844 On the History and Literature of the Veda. [Aug. 



last named fact specifically should most of all have demonstrative force. 

 There runs through the whole of the Indian religious-life an historical 

 sunderance,* from the time of the Ramayana down to the present day. 

 The worship is Vedic, and indeed exclusively Vedic, while the religious 

 view is turned to quite different forms. This second structure, the 

 religion of Vishnu and Brahma, begins with the Epopees, and is 

 thenceforth the only one which has retained vitality, but it has not had 

 the strength to break down the walls of the Vedic institution, and. form 

 itself into a ritual in its room. Similar appearances, though less abrupt, 

 will be shown by a scrupulous historical investigation in all the more 

 important religious systems ; the Grecian mysteries, e. g. will be seen 

 to have their root in no other relation than that of the original and old, 

 to the transformed and new ; that in Egypt such new formations, and 

 the simultaneous existence of various systems have occurred, is still 

 less doubtful ; and religious history might propose to itself for its 

 theme, sunderance and separation far more than combination. Finally, 

 there rules in the Puranas — I am not afraid to say it, — a complete 

 misunderstanding of Vedic antiquity, and all that is connected there- 

 with, a fundamental ignorance of the Vedic writings, on the origin and 

 division of which so much is fabled. And for the explanation of that 

 foretime they (the Puranas) will be useful far less immediately, than 

 mediately, on this account that we accidentally meet again in the later 

 tales, with results found elsewhere and independent of them, and arc 

 able gradually to form a standard to try the historical value of these 

 legends. 



Research into the historical relation of the Veda and the Epopees 

 must keep these circumstances in view. The following appears to me 

 to be a practicable mode of determining more nearly the interval of 

 time which lies between the two. It is well known that the Anukra- 

 manika very frequently gives short legends, solely with the object of 

 illustrating the origin of the hymns. This happens more amply, and 

 with the same view, in the Vrihaddevata ascribed to Saunaka, a book 

 composed in metre, of which I have been unable to discover any copy in 

 England, but which in all probability will yet be found in India. The 

 commentator of the Anukramanika to the Rik, Shadgurusishya, knows 

 this writing and cites it frequently, and Sayana often gives longer 

 * Zwiespalt ; splitting into twain. 



