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SCIENTIA
VERITAS
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891.2
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THE
STUDY OF SANSKRIT
IN RELATION TO
MISSIONARY WORK IN INDIA;
AN INAUGURAL LECTURE
DELIVERED BEFORE THE
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, ON APRIL 19, 1861.
BY
MONIER-WILLIAMS, M. A.
OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, oxford.
BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT, ETC.
WITH NOTES AND ADDITIONS.

t
EP
PUR S
MUOVE
WILLIAMS AND NORGATE,
14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON;
AND
20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH.
OXFORD: J. H. & JAMES PARKER.
MDCVCLXI.
The following Lecture is printed almost word for word as it
was delivered, but the Notes have been added since; and I
feel it right to acknowledge my obligation to the Rev. J.
Wenger (a learned missionary, lately arrived from Calcutta,
where he has laboured for upwards of 20 years) and to the
Rev. T. Foulkes (who has devoted himself to the missionary
work for many years in the Madras Presidency), for having
revised the proof-sheets and favoured me with suggestions.
OXFORD:
PRINTED BY JAMES WRIGHT, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY,
SI My 21. EHW?
THE STUDY OF SANSKRIT
IN RELATION TO
MISSIONARY WORK IN INDIA.
INDIA is of all the possessions of Great Britain
the most interesting, and presents the most invit-
ing prospect to the missionary. He has there no
common country or people to deal with, no ordi-
nary religion. He is not there brought in contact
with savage tribes who melt away before the
superior force and intelligence of Europeans. He
is placed in the midst of a great and ancient peo-
ple, who, many of them tracing back their origin
to the same stock as ourselves, attained a high
degree of civilisation when our forefathers were
barbarians, and had a polished language and lite-
rature when English was unknown.
The population of India is variously reckoned
at 150 and 200 millions*. It will not be sup-
posed that such an immense assemblage of beings
forms one people. India is almost a continent
like Europe, and from the earliest times has
attracted various and successive immigrants
and invaders, Asiatic and European. Its inha-
bitants differ as much as the various conti-
nental races, and speak languages equally dis-
tinct. We have first the aboriginal tribes, who
* It may be estimated at 180 millions without fear of serious
exaggeration.
B
373957
2
The study of Sanskrit
are thought to be of Scythian origin, and who,
migrating from the steppes of Tartary, entered
India by successive incursions*. Such of these
primitive races as did not coalesce with the
Hindús are still to be traced in the hills and
mountain fastnesses. They are called in ancient
Sanskrit works, Mlechchhas, Dasyus, Nishádas,
&c.; and are now identified with the Gonds of
central India, the Bheels inhabiting the hills to
the west of the Gonds, the Khonds (or Kus) occu-
pying the eastern districts of Gondwána and the
ranges south of Orissa, the Santhals and Koles in
the hills to the west of Bengal, the Khásias and
Garrows on the eastern border, and various other
tribes in the south. They have little in common
with each other, and speak dialects mostly unin-
telligible to the more civilised races of India †.
* From the name Scythian, given to these various tribes, it need
not be inferred that there is any close affinity between them, or
that they entered India simultaneously. Scythian is a convenient
term widely applicable to all wandering tribes migrating from
central Asia who may have found their way into India, either by
the Panjab on the west, or by Asam on the north-east, at various
times previously to the Aryan immigration, or even subsequently.
It is not impossible that incursions of wild tribes from Chinese
Tartary and Thibet into Bengal through those north-eastern moun-
tain-passes which mark the course of the river Brahma-putra, may
have taken place since the Muhammadan invasions.
+ Dr. Caldwell considers that the Dravidians of the south were
the first inhabitants of India, and that they were driven south-
wards by pre-Aryan Scythian invaders, who were afterwards
subdued by the Aryas. In all probability the Dravidians repre-
sent the earliest and most powerful of the Scythian immigrants.
The rude dialects of the more southern hill-tribes are consi-
dered by Dr. Caldwell to be connected with the cultivated Drá-
vidian (or South-Indian) tongues, that is, to belong to the same
Scythian stock as Telugu, Tamil, Kanarese, and Malayalam. He
shews this particularly in the case of the Tuda, Kota (two dialects
of the Nilgerry hills), Gond, and Khond (or Ku). The Ramúsies
and the majority of the Korawars speak a patois of Telugu. The
Male-arasars ('hill-kings'), inhabiting the southern Ghauts, speak
in relation to missionary work in India.
3
Then we have the great Hindú race, originally
members of that primeval family, who called
themselves Áryas or noblemen, and spoke a
language, the common source of Latin, Greek,
and Sanskrit. Starting at different periods from
their home in central Asia, they separated into
distinct nationalities, and peopled Europe, Persia,
and India. The Indo-Aryas, after detaching them-
selves from the Persian branch of this family, set-
tled in the Panjáb and near the sacred Sara-
swatí, the Holy Land of the Hindús. Thence by
successive invasions they overran the plains of
the Ganges, and spread themselves gradually over
the whole peninsula, coalescing in many places
with the primitive inhabitants, and driving all
who declined amalgamating with them to the
south or towards the hills. It was thus that
the fusion of the Áryas with the Scythian tribes
gave rise to the Hindú race, which constitutes
the mass of India's population. It was thus, too,
that the blending of the Áryan Sanskrit with the
various Scythian dialects gave rise to the Hindú
dialects now current in India.
Next to the Hindús, but with a long interval,
came the Parsís. This small tribe of Persians
(even now less than half a million in number) were
expelled from their native land by the conquering
Muhammadans under the Khalif Omar. Adher-
ing to the ancient religion of Persia (the worship,
corrupt Malayálam in the northern part of the range, and corrupt
Tamil in the southern. The Lámbádies, or gipsies of the Penin-
sula, speak a dialect of Hindústání. Among the southern tribes
are included the Vedárs, a wild race who also inhabit the forests
of Ceylon. They eke out a wretched subsistence by killing birds
and beasts with bows and arrows.
B 2
4
The study of Sanskrit
that is, of the Supreme Being under the symbol
of fire), and bringing with them the records of
their faith, the Zand-Avastá of their prophet
Zoroaster, they settled down in the neighbour-
hood of Surat about 1100 years ago, and became
great merchants and shipbuilders*. For two or
three centuries we know little of their history.
Like the Indo-Armenians t, they never multiplied
to any extent or coalesced with the Hindú popu-
* The Parsees, though driven from their native land in the
7th century, did not arrive in India till the 8th. They appear to
have settled first at Yezd, in eastern Persia, where a considerable
number of them still remain. According to Professor Haug of
Poona College, the Indian Parsees do not exceed 150,000 in
number. He says that the Zand-Avastá is a collection of fragments
written in two dialects, neither of which is generally understood
by the present Parsees. Very little of this collection is supposed
to be the work of Zoroaster himself. It is divided into five por-
tions, called Gáthás or songs, the metres of which resemble those
of the Veda. The name of Zoroaster (Zarathustra) is said to be
the same as the Vedic Jaradashti. It is clear that the Hindú and
Zoroastrian systems were derived from the same source. Fire and
the sun are equally venerated in both; but Zoroaster taught that
the Supreme Being created two inferior beings,-Ormuzd the spirit
of good, and Ariman the spirit of evil, the former of whom will
destroy the latter. This dualistic principle is foreign to the Veda.
+ The Armenians of India hold a position something like that
of the Parsees, but they are more scattered, and keep up more
communication with their native country through the port of Bu-
shire at the head of the Persian Gulf. There are often fresh arrivals;
but many families have been in India for centuries, and these are
dark in complexion. Like the Parsees, they are frequently mer-
chants, and in some of the principal towns great bankers, but
as their religion is Christian, they generally imitate the European
dress. They may be called the Jews, or rather Quakers, of the
Eastern Church: for, though scattered in all directions, they hang
very much together and support each other. At Calcutta they
have a large church and flourishing grammar-school. Their native
country is the region which encircles Ararat, part belonging to
Russia, part to Turkey, and part to Persia. They were converted
to Christianity about the 4th century, and their sacred books are
written in the ancient Armenian. Of the two more modern dia-
lects, that spoken S. E. of Ararat by the Persi-Armenians is the
one prevalent among the Indo-Armenians.
in relation to missionary work in India.
5
lation, and are so insignificant in numbers that
they would hardly deserve notice were it not for
their busy active habits, in which they emulate
Europeans.
Then came the Muhammadans (Arabs, Afgháns,
Moguls, and Persians), who entered India at dif-
ferent times*. Though they now form about one-
* Muhammad's successors, after occupying Damascus for about
100 years, fixed their capital at Baghdad in 750, and thence their
power extended into Afghánistán. The Arabs, however, never
obtained more than a temporary footing in India. Under the
Khalíf Walid I, in 711, Muhammad Kásim was sent at the head
of an army into Sinde, but the Moslems were expelled in 750;
and for two centuries and a half India was left unmolested by
invaders from the west. About the year 950, when the power
of the Arabs began to decline in Asia, hardy tribes of Tartars,
known by the name of Turks (not the Ottoman tribe which
afterwards gained a footing in Europe, but hordes from the Altai
mountains), were employed by the Khalífs to infuse vigour into
their effeminate armies. These tribes became Muhammadans,
and gradually took the power into their own hands. In the pro-
vince of Afghánistán, Sabaktagín, once a mere Turkish slave,
usurped the government. His son Mahmud founded an empire
at Ghazní in Afghánistán, and made his first of thirteen incur-
sions into India in the year 1000. During the 13th century the
Mongol or Mogol hordes, under the celebrated Jangíz Khán,
overthrew the Turkish or Tartar tribes; and in 1398 Tímúr,
uniting Tartars and Mongols into one army, made his well-
known invasion of India. After desolating the country he re-
tired, but the sixth in descent from him, Baber, obtained pos-
session of Afghánistán, and thence invading India about 1526,
founded the Mogul empire, which his grandson Akbar established
on a firm basis in 1556. The power of the Moguls, which rapidly
increased under Akbar, Jahángír, and Sháhjahán, until it culmi-
nated under Aurangzíb, began to decline under Shah-Alam (Bahá-
dur Shah), Jahándár Sháh, and Farrukh-siyar; and under Muham-
mad Shah, the fourth from Aurangzíb, took place the Persian inva-
sion of Afghánistán and thence of India, undertaken by Nádir Sháh
(A. D. 1738) to avenge on the Afgháns their inroads into Persia.
Hence it appears that in all cases the Muhammadan invaders of
India came through Afghánistán, and generally settled there be-
fore proceeding to conquer the Hindús. On this account, and
from the proximity of Afghánistán, it has followed that the
greater number of Muhammadan immigrants have been of
Afghán blood.
6
The study of Sanskrit
seventh of the entire population, the great majo-
rity of them are supposed to be the descendants of
Hindús converted to Islám*. Politically they be-
came supreme, but were never able to supplant
the Hindús, as these had done the aboriginal
inhabitants. Their compulsory proselytism† led
to the retention of Hindú habits and customs by
the Musalmán converts. It was, moreover, the
policy of the Muhammadan conquerors to bend,
in many points, to the prejudices of their Indian
subjects. Hence the Moslims of India became
partially Hindúised, and in language, habits, and
character took from the Hindús more than they
imparted ‡.
Nor has the Hindú or Sanskrit-speaking ele-
ment lost its ascendancy in India, notwithstand-
ing the accession and admixture of European
ingredients. The Portuguese, the Dutch, the
Danes, the French have one after the other had
a footing on its shores, and their influence still
lingers at isolated points §. Last of all the English
* In eastern Bengal, about Dacca, there are more Muham-
madans than in any other part of India. It seems at first sight
curious that in the neighbourhood of Delhi the proportion should
be less, but the people are there more spirited and independent,
while in Bengal and the south of India the Muhammadans are
principally converts.
+ One great distinction between the religion of the Muham-
madans and Hindús is, that the former is ever seeking converts,
the latter cannot proselytise if it would. A Bráhman is born, not
made.
Hence it happens that the lower orders of Indian Muham-
madans observe distinctions of caste almost as strictly as the
Hindús Many of them will eat and drink together, but not
intermarry.
§ The Portuguese still hold three places in India, viz. Goa,
Damán, and the island of Diu on the western coast. The Dutch
once held Chinsura on the right bank of the Hooghly, and Nega-
in relation to missionary work in India.
7
have overrun the whole country, and at this
moment our political supremacy is every where
greater than that which once belonged to the
Musalmáns *. Yet the mass of the population is
still essentially Hindú, and the moral influence of
the Sanskritic race is still paramount. Were they
patam on the coast of Tanjore; but about the year 1824 they made
both over to us, receiving in return our possessions on the coast
of Sumatra. Our cession of the coast of Sumatra was afterwards
considered a blunder, to remedy which the formal transfer of
Singapore to the British was effected in 1824 by Sir Stamford
Raffles (a treaty being made with the neighbouring Sultan) as an
intermediate port for our trade with China. The Danes once
possessed Tranquebar and Serampore, both of which were pur-
chased from them by us in 1844. In 1846 they ceded a small
factory to us at Balasore, where the Portuguese also, as well as the
Dutch, held possessions in the early periods of European inter-
course. The French still retain Pondicherry and Karical on
the Coromandel coast, Chandernagore on the right bank of the
Hooghly, and Mahé on the Malabar coast.
* The corporation entitled "Governors and Company of Lon-
don Merchants trading to the East Indies" was formed in 1600.
The first Court of Directors was held on the 23d September 1600,
and the first charter was dated by Queen Elizabeth on the 31st
of December in that year. The first factory was built at Surat,
near the mouth of the Tapty, north of Bombay, in 1613. In 1661
the island of Bombay was ceded to the British by Portugal, as the
marriage portion of the infanta Catharine, on her marriage with
Charles II, but its final possession was withheld for four years. It
was handed over by Charles to the East India Company in 1669.
Here is a Muhammadan historian's account of the first settlement
of the English in India: "In the year 1020 (A. D. 1611 the
Emperor of Delhy, Jahángír, the son of king Akbar, granted a
spot to the English to build a factory in the city of Surat, in the
province of Guzerat, which is the first settlement that people made
on the shores of Hindústán. The English have a separate king,
independent of the king of Portugal, to whom they owe no alle-
giance; but, on the contrary, these two nations put each other to
death wheresoever they meet. At present, in consequence of the
interference of the Emperor Jahángír, they are at peace with each
other, though God only knows how long they will consent to
have factories in the same town, and to live in terms of amity and
friendship." (Quoted by Mr. George Campbell in his "Modern
India," p. 23.)
The study of Sanskrit
a nation at unity among themselves, no foreign
power could withstand their united will. But
they are not one people. The Hindús of different
provinces (meaning of course all who profess the
Hindú religion) differ as much as English, French,
and Italians. There is the spirited Hindústání,
the martial Sikh, the ambitious Maráthí, the
proud Rájput, the hardy Gorkha*, the calculating
Bengálí, the busy Telugu, the active Tamil, the
poor submissive Pariah of Madras.
Many causes have combined to produce these
distinctions. Difference of climate has had its
effect in diversifying character. Contact with the
aboriginal races and with Muhammadans and Eu-
ropeans has operated differently in different parts
of India. Even in districts where the Hindús are
called by one name and speak one dialect they
are broken up into separate communities, divided
from each other by barriers more difficult to pass
than those which mark the social distinctions of
Europe. This separation constitutes, in point of
fact, the very essence of their religion. The Hin-
dús, be it remembered, are a people with strong
religious feelings, whether by religion is meant
passive reliance on a Superior Being, or depend-
* The word Gorkha (sometimes spelt and pronounced Goorkah)
is a contraction of the Sanskrit Go-raksha 'cow-keeper.' The
aborigines of Nepál are mostly of the Bhot or Tibetan family, but
tribes of Hindús from the adjacent low-lands of Oude immigrated
into this mountainous region at different periods within the
memory of tradition, and obtained the sovereignty of the coun-
try.
"The ancestors of the Gorkhas were not improbably of the
cow-herd caste from the district below the hills, known as Go-
rakhpur. The tutelary deity of Nepál is a form of Siva, deno-
minated Gorakhnath, whose priests are Yogís, and the same sect
and worship had formerly equal predominance at Gorakhpúr."
Asiatic Researches, Vol. XVII. p. 189.
in relation to missionary work in India.
9
ence on ceremonial forms and observances; and
there are two noteworthy peculiarities in their
religion;-one is its intimate connexion with social
or caste-distinctions, and the other its compre-
hensiveness and spirit of almost universal tolera-
tion, admitting, as it does, of every variety of
opinion between an unthinking surrender of rea-
son and its complete independence. Hoping then
to make clear, 1st, the causes of disunion among
the Hindús, and, 2dly, the importance of the
study of Sanskrit as the one connecting link
between all varieties of opinion, I proceed to
direct attention to both these peculiarities.
First, as to the connexion between religion and
caste*. The growth of the Indian caste-system is
perhaps the most remarkable feature in the his-
tory of this extraordinary people. Caste as a
social institution, meaning thereby conventional
rules which define the grades of society, exists of
course in all countries. In England, caste, in this
sense, exerts no slight authority, marking out
society into distinct circles. But with us caste is
not a religious institution. On the contrary, our
religion, though it permits differences of rank,
teaches us that such differences are to be laid
aside in religious worship, and that in God's sight
all men are equal. Very different is the caste of
the Hindús. The Hindú believes that the Deity
regards men as unequal, that he created distinct
* The word caste is derived from the Portuguese casta, mean-
ing 'race,' 'species.' The native word for caste in common use
at present is ját (Sanskrit játi, derived from the root jan),
properly meaning 'parentage.' The word varna 'colour,' which
doubtless had reference to complexion,' is usually restricted to,
the four ancient castes of Manu's time.
10
The study of Sanskṛit
kinds of men, as he created varieties of birds or
beasts that Bráhmans and Súdras are as natu-
rally distinct as eagles and crows, or as lions and
dogs; and that to force any Hindú to break the
rules of caste is to force him to sin against God, and
against nature. It is true, that the endless rules of
caste in India hinge upon three principal points,-
1. food and its preparation*, 2. intermarriage, and
3. professional pursuits; but among a religious
people who make these points the very essence of
their religion, an offence against any one of them
becomes the most enormous of crimes. In England,
the nobleman who eats with the peasant, or mar-
ries into a family one degree beneath himself, or
engages in occupations inconsistent with his rank,
is not necessarily shunned, if his moral character
remain unimpeached; but in India, if a Bráhman
do these things, his own peers have no choice but
to cast him out, and ignore his very existence.
As God created him a Bráhman, so when by an
offence against nature he ceases to be a Bráhman,
he cannot be re-bráhmanised. As far as his own
social circle is concerned, he becomes like one
dead or worse than dead: for when he really dies,
his nearest relations refuse to touch his body or
* The preparation of food is quite as vital a point as eating
together. Food prepared by a person of inferior caste causes
defilement. Hindústánís cook with their shoes on: Bengálís
would abhor food thus prepared. Food cooked on board a boat
or ship destroys caste. It cannot be said that the rules of caste
are confined to the three points here enumerated, though they all
hinge on them. Thousands of Hindús would rather go to jail
for years than hold a tallow-candle for one second. They dread
the approach of a fowl to their houses or persons, as a source of
defilement, and so forth. As to intermarriage, see note, p. 16.
As to professional pursuits, see note, p. 22.
ده
in relation to missionary work in India.
11
:
grant him a decent funeral*. It is a remarkable
fact, that the jails in India are filled with har-
dened villains, whose crimes sink them in our
eyes to the lowest depths of infamy, but who,
priding themselves on the punctilious observance
of caste, have not lost one iota of their own self-
respect, and would resent with frantic indignation
any attempt to force them to eat food prepared
by the most virtuous person, if inferior in caste
to themselves t.
Notwithstanding the awful severity of these
rules, it cannot be proved that there is any reli-
gious sanction for them in the Veda or so-called
canon of Hindú revelation ‡. In Manu, which is
* It should be borne in mind, however, that the theory and
practice of Hindúism are constantly at variance. In Bengal, which
is at least a century in advance of other parts of India, a strong
liberal party exists. Thus, at Calcutta some few years ago, at a
meeting of Hindús of the old and new schools, it was decided,
after a stormy controversy, that some young Bráhmans who had
lost caste should be re-admitted on payment of a large fine and
the performance of various purificatory ceremonies. Hence, caste,
however theoretically strict, practically resolves itself into a ques-
tion of rupees.
+ Caste as a system of social rules for maintaining the self-
respect of each member of a community might operate bene-
ficially, were it not for this moral obliquity, which regards crime
as a mere misfortune or blunder, and loss of caste as the only
real sin.
Although the Veda is admitted to be the only orthodox
authority by educated Hindús, yet the mass of the people now-a-
days would say that the Puráņas (each meaning his own favourite
Puráņa) are of as high authority as any Vedic work. They fully
believe that all the Puráņas were composed by and derived their
sanction from Veda-Vyása, the great compiler of the Veda. Any
allusion to the modern origin of the Puráṇas only calls forth an
incredulous smile or a look of compassion. Vyása (who is also
called Krishna-Dwaipayana and Bádarayana) is not only the
arranger of the Vedas and author of the Puráņas, but also the
reputed compiler of the Mahá-bhárata and the founder of the
Vedánta system of philosophy. He was probably the Head of a
College, the learned members of which, under his direction and
12
The study of Sanskrit
(smriti) tradition' and not (śruti) 'revelation,' it
appears first as a complete system; but even in
Manu there is much less strictness in regard to
marriage and the rules about eating than in the
later law-books. One hymn in the Rig-Veda
(usually called the Purusha-súkta or 90th hymn
of the Xth book, and evidently more modern than
any of the others) alludes to a four-fold origin of
the Hindú race (viz. Bráhmana, Rájanya, Vaiśya,
and Súdra), all of whom, it is said, were originally
portions of Purusha, the great universal spirit,
the source of the universe*. But this assigns no
superiority to any one class more than would
naturally arise from difference of occupation. In
all probability, when the earliest hymns of the
Veda were composed, that is about 1200 or 1300
years B. C., and when the Sanskritic race was
settling down in the plains of the Ganges, social
distinctions had not crystallized' into caste, and
there was no hereditary order of priests. Kings
and chiefs might then be the prayer-makers or
hymn-chanters. But as time went on, an elabo-
superintendence, arranged those important departments of Hindú
literature in the form they now present themselves. See Wilson's
Vishnu-Purána, Preface, p. xi.
* This hymn is also found in the Vájasaneyí Sanhitá of the
Yajur-veda and in the Atharva-veda. The following extract is
from Dr. Muir's translation, Sanskrit texts, Vol. I. p. 6. “Purusha
alone is this whole (universe), which has been, and is to be. He
is the lord of immortality. This victim, Purusha, born primevally,
they immolated on the sacrificial grass. From that universal
sacrifice were produced the hymns called rich and sáman, the
metres, and the yajus. When they formed (or offered up) Puru-
sha, into how many parts did they divide him? What was his
mouth? what were his arms? what were called his thighs and feet?
The Brahman was his mouth; the Rájanya was made his arms;
that which was the Vaisya was his thighs; the Súdra sprang from
his feet."
in relation to missionary work in India.
13
rate sacrificial system connected itself with the
singing of these hymns, and required that a par-
ticular class should devote their whole attention
to ministration in sacred things. Hence arose a
distinct caste, which claimed a complete monopoly
of religion, and arrogated absolute control over the
consciences of the laity*. Whether Manu be a real
or ideal personage, he serves as the impersonation
of Indian priestcraft; and, had he lived in modern
times, would have made a good Pope of the Hilde-
brand type t. He was to the Hindús what the
most arrogant of the Roman bishops was to the
Christian community, and he did more. He not
only elevated the Bráhmans to the highest rank
in the social scale and fenced about their position
by the most awful religious sanctions, but fore-
seeing the danger of combined opposition on the
part of the laity, he took care to deprive the
latter of all unity of action by separating them
into classes marked off from each other by im-
passable lines.
*It is usual to call the Brahmans a sacerdotal caste, but
though called priests, and in many respects resembling the Levi-
tical tribe among the Jews, we nowhere read of their conducting
public worship; and in the present day they may follow any
respectable profession. It is certainly true, that in upper India
all priests are Bráhmans, but it by no means follows that all
Brahmans are priests. Even those who devote themselves to a
religious life, concern themselves chiefly with the performance of
domestic ceremonies; and in southern India the sacrificing of
goats and the service of the temples is often left to an inferior
class of men. Public preaching or teaching in Hindú temples
there is none. See note, p. 22.
+ The Jesuitical character of many of Manu's precepts is very
curious. Though falsehood is generally denounced, yet we read in
Book VIII (v. 103) that “ a giver of false evidence from a pious
motive, even though he know the truth, shall not lose a seat in
heaven." Again (v. 104), in some cases, "falsehood may be spoken,
it is even preferable to truth."
14
The study of Sanskrit
The Brahmans, he declared, were by indefeasi-
ble right the chief of all creatures. They inhe-
rited pre-eminence as their birthright, and were
born the lords of the world (II. 93). Their duties
were to teach and explain the Veda, to repeat it,
and conduct sacrifices. They were not to seek
political power, but they alone were to be the
king's ministers and advisers. Next to them came
the Kshatriyas or military caste, whose principal
duty was to defend the people; and after them
the Vaiśyas, whose duties were agriculture, trade,
and keeping cattle. These two classes might
sacrifice and repeat the Veda, but not teach it.
The king was to be chosen from the military
caste, but was to submit himself to the guidance
of Brahmans: and, though dying of want, was on
no account to take taxes from them (VII. 36. 133).
All three classes were called 'twice-born' (dwija),
because at different ages (either at five or eight
years old in the case of Bráhmans) they underwent
a ceremony called upanaya, which was supposed to
confer spiritual birth*. A thin cord (the yajnopa-
* "In the 8th year from the conception of a Bráhman, in the
11th from that of a Kshatriya, and in the 12th from that of a
Vaiśya, let a child undergo the ceremony upanaya (investiture
with the sacred thread). Should a Bráhman, or his father for
him, be desirous of his advancement in sacred knowledge, a
Kshatriya of extending his power, or a Vaisya of engaging in
mercantile business, the investiture may be made in the 5th, 6th,
or 8th years respectively. The ceremony of investiture, hallowed
by the Gayatri must not be delayed, in the case of a Bráhman,
beyond the 16th year; in that of a soldier, beyond the 22d; in
that of a merchant, beyond the 24th." Manu II. 36-38. In
Bengal at the present day, the only caste besides the Brahmans
allowed to wear the sacred cord is that of the Vaidyas. In Bom-
bay there is a caste, who call themselves Khatrís, who wear it.
See note, p. 22.
in relation to missionary work in India.
15
víta), composed of several threads, was put on over
their heads, and worn under the right shoulder
and over the left, as it is even now by Bráhmans.
Youths of the first three classes, thus initiated,
were permitted to learn the sacred verse of the
Vedas, called Gáyatrí, repeated by every Bráhman
to this day, at his morning and evening devotions*.
The fourth and last caste was that of the Súdras.
They were not slaves; but their duty was to serve
the three higher castes, and they were not allowed
to offer sacrifices or repeat the Vedas. This caste
was probably formed from the more respectable
of the aboriginal inhabitants, who joined them-
selves to the conquering Hindús, and preferred
serving them to leaving their homes. Though
placed immeasurably below the others, they were
reckoned a pure caste, and are so considered to
this day in southern India (Manu X. 4)†. Accord-
* The Gáyatrí is a short verse in the 3d Mandala, sixty-second
súkta of the Rig-veda, at the end of Vol. II. of the printed edi-
tion. It is Tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhímahi, dhiyo
yo nah prachodayat, which Prof. Wilson has translated literally,
"We meditate on that excellent light of the divine sun, may he
enlighten our minds (or influence our pious rites)!" Sir W. Jones
has paraphrased it thus: "Let us adore the supremacy of that
divine sun, the godhead, who illuminates all, from whom all pro-
ceed, to whom all must return, whom we invoke to direct our
understandings aright."
+ Dr. Caldwell in his Drávidian Comp. Gram. (p. 77) remarks,
that the title Súdra conveys a higher meaning in southern than
in northern India. The original Súdras of northern India, as
described by Manu, probably had no property of their own, and
no civil rights. In southern India, on the contrary, it was upon
the middle and higher classes of the Dráviḍians that the title
of S'údra was imposed. The. Bráhmans, who came in " peace-
ably and obtained the kingdom by flatteries," may have persuaded
the Dravidians that in calling them Súdras, they were conferring
upon them a title of honour. If so, their policy was successful,
for the title of Súdra has invariably been regarded by Dravidians
16
The study of Sanskrit
ing to Manu's theory the low-castes were the
mixed classes, which resulted from illicit mar-
riages between the others (described in the Xth
book), such as the leather-sellers (dhigvanas),
fisher-men (nishádas), car-drivers (sútas), attend-
ants on women (vaidehas), carpenters (áyogavas),
&c. *
But, in all probability, these low-classes
represent the more degraded aboriginal races,
made slaves by those more powerful and refined
Scythian tribes who afterwards formed the pure
Súdra caste. (See notes, pp. 2 and 15.)
Hindú society, as thus depicted by Manu, no
doubt represents what the Bráhmans aimed at
more than what they actually effected t. Still
it is clear that there was a general conspiracy
on the part of the Bráhmans to monopolise
temporal and spiritual power without personal
risk or labour. Having the Veda to learn by
heart, and a complicated ritual to master, they
had too much on their hands to undertake the
in this light, and the Súdra ranks next to the Brahman in south-
ern India.
* Manu's principal object in his rules about intermarriage was
to debar Brahmaní women from intercourse with men of inferior
castes. (See X. 30. 66. 67.) He therefore represented the off-
spring of such marriages as outcaste, and in the present day the
feeling on this point is quite as strong. If the child of a Bráh-
maní woman by a man of inferior caste is ever permitted to see
the light, the existence of such a child must be a perpetual
disgrace.
From what has been stated in a previous note, it may be
questioned whether in the south of India, where Brahmanical
influence penetrated slowly, Manu's system was even carried to
the extent of the division into four castes, which must have taken
place in the north. There is little evidence of this division even
in that favoured land of Bráhmans, Travancore, where, if any
where, its traces ought to be clearly marked. Brahmans and
Súdras are the two pure castes.
in relation to missionary work in India.
17
actual government; and satisfied with a dignified
and lucrative repose, did not relish the risk of
fighting. These duties, therefore, they delegated
to the Kshatriyas, but took care to check the
inconvenient growth of kingly power by entan-
gling it in a thick network of sacerdotal influ-
ence. The king was to do nothing without his
advisers, the Bráhmans. If he taxed them, or
provoked them in any way, could they not imme-
diately, "by sacrifices and imprecations, destroy
him, with his troops, elephants, horses, and cha-
riots?" (IX. 313.)* Still there were weak points in
this system, of which the Kshatriyas in process
of time availed themselves. All Bráhmans being
theoretically born equal †, any scheme of general
subordination among themselves became impos-
sible. They were bound together by the most
stringent rules, and their minutest actions regu-
lated with the microscopic strictness of a con-
vent; but they were without central authority,
without a council, and without any general system
of graduated ecclesiastical government ‡. Disci-
pline, therefore, was relaxed, the Bráhmans became
careless, and the Kshatriyas more vigilant. It is
clear from various legends, that long and severe
* To this day the chief power of a Bráhman lies in his curse.
Few doubt that it must take effect at some time or other.
+ They are now divided into a multitude of sub-castes. See
note, p. 21.
In some parts of India the conventual system furnishes a
complete machinery of ecclesiastical government, but this is only
applicable to isolated sects. I was informed by my friend
Mr. Mahiputrám Ruprám (who is a pure Gujarátí Bráhman) that
there are four great monasteries in different parts of India, in
each of which the Superior is called S'ánkaráchárya, and supposed
to inherit the chair of that eminent S'aiva Reformer and Vedántist.
C
18
The study of Sanskrit
struggles took place between the sacerdotal and
military classes; Paraśu-ráma (the mythical cham-
pion of the Brahmans) is said to have cleared the
earth thrice seven times of the whole Kshatriya
race*, and the names of various kings are recorded
who perished from their resistance to the en-
croachments of the priesthood †. On the other
hand, the power of the Kshatriyas sometimes
prevailed. The celebrated Viśwámitra (son of
Gádhi) is fabled to have raised himself to the
rank of a Bráhman; and various legends are nar-
rated which indicate successful opposition on the
part of other kings. Finally Buddha, the great
* There are many legends connected with the incarnation of
Vishnu, called Paraśu-ráma or 'Ráma with the axe,' who, as a
Bráhman, must not be confounded with two other celebrated
incarnations of Vishņu, Ráma-chandra and Bala-ráma (the Hindú
Hercules). The history of Paraśu-ráma is related twice in the
Mahá-bhárata, once in the Vana-parva, and again in the Rajadharma
section of the Sánti-parva. It is also told in the 9th book of the
Bhagavata-puráṇa, in the Padma, Agni, and other Puráņas. (See
Wilson's Vishnu-Purána, p. 401.) Kártavírya, king of Mahishmatí,
happened to come to the hermitage of the sage Jamadagni, and
inflated with pride, behaved disrespectfully. He was therefore
slain by the sage's son Paraśu-ráma; and to avenge their father's
death, the sons of Kártavírya killed Jamadagni. This led to
the bloody contests between Ráma and the Kshatriyas. The
Rájadharma, however, relates that some of the latter escaped even
this thrice seven destruction of their race. Tradition ascribes the
formation of the Malabar coast to Paraśu-ráma, who is said to have
compelled the ocean to retire for that purpose. There is a legend
that some fissures in the western Ghats were made by blows of
his axe.
+ See Manu VII. 41. "Through want of that virtuous humility
Vena was utterly ruined, and so was the great king Nahusha, and
Sudása, and Yavana, and Sumukha, and Nimi; but by humble
behaviour Viśwámitra, son of Gádhi, acquired the rank of a priest,
though born in the military class."
Viswamitra is fabled in the Rámáyana to have gradually
increased the rigour of his austerities for thousands of years
before he attained the condition of a Bráhman. The story of
his difficulties, as told in that poem, proves that among the Solar
in relation to missionary work in India.
19
reforming Kshatriya, himself the son of a king,
styling himself 'the Awakened or Enlightened one,"
disseminated a creed which denied the authority
of the Veda, prohibited the killing of animals for
sacrifice, and repudiated altogether the supremacy
of the Brahmans. A system which proclaimed
all men equal, which preached universal tolera-
tion, and opposed the tyranny of the priests, had
no difficulty in attracting proselytes. Buddhism
gradually gained ground in India; and though for
a long period ignored by the Bráhmans, acquired
in the end political supremacy*. The best proof of
kings in the country of Oude, Bráhmanical influence was much
stronger than at a later period among the Lunar princes in the
neighbourhood of Delhi, as described in the Mahá-bhárata. The
secret of this was, that in the northern districts fresh arrivals of
martial tribes through the Panjáb, mingling with the Kshatriyas,
infused an independent spirit into the people. Hence, many of
the stories of the Mahá-bhárata (such as that of Drupada and
Drona, and the marriage of Draupadí) evince a disregard for the
authority and institutions of the Brahmans.
* Buddhism was the natural reaction from a state in which
the Brahmans claimed despotic control over the religious life of
the community, and yet were unable to prevent the most un-
bridled licence in philosophical enquiry. Buddha was the son of
Suddhodana ('eater of pure food') king of the district of Kapila-
vastu, near Ayodhya. His mother's name was Máyá. His own
name was probably Sarvártha-siddha, but he is frequently called
Gautama, or by a sort of complimentary title, Sákya-sinha ('the
lion of the race of Sákya'). The title Buddha was not assumed
till afterwards. Buddha was probably born at Kapila-vastu,
under the Himalayas, about 600 B. C. His death is said to have
taken place in the year 543. These dates, however, are conjec-
tural, and may be nearly a century too early. Though born at
Kapila-vastu, Buddha very soon settled himself at the capital of
Magadha (Páṭaliputra or Patna), whence Buddhism first emanated;
and the Mágadhí or principal Prákrit, which is nearly the same
as Pálí or the sacred language of the Buddhists of Ceylon, had its
origin here. The existence of Buddhism in India cannot be
clearly traced till the reign of the Súdra king Piya-dasi or Aśoka,
who is known to have reigned between 280 B. C. and 260 B. C.
by his being the grandson of Chandra-gupta, the Sandrakottus of
C 2
20
The study of Sanskrit
its success was that the three pure castes which re-
presented the Hindú laity became confused under
its influence, and even Súdras and Vaisyas were
made kings*. The Bráhmans, however, were not
Strabo. The inscriptions discovered on pillars and rocks through-
out India (written in Mágadhí Prákrit, or vernacularised Sanskrit,
then the spoken language of the Hindús) are ascertained to be
addresses from Aśoka and the Buddhist sovereigns of Magadha to
their subjects, enjoining reverence for Bráhmans, as well as for
S'ramanas or Buddhist ascetics. This proves that the progress
of Buddhism was slow in India, and that it coexisted with Bráh-
manism for several centuries. In fact, Buddhism in its first and
purest form was only a modification of Hindúism derived from
the Sankhya system of philosophy. In that system there is no
real God, as every thing in the universe is accounted for by
nature, or a sort of plastic principle, the unintelligent creator of
the world. The grand aim of Buddhism, deduced from this sys-
tem, was personal annihilation, not the absorption of the soul
into the Supreme Spirit, but its 'blowing out' (Nirvana) and
extinction. Any human being might become a Buddha by pass-
ing through a series of transmigrations in the practice of self-
mortification and benevolence, but the end of each Buddha was
not to be deified, but to be extinguished like the flame of a candle.
Such a modification of Hindúism may easily have proceeded from
the same sceptical spirit which gave rise to the Sankhya philoso-
phy, and was beginning to shew itself when Manu's code was com-
piled. (See III. 150. IV. 163. VIII. 22. XI. 66. XII. 33.) But
a system substituting Atheism for Theism and Polytheism could
not have gained ground, had it not professed to popularize a close
and exclusive religion. No one could become a Bráhman by con-
version, but any one might become a Buddhist, and any Buddhist
convert might become a priest. This was the secret of its success.
Its leading atheistical ideas were kept in the background, while
its popular doctrines and its scheme of universal benevolence
were prominently exhibited. When these attracted proselytes
even among kings, and Buddhism assumed a political existence,
then, and not till then, did the Brahmans bestir themselves, and
expose the true character of the system; and so opposed was
Buddhism to the devotional feelings natural to the Hindús, that
when revealed in its true character, it died out, probably without
violent persecution, while those Buddhists who remained became
absorbed into the Jains, or took refuge in Ceylon, whence the
system, after undergoing considerable development, extended to
Burmah, Siam, China, and Thibet.
* The Súdra king Chandra-gupta, and his dynasty who called
in relation to missionary work in India.
21
to be ejected from their position so easily. Under
Sankara Acharya, in the eighth century *, they
recovered their ascendancy, but they themselves
lost much of their sacerdotal character, and became
parcelled out into a multitude of sub-divisions or
sub-castes, some tribal in their origin, some local†;
themselves Samráțs or universal monarchs, held sway over India
from 315 to 173 B. C. The mighty Gupta kings, from 150 to
280 A. D., were Vaiśyas.
* Sankara Acharya is the great Reformer, who established the
preferential worship of Siva about the 8th or 9th century. He
was also the most eminent teacher of the Vedánta philosophy.
The great Vaishnava teachers were Rámánuja in the 12th century,
Madhwáchárya about the 13th, and Vallabháchárya in the 16th.
The latter had eighty-four celebrated disciples.
men.
+ From a previous note it will be seen that the Brahmans of
the present day are not a class of priests so much as an order of
It is very true, that the most important religious rites are
conducted by Bráhmans only, but the great majority of Bráhmans.
engage in secular occupations, and leave ministration in sacred
things to a certain section of their own body, who make it their
business to master the ritual, and learn the Vedic liturgies.
With regard to the numerous sub-divisions of Bráhmans, the great
distinction is into five Gaura races and five Drávida races. The
Gaura includes, 1. The Gaura, properly so called, or Bengal Bráh-
mans. 2. The Kánya-kubja or Bráhmans from Kanouj. 3. The
Sáraswata, from the neighbourhood of the sacred river Saraswatí
in the north-west. These are pale-complexioned, intelligent, and
handsome, and every where have a position conceded to them
which leads them to look down on their brethren in other divi-
sions. 4. The Maithila, from north Bahár. 5. The Utkala, from
Orissa. The Drávida includes, 1. The Drávida, properly so called.
2. The Tailanga. 3. The Karnáta. 4. The Maháráshṭra. 5. The
Gurjara or Gujaráti. Each of these has various sub-divisions.
Thus the Kanouj or Kulín Bráhmans of Bengal are divided into
five well-known families, viz. Mukharjí, Banerjí, Chattarjí, Gán-
guli, and Ghoshal; and the Gujarátí Bráhmans number no less
than eighty-four sub-divisions, intermarriage between these sub-
castes being strictly prohibited. Even in the native state of
Travancore, which of all countries in India adheres to the old
Brahmanical regime, there is a curious division of Bráhmans
into Deva-bráhmana and Arddha-bráhmana or divine Bráhmans
and demi-bráhmans; the reason given for the distinction being
that the latter were shorn of half their dignity by accepting
22
The study of Sanskrit
while in place of the pure Kshatriya, Vaiśya, and
Súdra, arose a countless number of mixed classes,
separated by difference of occupation, and fenced
off from each other by barriers more insurmounta-
ble than those which Manu had created. These
modern castes, in their tenacity of social and pro-
fessional privileges, are not unlike the guilds of
Europe. Their jealousy of encroachments is even
more marked. Those belonging to a higher stra-
tum of society are ever vigilant to refrain from
acts which would be deemed beneath their posi-
tion, and to hinder the class below them from any
effort to rise to their level*. Thus each caste prac-
landed property from Paraśu-ráma, while the former have been
content to receive fees and offerings.
* It must be borne in mind, that the term Bráhman does not
imply any necessary social superiority, but only the possession of
certain religious privileges. Bráhmans are often very poor, and
may have to recognise as their social superiors wealthy Zamíndárs
or merchants of inferior caste. One of a Brahman's rights is,
that he is allowed to follow any pursuit, provided it be not
menial. They are frequently soldiers, and not uncommonly en-
gage themselves as copyists, or even as cooks, in wealthy low-
caste families. As to the Kshatriya caste, although it is no
longer pure, yet the Rajputs and all who add Singh to their
names in Oude and the Panjáb claim to belong to this caste.
They are often doorkeepers or warders. In the Bombay presidency
there is a class of silk-weavers who call themselves Khatrís, and
wear the sacred thread. Pure Vaiśyas nowhere exist, although
in parts of India there are castes who claim or appear to be
descended from them. Thus in Bengal the caste of Vaidyas,
who come next to the Bráhmans, are allowed to wear the sacred
thread, which in Manu's time was the right of Vaisyas; and
their name Gupta seems to indicate community with the old
Vaisyas. (See Manu II. 32.) Though called Vaidyas ('physi-
cians') they are Pandits and occasionally booksellers. Again, the
caste which comes next to the Vaidyas are the Kayaths or Káya-
sthas, properly writers, but not unfrequently merchants. They
are not allowed to wear the thread, but they are a very respecta-
ble class, and their family names (e. g. Mitra and Datta) point
to some connexion with the old Vaisyas. (Manu II. 32.) With
in relation to missionary work in India.
23
tises an exclusive haughtiness, responded to on the
part of the inferior class by outward servility and
inward hatred. Time would fail us if we attempted
further detail. Enough has been said to shew the
effect of caste as a religious institution, in break-
ing up the Hindú community into detached and
isolated circles. Mutual confidence or sympathy
is, of course, impracticable; nationality and pa-
triotism are all but impossible.
I proceed to shew that the vagueness and uncer-
tainty of Hindú religious belief is another source
of disunion. Every religion may be said to have
two sides, according to the prominence given to
faith or works by different temperaments; but
the Hindú religion is truly many-sided. Though
nominally founded on the Veda, the very vague-
ness of this word, which means 'knowledge,' well
expresses the character of the religion. It is true,
that the term Veda is usually applied to a num-
ber of books which are supposed to constitute the
collective canon of Hindú revelation; but the true
sacred knowledge contained in these books (called
regard to the Súdras, in Bengal and Bombay, the term Súdra
is applied to the low-castes, but this is a compliment to which
they have no real right. It is doubtful (as observed in note,
p. 16) whether the Kshatriyas and Vaisyas ever penetrated far
towards the south. Hence the Drávidian or southern S'údras, who
represent the next caste to the Brahmans, must not be confounded
with the so-called S'údras of Bengal and Bombay. The low-castes
of southern India coincide pretty nearly with the whole ' unpro-
pertied' population, or those who serve for hire in any way. It
appears, then, that one or two of the higher castes next to the
Brahmans are allowed a little latitude of occupation; but in
descending to the numerous low-castes every man is restricted
to the occupation of his father, and if he wishes to raise himself
to a higher profession, all above him oppose his rise. This exclu-
siveness is carried to a more absurd extreme in southern India
than in the north.
24
The study of Sanskrit
Our
Brahma as well as Veda) was only to be trans-
mitted through a series of priests who were, there-
fore, named Bráhmans. Here, then, we may note
the distinction between the Christian and Hindú
idea of revelation. We Christians believe that a
succession of sacred books, and not a succession
of fallible men, constitute the repository of our
faith, and that God communicated knowledge to
inspired writers, permitting them at the same
time to preserve the peculiarities of style, inci-
dent to their respective characters as men.
canon of scripture is limited to one compact
volume, furnishing a complete directory open to
every Christian, so that nothing in faith or practice
is required of him which is not contained therein or
cannot be proved thereby. Now a Hindú of the old
orthodox school repudiates this idea of revelation.
His Veda, when written down, loses much of its sa-
cred character. Revelation with him is an eternal
sound, only to be received by Bráhmans and trans-
mitted orally by them*. It is God, himself iden-
* The orthodox view of the nature of the Veda, as propounded
by Bádarayaṇa and Jaimini, the supposed authors of the Vedanta
and Mímánsá systems, is that the Veda is eternal and self-existent.
The rishis, whose names are attached to the hymns and who are
acknowledged to have uttered them, merely saw or rather heard
the sacred texts which, although revealed to mortals, had really
pre-existed from all eternity. This view is based on the alleged
eternity of sound. Jaimini asserts, "that sound or words are
eternal, that the connection between words and the objects they
represent is not arbitrary or conventional, but eternal also; and
that consequently the Vedas convey unerring information in re-
gard to unseen objects." Bádarayana, the author of the Brahma
Vedanta or Saríraka sútras as expounded by Sankaráchárya, cor-
roborates the arguments of Jaimini in regard to the eternity of
the Veda; but Gotama in his Nyáya aphorism, as explained by
Viswanatha Bhattacharya in the Nyáya-sútra-vṛitti, disputes them.
See Dr. J. Muir's Sanskrit Texts, Vol. III. pp. 52-81.
in relation to missionary work in India.
25
6
tified with 'knowledge,' making that knowledge
heard through the Bráhmans, who, as the only
channels for communicating it, were said to con-
stitute his mouth*. As this knowledge after a
series of revelations increased beyond the capacity
of human memory, it came at last to be preserved
in writing, but this was done to aid the Bráhmans
in recollecting not so much the sense as the true
sound. They were still to be the only mouth'
through which the sacred Sruti was heard, and
they alone could repeat it with the intonation
and accent necessary to secure its efficacy. Hence
the uncertainty of that so called divine know-
ledge,' which, claiming an eternal existence, was
really the work of numerous men during several
centuries, each pretending to communicate re-
vealed truth, and each composing hymns or laying
down rules in endless succession without method
or harmony of design. Most of these hymns and
rules have been preserved in the collections called
Rig, Yajur, Sáma, and Atharva-Vedat; but these
6
* 'The Brahman was his mouth;' see Purusha-súkta, before
quoted, p. 12.
+1. The Rig-veda is a simple collection of hymns and prayers.
2. The Yajur-veda contains many of the same hymns arranged in
order for particular sacrifices. 3. The Sáma-veda gives the hymns
arranged for chanting. The 1st was the prayer-book of the Hotṛi
priests, the 2d that of the Adhwaryu priests, the 3d that of the
Udgátri priests. The Atharva-veda (or Veda of the descendants.
of Atharvan and Angiras) gives hymns and formularies for expia-
tory, preservative, and imprecatory rites, and rules for rectifying
what has been done wrong. Of the three principal Vedas, the
Yajur-veda is considered the most modern, or at least the second
version of it, called Sukla or white. The most ancient version,
called Krishna or dark, was handed down through Tittiri (the
pupil of Yáska, the pupil of Vaisampayana), and is therefore called
Taittiriya. This latter is not so much a hymn-book as a Bráh-
mana or a collection of rules, forming a guide to the sacrifice as
26
The study of Sanskrit
constitute a mere fraction of the Veda. The Bráh-
maņas, vast rambling treatises (written mediums
for communicating Brahma or divine knowledge
as the Brahmans were its living repositories), and
the philosophical supplements called Upanishads,
claim to be equally integral parts of Hindú revela-
tion, and to contain all the most important pre-
cepts relative to the practices and opinions of the
Bráhmans. Many of these written Brahmaņas
have been lost, and those which are extant are lit-
tle if at all read; while the Upanishads, which are
perhaps more studied than other parts of Vedic
literature, are so obscure and mystical as to be
capable of the most conflicting interpretation *.
performed by the Adhwaryu priests, such mantras only being
included as had to be muttered by them. The white Yajur-veda,
on the other hand, is a real hymn-book, and is called white or
light, because the hymns are clearly separated; the rules being
embodied in a separate work, the S'atapatha-bráhmana. It is also
called Vájasaneyí-sanhitá, because handed down by Yajnavalkya of
the family of the Vájasaneyins. See Professor Müller's "Ancient
Sanskrit Literature."
* The Upanishads (a word professedly derived from the root sad
with upa and ni, meaning 'to destroy ignorance by the knowledge
of Brahm') are said to be upwards of 100 in number, but not
more than eight or ten are at all known, even to Pandits. They
are connected with the Aranyakas, or supplements to the Bráh-
manas, intended for the Vánaprasthas, or Bráhmans who retired
from the world into the forests (aranya). Some of the most
important are, the Aitareya for the Rig-veda, the Brihad-ára-
nyaka for the white Yajur-veda (being part of the Satapatha-
brahmana), the Chhandogya for the Sáma-veda, the Kena, Katha,
I'sa, Praśna Mundaka, &c. They contain mystical discussions on
the nature of the soul, the creation, &c.; and the reason for their
being read is, that all the systems of philosophy, and especially the
Vedánta, pretend to be founded on them. Without doubt, the
Uttara-kanda, or esoteric doctrine of the Veda, is to be sought
for in these Upanishads, and not in the collections of hymns usu-
ally called Vedas. The fact is, that the number of works included
under the general expression Veda is almost endless. Besides
those already mentioned, there are the six Vedángas, or branches
in relation to missionary work in India.
27
A Bráhman, therefore, may enunciate almost any
doctrine, and declare it to be part of the revelation
of which he is the depository. Hence the compre-
hensiveness of Hindúism. Starting from the Veda,
it appears to embrace something from all religions,
and to present phases suited to all minds. It has
its spiritual and its material aspect, its esoteric
and exoteric, its subjective and objective, its pure
and its impure. It is at once rigidly monotheistic,
grossly polytheistic, and coldly atheistic. It has a
side for the practical, another for the devotional,
and another for the speculative. Those who rest
in ceremonial observances find it all-satisfying;
those who deny the efficacy of works and make
faith their all in all, need not wander from its
pale-those who delight in philosophizing on re-
of Vedic science on, 1. Ceremonial (kalpa); 2. Accent (śikshá);
3. Metre or prosody (chhandas); 4. Grammar (Vyákaraṇa); 5. Ety-
mology (nirukta); 6. Vedic astronomy or calendar (jyotisha). These
include the principal works belonging to the sútra branch of Vedic
literature. Thus, under the head of kalpa come, a. the Srauta-
sútras (or short rules for solemn sacrifices, founded directly on
the mantras and Bráhmaņas; so that without knowing these lat-
ter, the priests might go through the ceremonies), b. the Gṛihya-
sútras (for domestic rites), and c. the Sámayacharika or Dharma-
sútras. The two latter are sometimes called Smárta-sútras, as
founded on smriti, 'tradition,' rather than on śruti; and it is from
them that Manu and the later law-books are derived. Again,
under Sikshá come the Prátiśákhyas, works containing rules of
pronunciation and laws of euphony for particular śákhás or recen-
sions of the Vedic hymns. Connected with the sútra literature
are two other kinds of Vedic composition; 1. The Pariśishtas,
which supply rules for the ritual omitted in other works; 2. The
Anukramanis, or indices to the hymns. See Professor Max
Müller's "History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature." It is evident,
that the enormous number of the works which claim to form an
integral part of the Veda, precludes any one man from mastering
their contents; and since many have been lost, or were probably
never written down at all, it becomes impossible to prove what
doctrines of modern Hindúism are based on the Veda, and what
are not.
28
The study of Sanskrit
ligious subjects may here indulge their taste. In
unison with its uncertain character the religious
belief of the Hindús has really no single succinct
and significant designation. We sometimes call
it Hindúism and sometimes Bráhmanism, but
these are not names recognised by the natives,
and convey no definite idea. The absence of uni-
formity is doubtless the natural consequence of
the close intertwining of religion with social dis-
tinctions. The higher classes are supposed capa-
ble of a higher form of religion than the lower,
the educated than the uneducated, men than
women; just as the religions of Muhammadans
and Christians are held (like their complexions)
to be most suited to their peculiar constitutions,
circumstances, and nationalities †.
In point of fact, the Hindú religion, as it presents
itself in operation, is best expressed by the word
* The whole of a woman's religion, according to the orthodox
Hindú view, should consist in obedience, first to her father and
then to her husband, with attention to domestic duties.
"The
nuptial ceremony is considered as the complete institution of
women (i. e. there is to be no investiture with the sacred thread),
ordained for them in the Veda, together with reverence to their
husbands, dwelling first in their father's family, the business of
the house, and attention to sacred fire." Manu II. 67. Closely
bound up with this view is the hopelessness of ever bringing the
generality of Hindús to acquiesce in the re-marriage of widows.
A woman is not her own property, and has no independence.
She belongs first to her father, who gives her away to her hus-
band, to whom she belongs for ever, both in this life and in a future
state. When her husband dies, therefore, she cannot re-marry,
for she is still his property, and cannot give herself away.
+ It is on this principle that Hindús remain comparatively
passive and unmoved, when missionaries denounce their religion
in strong language. They hold it as a matter of course that
Christians will assert their own religion to be the best. Muham-
madans, on the other hand, are much more violent and fanatical,
and will not tolerate the slightest disparagement of their prophet.
in relation to missionary work in India.
29
caste, and the actual worship of the Hindús at the
present day is as multiform, variable, and elastic
as caste itself. The gods of the Veda are now
out of fashion. Fire is still revered, but Indra,
the god of the atmosphere, has been altogether
superseded by Krishna *. This latter deity as an
incarnation of Vishņu, or rather Vishnu himself †
(the visible manifestation of the preserving power,
as Brahma was of the creative), is perhaps the most
popular member of the Hindú Pantheon, at least
in Bengal; and the Purána called Bhagavata, in
which his history is given and his praises cele-
brated, is better known than any other‡. Krishna,
* The principal gods of the Veda are, Indra or the atmosphere,
and Agni or fire. Most of the others may be resolved into modi-
fications of these two; for example, Súrya, the sun, is Agni in
the heavens, &c. Indra is now a very unimportant deity, although
regarded as the chief of the inferior gods. The story of Krishna's
abolishing his worship is told in the Prem Ságar (ch. XXVI).
Indra, it appears, was enraged that the inhabitants of Braj
neglected him for Krishna; he, therefore, called the Cloud-king,
and commanded him to wash away, with a deluge of rain, the
whole circle of Braj and its mountain Govardhan. The clouds,
upon this, discharged their water for seven days, but no one in
Braj was injured, because Krishna lifted up the mountain on the
tip of his little finger, and held it over the inhabitants till the
clouds had expended themselves. Fire is still an object of vene-
ration in India, though not worshipped as decidedly as it was
before the Hindú religious system had diverged materially from
that of the ancient Persians. Manu required householders to
keep up a sacred fire in some hallowed part of the house, which
was to be always burning, and to be used for the nuptial cere-
mony, for the morning and evening oblations, for solemn sacri-
fices, for the śráddha, and, finally, for the funeral pile.
+ In the form of Krishna, the god Vishnu is said to have
exhibited himself in a degree of glory far exceeding any of his
other forms. In nine incarnations he manifested only an anśa
or portion of his divinity, but Krishna was Vishnu himself. See
note, p. 38.
In the Upper provinces (except at Mathurá or Muttra, his
own city) Krishna does not enjoy such high esteem as in Bengal.
That his worship is comparatively modern may be inferred from
30
The study of Sanskrit
however, is not without many rivals. The Bráh-
mans and better educated classes are generally
worshippers of Siva, the manifestation of the
destroying and regenerating power*. Others,
especially in Oude and Hindústán proper, pre-
the circumstance that in the old Buddhist sútras reference is
made to the gods reverenced in India at the time when Buddhism
commenced, as to Brahmá, Nárayaṇa, Siva, Indra, Varuņa, Ku-
vera, but not to Krishna. In the more ancient portions of the
Mahá-bhárata there are no descriptions of his juvenile frolics or of
the Asuras sent to kill him, and the part he performs is that of a
mortal. The Mahá-bhárata, however, has been filled with contra-
dictions, anachronisms, and absurdities, to keep pace with the
development of Hindú mythology. Krishna is in one passage
said to have sprung from a single black hair of Hari (Vishnu),
thus: "Hari plucked forth two hairs; the one white, the other
black. These entered into two women of the family of Yadu,
one of them (the white) became Baladeva, the second hair (the
black) became the black Kesava." As the worship of Krishna
advanced, a supplement was added to the Mahá-bhárata, called
Harivansa, in which his history is detailed with extravagant pro-
lixity. The Vishņu-Purána, one of the earliest of these works,
has followed the Mahá-bhárata in describing Krishna as having
sprung from a black hair of Vishņu, and adds, "the hair descend-
ing on earth shall alleviate the distress (arising from the Asuras
or demons), and shall slay Kansa who is Kálanemí." His mortal
parents were Vasudeva and Devakí. The popular worship of the
boy Krishna (Bála-Krishna) with Rádhá, prevalent in some parts
of India, is especially inculcated in the Brahma-vaivarta-puráṇa,
which is almost too modern a work to deserve the name of a
Purána. The tenth book of the Bhagavata is the principal au-
thority for the full adoration of this deity (see note, p. 38), and
has been translated into all the spoken languages of India.
development of the worship of Krishna, from a hero to a god, has
ended in his being identified in the Bhagavad-gítá (a modern
episode of the Mahá-bhárata) with Brahm, the supreme spirit.
Arjuna is there described as addressing Krishna, thus: "Thou
art the supreme Brahm, the supreme light, holy, pre-eminent.
All the rishis call thee Purusha, the eternal, divine, the primal
god, the unborn, the all-pervading." See Dr. J. Muir's Mata-
paríkshá, Part I. 33. This valuable little work should be in the
hands of every Indian missionary.
The
* As Hindúism excludes the idea of absolute annihilation,
destruction only leads to reproduction, and S'iva the destroyer is
also the regenerator. His stronghold is Benares, but the lower
orders even in that city prefer Krishna.
in relation to missionary work in India. 31
fer to adore another celebrated incarnation of
Vishņu, called Ráma-chandra, whose history and
exploits are related in the great epic poem the
Rámáyaṇa*. Again, vast numbers of the Hindús,
who pretend to be followers of Krishna, Ráma, or
Siva, are secretly worshippers of the Sakti or
female power, personified as the consort of Siva,
and variously called Ambá, Jagad-ambá, Durgá,
Kálí, Párvatí, &c. As these commit excesses
deemed repugnant to the spirit of the Hindú re-
ligion, they are generally ashamed of their own
creed, which is called the Váma-márga, or left-
hand system of worship t. This is not all. Even
the worshippers of Krishna, Ráma, Siva, and Jagad-
ambá, are not at unity among themselves. The
followers of each deity are divided into sects too
numerous to describe or even to enumerate‡. There
* Ráma-chandra, of the Solar race, was no doubt a powerful king
of Ayodhya (Oude), who like Krishna of the Lunar race, at Mathurá,
attained great renown by his heroism, and being afterwards exalted
to a god, was represented to be a portion (ansa) of Vishņu, born
as the son of Dasaratha to destroy the demons infesting the earth,
and especially Rávaṇa, king of Ceylon. The Asurs, Daityas or
demons, so often mentioned in Hindú mythology, doubtless repre-
sented the powerful tribes of the south who opposed the advance
of the Brahmans. Although the worshippers of Ráma were ori-
ginally most numerous in Oude, they were much persecuted by
the Muhammadans, and many of them driven out into Bahár and
the adjacent districts.
+ The worshippers of the Sakti are termed S'áktas, and their
doctrines and ritual are contained in the modern works called
Tantras. There are two divisions of them, the Dakshináchárí and
Vámáchárí, or right and left-hand ritualists. The former worship
the goddesses under their amiable and mild forms, and are not
ashamed of doing so publicly.
Although there are many sects that are fanatically exclusive
in favour of either Vishnu or Siva, none of them are very nume-
rously followed, except, perhaps, some of the Vaishnava. Most
of the Yogís and Sannyásís belong to these particular sects; but
the mass of the people, although they profess to show a preference
32
The study of Sanskrit
are also the Sikhs of the Panjáb, often regarded
as Hindús, but really disciples of Nának Shah, who
attempted to reconcile Hindúism with the faith of
the Musalmáns, and promulgated the Grantha to
supersede the Veda*. Moreover, throughout India
a large, probably by far the largest class, take
one god as their favourite deity (ishța-devatá), but
acknowledge the others also, and keep the festi-
vals in honour of each. Finally, since Hindúism
allows any amount of free-thinking on metaphy-
sical subjects, numbers of educated Hindús have
really no other creed than that which they derive
from one of the systems of philosophy. These
are six in number: viz. Nyáya, Vaiseshika, Sán-
khya, Yoga, Vedánta (or Uttara-mímánsá), and
Mímánsá (or Púrva-mímánsá). All of them agree
in deferring to the Veda as their ultimate author-
ity; but the only school which has really im-
pressed itself on the popular mind is the Vedanta †.
for some one god, look upon all the Hindu deities with equal
respect, as manifestations of one Supreme Being.
* The Sikhs were a religious sect established in the time of
Baber by Nának Shah, who propagated doctrines of universal
toleration, and was the zealous advocate of a union of faith be-
tween Hindus and Muhammadans on the basis of the unity of the
godhead. The sect was continued, and its tenets embodied in ten
sacred volumes, called Granthas, by a succession of ten sainted
gurus ending in Guru Govind, who lived in the time of Aurangzíb,
and meeting with persecution, converted his followers from peace-
able citizens into deadly enemies to the Mogul empire and faith.
The chiefs of the Sikh nation formed themselves into separate
confederacies, called Misals. The twelfth of these was headed by
Charak Singh, the ancestor of Runjit Singh, who afterwards be-
came supreme.
+ The six systems are here enumerated in the order given by
Dr. Ballantyne. Practically there are only three systems, viz.
1. the Nyaya by Gautama (or Gotama); 2. the Sánkhya by Ka-
pila; 3. the Vedanta by Vyása or Badarayaṇa, of which, a. the
Vai eshika by Kaṇáda, b. the Yoga by Patanjali, and c. the Púrva-
in relation to missionary work in India.
33
Indeed all Hindús, whatever be their nominal
form of worship, are more or less philosophers;
mímánsá by Jaimini are respectively branches. Dr. Ballantyne
rightly shows that the word mímánsá means 'seeking to under-
stand,' and that the terms púrva and uttara-mímánsá refer not to
time, but to the divisions of the Veda, which Jaimini and Vyása
respectively expounded. The Uttara-mímánsá of Vyása is a seek-
ing to understand the gyána-káṇḍa or spiritual part of the Veda,
while the Púrva-mímánsá (or the Mímánsá as it is often called,
the term Vedanta being applied to the Uttara) is a seeking to
understand the ritual portion. Each of the six systems investi-
gates such questions as 'the cause of the world,' 'the chief end of
man,' 'the way to obtain beatitude,' 'the nature of soul,' 'the re-
lation of the visible world to soul,' &c., and expounds them differ-
ently. The only bond that connects them all is their supposed
acceptance of the Veda. Their chief difference lies in the di-
versity of their views as to the relation that soul bears to the visi-
ble world. It is not unlikely, that the Sánkhya school, which
gave rise to Buddhism, was the first in order of time. The
Nyáya (which means 'fitness,' 'method') professes to shew the
proper method of arriving at all kinds of truth, and propounds a
logical or rather rhetorical mode of reasoning, which consists of,
1. the proposition (pratijná), as, 'the hill is fiery; 2. the reason
(hetu) for it smokes; 3. the example (událiarana nidarśana)
what smokes is fiery; 4. the application (upanaya) 'the hill
smokes;' 5. the conclusion (nigamana) 'the hill is fiery.' The
Nyáya is the most scientific of the three systems. It may be said
to concern itself entirely with substantial things, as it conjoins
soul with other substances, giving to all a real substantial exist-
ence. The Sankhya, on the other hand, discriminates between
soul and matter, asserting both to be eternal, and both to be eter-
nally separate; but making soul (or souls, for there are many) to
be the only substance, and matter to consist of the three qualities
(sattwa, rajas, tamas). The Vedanta rises above the other two
systems, asserting, with the Sankhya, that soul is the only substance;
but, in opposition to the other two, denying that any thing but the
one Soul really exists, and ignoring the existence of the material
world as any thing more than an illusive appearance. Although
all the systems pretend to accept the Veda, and so to be distin-
guished from Buddhism, the two known by the terms Vedánta
and Mímánsá are alone deemed strictly orthodox. Thus, in Vi-
jnána-Bhikshu's Kapila-bháshya, it is said, "In the system com-
posed by Gautama and Kaņáda (i. e. the Nyáya and Vaiśeshika),
and in the Sankhya and Yoga doctrines, the portion opposed to
the Veda should be rejected. In the doctrine of Jaimini and
Vyása there is no part opposed to the Veda." Colebrooke's Essays
I. 228.
D
34
The study of Sanskrit
and Vedántism holding the external world as an
illusion, and the supreme spirit as the only exist-
ing thing, is the natural current which drifts the
thoughts of thinking Hindús towards a dreamy,
inactive fatalism*.
Here then we come back to the Veda as the
one rallying point: the word Vedánta meaning
'end or scope of the Veda,' and the system pro-
fessing to communicate that end. Hindúism be-
gins with the Veda and ends with the Vedánta.
This system of philosophy is in fact the full ex-
pression of the one leading idea of the Hindú
religion—that idea which is supposed to underlie
the primitive elemental worship of the Rig-veda,
to be gradually developed in the Bráhmaņas, to
be more clearly revealed in the Upanishads, to be
completely manifested in the Vedánta, and to be
consistent with all the variety of religious wor-
ship prevalent in the present day. This leading
idea is the existence of a supreme universal spirit,
the only really existing and abiding principle
(vastu), which in fact constitutes the universe†;
and into which the soul, regarded as an emana-
tion from it, but really identified with it, must
be ultimately absorbed; such absorption being
the highest object of man and only to be ef-
fected by a course of discipline, during which the
soul is gradually released from the bondage of
existence and arrives at the conviction that it is
indeed God. The gradual development of this
idea may be easily traced. When the Indo-Áryan
races first arrived in upper India, they had not
lost the active habits natural to their character,
+ See the last note, p. 33.
* See note, p. 35.
in relation to missionary work in India.
35
and conspicuous in their brethren of Europe to
the present day. We have in the Rig-veda plain
indications of a busy matter-of-fact spirit. Natural
objects made themselves felt, and people made
gods of fire, light, and the atmosphere, because
they depended on these to supply their bodily
necessities. Spiritual wants they had none. They
worshipped not from devotion (bhakti), but simply
to obtain something or to avoid something. When,
however, the Hindús had settled down in the
plains of the Ganges, their devotional tendencies
began to develope themselves. They became con-
scious of spiritual cravings which the cold for-
mality of the Vedic ritual could not satisfy. There
is in the human soul an inherent instinct which
tends spontaneously towards its appropriate ob-
ject, and seeks union with the great Father of
spirits as its natural restingplace. Had a true
revelation given the right direction to these yearn-
ings, who can tell to what an elevation the Hindú
character might not have attained? But left to
think out for themselves the problem of existence,
and acted on by a climate which stimulates the
intellect while it indisposes to muscular activity,
they lapsed into dreamy speculations. The present
lost all reality. The future became all-important.
The external world was an illusion (Máyá); life
and activity the source of pain and evil. The
only real thing was the divine soul, and the only
real object to get rid of the fetters (guņa)* of exist-
* The word for fetter (guna) means also 'quality;' and of
qualities, according to Sankhya and Vedánta, there are three, viz.
1. sattwa 'goodness;' 2. rajas 'emotion;' 3. tamas 'darkness or
grossness.' These are the fetters with which the soul is, as it
D 2
36
The study of Sanskrit
ence, and merge all personal identity in the Infi-
nite, as the river mixes with the ocean. This,
without doubt, was the history of the pure theory
of Hindúism, derived, as was supposed, from the
Veda.
But how were these views reconciled with the
actual practice-with a complex ritual, a ponder-
ous sacrificial system, and the idolatrous worship
of later times? The key to the difficulty lies in
the wideness of meaning applicable to the word
Veda. Knowledge may be exoteric and esoteric.
The Veda (like the Kurán *) was considered to
have two parts, the outer and the inner; the one
plain and obvious to all, the other hidden and
intelligible to the few. The first, called the
Púrva-kánda, placed man's chief end in works
and ritual observances; the second or Gyána-
kanda held that knowledge of the supreme spirit
was the all in all. The esoteric doctrine being
mystical and vague gave room for all shades of
metaphysical investigation, and enabled its teach-
were, bound; and hence in the Vedanta, the three qualities are
identified with Ajnána, 'ignorance,' or that want of knowledge of
the oneness of the supreme spirit with the individual soul, which,
as it veils the sole reality in the garb of an illusory external world,
becomes personified as the creator of the world. It is a genuine
Hindú idea that activity (Pravṛitti) or energy of any kind involves
sin and imperfection, and that perfect repose (Nivṛitti) is neces-
sary to sinless happiness. The moment a soul attaches itself to a
quality of any kind, even to 'goodness,' its attainment of freedom
(moksha) is retarded. This idea has been expressed by a fable,
in which the Soul is represented as possessing two wives, Pravṛitti
and Nivritti, with opposite inclinations, each of them claiming his
undivided affection, and the latter, in the end, gaining the day.
* The Kurán has an exoteric meaning called zahr, and an eso-
teric, batn. Moreover, the Muhammadans, especially in Persia,
have a refined mystic philosophy, commonly known as Soofeeism,
which has many points in common with Hindú philosophy.
in relation to missionary work in India.
37
ers to explain it differently, according to their se-
veral theories. The material aspect of Hindúism,
on the other hand, admitted that God had no form,
but contended that he might assume various forms
for particular purposes, like light in the rainbow,
and that external ceremonies and visible images
of the Supreme, were necessary to impress the
minds of the ignorant, and bring down the Incom-
prehensible to the level of human understandings.
According to this view, the vast system of Hindú
mythology was nothing but the natural incrusta-
tion with which, by gradual accretion, the spiri-
tual doctrine became overlaid. Ráma and Krishna
were great kings and heroes; and as every human
being was an incarnation of the Supreme, so in
an especial manner were the great men of the
earth, who thus became worshipped as portions
of the one God by the intelligent, and as actual
gods by those to whom the higher doctrine was
unknown*. But deified heroes and every god in
the Hindú Pantheon might become inferior to
any mortal man, who by self-discipline and mor-
tification assimilated himself more closely to the
supreme spirit.
However multiform, then, the various aspects
* A section of the Mahá-bhárata, called Anśávataraṇa (or 'the
incarnation of parts of the gods'), relates that the gods often be-
came partially incarnate in heroes and great men. It is certain,
that the notion of incarnation is not confined to the ten popular
incarnations of the god Vishnu. Siva has his Avatárs, called
Rudras, Bhairavas, Víra-bhadra, &c.; and Balaráma is regarded by
some as an incarnation of the great serpent S'esha. Many Hin-
dús think, that Vishnu became incarnate in the celebrated Sankara-
áchárya, and in the great muni Kapila (author of the Sánkhya
philosophy); and Chaitanya, a renowned reformer of the Vaish-
nava sect, is regarded in Bengal as an Avatár of Krishna. See
the second note, p. 29.
38
The study of Sanskrit
of Hinduism, they are all reconcilable by one San-
skrit word derived from the root vid to know,'
implying knowledge of the Deity according to two
views, one popular, the other mystical. He who
would seek for either of these views in the collec-
tion of hymns, to which the name Veda is usually
restricted, or even in the Brahmaņas, would seek
in vain. It is in the supplements to the Bráh-
maņas, called Upanishads*, that we discern the
first distinct traces of the spiritual doctrine; and
it is to the Epic poems and Puráṇas, which are
comparatively modern works, some of the latter
being as recent as the seventh or eighth century
of our era, that we must look for the more popular
view. The Puráņas, indeed, are on this account
sometimes called a fifth Veda; and just as the
* See the note, p. 26.
+ The Puráṇas are drawn almost entirely from the Mahá-bhá-
rata, and are eighteen in number, viz. 1. Brahma; 2. Padma; 3.
Vishnu; 4. Siva; 5. Bhagavata; 6. Nárada; 7. Márkandeya;
8. Agni; 9. Bhavishya; 10. Brahma-vaivarta; 11. Linga; 12.
Varáha; 13. Skanda; 14. Vámana; 15. Kúrma; 16. Matsya;
17. Gáruḍa; 18. Brahmánda. Each is supposed to treat of five
topics, viz. creation, secondary creation (after destruction), gene-
alogy (of gods, &c.), the reigns of the Manus, and the history of
(mortal) races. No one Purána treats of the whole of these five
subjects, although the Vishnu conforms most closely to the defini-
tion Pancha-lakshana. The Bhagavata is the great authority for
the worship of Krishna, and is certainly the most popular, though
portions of the other Puráņas are read aloud at festivals, and the
Garuda is said to be used at funeral ceremonies. No one Puráņa
can be taken as a guide to Hindú belief as a whole, but rather to
some separate branch, in which the worship of either Vishnu or
Siva in particular manifestations is preferentially encouraged. The
Matsya gives an abstract of the contents of all the Puráņas, but this
does not always agree with the extant works, either in the sub-
jects described or the number of slokas enumerated (for example,
in the Bhavishya there is scarcely any prediction of future events);
and many, therefore, think that the substance of the original Pu-
ráņas has been superseded by modern compositions.
in relation to missionary work in India.
39
Upanishads are the only part of Vedic literature
studied by the more thoughtful and intellectual
Pandits of the present day, so the Puráņas take
the place of the real Veda as exponents of the
grosser and more popular aspects of Hindú
worship.
And this brings me to the centre to which all
my previous observations have converged,-the
use and importance of Sanskrit to the missionary,
as the sacred and learned language of India, the
repository of the Veda in its widest sense, the
vehicle of Hindú theology, philosophy, and mytho-
logy, the source of all the spoken dialects, the only
safe guide to the intricacies and contradictions of
Hinduism, the one bond of sympathy, which, like
an electric chain, connects Hindús of opposite
characters in every district of India. There can
be little doubt that a more correct knowledge of
the religious opinions and practices of the San-
skritic Hindús, or as we may call them the Hindús
proper, is essential to extensive progress in our
Indian missions*. This knowledge is best gained
*A minority only of the Christian converts in India belongs
to the Hindú race properly so called. The greatest missionary
success has been obtained in Tinnevelly and the neighbouring dis-
tricts in the south, where the converts are mostly Shanárs—a very
low caste, not Hindús, either by race or religion, whose business
is to climb the palmyra palm (tála) and make incisions for extract-
ing the juice used for toddy (tádí). I am informed, that out of
about 112,000 converts in the whole of India, 91,000 have been
obtained in the south, and that of these not more than 3,000 be-
long to the true Sanskritic race, i. e. to the race of Hindús proper.
The Rev. T. Foulkes has favoured me with the following remarks
in relation to this subject: "With our present more extensive
acquaintance with the component parts of the masses of the
people we are in a better position to estimate the direction in
which to push forward our future efforts for their spiritual benefit.
Taking the province of Tinnevelly for an example, its population,
40
The study of Sanskrit
at first hand from Sanskrit books. The Christian
missionary who attempts to hold discussions with
educated natives without an acquaintance with the
Sanskrit language may be strong in intellect and
according to the census of 1856, amounted to 1,339,374. And,
separating these into religious classes, we find them made up of
the following:
Hindús proper
Semi-Hindús (Pariahs, Pallars, &c.)
Non-Hindús (Shanárs)
Muhammadans
Christians:
Protestants
Romanists
•
742,362
236,022
176,640
76,345
46,047
•
61,958
108,005
1,339,374
Comparing the number of Protestant converts with the classes of
the people from which they have been chiefly obtained, namely, the
semi-Hindús and the non-Hindús, the progress of missionary suc-
cess during the half century or less in which it has been achieved
may be regarded with great satisfaction. But when we reflect
that scarcely more than a thousand converts of the entire number
have been gathered from the pure Hindús, we at once see where
the weak point of the present system is, and so far we are in the
way towards a remedy. Have we not been too apt to conclude
that the 'low-castes' of India correspond with the 'poorer classes'
of European nations; and been led to direct our efforts towards
them accordingly, supposing them to constitute the 'masses' of
the people? Whereas, as the above analysis shows, and which
may be regarded as a fair specimen of the divisions of classes in
other provinces,--the true masses of the people are the Hindús
proper. Having advanced thus far, the farther steps seem easy
to take, namely, that for more extensive progress of missionary
effort in India we must in future pay greater regard than hitherto
to such methods as are likely to operate upon the true 'masses'
of the country.
""
With reference to the same subject the British Quarterly
Review for May 1852 observes: "We have long felt depressed
by two conspicuous facts belonging to the history of missions
among Protestants. The one is, that our missionaries produce
comparatively no impression on the civilized heathen; the other
is, that scarcely any where is the impression made upon the bar-
barous of such a nature as to raise them to the self-reliance of
civilized men. Is it ever to be thus? If not, what are the
changes necessary to give existence to better results?" (Quoted
by Dr. Muir, Mata-paríkshá, p. viii.)
in relation to missionary work in India.
41
faith, but resembles a man shod in iron walking
on ice. He has no certain standing-ground, and
must either slip altogether or advance with timid
hesitating steps. Not that the Hindús with whom
he converses are likely to be Sanskrit scholars.
Real Pandits are, after all, rarely to be found in
India, except in the neighbourhood of the great
seats of learning, and the ignorance of the mass of
the population is notorious. But what we assert
is, that the national character is cast in a Sanskrit
mould, and that the Sanskrit language and litera-
ture is not only the key to a vast and apparently
confused and unmeaning religious system, but is
also the one medium of approach to the hearts
of the Hindús, however unlearned, or however
disunited by the various circumstances of coun-
try, caste, and creed. It is, in truth, even more
to India than classical and patristic literature
was to Europe at the time of the Reformation.
It gives a deeper impress to the Hindú mind than
the latter ever did to the European; so that a
missionary at home in Sanskrit will be at home
in every corner of our vast Indian territories.
Little more need be said to commend Sanskrit
to the attention of the Indian missionary. It may
be worth while, however, to explain more fully,
1st, its use as the root and source of the spoken
languages; and, 2dly, its use as a key to the
literature, and, through that, to the opinions and
usages of the Hindús.
First, then, as to its bearing on the spoken lan-
guages. To make this clear, I must point out the
exact meaning of the two words Sanskrit and
Prákrit, the former of which is applied to the
42
The study of Sanskrit
6
6
learned language, and the latter to the vulgar
dialects of India. The word Sanskrit is com-
pounded of the preposition sam together' (equi-
valent to the Greek σvv and the Latin con) and the
passive participle krita formed,' the whole mean-
ing 'artificially or symmetrically constructed' (in
Latin, confectus, constructus). In the word Prákṛit,
on the other hand, the same participle krita,
'formed,' is combined with a different preposition
pra, and the change of preposition changes the
meaning from artificially' to 'naturally' con-
structed. Sanskrit and Prákṛit, therefore, exactly
express the relation of the learned to the ver-
nacular dialects of India. These two forms of
speech may be compared to two children of the
same parent-the one, refined by every appliance
of science and art, the other, allowed to run wild;
or to two pictures of the same object—the one,
the ideal of the artist, the other, the photograph
of nature.
<
When the Sanskrit-speakers migrated towards
the East, they brought, of course, their own lan-
guage with them*. We are not to suppose, how-
ever, that this was the elaborate systematized
Sanskrit of Pánini and the higher literature. The
language of the Rig-veda is perhaps the nearest
approach to the original speech of the early set-
tlers; and the simple style of the code of Manu,
the two heroic poems, and the dramas, which is
full and vigorous, but not artificial, is probably a
* Not that Sanskrit was the original language of the Indo-
European race, but as the elder sister of Greek and Latin, it is a
closer approach to that primeval tongue (the common source of
the three), which is now lost.
in relation to missionary work in India.
43
fair representation of the more formed dialects
of the Hindús when they had settled down in the
plains of the Ganges. As this language gradually
worked its way towards central and southern
India, it found the ground already occupied by
the Scythian dialects of the primitive immigrants.
The collision of these rough tongues with the
powerful Sanskrit was like the conflict of a
sturdy dwarf with a strong man armed. The
rude dialects, of course, gave way, but not until
they had left indelible traces of the struggle on
the Sanskrit of both high and low, Bráhmans and
Súdras. As time went on, however, the effects of
the collision grew fainter in the Sanskrit of the
Bráhmans, and the language of learning and lite-
rature gradually perfected itself, till it reached an
excess of elaboration and refinement, quite un-
suited to the purposes of ordinary speech. In the
dialects of the lower classes, on the other hand,
the impress of the original tongues grew deeper
and stronger, till it disintegrated the language of
the people into Prákṛit.
The simple Sanskrit of Manu and the two heroic
poems and the dramas lies halfway between the
highly elaborated Sanskrit and the vulgar Prákṛit.
The plays themselves afford a remarkable speci-
men of this process of elaboration on the one side
and of disintegration on the other. The higher
characters speak the simple Sanskrit, and occa-
sionally, as if to establish their pretensions to
learning, rise to the higher and more elaborate
style. The inferior characters, on the other hand,
speak different forms of prákṛiticised-Sanskrit, or
Sanskrit in various phases of disintegration. The
44
The study of Sanskrit
Prákrits, or vernacular tongues of the present day,
represent Sanskrit in its later stages of decompo-
tion, and variously modified by collision with the
primitive dialects of different localities*.
First of all, and most important in the list, we
have Hindí, the speech of the 30 millions of Hin-
dústán proper. This has a multitude of modifica-
tions in various provinces. There is the Mágadhí
of S. Behár, the Maithili of N. Behár and Tirhut,
the Púrbí or eastern dialect, the Braj Bhákhá or
speech of Braj current near Agra, and numerous
others. Hindústání or Urdú, again, is nothing
but Hindí mixed with the Arabic and Persian of
the Muhammadan conquerors, and loosely spread,
but often sparsely and at considerable intervals
(like the Hindúised Musalmáns who speak it),
over the whole surface of India t. Then we have
* The form of Prákṛit called Páli (meaning 'ancient') stands
nearest to the Sanskrit, and was the first step of departure from
the ancient language. This is the sacred language of Ceylon and
Burmah, in which all their Buddhist literature is written. It
was no doubt introduced into Ceylon by Buddhist missionaries
from Magadha, when Buddhism began to develope itself, and re-
presents the most general provincial dialect prevalent in north-
ern India about the 5th century B. C. Next to Páli comes the
Prákṛit used in the rock inscriptions of Asoka and the Buddhist
kings of Magadha, found in various parts of India, and represent-
ing the speech of the people about the time of Alexander's inva-
sion. Then succeeds the Prakrit of the dramas, which repre-
sents the provincial dialects existing a little before and after the
Christian era. Between these earlier phases of Prákṛit there is
no great disparity. It is curions to trace the process by which
they gradually passed into the modern vernaculars. See Dr. Muir's
Sanskrit Texts, Vol. II. There is another remarkable form of
Prákṛit, which may represent an earlier stage of disintegration
than even Páli. It is found in the gáthás of the Lalita-vistara-
ballads, which, though not written, must have been current
amongst the people soon after Buddha's death.
+ Hindústání was called Urdú or the 'camp language,' because
it originated in the camp of the Mogul conquerors, just as a kind
in relation to missionary work in India.
45
the language of Bengal, called Bengálí, which in
its vocabulary, maintains a closer connection
with its parent Sanskrit than any other form
of Prákṛit. On the Bombay side there are two
most important languages, Maráthí and Gujaráthí,
neither of them wide departures from the original
Sanskrit*. In Orissa there is Uriya, closely united
to the same stem, and nearly related to Bengálí.
In the Panjab we have Panjábí; in Sindh, Sindhí;
in Nepál, Nepálese; in Asam, Asamese; in Ka-
śmír, Kaśmírian; all branches from the San-
skrit stock. In every one of these dialects the
proportion of Sanskrit words varies from three-
fourths to nine-tenths of the entire vocabulary.
As to the south of India, the more powerful and
of mixed jargon began to be formed in the camp of Napoleon's
armies. Here is the account of its origin given by Mír Amman
of Dehli in his preface to the best known of all Urdú books, 'the
Bágh o Bahár." "I have heard from the lips of my ancestors the
following account of the Urdú language:-The City of Delhi in
the opinion of the Hindús has existed during the four Yugas. It
was inhabited of old by their kings with their subjects, who spoke
their own bhákhá (dialect). A thousand years ago the rule of the
Musulmáns began. Sultán Mahmúd of Gazní came. Afterwards
the Ghorí and Lodí dynasties held sway. By reason of this
intercourse, a certain mixture of the languages of the Hindús and
Musulmáns took place. At length Amir Tímúr conquered Hin-
dústán. In consequence of his arrival and residence, the bázár of
the army was introduced into the city, and the bázár of the city
came on that account to be called Urdú. When king Akbar
ascended the throne, all races, learning the liberality of that un-
equalled family and its patronage of merit, gathered round his
court from all the surrounding countries; but the language of all
these people was different From their being collected, trafficking
together, and talking with each other, a camp (Urdú) language
became established." Urdú is a Tartar word.
* Grammatically, Maráthí is a nearer approach to Sanskrit than
Bengálí, and is closely linked with the old Páli and the Prákṛit of
the plays. It is one of the most interesting of the modern Prá-
krits, and may almost lay claim to the possession of an independ-
ent literature.
46
The study of Sanskrit
civilized of the Scythian tribes, driven in that
direction by the pressure of later immigrants,
retained their independence, and with it the in-
dividuality of their native tongues. Yet the four
South-Indian languages, Tamil, Telugu, Kanarese,
and Malayálam, though distinct in structure, and
referrible to the Scythian or Turanian type, take
from Sanskrit an infinity of words relating to
science, law, religion, caste, and the various inci-
dents of Hindú life*.
Sanskrit then, at least the simple form of it,
represented by the code of Manu, the Rámáyaṇa,
Mahá-bhárata, and the drama, though called a
dead language, is really the living stem through
which the vernacular tongues of India draw sap
and substance and life itself. By its means
an entrance may be made good into every dia-
lect, spoken by Hindús, in every corner of our
Eastern empire. It is therefore the best general
language that can be studied in England by
those who are destined for an Indian life, and
ignorant of the particular locality in which their
lot may be cast. And while in every dialect
it is the guide to orthography, etymology, and
the source of supply for the formation of a vo-
cabulary; in many it is also a clue to the intri-
cacies of grammatical structure, and the best
introduction to the idioms of syntax. Thus in
Hindi the common use of the agent with the
particle ne, which is a perpetual stumbling-block
to ordinary learners, can never be confusing to
* See my Sanskrit Grammar, published at the University Press.
Introductory Remarks, p. xxii.
in relation to missionary work in India.
47
Sanskrit scholars*. And in Bengálí the Sanskrit
compounds and participles, which are freely em-
ployed, can never be properly understood with-
out a knowledge of the rules of Sanskrit euphony
bearing on this subject. In Maráthí, again, the
whole grammar and structure of the language is
influenced by Sanskrit. The declension of its
nouns," according to Dr. Wilson of Bombay, "is
affected by a majority of Sanskrit words used as
postpositions, and even most of its inseparable
postpositions have a Sanskrit connection. San-
skrit nouns retain their own gender in Maráthí.
There is much agreement in the Sanskrit and
Maráthí pronouns. The Sanskrit verbs and parti-
ciples, too, in their grammatical incidents, throw
light on Maráthí. The Sanskrit numerals are
the fountain of those of Maráthí,—the changes
of them being but of a slight character."
I come now to the second use of Sanskrit, as
the only vehicle of Hindú literature. In European
countries, literature changes with the languages.
Each modern dialect has its own literature, which
is the best representation of the actual condition
of the countries and the characters and habits of
its present inhabitants. To know the Italians as
they are now, it would be mere waste of time to
study Latin, when the modern literature is at our
command. But the literature of the Hindú vernacu-
lar dialects is scarcely yet deserving of the name.
In most cases it consists of bad reproductions of
the Sanskrit. To understand the present state of
Indian society, which varies little from the ste-
* See, on this subject, my 'Easy Introduction to Hindústání,'
p. 105. (Longmans.)
48
The study of Sanskrit
reotyped laws ever stamped on Eastern manners,
to enable us to unravel the complex texture of
Hindú feelings, and explain inconsistencies other-
wise inexplicable, we must trust to Sanskrit lite-
rature alone. Sanskrit is the only language of
poetry, of the drama, of religion and philosophy,
and of that celebrated code, composed many cen-
turies before the Christian era, which is still the
basis of the civil law of the Hindús.
It will follow from what has been said, that if
the missionary desire to understand the system
which he seeks to overthrow, if he wish to gain a
correct insight into the national mind, to acquire
any real hold on the hearts of the natives, and
conciliate a respect for himself and his office, he
ought to know Sanskrit. Many will imagine that
we are here proposing an impossible task. San-
skrit may be presented in an aspect so forbidding
as to deter the most venturesome, and discourage
the most ardent. The very word Sanskrit ex-
presses, as we have seen, almost infinite elabora-
tion. We may so direct our attention to the
language and the literature, that its vastness and
complexity will appear overwhelming. Quality
with a Hindú might be said to mean quantity,
were it not that it often consists in the most
laconic brevity. No arithmetical rule seems to
be so cultivated by them as that of multiplication;
yet no mental operation is so well understood as
that of concentration. The excellence of gram-
mar is measured by the multiplicity of rules, and
the excellence of rules by the oracular obscurity
with which they are expressed. Although in his-
tory, geography, and some of the natural sciences,
in relation to missionary work in India.
49
Sanskrit is avowedly defective, scarcely a subject
can be named, in other departments of literature,
on which a greater number of treatises, ranging
between the two extremes of prolixity and con-
densation, could not be produced in Sanskrit than
in any other language. The dictionary may be
made to teem with roots, each root multiplying
within itself till it become prolific of innumera-
ble words. Words, again, may be linked together,
till one compound occupies two or three lines,
and every sentence become a riddle, which even
a good scholar may spend hours in solving. The
study of the language thus presented will seem
like the attempt to reach the highest peak in a
range of hills. The weary traveller, when, after
long toil, he reaches the apparent summit, sees
other heights stretching out before him in an
interminable vista. It is clear, that if there were
no other aspect of Sanskrit, and if nothing could
be done to simplify its study, it must ever remain
a terra incognita to the missionary. Armed to do
battle with Indian superstition, he feels that he
must be equipped with other weapons besides San-
skrit. He must, before all things, be a skilled
divine, properly versed in Biblical knowledge, and
ought not, therefore, to be ignorant of Greek and
Hebrew. He should be acquainted with the gene-
ral structure of Arabic,-a language peculiarly
interesting to the missionary from its close rela-
tionship to Hebrew, and most important as en-
tering largely into Hindústání, and embodying
the sacred literature of the Muhammadans. He
will have to be perfect master of at least one
vernacular; and he ought to be trained in logical
E
>
50
The study of Sanskrit
1.
disputation, to cope with acute and argumenta-
tive Pandits. With so much on his hands, how
is he to turn his mind to a difficult language like
Sanskrit, unless every appliance be adopted to
lighten his labours?
Little help in this respect can be looked for from
native Pandits*. To them the difficulty of Sanskrit
is its chief merit. They regard it as an evidence
of the sacredness of the tongue, which they wor-
ship as a deity. Their whole object seems to be
to prevent the intrusion of the vulgar by sur-
rounding the grammar with a thorny hedge of
technicalities. Their very ideas of writing and
printing bear out this view. Written marks are
with them merely artifices to perpetuate an ela-
borate phonetic system. Sentences, therefore, are
written as they are pronounced, and no other
divisions recognised but pauses in the voice t. To
facilitate reading by modern typographical im-
provements is a desecration of their divine alpha-
bet, which was invented to inshrine the divine
sound, and not to carry ideas in the quickest
manner to the brain through the eye. Hence it
happens that very few natives, except Pandits,
can read Sanskrit; still fewer can understand
more than the commonest proverbial aphorisms;
but all will listen to the sound with the utmost
reverence, as if the sense were immaterial.
* I am glad to record one exception in Bengal. Pandit Iswara-
Chandra-Vidyáságara has founded a new school of Sanskrit scho-
larship, which bids fair to popularise the study.
6
+ This subject has been fully discussed by me in the preface
to my edition of The Story of Nala,' lately published at the
University Press, where will be found a more complete exposition
of the arguments on which I base my views.
in relation to missionary work in India.
51
Happily, in studying Sanskrit in England, these
views need not, or rather cannot, be maintained.
We are ready to bend to Sanskrit more than we
have done to ancient Greek. The pronunciation
need not be Anglicised: but all that relates to writ-
ing and printing, must bend to us.
Our practical
spirit peremptorily requires that the eye, already
overtasked, shall be consulted in Sanskrit, even
more than in less difficult languages, by distinct-
ness of typography, by spacing, and punctuation.
The notion of printing to suit the ear more than
the eye is to us as incongruous as that of using a
locomotive on the water, or driving it over a
mountain instead of through it. Such notions
must at once be repudiated *. Again, Sanskṛit
* It seems to be necessary to the progress of printing, whether
European or Asiatic, that in its early stages it should make con-
cessions to the predilections of the first Pandits, to whose labours
among intricate manuscripts it owes its development. Thus in
the 15th century, when classical scholars commenced editing Greek
literature, it was thought essential to the interests of scholarship
that printed books should to a great extent resemble the manu-
scripts, the deciphering of which had cost so much intellectual
effort. The contractions were, therefore, preserved, and the words
were printed close together, without spacing or punctuation. San-
skrit printing has been passing through a similar stage of its de-
velopment, but I trust a time is coming when books printed in
imitation of Sanskrit MSS. will be as great curiosities as the
Florence Homer of the 15th century, to be seen in the Bodleian
Library. In the prefaces to various books I have endeavoured
to shew that a European method of printing Sanskrit is quite
compatible with the preservation of its elaborate euphonic system,
and I am glad to find my views supported by Dr. Muir's last
volume of Sanskrit Texts. Dr. Muir says in his preface, that "the
adoption of the Roman characters has saved him much labour in
the way of transcription, and has the advantage of being some-
what more economical." This
This is the strongest argument for the
attempt to apply the Roman alphabet to Hindústání and other
Indian dialects; and although I have never gone the length of
advocating its exclusive adaptation to Sanskrit, I may here state,
that observing from Dr. Muir's work what is gained in clearness
E 2
52
The study of Sanskrit
grammar must be stripped of its mysticism, and
its technicalities swept away, with all needless in-
crustations. A railroad must be carried through
all its difficulties, and no affectations of scholar-
ship must interfere with our reaching our termi-
nus as easily and rapidly as possible. Rules of
Sandhi and Syntax-the very language and lite-
rature themselves are to us, so to speak, merely
steppingstones. Our end is not Sanskrit, but
something beyond. We wish to know the spoken
languages, to know the people, to gain in the
shortest and quickest manner the mind, the heart,
the soul of the native. Nor is there any reason
why Sanskrit should not condescend to be made
easy, like other languages. By the aid of many
elementary works, and useful editions already
published in this country, the missionary may
gain all the knowledge of it he requires before
leaving England. The difficulties, at least, of the
language should be conquered in this country.
When a missionary has the fatigue of daily
preaching, and, perhaps, native churches to su-
by the power which the Roman character gives of dispensing with
the awkward viráma, and of applying the hyphen to separate
long compounds, I cannot but think that Sanskrit would attract
more English students if a grammar and two or three good San-
skrit books were printed wholly in Roman type. If any be dis-
posed to smile at my appreciation of the hyphen for the division
of long compounds, let him say whether a parliamentary word looks
clearer thus-Metropolis-local-management-act-amendment-bill,
or thus-Metropolislocalmanagementactamendmentbill. Such
compounds are common in every page of Sanskrit composition.
Here is one taken at hap-hazard from Dr. Muir's last volume
(p. 40): Karma-phala-rúpa-sarira-dhári-jiva-nirmitatvábháva-
mátrena. Having conceded so much to the common-sense view
of this matter, it is to be regretted that Dr. Muir has not gone
to the full length of adapting European punctuation to Romanised
Sanskrit.
in relation to missionary work in India.
53
perintend, he is utterly unequal to the drudgery
of Sanskrit grammar. In England, with judg-
ment in his method of study, he may effect
much. The language and the literature have
really two aspects, one simple and natural, the
other complex and artificial. In the one, words
are made subservient to ideas; in the other,
ideas are subservient to words. We have already
shewn, that the simple and natural form of San-
skrit leads directly to the spoken dialects, and
contains all the useful portions of the literature.
Although there are 2000 roots, not more than
200 are in common use. The verb has a number
of intricate and perplexing tenses, but in the best
Sanskrit only the simplest forms are employed.
The compounding together of words may be car-
ried to an extravagant extreme, but no good
writer countenances such excesses *. The mis-
sionary need only make good such an acquaint-
ance with the grammar as will enable him to un-
derstand any passage in the simpler and more
useful departments of the literature. In doing
this he will gain a sufficient insight into etymo-
logy, and will learn enough to preserve him from
the erroneous use of synonymes and metaphors
in transferring Sanskrit words into the vernacu-
lars. His knowledge, in fact, of the structure of
Sanskrit and its vocabulary should be exactly
what is required to give him perfect command of
the spoken dialects; and his acquaintance with
the literature should be just what is needed to
bring his mind into contact with the native's, to
* See the Introduction to my edition of 'The Story of Nala'
(Oxford University Press, 1860).
54
The study of Sanskrit
enable him to understand its habits of thought
and time-honoured memories, to estimate the
strength of its bondage, and to discover the com-
mon ground on which every Englishman may ap-
proach a Hindú and feel alike.
In translating the Bible, composing, and
preaching, he will have to draw all his religious
terms from a Sanskrit source. It cannot be too
often repeated, that if the millions of India are
to be enlightened, it must be principally through
native instruction conveyed in the vernacular
tongues. It is, therefore, a fortunate circum-
stance that there exists in India an inexhaustible
fountain of supply for modern terms of science
and theology. Sanskrit is not merely the key to
the dialects as they are at present spoken: it is
also the best and most appropriate instrument
for purifying and enriching them. Such, indeed,
is the exuberance and flexibility of this language
and its power of compounding words, that when
it has been, so to speak, baptized and thoroughly
penetrated with the spirit of Christianity, it will
probably be found, next to Hebrew and Greek,
the most expressive vehicle of Christian truth.
Let the missionary, at the same time, beware of
such a use of it in the vernaculars as may tempt
* The completion of a good translation of the Bible into San-
skrit as a standard for vernacular translations will be a great boon
to the missionary. Dr. Carey's translation was too roughly exe-
cuted. A translation very superior to his, the laborious work of
the Rev. J. Wenger, is nearly completed, the only part wanting
being that from Jeremiah to Malachi. The vernacular transla-
tions already existing in Hindí, Bengálí, Uriya, Maráthí, Gujará-
thí, Tamil, Telugu, Kanarese, and Malayálam, might be much
improved from such a source. Too much praise, however, cannot
be given to the able and zealous missionaries who have already
effected so much in this direction.
in relation to missionary work in India.
55
him to adopt a style similar to Dr. Johnson's
English,―quite unsuited to plain readers.
In turning his mind to the study of the literature,
his attention will probably be confined to works
illustrating the principal successive phases of the
Hindú religion, such as the hymns of the Veda,
the Upanishads, the systems of philosophy (darśa-
nas), Manu, the two heroic poems, and Puráņas.
With regard to the Veda, since portions of it
serve to this day the purpose of a liturgy, both
in the domestic and public rites of the Hindús,
such portions should, of course, be understood;
although, as repeated from memory and not
from books, they are difficult to procure. Some
of the hymns of the Rig-veda should be read,
especially the hymn at the end of the second
volume of the printed edition, which contains the
Gáyatrí, or holy verse, repeated by every Bráhman
at his morning and evening devotions. If the text
is not within the missionary's reach, Professor
Wilson's translation may be consulted without
difficulty. Few Bráhmans, however, can them-
selves supply an intelligent explanation of the
prayers or hymns they repeat, and the form of
the Sanskrit is obsolete. Of the greater portion of
Vedic literature it may be said, that it is scarcely
studied by Hindús more than pre-Wickliffite lite-
rature is by Englishmen. It would be well, how-
ever, for the reasons before given, that every mis-
sionary should give some attention to any one of
the various Upanishads that may be known in the
vicinity of his sphere of labour *
*.
* The principal Upanishads (text and commentary) have been
published by Dr. Röer at Calcutta, with English translations.
56
The study of Sanskrit
As to the philosophy, it is absolutely essential
he should have a clear idea of the leading features
of the Vedanta system. This may be done by
the aid of Dr. Ballantyne's various works and
valuable translations*. Still a careful examina-
tion of the Vedánta-sútras would be of great
advantage; and in some localities, as at Benares,
it would be desirable to master the Nyáya and
Sankhya as well as the Vedánta. At Nuddea,
the Nyáya should have the preference †. The
Bhagavad-gítá, a well known philosophical epi-
sode of the Mahá-bhárata, should also be well
examined, and its meaning thoroughly sifted ‡.
All Pandits are, more or less, philosophers;
and as they are an influential class of men
throughout India, the missionary should win
their attention, and disarm their animosities, by
shewing them that he understands and appre-
ciates their views and attainments §. If he can
quote from philosophical books like the Bhaga-
Those most usually read are the Brihad-áraṇyaka, the Chhándo-
gya, the Aitareya, Kena, and Katha. See note, p. 26.
*The Rev. Thomas Foulkes, of the Church Missionary Society,
has lately translated two Tamil works, 'Eclectic Vedántism' and
'A Synopsis of Hindú systems and sects,' both of which will be
valuable to South-Indian missionaries.
+ See the note, p. 33.
This beautiful poem, representing a more developed stage
of Vedántism, in which Krishna is identified with the supreme
spirit, is a curious compound of mythological and philosophical
rationalism.
§ Mr. Penrose in his Bampton Lectures says, "Once, at least,
in the course of his ministry, St. Paul addressed himself to a
learned, to an Athenian tribunal. He wisely adapted to local
circumstances the mode in which he declared the existence of the
Supreme. He alluded to a received theology; he quoted a philo-
sophical poet." Before the millions of India are converted we
must expect that the old question will be asked, "Have any of
the chief priests or rulers believed on him?"
in relation to missionary work in India.
57
vad-gítá, his own religious instruction will come
with greater weight. Many Pandits, to this day,
are convinced that religious truth expressed in
any of the modern languages is like milk in a
dogskin vessel, rendered impure by its vehicle,
whereas conveyed in Sanskrit it is like pure milk
in a pure vessel *.
With regard to the Post-Vedic literature, the
code of Manu is written in the simple style of
Sanskrit, and particular portions should be
studied. Many of its enactments are now,
however, out of date, and have been super-
seded or amplified by more modern legal works,
of which the code of Yájnavalkya, with its com-
mentary the Mitákshara, is, perhaps, the best
known. The Rámáyana and Mahá-bhárata be-
long also to the unartificial style of composi-
* ((
Sanskrit is looked upon by the Pandits as the medium of
learned discussion, just as Latin was by the scholars of Europe,
and it has the additional prestige of being considered sacred. The
Pandits are an important and influential class, and the conversion
of even a few of their number would determine to a great extent
the conduct of the other classes of Hindús." Muir's Mata-paríkshá,
Part II. vii.
+ There are no less than forty-five recognised codes of law
besides that of Manu. Yajnavalkya is second in importance to
Manu alone, and is the leading authority of the Mithila school.
Its earliest date is fixed by Dr. Röer towards the middle of the
1st century after Christ. Some celebrated law-books quoted
by Yajnavalkya are those of Angiras, Atri, Apastamba, Usanas,
Kátyáyana, Gautama, Daksha, Parásara, Vṛihaspati, Yama, San-
kha, Likhita, Vasishṭha, Vishnu, Vyása, Sátátapa, Samvarta, and
Háríta. Many of Manu's laws are supposed to have been enacted
for the first three ages of the world. In the present sinful age
(Kali yug) some things are forbidden which were before allowable;
thus, “A damsel once given in marriage must not be given a second
time, even if her husband die while she is a virgin;" Flesh,
meat, and spirituous liquor must be avoided;" "A bull must
not be offered in sacrifice;" "The sea must not be passed in a
ship," &c.
(C
58
The study of Sanskrit
tion, and are most important in their bearing on
the present forms of Hindú religious worship *.
Unfortunately they are far too long to be read
consecutively. Abridged vernacular translations
exist, and the originals should be consulted in
particular passages. As to the Puráņas, the
Vishņu-Puráṇa, translated by the late Professor
Wilson, gives a good idea of this department of
literature. The most important, as we have al-
ready shewn, is the Bhágavata †. A fair know-
ledge of the most essential part of it (the tenth
book) may be acquired from its Hindi paraphrase,
the Prem Ságar.
The moral, political, and didactic Slokas, called
Chanakya, current throughout India, containing
brief sententious precepts in the proverbial style,
often in praise of learning and virtue, should be
* The Rámáyana offers only a few Hindú legends, but they are
of ancient date. The Mahá-bhárata is more fertile in fiction, and
is evidently the great fountain from which most, if not all, of the
Puráņas have drawn, as it intimates itself when it declares that
there is no legend current in the world which has not its origin
in the Mahá-bhárata (anáśritya idam ákhyanam katha bhuvi na
vidyate). Wilson's Vishnu-Parána, Preface, p. 58.
+ See the third note, p. 29.
of
‡ Some of these verses are good, but many inculcate deceit,
revenge and selfishness. Here are a few specimens.
"He is a
wise man who looks on his neighbour's wife as a mother, on his
neighbour's property as a clod of earth, and on all creatures as
himself." "For a time of adversity it is proper to preserve
wealth, which, however, may be expended for the preservation of
one's wife; but one's personal safety should be secured at the ex-
pense of one's wife and one's wealth." "The use of a wife is to
have a son, the use of a son is to perform the funeral ceremony;
a friend is requisite to assist in time of need, but money is requi-
site for all purposes." "A man should be kind to some enemy
that he may by his assistance be able to kill another, as he would
pick out one thorn sticking in his feet by means of another thorn."
Chanakya, the Machiavelli of India, was a wily Bráhman, the
in relation to missionary work in India.
59
studied by every missionary. Many useful ones
will be found scattered through the Hitopadeśa,
Manu, the Mahá-bhárata, and Bhartri Hari, and a
certain number of them might be committed to
memory with the greatest advantage. I have
thus indicated the extent to which a missionary
ought to know Sanskrit, with a view to command
the spoken dialects, and conciliate the affections
of the Indian community.
Without such knowledge the truths of Christian-
ity may be powerfully preached, translations of
the Bible lavishly distributed, but no permanent
influence will be gained, no mutual confidence en-
joyed, no real sympathy felt or inspired. Imbued
with such knowledge, all Englishmen resident in
India, whether clergymen or laymen, might aid
the missionary cause more than by controversial
discussions or cold donations of rupees. A great
Eastern empire has been entrusted to our rule,
not to be the theatre of political experiments, nor
yet for the sole purpose of extending our com-
merce, flattering our pride, or increasing our pres-
tige, but that a benighted* population may be
enlightened, and every man, woman, and child,
minister of king Chandra-gupta, to whose authorship all strag-
gling political and moral maxims are ascribed, very much as the
Vedas and Puráņas are ascribed to Vyása.
* If any one thinks this epithet too strong, let him read
Dr. Duff's statement respecting the educational destitution in
Bengal and Behár, appended to the Report of the Indigo commis-
sion (for a copy of which, lately received from Calcutta, I have to
thank the President, Mr. W. S. Seton-Karr). It is there shewn,
that taking Bengal and Behár as a whole, the aggregate average
of the school-going juvenile population is no more than 72 per
cent, leaving 924 out of every hundred wholly destitute of all kinds
and degrees of instruction whatsoever.
3
60
The study of Sanskrit
between Cape Comorin and the Himalayas, hear
the glad tidings of the Gospel. How, then, have
we executed our mission? Much indeed has
been done; but it may be doubted whether much
real progress will be made till a more cordial
and friendly understanding is established between
Christians, Hindús, and Musalmáns, till the
points of contact* between the three religions are
* Notwithstanding its gross polytheism and idolatry, the
points of contact between Hindúism and Christianity are more
numerous than between Christianity and Islám, and on this ac-
count the missionary has always more hold over Hindús than
Muhammadans. For example-Hindús are all willing to confess
themselves sinful. They acknowledge the necessity of a sacrifice
or atonement of some kind, and in point of fact thousands of goats
and kids are constantly offered up to their goddess Kálí. They
admit the need of a revelation. They are familiar with the idea of
incarnation, and the various Avatars of their god Vishņu, all point
to man's natural craving for a divine Saviour. The Gáyatrí, a
prayer repeated morning and evening by every Bráhman through-
out India (see note, p. 15) might with slight alteration be con-
verted into a Christian prayer. Even Vedántism has common
ground with Christianity. Bishop Berkeley, who was a good
Christian, denied the real existence of external matter independ-
ently of impressions made on the mind; and all Christians believe
in the 'vanity' of what is called 'the world,' and the transient
nature of temporal concerns, taking care, however, to guard
against the Hindú notion that what is transitory and unreal is
therefore of no real concern to them. Finally, the well-known
dogma of the Vedántist, that "God is existence, thought, and
bliss," might be taken by the missionary as a basis on which to
rest the assertion of the grandest of all Christian truths,
"God is
love."
With reference to this most important subject I commend to the
notice of all missionaries an "Essay on Conciliation in Matters of
Religion" by Dr. Muir, and an able paper in the Benares Maga-
zine for March 1849, “On the Prospects of India, Intellectual and
Religious," from which, as a fit conclusion, I make the following
extract: "We will just beg the reader's attention to the two
facts, that a mind can be taught only by means of the knowledge
that is already in it; and that a piece of knowledge in any mind-
more especially in a mind unfavourably prepossessed—is an ob-
stacle to the reception of any system which, by neglecting to
recognise, appears to deny, the truth of that piece of knowledge.
in relation to missionary work in India.
61
better appreciated, and Englishmen are led to
search more candidly for the fragments of truth
lying buried under superstition, error, and ido-
latry.
Whatever in the Hindú systems is a portion of the adamantine
truth itself, will only serve to baffle our efforts, if, in ignorant
impatience, we attempt to sweep it away along with the rubbish
that has encrusted it. What kind of engineer should we think
him who, in seeking to raise a beacon on the Goodwin sands,
should hesitate to acknowledge as a godsend, any portion of solid
rock among the shifting shoals, to which he might rivet one of
the stays of his edifice? When a headstrong opponent of an erro-
neous doctrine treats with indiscriminate scorn what is true in the
doctrine and what is false, he has no right to complain that his
arguments against the false are as lightly esteemed as his scorn
of the true. We ought to acknowledge with thankfulness every
thing that we find excellent in the Hindú Sástras, as we welcome
every spot of verdure in the desert: and when the Hindús have
only halted at a stage far short of that which we ourselves have
reached, we should rejoice in being able to present to them our
superior knowledge, not in the shape of a contradiction to any
thing that is false in their views, but as the legitimate develop-
ment of what is true."
ORIENTAL
WORKS
BY
MONIER WILLIAMS, M. A.
BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFord.
A Practical Grammar of the Sanskrit Language, arranged with refer-
ence to the Classical Languages of Europe, for the use of English
students. 2d edition, published at the Oxford University Press,
1857. Price 13s. 6d.
Story of Nala, a Sanskrit Poem, with full vocabulary, and Dean Mil-
man's translation. Published at the Oxford University Press, 1860.
Price 158.
An English and Sanskrit Dictionary. Published by the Court of
Directors of the East India Company. (W. H. Allen, 1851.)
Vikramorvasí, a Sanskrit drama, published as a class-book for the East
India College. (Stephen Austen, Hertford, 1849.)
Sakuntala, a Sanskrit drama, with critical notes and literal translations.
(Stephen Austen, 1853.)
A free translation in English prose and verse of the Sanskrit drama
Sakuntalá. 3d edition. Price 5s. (Stephen Austen, 1856.)
An Easy Introduction to the Study of Hindústání. Price 2s. 6d.
(Longmans, 1859.)
Original Papers illustrating the history of the application of the Roman
alphabet to the languages of India. (Longmans, 1859.)
Bágh o Bahár, the Hindústání text with notes, and an Introductory
Essay on the application of the Roman alphabet to the languages of
India. Price 5s. (Longmans, 1859.)
Hindústání Primer. Price 1s. 8d. (Longmans.)
Preparing for Publication.
A Sanskrit and English Dictionary, on a new plan, (partly in Roman
characters.)
A Sanskrit Manual, containing the accidence of Grammar, and pro-
gressive exercises for composition. (Nearly ready.)
APR 29 1921
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
3 9015 01452 0822

Sheni hits
}


Gaylord
PAMPHLET BINDER,
Syracuse, N. Y.
Stockton, Calif

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