46 Buddhism and Odinism. [No. 1. 



Buddhism and Odinism,— their similitude ; illustrated ly Extracts 

 from Professor Holmboe's Memoir on the " Traces de Buddhisme 

 en Norvcge." — By Bdbu Eajendralal Mite a. 



The obscurity in which the early history of India is enveloped, 

 has led the antiquary to hope that some light may be cast upon 

 it by the acquisition of monumental evidence. In that hope he 

 has laboured with assiduous care on inscriptions, coins, ancient 

 buildings and sepulchral mounds. He has met with relics which 

 keep alive his hope, and induce further investigation, and he has 

 clung to the expectation of one day finding enough to fill up the 

 gap which has been left in the annals of the country by the poverty 

 of its historic muse. Experience has taught him not to anticipate 

 great results from any particular research, for the unremitting labour 

 of days and months often brings him nothing better than a rude 

 mouldering urn, or a simple heap of ashes ; but he knows that little 

 as such results are, they still add that little to our scanty stock of 

 knowledge, and will in time accumulate, and be the means of elucid- 

 ating much in connexion with the manners and customs of the 

 ancient inhabitants of this land and their relation to other nations 

 of antiquity. 



The gleanings which have thus been brought together during 

 the last fifty years in connexion with the history of Buddhism, are 

 already considerable. The era of Sakya Sinha has been established 

 on the most authentic testimony, and his biography is now nearly 

 as well known as of any other individual who lived two thousand 

 five hundred years ago. Viharas, chaityas and pillars point out 

 the city of his birth, the places where he sojourned, the spot where 

 he died, and the monuments that were erected on his mortal re- 

 mains. The history of the religion he taught is being daily more 

 and more developed, and the darkness which hung over the course 

 that religion took in its spread over the different regions of Asia 

 is well nigh dispelled. 



Sir "William Jones was the first who was struck by the similitude 

 of the words Buddha and Odin, and others noticed the coincidence 

 of their use in designating the fourth day of the week ; but fifty 

 years ago there was nothing but vague suspicion that in its onward 



