compelled us to wander like vagabonds for twelve years. We have fulfilled the conditions, and if you now re- store to us our rightful share of the raj, we are ready to forget the wrongs we have endured; but if you re- ject our rightful claims, the blood of all the slain will be upon your head, and rest assured that Arjuna alone will devour your armies as a fowl devours grain. ' " Bhishma-replied in effect: "All you have said may be just and reasonable, but in boasting of the valor of Arjuna you have said too much. He may indeed be worthy of all your praises, but I Avarn you not to repeat them in our presence." The fiery Karna then bounded to his feet and re- buked the aged Bhishma for admitting that there was anything reasonable in the demands of the Pandavas, and declared that not a foot of land would be yielded up. There were animated discussions of both sides of the question, and a number of envoys were sent to and fro between the contending parties. But Duryodhana remained obdurate, and disdaining the counsel of his aged father furiously demanded war, and at the 300 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. final council closed a defiant speech with th« words : "What, then, are all the beggarly Pandavas that you should think to frighten me with them ? Never will I stoop and humble myself to them, say what you will." PREPARATIONS FOR THE GREAT WAR. Duryodhana called another council of war immedi- ately after the departure of the last envoy of the Pan- davas, and requii'ed the members of his council to make a solemn covenant with him that they would never yield to the foe, but would fight as long as life lasted. He then summoned his whole army and marched to the plain of Kuru-kshetra,' where he fired their hearts with vindictive speeches, and drew up his battle line with barbaric pomp and magnificence. He stationed his army behind a beautiful lake in the cen- ter of the plain, and dug a deep trench on the flank of his troops, fortifying it with towers, upon which he placed great, jars filled with poisonous serpents and scorpions, and reservoirs of burning sand and boiling oil. The venerable Bhishma was enthroned with elab- orate ceremonies as the generalissimo of all his armies, and was brought into the field wearing the robes of royalty, with the sacred canopy held over his head. The Panclavas also marshalled their forces, choosing for their commander-in-chief Dhrishta-dyumna, the brother of their wife Draupadi, and marched with 1 In modem times, Ihis plain (now called Panipat) is celebrated as having been the scene of three decisive b.attles ivhich sealed the fate of upper India: in 1626 when Baber on his invasion of India completely defeated the impe- lial forces ; In 1556 when his grandson, Akbar, on the same battle-field eon- qnered Hemu, the Hindu commander, and finally on the 7th of January, in 1761, when the sovereign of Cabul shattered the unity of the Mahratta power, thereby preparing the way for British rule. LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHABATA. 301 strains of martial music to the beautiful plain, as yet unstained with blood. They were drawn up in solid phalanxes on the western side of the clear waters of the lake, while the hosts of the Kauravas were en- camped upon the eastern shore. The tropical sun looked down upon the gay trappings of horses and men, upon glittering spears and burnished shields. The richly caparisoned elephants were mounted by chieftains clad in brilliant armor and holding conch shells, upon which they sounded the signal of advance. Beside the camp of the Pandavas the river Sara-swati flowed gently along between banks bordered with coroneted palms, while the many-colored lotuses rising above its bosom burdened the air with their fragrance. THE CHALLENGE GIVEN AND ACCEPTED. When the troops on both sides were ready for bat- tle, Duryodhana called one of his kinsmen and ordered him to carry a challenge into the other camp. He was received by the Pandavas according to the courtesies of war, and addressed them as follows : "You have sworn, oh, Pandavas, that when your exile was ended you would wage a war against us, and the time has come for you to fulfill your oath. You have been deprived of your raj ; your wife Draupadi has been grievously insulted, and 'you have been driven into exile. Why then do you sit unconcerned when you ought to rush into battle with your hearts on fire ? " Where is the sleepy Bhima, who threatened to drink the blood of Duhsasana, who waits for him here ? We are assured that whoever comes out to battle against us, be he man or elephant, will never escape with 302 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. his life, and though you are our brethren, you know no more of our power than the frog who lives in a river knows of the caves beneath it. In order to obtain a raj, men should have good fortune as well as strength. Of what use was the bow of Arjuna at the gambling match where you staked yDurselves to become our slaves ?" This speech elicited an angry response and eager acceptance ; but before the two armies were hurled against each other the following rules of warfare were agreed upon : 1. There shall be no strategy or treachery. 3. When we are not fighting there may be free and friendly intercourse between the two camps. 3. The fugitives, the suppliants, and the charioteers shall not be slain. 4. Horsemen shall fight only with horsemen and footmen with footmen. 5. When warriors are fighting with words only, no one shall take up arms against them. 6. No man shall take up arms against another with- out giving him warning. 1. When two combatants are engaged with each other no third man shall inteifere." The rules of warfare being decided upon, night came down upon the plain and wrapjDed the expectant armies in a sleep which was lighted by dreams of vic- tory. But when the moon came out in the troubled 1 These peculiar rules tif warfare are e\idently an interpolation of later flate. The great war ■\\as not fought upon these principles, and" they are at variance with the barbarous character of Uiose times, us well as with the fierce hatred which prevailed between the parties. It is probable, therefore, that the first onset between the two armies took place imme- diately after the Insulting challenge of Duryodhana had been accepted. LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 303 iky her pale face was stained with blood, and the low ;"oll of distant thunder was heard. Dark clouds wept over the coming contest, and their tears were tears of blood. But the fearful omens vanished before the rays of the morning sun. Drums were beaten, trumpets and war shells were sounded, and gorgeous banners waved upon the air. The rajas on either side wore golden armor and stood in their chariots radiant with the gems which gleamed on their hands or flashed in the setting of their golden mail. On the one side the troops were drawn up in the form of a crescent, while on the other they stood awaiting the battle in the shape of an enormous bird with outstretched wings. Elephants, cavalry, and endless hosts of infantry' swayed to and fro like the rushing waves of a bound- less sea. The chieftains arranged their magical arrows in their quivers, and everything was ready for the attack. lit is claimed that princes from the remotest parts of India were gath- ered under these banners. The troops employed are said to have num- bered millions, billions, trillions, and even more reckless figures are ad- vanced. If all the present inhabitants of the earth were multiplied a thousand times over they would still fall short of the fabulous numbers which the Hindus claim were engaged in this "Great War." Even the elephants and chariots are counted by tens of millions. Chariots are said to have been broken or burned by an arrow, and the great war ele- phants are represented as being conquered and killed by a single blow from tlie hand o{ any cue of the warriors. CHAPTER XIX. LEGENDS OP THE MAHA-BHARATA. THE GREAT WAR, CONCLUDED. THE BHAGAVAD-GITA — THE ATTACK AND REPULSE OF THE KAUEAVAS — THE THIRD DAY — FALL OF BHISH- MA — A NIGHT SCENE — W'AU OF EXTERMINATION — RAJA YUDHI-SHTHIR"A — THE DESTRUCTIOX OF THE TRIBE OF YADAVAS — DEATH OF KEISHXA — ABDI- CATION AND PILGRIMAGE OF THE RAJA — ASCENSION. r I iHE great plain glittered with radiant armor and -L the bright trappings of war horses, while the impatient armies awaited the signals of their chief- tains and a terrible conflict was momentarily expected. At this point in the account a later hand has interpo- lated a long series of discourses by Krishna, called the Bhagavad-gita, which will be treated in another chap- ter. According to some writers the foe consider- ately waited until this " Divine Song " was finished, and then the attack was made by Bhishma, who ad- vanced with the troops of the Kauravas. The mighty host poured over the plain with their lances gleaming in the Bunlight and gorgeous banners waving above them. The gallant Karna led his faith- ful bands close behind the battalion of his commander. The monarch, in golden armor, rode upon his great war elephant, whose gorgeous trappings were in har- 304 LEGENDS OP THE MAHA-BHARATA. 305 mony with the glitterffig uniform of the king. As they marched to the front the war shell of Bhishma sounded its defiant challenge above the strains of mar- tial music and the whole army was hurled upon the foe. "The sons of Pandu marked the coming storm And swift arrayed their force. The chief divine And Arjuna at the king's request Eaised in the van the ape-emblazoned banner/ The host's conducting star, the guiding light That cheered the bravest heart, and as it swept The air, it warmed each breast with martial fires." Arjuna led his battalion in person. Standing in his chariot, covered with gleaming mail and sternly grasp- ing his massive bow, Gandiva, he was looked upon by his men as the messenger of fate. "Now, as on either hand the hosts advanced, A sudden tumult filled the sky ; earth shook Chafed by the winds, the sands upcurled to heaven And spread a veil before the sun. And ever and anon the thunder roared. And angry lightnings flashed across the gloom. Or blazing meteors fearful shot to earth. Regardless of these awful signs, the chiefs Pressed on to mutual slaughter, and the peal Of shouting hosts commingling shook the world." 1 Arjuna had entreated the monkey demigod Hanuman to lend him his aid, but Hanuman replied that if he would put a picture of u monkey on his banner it would answer every purpose. 306 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF IKBIAr The battle became general at the first attack and in a moment the air was thick with whizzing arrows, while the whole plain resounded to the beating of the drums, the sounding of the war shells, the neighing of the horses, and the roaring of elephants. In the first terrible charge it seemed as if heaven and earth had come together. Swords and spears flashed like lightnings in the sunlight, and every stroke was fol- lowed with blood, which stained the gleaming armor before it reached the sod of the plain. A cloud of dust soon dimmed the light of the sun, and beneath its pall the shouting combatants struggled in deadly conflict. At last the son of Arjuna, seeing- that the battle was going against the Pandavas, made a personal at- tack upon Bhishma and his staff. He succeeded in cutting down the ensign on his chariot, and in his reckless charge left many a foe helpless upon the field. But the night came down upon the fearful scene, and the warriors retired to their camps without any decisive gain to either side. The next day, how- ever, after many hours of hard fighting, the Pandavas were victorious, Arjuna in a brilliant charge driving the foe from the field. Eising still higher in his chariot he exclaimed : " ' Fear not, my friends, still, still your fame maintain !' So speaking, on he dashed with whirling wheel Through the deep streams of blood, with carcasses And shattered weapons choked, and thundering drove Against the Kuru ranks. Around his course In clouds the arrows flew, and darkened earth LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHAKATA. 307 And heaven, and hid the combatants from sight. Precursor of nocturnal shades ; for now The sun behind the western mountain sunk, And gloom profound ensued, nor friend nor foe Could longer be distinguished. Drona then Commanded conflict, cease, and Arjuna Eestrained his now re-animated troops. Bach to his tent withdrew. Amidst his peers The glorious Arjuna unrivaled shone As gleams the moon amongst the stars of heaven." THE THIED DAY dawned bright and beautiful upon the blood-stained field. The Pandavas drew up their army in the form of a half moon, and attacked at once the center and both flanks of the foe, throwing them into complete dis- order, then rapidly re-formed and charged again. The slaughter of the day was terrible ; the plain was strewn with heaps of dead and weapons of every description. There were headless bodies' and riderless horses, and the dust of the plain was laid with blood ; but the Pandavas again put to flight the Kauravas, who fled before them like frightened deer. Duryodhana at last reproached his commander-in-chief, BhTshma, with his repeated disasters, and complained that he was indifferent to the great slaughter of his own troops. The furious chieftain responded to his complaints with the defiant sounding of shells and the braying of trum- pets. His disheartened followers responded bravely to his call, and in a fiercely fought battle the Pandavas I In the original it is stated that the bodies of the slain rose up without their heads and gave battle to each other. 308 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. were repulsed. They rallied, however, under the "ape- emblazoned banner" of Arjuna, and the Kauravas were again defeated, while shouts of victory and the tri- umphant notes of shell and bugle arose from the hosts of Pan^u. FALL OF BHlSHMA. Five days longer the terrible contest went on with varying result, but the advantage was mainly with the Pandavas.' At last, stung by the reproaches of his king, and receiving an intimation that the resignation of his command would be acceptable, Bhishma declared that upon the morrow he would either be victorious or would be left dead upon the field. On the tenth day of the war, therefore, he challenged Arjuna to single combat, and after many hours of desperate fighting he received a mortal wound from the hand of his favorite pupil." Drona was then given the position of com- mander-in-chief, and the fighting became, if possible, more desperate. "Porgot his years — the veteran chieftain fired With rage, the energy of youth resumed ; Amidst the Pandu ranks he smote resistless. And many a headless corse and mangled limb 1 The wildest descriptions are given of the victories of these "warriors. Arjuna is described as Itilliiig five hundred warriors at once; as covering the plain with dead and filling the rivers with blood. Bhima is represented as annihilating with a single blow of his club a monstrous elephant with all the ofhcers mounted upon it. and many foot soldiers beside, while the younger Pandavas, from their chariots, were cutting off thousands of heads and sowing them like seed ujion the ground. 2 Bhishma is said to have been so evenly pierced in every pari of his body by the arrows of Arjuna. that when he fell mortally wounded from his char iot, he rested upon the points of the arrows and lay thus for many weeks. The whole episode is probably an interpolation. LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 309 And car deserted marked the warrior's path. Fast flew his arrows with unerring aim. And heaven loud echoed to his rattling bow. The soil was saddened with the crimson stream Of the vast numbers, men and steeds and elephants, Whom Drona's shafts to- Yama's halls consigned." The fight between Dhrishta-dyumna and Drona was a long and doubtful conflict. At length Krishna sug- gested that if Yudhi-shthira would assure Drona that his son, Asvatthaman, was dead, the old warrior would lose all heart and become an easy prey to his oppo- nent. Yudhi-shthira, however, refused to tell the base falsehood required of him. Krishna then directed the Pandavas to kill an elephant that was named Asvatt- haman, and Drona was told that Asvatthaman was dead. Not believing it he fought fiercely, and his fatal blows fell with terrible effect upon both the cav- alry and infantry of the foe.' Feeling anxious, how- ever, about his son, he called to Yudhi-shthira to know if he were indeed dead. Yudhi-shthira answered : ''Asvatthaman is dead — not the man, but the elephant." Knowing that he was about to tell the whole truth, Krishna and Arjuna sounded their war shells furiously as soon as the first words were uttered, so that Drona heard only the message of death. Believing that his son had indeed fallen, he laid down his arms and willingly received the fatal blow. The death of the great commander was the turning-point in the terrible conflict. 1 The original states that the Infuriated commander slew ten thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry at this critical juncture, and would have destroyed the whole army of the enemy had he not been restrained by the gods, who reminded him that he was a Brahman. 310 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. A NIGHT SCENE. The days went by with blood-stained feet, and mul- titudes of brave men had been lost on both sides. The gallant son of Arjuna — a mere stripling — had fallen while fighting bravely against a cordon of Kuru chieftains. His grief-stricken father had sworn ven- geance upon the slayers of his son, and the terrible conflict grew more and more desperate. And now at set of sun there was no stay to the spilling of blood, as heretofore. The troops fought on while darkness gathered around them. Friends instead of foes some- times fell beneath the strokes of the warriors, but still no trumpet called retreat. The pale ' moon came up and looked upon the awful scene, but as her light sil- vered the spears and helmets, it lighted up also dark pools of blood and the headless forms of the slain. Then she grew paler still and shuddering with horror drew back her face behind the clouds of night. But the furious avenger of the fallen boy ordered lighted torches to be brought, and soon every war- rior was carrying a gleaming flambeau in one hand and his sword in the other, while the chariots of the com- manders fairly blazed with lurid light. The-whole plain was illumined with the fitful fire, and the golden armor of the rajas shone in the light that fell upon the living and the dead. Their jeweled arms sparkled beneath the glare as if in mockery of the groans of dying men, and their swords gleamed in the firelight as they drank the blood of the foe. Hour after hour passed away in the terrible work, until midnight hushed the voices of anger and Arjuna called his wearied troops to rest. LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHAEATA. 311 Then the exhausted horseman laid his tired head upon his steed and slept upon the field ; the foeman lay upon his arms, and the riders of elephants reposed upon their faithful bearers. A WAR OF EXTERMINATION. Now that their commander-in-chief, the venerable Drona, was numbered with the dead, the tide of battle went steadily against the Kauravas, but they bravely gathered their shattered troops and made a gallant rally under the leadership of Karna. The fighting was again desperate, but after leading the armies of the Kauravas for two days the new commander was slain in single combat with Arjuna, his death being caused by the dishonorable conduct of his opponent, who acted under the advice of Krishna. On the evening of the seventeenth day of the great contest Salya was placed in command. The eighteenth and last morning of the great war dawned bright and clear above the field, whose blood-stained soil was rough with the bodies of her dead. The brave Kauravas once more charged upon their triumphant foe, but the charioteer of Salya was slain, and his death was quickly followed by a single combat between Bhima and Salya. They fought with jeweled maces, while the remnants of both armies anxiously waited for the result. "Soon as he saw his chai'ioteer struck down. Straightway the Madra monarch grasped his mace And like a mountain firm and motionless Awaited the attack. The warrior's form Was awful as the world-consuming fire. 313 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Or as the noose-armed god of death, or as The peaked Kailasa, or the Thunderer Himself, or as the trident-bearing god. Or as a maddened forest elephant. Him to defy did Bhima hastily Advance, wielding aloft his massive club. A thousand conchs and trumpets and a shout, Eiring each champion's ardor, rent the air. Prom either host, spectators of the 'fight. Burst forth applauding cheers : ' The Madra King Alone,' they cried, 'can bear the rush of Bhima ; None but heroic Bhima can sustain The force of ^alya.' Now like two fierce bulls Sprang they towards each other, mace in hand. And first as cautiously they circled round. Whirling their weapons as in sport, the pair Seemed matched in equal combat. Salya's club, Set with red fillets, glittered as with flame. While that of Bhima gleamed like flashing light- ning. Anon the clashing iron met and scattered round A fiery shower ; then fierce as elephants. Or butting bulls they battered each the other. Thick fell the blows, and soon each stalwart frame, Spattered with gore, glowed like- the Kinsuka, Bedecked with scarlet blossoms ; yet beneath The rain of strokes, unshaken as a rock, Bhima sustained the mace of Salya, he With equal firmness bore the other's blows. Now like the roar of crashing thunder-clouds Sounded the clashing iron ; then, their clubs Brandished aloft, eight paces they retired. LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 313 And swift again advancing to the fight Met in the midst, like two huge mountain crags Hurled into contact. Nor could either bear The other's shock ; together down they rolled Mangled and crushed, like two tall standards fallen. "' The Kauravas after continual reverses rallied their scattered forces for a final charge, which led to a com- plete rout and general slaughter. Only three or four of their chiefs remained alive, and not a single soldier of their eleven armies had survived the campaign. The victors in the fight were but little better off ; at the end of the terrible contest only the five Pancjavas and two of their adherents still lived. Of the many millions said to have been engaged only eleven war- riors survived the contest. KAJA YUDHI-SHTHIEA. The elder brother of the Pandavas was duly crowned as king of the entire raj. Great pomp and magnifi- cence attended the ceremony, but the willow was entwined with the laurel, and the cypress of death was wreathed with the roses of victory. The aged Dhrita-rashtra mourned his fallen sons, and the new raja was sad at heart. In the triumphal processions in his honor the low wail of suffering was mingled with the strains of martial music ; for his victory had been won at a fearful cost, and the royal canopy above his head seemed draped with mourning. But he sub- mitted to the splendors of the ceremony, and sat upon the royal tiger's skin before the sacrificial fire with 1 William' trans. Ind. Wis., p. 406. 314 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. Draupadi;, the wife of all the Pan(Javas. With no sign either of sorrow or Joy he distributed the usual gifts, and in his public address he announced that he lived only for his people and to promote the happiness of the blind king, whose sons had been slain in battle. The days went by amid splendid pageantry whose royal magnificence was often disturbed by the requiems for the dead. At last the new raja, with a retinue of attendants, sought the counsel of the aged Bhishma, who still lay upon his arrowy bed on the forsaken battle-field. (See note to page 308.) Passing over the broken arrows, wrecked chariots, and unburied forms of their kinsmen, they found the suf- fering patriarch patiently awaiting his release. lie delivered a long discourse to Yudhi-shthira on his duties toward the living, and then bade them farewell. The arrows left his body, his skull divided, and his spirit, bright as a meteor, ascended through the top of his head to the skies. Then they covered him with beau- tiful garlands of flowers, and carried him to the sacred waves of the Gauges. The purifying waters were sprinkled over his silent form, and the oblations for the dead were done. Eeturning to his kingdom, the raja resumed the duties of his government, but the splendors of his position brought no rest to his burdened heart — no peace to his troubled spirit. When he slept the hor- rors of the battle-field intruded upon his vision, and in his waking hours his hands seemed stained with blood. At last he determined upon the performance of an Asva-medha, the greatest and most difficult rite that a raja can perform, by the accomplishment of which LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 315 he was believed to have asserted his sovereignty over the whole earth. In deference to his age, the blind Dhrita-rashtra was placed upon a throne of gold above the one occu- pied by Yudhi-shthira, but the old king could not forget his slain sons, nor did he wish to share the honors of the government with their murderers, even though they treated him with the deference which was due to his years and infirmity. The aged mon- arch therefore left the kingdom, taking his faithful wife and a few other friends with him, and estab- lished a modest home on the banks of the Ganges. The soft monotone of the sacred waves was the sweet- est of music to the blind raja. Afar from the cares of government and away from the haunts of men, he sat upon the green banks of the river and listened hour after hour to the musical murmur of the waters as they hurried by. In after years the Pandavas, with Draupadi, made a visit to the aged king, and gathered there upon the sacred river they talked in low, sad tones of the hor- rors of the war and the brave men lost. The sage Vyasa then said to them : " Go all of you into the river and bathe, and each shall behold the kinsman for whom he has been sorrowing." So they all went down to the beautiful stream and chose a bathing place for themselves and their families. At eventime, when the sun was floating slowly away in a sea of gold and crimson light, they entered the clear waters of the river. Then the waves beat higher, and the foam-crested billows rolled like an angry sea in a storm. The last rose-tinted rays faded from the 316 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. western sky and darkness settled down upon the foam- ing river, when from the restless bosom of the tide arose living knights in armor. Bhishma and Drona appeared in their chariots, anji the starlight gleamed softly upon their golden armor. Then came the heroic son of Arjuna and the five sons of Draupadi ; after them, all the heroes of the war, mounted upon horses or chariots and carrying their banners and weapons. But peace rested upon the ensign of the risen host, - and voices were heard chanting their praises. " The glad wife embraced her restored husband ; the mother sought her boys ; sisters rejoiced over their brothers, and in the glad hour of reunion the fifteen years of loneliness and pain were, forgotten. ' The night passed away in the fulness of joy, but when the morning dawned the risen warriors mounted their horses and chariots and rode away in the gray light of the coming day, and the loyal widows went down and drowned themselves in the river that they might join their husbands in the land beyond the tomb. Then the raja and his brothers and their wife Drau- padi took leave of the blind king on the shores of the Ganges, and returned to the capital city. They never saw his face again, for in a few days the news came that there had been a terrible fire in the jungle and that Dhrita-rashtra and all of his family had perished in the flames. I For many centuries the sacred books of the Hindu's had steadily taught the transmigration of the soul, and this sudden change to the very opposite, y\z. : the doctrine of the resurrection, is additional proof that portions of the Maha-bharata were written after the story of the risen Christ had penetrated India. The author is supported in this opinion by Richard Collins, M. A., of the Philosophical Society of Great Britain. LEGENBS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 317 DESTEUCTION OF THE TKIBE OF YADAVAS. The burning of the jungle with its fatal results brought terror to the hearts of the Pandavas, for they looked upon it as a bad omen for the future — the be- ginning of horrors. In a short time sad tidings came from Dvaraka, the capital of Krishna, who was the chief of the tribe of Yadavas. The fair city was situated upon the ocean shores and the vine-laden valleys around it were beautiful as a poet's dream. But the rich clusters of fruit were perverted from their legitimate use and the fermented juice of the grape became the curse of the city by the sea. Krishna and his brother Bala-rama are "spoken of in the Maha-bharata as "the wine-loving Bala-rama and the amorous Krishna." The capital was often the scene of disgraceful dis- sipation, for the tribe of Yadavas (cow-herds) were never noted for their morality. Dvaraka was visited, it is said, by a fearful apparition, which showed itself at the doors of all the houses. The people declared that it was death in human form, for its color was black and yellow, and its head was shorn, and all of its limbs were distorted. They who saw it were para- lyzed with fear or convulsed with trembling. Then a great wind arose and trees were uprooted and car- ried away by the power of the tempest, while the ter- rified rats swarmed into the houses by thousands and even gnawed the hair and beards of the sleeping in- mates. The frightened owls also sought the compan- ionship of men and crowded into their habitations, while other birds cried in terror during the long hours of the night. At last Krishna issued a proclamation that on the 318 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. morrow all the people of the city should go down to the seashore and pay their devotions to the deity of Dvaraka. But as if in defiance of this proclamation the apparition of a black woman^ clothed in black gar- ments, walked slowly into the streets. From house to house she wandered, looking in at the windows and grinning at the inmates, her great yellow teeth pro- jecting beyond her distorted lips. If any one attempted to seize her she vanished out of his hands with a low mocking laugh and showed her hideous head far away. Then the charioteer of Krishna harnessed his master's horses, but they bounded into the air and bore the chariot far out over the foaming sea, where they disappeared forever from sight. Hoping to put an end to these terrible omYherever my lord is borne, there I shall surely go ; he is my life, my all ; I cannot leave him, and I must go with thee. By reason of my wifely love thou wilt let me come." And still she fol- lowed on until the King of Death himself felt pity for the faithful wife, and turning back he said : " Eeturn, my child, to life and health. Thy wifely love is good, but the kingdom of Yama is not the place for thee. Still, I will grant thee any boon that thou dost crave, except this life that I am bearing away." Then said Savitri, " Let the blind and banished king, my hus- band's father, have both his sight and throne restored." " It shall be so," returned the god. " I grant thee this because of thy purity and fidelity ; but now turn back ; our way is long and dark, thy little feet are already weary, and thou wilt die upon the road." "I am not weary," said Savitri, "I cannot tire 1 According to Hindu theology tlie soul of a dead man is about the size of the human thumb. At death a hole should be dug northeastward of the fire where the soul can wait until the gross body is burned, and then emerging be carried with the smol^e to heaven. 338 THE AXCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. while I am near to Satyavan. Wherever he is borne, there the loyal wife must go." And the tireless feet toiled patiently on behind the King of Death until he turned again and said: "Darkness is coming on, soon thou canst not find thy way alone. I will give to thee another boon — anything except this life, and then thou must return." Quickly the princess thought of her own sire, whose only child now followed Death — thought of his lonely home and coming age, and she said, " Give to my father princely sons to bear his royal name. This is the boon I crave, oh, mighty one." "So shall it be," returned the king, "and now I have granted thy wishes, go back to life and light." But she only answered plaintively, " I cannot go, great king. I cannot leave my lord. Thou hast taken him and my heart is in thy hand. I must surely come with thee." Darkness came slowly down in the dense forest, and her tender feet were torn with thorns and cut with the sharp stones of the rugged path. Hungry wolves and jackals pressed around her, while night birds spread their black wings above her and startled the silence with their cries. Trembling with terror and faint with grief and hunger, she still pursued her way. Her tear-blinded eyes could no longer see the terrible shape she followed, but she heard liis footfalls and almost felt his fearful strides, for it seemed that every step came down upon her bleeding heart. At last they came to a cavern, dark and damp as death itself, and here again Yama turned upon the pitiful figure in the darkness behind him, and this time he fiercely demanded, "Art thou still upon my LEGENDS OF THE MAHl-BHAEATA. 339 track ? If thou wert not so true and good, I would take thee in my arms, and my worms should feed upon thy beauty ; but thou art truth itself, and I will give to thee, poor child, one more boon. In pity for thy grief I will give thee anything thou wilt — except this life within my hand." Then answered Savitri, " Give me children — the sons of Satyavan. Let me bear to him brave, loyal heirs of his goodness and his truth." Death grimly smiled. Should he be conquered yet by this little Hindi! wife? But he answered: "Yama hath promised thee, and I must grant thee even this." Then with rapid strides he entered the great vault of the cavern, while the startled bats and owls flapped their dark wings and made the place more hideous with their cries. But still he heard the patter of patient feet behind him, and his burning eyeballs blazed in the darkness upon poor Savitri. "Go back," he said. "Thou shalt return; I will bear no longer with thy persistent following!" "I would go back, oh, mighty Yama, if I could," wailed the weary wife, " but in your hands you carry my own life. 'Tis only my helpless frame that follows thee, and now I am so weak with grief and fear that I must come nearer to Satyavan ; " and the tired head drooped upon the dark, cold hand of Death, close to the life she craved. The pitiless king felt the soft touch of teaT-wet cheeks and clinging hair, and again his cruel heart was softened by her faithful love. " Thou art innocence itself, and tenderness and truth," said Yama. "Thou hast taught me lessons new of woman's fidelity. Ask any boon thou wilt, and it shall be thine." 340 THE AIS'CIEKT BOOKS OF INDIA. Then at his feet she fell in grateful joy ^nd ten- derly caressed them. " This time^ oh, king," shfe cried, "thou hast excepted nothing, and I ask not wealth, nor throne, nor heaven itself. I crave my heart, my life — give me my Satyavan ! " The fire in his eyes beamed more softly, and the light in them was almost tender as he said: "Fair queen, thou art the brightest gem of womankind. Here, take thy Satyavan. Saved by his peerless wife, he long shall live and reign with her, and his line shall be upheld by princely sons who shall call thee mother. Go now, my child, time hasteth, and long hast thou been with me." Then turning gloomily away, he went down — down into the darkness of the cavern. But the glad wife, holding her precious treasure close to her heart, retraced her steps back through the darkness of cavern and wood, her torn feet climbing the ascending pathway, fearing nothing, know- ing nothing, save that in her arms she carried her be- loved. It was dark in the forest, where the dense foliage almost shut out the light of noontime, but it was lighter here where only little groves of sacred fig trees and thickets of flowering shrubs obscured the vision, and traces of gold and crimson still lingered round the setting sun. Thankful for the light, she hastened to where the body lay, and raising the head pressed it tenderly again to her bosom, and gently wooed the life tide back to heart and pulse. Soft and warm his hand became, and his lips moved to speak a tender word that had died upon them when Yama came. The evening light was gone, and darkness came down with velvet touch around them, but the glorious stars LEGENDS OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. 341 came out and the southern constellations flashed like crown jewels above the living prince and his loyal wife. CHAPTER XXI. THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. EVIDENTLY AN INTERPOLATION — AGE OF THE GITA^— ITS ORIGIN — "THE DIVINE SONG " — SELF-ADULATION OF KRISHNA — DIVINE FORM OF KRISHNA. LEAVING the Maha-bharata proper, we will now turn our attention to the Bhagavad-gita, which although it now forms a part of the great Epic is inde- pendent of it. While the armies of the great war were drawn up in close proximity to each other, impatiently awaiting the order to charge, Krishna is represented as deliver- ing to Arjuna a long philosophical and religious dis- course, called the Bhagavad-gita, or "Divine Song;" It is clearly an interpolation, like many others' which have been placed in the Maha-bharata by the more modern compilers, and scholars can only wonder why the Brahmans who placed it in the text could not see the impropriety of throwing in a long discourse of 1 The charioteer of the blind Maha-raja is represented as eutertaiuing his master during the exciting battle— not by a description of the fight, but with a long dissertation upon the geography of the earth, and especially of India. The venerable Bhishma, after receiving a mortal wound, is not permitted to die, but must lie for many weeks upon the points of upturned arrows, in order to deliver to the king a lengthy speech on the duties of rajas, etc. No effort has been spared by the later compilers to convert the story of the great war into a medium for Brahmanical teaching, and sometimes their interpolations are so skilfully interwoven with the older text that it is almost impossible to separate them. 343 THE BHAGAVAD-GlTl. 343 eighteen chapters on the very eve of an exciting battle. Only the vivid imagination of a Hindu would guess that any man, god, or demon would, when drawn up in his chariot, between the combatants, spend the en- tire day in philosophical discourse when his inipatient troops were marshaled in battle array, with drums beat- ing, banners flying, and soldiers shouting, while even the horses were apparently eager for the fray, and, indeed, according to Telang, after the signal had been given and the battle had actually begun. AGE OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA. The author of this work is unknown, but he was evidently a Brahman, and nominally a Vaishnava. It was inserted into the Mahil-bharata at a comparatively early period, but there is considerable discussion among scholars in reference to its exact age. Dr. Burr says that "at the time of its first translation into English an immense antiquity was claimed for the Bhagavad- glta, but it is now generally admitted to be an inter- polation into the ilaha-bharata, and to have been pro- duced subsequently to the rise, not only of Christianity, but of Krishnaism itself." Kicliard Collins, in a paper read before the Philosophical Society of Great Britain, takes the position that the Bhagavad-glta was written afte9' the third century of the Christian era. Prof. Max Miiller places it in what he terms the "Kenais- sance period of Indian Literature," the commencement of which he> gives at about A. D. 300, while Sir Monier Williams speaks of it as being "a comjgara^ tively modern episode of the Maha-bharata," andT assigns the author to one of the early centuries of 344 THE AlfCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. tlie Christian era. We might also quote Prof. Weber, of Berlin, Prof. Lassen, and Dr. Lorinser, who as- sign it to about the third century A. D. ; but a repetition of authorities is useless, as it is abun- dantly proved to belong to the Christian era. ORIGIN OF THE GITA. This work appears to belong in Sanskrit literature to the family of Upanishads. Its philosophy, its strong pantheism and radical doctrines of transmigra- tion, and its literary style all point to the one conclu- sion that it has been derived largely from the Upan- ishads. This view is well supported by the version of the Gita which was published in Bombay in 1782. There is a stanza in this edition which says : " The Upanishads are the cows ; Krishna, the milkman ; Ar- juna, the calf; and the milk is the nectar-like Gita." This statement sufficiently illustrates the tradition among the Hindfis that the work is derived largely from the ancient Upanishads, and contains the essence of their teaching.^ THE "DIVINE song" begins with the regrets of Arjuna at seeing his breth- ren arrayed in lines of battle, waiting the word of command to enter upon a fratricidal war. Addressing his charioteer--, Krishna, he says : "Beholding these my relatives arrayed Before my eyes in serried line of battle 1 The native scholar Kashinath Trimbak Telang is naturally inclined to think that the Gita may have been a part of the original Maha-bhaiata, although he says "it is with a feeling of painful diffidence that we express ourselves regarding the soundness of auy conclusion whatever." (Int. Bhagavad-glta, p. 6.) THE BHAGAVAD-GITl. 345 Preparing for the deadly fray, my limbs Are all relaxed, my blood dries up, a tremor Palsies my frame, the hairs upon my skin Bristle with horror. All my body burns As if with fever, and my mind whirls round So that I cannot stand upright nor hold The bow, Gandlva, slipping from my hand. I cannot — will not — fight. mighty Krishna, I seek not victory, I seek no kingdom. What shall we do with royal pomp and power. What with enjoyments or with life itself. When we have slaughtered all our kindred here?"' Krishna makes a long reply to this, in which he eihorts Arjuna to do his duty as a soldier, regardless of results. He repeatedly urges him to fight without wasting regret over the necessary slaughter of his rela- tives. "Better to do the duty of one's caste. Though bad and ill-performed and fraught with evil, Than undertake the business of another, However good it be. For better far Abandon life at once than not fulfil One's own appointed work ; another's duty Brings danger to the man who meddles with it. Perfection is alone attained by him Who swerves not from the business of his caste.'"' The imperative duty of loyalty to one's caste, which is here inculcated, is repeated in various portions of the poem. I Williams' trans. Ind. Wis., p. 139. 2Iiid. Wis. p., 140. 346 THE AlfCIElTT BOOKS OF IKDIA. The first section of the Bhagavad-gita, or Divine Song, dwells chiefly on the Yoga system, or intense concentr0,tion of the mind upon one subject, claiming that the end and aim of asceticism is to enable man to embrace the doctrine of pantheism and realize that God is everything and everything is God. Arjuna is exhorted to fulfil the duties of his -war- rior caste, and proceed to kill his relatives, on the ground that death is merely a transmigration from one form to another. "The wise grieve not- for the departed, nor for those who yet survive. Ne'er was the time when I was not, nor thou, nor yonder chiefs, and ne'er Shall be the time when all of us shall be not. As the embodied soul In this corporeal frame moves swiftly on through boy- hood, youth, and age. So will it pass through other forms hereafter — be not grieved thereat. The man whom pain and pleasure, heat and cold af- fect not, he is fit For immortality. Whatever is not cannot be ; what- ever is Can never cease to be. . . . Know this — the Being that spread this universe Is indestructible. Who can destroy the Indestructible ? These bodies that enclose the everlasting soul, inscrut- able. Immortal, have an end ; but he who thinks the soul can be destroyed. THE BHAGAVAD-GlTA. 347 And he who deems it a destroyer, are alike mistaken; it Kills not, and is not killed ; it is not born, nor doth it ever die ; It has no past nor future — unproduced, unchanging, infinite ; he Who knows it fixed, unborn, imperishable, indissoluble. How can that man destroy another, or extinguish aught below ? As men abandon old and threadbare clothes to put on others new. So casts the embodied soul its worn-out frame to enter other forms. No dart can pierce it ; flame cannot consume it ; water wets it not, Nor scorching breezes dry it — indestructible, incapable Of heat or moisture or aridity, eternal, all-pervading. Steadfast, immovable, perpetual, yet imperceptible. Incomprehensible, unfading, deathless, unimaginable.'" The transmigration of souls is here clearly taught. Krishna in another paragraph charges Arjuna with cowardice, and asks : ''How comes it that this delu- sion which excludes from heaven and occasions infamy, has overtaken you in this place of peril ? Be not effeminate .... It is not worthy of you. Cast off this base weakness of heart and arise." Arjnna still pleading the humane side of the ques- tion, Krishna repeatedly teaches that the slaying of his relatives is an innocent act, from the fact that the soul cannot die. " The destruction of that inexhauflt- 1 JbO. Wis., p. 141. 348 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF IKDIA. ible principle none can bring about, therefore, do en- gage in battle, son of Bharata for to one that is born death is certain, and to one that dies birth is certain .... Jherefore you ought not to grieve for any being. You ought not to falter, for there is nothing better for one of the warrior caste than a righteous battle — an open door to heaven. But if you will not fight this righteous battle, then you will have abandoned your own duty and your fame, and will incur sin. All beings, too, will tell of your everlasting infamy, and to one who has been honored infamy is a greater evil than death. "^ SELF-ADULATION OF KRISHNA. The second division of the poem teaches the pan- theistic doctrines of the Vedanta more directly, Krishna in the plainest language claiming adoration as being one with the great universal spirit pervad- ing, and also constituting, the universe. For the twofold purpose of enforcing his arguments and com- pelling Arjuna to fight, and also to glorify himself, Krishna proceeds as follows: "I have passed through many births, Arjuna ! and you also. I know them all, but you do not know them. Even though I am unborn and inexhaustible in my essence ; even though I am lord of all beings, still I take up the control of my own nature and am born by means of my delusive power. Whensoever piety languishes and im- piety is in the ascendant, I create myself. I am born age after age for the protection of the good ; for the destruction of evil-doers and the establishment 1 See Bhagavad-gita, Telang's trans., p. 46. THE bhagavad-gIta. 349 of piety .... I am the sacred verse. I, too, am tlie sacrificial butter, and I the fire, I the offering. I am the father of this universe; the mother, the creator, the grandsire ; the thing to be known, the means of sanctification, the syllable Om ; ' . . . the goal, the sustainer, the lord, . the supervisor, residence, the asylum, the friend, the source, receptacle, and the inexhaustible seed I am the thun- derbolt among weapons ; / the wish-giving cow among cows Among seriDents I am Vasuki ; among Naga snakes I am Auanta Among demons, too, I am Pralhada I am the wind among those that blow."^ There are many pages of the wildest self-praise, after which Krishna informs Arjuna that "there is no end to my divine emanations," the extent of which has been only partially described. DIVINE FORM OF KRISHJTA. He then exhibited himself in his divine form, hav- ing many eyes and mouths and faces and weapons. Arjuna stood before him with bowed head, his hair standing on end, and with joined hands he said: " Oh, god ! I see your body, the gods, as also all the groups of various beings : and the lord Brahman seated on his lotus seat, and all the sages and celes- tial snakes, I see you, who are of countless forms, possessed of many arms, stomachs, mouths, and eyes on all sides. And, oh, lord of the universe ! oh, you of all forms ! I do not see your end, or middle, or beginning. 1 The syllable Um is said to comprise all the deities of heaven, earth, and sky. 2 Bhagavad-gita, Telang's trans., pp. 58-89. 350 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. "I see you bearing a coronet and a mace and a discus — a mass of glory, brilliant on all sides, diffi- cult to look at, having on all sides the effulgence of a blazing' fire or sun, and indefinable I see you void of beginning, middle, end — of infinite power ; of unnumbered arms, having the sun and moon for eyes ; having a mouth like a blazing fire, and heating the universe with your radiance. For this space between heaven and earth, and all the quarters are pervaded by you alone. Looking at this wonderful and terrible form of yours, oh, high- souled one ! the three worlds are affrighted. For here these groups of gods are entering into you Seeing your mighty form, with many mouths and eyes ; with many arms, thighs, and feet ; with many stomachs, and fearful with many jaws, all people, and I likewise, are much alarmed, oh, you of mighty arms ! Seeing you, oh, Vishnu ! touching the skies, radiant, possessed of many hues, with a gaping mouth and with large blazing eyes, I am much alarmed in my inmost self, and feel no courage, no tranquillity. " Seeing your mouths, terrible by reason of the jaws and resembling the fire of destruction, I cannot recognize the various directions ; I feel no comfort. Be gracious, oh, lord of gods ! who pervadest the uni- verse. And all these sons of Dhrita-rashtra, together with all the bands of kings and Brahmans, and Drona, and this charioteer's son likewise, together with our principal warriors also, are rapidly entering your mouths, fearful and horrified by reason of the rug- gedness and distortion of your face and jaws. And some with their heads smashed are seen to be stuck THE BHAGAVAD-GlTA. 351 in the spaces between the teeth. As the many rapid currents of a river's waters run towards the sea alone, so do these heroes of the human world enter your mouths blazing all around. As butterflies with in- creased velocity enter a blazing fire to their destruc- tion, so, too, do these people enter your mouths, with increased velocity only to their destruction. Swallow- ing all these people, you are licking them over and over again from all sides with your blazing mouths. Your fierce splendors, oh, Vishnu ! filling the whole universe with their effulgence, are heating it. Tell me who you are in this fierce form Be gracious ! I wish to know you, primeval one, for I do not understand your actions." Then Krishna said: "I am death, the destroyer of worlds, fully developed, and I am now active about the overthrow of the worlds. Even without you, the warriors standing in the adverse hosts shall cease to be. Therefore, be up ; obtain glory, and, vanquish- ing your foes, enjoy a prosperous kingdom. All these have been already killed by me. Be only the instru- ment. Drona and Bhishma and other valiant war- riors whom I have killed do you kill. Be not alarmed. Do fight, and in the battle you will conquer your Arjuna stood in his chariot, clad in golden armor and wearing the bright coronet which had been given him by the god Indra. On either side of him were the opposing armies, while arrows were flying through the air. But the hero of the great war, "trembling, with joined hands, bowed down and sorely afraid, and IBhagavad-gita, Telang's trans., pp. 93-130. 353 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. with throat choked up again spoke to Krishna after saluting him." He still pleaded the humane side of the question^ but in vain. Then follow many pages of questions and long dis- courses on the spiritual phases of Brahmanical teach- ing, at the end of which Arjuna decides to fight and declares that he is ready to do the bidding of Krishna, a^id thereupon enters the battle. Thus it will be seen that the " Divine Song " is quite foreign to the style and also to the subject mat- ter of the Maha-bharata, so much so, indeed, that Sir Monier Williams claims that its proper place in the arrangement of Sanskrit literature would be at the close of the subject of philosophy. It contains many sentiments which have evidently been borrowed from the Upanishads, and like some of the more modern writings of this class the Bhagavad-gita is largely an effort to reconcile the various systems of philosophy by combining them with one another. The next important division of Sanskrit literature which claims our attention, is the Puranas. These works are still later and belong to mediaeval times, but they are important as showing the development of Krishna worship. It is claimed that they were de- signed to teach the doctrines of Hinduism in their simplest form. CHAPTEH XXII. THE PURANAS. EXTENT OF THE PURANAS — SIGNIFICATION OF THE NAME — THEIR TEACHING — COMPARATIVELY MODERN ORIGIN — THE HARIVANSA — THE BRAHMA PURANA — THE PADMA OK GOLDEN LOTUS— THE VAISHNAVA OR VISHNU — BIRTH OF KRISHNA — WIVES AND CHILDREN OF KRISHNA — DEATH OF KRISHNA — THE SAIVA — SRI BHAGAVATA — THE MARKANDEYA — THE AGNI — THE VAYU — THE BHAVISHYA — THE BRAHMA VAIVARTA — THE LINGA — THE VARAHA — THE SKANDA — ^THE ViM- ANA — THE KURMA — THE MATSYA — THE GARUDA — THE BRAHMANDA. AMONG the later forms of Hindu literature are the Puranas, which present a comparatively modern field for investigation. They are eighteen in number, besides several smaller productions of a sim- ilar kind called Upa or Minor Puranas, the general character of which is very much like the larger works. The Maha or principal Puranas contain about six- teen hundred thousand lines, and when we consider that each minor work also contains many chapters, we realize something of the labor required to examine, index, and translate this enormous mass of literature. The Hindus themselves claim (in the Padma Pu- rana), that these books " consisted originally of one am 354 THE AKCIEKT BOOKS OF INDIA. thousand million stanzas, but four hundred thousand of them were thought sufficient for the instruction of man, the rest being preserved by the gods." These four hundred thousand stanzas, . however, are equal to sixteen hundred thousand lines, and the student cer- tainly has reason to be grateful that the gods kept the greater portion of this literature for their own private benefit. The theology and cosmogony of these books are largely drawn from the earlier writings ; the doctrines which they teach, the institutions which they describe, and a part of the legends which they relate belong to a period long prior to their own compilation. SIGNTFICATION OF THE NAME, AND OBJECT OF THEIR COMPILATION. The name Purana signifies old traditional story. These narratives are said to have been compiled by Krishna-dvaipayana (the dark-colored and island born), the arranger of the Vedas and the Maha-bharata. The object of their compilation seems to have been the checking of the tide of Buddhism by stimulating the worship of 'Vishnu and Siva. In the Maha-bha- rata these deities had been regarded as but little more than great heroes, while in the Puranas they are rep- resented as rival gods. ' This department of Sanskrit literature claims to teach mythology and cosmogony, geography and as- tronomy, ' chronology and grammar, and sometimes even anatomy and medicine, as well as to give the genealogies of kings ; but the main object is evidently the exaltation of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, in their THE PUKANAS. 355 various manifestations. The Puranas are sometimes called a fifth Veda;, having been designed to teach the Vedic doctrines to women and the lower caste men, who cannot understand the more complicated works. THEIR TEACHING. The pantheism of the Puranas is one of their in- variable characteristics, but the particular divinity who is at once the source, the substance and the absorber of all things, varies according to the individual choice of the worshiper. According to Sanskrit writers, these books treat of the "creation and renovation of the universe, the division of time, the institutes of law and religion, the genealogy of the patriarchal families, and the dynasties of kings." The historians were eager, therefore, to learn their contents. Sir William Jones and others began the Herculean task by the employment of Hindu professors, or pan- dits, to extract such passages as seemed most likely to give the information sought ; but the pandits themselves were not very familiar with the Puranas, and the extracts being necessarily left to their choice, European scholars had no means of knowing whether they had made wise selections or not. Another diffi- culty was the tendency on the part of the pandits to furnish the matter which was described and paid for, whether it could be found in their sacred books or not. A good illustration of the risk incurred by Euro- pean scholars in this kind of second-hand study is the well-known case of Lieut. Wilford, who was so cun- ningly deceived by the pandits (see page 6), and the 356 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. most charitable conclusion that one can come to in the matter is that M. Jacolliot wae victimized in the same way. Our translators soon recognized the fact that there was only one way to arrive at the truth, and the close, earnest work of many years has been productive of magnificent results. It is true that so far as chronology and dii-ect his- torical statements are concerned the Puranas are of little or no value, but their myths and legends form correct pictures of the times to which they belong. They give us a view of the mythology and religion of this peculiar people, and indirectly reveal much of their true history. They were probably at first the traditionary tales of the poets, who were at once the eulogists and historians of the family. But with the genealogies many myths were blended, and these ma- terials were woven into connected form by later writ- ers. To the mythology, also, systems of cosmogony, geography and astronomy were added. After this the contending sects added to them a mass of absurd fic- tions, calculated to glorify Krishna, §iva, or any other deity who happened to be the favorite of the writer. COMPARATIVELY 3I0DEEX OEIGIX. The Puranas are the work of different generations and of varied circumstances, the nature of which must be conjectured from internal evidence. Probably none of them assumed the form in which we find them earlier than the time of Saukara Acarya, who flour- ished about the eighth or ninth century. Of the Vaishnava teachers, Eamanuja lived in the twelfth century, Madhwacharya in the thirteenth, and Val- THE PURAITAS. 35? labha in the sixteenth, and the different Puranas seem to have accompanied or followed the innovations of these men, and to have advocated the doctrines they taught. ' They are acknowledged by all scholars to be the most modern of the sacred books. Says Wilson: "I believe the oldest of them not to be anterior to the eighth or ninth century of our era, and the most re- cent of them to be not more than three or four cen- turies old." ^ Sir Monier Williams says: " The oldest we possess can scarcely date from a period more re- mote than the sixth or seventh century of our era."' THE HAKI-VANSA is a voluminous work, consisting of sixteen thousand three hundred and seventy-four stanzas, or more than the Iliad and Odyssey combined. It is a supplement to the Maha-bharata. "But," says Wilson, "it may be more accurately ranked with the Puranic compilations of least authenticity and latest origin." It is chiefly occupied with the adventures of Krishna, but it records the particulars of the creation of the world and the dynasties of kings. The compilation is care- less and inaccurate, but has been carefully translated into French by M. A. Langlois. It represents Krishna as frightening away all the inhabitants of Vraja by converting the hairs of his body into hundreds of wolves to harass and alarm them. It recounts the story of the protection of the cow- herds in a storm by Krishna, who lifted a mountain iVish. Pur. Int., p. 10. 2Rel. of Hin., Vol. 11, p. 68. 3 Ind. Wis., p. 493. 358 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. and held it over their heads until the storm passed aver. This narrative is repeated with some variations in several of the Puranas. In the Bhagavata he is rep- resented as protecting the gopis from the wrath of Indra by holding the elevated mountain on his finger. It appears from this Purana that Indra was enraged with the gopTs ^and tried to destroy them with a deluge on account of their love for .Krishna, who spent his time with them and finally mamed a thousand of them. The Hari-vansa also contains an epitome of the Ramayana and many other legends, which are repeated with more or less variation in the different Puranas.' THE BRAHMA-PUBANA. The greater portion of this work is devoted to legendary and local descriptions of the greatness and sanctity of particular temples and individual deities. It treats especially of the holiness of Utkala, the country which includes the low range of sand hUls, where stands the celebrated temple of Jagan-nath. It also gives due honor to the worship of the sun and of Mahades. The adoration of Vishnu as Jagan-nath began to flourish in its greatest vigor after the twelfth cen- tury of the Christian era. The worship of the sun is also comparatively modern, the great temple known as the Black Pagoda being built A. D. 1341. The internal evidence which the work presents therefore makes it very probable that the Brahma-purana was 1 Unless otherwise indicated extracts from tliese works will be made from WiJBon's translations. ' THE puEl:srAS. 359 eomposed in the fourteenth or fifteenth century after Christ. It must haye been after the worship of Jagan-nath predominated, and before §iva and the worship of the sun had fallen into disrepute. THE PADMA-PUEANA. " That which contains an account of the time when the world was a golden lotus (padma) and of all the occurrences of that time is therefore called Padma by the wise." It treats of the primary crea- tion by means of the cosmic egg, as in Manu ; the fanciful formation and divisions of the earth ; the genealogies of princes; it also explains the means by which moksha, or final emancipation from conscious existence, may be attained. All of these subjects are mingled with myths and legends innumerable, be- sides an opitome of the Ramayana, and many other stories belonging to the earlier Hindu literature. It admonishes the worship of Bali on the first of the moon's increase. It inculcates the worship of Krishna as Gopala, the cowherd. Considerable space is also devoted to Eadha, the favorite mistress of Krishna, and the holiness of the forest which was the favorite haunt of Krishna and Radha. According to Wilson, the fifteenth century of the Christian era is the highest antiquity that this work can claim. THE VAISHNAVA OK VISHNU-PUKANA. This work contains only about seven thousand stanzas, although it ,is claimed to be much larger. There are at least seven copies of it extant, and in none of them is there anything to indicate that any 360 THE ANCIENT BOOKS 01' INDIA. portion is wanting. It was evidently written after the Gupta kingSj who reigned in the seventh cen- tury, as it makes an historical mention of them. It also alludes to the Bauddhas, who were in existence as late as the twelfth century. These and other facts prove the compilation of this work to have taken place somewhere between the seventh and twelfth centuries, and the approxi- mate date is' placed by Wilson at A. D. 1045. Being devoted to Vishnu, it represents him as the Supreme God. He is spoken of as purusha (spirit), pradhana (crude matter), and vyakta (visible form). The course of elementary creation in the Vishnu- purana, as well as in the others, appears to be taken largely from the Sankhya philosophy, which was the doctrine of evolution as believed and taught by a certain school of Hindu philosophers more than two thousand years ago. This system claims that pure spirit cannot originate in impure matter, and denies that anything can be produced out of nothing. The following aphorisms contain a brief exposition of its doctrines. "There cannot be the production of something out of nothing, that which is not cannot be developed into that which is. The production of what does not already exist (potentially) is impossible, as a horn on a man ; because there must of necessity be a material out of which a product is developed; and because everything cannot occur everywhere at all times, and because anything possible must be pro- duced from something competent to produce it.^ Thus 1 This Saukhya creed Is highly suggestive of the doctrines of EpU curns, as expounded by Lucretius, who argues that the world and other THE PXJBiNAS. 361 curds come from milk, not water. A potter pro- duces a jar from clay, not from cloth. Production is only a manifestation of what previously existed."' But in the Puranas the agency operating on passive matter is confusedly exhibited in consequence of the all prevailing doctrine of pantheism and the partial adoption of the Vedanta philosophy which is based upon pure pantheism. Its creed is simply stated in the Chandogya Upanishad as follows: "^All this universe indeed is Brahma; from him does it pro- ceed; into him it is dissolved." The Vedanta system has some similarities to the idealism of Plato, and indeed the Hindu Vedantist fought the Sankhya theory of evolution very much as did the Grecian philosopher. It is in strict accordance with the Ve- danta philosophy and the Puranic doctrine of pan- theism that Vishnu is represented as being "the cause of creation, existence, and end of this world ; who is the root of the world and consists of the world." The creation is referred to, as in the other Puranas, as coming from the egg which rested upon the bosom of the waters. This is a widely diffused opinion of antiquity,^ and it is supposed by Bryant and Faber that the cosmic egg so often alluded to represented the ark floating upon the water. The Vishnu-purana also material objects were formed by the coalescing of atoms and primordial seeds. The Epicurean theory was severely criticised by Cicero, who claimed that if a concourse of atoms could produce a world, it ought also to produce temples, houses, cities, and other things which are formed much more easily than worlds. (See De Natnra Deorum, II, 37.) 1 Ind. Wis., p. 89. 2 Traces of this theory occur amongst the Syrians, Persians, and Egyp- tians; besides the Orphic egg amongst the Greeks and that described by Aristophanes, a part of the ceremony in the Dionysiaca consisted of the consecration of an egg, which according to Porphyry signified the world. 362 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. speaks of the successive creations so often alluded to, and the repose of the Supreme God during the in- tervals upon his mighty serpent couch in the midst of the deep. It also presents the raising of the earth from the water by the tusks of the great boar, and the churning of the sea of milk for the recovery of the lost ambrosia. It describes at great length the various worlds, heavens, hells, and planetary spheres, and gives the same description of the seven circular continents and concentric oceans that is found in the Maha-bharata. It describes also the arrangement of the Vedas and Puranas by V'yasa, and gives the rules of caste, in which the Purana follows to a great extent the Code of Manu. Book TV. of this immense volume is occupied with lists of kings and dynasties. Book V. corresponds with Book X. of the Bhagavata-purana, and is devoted to a life of Krishna. Krishna is rep- resented as the eighth child of his mother (the first six having been the offspring of a demon) and as orig- inating in a black hair taken from the head of Vishnu. His mission is to destroy the demon Kansa, who tries to forestall him by killing him in his infancy. This is prevented, however, by his father, who carries him away in the night and exchanges him for another child. Book VI. describes the gradual deterioration of mankind during the four ages and the destruction of the world by fire and water at the end of a Kalpa. BIBTH OF KRISHNA. On the day of his birth the horizon was radiant with light and happiness, and the waves of the sea joined THE PURlNAS.' 363 their music with the songs of the spirits and nymphs Qf heaven, -who danced with joy. The gods walking through the sky showered down flowers upon the earth and the holy fires glowed with gentler flame. As soon as the child was born, with the complexion of lotus leaves, having four arms and the mystic mark upon his breast, his father and mother implored him as a god to forego his four-armed shape, lest Kansa should know of his descent and slay him. Vasu-deva, taking the child, went out the same night into the darkness and rain and carried him to a place of safety, while Sesha, the many-headed ser- pent, followed the father, and spreading his hoods over them protected the infant from the rain. When they passed through the river, with its dangerous rapids and swift current, the waters were stilled and rose not above the knee of Vasu-deva. Coming to the bed of a sleeping mother, who had just been delivered of a daughter, he quickly exchanged the chil- dren, and taking the little girl hastened homeward. When the mother, Yasoda, awoke and found her child (as she supposed) was a son as black as the dark leaves of the lotus, she was greatly rejoiced. The female infant was placed in the bed of Devaki, and the demon Kansa destroyed it, thereby releasing the goddess who had been born as the babe. Taunting him with his helplessness, and decorating herself with heavenly garlands, she vanished from his sight. King Kansa being greatly troubled, called his chiefs together, and issued a decree that every male child in whom were found signs of unusual vigor should be destroyed. Krishna is afterward represented as plunging boldly 364 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. into the lake of the serpent king, and conquering him by setting his foot upon the terrible head which had hitherto been unbended. The dying serpent feebly pleads for mercy, and Krishna allows him to live, but commands him to depart immediately with all his family' and followers into the sea. It will be ob- served that there are some resemblances to the gospels in this Purana, which dates from the eleventh century of the Christian era. THE WIVES AND CHILDREN OF KRISHNA. According to this authority the first wife of Krishna was Eadha ; afterward he married Jambavati, the daughter of a bear. This marriage was the result of a terrible contest with the father of the bride. Krishna fought the bear twenty-one days and at last conquered him. The bear then exclaimed, "Thou, mighty being, art surely invincible by all the demons and by the spirits of heaven, earth, and hell. Much less art thou to be vanquished by creatures in human shape, and still less by such as tve who are lorn of the irute crea- tion." Then humbly prostrating himself at the feet of his conqueror, he presented to Krishna his daughter Jambavati as an offering suitable to a guest, and the bridegroom led her away in triumph.^ Krishna then married three beautiful girls, and afterward espoused the two daughters of the king of Magadha. He also seized and carried off by violence the beautiful princess Eukminiki. In Hindfi mythology Eavana, the demon king of Ceylon, was born again as Sisu-pala, one of the char- 1 Vish. Pur., p. 437. THE PUEANAS. 365 actors of the Maha-bharata. He was betrothed to Ruminikl, but Krishna forcibly carried away the bride and made her his own. Afterward Bhishma declared that the usual prize awarded to the greatest and strong- est of their number was due to Krishna ; but §i^u-pala publicly objected to having the award made to a cow- herd, who was also a murderer, and after some bitter language on both sides Krishna ''whirled his cakra furiously at Sisu-pala and severed his head from his body." He afterward married not only Ruminiki, but also still later sixteen thousand and one hundred other wives at a single ceremony. We quote from the Vishnu-purana : "Sixteen thousand and one hundred was the number of the maidens (included in the last marriage), and into so many forms did the foe of Madhu (Krishna) multiply himself that every one of the damsels thought that he had wedded her in his single person, and the creator of the world — the as- sumer of universal shape — abode severally in the dwell- ing of each of these, his wives."' It is declared that these wives bore to Krishna one hundred and eighty thousand sons, and the Bhagavata-purana gives the names of about eighty members of this numerous family. DEATH OF KRISHNA. The Vishnu-purana agrees with the Maha-bharata concerning the principal incidents connected with the death of Krishna. The destruction of his tribe is re- counted, and also the particulars of the drunken melee in which the fratricidal Yadavas slew each other. It is here again declared that Krishna was slain by the 1 Vish. Pur., p. 528. 366 THE AITCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. arrow of a hunter who mistook him for a wild animal, but an additional incident is given to the effect that Krishna was sitting with one foot resting upon his knee, and the arrow entered the sole of his foot, which was the only vulnerable ?pot upon his body. This Purana enumerates twenty-eight hells, one of them being called the Krishna, or black hell, which is reserved for sinners who live by fraud, or who tres- pass upon other people's lands. The book closes with a prophecy of the Kali age, when all evil shall be de- stroyed. SAIVA. ^aiva gives the genealogies of the patriarchs and descriptions of the universe, mingled with praises of ^iva and the myths and legends of which he is the hero. It also teaches the efficacy of Yoga' and the glories of Siva-pura, or the dwelling of Siva, with whom the yogi, or devotee, is to be united. SRI BHAGATATA is a work of powerful influence in India, controlling the opinions and feelings of the people more than any other of the Puranas. It is called Bhagavata, on ac- count of its being devoted to the glorification of Bhagavat or Vishnu. It gives a cosmogony which, 1 The Yoga is considered a branch of the Sankhya system of philoso- phy, but it appears really to be a sort of penance for the purpose of con- centrating thought with the greatest intensity upon the syllable Om, which is sometimes defined to be Brahma, and again, as the representative of all the gods of earth, air, and sky. The most unnatural and painful postures are assumed by devotees, and sometimes persisted in for years. It also includes twistings and contortions of the limbs, suppressions of the breath, and. utter absence of mind. The variety and intensity of the various forms of suffering which are self-inflicted upon the devotees, would sur- pass all credibility if they were not attested by trustworthy evidence. THE PURANAS. 367 although in most respects similar to that of the other Puranas, is more largely mixed with allegory and mys- ticism, deriving its tone more from the Vedanta than the Sankhya philosophy. It contains a variety of legends of a miscellaneous description intended to illustrate the merit of worshiping Vishnu. There is also an account of the deluge, in which Vishnu is represented as descending in the form of a fish to guide the ark. It narrates the history of Krishna in much the same way that the Vishnu-purana does, and acknowl- edges its indebtedness to that work, showing conclusively that it is subsequent to the Vishnu-purana. The Bhagavata closes with a series of encomiums on its own sanctity and efficacy to salvation. Mr. Colebrooke says of the work: "I am inclined to adopt an opin- ion supported by many learned Hindus, who consider the celebrated Sri Bhagavata as the work of a gram- marian (Vopadeva) supposed to have lived six hun- dred years ago."' Prof. Wilson and other Orientalists agree with Colebrook in ascribing the Bhagavata to Vopadeva. THE MAEKANDEYA, containing nine thousand verses, is "That Purana in which, commencing with the story of the birds that were acquainted with right and wrong, everything is narrated fully by Markandeya as it is explained by the holy sages in reply to the questions of Muni." The celestial birds (who were Brahmans in a previous birth), are represented as answering the following lAs.Ees.,Vol.3, p. 467. 368 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. questions : " Why was Vasu-deva born as a mortal ? " " How is it that Draupadi became the wife of the five Pandus?" "Why did Baladeva do penance for Brah- manicide?" and "Why were the children of Draupadi destroyed when they had Krishna and Arjuna to de- fend them?" The account of the creation is also repeated by the birds. This Purana is not easily placed with any degree of certainty, but is supposed to belong to the ninth or tenth century. THE AGNI. The Agni or Agneya treats of primitiye and subse- quent creations, the genealogies of demigods and kings, the reigns of the Manus, the histories of the royal dynasties, and other matters of a very different character. As it is evidently a compilation, its date is of very little importance. It is not unlikely, however, that chapters have been arbitrarily supplied during the last few centuries. For the Agni an ancient Purana called the Vayu is often substituted. THE VAYU. The Vayu-pnrana is so named in consequence, it is said, of having been communicated by Vayu, the deity of the wind, to the assembled sages. It treats of the families of sages and kings, followed by a cos- mogony terminating with the destruction of the world at the end of each Kalpa. While it teaches the doc- trine of pantheism, it also allows to the Supreme Be- ing an existence separate from his works, although he appears to be without attributes. The astronomy of this Purana presents the relative sizes and situations THE PUBANAS. 369 of the planets, with their cars and steeds and other appurtenances, revolving around the pole (to which they are attached by cords of air) as the wheel turns on its pivot. Little information concerning its exact age is to be derived from internal evidence, but it is supposed to be one of the oldest of the Puranas. THE BHAVISHYA, containing fourteen thousand five hundred stanzas, treats of the creation, repeating almost the very words of the first chapter of Manu, the rest of the work be- ing purely a manual of religious rites and ceremonials, although a few legends enliven the series of precepts. It is not very properly called a Purana, and was prob- ably written prior to the Mohammedan conquest. BEAHMA VAIVARTA. This is decidedly a sectarian work, and appears to have no other reason for its existence than to induce faith in Krishna and Radha. It is of little value as collateral authority, and the most of its stories are too absurd for repetition. Krishna is here spoken of as "the sole existent and eternal being — the center of a luminous sphere of immeasurable extent and inconceiva- ble splendor." Vishnu is represented as coming from his right side and Siva from his left. Brahma, who is often spoken of as the Supreme God, is represented as springing from Krishna. All the gods and goddesses proceed from different parts of his person, and each of them at birth recites a short hymn or prayer in his honor. Brahma is represented as saying: " I adore Krishna, who is free from the three qual- 370 THE ANCIEBTT BOOKS OF INDIA. ities, the one imperishable Govinda, who is invisible and void of form; who is visible and assumed the shape of a cowherd .... the lord of the mystic dance, and its performer, and the delighter in the graces of its evolutions." Radha, his favorite wife, proceeds from his heart ; from the pores of her skin proceed three hundred million gopis or nymphs, while a like number of gopas, the swains of the nymphs, proceed from the pores of Krishna's skin, and the cows which these swains are to attend also issue from the pores of Krishna's skin. The twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth chapters are devoted to a description of Goloka, the heaven of Krishna. It is a sphere of light tenanted by gopis, gopas and cows, the only human beings admitted be- ing the votaries of Krishna. The author sometimes describes Goloka as being round, and again speaks of it as a square. In one passage he gives it a diameter of thirty millions of yojanas, and in another he ex- tends its circumference to a thousand millions. In- deed, the compiler seems to have paid very little attention to the consistency of the narrative, assigning various origins to the same god or goddess. Thus, SarasvatT, the goddess of speech, is said in one para- graph to come out of the mouth of Krishna, and in another is represented as one of the subdivisions of Prakriti, and again is spoken of as issuing from the tongue of Lakshmi. These incoherencies are quite characteristic of this Purana, which is full of contra- dictory repetitions. According to this work the original and only cause of Krishna's incarnation was his love for Eadha, and THE pubInas. 371 he came down to the world to be her lover. The in- cidents of Krishna's birth, as the eighth child of Vasu- deva and Devaki, are narrated in the usual manner ; his infant exploits are also recited, and his marriage with Eadha is said to have been celebrated by the distribution of viands and treasures in large quantities. The incompatibility of such profusion with the finan- cial condition of his foster father Nanda, the cowherd, is apparently not noticed by the author, although the hero of the festivities is represented in the next chap- ter as stealing the curds, for which he is tied to a tree and whipped by his foster mother, Yasoda. Krishna is also represented as carrying off and hiding the clothes of the nymphs while they were bathing in the river. It is claimed in this Purana that when Vishnu boasted of being lord of all, he was swallowed by Krishna, all but his head, but was restored on recov- ering his senses. Krishna's marriage with other wives is also narrated. The circumstances of his death by a wound from a hunter, the destruction of his tribe, and the submersion of Dvaraka are also alluded to. This Purana is said to be so sacred that the attentive hearing of one quarter of a verse is equal in merit to the gift of the heaven of Krishna. Although it is differently classified it appears to be one of the last of the Puranas from its own avowal that it was in- tended to "clear up the discrepancies observable in these works." That it was compiled after the Moham- medan invasion is evident from the allusion that it makes to the supremacy of the Mleccha rulers, and .the particular branch of the Hindu system which it advocates makes it very probable that it emanated 373 THE ASrCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. from a sect which originated about four centuries ago with the Gosains. THE LIKGA consists of eleven thousand stanzas, and is said to have been originally composed by Brahma. In the account of creation as given by this Purana, Brahm?, and Vishnu are represented as fighting for the supremacy during the intervals of creation, but the great fiery Linga suddenly springs up and puts them both to shame, as after traveling upwards and downwards for a thousand years neither of them could find its beginning or ending. Upon the Linga the sacred syllable Om is visible, by which Brahma and Vishnu become en- lightened and acknowledge and eulogize the superior glory of Siva. Siva repeats the story of his incarna- tions (twenty-eight in number), intended doubtless to exceed in number the incarnations of Vishnu. The work is assigned to about the eighth or ninth century. THE VARAHA is narrated by Vishnu, as Varaha (the boar), to the personified earth. Like the Linga-purana, this is a religious manual almost wholly occupied with forms of prayer and rules for devotional observances ad- dressed to Vishnu. There is no leaning to the par- ticular adoration of Krishna, and there are other indi- cations of its belonging to an earlier stage of Vishnu worship. THE SKANDA is "that in which the six-faced deity (Skanda) has related the events of the Tatapursha Kalpa enlarged THE PUEANAS. 373 with many tales." It is said to contain eighty-one thousand and one hundred stanzas. This Purana has no existence in a collected form, and the fragi^ents in various parts of India which are affirmed to be portions of it aggregate a mass of stanzas even more formidable than has been enumerated. They contain minute descriptions of the temple of Siva, and a vast number of legends illustrating the holiness of Kasi. Other portions are devoted to the holiness of Urissa and other localities and temples. It is doubtful what proportion of these fragments properly belongs to the Skanda-purana. THE VAMANA contains an account of the dwarf incarnation of Vish- nu and includes about seven thousand stanzas. It is largely devoted to the worship of the Linga and to the illustration of the sanctity of certain holy places. In the words of a distinguished Orientalist (Wilson) " Its compilation may have atnused the leisure of some Brahman of Benares three or four centuries ago." THE KUKIIA is " that in which Janarddana in the form of a tor- toise in the regions under the earth explained the ob- jects of life, duty, wealth, pleasure, and liberation." The greater part of it inculcates the worship of Siva and Durga, although it is represented as being given by one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Its date can- not be very early, for it is avowedly posterior to the establishment of the Tantrika, the Satka and the Jain sects, and these were not known in the early centuries of our era. 374 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. THE MATSTA. This Purana, after the usual prologue, opens with the account of how the Matsya, or fish avatar of Vishnu, preserved a king named Manu with the seeds of all things in an ark from the waters of the great inundation, the story of the flood which was told in one of the Brahmanas, and later in the Maha-bha- rata, being substantially repeated here. The gen- ealogical chapters are much the same as those of the Vishnu-purana. The work has drawn largely from the Maha-bharata ; it also quotes the Padma-purana, and is therefore subsequent to that work. THE GARUDA. The greater part of this document is devoted to the description of Vratas, or vows of self-restraint, of hol- idays, of sacred places dedicated to the sun, and to prayers addressed to the sun, to Siva, and to Vishnu. It contains also treatises on astrology, palmistry, and precious stones, and one still more extensive on medi- cine. There is nothing in this work to justify the name. Garucja is the eagle bird (half man) on which Vishnu rides, and it is possible that there is no genu- ine Garu^a-purana in existence. THE BEAHMANDA. '•'That which has declared in twelve thousand two hundred verses the magnificence of the egg of Brahma, and in which an account of the future Kalpas is con- tained, is called the Brahmangla-purana, and was re- vealed by Brahma." This Purana, like the Skanda, is THE PURANAS. 375 no longer procurable in a collected form, but is repre- sented by a variety of /iT/iandas professed to be derived from it. The facility which this state of things affords for imposition is very great, and the Skanda and the Brahmanda have for this reason sometimes been called "the Puranas of thieves and impostors." The mythology of the Puranas is much more dev£l- oped than that of the Maha-bharata, in which Vishnu and Siva are apparently regarded merely as great heroes, not having as yet developed into rival gods. Krishna, who was afterward made so prominent, is not even the hero of the Maha-bharata, although he appears as a great chieftain; but as Prof. Lassen has shown, "The real worship of Krishna is not found before the fifth or sixth century." In mediaeval times there was much sectarian feeling between the worshipers of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, each sect being jealous of its favor- ite system and devoted to its favorite god. Hence, the Puranas which were compiled about this time were each of them devoted to the exaltation of the partic- ular deity who happened to be the favorite of the compiler. In modern times Siva is the most popular object of worship with Brahmans, while Krishna is the favorite god of the lower classes. We have here given the briefest possible resume of the contents and teachings of these productions of mediseval times, and will now consider the mythological hero of the Pur- anas — ^the god Krishna. CHAPTEE XXIII. KRISHNA. A MULTITUDE OF PEKSONS NAMED KRISHNA — LIFE OF KRISHNA, THE SON OF YASU-DEVA — DEATH OF KRISHNA — RESEMBLANCES TO CHRISTIAN HISTORY VERY SLIGHT — WORSHIP OF THE " DARK GOD " — ' SUMMARY. TNTIMATELY connected with the Puranas is their -L hero, Krishna. The meaning of the word is "dark" or "black," and the frequency with which the name occurs in Hindu literature would seem to indicate that whenever a male child was born with a complexion unusually dark he was named Krishna, or that in later times he was named for the popular god of the Puranas. The earliest mention of the name in the Rig-veda is where a hymn of adoration to Indra praises that god for having slain the wives of Krishna.^ Afterward the same god is said to have slain fifty 1 Wilson's trans. Rig-veda Sanliita, Vol. I, page 260. Sanhita sometimes means collection, and the Rig-veda Sanhita con- taining one thousand and seventeen hymns, Is the oldest and most im- portant collection of the early prayers, invocations and hymns of the Hindus. Sanhita may also mean the words of the Veda euphonically combined instead of separated as in the Pada text. Prof. Wilson's translation is based upon the commentary of the native scholar Sayana. It represents the long line of Vaidic tradition which the Hindus have pre- served, and shows the English reader what the natives suppose the Rig- veda to mean. See note to page S3. 376 KRISHNA. 377 thousand Krishnas,' all of ■whom were Rakshasas or demons. Indra is represented as the great protector of his votaries in battle. He defended his Aryan worshipers in all their conflicts ; he also punished for the benefit of man those who neglected religious rites. He (Indra) tore off the black skin of the ag- gressor as if burning with flame ; he utterly consumes him who delights in cruelty. ' "Allusion," says the translator, "is here made to the legend that an Asura, named Krishna the black, advanced with ten thousand followers to the banks of the Amsumati river, where he committed fearful devastation until he was defeated by Indra, who stripped him of his skin." "The swift moving Krish- na with ten. thousand demons stood on the Amsumati ; by his might Indra caught him snorting in the water. He (Indra) smote his malicious bands. I have seen the swift moving demon lurking in an inaccessible place in the depths of the river. Indra with his ally smote the godless host as they drew near."" Krishna, a Rishi of Angira, is also spoken of in the Rig-veda Sanhita. In the Maha-bharata the name Krishna' is an epithet applied to the princess Drau- padi who married the five Pandavas. Krishna-dvai- payana (the dark-colored, island-born man) was the grandfather of the Kauravas who bore so important a part in the great war, and he is also said to be the arranger or editor of the Maha-bharata and the com- piler of the Puranas, the oldest of which are ascribed 1 There is no mention in the Eig-veda of any god by this name. 2 Vol. V, p. 192. 3 The long mark on the final a, indicates the feminine form of the word. 378 THE ASrCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. to the sixth or seventh century of the Christian era. The Hindus have an easy method, however, of dispos- ing of little chronological difficulties of a few centuries by asserting that their heroes are born again as men whenever their services are needed upon the earth. In the Chandogya Upanishad we find a Krishna who was the son of Devakiputra, but of him nothing is known except that he was a pupil of Ghara. The name was also borne by a son of Havird-hana and by one of the Andhra princes. In the later forms of Hindu literature we find Krishna, the son of Vasu-deva' and DevakI, who figured as a great chieftain in the Maha-bharata, and during a large part of the Christian era has had divine honors paid to him. Krishna was also one of thei names of Arjuna. In the Maha-bharata where the son of Drona is said to have entered the camp of the Pan- davas at night to avenge his father's death, his pro- gress was arrested at the gate by the gigantic form of Siva. This god of destruction was robed in a tiger's skin, while his long arms were adorned with bracelets of serpents. His body glowed like the sun, and " hun- ' dreds and thousands of Krishnas were manifested from the light issuing from his person." Krishna-tarka- lawkara, a commentator, flourished somewhat later, and Krishna-misra, the dramatic author, is supposed to have lived in the twelfth century of the Christian era. Krishna Bahadur was the name of a publisher in Cal- cutta in 1840. Thus we find that in Hindu literature, the name Krishna is applied to sixty thousand beings who were demons, "hundreds and thousands" more 1 There are nine Vasu-devas iu Indian literature. KRISHNA. 379 who issued from the god of destruction, as well as to the wife of the five Pandu princes, and in later times to princes, sages, commentators, editors, pub- lishers, and others too numerous to mention; indeed, it is now the custom to name children for popular gods. The native professor or pandit who lived for five years with Sir Monier Williams in India was named Krishna-varma. LIFE OF KRISHNA, THE SON OF VASU-DEVA. Of this great multitude named " dark colored," the Krishna who commands the greatest attention is the eighth son of Vasu-deva and Devaki. Of his life there is little or no authentic history, but in later times a vast amount of myth and legend has been built around it. He belonged to a tribe well known in Hindu history as the Yadavas. These nomadic descendants of Yadu migrated to different localities, grazing their cattle and raising butter for sale to the people around them. It is not known when they first entered Hindiistan, but at the time of Krishna's birth they appear to have settled near the city of Mathura (afterwards called Muttra) on the banks of the river Jumna, about one hundred and twenty miles south of the city of Hast- inapur. At one time during his early manhood, Krishna and his companions left their encampment at a rural village near by and paid a visit to the city of Mathura, where it appears that they conducted themselves in a manner entirely consistent with their rough characters, breaking through the royal gate and committing other 380 THE AKCIEXT BOOKS OF INDIA. depredations. It was during a great festival which was attended by raja Kansa the usurper^ who was bitterly hated by his subjects. During the festivities a wrestling match degenerated into a disgraceful fight, in which Krishna and his older brother, Bala-rama, bore a prominent part. Many men were slain and at last the unpopular raja himself was killed by Krishna. The rude cowherd became popular from having re- lieved the city of a tyrant, and an effort was made to ennoble his birth by representing him to have been in reality the son of a chieftain of the tribe.' He eventually became a chief, and is represented as a successful warrioi-, although rather unscrupulous as to the means employed for the attainment of his ends. For instance, the Great War of the Maha- bharata seems to have turned upon the death of Drona, the venerable commander-in-chief of the Kauravas. He had nearly vanquished the Pandavas by the slaugh- ter of their troops, but Krishna, knowing of his great love for his gallant son, suggested that word be sent him that his son was slain. The cruel falsehood pierced the brave heart of the father, although the arrows of the foe had failed to reach it, and laying down his arms, he became an easy prey to the Pan- davas. Again, in the desperate single combat be- tween Arjuna and Karna, when Arjuna was badly wounded and nearly defeated, an accident to the wheel of his chariot compelled Karna to cease fighting, and laying down his arms, he called to his opponent saying, "Hold your hand for a moment, and give me a chance to recover my wheel, for it is no mark of 1 Wheeler'8 Hist, of Ind., Vol. 1, p. 459. KRISHNA. • 381 manhood to strike at me whilst I am in this extremity." Arjuna temporarily stayed his hand, but being insti- gated by Krishna, he severed the head of Karna from his body, while the victim was engaged upon the wheel of his chariot.' The Maha-bharata records still another instance in which Krishna advised a blow so cowardly that it brought upon the man who gave it the bitter reproaches of his own brother. But the rude and amorous warrior was the Apollo of the cowherds. Handsome, dashing, and vain, this univer- sal lover appealed to the admiration of feeble-minded women everywhere, and around the very slight frame- work which history furnishes, masses of myth and leg- end have grown. He is represented as the husband of sixteen thousand wives, and the father of one hun- dred and eighty thousand sons, while his military ex- ploits have been repeated with wonderful exaggerations and mythical additions. THE DEATH OF KRISHNA. The incidents connected with the death of Krishna are as well attested as anything concerning which we are entirely dependent upon Hindu sources for infor- mation. The Maha-bharata relates the story in care- ful detail, and it is repeated and corroborated by the Vishnu-purana and also endorsed by the Brahma- vaivarta-purana. According to these and other Hindii authorities, Krishna and the people of his capital city Dvaraka, encamped at a place of pilgrimage upon the sea-shore, 1 This chapter being somewhat of the nature of a summary necessarily includes a few incidents previously alluded to. 383 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. ostensibly for the purpose of paying their devotions to the deity of Dvaraka ; but they carried an abundance of wine with their other stores, and feasting and drinking became their chief occupation. There were jugglers, musicians, dancers and actors to furnish en- tertainment, but the chief attractions were the great jars of wine, and the warriors of the tribe sat down in groups around them. Laughing and jesting being followed by taunts and bitter words, the scene of rev- elry became a drunken melee, in which the intoxi- cated men fought each other blindly until the whole tribe was exterminated except Krishna and one or two others who were not injured themselves, although they had slain their full share of victims. After the disgraceful fight was over, Krishna found his older brother dead beneath a banyan tree, and going into a thicket near by he sat down in troubled med- itation upon the loss of his kindred and the destruc- tion of his tribe. While thus absorbed in his own sad thoughts, he was seen by a passing hunter, who, mistaking him for a wild animal, discharged an arrow and slew him upon the spot. The Maha-bharata gives a description of the funeral rites and pictures the grief of his sixteen thousand widows, five of whom were burned alive upon Krishna's funeral pile. The story of his death has been repeatedly endorsed by Hindii authorities, as late as the fifteenth century of the Christian era. It cannot, however, be received as history in our sense of the word, as there is really no authentic his- tory in connection with this strange character. The idea that Krishna was crucified is an extravagant KRisH>rA. 883 myth of exceedingly modern and quite untrustworthy manufacture.' The Vishnu-purana, which dates from the elev- enth century of the Christian era, states explicitly that "the arrow entered the sole of his foot, which was the only vulnerable part of his body."^ Hence he was not even transfixed. RESEMBLANCES TO CHRISTIAX HISTORY VERY SLIGHT. Very early in the Christian era the story of the cross penetrated India, and Pantaeniis, who lived about A. D. 180, found there the gospel of Matthew, which had been left with the people by still earlier mis- sionaries.' The royal grants to early Christians, inscribed on copper plates and containing signatures in Pahlavi char- acters, are still in existence, showing that Christianity had attained a position of some importance there, even during the earlier centuries of the Christian era. Not only was the story of the Christ carried into India by the early missionaries, but according to Prof. Weber's version of a paragraph in the Maha-bharata, it was brought home by the Brahmans themselves. Both Weber and Lassen interpret a passage in the Maha-bharata to the effect that early in the Christian era three Brahmans visited a community of Christians, and that on their return "they were enabled to intro- 1 In his foot notes to this chapter Sir Monier Williams writes : " / know nothing of this absurd myth," ahoviins ih&t it has never reached the higher circles of scholarship. It is, however, freely circulated in America in the writings of Madame Blavatzky and others. See " Isis Unveiled," etc. 2 Possibly this idea may have been borrowed from the vulnerable heel of Achilles. SEusebius, Book V, Chap. 9, p. 10. 384 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. duce improvements into the hereditary creed, and more especially to make the worship of Krishna Vasu-deva the most prominent feature of their system."' In addition to the testimony of these celebrated Oriental- ists we have much internal evidence in the Maha-bha- rata that "improvements" have been introduced in favor of Krishna, for the primitive work has been incrusted and overlaid with legends and myths which have his glory for their sole object. It is so evident that these are interpolations of a later date that J. Talboys Wheeler says: "The compilers of the Maha- bharata have so frequently tampered with the text for the purpose of associating Krishna and his family with the Pandavas that it is difficult to accept state- ments that have this object in view."^ The Brahmanical compilers, in their anxiety to con- nect him with the heroes of the Great War, have ignored even the geographical position, and represent the ' Pandavas as visiting the Yadava chieftain in his bed-chamber, while he takes a part in their councils as frequently as if he lived in the same city, whereas Krishna's residence at Dvaraka was on the western coast of the peninsula of Gujarat, at least seven hun- dred miles in a direct line from the city of Hastina- pur. But they could only interpolate incidents and overlay the primitive poem with stories of his marvel- ous power; they could not make him the hero of the Maha-bharata, but only an erratic chieftain who indeed poses sometimes as a god, but whose assumption of di- vinity is greatly at variance with his personal character. After the history of Christ had been in the world I Page 279, this yolume. 8 Hist, of Ind., Vol. I, p. 68. KRISHNA. 385 for liundreds of years, the Puranas, as the Hindus now have them, made their appearance, and here we find the wildest growth of fancy combined with slight imitations of historical facts. Those which are espe- cially devoted to the exaltation of Krishna are the Vishnu, which dates from A. D. 1045, the Bhagavata, supposed to have been written by Vopadeva, in the twelfth century, the Brahma-vaivarta, which appears to have emanated from a sect called Gosains, about fpur centuries ago, and the Padma-purana of the fif- teenth century. In these works of the mediaeval times, Krishna's birth is surrounded by wonderful phenomena. The sky is luminous above his head, and the nymphs of heaven sing with joy over the birth of the four-armed child. Raja Kansa appears in the character of King Herod and slays the first six children of Devaki, the mother of Krishna ; the seventh son, Bala-rama, escapes his hand only by a miracle. Therefore the father takes the infant Krishna as soon as he is born and carries him away to a place of safety. He is followed by the many-headed serpent Sesha, and the snake protects the babe from the rain by spreading his hoods over him, until the child is exchanged for the daughter of Yasoda, who is carried back and placed in the arms of Devaki. Krishna is afterwards represented as con- quering the serpent, and in answer to his plea for mercy allows him to live, but commands him to depart with all of his followers into the sea. The resemblances to Christian histoi-y in the life of Krishna are, however, very slight, even in the most recent forms of Hindu literature ; but it must be con- 386 THE AKCIENT BOOKS OP IKDIA. fessed that others have been added in modern times by men who cannot read a word of Sanskrit. His name has been spelled Chrishna, or even Christna, ap- parently for the purpose of confounding the two. He has also been called Yezeus, and sometimes Jezeus for the same reason. But the dishonesty of this course (provided always it is not the result of ignorance) is unpardonable. The name of Yezeus as an appellation of Krishna was invented, according to Max Miiller, by a fanciful Frenchman,' and Eichard Collins, in his address be- fore the Philosophical Society of Great Britain, says : "The addition of the name Jezeus to Krishna has no warrant from any Hindu book that 'I am acquainted with. It bears no resemblance to any of the many names by which Krishna is commonly denoted in India, and it is not possible for it to be a translitera- tion of any imaginable combination of letters, either in Sanskrit or in any of the dialects of South India. "^ The statement that Krishna was born in a cave, that his herald was a star and his presents gold and frankincense, etc., are all the productions of a vivid imagination in very modern times. The idea that he was born of a virgin cannot be entertained for a mo- ment by any one who is at all acquainted with the subject, in view of the great prominence given to Krishna's older brother in Hindu literature. 1 Prof . Miiller writes: "The name Yezeus was invented, I believe, by Jacolllot, and is a mere corruption of Yadu. I answered JacoUiot once (Int. to Sci. of Kel. page 24), but these books hardly deserve notice." (Trans. Vic. Inst., Vol. xxi, page 179.) Sir Monier Williams and Prof. E. B. Oowellof Cam- bridge think that the name Jezeus may be a corruption of the word Isa, which property belongs as a title to Siva. 2 Trans. Vic. Inst., Vol. XXI, p. 174. K9ISH:SfA. ;J87 In their standard works the statement is repeatedly made, that Krishiia was the eighth child of his mother, and the Vishnu-pnrana informs ns that her first six children were the offspring of the demon, Hiranyakasipu.' Dr. Leitner, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Punjab, writes that "Krishna is a half historical character, and the coincidences of his life and that of Christ are too vague to justify the least connec- tion with the narrative regarding Christ, or vice versa." ^ WORSHIP OF THE " DAEK GOD." In the later forms of Hindu literature, it is claimed that Krishna came down from heaven to be the lover of Eadha, and it is in this form that he is most pop- ular, unless we except his wayward childhood. Ac- cording to the Vishnu -puriina, Vishnu pulled two hairs out of his head, the one being white and the other black, and the white one developed into the son of Eohina, while the black one entered into DevakI (also a woman of the Yadava tribe) and developed into Krishna. It is said in the Bhagavata-purana that "When Krishna and his elder brother Bala-rama be- gan to grow, they were dressed in frocks of blue and yellow, and their hair was trimmed like the wings of a crow, and wooden ornaments were hung from their necks, and they had playthings in their hands. One day Yasoda (his foster mother) was very angry with Krishna because he would eat dirt, and she took a stick to beat him, but when she came to him he 1 Vish. Pur., p. 496. 2 Trans. Vic. Inst., Vol. XXI, p. 179. 388 THE AN-CIEOT BOOKS OF IIJ-DIA. opened his mouth, and she looked in and saw three worlds, and she marveled greatly for a while and then remembered it no more." The picture of Krish- na as the boy thief stealing > butter and curds from the cowherds, or carrying off the garments of the bathers, has an irresistible attraction for his wor- shipers. Some of his later adventures are too gross for repe- tition, but they illustrate the low origin of the cow- herd, and the disorder and violence which prevailed in his tribe. He is also connected with the horrible rites of Jagan-nath, and in the festivities of this god the images of Krishna and his elder brother, Bala-rama, and also of his sister, Subhadra, are brought prom- inently forward.' The Padma-purana gives a list of one hundred and eight names of Krishna to be re- peated by the devotee every morning,' and the reader will recall that in the Bhagavad-gita he reveals himself in his glory to Arjuna, whereupon the frightened warrior exclaims, "0 god, I see your body, I see you are of countless forms, possessed of many arms, stomachs, mouths, and eyes, on all sides. I see you void of be- ginning, middle, end. Of infinite power, of un- numbered arms, having the sun and moon for eyes, having a mouth like blazing fire, and heating the universe with your radiance. The three worlds are affrighted, for these groups of gods are entering into you ; seeing your mighty form with many mouths and eyes, with many arms, thighs, and feet, with many 1 Major General Cuiiniugbam, who so ably conducted the Archeeological Survey of India, has demonstrated that the images of this god and his brother and sister in the Jagan-nath temple at Pari were derived from the three combined emblems of the Buddhist Trinatra, K9iSH;brA. 389 stomachs and many jaws, all people are much alarmed. And all the bands of kings, together with our principal warriors, are rapidly entering your mouths, fearful and horrified by reason of your jaws. And some of their heads are seen stuck in the spaces between the teeth. As a river's waters run towards the sea, so do these heroes enter your mouths. As butterflies enter a blaz- ing fire, so do these people 'enter your mouths only to their destruction. Swallowing all these people, you are licking them over and over again from all sides with your blazing mouths." ' It is impossible to imagine a greater contrast than that between this description and the simple story of the Christ ; but the tedious and immeaning ceremonies still performed in the presence of the idol are equally suggestive of this contrast. Sir Monier Williams, dur- ing a recent visit to India, was allowed to witness the early morning service in a Vaishnava temple, at Poena, and we give his graphic description of the scene in his own words. " The idol of the god Krishna first underwent a process of being aroused from its supposed nocturnal slumbers by the attendant priest, who invoked the deity by name. Then a respectful offering of water in a boat-shaped vessel was made to it. Next the whole idol was bathed in holy water poured over it from a small perforated metal lota. Then the attendant priest standing near, applied sandal paste with his finger to 1 Bhagavad-gita, Telaiig's trans., pp 93-95. In a previous chapter (page 60) attention has been called to the dit- fereuce In the translations furnished by native and English scholars. The native scholars are Inclined to use coarser language than that re- fined English which comes to us from the pens of such men as Prof, Williams, Max MiJller, Dr. Miiir, and others. 390 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. the idol's forehead and limbs, and taking a brush painted the face with a bright coloring substance, prob- ably safifron. Next, the idol was dressed ^nd decorated with costly clothes and ornaments. Then the priest burnt camphor and incense and moved the lights be- fore the image, at the same time ringing a bell. Then flowers and the leaves of the sacred tulasi plant, were offered, followed by an oblation of food, consisting of cooked rice and sugar. Next, water was taken out of a small metal vessel with a spoon and presented for sipping. The god was supposed to consume the food or feast upon its aroma, receiving at the end of every meal an offering of betel for the supposed cleansing of his mouth, and a spoonful more of water for a second sipping. ''Finally the priest prostrated himself before the idol, and terminated the whole ceremony by putting the god to sleep for the day. "While he was going through these ceremonial acts he appeared to be muttering texts, and during the whole service a Brahman was seated on the ground not far off, who intoned portions of the tenth book of the Bhagavata-purana, descriptive of the life of Krish- na, reading from a copy of the work placed before him. At the same time a band of musicians outside the temple played a discordant accompaniment with tom-toms, fifes, and drums. " In the evening the process of waking, undressing and redressing the image was repeated, but without bathing. Flowers and food were again offered, prayers and texts were intoned, a musical service was per- formed and the idol was put to sleep once more."' I Brah. and Hin., p. 144. K^iSHisrA. 391 The fairest estimate of any book or religion is ob- tained by an examination of its influence upon the lives of men, and it is easy to see that this foolish round of ceremonies before the idol morning and even- ing can only have a degrading effect both upon priest and people. Indeed, this senseless adoration of the image of Krishna prevents all moral and intellectual development in his devotees. But far more injurious than idolatry is the worship of an immoral god, and the influence of the boy thief, the dishonorable warrior, or the licentious lover is far more degrading to the people of India than a lifetime spent in dressing and undressing, washing and painting an idol. " Among the Hindiis," says AVilson, "entire dependence upon Krishna or any other favorite deity, not only obviates the necessity of virtue, but it sanctifies vice. Conduct is wholly immaterial. It matters not how atrocious a sin- ner a man may be, if he paints his face, his arms, with certain sectarial marks ; or if he die with the word Ilari or Kama or Krishna on his lips, he may have lived a monster of iniquity, he is certain of heaven."' SUMMARY. In looking over the facts here gathered together, we learn, 1st: That Krishna worship is nowhere found in the early Vedic writings ; that, although sixty thousand Krishnas are mentioned in Wilson's transla- tion of the Eig-veda, they are all the names of black demons whose mission is depredation and devastation. 2d. That in the Maha-bharata we have the men- tion of "hundreds and thousands" more which issued lEel. of Hin., Vol. II, p. 75. 393 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OP INDIA. from Siva, the god of destruction, and , in the whole dark multitude of persons who bear this name, we iind represented gods and demons, men and devils, warriors and princes, sages and commentators, editors and publishers. 3d. That the light thrown upon the real life of the warrior who was afterwards deified by his admirers, reveals a very unscrupulous character. 4th. That the resemblances to the facts of Chris- tian history are very slight and evidently introduced into Hindi! literature in later times. 5th. That the efEort to show a similarity between two names of such entirely opposite signification as Christ and Krishna is of very modern origin, and re- pudiated by all scholars. 6th. That the revelation of Krishna's character which was made to Arjuna, is as far from divine sym- metry as his conduct was from decent morality. 7th. That the idolatry of the boy thief, the dis- honorable warrior, and the licentious lover is utterly degrading to the people of India. 8th. That the fairest estimate of any book or relig- ion is an examination of its influence upon the lives of men, and the worship of this deity with his six- teen" thousand wives has not elevated or improved the morals of his devotees. It is certain that much of the pollution and degradation attendant upon Krishna worship is utterly unfit for description. And yet Krishna classes have been formed in promi- nent cities of the United States and the priests of Hinduism are trying to gain votaries even among civil- ized people. Certain it is, that if our clean hearted KRISHNA. 393 American women were acquainted with the true charac- ter of the cult, they would flee from its contaminating touch. Let them consider the gross immoralities which are boastingly ascribed to Krishna in their own standard works — let them investigate the unspeakable obscenity which pertains even to the worship of the "dark god." Let them read the Vishnu-purana (Wilson's trans- lation), which is devoted to the exaltation of Krishna, and which may be found in our large libraries. Let them study these things from a scholarly and scientific standpoint, then all illusions concerning this cult will quickly vanish, and they can no longer be deceived by wilful misrepresentations made by interested parties. CHAPTEK XXIV. CONCLUSION. HINDU LITERATURE — HINDUISM — TEACHING — THE EPIC POEMS — THE PURA:KrAS — VEDIC WORSHIP BET- TER THAN IDOLATRY. WE have now followed the principal line of Hindu literature from its earliest beginnings in the hymns of the Rig-veda down to the Puranas of the Middle Ages. Having examined the liturgy of the Brah- manas, the mystical philosophy of the TJpanishads and the legal code of the Hindiis ; having wandered through the tropical luxuriance of their epic poetry and the fan- ciful cosmogonies of their Puranas ; having studied the character of their gods from the beginning of their mytholog;^ down to Siva and Krishna, their most modern deities, we are prepared to appreciate not only the beauties of their literature, but the relative value of their teachings. HINDUISM. The term Hinduism is applied to the complex sys- tem of faith which characterizes the modern Hindu thought, and which appears to be a union of Brah- manism and Buddhism ; of theism and polytheism — a system which, although influenced to a certain extent by a purer principle, scruples not to worship still the 394 COKCLUSION. 395 serpent power, or to mingle the adoration of the fish or the boar with that of the living God. Nearly two hundred millions of the people of India are bewildered with the strange tenets of a creed which combines the teachings of monotheism with the worship of a multitude of idols — which declares in one paragraph that there is but one god, and still inculcates on every page the veneration of some of the millions of deities in the Hindu pantheon. The word Hindiiism may also be used to indicate the ritualism of that people in its various phases of development from its birthplace in the highlands around the sources of the Oxus river down to the idol temples of to-day, where the modern deities, Siva and Krishna, are supposed to hold their court. Hinduism as the appellation of all their religious thought was born in the early hymns of the Kig-veda, those simple pastoral songs, reaching back nearly to the birth of Moses, and living still in the literature of men. The ages which have come and gone since their musical numbers were first breathed upon the still air have enhanced rather than diminished their beauty. The great heart of humanity has ever hun- gered for the loving touch of the Infinite. Away back in the ages, so near to the morning of time, the children of men saw the sun as he moved on his tri- umphal march through the heavens, or fio^ted away at evening on a sea of gold and crimson splendor, and they sang the glories of Mitra, the god of day. When the tropical sun poured down his noonday heat, and the flowers wilted beneath his touch; when the earth was parched and her sands were barren; 396 THE AXCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. when her rivers were low and famine was abroad in tho land ; then the clouds were gathered in a dark canopy before the sun, and showers were poured upon the thirsting, earth, while the sons of the Southland looked upward again and brought their offerings of praise to Indra, the rain god. When the soft wind passed through the heated air and came laden with the fragrant breath of the orange and mango blossoms they praised the bright Maruts, the breezes with their "dappled steeds" that brought healing unto man. When night came down and cooled the fevered landscape with her gentle touch, and kissed with her cool breath the burning brow of her worshiper, then he sang of Varuna, the sky god, whose countless eyes look down upon the deeds of men. When the shadows of night fled away before the gray light of morning, the imaginative Hindii dreamed that the dawn was a beautiful woman wearing a robe of silvery cloud and a diadem of tinted pearl. When the crimson sunlight flushed the eastern sky he fancied that her pure face was blushing beneath the kisses of the god of day, and Ushas, the goddess of the morn- ings wearing her crown of golden light, received his homage. Thus the early hymns of the Veda were chanted prayer and praise, and Hinduism was brightest and purest at its fountain head. But this simple nature worship multiplied itself in a thousand forms. It was burdened with the liturgy and priestcraft of the Brahmanas, the mystical teachings of the Upanishads, and the cruelty of the Code of Manu. Altars were CONCLUSION. 397 stained with human bfood, and for two thousand years living women were burned upon the dead bodies of their husbands, while innocent babes were thrown to the sacred crocodiles of the Ganges. Beginning with the adoration of the sun and stars, Hinduism sank lower and lower until in the Puranas of medissval times even the conduct of Krishna is eulogized, and licen- tiousness becomes a feature of public worship. TEACHINGS. We have seen that the earliest hymns of the Eig- veda are beautiful songs of praise to the forces and glories of nature, which, however, soon degenerate into the rambling, wearisome liturgy of the Brahmanas with their burden of priestly rule and their cardinal doctrine of pantheism, which claims that God is everything and everything is God ; that the gods are nourished by the food which is offered in sacri- fice, and without which their deities would perish with hunger. We have found the Upanishads to be the doctrinal portion of the "\^eda — a wilderness of mystical specula- tion with fanciful cosmogonies and theories concern- ing the origin of man. The main object of the Upanishads appears to be the discovery of some method of escaping from the endless round of transmigration and of resting in the arms of oblivion. To this end is inculcated the virtue of absolute inaction of body and mind. Man is taught that he must neither love nor hate, hope nor fear, for the most complete mental and physical idleness, the utmost freedom from all emo- tion, is the nearest approach to the heavenly state of 398 THE ANCIEKT BOOKS OF INDIA. complete and eternal unconsciousness, which is the highest spiritual ambition of Hinduism. It is claimed that he who would attain this per- fected state must go through six successive courses of penance, each course to be continued for twelve years, and that during these seventj'-two years he must do absolutely nothing except to meditate upon Brahma. If he does not do this in the present life he may perform the necessary penance in some future condi- tion induced by transmigration. Sir Monier AVilliams speaks of two devotees whom he saw in India, the one at Gaya and the other at Benares. The arm of the first was entirely withered by inaction, while his motionless fist was so tightly clenched that the nails were growing through the back of his hand. The other ^'looked like a piece of sculpture, sitting in a niche of the Anna-puma tem- ple, perfectly motionless and impassive, with naked body smeared all over with white ashes, matted hair, and the forefinger of the upraised hand pointing to the heaven to which in imagination he seemed to be already transporting himself." ' The epic poems of India, the Ramayana and the Maha-bharata, also teach the philosophy of self-dis- cipline and mortification until a condition of complete apathy is attained. There is a constant round of ceremonies, sacrifices, and oblations. There is the worship of monkeys and serpents, of birds and tigers, of elephants and parrots, of the turtle, the crocodile, and a multitude of other animals, as well as trees, plants, and stones. Indeed, < Brah. and Hin., p. 87. CONCLUSION. 399 the worBhip of the women of India at the present day consists largely in walking hundreds of times around a tulasi plant, which is supposed to represent the wife of Vishnu, or Sita, the devoted wife of Rama. Yet, as compared with the endless round of ceremonies, a few years of austerities or enforced idleness is the work which of all others bestows the greatest merit. A con- dition of entire mental vacuity is represented as being the nearest to complete, identification with the one universal spirit, which involves liberation from all per- sonality and consciousness.' The Puranas, which claim to be direct revelations from deity, constitute the bible of one of the most modern forms of Hinduism, viz., Vaishnavism, or the worship of Vishnu, and the form in which this sect now shows itself principally is in the worship of Krishna, one of the latest incarnations of Vishnu. Vaishnavism is perhaps the most composite of all the religions of India. It seems to teach all forms of Hinduism, re- gardless of their opposite characteristics : it advocates the claims of one god and also of a multitude ; it teaches pantheism and penance, self -mortification and self-indulgence, virtue and licentiousness. It often advocates monotheism, and at times sets aside all other gods than Vishnu. The Hindu theist claims that there is but one god, one Being in millions f forms. To this universal spirit, devotion may be 1 The unlTersal testimony of Hinduism is that the spirit or soul is Im- mortal, but says Prof. Williams, "It Is generally better to translate the philosophical terms Atman, Brahman, and Purusha by 'spirit' rather than by soul, because the expression ' soul ' Is liable to conrey the Idea of thinking and feeling, whereas pure Atman, Brahman and Purusha neither ' think, nor feel, nor are conscious.' " (Brah. and Hin., note to pags 27.) 400 THE ANCIENT BOOKS OF INDIA. rendered through thousands of inferior gods; through the ghosts of dead ancestors ; through living heroes, animals, and plants ; through mountains and stones ; through the stars of heaven or the painted idols of earth. Hence, he asserts that whenever any one of the millions of gods in the Hindu pantheon is pro- pitiated hy sacrifice or oblations, the Supreme Lord is gratified. But instead of believing " that there is one mediator between God and man," he holds that there are thousands, nay, millions, of mediators, any one of which may be a tiger or a cow, a fish or a serpent, a crocodile or a baboon. -The early Vedic worshiper paid his homage to the sun and moon, but the modern Hindu adores the crocodile, which hides amidst the weeds of the Ganges. How is the mind of the worshiper fallen, when, instead of offering his praises to the icy brow of the Himalaya, flushed ^\'itli the rays of the setting sun, he brings his oblation to the serpents that infest the rocks at her feet ? Far better thaji modern idolatry was their primitive worship of mountain and storm ; better than the con- fused medley of their creeds were the oblations down by the shores of the crested sea ; better than warrior worship, their songs of praise to the stars that swieep around the midnight throne ; better than the idol temples of to-day were the sacred groves on the foot- hills of the Himalayas, where the golden eagle circled above the highest crags, and the goddess of the morn- ing, with tinted robe and crown of pearl, smiled down upon her worehiper. INDEX. Abraham, 6, 15, 74. Achilles, 155, 157. Adam, 6. Adelung, 12. AdhyStma Ramayawa, n 348. ^ditya, 10, 32, 33, 53, 132. ^olus, 51. Agni, 10, 30, 63, 69, 96, 116, 133, 361; hymn to, 31. Agni-purSraa, 368. Aitareya jiranyaka, n 138. Aitareya Brahmaraa, 76, 79, 109. Aitareya Upanishad, 109. Akbar, n 300. Alexander, n 12, 13. Alexandria, 11. Allah Upanishad, 101. Amethyst, 28. Amsumati river, 377. Analogy, between myths, Chaps. II, III. AnSsiiya, wife of Atri, 316. Ancient books, 1, 2, 13, 15. Angada, son of Ball, 235. Animals, creation of, 131, 135, •137. Animal sacrifices, 44, 76, 95. Anka, of Arabia, 58. Anantavat, 117. Anna-purna temple, 398. Antelope, in sacrifice, 96. ^rarayakas, 74, 101, 109. Arimaspians, 58. Arjuna, 283, 344, 351, 393; de- scription of, 386; triumph of, 393 ; at DvarakS, 320. Arundelian marbles, 48. Arundhati, 90. Aryan inaders, n 283 ; myths, 48 ; race, 24, 29, 48, 49, 64, 160, 379. Asclepias acida, 22. Asoka, a tree, 241. Asoka, the Constantine of Buddh- ism, n 13. Asva-medha, 44, 159, 164, 206, 814, 336. Asva-pati, king of Kekaya, 327. Asvatthaman, 309. Asvins, 170. Atergatis, Syrian goddess, n 55. Atharva-veda, 10, 53. Athens, 35. Atman, 134, n 399 Atri, the sage, 216. Avatars, 54. Ayodhya (Oude), 155, 161, tt mq. Baal, n 100. Baber, n 300. Babylon, 80. Babylonian legend, n 55. Bacchus, 23. Bala-deva, 868. Bala-rSma, 56, 317, 380, 388. Balder, n 49. Bali, 56, 334, 235, 359. Bauddhas, 360. Beal 4 Bena'res, 373, 398. Bentinck, Lord Wm., 73. Bhagavad-glta, ii 280, 281, 304; • age of, 343; origin of, 344; ex- tracts from, 344, 846. Bhagavata-purSjia, 358, 362, 366, 385, 890. 401 402 INDEX. Bhagiratha, 206. Bharata, 177, et seq. Bhavishya-purSraa, 369. Bhima, 383, 293, 301, 323. Bhishma, 399, 300, 308, 314, 365. BhogavatI, capital of serpent city, 323. Bhtis, sacred interjection, 11, Bhuvas, sacred interjection, 11. Bible, 6, n 158. Bibliotheca Indica, 109, n 110. Blavatzsky, Madame, n 383. Births, number of, 144. Boar, heavenly, 118, 127. Body, without, 113, 119. Boyses, 71. Brahma, prayer, 41; universal spirit, 53, 114, 115, 130, 131, n 399. Brahma, creator, 10, 33, 50, 51, 53, 85, 134; day of, 133; descent of animals frora,185; death of, 115, 134. Brahman, Supreme Spirit, 134, 147; feet of, 116. Brahmans, priests, 5, 8, 41, 43, 56, 74, 85, 88; divine right of, 75, 84, 86, 97. Brahmawas, part of the Veda, 8, 11, 54, 74, 78, 101, 113, 396. Brahmarea period, 14. Brahmarol, 316. Brahma-purana, 358. Brahma-vaivarta, 369, 385. BrShmanism, n 9; origin of, 75, 86; formulation of, 14; tyranny of, 85, 93. Brahmanism and Hinduism, n 15, n 17, n 390, n 398. Brahmanical compilers, 277, 282. BrahmawcZa-purawa, 874. Bridge, ocean, 350. Brighu, 85. Bryant, 361. Buddha, 14, 56. Buddhism, 101, 354. Buckley, 48. Bushby, J. H., 68. Biihler, 4. Burr, Dr., 343. Cabul, n 300. CsBsar, n 396. Caitra, month of, 175. Cakra, 168, 365. Calcutta, 6, 68, 381, 378. Camalata, love's creeper, n 38, 149. Camasane, n 55. Caste, 31, 85, 87; sins against, 145. Caucasian mountains, n 57. Celtic, n 39. Cerberus, 35. Ceremonies, 76, 78, 84, 88, 97; burden of, 74, 90, 97; funeral, 84; mari'iage, 84, 89. Ceres, 50, 51. Ceylon, 333, 237, 250, 364, Chaldeans, n 100. Chalva, king of, 880. Champollion, n 35. Chandogya Upanishad, 101, 134, 141, 861 ; extract from, 104, 121, 878. Child, golden, 18, 37; hymn to, 18. China, 14, 80: dragon of, 58. Chips from a German Workshop, n 6, n 13, n 15, n 19, n 29. Christ, 383, 387. Christian era, 54, 93, 158, 378, 383, 383. Christian history, resemblances to, 383, 385, 393. Christianity, 63, 93. Christians, Svrian, 62. Chronology, 158, 277, 856. Citra-kn