CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



both upon development and upon corruption was 

 gone. Growth and eclecticism thenceforth could 

 pursue their course with much less hinderance ; 

 and thus Hinduism, while still venerating the 

 sacred books, and deriving itself from them, grew 

 into systems with which they had scarcely any- 

 thing in common. 



That the population of India, whatever the 

 elements of which it is composed, is a mixture 

 of numerous races, is beyond question, established 

 by many different lines of evidence. Within the 

 historic period there have been several irruptions of 

 Tatar and Mongol races, who entered the country 

 from the north-west A multitude of facts point 

 to the conclusion that, before the dawn of history, 

 there was a succession of such irruptions from the 

 same quarter. From .the north-west appears to 

 have come the conquering race whose stamp is 

 still upon the social life of India, upon its institu- 

 tions, its customs, and its language. The Arians, or 

 Aryans, when we first have notice of them, were 

 settled in the Punjab ; but they were a fair-skinned 

 people, surrounded by dark races ; and from 

 numerous other circumstances, it is evident that 

 they were foreigners who had forced their way into 

 the country. From their language, it is clear that 

 they sprung from the same stock from which the 

 races of Europe are derived. They seem to have 

 gradually extended their settlements, first along 

 the valley of the Ganges, and over Central India 

 as far as the Vindhya Mountains, and at a later 

 period into the Deccan. They reduced the popu- 

 lations which they conquered to strict subjection 

 everywhere, and by their superior energy, both 

 of body and mind, were gradually able to impose 

 upon them their religious institutions and their 

 language. Their language, the Sanscrit, it is true, 

 took little hold in Southern India, but the chief 

 modern dialects of Northern India are undoubtedly 

 descended from it. The Vedas, their sacred 

 books, are the scriptures from which Hinduism 

 in all its varieties has ever professed to derive 

 its doctrines. When first they come under 

 observation, they had made no inconsiderable 

 advance in civilisation. They were an agri- 

 cultural rather than a pastoral people, and had 

 made progress in many useful arts. 



Hinduism may be divided into three great 

 periods, comprising respectively its early, middle, 

 and modern phases, and these it will be con- 

 venient, for reasons that will appear in due course, 

 to call the Vedic, Epic, and Puranic periods. 



THE VEDIC PERIOD. 



The Vedic period is so called because our | 

 knowledge of it is derived from the Vedas, the ! 

 sacred writings, the divinely inspired liturgies | 

 of the Aryans. Hinduism in this, its earliest j 

 phase, was the religion of the Aryan conquerors 

 of India. There are four Vedas, but of these the 

 Rig-veda (rich, praise, veda, knowledge, from vid, 

 know) not only is the earliest, but is the original j 

 from which the others are derived. The others, 

 indeed, are compilations founded on it, made each i 

 for a special purpose, the original being modified 

 and added to as occasion required. The ritual of 

 the Aryans seems to have grown in complexity, 

 until the Rig-veda was found inadequate for pur- 

 poses of worship, and more convenient liturgies 

 had to be devised. The Yajur-veda and Sama- | 



422 



veda were the earliest of these productions ; the 

 fourth, the Atharva-veda, is of later origin. The 

 Sama-veda consists entirely of extracts from the 

 Rig-veda, put together so as to suit the ritual of 

 the Soma sacrifices or offerings. The Yajur-veda,, 

 though chiefly made up of extracts from the 

 Rig-veda, contains additions, the Yajuhs (yaj,. 

 sacrifice), prayers or thanksgivings, in prose, for 

 use in sacrificing, which had become necessary, 

 chiefly through the addition of new sacrifices, for 

 which the hymns of the Rig-veda did not suffice. 

 The Atharva-veda, which was used, not for the 

 sacrifice, but for appeasing evil influences, for 

 insuring the success of sacrificial acts, for incan- 

 tations, and similar purposes, contains, as might 

 be expected, a considerable amount of new matter. 

 The Yajur-veda had the first place in practice,, 

 as being the liturgy through which the worship- 

 per could most fully satisfy his sacrificial wants. 

 All the Vedas alike are held to have been 

 divinely inspired. Each consists of two distinct 

 divisions a Sanhita, or collection of mantras or 

 hymns ; and a prose portion called Brahmana, 

 (Brahman, neuter), which gives injunctions for 

 the performance of sacrificial acts, and explains 

 their origin, and gives directions for the use of the 

 mantras the explanations being conveyed, and: 

 the directions accounted for, by means of legends 

 and allegories, and sometimes also of mystical 

 and philosophical speculations. The hymns of the 

 Rig-veda seem to have been the production of 

 many successive generations of families of Rishis,, 

 or seers. The directory portion of the Veda also- 

 must have been a growth of ages. Various con- 

 ditions of society, various phases of belief, and 

 even different periods of language, appear to be 

 reflected in those writings. As to the dates at 

 which the Vedas were put into their present 

 forms, speculation has varied very widely. The 

 twelfth century before the Christian era has been 

 not without probability, assigned to the Rig- Veda,, 

 and there are writers who give it a far higher 

 antiquity. But this, in the present state of our 

 knowledge, is little better than conjecture, and alt 

 that can be confidently affirmed is, that the latest 

 writings of the Vedic class are not more recent 

 than the second century before Christ. 



The religious ideas expressed in the greatest 

 number of the Rig- Veda hymns, if not very ele- 

 vated, denote a simple and harmless faith. The 

 objects of worship are the elements of nature per- 

 sonified Agni, the fire of the sun and lightning ;. 

 Indra, the bright, cloudless firmament ; the Maruts, 

 or winds ; Surya, the sun ; Ushas, the dawn, and 

 various kindred manifestations of the luminous 

 bodies, and of nature in general ; and they are 

 worshipped purely in respect of the ability im- 

 puted to them to confer or withhold material 

 benefits. The worshipper asks from them rain, 

 food, cattle, health, or assistance against his- 

 enemies, addressing them with such arts as de- 

 pendants use in begging favours from a superior. 

 He complains to them of his troubles, and 

 reminds them of the wondrous deeds they per- 

 formed of yore, to coax them, as it were, into- 

 acquiescence and friendly help. Feeling no spir- 

 itual wants, he implores no spiritual blessings. 

 Sin and evil are often adverted to, but a sinner 

 is a man who does not worship the gods, or 

 gratify them with the customary oblations ; most 

 frequently he is the heathen borderer who perhaps- 



