U-

I INTRODUCTION: INDIA AND HER ANCIENT CULTURE

TIIE LAND OT INDIA

TrB -.ie.rt civilization of India grew up in a sbarply demarcated sub-continentboundedon the north by the world's largest mountain range-the chain of the Himilayas, which, with its extensions to east and lvest, divides India from the rest of Asia and the world, The barrier, however, was at no time an insuperableone, and at all periods both settlers and traders have found their way over the high and desolate passes into India, while Indians have carried their commerce andculturebeyond her frontiersby tlresameroute. India's isolation has never been complete, and the effect of the mountain wall.in developing her urrique civilization has often been overrated. The importance of the mountains to India is not so much in the isolation which they give her, as in the fact that they are the source of her two great rivers. The clouds drifting northwards and westwards in the rainy season dischargethe last of their moisture on tl)e high peaks. whence,fed by ever-rnelting srrow, innumerable streams flow southwards, to meet in the great river systemsof the Indus and the Gangd. On their way they pass through small and fertile plateaux, such as the valleys of Kashmir and Nepdl, to debouch on the great plain. Of the tlvo river systems,that of the Indus, now mainly in Pakistdn, had the earliest civilization, and gave its name to India. * More than two thousandyears before Christ the fertile plain of dre Panjib ( " Five Rivers " ), watered by the five great tributaries of the Industhe Jhelam, Chenib, Rivi, Bedsand Satlaj-had a high culture, which spread as far as the sea and along the westem seaboardat least as far as Gujardt. fihe lower Indus, in the region of Pakistin Isrorvn
. The Indians knew tlis river as Sindhx, and the Persians, who found difhculty in pronouncing an initial .r, called it Hindu. l-rom Persia the lvord passed to Grcece, wircre 'fhe ancicnt Indians the whole of India becanre known bv the name ofthe western river. knew tlreir sutrcontil,ent as Jdtt2,udaipa (the contjnent of thejanbx tree) or Dhdrutatarpa (the I-and of the sons of Bharata, a legendary etnpcror) (p. a9of). Tlre latter nanre has been in part revived bv the present lndia;r qovernment, With the Muslirn invasion ofits and those inhabitants wllo followd the Persian iame returned in theTo nn Hindustdi, the old religion became known as Hindus. Thc form Hindutthdn, popular in modern India, is an Indo-Iranian hybrid with no linguisticjustification. I

.*

INTRODUCTTON: TNDIA AND HER ANCTENT CULTURE , TIIE WONDER THAT WAS INDIA

as Sind, no*. passesthrough barren desert,though this rvas oncea well wateredand fertile land. The basin of tl'e Indus is divided from that of the GangEby the to Thar, or dcsert of Rirjastlrin,and by lo.,vhilis. The rvatershed, tlre north-rvestof Deliri, lras bccrr the sccneof many bitter battles sinceat least looo s.c. The wcsternhalf of the Gangi plain,frorn the region around Delhi to Patn;i, and including the Doa6, or the land between the Gangi and its great tributary river Yanrunl bccn the hcart of India. (formcrly spclt Jurnna,Jamna)rhas alrvays the Jandof the Aryans, I{ere, in tlre rcgion onceknown as .4r1'di'arta, herclassical culture rvasformed. Though generations ofunscientific farming, rlcforestation, and othcr factorshave norv much reducedits fcrtility, this'ivasonccamongthe most 1>rodmtive landsin the world, and it lias supported a very large populationever sinceit lvas brought under the piough. At its mouth in Bengalthe Gangi f<..,rrns a large delta, which even in historical tinres has gained apprcciablyon the sea;herethe Gangiijoins the Brahmaputra, rvhichflorvsfromTibet by way of the Valley of Assam,the eastemnrost outpostof I{indu culture. South of the great plain is a highland zone, rising to the chain of the Vindhl'a rnountains. These are by no means as imprcssiveas but havetendedto form a barrier betu'een the Hirn:ilayas, the North, formerly called Hindustin, and tlre Peninsula,often known as the Deccan(nreaningsinrply "South"), a term usedsometimes for the whole peninsula, but rnore often for its northern and centralportions. Most of the Deccanis a dry and lrilly plateau,borderedon either side by long ranges of hills, the \['estern and Eastern Ghits. Of these two ranges the western is the higher, and thercforemost of the rivers of the Deccan, such as the Mahenadi, the Godivari, the Kistni or KyE4rI, and the Kiviri, flow eastwardsto the sea. Two Iarge rivers only, the Narmadi and the TApti, flow westwards. Near their mouths the Deccanrivers passtJrroughplains which are smaller than that of the Gangn but almost as populous. The south-eastern part of the Peninsula forms a larger plain, the Tamil countrn the culture of which lr'as once independent,and is not yet completely unified with that of the North. The Dravidian peoplesof SouthernIndia still speaklanguages in no way akin to those of the North, and are ofa different ethnic character (p. e+f), though there has been much intermixture betweenNorthern and Southernt1pes. Geographically Ceylon is a continuation of India, the plain of the North resemblhg that of South India, and the mountains in the centre of the island the Western Ghits. From Kashmir in the North to Cape Comorin in the South thc sub<ontinent is about 2,ooo miles long, and therefore its climate

varies considerably. The Himilayan region has cold winters, with occasional frost and snow. In the northernplains the winter is cool, with wide variation of day and night temperature,whereas the hot of the Deccanvaries season is almost intolerable. The temperature though in the higher parts of the plateaunights lesswith the season, are cool in winter. The Tamil Plain is continuouslyhot, but its never risesto that of the northernplainsin summer. temperature The most important featureof the Indian climate is the monsoon, or " the Rains". Except along the west coastand in parts of Ceylon little rain falls from October to May, when cultivation can only the rvaterof rivers and streams, be carriedon by carefullyhusbanding and raising a winter crop by irrigation. By the end of April growth of the plains rises as high has practicallyceased. The ternperature as I loo F. (4,3' C. ) or over, and an intenselyhot wind blows- Trees shedtbeir leaves,grass is almost completelyparched,wild animals often die in large numbers for want of water.. Work is reduced to a minimum, ahd the world seemsasleep. Then clouds appear,high in the sky; in a few days they grow more numerous and darker, rolling up in banks from the sea. At last, in June, the rains come in great downpouring torents, with much thunder and lightning.' The temperaturequickly drops, and within a few days the world is green and smiling again. Beasts, the treesput on new leaves,and the earth birds and insectsreappear, is covered u'ith fresh grass. The torrential rains, which fall at intervals for a coupleof months and then gradually dib away, make in their travelandall outdooractivitydifficult,andoftenbring epidemics to the Indian mind the coming of wake; but, despitethesehardships, the monsooncorresponds to the coming of spring in Europe. For this reasonthunder and lightning, in Europe generally looked on as inauspicious,have no terrors for the Indian, but are welcome signs ofheaven (p. aSZ). ofthe goodness It has often been said that the scaleofnatural phenomenain India, and her total dependence on the monsoon, have helped to form the suchas flood, character ofher peoples. Even today major disasters, famine and plague, are hard to check, and in older times their control was almost impossible. Many other ancientcivilizations, such as those of the Greeks, Romans and Chinese,had to contend with hard sturdinessand resource. India, on the winters, which encouragecl Nature, who demanded by a bounteous litde other hand, was blessed but in her terrible anger could not of man in return for sustenance, be appeasedby *y human effort. Hence, it has been suggested, the Indian character has tended to fatalism and guietism, accepting fortune and nrisfortune alike without complaint.

V
TIIE WONDI]R TIIAT WAS INDIA INTRODUCTIONI INDIA AND IiER .\NCIENT CULTURE

How far this judgement is a fair one is very dubious. Though an elementof quietismcertainlyexistedin the ancientIndian attitudc to life, as it doesin India today, it was never approvedby moralists. The great achievements of ancientIndia and Ceylon-their immense irrigation works and splendid temples, and the long campaignsof their armies-do not suggest a devital;zedpeople. If the climate had any effecton the Indian character it was,we believe, to developa love of easeand comfort, an addictibn to the simple pleasures and luxuries so freely given by Nature-a tendencvto u'hich the impulse to selfdenial and asceticism on the one hand,and occasional strenuous effort on the other, were natural reactions.
THE DISCOVN,RY OF ANCIENT IND!A

The ancient civilization of India differs from those of Egypt, and Greece,in that its traditions have been preserved Mesopotamia without a break down to the presentday. Until the advent of the anchreologist, the peasantofEgypt or Iraq had no knowledgeof the culture of his forefathers,and it is doubtful whether his Greek counterparthad any but the vaguest ideasabout the glory of PericleanAthens. In eachcasetlrere had beenan almostcomplete break with the past. On the other hand, the earliest Europeansto visit India found a culture fully conscious of its own antiquity-a culture which indeed exaggeratedthat antiquitl, and claimed not to have fundarnentally changedfor many thousandsof years. To this day legendsknown to the humblest Indian recall the namesof shadowy chieftainswho lived nearly a thousandyears before Christ, and the orthodox brihmap in his daily worship repeatshymnscomposed even earlier. India and Chinahave,in fact, tlre oldestcontinuous cultural traditionsin the world. Until the last half of the r8th century Europeansmade no real attempt to study India's ancient past, and her early history was known only from brief passagesin the ll'orks of Greek and Latin authors. A few devotedmissionaries in the Peninsula gained a deep understandingof conternporaryIndian life, and a brilliant mastery of the vernaculars, but they made no real attempt to understand the historicalbackground of the culture ofthe peopleamong whom they worked.- They accepted that culture at its face value, as very ancient and unchanging, arrd their only studies of India's past were in the nature of speculations linking the Indians with the descendants of Noah and the vanishedempiresof the Bible. Meanwhile a few Jesuits succeededin mastering Sanskrit, thc classical language of India. One of them, Father Hanxleden,who worked in Kerala from 1699 to llss, compiled the first Sanskrit

grarnmarin a Europerntor)gue, wlrit:hremainedin manuscript, but *as used by his successors.Another, I'ather Coeurdoux, in l?6?, u asprobably the first student the kinslrip of Sanslirit to recognize and of Europe,and suggested tlre languages that the brahnrans of InCia nere descended fronr one of the sons of Japlret,wlrose brotlrers rnigratedto the West. Yet the Jesuits, for all their studies, gained no real understanding of India's past: the foundations of Indology u ere laid independently, in anotherpart of India, and by other hands. In thc I'ear l?sj one of tlre most brilliart rrcn of tlre l8tlr century, Sir William Jones ( t746-94), calne to Calcutta as a judge of the Supreme Court, under the governor-generalshipof who himself Warren l{astings, had deepsyrnpatlr_y rvith both Nfuslirn and Hindu culturc. Jonesrvasa linguisticgenius,who had already learnt all the more irnportantlanguages of Europe as well as Hebrew, Arabic, Persianand Turkish, and had even obtairreda smattering of Chinesewith the aid of the very inadequatematerial which was availableat the time. Beforeconring to India lte had recoguizedthe relationshipof Europeanlanguagesto Persian,and had rejectedthe orthodox view of the I 8th century,that all thesetongueswere derived frorn Hebrew,whiclr had been garbled at theTower of Babel. In place of thisdognra suggested andthe European that Persian languages Jones were derived from a common ancestorwhich was not Hebrew. Of the little band of Englishmenwho administered Bengal for the East India Companyonly one, CharlesWilhins (174.9Honourable I896), had managedto Iearn Sanskrit. With the aid of Wilkins and friendly Bengali panditsJonesbeganto learn the language. On the first day of r784 the Asiatic Societyof Bengalwas founded,on Jones'initiative, and with Joneshimself as president. In the journal of this society, AsiaticResearches,the first real stepsin revealingIndia's past were taKen. In November 1784the first direct translationof a Sanskrit u'ork into English, Wilkins's Bhagaoad, Gild', was conrpleted. This Wilkins follorved in l?87 with a translation of the Hitopade{a. In 1?89 JonestransiatedKalidasa'sSakuntald, whicb, went into five English editions in less than twenty years; this he followed by translationsof the Gita Gouinda(tZsz), and the lawbook of Manu (pubiished postirumouslyin t?94, under the title Institutes of Hindoo In ). Several less important translations appeared in successive issuesofr4slaticResearches. Jonesand Wilkins u'ere truly the fathersof Indology. They were follor,r'ed in Calcutta by Henry Colebrooke(tZes-rsSZ) and Horace Hayman Wilson (tzss-tsoo). To the works of these pioneers must be added that of the FrenchmanAnquetil-Duperron,a Persian scholarwho, in l?86, publisheda translatiorr of tour Upanigads from

THE WoNDER THAT

wAs

TNDIA

INTRODUCTION: INDIA AND HER ANCIENT

CULTURE

a lTth{entury Persianversion-the translation of the whole manuappearingin 180I. script, containing5O Upanigads, Interest in Sanskritliterature beganto grow in Europe as a result of thesetrans-lations.In 1795the governmentof the FrenchRepublic the fcole desLanguesOrie-ntales founded Vivantes,andin Paris Alexander }lamilton (r762-ts94), one of the earliest menrbersof the Asiatic Society of Bengal, held prisoner on parole in France at the end of Amiens in 18o3,becamethe first personto teachSanof the Peace skrit in Europe. It'n'asfrom Hamilton thatFriedriclrSchlegel, the first German Sanskritist,learnt the language. The first university chair and held of Sanskrit was foundedat the Collbge de France in 1814., by L6onardde Ch6zy,while from l8l8 onwardsthe larger German universities set up professorships. Sanskrit u,as first taught in England in l8o5 at the training college of the East India Company at Hertford. The earliest English chair was the Boden Professorship at Oxford, first filled in 1892,when it was conferredupon H. H. Wilson, who had beenan important memberof the Asiatic Societyof Bengal. Chairs were afterwardsfoundedat London, Canrbridgeand Edinburgh, and at severalother universitiesof Europe and America. In 18t6, Franz Bopp (tZst-tsoz;, a Bavarian,on the basis of in very tentatively reconthe hints of Sir Wiiliam Jones,succeeded ofSanskrit and the classical languages structing the commonancestor of Europe, and comparative philology became an independent science. In 182I, the French Soci6t6Asiatique was founded in Paris, followed two years later by the Royal Asiatic Society in L,ondon. From thesebeginningsthe work of the editing and study of ancient Indiah literature went on apace throughout the lgth of Indological scholarcentury. Probably the greatestachievement ship in lgth-century Europg was the enormous Sanskrit-German dictionary generally known as the St. PetersburgLexicon, produced by the German scholarsOtto Bdhtlingk and Rudolf Roth, and pub. lished in parts by the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences from t852 to t875. England'sgreatestcontributionsto Sanskritstudies were the splendid edition of the f;g Yeda, and the great series of authoritative arurotatedtranslations, SacredBools of the East, Both these u'orks were edited by the great GermanSanskritistFriedrich Max.Miiller (tszs-rsoo), who spentmost of his working life as Professorof ComparativePhilology at Oxford. Meanwhile the study of aricient Indian culture was proceedingin another direction. The first work of the Asiatic Societyof Bengal had beenalmost entirely literary and linguistic, and most of the tgth: tradition, centuryIndologists were primarily scholarsin the classical working on written records. Early in the lgth century, however,

the Bengal Society began to turn some of its attention to the material remains of India's past, as the East India Company's surveyorg brought back to Calcutta many reports oftemples, cavesand shrines, together with early coins and copies of inscriptions in long-dead scripts. By working backtvards from the current scripts the older ones were gradually deciphered,until in l8g7 a gifted amateur, James Prinsep, an official of the Calcutta Mint and Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, interpreted for the first time the earliest Brihmi script and was able to read the edicts of the great emperor A6oka. Among Prinsep'scolleaguesin the work of decipherment .tilasa young oflicer of the Royal Engineers, Alexander Cururingham the father of Indian archeology. From his arrival in India in 1891 Cunningham devoted every minute he could spare from his nrilitary duties to the study of the material remains of ancientIndia, until, in 1862,the Indian governmentestablished the post of Archaological Surveyor, to which he was appointed. Until his retirement in 1885 he devoted himself to the unravellingof India's past with complete single-heartedness.Though he made no startling discoveries, and though his techniquewas, by modern archaological standards,crude and primitive, there is no doubt that, after Sir William Jones, Indology owes more to General Sir Alexander Cunninghamthan to any other worker in the field. Cunningham was assistedby several other pioneers, and though at the end of the rgth century the activities of the Archreological Survey almost ceased,orving to niggardly government grants, by t90o many ancientbuildings had beensurveyed,and many inscriptions read and translated. It was only in the 2oth century that archeologicalexcavationon a large scalebegan in India. Thanks to the personalinterest of the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, in tgol the Archaological Survey was rformed and enlarged, and a young archeologist, John (later Sir John) Ilarshall, appointed as Director General. F<.rra country of the size of India the Archeological Department was stiil lamentably srirall and poor, but Marshall rvas able to employ a number ofexpert assistants, and ltad funds for excavationon a scale more extensive than anything previously attempted. For the first time traces of the ancientcities of India began to come to lightarcheology, as distinct from the surveying and conservation of ancientmonuments-had begunin real earnest. The greatesttriumph of the Archaeological Survey of India under Sir Jolrn Marshall's directorshipwas undoubtedlythe discoveryof the Indus civilization. The first relics of India's oldest cities were noticed by Cunningham, who found strange unidentified seals in the neighbourhood of

Y
INTRODUCTION: INDIA .TND HEN ANCIENT

THE WONDER THAT

WAS TNDIA

CULTUNE

Harappi in the Panjib, l\ 79sz an Indian officer of the Arclreological Survey, R. D. Banerji, found fiirther seals at Mohenjo Daro in Sind, and recognizedthat they were the remains of a preAryan civilization of great antiquity. Under Sir John Marshall's excavated from t924 until his directionthe sites were systelnatically retirement in t991. Digging was interruptedby financialretrenchment, and by the Second\&'orld \['ar; but further important discoverieswere madc at Harappi during the brief directorshipof Sir R. E. Mortirner Whceler just after the wary thougir the sites are fully cleared. still by no Dleans Much has yet to be done. Many mounds as yet unexcavated may throw floods of light on the dark placesof India's past: unptrhlished manuscriptsof great importance may yet lie. mouldering in out-of-the-way libraries. India, Pakistln and Ceylon are poor in need of funds with which to raise the standcountries,desperately ard of living of their peoples; but rvith the resources availablethe archeologicaldepartmcnts of all three countriesare working to their fullest capacityto reveal the past. Even in tlre last century,much valuablework was done by natives of India, especiallyby such Sanskritistsand epigraphistsas Drs. Bhau Diji, BhagavinlAl Indriji, Rijendralal Mitra, and the great Sir R. G. Bhandarkar. Now the chief initiative in Indology comesfrom have alreadycompletedthe the Indiansthernselves.Indian scholars first critical edition of the gigantic ll[al:ibl,iirata, andhave started work on the enonnousPoonaSanskritDictionary, u'hicir, when complete, u'ill probablybe the greatestworkof lexicographytlie rvorld has bver seen. Since 1947 the Archeological Department has been entirely 'Western underIndiandirection,andtoday the Indologistcannothope to be more thanthe helperandfriendly critic of the Asian. In timeslike these,however,when Asia is reacting againsta century and a half of European domination,arida nervculture,which will containelements 'West o[ East and in firm synthesis,is in the processof birdr, the European student still has a useful role to play in Indology.

THE GLORY OF ANCIENT INDIA

At most periods of her history India, thciugha cultural unit, has beentorn by internecinewar. In statecrafther rulers were cunning and unscrupulous. Famine, flood and plague visited her from time to time, kill"d millions of her people. Inequality of birth was "nd sanction,and the lot of the humble was generally given religious hard. Yet our overall impressionis that in no other part of the the relationsof man and man, and of man and the ancientworld r,r'ere

state, so fair and humane. In no other early civilization were slaves so lew in number, and in no other ancientlalvbook are their rights so well protected as in the Arthaidstra (p. tl+l). No other ancient lawgiver proclaimed such noble ideals of fair plaS'in battle as did Manu (p. 127). In all her history of warfare Hindu India has few tales to tell of cities put to the sword or of the massacre of noncombatants. The ghastly sadism of the kings of Assyria, who flayed their captivesalive, is completelywithout parallel in ancient India. There was sporadiccruelty andoppression no doubt, but, in with conditionsin other earlycultures,it wasmild. To us comparison the most striking featureof ancientIndiancivilization is its humanity. Somelgth-centurymissionaries, armed with passages from Hindu and Buddhist scriptures,often taken out of their context, and with and the evils of the Hindu casteand familv tales of famine,disease, system,have helped to propagatethe widespreadfallacy that. India is a land of lethargic gloom. The traveller landing at Bombay has only to watch the rush-hourcrowds, and to comparethem mentally with those of London, to realize that the Indian characteris neither lethargic nor unhappy. This conclusionis borne out by a general with the remainsof India's past. Our second acquaintance general ofancientIndia is that her peopleenjoyedlife, passionately impression delighting both in the things of the senses and the things of the spirit. The European student who concentrates on religious texts of a certain type may well gain the impression that ancientIndia was a imposingtheir gloomy and sterile land of "life-negating" t ascetics, ideasupon the rusting millions rvho were their lay followers. The fallacyof this impressionis quite evidentfrom the secularliterature, sculptureand painting of the time. The averageIndian, though he might pay lipservice to the asceticand respeci his ideals, did not find life a vale of tears from which to escapeat all costs; rather he was willing to acceptthe world.as he found it, and to extract what he could from it. Da4{in's descriptionof the joys of a happiness simple meal sen'edin a comparatively poor home (p. 446ff) is prob. ably more typical of ancient Indian everyday life than are the Upanisads. India was a cheerful land, whose people, each finding a niche in a complex and slowly eyolving social system, reacheda higher level of kindlinessandgentleness in their mutual relationshipsthan any other nation of antiquity. For this, as well as for her great achievements in religion, literature, art and mathematics,one European studentat leastwould recordhis admirationof India's ancient culture.
. This tcrm, as appliedto Indian religion, thought and culture, ir that of thc grear and its Dtu[ofwrl, passim). Dr. Afbcrt S(h*eitzer (lndian Thoughl

II PREHISTORY: THE HARAPPA CULTURE AND THE ARYANS

PRIMITIVE MAN I}I INDIA

pnlrtgrony: rnD Herepri cuLTuRE AilD THEInyexc It tiny and delicate stone scrapers an. other implements, which have been found il .qy plts oi India, from the fV.-W. fiontier to if,e extreme south. Similar microiithic industriesoccur in rn*y p"ii, of the Near East and Africa, but their.h.onoiogi.ut ."t.tionJip'*it-i the microlithic industry of India i. not.i."i.-- In parts of the Deccan microliths are often found together with polishedston";;"r;;;l; would seem that in the-remoterparts of the peninsula trr"i. ur"w", only fully replaced by that of iron tools around the b";i,_id;f ;; Christianage.t

L, * t prehistoricEurope,Northern India experienced iceages,andit was after the secondof these,in the SecondInterglacial Period, more than loo,ooo years beforeChrist, that man first left surviving tracesin India. These are the palreolithicpebble tools of the Soan Culture, so called from the little river in the Panjnb where they have been found in large numbers. In type they resembletools widely distributed all over the Old World, from England to Africa and China. In India no human remainshave been found in association with the suchindustrieshave beenshown to be the work tools, but elsewhere of primitive anthropoid types, such as the Pithccanthrofw of Java and China. In the Souththere existedanotherprehistoricstoneindustry,which dated,but which may have been the approximate is not conclusively contemporary of that of the SoanValley. The men of tfris culture made core tools, especially fine hand axes, formed by striking off flakes from a large pebble, and they evidently had much better command over their material than the Soan men. This Madras hasaffinities Industry, as it is calledby the archeologists, with similar coretool industriesin Africa, \ilesternEurope,and.southern England, where it has been found in associationwith a more advancedtype of man-a true Homo sapiens, The Garrgi Valley is one of the newest parts of the earth's surface, and geologists believe that much of it was still a shallow sea at the time of these two stone-ageindustries; but there may have been contact between them by way of Rijasthdn, for the tools of one culture have been found sporadically in the region ofthe other. The men who used these paleoliths must have lived in India for many millennia. Who they were and what became of them we do not know. Their blood may still flow in the inhabitantsof modern India, but if the pebble industry of Soan was the work of proto-human anthropoids they must have vanishedlong ago, like the Neanderthal men in Europe and the Pithecanthropi of the Far East. Homo sa[icns continued in India, his skill and technical equipment imperceptibly improving down the ages. He learnt to fashion microlithr, lo

,".n*"r, in very small communities,which were usu"ll"y ,ro-udi". il ;;; course of time he leamt kindle fire, to protect his body from .to the w-eather_with skin, bark o_r leaves,*d to ti-. tf," *ila a.j *i,i"i,
In rndia,asalt overth" *;.rd:p;;;j;

pareorithic. '- J1""1:,il"";:^r1,',1

and rived

ll*1.1::11li1_camRfire. lrveq tnus tor many thousands of years. very recently in the peispectiveof geological time, great _rThur, changes .took place in man's l'ay- of living." Cer"tainly ;;;h earl.ier than IO,OOO ""; m:ul a.c., and p".hrp, as Tate as 6000 8.c., developedwhat ProfessorGordon Childe calls ,.* tude to his environrnent,,. I{e leamt how to grow "ggr"rri.,r" "iii lo"od crops, to tamedomestic animals,to makepots, andto weavegarments. Before discoveringthe useof metal, heiaught himselfto rn'ake wcll_polisheJ stone implements far in advance6f tho.e of the pd_.iir[i.-"r"i S_uch implementshave.beenfound all ovei na;",1,L ^;;,ly;"-ih; North-West and in the Deccan,and uzually on o. r"o, the suriace. In much of the country neolithiciulture .u"uiu"d long, and *-y of tt u wilder hill tribes oi the present day have orty ,"""iity this stage. "-"rgJa-i.o^ D_"n:"loq.u.d agriculture and. permanent villages probably began in ., the 7th millenniuma.c., in tire Irliaate Easr.o I'India tl".irti"ri remains of settled cultures are of little agricult"*f i" Bal[chistin and lower Sind, perhaps d"ti.,g i$m tl. end"iifrg; of ,fi" +if, millennium. Classical writers show that when, in sg6B.c.,Alexanderof Macedon crossedthe Indus, the climate of N.-W inaia was much it L p".h1pr. a little moister. The river ndf"y, ", .rnuru fjj,yf t"rCl, rerrle and well wooded,.thoughthe coastalstrip to the weit of the Iadus, now called the Makren,"and much of Baluc'histan, ,n.." dry and desolate. But in eooo r.c. the crimate*"1r".n", "t.""J i#;;;i. The whole Indus regicn was welt forested, providing f""l-i;;;;,,

| il\

w()Nl)f,ti tltAT

w^s

lNDla PREHI5TORY: THE HARAPPA CULTURE AND THE ^NYIXS IJ

2,-,v
UTLES

bricks and food for the wild elephant and rhinoceros,and Baluchistin, ,r.rru ut-ott a waterless desert, was rich in rivers' This region rru,r,ortedmany villages of agriculturists, who had settled in. the ,,pii"a vaileys of Bal[chistan-and in the then fertile plain of the \lakran and the lower Indus' lI'1,.r" peoplebelongedto severalcultures,primarily distinguished l,y diflerent iypes of painted pottery. Each culture had distinctive genericpatternasthoseof i'"u,ur", of its;wn, bui all werl of tl'resame \{'eresmall,rarely more it" tliaat" furt. Though thcir settlernents werecomParatively standards material in extentJSeir th"n f"," acres " f,isl,. The villagers rlwelt in comfortablehousesof mud brick with ioi., .ou.t"s of*stone,and made good pottery, which they-painted patterns. They knew the use of metal, for a few cop with pleasant in the sites' have beendiscovered per implements

xARACHt O Slfls OF THE X CULlURE RAPPA

Fig. ii.-Terracotta
LoTH^L o RAXcPUn o

cULTUFEt + trTes oF vrlllc O OVR tsOO rET _ " _ lL BA oN vE 5EA LEvEL n m L ^ N O O V E R o O O OF E f r |uABOVE sEA LTVEL

;;. ..'gsoo-rod," i."2r,"u,

a'c' Figurines " of Goddesses' a-'-!t-ultl'c' 2bCo-9ffiO

:. lffafa

n'c' d' Kaussmbr' c' eooo

Fig. i.-Sonre

Prelristoric Sites of N.-W.

India

the secluded valleys The village cultures had varying customs' for of the lives of simplicity. clmf,arative the and of the Brihii l{ills 'I'hus the nortnern inhabitants did not encourage very close contact' buff; southern the and pottttv' '"i ;iii;n;t made predomi;;iiy

while dead' their burnt in tl'" Makian' 'a;i;;;,-i;';h" ,i" rractional practised "?""r" "i;Jii;ii.;1,u.1, Hills, Brihui ;ilJ" ;'i;h ;.;ef by
disintegration il"ri"f,-"t if" inh,tmationLf the bonesafter partial burning or exPosure. early-1qlit"l:ut"l Iheir religion was of'the tJ?e practisd by other the Middle East' and regron Metliterranean the in communities Mother Goddesr' ;;;;G round fertility';i,;; and the wJrship of a and in those sites' manv in found been Figurinesof the Godderr-i.""" have emb'lems ptrattic of the Zhob Culture, to the north of Quetta' Mother of the worship the alsobeenfound. I" .;;;;i;;;t;i#"t

It

THE WONDER THAT

WA!

TNDTA

}RETITSTORY: TgB

NAN,TTPI

CULTURE AND TIIE

iBYANt

I'

Crildc.sswas associated with that of the bull, and these werc Do exception. Bull figurines have beendiscovered, and the bull forms a favourite motif for the decorationof the pottery of Kulli and Rini Ghundii, one of the most important of the Zhob sites. The people of the Kulli culture excelledin making small boxesof soft stone, delicately engraved with linear patterns. Such boxes havebeenoccasionally foundin early Mesopotamian sites,andwe may assumethat they were exported by the Kulli people, perhaps fillei with unguent or perfume of some kind. At Susa and eliewhere have beenfounda few piecesofpainted pottery which are evidently imitated from the wares of the Kulli people, who obviously tradei with the Middle East. Otherwise there is little evidence of contact. No certainly identifiableMesopotamianremainshave beenfound in Bahchisten, and there is no trace of objects from the Kulli Culture along the overland route. It seems that the Kulli people made contactwith the earliestMesopotamian civilizationsby sea.
THE HARAPPI CITY CULTUBE

ln the early part of the srd millennium, civilization, in the sense of an organized system of government over a comparatively large area, developed nearly simultaneously in the river valleys- of t[q Nile, Euphrates, and Indus. We know a great deal about thi civilizationsof Egypt and Mesopotamia, for they haveleft us written material which has been satisfactorily deciphered. The Induc people,on the other hand,did not engravelong inscriptions on stonc or placepapyrusscrollsin the tombs of their diad; all that we know of their writing is derivedfrom the brief inscriptionsof their seals, and there is no Indian counterpart of the Rosetta Stone. Severj brilliant efforts have beenmade to read the Indus seals,but none so far has succeeded. Hence our knowledge of the Indus civilization ir inadequate in many respects,and it must be classedas prehistoric, for it has no history in the strict senseof the term. The civilization of the Indus is known to the archaologist as the Harappi Culture, from the modern name of the site of onJof its two great cities, on the left bank of the Rivi, in the panjib. Mohenjo Daro, the secondcity, is on the right bank of the Indus, some e5o miles from its mouth, Recently, excavationshave been carried out on the-site of Kilibangan, in the valley of the old River Sarasvati, now almost dried up, near the border of India and West pakisten. These have revealed a third city, almost as large as the two earlier known, and designedon the sameplan. As well as thesecities a few smaller towns are known, and a large number of village sites, from

ttiil,ar ()nthe upperSatlaj to Lothal in Gujarit. The areacoveredby ,', ll.rrappi Culture therefore extendedfor some 95o miles from so uniformthat ,, ,rrlrr. jJuth, arrdthe patternof its civilizationwas , ,, rr tlrc bricks were usually of the same size and shapefrom one ,,,,1 of it to the other. Outside this area the village cultures of as before. lristin seemto havecontinued'much ll rlrrt 'l lris great civilization owed little to the Middle East, and there is r,,r rcas8l to believe that it was formed by recent immigrants-;the r ri.s wr built by people who had probably been in the Indus \'.rlk'y for several-""ntuii"t. The HirappE people-were already l,'.li.rirswhen they planned their cities, which hardly. afteled lo1 rlxrrrt a thousandyears. We cannot fix a precise date lbr the it l, ginning of this civilization, but certainindications synchronize ',,i,frtfy ii,tt ,tt" village cultures of Bahchistdn' The site of Rini which showed,in the third phase t;t,,,'dii produceda st-ratification b.lack of a type ,,r tt,"-r,ili.!"'s histor], Pottery with bold deslgn-s in by Sir R' Mortimer discovered ,,,, r"a ba&ground. Froni evidence on a " \\'Sceler in iS+O it seemsthat the city of Harappi was built Uy peopleusing similar pottery' There is no evidence .i," "..tpi.a ,,f the date olt tire ioundatiZn of the othei great city of .Mohenjo Indus' fl"ro, for its lowest strata are now below the level of the *i,nre f"d has slorvly risen with the centuries;-though diggings prevented.the l,"re reachedso feet-beiow the surface,fooding has lresl'l ltg.nt Important city. the of levels earliest the of cxcavation has-recently ,,', it" origins of the Ilarappi culture !:"1'I:-:,1{ r-ntt'es at Kot Diji, opposite Mohenjo Daro a te-w rl',' excava"tions level of the the n,,* ttu left bank or the inar,s. Here, below culture' earlier an of remains llaraona Culture,-tuue Ut"" found Diji This.Kot workmanship. of cruder ;,,hffiil';i-;;"i, city developed the of t. rtl* been the PrototyPe .Jilt5";#. it' of out , ivilization which grew Panjnb' was later in its ihus the l{^rupla Culture, ai least in the. was certainly in part it but ;il-fi;,uill"gu'"ultures' r,"iit"Lit contact have been mutual of traces .ontelnDorarv *r,n ,n"','for .,rittug" cultures survived the great.civilizaJ"-"'"r irr" ;il;;'"*f,' which are all irrdications tion to the east of them' iiot the faint began in cities Indus the that seem *".ra ii rlre evidencewe have, s'c'; millennium srd the of iit. nttift"if, perhapsiowu'a' the middle' millerurium' 2nd the into well continued it is almostcertain that they no.fortifications and few *t'"'first excavated When these be certainly identified "iti", U'laing.could were found, *a -ir'u weaDonlt "o was then put forward t'vp'tt'esis .'"T;;;;';; ;;Y.;: republics, without sharp rhat the cities were orii"t"rt1. corimercial

16

THE woNDER THAT wAs rNDrA

extremes of wealth and poverty, and rvith only a weak repressive organization; but the excavations at Harappi in 1946 and further discoveries at Mohenjo Daro have shown that this idyllic picture is incorrect. Each city had a well-fortified citadel, wiiich ie"tns to have been used for both religious and governmental purposes. The regular planning of the streets, and the strict uniforrnity throughout -weighti the area of the Harappi culture in such features as and measures, the size of bricks, and even the layout of the greit cities, suggest rather a single centralized state tiran a nunrber of free conrmunities. Probably t-he most striking feature of the culture was its intense conservatism. At Mohenjo Daro nine strata of buildings have been reveale<!. As the level of the earth rose from the periodic flooding of the Indus new houses would be built almost exactly on the sitei of the old, with only minor variaticns in ground plan; for nearly r millenniunr at least, t}e street plan of the cities remaineC the same, The script of the Indus people v/as totaily r.rncha,rged thrr.'ur:irout their history. There is no doubt tirat they had contact witii \{e-"opo. tarnia, but they showed no inclination to adopt the technical adr-ances of the more progressive culture. We must a.ssumethat there was continuity of government throughout the life of the civil.ization. Tl:is unparalleled continuity suggests, in the words of Professor Piggott, "the unchanging traditions of the temple" rather than "the secular instability of the court".i It seems in fact that the civilization of Harappi, lilte those of Egypt and Nfesopotanria, was theocratic in character, The two cities were built on a similer plan. To the rvest of each was a "citadel", an oblong artificial platform some gG-5o feet high and about 40ox2oo yards in area (pl. I). This was defended by crenelated walls, and on it were efected the public buildings. Below it was the town proper, in each case at least a square mile in area. The main streets, some as much as 9o feet wide, were quite straight (pl. IIa), and divided the city into large blocks, within which were networks of narrow unplurned lanes. In neither of tLe great cities has any stone l.ruiiding been found; standardized bumt brick of good quaiity rras the usual building material for dwelling houses and public buildings alike. The houses, olten of two cr more stories, though tlrcy varied in size, were all based on much the same plan-a square courtyard, round which were a number of rooms. The entrances \4'cre usually in side alleys, and no windowr faced on the streets, *'hich r.iust have presented a monotonous viste of dull brick walls. The houses had bathrooms, the design of which shows thet the liarapp:tr, like the modern Indian, preferred to take

' ,'l r, 'rns rvere provided with drains, which flowed into sewers under " ilr.rrr stlects, leading to soak-pits. The sewers were covered . ry, lrrut tlreir length by large brick slabs. The unique s-ewerage . ',,,r 'f tlre Indus people [rust have been maintained by some , ',., r1,,rl organizatiori, and is one of the most impressive of theii . l,', r rirnt'ntsl No other ancient civilization until that of the Romans 1,,,1 r,' t.llicient a system of drains.

, ;:',:,":;#"" ;: ;";il ;:'"il, ff;J"T;T:

Fig. iii.-lnterior of a IIouse of the Harappi Culture ( 81 pcrmisionDcpt. oJArchaologyGournrunl oJ India, aad Arthur Prcbsliuin, lnndm' )

The average size of the grorurd floor of a house was about 90 feet square,but there were many bigger ones: obviously there rvere had a nu-"rous well-to-do familiesin the Indus cities, which perhaps those than scale social in the important and more middleclasslarger of the contempotu.ycivilizationsof Sumer and Egypt. R:mains,of at both sites-parallel workmen'sdwellingshavealsobegndiscovered rows of two-roomedcottages,at Mohenjo Daro with a superficial area of 9ox19 feet each,but at Harappi considerablylarger; they

l8

THE woNDER TttAT w^s tNDrA

of small rooms. Like the-..tank,, " of a Hindu it probably had a religiou, pu.por", *d the cells rn"u f,""" lemnlq, ofpriests. The_specialattention paid by the :::ilT:_lT_.s ieople oJ rne rrarappa culture to.cleanliness is hardly due to thu fu.t O"t t{e1 had notions ofhygiene in advance ortho." ofother civilizations of their time, but iniicates that, like thelater gindus, they had a belief in the purificatory e-ffe"t.of water from a ;id;iil;"; ::i:-lg vrew. The largest building so far excavatedis one at Mohenjo Daro with a superficialarea of 6,soxze feet, which may have #;;;il: a great gr-anaryhas been ai.coveiea to the north of the 1^t Yi*p,qe crtacfelr this was raisedon a pratform of some r50x200 feet in area to protect it from floods, and was divided into storage blocks of 5o x g,ofeet each. It was doubtless used for storing ,frE *t i.f, tfe p1a_sgts.as landtax,and*";"y ""_

in onecorner andwai surrounded ty 11.:l"lllg wnrcnopeneda number

bear a.ctriking resembrance to the "coolie lines,, of n:odern Indian tea and other estates. rows of such brildifi;;;il; $1 lllappa found near &e circular brick-goors on *t i.t g.ain *", p'o,_d;;;; thgJ,were probably the dwellings of thu lrorfr"ren whose task was to co:n the priests and dignitaries who lived in the citadel. lor flrrnq ,rrao and tmy as thev were, these cottageg were better dwellings thanthosein wtrich-J"y lnaithe presentday. "".1t;ii;:; luildings is the gr"ui'b",h in . The most striking of the few large 'itrc-ir'fi the citadel area of ilohenjo n".o. oulo.,g'b*h;rg;;;i 39 x eg feet in area and 8 feet deep,constructedof beaulful Uri.?ri.orf. made watertight *ith bitumen (pl. IIO). Ii could,be drained bv

pREHrsroRyr rnz xln.r.ppi cuLTuBB ANDTHEiayert

l9

.foiri"i;;;

known, miy also have be"n t"mej. it; Har,al.ri people may have -and known Jr tr,u nor.e, since a r"* iior..;, teeth have beenfound in the lowest.t.utu,n oiti,e Baluchistan-;ti;; Gh,ulgei, llni roundarron ry9labty dating froro ,"""r.i centuries earlier than (:re ol Harappe. This would indicate that horseriding nomadsfound their w^., to N._W. India in ,;b;;, b* #;;: the Aryan invasion; 6ut it i.r ";;li *fr.U""-L"'8"";; aouUtf"f ".ry people possessed domesticho..". ih..,rr"lr"r, ;;;d; ;il';15;

been tamed-humped andiiu.ptus c"ttb;;H: I:.1.I1:*:ady pigs,asses, c9"", sheep.' dogs, andthedomestic fowl. The llli', Iephant was well

the latter still an irnpo.t*t ..of In9"tl in.India for its seeds,which'providu uJiui" ol. Th"Ji;;.1";; evidenceof the cultivation of iice, but tf," ff"r"ppa people grew and usedcotton. It is not certain.that irrigation il i;;;;,?i;h;,rg; this. is possible. The main domestic'animals known to modern

,T1.":.ll:::1_Tm at-Mohenjc, ";;;;.;h;; Daro. Themain fo6a *.r" ::I:1rlr^::*terpart Darley,peas,and,s.efqmum, ".op,

rrrust have been very rare animals. The bullock was probably the beastof burden, rrsual On the basis of this thriving agricultural economy the Harappii built their rather unimaginative but comfortablecivilization. 1'e.rple 'l'lreir had pleasanthouses, bourgeoisie and even their workmen, who rnay have been bondmen or slaves, had the comparative luxury of two-roomed brick-built cottages. Evidently a well organized comrnerce made these things possible. The cities undoubtedly traded with the village cultures of Bal0chistin, where outpostsof the Harappl culture have been traced, but many of their metals and semi-precious stonescanle from much longer distances. From Saurishgraand the Deccanthey obtainedconchshell, which they usedfreely in decoration, and several types of stone. Silver, turquoise and lapis lazuli were imported from Persia and Afghnnistin. Their copper came either from Rijasthin or from Persia, while jadeite was probably obtained from Tibet or Central Asia. Whether by seaor land, the productsof the Indus reachedMesopotamia, for a number of typical Indus seals and a few other objects from the Indus Valley have been found in Sumer at levels dating between about 93oo and eooo r.c., and some authorities believe that the land of McluIIa, reached by sea from Sumer, and referred to in Sumerian documents,was the Indus Valley. Evidence of Sumerian exports to India is very scant and uncertain,and we must assumethat they were mainly preciousmetals and raw materials. The finding of Indus seals suggests that merchants from India actually resided in Mesopotamia; their chief merchandisewas probably cotton, which has always been one of India's staple exports, and which is known to have been used in later Babylonia. The recently excavated site at Lothal in Gujardt has revealed harbour works, and the Harappi people may have been more nautically inclined than was formerly supposed. No doubt from their port of Lothal they were in touch widr placesfarther south, and it is possibly thus that certain distinctive features of the Harappan culture penetratedto South India. It seems that every merchant or mercantile family had a seal, bearing an emblem, often of a religious character, and a name or brief inscription in the tantalizingly indecipherable script. The standard Harappi seal was a square or oblong plaque, usually made of the soft stone called steatite, which was delicately engraved and hardened by heating (pl. V). The Mesopotamiancivilizations employed cylinderseals,which were rolled on clay tablets,leaving an impressed band bearing the device and inscription of the seal; one or two such seals have been found in Mohenjo Daro, but with devices of the Harappi type. Over g,ooo seals have been discoveredin the Indus

90

THE woNDERTHAT w^s TNDTA

P R E H I S T o R Y :T H E H A R A P P i C U L T U R EA N D T H E i n v e x r tt

cities, and it would seem that every important citizen possessed one. Their primary purpose was probably to mark the ownership of property, but they doubtless also served as amulets, and were regularly carried on the persons of their owners. Generally they depict animals, such as the bull, buffalo, goat, tiger and elephant, or what appear to be scenes from religious legend. Their brief inscriptions, never of more than twenty symbols and usually of not more than ten, are the only significant examples of the Harappa script to have survived. This script had some Z7o characters, which were evidently picto graphic in origin, but which had an ideographic or syllabic character. It nray have been inspired by the earliest Sumerian script, rvhich probably artedates it slightl_y, but it bears little resemblance to any of the scripts of the ancient ll{iddle East, though attempts have been made to connect it with one or other of them. The most striking similarities are with the synrbols used until comparatively recent times by the natives of Easter Island, in the eastern Pacificr3 but the distance in space and time between the two cultures is so great that there is scarcely any possibility of contact or influence. We do not know what writing media were used, though il has been suggested that a small pot found at the lesser site of Chanhu Daro is an inkwell. Certainly the Harappans did not inscribe their documents on clay tablets, or some of these would have been found in the rernains of their cities. They were not on the whole an artistic people. No doubt they had a literature, with religious epics similar to those of Sumer and Babylon, but these are forever lost to us. The inner walls of their houses were coated with mud plaster, but if any paintings were made on these walls all trace of them has vanished. The outer walls, facing the streets, u'ere apparently of plain brick. Architecture was austerely utilitarian, a few examples of simple decorative brickwork being tl.e only ornamentation so far discovered. No trace of monurnental sculpture has been found anywhere in the remains, and if any of the larger buildings were temples they contained no large icons, unless these rvere made of wood or other perishable material. But if the llarappi folk could not produce works of art on a Iarge scale they excelled in those of small compass. Their most notable artistic achievement was perhaps in their seal engravings, especially those of animals, which they delineated with powerful realism and evident affection. The great urus bull with its many dewlaps, the rhinoceros with knobbly armoured hide, the tiger roaring fiercely, and the many other aninrals (pl. V) are the-wc,rk of lraftsmen who studied their subiectsand loved them.

Equally interesting are some of the human figurines. The red ,rndston6 torso of iman (pl. IVa) is particulaily impressive for irs realism. The modelling of the rather heavy abdomenseemsto krok forward to the style of later Indian sculpture,and it has even lrcensuggestedthat this figurine is a product of much later times, found its way into the lower stratum; t*lriclrbyiome strangeaccident but this is very unlikely, for the figure has certain features,notablywhich cannotbe explained rhe strangeinientationi on the shoulders, on this liypothesis. The bust of another male figure, in steatite (pl. III),-ieems to show an attemPtat Portraiture. It has been rugg"rt"a that the headis that ofa priest, with his eyeshalfclosed-in m""iit^tion, but it is possiblethat he is a man of Mongolian type,.for of this type in the Indus Valley, at least sporadically, the presence l,as teen proved by the discoveryof a single skull at Mohenjo Daro. girl" the bronze-"dancing Ivlost siriking ofthe figurinesis perhaps Niked but-for a necklace and a series of bangles (pl. Va). coiffure, in a complicated almost io'rreringone arm' her hair dressed standingin a provocativeposture,with one arm on her hip and one lanky leg half bent, this young woman has an air of lively Pertn-e-ss' quite unlike anything in the work of other ancientcivilizations. Her tirin boyish figure, and those of the uninspiring mother goddesses' indicate, incidintally, that the canons of female beauty among the peopleweie very differentfrom thoseoflater India. It has HarappE ;'dancing girl" is a rePresentative of a class beenilggestid that this in conternporary of temple dancersand prostitutes, such as e:6isted Middl; Eastern civilizationsand were.ar imPortant feature of later Hindu culture, but this cannot be proved. It is not certain that the girl is a dancer,much less a temple dancer. " The HarappE people made brilliantly naturalistic models of animals, specially charming being the tiny monkeys and squirrels used be"ds- (pl. IVa). {or their children t!1e-ylade as pinheads "nd heads,model monkeys which would slide down catile with movable a string, little toy carts' ard whistles shapedlike birds, all of terracotta. They also made rough terracotta statuettes of women, usually nakid or nearly naked, but witl elaborate head-dresses and are probably icons.ofthe-Mother Goddess, (fig. ii, c); thesea,re home. every nearly kept in been have seem to they that iolu*.tout They are very crudely fashioned,so we must assulnethat the goddess who commandedthe services was not favoured by the upper classes, but that her effigies were mass produced by of the best crafts,n-en, humblepotters to meet popular demand. Though they had not completely given up the use of stone tools the Harippi people used impiements of coPPerand bronze; but in

92

THE WONDER THA? WAS INDIA

ANDTHEinv,rxl rsr ganapPi cuLTuRE PREHTsToRY:

2s

many respectsthey were technologicallybackward in comparisonwi& Mesopotamia. The Sumerians vJry e"rly inventedk"i";, ;Jrp.;; heads with ri bsin the middlefo. e*t.u ,tre.igth, and u*"h"ua, *ith ioier for the shafts; but the bladesof Harappi"wereffat and easilv beni while the axeheads had to be lashedto their handles;,;iu-i" ;il";; firost levels do we find tools of a better type, which ;;.; o;;;;i, feft by invaders. In one respect the Harapia i"ople *;;;;;hr;ii; in advanceof their contemporaries-they f,u'ai*ir.J ;:;;;ii undulating teeth, which allowed the dusi to escape fr""ly from the cut, and much_ simplified the carpenter,stask. From th'is *u ,", assume that thev had particulai skill in carpentry, il"y;;: beautifulbeadsoisemi-pieciousstonesand faience, and their pottervrnougn mostty plain and uninteresting,wat well mod." _d r f# specinrens are delicately painted (fig.'iv).

!ig. lvrpainted pottery of tbe Harapptr Culture The men wore robes which Ieft one shoulder bare, and the gar_ mentsof the upper classes were often richly patterned. Beardsriere wom, and men and wom_en alike had long hair. The eraborat"t."adressesof the Mother Goddessfgureslrobabry had trr"ii parts in the festiveattire of the ricf,er *-n.n. ".""i"ibrr. g"JJ"r..rli; vrear only very short skirts, but on one seal women,"perhaps pri"ri esses,are depicted with longer skirts, reaching to ju.t U"fJ* ino knee. The coiffuresor the *6men ;;;; ;f;'"fiu"rJr", ,"j were alsopopular, as in presentday India. women.loved fig,"ii, iewellerv-

^1".1:y !1_c]:" rrs "ckiuc.;; knowledfe, tar as "*"1: we can reconstructit from our fragmentary the religion of the Harappi people h.l .;;; leatures suggesting those characteristics of laier tiinaui..n *rri"t .r" not to be found in t}e earliest stratum of Indian religious liteiature. The -r;;;; Mother Goddess_, for instance, r:-ap-pe1r: o"nty tte tupse of thousandyears from the fali'of Haraf,pa. " "ft w" r,"u.i ,""i'tr,"i-rr,"

-1

in profus ion,Iurge n

;; ;;;".'#:

seemto wasevidentlythe diviniry of the people,and the upperclasses havepreferreda god, who also shorvsfeaturesfound in later Hinduwhich may represent isrn. As well as the figurinesalreadymentioned, divinities. there are a few in terracotta of beardednude men with coiled hair; their posture, rigidly upright, with the legs slightly apart, and the arms held parallel to the sides of the body but not touching it, closely resemblesthe stancecalled by the Jainas,ta]ofsarga, in which meditating teachers were often portrayed in later tiures; the repetition of this figure, in exactly the same posture, would suggest that he was a god. A terracotta mask of a horned deity has also beenfound. The most striking deity of the Harappi culture is the homed god He is depicted on three specimens,in two of the seals (pl. V). seated on a stool or small dais, and in the third on the ground; in all three his posture is one well known to later Indian holy men, the two heels touching, with the legs drawn up close to the body and 'Westemer without much a position quite impossibleto the average practice. The god's body is nude, except for many banglesand what consisting and he wears a peculiar headdress, appearto be necklaces, of a pair of horns, which may have beenthought of as growing from his head, with a plant-like object between tlrem. On the largest of the seals he is surrounded by four wild animals, an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros and a buffalo, and beneathhis stool are two deer, of the Buddhapreachinghis first sermonin as in the representations the Deer-Park at Vdr54asi. The animals,the plant-like growth from the head, and the fact that he is ithyphallic, indicate that he is a fertility god. His face has a fierce tigerish aspect,and one authority has suggestedthat it is not meant to be human;a to the right and which were believedby Sir left of the head are small protuberances John Marshall to represent a secondand third face on either side. Marshall boldly called this god " Proto-Siva", and the name has been certainly the horned god has much in common generally accepted; with the Siva of later Hinduism, who is, in his most important aspect,a fertility deity, is known as Palupatir "the Lord of Beasts", depicted with threefaces. and is sometimes Animals played a big part in the religion of the Indus people. Though all the animals shown on the seals may not have been particularly sacred, the bull occurs in contexts which prove that he at least was so; on many sealshe standsbefore a peculiar object which is evidentlynot a manger,and has no utilitarian purpose,but is a "cult object", probably a table on which com was grown for fertility rites.6 On some sealssmall lines emerge from the table, which may represent the growing corn, no doubt eaten by the sacred bull as

pnt:nlsroRy: THe Haneppi cULTURE aND TnE inyrxs

9* THE WONDER THAT WAS INDIA

gs

part of the ceremony. The bull is usually depicted with a sinsle horn' and hassometimes beenreferredto as a unicorn,though therJ ir Iittle doubt that the artist was trying to portray a norrnal b"ull, whose second horn was concealed b-ythJfirsi. In-Ilinduism the bull is specially associated with the god si'a, but he doesnot seemto have beenconnected with the "proto-Si'a,'of llarappi, for he is not among the animals surrounrJingthe god on the iimous se"l. The horns of the "Proto-siva" areiot triose of an ox but of a buffalo. The cow, so reveredin later llinduism, is nowhereclepicted. certain trees were sacred, as they are in l{induism iodav. notablv the.fifal,. which is speciallyhonoured by Buddhists ,t" .p*i"', ", underwhichthe Buddha found-enligrrtenment. _one'e.y interesting seal (pl. Ve) depicts a horned goddess in a pipal tree, worshippei by a figure also u.earinghoms, with a human-headecl goat *"t"hinu the ceremony and a row of seven pigtailed wom-en,probabl! priestesses, in attendance. one of the few tracesof Sumeriancontact is to be found in the seal showing a h9ry grappling with two tigers (pl. V/) _; ;";i;; of a famous Mesopotamianmotif in which the herl'Gilgamesh ir depicted as fighting two lions. The rotund faceof the her?, and thi peculiartreatmentofhis hair, suggestthat he represents the sun, and t hat, th,e. ni ght-prowling ti gers ari-the powers of d arkness. _ -r'halrrc worship !v'asan irnportant element of Harappi relision. Many cone-shaped objects hive been found, wrrich tairily formalized of the phallus. "r"'ul.,o.t'""iThe lifiga or -representations phallicemblemin later Hinduismis the symLorof the god sivi who is more commonlyworshippedthus than as an icon; itls a fair infertheseo.bjects were connected with the ithyphalli. ..p;;;o:l"".lh"j Siva" of the seals. It has been suggestedthat ceitain larse rinsshaped stonesare formalizedrepreseiiations of the t"r"tu g"?.*ti?u grCg-Td were symbols of the Mother Goddess,but thTsis mosr doubtful. Until Sir Mortimer Wheeler's rvork at Harappi in 1946nothing was known with certainty of the u.ay in which tfresepeople di;;;A of their dead; but from a c"metery then discover"d', least57 graves' it appears "t that buriil was the usualrite."ont"ini.,g The wEole cemetery has not been excavated and the evidence is not vet fully assessed, but it is clear that the dead were buried in an Jxtenaj po:!!-re with pottery vesselsand personal ornaments. rrere the-people rvho built this great civilization? Some . Yhq Indian historianshave tried to prove that ih"y *"r. tr," Aiy"ni-iiro people. who -composedthe f;g Veda, but this is quite #p;r;ibi". Frorn the skeletal remainsso iir examineciit appearsthat some oitire

ilrr;rPPans u'ere people of the long-headed, narrow-nosed, slender \l.ditcrra'ean type, found ail over the ancient Middle East and in l g,r'pt, and forming an important element of the Indian population .rr tlre,present day. A second element was the proto-Auitraloid, r'ith flat nose and thick lips, related to the Australian aborigines .rrrtlto some of the wild hill-tribes of modern India. A single-skull ,,1 Mongolian type has been found, and one of tlre shoirheaded Alpine tvpe. The bearded steatite head to which we have referred slrows elements of both the latter, types, while the bronze dancing girl seems certainly Proto-Australoid. Then as now, N.-W. Indii was the nreeting-place of many races. The modern South Indian is usually a blend of Mediterranean and I)roto-Australoid, the two chief ethnic factors in the Harappi culture; rnoreover the Harappd religion seems to show many similarities with those elements of Hinduism which are specially popular in the Dravidian cor.mtry. In the hills of BalUchistan, where the people of the Nel and Zhob Cultures built their little villages, the Brihuis, though cthnically now predominantly lranian, speak a Dravidian language. 'l'hus it has been suggested that the Harappi folk were Dravidiais, and Father H, Heras, one of the authorities who have tried to read their script, has even claimed that their language was a verJr primitive form of Tamil. It rnight be suggested that the Harappi people consisted of e Proto-Australoid element, which at one time may have covered the whole of India, overlaid by a Mediterranean one, which entered India at a very early period, bringing with it the elements of civilization. I.ater, under the pressure of further invasions, this Mediterranean element spread throughout the sub<ontinent, and, again mixing with the indigenous peoples, formed the Dravidians. The chiel objection to this theory is that the megaliths erected by the early Dravidians in South India have been shown to be not very ancienf; a recent theory even holds that the Dravidians came to India from the west by sea as late as the second half of the lst millennium s.c.o We can only say with certainty that some of the inhabitants of the indus cities were of a type widely found further to the west, and that their descendantsmust survive in the present-day population of India. It does not follow that the rest of India was wholly ignorant of the Harappi culture. Certain finds of copper implements in the <listrict of Rinchi (S. Biher) and elsewhere suggest that the peopler of North India learnt the use of metal from Harappi, for the blades are without the strengthening midrib; but the dating of these objects is very uncertain, and they may be much later than the fall of Harappi. Certain pre-Ayran sites in the western half of northern India also

26

THE WoNDER THAT WAS INDIA

p n E n r s r o n y : T H E H A R A p p I C U L T U R EA N D T H E i n y a x r THE END OF THE INDUS CITIES

97

give evidence of Harappin cultural influence on peoples at a lower cultural level. Material from placessuchas Hastindpura,Kaudinrbi and the very recently excavatedAtranji Kheri near Aligarh, together with Deccansiteslike Navdato[ and Nevisl, show that by the end of tire cnd millennium n.c. there were many settlementslvhose ir> knowing the use conditions, comfortable habitantslived in reasonably of metal. They were apparentlyilliterate, but far from barbarous, and as our picture of prehistoric India grows more accurateit becomes clear that, even outside the region of the l{arappd.culture, degree had attaineda considerable many peoplesin the sub-continent of cultural progress. Even as far east as Bengal there was at least one metal-using settlementin the 2nd millennium-this was at a placenow called PdnduRijar Dhibi, where a seal and pottery have beenfound somewhatresemblingthoseof Minoan Crete, though we cannot be sure that this indicatesactual contact. This latter site seemsto indicatetwo strata of the population-a comparatil'elycultured, metal-usingelementliving by the side of anotherwhich was still using microliths. The picture of prehistoric India beyond the clearer,and in time region of the Harappi culture is rapidly becoming it may be possibleto trace in broad outline the movementsof early peoples throughout the subcontinent, and solve many problems at present very obscure. - 'Whatever the casemay be, pre-Aryan India madecertain advances in husbandryfor which the whole world owes her a debt. Cotton u'as to the best of our knowledgefirst used by the Harappi people. Rice was not one of their staplecrops,nor was it grown in neolithic China, whose main food crop was millet. Wild rice is known in Valley, that it Eastern India, and it is here, in the swampy Gangd. of the was probably first cultivated by the neolithic contemporaries Harappi people. The water buffalo,known to the Harappi people, was a comparativelylate arival in China, and it may have beenfirst in the GangeticPlain, though some authoritiesbelieve domesticated that it originated in the Philippine Islands. of prehistoricIndia's gifts to Perhapsthe most widely appreciated the world is the domesticfowl. Omithologists are agreed that all domesticspeciesdescendfrom the wild Indian jungle fowl' The Harappi peopleknew the domesticfowl, though its remainsare few rnd it is not depictedon the seals. It was probably first tamed by neolithic Indians in the Ganga Valley, whenceit found its way by in the middle of the end the Burma route to China,where it appears rnillennium. The Egyptians knew it at about the same time, as a rare luxury bird,? Clearly India, even at this remote period, was not whollv cut offfrom the rest of the world.

When Harappi was first built the citadel was defendedby a great tureted wall, 4.ofeet wide at the baseand si feet high. In the course of the centuries this wall was refaced more strongly than before, though there is no evidencethat the city was dangerbuslythreatened by enemies. But towards the end of Harapp6's existenceits defences were further strengthened, and one gateway was wholly blocked. Danger threatenedfrom the west. First to suffer were the Ballchistin villages. T-heearliestlevel of the site of Rdni Ghundii shows that bandi of horse-riding invaderc were present in the region before JOOO u.c., but they soon disap. peared, to give way to tlre peasantculture which occupiedthe site in the 3rd millennium and was contemporarywith the Indus cities. Then, in 2ooo B.c. or a little later, the village was bumt, and a new, coarsertype ofpottery appears---videntlyinvaders had occupiedthe site. Soonafterwardscameother invaders,using unpaintedencrusted pcttery. Similar though less complete evidence appears in other North Balochistdnsites, while in South Bahchistan people of an intnr sive culture founded a settlement at Shahi Tump, not far from Sutkagen Dor, which was the most westerly outpost of the HarappECulture. The Shahi Tump people used the shaft-hole axe and round copper seals,and replacedthe earlier local culture, known to archaologists ar the Kulli Culture. In the last phaseof the life of Mohenjo Daro painted pottery and stone vessels resembling those of Balflchistin and this may indicate a large influx of t(ulli ysfugges,wtls lppear, brought their crafts with them. After the barbarianshad conqueredthe outlyingvillages the ancient Iaws and rigid organizationof the Indus ciiies-must-havesuffered great strain. At Mohenjo Daro large rooms were divided into smaller ones, and mansions becametenements; potters' kilns were built within the city boundaries,and one even in the middle of a street The street plan was no longer maintained. Hoards of jewellery were buried. Evidently the city was overpopulated and law and order were less well kepf, perhaps because tle barbarians were already.ranging the provincesand the city was full of newcomers, whom the city fathers could not force into'the age-old pattem of its culture, very frequent flooding much worsenedthe situation. When the end came it would seem that most of the citizens of IrfohenjoDaro had fled; but a group ofhuddledskeletons in one ofthe housesand one skeletonof iwoman lying on the steps of a well suggest that a few stragglers were overtakenby the invaders. In this level a fine copper axe has been found, with a very strong

'E

THE woNDEn Ttt T w^s INDTA

pRErrrsroRy: AND Tl{E iRYANS tttp n.rnappi cULTURE

ln

slrafthole and an adzebladeoppositethat of the axe-a beautifultool, adaptedboth for war andpeaiC,_and superior to anything the Harappi p,eoplepossessed(fiS. Swordj with stre-ngthe"ning mi,iiifr "). also make their appearance. A single pot burial o] a mari of rather Mongolian type may be that of one 6f the invaders. F"gT Harappi comes evidenceof a different kind. Here, near . the older cemeter,y of interments, is another cemetery on high", " Ievel, containingfractionalburials in pots of men with short-heided Armenoid skulls. A skull of similar tyoe was buried in the citadel itself. At Chanhu Daro, on the lowei Indus, the Harappi people were replaced. by squatters,living in small huts with fr..iIr""r, rnnovatlonswhich suggest that they came from a colder climate. lnese people,though unsophisticated in many respects, had superior

Fig. v.-Axes of the Indus Cities a. Inscribed unsocketed axe-head. b. Shaft_holeaxe-adze

tools andweapons. similar settlements were madein Bal[chistdnat about the same time. Among the scantyremainsof thesei"u.J"r. there is clean evidence of the presence of the horse. Th" ilJ;; valley fell to barbarian-s who tiiumphed not only through g.;;t* military prowers, but also because they were equipped#ith'b.tt", weapons' and had learnt to make full use of thl iwift and terrorstriking beast of the steppes, In other parts of India, horvev"., ih. impactof the invadersvras not imrnediateiy felt, and it appears thai the its parent {T"l.na_"1tt of Lothal, in Gujarit, survived long "iter g."du"ilt, cities had fallen, and its culture seemsto have derllop"a merging into tl-rat of the later period with no sharp'breal ir, tinuity. "oi_ O"r: of thesegreateventscanonly be fixed very approximately ._Ih. rrom s}'ncnronlsms with the Middle East. sporadictracesof contait can be found between the Indus cities and Sumeria, and there is somereasonto believe that this contact continued under the First Dynasty of Babylon,which producedthe great lawgiver Hammurabi. This dynasty was also overwhelmed b| barbariins, the Kassites, who came from the hills of Iran and c6nqueredby virtue of theii horse{rawn chariots. After tbe Kassite invasion no trace of contact with the Indus can be found in Mesopotamia,and it is therefore

lrhclv that the Indus cities vanished at about the sanre time as the dr rrastl' of Hammurabi. Earlier authorities placed the latter event in tlrl first centuriesof the znd millerurium u.c., but new evidence,which a1,1x.arcd shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, has r, srrltcd in a revised chronology. The fall of the First Babvlonian I )ynasty is now thought to have taken place about 1600 B.c. 'I'he earliest Indian literary source we possess is the flg Ycda, rrurst of which was composed in the secondhalf of the 9nd millennium. It is evidently the work of an invading people, who have not yet fully sutrjugated the original inhabitants of N.-W. lndia. In his great rcport on the excavations at Mohenjo Daro, Sir John Marshall rrraintained that some two centuries or more elapsed between the fall of the Indus cities and the invasion of tlre Aryans; but the more r(rent excavations at Harappd and elsewhere, the revision of the clrronology of Babylon, and indications in the fr.g Veda itself, have all Many competent authorities, led by tended to reduce the gap. Sir R. Mortimer Wheeler, now believe that Hanappi, was overthrown by the Aryans. It is suggested that the interments in the later cemetery at Harappi are those of "true Vedic Aryans", and that the forts or citadels which the Vedic war-god Indra is said to lrave destroyed included Harappi in their number. There is not enough evidence to say with certainty that the destroyers of the Indus cities were members of the group of related tribes whose priests composed the 4g Ycda, but it is probable that the fall of this great civilization was partly due to the widespread nrigratory movements of charioteering peoples which altered the face of the whole civilized world in tire gnd nrillennium s.c.

INDo-EURoPEANs

AND

iRYANS

The invaders of India called themselvesiryas, a word generally anglicizedinto Aryans. The name was also used by the ancient Persians,and survives in the word lra-2, while Eire, the name of the most westerly land reached by Indo-European peoples in ancient times, is also cognate. Here we cannot discussthe many theories on the origin of thesepeople,but can only give that which seemsto us most reasonable,and which, rve believe, would be acceptedby a majority of thosewho specialize in the subject. About 2ooOD.c. the great steppelandwhich stretchesfrom Poland to Central Asia was inhabited by semi-nomadicbarbarians,who were tall, comparatively fair, and mostly long-headed.They had tamedthe horse, which they harnessed to light chariotswith spoked wheels,of a much faster and better t)pe than the lumbering aso{nwn

to

THE WONDER

THAT

WAS INDIA

settledtheir original languagegradually.adap_tea itself torffi;;.: *Soime peoples. invided Luropu, to become the -ol-S: 'Teutons.---Oifr..i "onqyered ancestors of the Gree!t1, Latins, Celts and appearedin Anatolia, and from the mixture of tn"r" *itji ;: .;;;i inhabitantsthere arose grea1"-;l;;;ii* Hittites. H;iil; $e remained in their ord hom-e, the ancestors of the r"tl" n"r,L"*i Slavonicpeople. And yet otfr"r, rn"""a-Jo-u,t *".a, to the Caucasur and the Irairian tableland, whence tr,.y ,'"a-u many attacks on the Middle Eastern civilizati ons. p g n"riit"r, *fr. Iriq;"..ii ji, Jf were led by men of this stock. ln tt,u r+* .".rrrry r.". thereappeared

andtheirhorses andchariotJ.in .nort.iir," l""iirr'*il'.n"r"r*"

cars with four solid wheels which were the best means of transport to conremporary Sumer. They-were m;i;ly"p;,;;i;"br, Fry practiseda little acriculture. T'ere is"no eviclence ,fi",',f,uj *J..'i, direct contactwith"the Sumerians,urf trr"yi"a adoptedsome Mesopotamian innovations, notably.ihe snart"-hore axi. r. ir,"-"".r, part of the cnd millennium, whether f."rn-p."r..*".-i'p;il;il, desiccationof pasture lands, or r.or,. uoin causes.these nennlo were on the move.. They migrated in bands :;i; wards and eastwards, *qu"rlng ""r,*.ra., lo.a1 poprlu,lrnr, *j irri"r_ with them to^ form ,ili.,g clais.- They Lrougt t-r-iit, *arrli1g. them. their patrili'ear family systemjtheir " worshi"p .i;il--;:'

rxa Hlnrrri tREHIsroRv:

ANDTtrEinvaxs cuLTUBE

tl

of llarappd and Mohenjo Daro the Panjib and Sind becamea land .t little iillages, wit6 buildingsof rvood and reed the remainsof llri,h have io.,g si.,ce perisf,ed. For centuries after the fall of I l:rrrppa this par-iof Indii is almost an archeologicalblank,which at prcsent can oniy be filled by literary squrces. rrtB iny,rNs lN tND!^, T H E P R o T o - H r s r o R l cP E R I o D

ilJl';i; ill:-u. and a few names' of whosegods are famiriarto everystudent of Indian religion: Indara, Urwna'(the g.j"Varuna), Mitira, and .V9J1" Nalatiya, As well as rhose'of the tvrita.fini oif,". ifrilf, in $;i";; "' Palestinehad names of Indo_Irani; ;;":"' The maraudins tribesmengruar"lli'mlrged with the older Dopu_ lations of the Miadle East, and the ancienicivilizations, invieoraied by fresh blood and ideas,rose to new heightsof ma,;;;i:;i;?;; b_; the culture of the Indus,weakened by d;;;;;; floods,could neither withstandnor absorbthe invaders. f''l which was to succeed that. of HarappE was, as we shall s"", aiomeirically "rir*. opposed to itr predecessor' onlv after.many centuries did some erementsof the older civitization,tept a"-uit ,h;;;... peopleand serfa. it_,J1$ begin to_influence the conquerors. The Aryan invasionof tnaia was not a singleconcerted action,but centuries and involvin g rn*f i.i u"r, p"rh"p;' ;;,. ;i 11.". l"-r_".ins the ol samerace and language. It seems tr,.t i"".y..r;;"i; village cultures of the wlstim hills we.e""itui., deriroy"a_U"fore the cities of the Indus vanished.but oth_erwis" th" ;;;;; of Aryan expansion c.ann-ot be plotted, owing to ,-h; p;il remains. Evi<ientiythe invadersdid not take to rivins"?i".i".i"r in cities, and after the fal

Syriaa people called Mitanni, -r,"r" tiig, il

Amongthemanypeoples.lvhoenteredlndiaintheendmillennium t... ',r'"ri gtorp of ielaied tribes whosepriests had perfected1 veryof p"oetictechnique,which they used for the compositio.n etlvanced hynrnsin iraise of tlreir gods, to be sung at sacrifices' These tribes, .t,i.f of *i,i.h was that oTthe Bharatas,iettledmainly in East Panjab and in the region betrveenthe Satlaj.and the Yamund which later becameknowi as Brahmivarta. The hymns composed by their priests in their new home were carefully handeddown by word of l'routh, and early in the lst millerurium B'c' were collected and arranged. They were still not committed to writing, but by now rhey iere lookei on as so sacredthat even minor alterationsin their lexi were not permitted, and the priestly-schoolswhich preserved them devised tie most remarkable and effective system of checksand counter checksto ensure their purity' Even when the art of were rarely written, writing rvas widely known in India the hyrnns. of but, thanks to the brilliant feats of memory of many generations were. thought the.hyrnns rvhich and to'the extrelne sanctity brehma4s, in a form which' from io po.."rr, they havesurvived to the presentda-y with tampe.red not to have been seriously. internal evidence,aPpears hymns is of collection great This fo, n"-ly th."" il.,ou."nd years. y'eda, sacred numerous the of sacied most the in theory still ih" ft of thc Hindus. texts -a sort of 1.ir" p"tioa of the Vedas, Brihmanas and .Upanigads -is from trun.itii., from prehistory to listory' If history, as.distinct sources' lvrltten past from huntan the of archeology, is the study thun In.tll;" history b"git.tsrvith the Aryuls'- 1!" Bg (e(a' ydlhe g.;uiboAy of orui relfious literaturewhichJollowedit in the first tradition. f;"ii ol tl,J r.t millenniim n.c.,belongto tlre living Hindu funerals' and weddings it recited are still hynrns Vedic ilre ^and are Part ol in the daily devotions of the !rihma4' Tlrus they past' preSistoric t,irtori."t India, and do not belong to her buried except nut tt,"y tell us little about the-great events of the time' conditions social on even refirences; incidental ir', ir.i,.iingly vague his' their inforirition is scant; only on religion and thougSt is the torian more fullY informed.

92

THE woNDER THAT wAs INDIA

PnEHtsroRY: THE HARAPPi CULTURE AND THE ARYANs 53

Atharua yedas, the sacrificid, - Yet from the hymns of the f;g and, instructionsof the Brihma4as,an,l the nrysticisrn of ihe UpaniEads, the outlines of a culture emjrge, though often all t"o u"gu.lyi and here and there we see the faint wiaiths of great .ug"i *j tribal leaders,whoseimportancefor their times wai such tliat their names were recorded in sacred literature. Around these phantonrs later tradition draped glittering mantlesof legend,tegena in which many Indians still implicitly-believe, and ivhich, ii other contexts,is exceedinglyimportant. But when the mantles are re_ moved orrly vague shadowsremain, little more than the names of chieftains who three thousand years ago waged successful war againsttheir enemies. For the period beforethJ time of the Buddha we can only trace the general character of the civilization which producedthe Vedic literature and give a brief and tentative sketcl of its expansion. THE CULTURE OF THE NG YEDI No real synchronismsare contained in the fig lleda itselll to give us _anl certain-informationon the date of its-composition. $me authoritiesin the past ciaimed an exceedinglyearly date for it, on the basisof tradition and arnbiguousastronomical ieferences in the hymns themselves-it was even believed by - one very respected lndian scholarthat it went back to 6000 s.c. The discovervof the Induscities,which havenothing in commonwith the culturedescribed in the Veda and are evidently prb-Vedic, proves that the hy...r have beencomposedbefore the end of HarappE.The great :"""gt d-evelopment in culture, religion and language which is evideit in the later Vedic literature showsthat a long peliod must have elapsed between the time of the composition of the last hymnsof the pg i/eda and the days.of the Buddha-perhaps as much is 5oo years. It ir thereforeprobablethat most of the Ilg yeda wascomposed between lSoo and looo 8.c., though the compositionof some of the most recent hymns and the collation of thi rvhole collection mav have taken placea century or two later. When the hymns w_e_re written the focus of Aryan culture was thc region between the Yamund and Satlaj (Sutidrt), south of ths modern Ambili, and along the upper course of the river Sarasvati. The latter river is now an insignificant stream, losing itself in the.desert of Rajasthnn,but it then flowed broad and sirong, and probably joined the Ind.usbelow the confluenceof the Satlaj.- The Vedic poets knew the Himilayas but not the land south-of the Yamuni, and they did not mention the Vindhyas. To the east the

t d'
i

Aryans had not expanded far beyond the Yamuni, and the Ganga is mentionedonly in one late hY*.. the indigenour At this time the Aryans had not wholly subjugated between one battles to refer hymns inhabitants. Though many Aryan tribe and an;ther, thereis, underlying this intertribal rivalry, evidentlyrepreandDasyus.,rvho sirrr" of solidarityagainstthe D,i'sas " peoplesof the kindred and culture, }larappi sent the survivors-of-the as dark and Panjaband the North-west. The Disas are described andof phallus, the of worshippers bull-lipped,snuLnosed, ill-favoured, hostilespeech. T'heywere rich in cattle,anddwelt in fortified places hundreds' Indra had destroyed ptr, of which the Ar,ran war-godcalled had been Disas the of Jettlements the The main work of destroying accomplishedsome time bef6re the composition of the hymn-s,and the great battles which must then have taken place-were-already were still capableof massing misied over with legend; but the DEsas armiesof lo,ooo men againstthe invaders. ar of thehryans were the Panis,who are described Otherenemies vealthy peogle who refused to patronize the Vedic priests, and who stole tfre'catileof the Aryans' They were not so strongly hated ar the Disas, and their setilementsseem often to have continuedunthat the Pa4iswere semitic traders, molested. It hasbeensuggested is so sliq[t-that this conclusioncannot be accepted. but the eviderrce were not"uninfluerrcedby the earlier inhabitants. In Aryans The classicalSanskrit the word diisa regularly means "slave" or "bondman", and in the later hymns of thJf;g l/edait was alreadyacquiringthat meaning, while the feminine foim dnsi is used in the senseof "slave-girl""ihroughout the book; but, though many of the vanmu.Ihu.r" beenenslaved'some seemto have come to quished-Disas terms with the conquerors, and one Ddsa chief is mentioned as following Aty* *ays and patrorrizingthe brihma4s'8 One result of this cJntaci of Aryan and non-Aryan is evidenteven in the earliest stratum of the 4[ fcda, the language of which is appreciably affected by non-In-do-Europeaninfluences. All Indian languages, from Vedic to the modern vernaculars,contain a series of sounds, the retroflex or cerebral consonants,which cannot be traced in any other Indo-European tongues, not even in old lianian, which ir aosety akin to Sanskrit. these soundsmust have developedquickly, "the efforts of non-Aryans to master the language -of their from conquerors. No doubt the invaders often married indigenous l"o-"n, whose children were bilingual, and after a few generations the Aryans' original language shoived the effect of the admixture of aboriginal blooa. N"umIrous words in the [g Ycda all nlt corurectel with any known Indo-European roots, and were evidently

tt

THE lilONDER

THAT

WAS INDIA

THE HARJTPPI CULTURE AND'THE iNYAXT PREHTSTORY:

S6

borrowed from the natives. Non-Aryan influence on religion and culture must also have been felt very early, and the gradual disappearance of much of the_originalIndo-Europeanheritage beneath suocessive layers of non-Aryan innovation carr be traced through the early religious literature of India. The primitivenessof early Aryan societywas much exaggerated by some lgth{entury Indologists, who thought they found in the highly formalized and rigidly controlled style of the Sg Yedathe first outpourings of the human spirit and an echo of Rousseau'snoble savage. In fact even when the earliest hymns were composed the ArSrans'were not savages, but were on the fringes of civilization. Their military technique was in advance of that of the Middle East, their priestly schoolshad raised the tribal sacrifieeto a fine art, and their poetry was elaborate and formalized. On the other hand they had not developeda city civilization. The complete absence of any words connectedwith writing in the .Sg Vcda, despite its size and the many contexts in which suchwords might be expected to o@ur, is almost certain proof that the fuyans were illiterate. They were a people of warlike stockbreeders,organized in tribes rather than in kingdoms. Their culture bears a generic likeness to that of Beoutulf, the earlier Icelandic sagas, and the old Irish prose epics,and was somewhatlessadvanced than that depictedin the lliadThe tlibes were ruled by chiefs who bore the title rdjd, a word, related to the Latin re.c. The.rijd was not an absolutemonarch, for the governmentof the tribe was in part the responsibilityof the tribal councils,the sabi.aand, samiti. These two words occur together in many contexts and the distinction between them is not wholly clear-possibly some tribes called their goveming body sabha and otherssamiti, while yet others had both assemblies, the first an irurer council of a few great men of the tribe and the seconda larger gathering of headsof families.s These two bodiesexerted much influence on the king:urd their approvalwas necessary to ensurehis accession. Sometribes seemto have had no hereditarychief, but weregoverned directly by the tribal council, for in one passagelowe read of kings sitting down together in the assembly,which suggeststhat, as in some later oligarchic clans, the title of raji was taken by all the great men of the tribe, who governed it through a folk-moot. But hereditary kingship was the rule, and the rijd, dwelling in a fine hall, had a rudimentary court, attendedby courtiers (sabhAsad) and chiefsofsepts (grAna7i), Already he had a general (scanni)t who was responsible under the king for minor campaignsand cattleraids against neighbouring tribes. Very important was the chief piest (fvohilc), who by his racrifloe! encuredthe prosperity of the

ar tribe in peaceand its victory in war. Often the purohita aPPears performing magicalceremonies and muttering a tribal medicine-man, spellsfor victory both beforeand during battle. The Aryans looked on the king primarily as a leader in war, divine of the tribe. He was in no sense for the defence responsible at this early period, and had no religious functions,excePtto order for the good of the tribe and to supportthe priestswho persacrifices formed them. The priest-king of some other early cultures had no in Vedic India. There wasno regular revenuesystemand counterpart and the booty the king rvasmaintainedby the tribute of his subjects lvon in battle. If the king had judicial functions,as he certainly lrad to them; murder was probably punished Iater, t]rere is no reference by a system of wergeld, as with the AngloSaxons and some other peoples,but beyondthis we have no informaearly Indo-Europe;rn tion on the administrationof justice in the tirne of t\e fig lcda. chieftains are mentionedby name,and aroundsomeof them Several Iater tradition has embroideredvery unreliablestories,but only one rijd is recordedin the llg Yedaas performing any deed of historical the tribe dwelling king of the Bharatas, importance. This is Sudds, on the upper reachesof the SarasvatiRiver. Three poems of the collection describe the great "Battle of the Ten Kings" at which a coalition of ten tribes of the Panjib and the North. Sudasdefeated West, on the banks of the River Parugni,the modern Rivi. The most powerful of theseten tribes was that of the P[rus, who dwelt neighbours; on the lower Sarasvatiand were thc Bharatas'western their king, Purukutsa,was apparentlykilled in the battle. In the age we hear no more of either Bharatasor Plrus, but e succeeding new tribe, that ofthe Kurus,controlsthe old land of the Bharatasand much of the northern Gangd-Yamuni. Doib. In the traditional genealogyof the Kuru chiefs both Bharataand Piiru occur as namesof and they are referredto indiscriminatelyas "sons of their ancestors, Bharata" and "sons of Plru". The two tribes no doubt merged as a result of the conquestof one by the other, and this processof fusion, whereby tribes becamepeoples and nations, must have been going on all through the Vedic period. " $7hen the Aryan'senteredInciia there was already a classdivision in their tribal strrlcture. Even in the earliest hymns we read of the *gatra, the nobility, and the zli, the ordinary tribesmen, and the peoplessuggestthat r recordsof severalother early Indo-European societyeven before was a featureof Indo-European tribal aristocracy the tribes migrated from their original home. As they settled rmong the darker aboriginalsthe Aryans seemto have laid greatr stressthan before on purity of blood, end classdivisions hardened"to

PREHTSTONY: TgE

H^R

PTi

CULTURE AND THE ;RYANS

31

56

THE woNDER THAT \,v^s TNDIA

in the world's literature, recalling the famous Passage in praise of tlre war-horse in the Book of Jo!.tr "Rushing to glory, to the caPtureof herds, swooping down as a hungrY falcon, tJb" first, he darts amid the ranks of the chariots, ""g.i happy as a bridegroom making a garland, spuming the dust and champing at the bit. "And the victorious steed and faithful, his body obedient [to his driver] in battle, speedingon through the m6le, stirs up the dust to fall on his brows. "And at his deepneigh, like the thunder of heaven, the foemen tremble in fear, and none can resist him, for he fights against thousands, so terrible is his charge."ls Though there are Passages which refer to riding, the horse -is more frequently described as the motive power of the chariot. References favourite subject for similes and metaphors-are to this vlhi"le-a so numerous that it is possible to reconstruct it in considerable detail. It was a Iight chariot with two spoked wheels, drawn by two horses yoked abreast, and carrying two warriors. " Among other domestic aiim^ls the Aryans knew the goat and the .heep, which provided wool, their chief textile. The elephant is only meniioned in late hymns, and was rarely if ever domesticated. A divine bitch, Sarami, plays an important part in a legend which cannot be fully reconstructed, but the dog did not lnean as much to the people of the- ffg Yeda as it did to a kindred Aryan pastoral people, the ancient lianians, who made it a sacred animal. Though stockbreeding receives more attention from the poets, agriculture must also hai'e been importart, but it seems to have been on as rather plebeian, and therefore was not much referred to. lo--oked word is used for corn_1aua,'which later meant barley; but at one Only this-period may have implied all species of cultivated grain. There ^.e r"f"renc"s io ploughing and reaping, and others which have been doubttully interpreted as slrowing that the Aryans knew something of irrigation. The Arytns were a wild, turbulent people and had few of the taboor of later India. They were much addicted to inebriating drinks, of which they had at liast two, soma and stad. Soma was drunk at Suri was sacrifices and its use was sanctified by religion (p. aslf).

exciude those Ddsas who bad found a place on the fringes of Aryan society' and thoseAryans who had intirmarried with tf,e Dasasand adopted their ways. Both thesegroups l'ere low in the socialscale. At the same time the priests, whose sacrificiallore was becoming more complicated, and who therefore required greate? T-o.Iu Td skill and training, were arrogating higher privileges io them"selves. By the end the $g Vedic-perioclsociity wls diviied into four great -of classes, and this fourfold division was given religious sanctionand looked on as fundamental. This is evident from one of the most ilnportant hymns of the collection, in which the four classesare said to have emanatedfrom the dismembered primeval man, who was sac-rificed by the gods at the.begiruring of tlre world (p. eaaf). priest (brdhrna7i), warrior (Igitriya),'peasnt . The four classes, (o^aitya) gd..-"r-t {trtdra), were crystallizing througlrout itie perioa 9f tfe- lg Veda. They have survived to the pilsent day. the Sanskritword used for thenr, z)arnd. meu$..colour,,, anclsuggests their origin in the development of the old tribal clasr striiture through contactwith people of different complexion and alien culture. The -r91m var4a does not nean, and has never meant, ..ceste,,, by which convenient word it is often looselytranslated(p. r+s). ba.sicunit of Aryan society was thi family. A group'of re - T!r"^ lated families formed a sept or grdna, a term which lat-er regularly rneant"village", but which inthe fi.g - Ycdausually refers to u gioup of kinsfolk rather than to a settlenrent. The fan:ilywas staunchTy pairi. linear and patriarchal. The wife, though she enjoyed a respectable position,was definitely subordinateto ller husband. Marriage was usually monogamous, ald apparentlyindissoluble,for no refirence to divorce or the remarriage of widows occurs in the flg yeda. . T{r9 fryals followed a mixea pastoral and agricultuial economy, in which c-attleplayed a predominant part. Thi farmer prayed for increase ofcattle; the warrior expectedcattle as booty; the sairificial priestwasrewardedfor his services *.ith cattle. Cattle were in fact a sort ofcurrency, and valueswere reckonedin headsofcattle, There is no evidence that they were held sacredat this time-the cow is in o"-eo: two placesgiven the epithet "not to be killed,,, but this may only imply her economicimportance. In any caseit is guite clear that both oxen and cowswere slaughtered forlood. The horse was almost as important as the cow, though mainly for military reasons. The chestnuthorsesof the Aryans, h"-"..id to light chariots,must have terrified the peopleof tlie Indus Valley, ar the horsesof the conquistadores terrified-the Aztecs and Incas.- A few hymns of the .[g Ycda accordingto the rubric. describea divine horse Dadhikrf, and contain some of tlre finest lines on the horse

38

T H E W O N D E RT H A T W A S T N D I A

PRESISTORY: THE HARAPPi CULTUNE AND THE iRYANS

J9

purely secular, and was evidently very potent; in more than els passage_itis mentioned with disapproval by the priestly poets. The Aryans loved music, and played the flute, lute and harp, to the accompanirnentof cymbals and drums. They used a heptatonic scale, sirnilar to our own major scale, which is thought by some to have originated in Sumeria and to have been spread by tlre IncloEuropean peoples. There'are references to singing and dancing, and to dancing-girls, who may have been professionaF Besides these amusements the Aryans tteliglrted in gambling. At all times India has loved to gamble. In the remaini of thJ Indus cities numerous dice have been found, and the Aryans have left tlreir own record of their gambling propensities in the beautiful .,Garuester's Lament", one of the few predominantly secular poems which by r lucky chance have found their way into the frg Yeda 1i. +osfy. Though they had not developed a city civilization, and did not build in stone or brick, the Aryans were technically weil equipped. -t-ools Their bronze-smiths were highly skilled, and produced and weapons much superior to those of the Harappi Culture. They, and the carpenters and chariot-makers, are frequently referred to in the hymns with much respect. There is no good reason to belicve that iron was used in India at this period. iyos, one of tlre terms for metal in the [g Yeda, came to mean iron at a later date, and is related to the German word Eiez and the English #oz; but it is also akin to the Latin aas,meaning bronze, and it certainly means thir metal or copper in the Ilg Yeda. No trace of iron has been found in tlre trpper levels of the remains o[ the Indu,s Culture, and at this period iron implements were rare, even in the advancedcivilizations of I\{esopotamia. Iron ore is cornrnon enough, but its snrelting dernands higher skill than the Aryans hed developed. At the tirie of the cornposition of the f;g Veda the process of srnelting iron rvas hardly krorvn outside Anatolia, u,here the Hittite kings tried to keen it a secret. Only at the very end of the gnd millennLm did the use of iron begin to spread widely over the civilized world, ancl it ir very unlikely that it reached India before this time.13 As might be expected of a people without cities, the Aryans did not have an advanced economic system. In Mesopotamia the silver shekel, though unstanrped, served as a means of exclrange, but the Aryans relied for tlrcir unit of value and means of barter on the unwieldy cow. The ni;ka, a term later used for a gold coin, is also mentioned as a sort of currency, but at this time tvas probably a gold ornament of some kind. There is no evidence of a regular class o{ merchants or moneylenders, though indebtedness is sontetimer referred to.

The religion of the early Aryans, about which we know much more than we dJ about their everydaylife and customs,will be discussed in a later chapter (p. zs+f1.
TIIE 'ATER VEDIC AGE

and the age of the Buddha, of the 4g Yeda Betweenthe composition when we begin to trace the history of India with comparativeclearelapsed. luling ness,a period_ofsome four or five hundredyea-rs this time the Aryans pushedeastwardsdown the Gangi, and their culture adapted itself to changed conditions. Recently Indian parts of a few siteswhich belongto this archaologistshaveexcavated period, such as Hastindpura,Ahicchatri and Kau$imbi, the lowest 9oo and600 B.c.t fixed at between Ievelsofwhich havebeenreasonably the time of the later Vedas.la The town of Hastin5purawas almost completelydestroyedby flood at the end of its existence,and little remainsbut sherdsof paintedgrey pottery, a few copperimplements, and traces of houses of unbaked brick. KauSimbi has produced similar pottery, a little iron, and remains of a well made city wall faced with bumt brick, but there is some disagreementamong archeologistsas to its dating. The typical pottery has beenfound from the SarasvatiValley in the west to Ahicchatri, near the upper Gangi, in the east. With these exceptionswe have scarcelyany direct knowledge of the period, and our only important sources are sacred texts, the later Vedas, Brihma4as and Upaniqads, from a religious and literary point of n'hich will bc treatedelsewhere vierv (p. 2+2ff). Besides these contemporary documents there are many legends notably in other sources, which seemto refer to this period contained of the Epicsand Purd4as;but theseare so overlaid by the accretions later centuries that no attempt at interpreting them historically and it may never be possibleto has so far won general acceptance, sift the fact from the fiction. Even the social conditionsdescribed in the narrative portions of the Epics, the stories of which may have in a primitive form at this time, do not alwaysrefer to beencomposed period betweenthe Mauryan and GuPtan this age,but to the obscure Empires. Attempts of some earliel authoritiesto create an "Epic Age " in the history of India,asdistinctfrom the ageof the later Vedas, are quite unconvincing. There was no Epic Age, and for our kno*'leogeof this period we may only rely on the literature of the period itself. This, like the flg Yeda, is wholly religious, and tells us little more than the older sourceabout the history of the time. One event, not defiaitely recorded in these contemPorarysourcee,

40

THE \I'ONDER TIIAT

WAS tNDtA

but so strongly remembered that it must have beenvery important, was the great battle of Kurukgetra,not far from the ,noa".n Outti. This battle,rnagnified to titanicproportions, formedthe basis of the story o{ tlre grcatest of India's epics,the lvtahabharata.Accordine to the legend the whole of India, from Sind to Assam fro,,.,tlr? llinrdl-a1'as to Cape Comorin, took part in the rvar,".,a which arose tlrrougha dynasticdisputein the great Kuru tribe (p. +ro). I;i; bJ no means certainthat the war was in facta civil one,and the storv has beenplausibly interpretedas a muddredrecollection trr" .""'quest of rhe l{urus bv a tribe of Mongoloid tvpe from the "r hills. But certainly a great war took place, anJsu..""iing generations looked on it as end of an epoch. The nim*esof many of the 3l.ktl-g.rl: heroeso[ tbe lllahibhdrata may genuinelybe trroseof conteirporary chieltains,but we must regreif;ly recoid that the story is Lf f"r', use to the historian even than thi ltiad, or most of the Norse and Irish sagaliterature. It compares betterwith the r,riberungentira, itte product of an .age very different from that which lt p"urport. to describe,and the result of the assimilationof many diverse ntartial traditions. It is as futile to try to reconstruct the politicaluna.o"i"i history of India in the loth c"ntrty s.c. from tl'te'Mahabhdrata as it would be to wrire the history of Britain immediatelyafter the tion of the Romansfrom Malory,s lVlorted'Arthur. "u".u"to the most popul", larer tradition the Mahibhdratr _,According War took placein sroz u.i., u.hich,in the light of all evidence, is q-uiteimpossible. More reasonable is anotr"rer tradition, ft".irg the war in the t5th centurya.c., but this is alsosevcrar centuiies to"o earll the light 1n 9f o.ur archaological knorvledge. probably it took place around the bcginning of the sth century o.".; ,r.h , date seemsto fit w'ell witli the sianty arcl,aological iernairisof the period,a:rdthereis someevidence in ihe Brrlrrnaialiteratureit.self to showthat it cannotlra'e beenmuchearlier. r5 Froin this tinreonwards the centre of culture and_ po_litical porver shifted to the c""g.J. Doib and the.Ku-rucap]t11, Hastinlplra or Asandlvant. Thro-ugh_ out most of the later vedic period the Kurus and their neigrrbo-urs the Paficilas u'ere the greitest and the rnost civirized oi Indian peoples. The namesof severalKuru kings havebeenpassed ao*n iu legend,andtwo at-any rate, parikgit and"Jananrejaya, are mentioneJ ln tne ltteratureol the time as nriqhtyconquerors. Farly in this period the AryanJpressediurther eastrvards, and set up_kingdoms in l(osala,to the eastof th" Doab, anclin l{dii, tlre region of virinasr.* The former, which grew in importa'ce with tirnejwar
o until recently knom as Benares or Banarar. The old sanskrit form of thc nrnre . has now been olliiially revive4

pREHrsroRy: cULTURE.AND THE HARAppi. rns inyAxs

.trt

the realm of Rima, the hero of the second of the great Indian epics, the Ramiyana (p. +t+t). For all his later fame the literature of the period ignores Rirna and his fatlrer f)aiaratha completely, so we nust conclude that both \r'ere comparatively insiplnificant chieftains, whose exploits were by chance remembered, to be elaborated and magnified by later generations of bards until, around the beginning of the Christian Era, they received their final form. It is not even certain that Rama was a king of Kosala at all, for the earliest version of the legend that we possess rnakes him a king of Vari4asi, which was for a tinre a kingdom of some importance, but was conquered by Kosala towards the end of this period. Another important kingdom was Videha, to the east of the River Gandak and north of the GangI. One o[ the Brahma4asl6 tells that once the fire-god Agni mov'ed eastwards, burning up the earth, until he canre to the River Sadaniri (the modern Gandak), where he stopped. In his wake followed a chieftain lrom the River Sarasvati, Videgha Mathava. Before his arrival no Aryan would cross the Sadinirl, becau.sc the purilying fire-god lrad not burnt the land on its eastern bank; but Aeni instr_uctedVidegha to carry him over, an<l thus the land of Videha rvas Aryanized, and took its name from that of its first colonizer. The legend is important becauseit is the only significant account of the process ofcolonization in an approxinrately contemporary sourre. In the progress ofAgni, burning up the earth, we see not oniy the gradual eastward expansion of the Aryan fire cult, but also the clearing of jungle and waste by burning, as bands of migrating warrior peasants founded new settlcments. Though Rirna is ignored in the literature of the period his traditional father-in-law, Janaka king of Videlra, is more than once mentioned and is clearly a historical figure. IJe was a great patron of the hermits and wandering plrilosoplrers who propagated the new rnystical doctrines of the Upanisads, and he hirnsclf took part in their discussions. By the time ol' the Buddha the kingdom of Janaka had disappeared, and his capital city, N{ithile, had lost its inrportance, The kingdom was replaced by the tribal confederacy of the Vrjjis, headed by the Licchavis, who may have been Mongols from the hills, but were more probably a second wave of Aryan immigrants. South of Videha, on the right bank of the Gangi, was the region lmown as Magadha, then of little account. It was not wholly Aryanized, but"bands of nomadic renegade Aryans called vrdtyai,. who did not follow the Vedic rites, roanred the land with their flocks and herds. Only in the time of the Buddha, under the great king BimbisEra, did Magadha begin to slrow tlre energy and initiative which were to lead to the setting up of the first great Indian empire. To

49

THE WONDEB THAT WAs TNDIA

PREHTSTORY:TTTB NENEPPi, CULTSRE AT{D TIIE iNYEXT

43

the east of Magadha, on the borders of the modern Bengal, the small Lingdom of Afiga had arisen,while, beyondAriga, Bengal and Assam were still outside the pale of Aryan civilization. with the region Thus the texts of the period are mainly concerned to the bordersof Bengal. The areasouth from the Yamuni eastwards of the Gangd receives little attention, and it has been reasonably ruggestedthat the main line of Aryan penetrationwas not down thl river, the banks of which were then probably thick swampy jungle, but along the Himilayan foothills. Expansion was not wholly confined to the north of the Gangi, however. Contemporary Iterature has little to say about the rest of Northern India, but conditions at the time of the Buddha were such that it must have been colonized some time previously, and this is confirmed bv tradition. On the Yamundthe tribe of the Yidavas had settledin the region of Mathuri, while furtlrer down the river the kingdonr of Vatsawas ruled from its capitalof Kau3inrbi,very important in later down the times. By the end of this period the Aryans had advanced the Narmadi ChambalRiver, had settled in Milwd, and had reached where there was an important city, Mahignratl. Probably parts of the N.-W. Deccan were also under Aryan influence. According to the Epic tradition Saurdshtra was colonized by a branch of the led by the great hero K1g4a,and, though the association of Y5davas, with the story is probably unhistorical (p. soof), the legend Kp94a nav be founded on fact. iVhile the Aryans had by now expandedfar into India their old home in the Panjib and the North-West rvas practically forgotten. Later Vedic literature mentionsit rarely, and then usually with disparagementand contempt,as an impure land where the Vedic sacrifices are not performed. It may have been once more invaded by Indo-Iranian tribes who did not follow the orthodox rites. The culture of the later Vedic period was materially much in advanceof that of the flg Vcda. The Aryan tribes were by now consolidatedin little kingdoms, which had not wholly lost their tribal character, but had permanent capitals and a rudimentary are still from tirne administrative system. The old tribal assemblies to time referred to, but their power was waning rapidly, and by the was in most cases only limited end of this period the king's autocracy by the powerof the brihmans,the weight of tradition, andthe forceof public opinion, which was always of someinfluencein ancientIndia. Flere and there the old tribal organizationssucceeded in adapting to the changed conditions,andganas,or tribal republics, tlremselves survived for many centuries in outlying districts; but political divisions based on kinship were giving place to those based on

geography,and in many parts of India the tribes were rapidly breaking may up. This, and the strong feeling of insecuritywhich it caused, and of a have been an important factor in the growth of asceticism pessimistic outlook on the world, which is evident throughout thir period. in thestate lradlost power,anotherelement If the popularassemblies was rising in influence-the ratnins,or "jewel bearers", the relatives, courtiers and palaceofficialsof the king, who were looked on as so specialsacrifices were Perimportant that at the king's consecration the puro' formed to ensuretheir loyalty. The list of ratnins includes thc hita, or chief priest of the palace,the general, the chamberlain, servants. Two king's charioteer,and variousother influentialpalace have been explained of ihe ratnins, lhe samgrahitr and'bhdgadugha, but theseinterpretaas treasurerand revenue<ollectorresPectively' tions are almost certainly false, and we have no clear evidenceof e revenuesystem at this time.lT developed The period saw a great development of the sacrificial cull which took place lari y'asszwith rising royal pretensions. Mugh of the Brihma4a literature is devoted to instructions for thc in the not mentioned of certainroyal sacrifices performance meticulous or consecrardjasilya, royal were the lengthy these among Veda; 8g or "drink of strength", a sort of rejuvenation tion, and the adjapeya, ceremony,u'hich not only restored the vital forcesof a middle-agel king, but raised him from the status of a simple riji to that of e a1, a complete monarch free of all allegianceand with lesser sor1t kings subordinate to him. Most famous and significant of these wherein a specially or horse-sacrifice, .u.iifi."r was the alaamedha, horse was set free to roatn at will for a year, foilowed consecrated by a chosenband of warriors. Chieftainsand kings on whose terri' tory the horse wanderedrvere forced to do homage or figlrt, and if-it was not capturedby a neighbouring king it was brought back to the capital and sacrificedat the end of the year. It was the ambition o[ and the evil effectr every important king to perform a horse-sacrifice, of the sacrificeon inter-state relations were felt to the end of the Hindu Deriod. now the Aryans had nearly all the equipmentof a civilization of By -ancient type. Where the {lg Yeda speaks only of gold and the copperor bronzethe later Vedic texts also mention tin, lead, silver and iron.* The importanceof iron, harder and cheaperthan bronze,
. " Black bronze" is referred to in the Tajur Ycda, and a little iron has bcen discovered a t a n e a r l v l c r e l a t l i a r r i i n r b i . b u t n o i r o r r h a s b e c t t f o u t r d i t t t l t e r e t t r a i n so f H a s t i n E p u r u at this level. Ilecently irot: ltas becn found in very carly levels at Atranji Khcri (U.1.) Tlteviewtlntironwashudlyknowninlrdiruntittlle andP!nduRijerDlribi(Bengal). it.!r 6th century hls now lirde to comend

THE

WONDER TITAT WAS

JNDIA

igl:^Illl l-,:greater ;; il;_ ever "rrog",i'r1s and its'rcligious outlookrapidlv ::lv_l ariugrng, marksthe .privilegei, beq^inning of -tlre greatf3ri"J.i;;;t ;il;: in which tlle pattern of
1". society,-religion, literature and art gradually assumert something i;; ;;";;;i;;p". "f

from the west, brousq, of writing, whicf, 1rrrrt"i.;;;:;;, was gradually taken ui by "1 the learnea*i"a.pt.d to the phonetics of Indian speech,to becorne tn irinri ,iiip, ,r Mauryan times (p. ssof) The most irnportant of this age r,verereiiqious. and will be considered -4evelopments Culturalty the pieriod "tr.*h;i; 6.?*ryj'.'" of the later Vedic litera,ture saw Jnaiun l.i,fe and thought take the " direction which it hasf,rlloweJ e;.;;i";. if,u of this slradowy kings gro-wing i" po*"i,ii, pri"ri."r,a

it;,po,,roi",r;;;;";i;"i:?.i$ii-.Ti;11",;y"Tff,",,Hf_il:

Ai*;';r,".r"r ilTi5,#",:ij;:""jJ"orr;. "'*r*;ffi;

place of the few craftsmen in t'e llp, yeda many are norv t-o,"il;i;; jewellers, goldsmiih"s,n.,"t"l_*o"rke;; "ur"i.iJ ;;i.",_"Kers, ropemakers, weavefs,d1'ers, carpenters and potr..r, Vu.rou, types of domestic servant are mentioned,and a. iud)mentary entertainmentindustrv existed,with pr.fessiorral i"rr"n"'_t"ff.;;n"d;;;i -acrobats, dancers, wlrile trrereare arso rui"."n""t to-uau""r, and merchants. Thouglr Aryan cultu.relrad by now-LriJ g."", advances there is still no mention of coined ;;;id, both of which were ",o;"y;; certainly used in India before ,1,; ;,n; ;i;f;" v"".y"r."'.c"r""g! rnay have been introducedtowards;r* ; o, ,n" urn centurv B.c.^ through Persian influence, but it is do"Urfrf *f,.,f*;-;;.i#;;; aoc.ept the negative evidenceor tater v"Ji" li,..u,ure to show that writing was wholly unknown,. to, ttl, ii*;;;." was intendedfor. a aydi.elce oi priests, *t o nal a"u.i"f.o *ique system !111O of memory training, and who-may *.tt " on ;;#;;; huu" iioked objectionabte iniovation-' There ir ;il;;;;ln the riterature itserf of faint contacts with in the Indian flood ^Mesop",.rri", ;;;ily legend(p. so*), which first ii#*a which bearssome "oi;;;;;;lii,

sonreth.ing of iiigation Dpeclatrzed trades and crafts had ippeared.

cultivated a larse .-:_.

for clearingforestsof hard-tropicaltimber needs no stressing. Its introductionmust havegreatly ;eler"d;h;-*te or Aryan expansion, The elephantwas tam"ed, d;rgh ii;tr. ;"i"in *ur. The .tt,."}.ffiil""; Aryans now

III }IISTORY: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL EMPIRES

SOUNCES OF HISTORY

i;;Iil;; _.f :'6;, ancl manuring.

,j.",lna
In

A" the courts of ancient Indian kings careful records were kept of the events of chief ilnPonanceto ihe realm, but unfortunately these archivesare completely lost to us. ln the f2th century,A-'D' poet, Kalhana,thought fit to write the tristory of. his e Kashmiri -in ;Rivet of Kings" (Rdjataraigini)', u"rte, but his native land although of great value for the study of the history of Kashmir,has little ti tell is about India as a whole, and there is no good evidence that similar chronicles u'ere composed elsewhere. The Ceylon is primarily a history of Buddhismin Ceylon, Chronicle(Mahdaarpsa) though it gives reliable information on political history. It is perof history whatever, to rnaintainthat India had no sense haps"unjusl past was mainly concentrated her own had in she but whit interest on the fabulouskings of a legendarygola"n age, rather than on the great enlpireswhich had risen and fallen in historicaltimes' Thus our knowledge of the political history of ancient India is often tantalizingly vague and uncertain, and that of the rnedieval period, which rie-ma/take as beginning in the Zth century 'r'o', is often but little more precise. HiJtory must be pieced together from in texts both religious and secular,from a few passingreferences and rvorks of fiction pu4portingto describehistoricalevents' ir"-* from the records of foreign travellers, and from the many panegyr]c1 or other referencesto re-igning monarcttsand their ancestorswhich have been found carved on rocks, pillars and temple walls, or incorto the titledeeds ofland grants; the latter, fortuporatedaspreambles nately for-the historian, were usually engraved on copper plates a jigsaw puzzle (pl. iLVII16). The earlyhistory of Indiaresembles are fairly clear; picture of the pieces; some missing *ith -uny Parts with the aid of a controlledimagination; othersmiy be reconstructed but many gaps remain, and may never be filled' Few dates before the middie agescan be fixed with certainty,and the history,of Hindu lackingin it, is almostcompletely India, as faris we can reconstruct the enliven which personalities and vivid anecdotes the interesting historiansalike. Moreandamateur studyof the pastfor professional ovei there is much disagreementanlong comPetentauthorities on many inrportant topics. 46

nELIGtON: CULTS, DOCTRTNES AND ]irETAPilYslcli

9s6

VII RELIGION: _ C U L T S ,D O C T R I N E S A N r ) METAPHYSICS

vEDA!

(t) rrrr RELrcroN oF THE Go& oJ thc lg ycda

s ac red,r; ;;;; ";; :;;, J{il:"#;:iiJjilii :;. if t,?_ n::#1 r,}:{ ,ni''r1' r'"'-#"'l' :lo":Tt th erel
j::iT"i;;;;U;; ili;;l: #ff lil;l "t;li "ffor,, ",'tfuppan sarien t reatures religionappeared ",". ug"in'in. n.*i,r,,i l, a rnuch 1",", 0"r,". ,Tjppan
texts any

Ailr.r^:|ij'jffi:1*

inlabitants of rndiaworshippe<t a rf,,rfr,

igi on people'but in t "r,r'"ii11,1r'i'

J;l IJ' .l';:;

;n::g*,;#A:Til'1ff",ii1#:ll;l;l"l:,1ffi;,1.1;#
or hynrns for useat thesaoific"_ ;.r;. three later vedas, the Aryancuk. 'I'ho "i;i; sdma,r"iri'i"i)frrattc 'yrlq" cutlerent of somewlrrr clraracter. rl.re si^o" ir"',ri?!:.are useless beinga coilection to rhe or."rrui.,il.; l:,,?l'*,. ;l,T"tl ror Irturgical purposes.

?:.:,:,U::"1',".#;:n Tt* *$"? i,;,ffiFifii "'J;'I

;il#j[{trd""tt"f;"ffi"{i:Uiif |g..rjff

or theearry ,,#in'j"l;r;';*f"^:t:.oge^or thererision A,v.,,.

prebeian deriving r""'r.,'}"' ""r,d;';i ;:'i.?lj.': i\" ;f"{;{: ng rnany norrAryur

zg*

i+* ""a It possesses, "".i"i,,i, pheri of simit"'rtt**f4,"-' ho\4'ever, an atmr.ra.towerculturalr"u"r ,Lllllympathetic magic, *a .."r,lrlo;;::;

j""-,,,,i;'l,lI;Tlj;rrffiit ."t".i,-i,,.t,u.t jy*:l1f {.i1l;l;il: i:fl",/.iflff f i$:',::1.pyn'^"r"..*+f,:;;;:I;::):':Tj,::,: j^iT.]ltantations in verse, cornpited *"r aftertle

j*ri ;#r l:#ffjx," i:ri ";i;i: ** r fi {,{rr I ',ffr "f{ .*i ri.". "_1113f".a,r,..",,,,.1 {{l,i:?H,::i tll:Jl'l."
wnrch are of two tt.oe-c

rv'hichare looked on as appenelements. The massiveBrEhmapas, which dicesto the Vedas,and the tnysticaliratgakas and Upanipads, to the Braltmanas,complete the literature are in turn appendices generally knorvn as Vedic. The nraterial in the Briltma4as looks c. 8oo and 600 B.c.' and the backin the rnain to the period betrveen though some earliestUpanigads overlapuith the latest Brihmat.ras, are certairrlyof tnuclt more recent date. The religion of Upanigads this literaturewas not tlrat of later India,ancl the peoplervhocomposcd many scholars refcr to it as llr:ihma4ismor Yedism,to distinguishit from Hinduism, to wlriclt it bcars a relation sinrilar to tltat betll'een the sacrificialJudaisnrof the temple and the later Judaism of the s]'nagogue. Much of the d?g ITda is impcrfectly understood;the oldest exedating geticalwork on it, tlrc Niru*ta (Etymology) of Yaska,perhaps from 5oo D,c., shorvsthat at a very early period the brihmarls hatl of many obsoletewords. But the broad forgotten thc trrrc meanii.rg outlinesof the rt'ligion of the flg Yedaare clear enouglr. The chief u'cre tlre devas,a lvord cognate with the Latin objectsof rvor.slrip deus. The rorrt t'rornwhich this word is derived, drz, is connected were " the and radiance, and tlre devasby connotation with brighnrcss shining oncs". The early gods of the Aryans, like those of the with the sky and were predomit}e Grcck.s,r'cre chiefly connected occur in the f;g Yeda; for instance nantly rnale. A fcrv goddesses PTthui, a vaguc and rarely mentioned personification of the earth, Aditi, a nr,\'stcriousand tenuousfigure, the great mother of the thc goddessof the dawn, to rvhom a number of lovely gods, U,ras, hymns n'crc acldressed, Rabi, the spirit of the night, who has a the Lady of the beautifullr1'nrnto herself (p. +o+), and .4rap1dnr, Forest, a nature goddessof little importancewho is praised in one (p. 4o5) ; none of these,however,playeda significant very late lr1'rnn part in the cult. of thc Aryans, Iranians,Greeks, At a rcrnotc period the ancestors Romans, (iernrans, Slavs and Celts had sintilar, if not identical, beliefs; but by the time the Aryans had entered India their faith. The religion Irad devclopedfar from the old Indo-European in Greek who appears peoples, great fatlrergod of the Indo-European is Zeusanrl in Latin as Ju-piter, was known to the Aryans as D1az.r, the personificd lieavens, but his star had alreadyset. Father Heaven was often rnentioned as the parent of other divinities, but few hymns by his children. werecon)poscd in lris honour,andhe rvaseclipsed From tLe point of view of the Aryan warrior the greatestgod was Indra, who fulfiiled the dual function of war-god and weather-god. of Though his name rvasdifferenthe had maly of the characteristics

996

THE WONDER TIIAT

WAg TNDIA

)tr:i.t(;loN: CULTS, DOCTRINESAND NTETAPIIYSICS

2si

the Greek zerrs and the Gcrmanic Thor. As Indra ronans he rode st_thehead of tlre Ar1'anhost anrl destroyedth" fo.tr".r"; ;i;1,; Lrasas; as Indra ptuvius lre slew the evil dragonVytra who held back the waters,and tlrus lte broughtrain to tlreparched land (p. <.oeff). Indrawasassociated with stormancl thunrler, and,Iike z"ur'l"arr,oi. his hand bore the thunderbolt (oajra), rn.itirwhi.h h" d"rtr.yJ';i; enemies. He was a rowdy amoral deity, fond of feasting-dari"ting.. One hyrnn, according to the uslal interpretatioil, shows u! the drunkenIndra braggingin triscups,thoughii may weil ,"pr"r"ni tne reerrngs or a worshipper who has cirunk liberally of the sacred drink som<r:
" Like wild winds the draughts have raised rne up.

Ilave I been drinling sorna "The draughts have borne me up, a s s w i f ts t e e d s achariot.' llave I . .. ? " Frenzy bas come upon me, as a cow to her dear calf. Have L . . ? " As a carpenterbendsthe seat of a chariot I bend this frenzy round my heart. llave I . . . ? " Not even as a mote in mv eve do the five tribes count *itt, -". Have I " . . ? " The heavensabove do not eqtralone hallof me. Have [ . . . I " In my glory I have passcdl,eyond the skv and tlre great earth. llavc i, . . i " I w.ill pick pp tlie eartlr, ard put it here or put .it there. Ilave I . . . l,,r Indra in his course across the sky rode the bright host singing martial songs as thcy aidetl tlre wai-god in ?! Yo7tt, his battles.- They were the lesscr spirits of tlle storm, conceived on the analogy of the host o-[ Aryarr u.arriors charging into battle beside their leader. The Aryans e'idently h.d"",Lt id;;;; in wlrich Indra was the protagtnist, but none of them ian b"e reconstructed in detail from-the cry,ptic allusions of the hymns. Two of Indra's traits connect lrim wiih IncloEuropean mythology, fui -;cient they were applied to various gods and heroes tlrroughout Europe--he was a dragon-slayir (p. 4os), and a will rider of the storm. -l ne lormer feature of his character may have been a very early borrowing from Mesopotamia. Se-vgral gods were associited with the sun. Snrla (the common word for sun) drove across the sky in a flaming chariot, like the Greek With

tlclios. Sa|ih, tlic Stinrtrlator, tvas ;tnotlicr sc,lar god, a beautiftrl is tlrc nrost |oly of all t|e ycrses of t|e Veda vcrse itt \r'lrssc ir,-rtt,.1tr (p. 163). Pilan too rvas in solne lncasure a solar god, driving j"il-v o.iott tlre sky, brrt his lnain fiurction was tllat of guardian of rcais, lrerdsrnenand straying cattle. I'i;4u, a god connectcdin 1:art covering the earth in rvith the sacrifice,also ]rad solar cltaractcristics, tlrree paces, a trait 1rlliclr he retaincd in latcr }linduisrn, rvhen his i'rporiance grearly incrcased. On the frirrges of the solar pantheon ihe sJn-go'J's <iattgltter, rr'lto seetns llevcr to have been rvas 5'r:r1',7, rvolslrippc<l,bLrt rrrt'i'"ly scrrcd to collncct her trvo }tusbands, the Aitins (" IIorsr:tttert" also callcd tr'asof'a.r),rvith tlre sun; these are dcscribetl as driving at'ross tltt: slil' 1t' tt'"'t' tlrrce-u'liceled chariot, rvitlt natural phenoass<.rtiatcd but i1 tlre lryllns t|cy arc tx)t <l,rscl_y mena. They are tr';itrs-a fact ulriclr colll)octstlrcnr uith the Gt'eek Dioscuri utli tttitt gods of pre-Clrri.stianl3altic nr1'thology. The A(r'ins appear clrieflt' as lrclpers of ttrctr; atlronlt tlrcir n:ar'y good they are said to havc rcscued slrip$'reckedItariltcrs, lrrovided tieccls artificirl lcgs lbr tlte n,airtrcJ,and found husbandsfor old nraids. t1," 6,'9:gcl(l,,4gr: (rvlrit'lrntcans sitrrply "fire", arrd is rclated to the I_atin egrrru),tras tlrc object of tnuch prinritire nrl'sticisrn and spcculationl Iic rt'as tir': god of the pricst, *5o dcalt rvitS hinr at the frre-sacrificc;ltc $as also tlre god of tlte ltottte, for lre drvclt in the rlomcsticheartlr; lte rras the interrncdiary bctrvecngods and mcn, for the sacrificeand crrricd it to thc gods, IIc drvclt in the |e consurned n in thc for-mof liglrtning, anclon eartlr in nranv fortns. of lleave \\,aters lIe rvas iridclenin thc fire-srichs,u'itlt \vlriclr tlre sacrificial fire was !.indlcd and uhich u'cre pcrsonified as his parents. Agni, in.fact, uris lrt'r'c, tlre;c atrd evcr;rl'ltcre. \\'as tllere ol"rly one Agni, or u c r c l l r c r t : t n : r t t r ' r \ g t t i s ? i l . , ' - c o u l d A g n i b e o n e a n c lm a n y a t - t l r e a,n d s h o l v l i l i c t l r c s ca r c a s l i e di n t h e f g y ' ' e r l a t l r r r r ' ? ( J r i ,: ; t i , , r r s sarrrc , hich was to t l r c e a r l i r ' s ts i r ' , r , s , , f ' t l r t :t c t t t i c t t c yt o n ' a r d s l t l < - r u i s t lrlv b e a rf r u i t i t t t l r t t ' l , r t r l . , r , l s . 'na.sa rlir irritv ,l' s|1'1 cJrrr;rctcr. Sollre tl'as originally a i;11 ,Sozta p l a : l t , n o t c c l ' t e i t r ' 1i , \l 't l r t i l i t , l , l l o r l l r r i r i c l r a I X ) t e i l td r i n l i r v a s p r o ' thc urost i u c e d , u l r i c h \ \ l , s . l l t t t , l io t r l l ' . , 1s a tl i l i t t ' : ; ,a t r t l\ \ l r i t l t c a u s t : d above. <lLroted :rs $c lt.tvc .sct'tlll'ottt tlrc Jr,vlt:tr in!igorating cll.'t:t.s, rr i n l i , $ h i c l r t l t e y c a l l e d o f l ' c t s i a l r a t l a . s i r r r i l : rd ThJZor.ra.striarts haonta,tircsanlc \,\ord as sottll irr its Iratrian forrn; tire plant identified witir iaozrrt by t|e tttqciet'ltl)i;sIs is a bitter |crb, rvlric[ lras no spccially inebr:iating <lualities,and rvhich is tlierefore hot the sotna oi the Veda. The drink prepared from the plant can scarcely have been alcoholic, for it rvas made rvith pJreat ceremony in tlle course of tlle sacrilice, tlten tlte ]rtrb u'as pressed bet\\'eell st<'nes,mixed

938

THE woNDEn THAT WAs INDIA

n E L | G I O N : C U L T S , D O C T R I I T E SA N D M E T A P H Y S I C S

939

with nrilk, strainedand drunk on the sanreday. Sugar and honey, which produce. fermentation, were not usuallymixed with it, and the brief period betweenits brewing and consumption cannothave been long enough for the generation of alcohol in appreciable quantity. The effectsof soma, with vivid hallucinations and the senseof expanding to enormousdimensions, are rather like those attributed to such drugs as hashish, Soma may rvell have been hemp, which grows wild in many parts of India, Central Asia and South Russia, and from which modern Indiansproduce a narcotic drink called 6rlazg. Like many ancientpeoplesthe Indians corurected the grotvth of plants with the moon, with which Soma,the king of plants,was later by the ancient iderrtified. So important was the god Somaconsidered editors of the !g l/cda that they extracted all the hymns in his honour and placedthem in a separate"book" (maltQala),the ninth of the ten which constitute the whole. He was the special god of the brdhma4s, who referred to him as their " king" or patron deity, He is sometimes even called the king of the gods, but by the ordinar-y Aryan it is doubtful if he was so highly esteemed. Ilaruna, secondonly to Indra in importance, was a god of a type rather different from the others. He is known as an Aswa, a term, also appliedto certain lessergods, which in later Hinduism cameto mean a classof demons,but which was in Persiaadoptedby the re. former Zarathu5tra in its local form as part of the title of the great god of light, Ahura Mazda, Just as the shadowyDyaus represents the high god of the Indo-Europeanpeoplesbefore their separation,so Varula may have been the high god of the Indo-Iranians before the divided,one to settle in N.-W. India and the other in the two peoples Persianhighlands. The nameis connected by someauthoritieswith the shadowyGreek heaven-god Uranus. At the time of the composition of the Veda, VaruTa'sprestige was waning beforethat of Indra, but he retainedsome inrportance for many centuries. Varunawas first and foremosta king-not a boisterous tribal warlord like Indra, but a mighty emperor sitting in a great palacein the heavers, often with associated gods aroundliim. Most important of thesewas Mitra, a god with some solar characteristics, but mainly connectedwith vows and compacts. Mitra was represented in the Zoroastrian pantheon, and, under his Greco-Iranian name Mithras, was widely worshippedin the Roman Empire in early Christian times. Around Varur]asat his scoutsor spies(sla!), who flcw all over the world and brought back reports on the conduct of nrort;rls. Varupawas the guardianof Sta, the cosmicorder, a concqrt r,r'lrich was perhaps the highest flight of $g Vedic thought. 'I-lrc *'orld takesits regularcourse,day follows night andseason s\u( cctlsscason,

to $ta; in later days"nonbecause of [tta; man must live according yta" (anyta) becameone of the commonestwords for untruth and wlro was sometimes looked on as its on Varur.la, sin. IJta depended rnaker,and was thus a sort of creator-god. Of all the Aryan gods Varupa was ethicallythe highest. He was always arvare of the deeds of men, and was omnipresent, in the to the pantheisticsense. Two men, even in the theisiic as opposecl most secretof placesor at the ends of the earth, cannot make plans alone-a third person,Varula, is ahvaysthere.2 The worshipper Varu4a in a spirit differentfrom that in rvhichhe prayed approached to the other gods, most of rvhornrverelively, cheerfulfellows,whom regular sacrifices. Varuna was so men neednot fear if they offerecl of sacrifice would not ensure pure and holy that the mereperformance his favour, for he abhorredsin, or that u'hich was not conformable to $ta. The ideaof sin includedmanypurcly ritual sinsand breaches of taboo,but it alsocertainlyincludedlying, u'hich Varunaand Mitra particularly loathed, and evil deeds prompted by anger, drink, o[wicked rnen. When he sangto Varu4a gambling,and the influence and ashes,and pral'ed the cheerfulVedic poet often put on sackcloth to his deity with fear and trembling, for Varu4a was the severe punisher of sin. Not onll' did Varu4apunishthe sinsof the individual but, like the Yahrvch of the Old Testanrent,he visited the sins of upon him, and his ubiquity ensuredthat there vr'asno his ancestors for the sinner. He caught and boundevil-doersin his snares, escape u'ith dropsy, and when they diseased, especially so that they became to the "House of Clay", apparentlya sort of died they descended very different from the happy " World gloomy subterranean_Sheol, of the Fathers", the Aryan heaven. so conscious So hunrblewas the u'orshipperin Varu4a'spresence, guilt and shortcoming,that on reading the hymns to of r.l'eakness, psalmsol the Vanr4aone is inevitablyremindedof the penitential 'I-estanrcnt. that Varunaorves muchof his It hasbecnsugge.stcd Old characterto Semitic inilucrrce-t'crtainly not to tlte Jelvs, for the aftcr the hymns to Varuna, and as penitentialpsalrns\yerecon)poscd far as we knorv thc early Ilcbrcu's ncver carnein contactwith the their who oftcn approached Aryans, but perhapsto the l3abyloniatrs, gods in a similar penitcntial spirit. We quote a typical hymn to Varu4a; it is obviously the praycr of a man affiicted with dropsy.
"Let me not go to the House of Clay, O Varu4al Forgive, O graciousLord, forgivel When I go tottering, like a blown-up bladder, forgive, O graciousLord, forgive!

!iltlictoN: cul-Ts,DocTRtNEs AND MEI(.APIIYSICS

24$ TltE wo:intn ' - r i t . r , Tw A S l N i - , l ^

241

" l{oly One, in rvant of uir,.kritl I lr:r'e opp,rss{ ','11. Forgive, O grecious Lord, to:-fivr:l Though in thc rrridstoi'rr;tt.t :, liririt ]ir" sri:r'.i Your worshiitpcr. Forgive, {) graci,;LrI ;'ri.i, i-r-'r'girrl '.\\'hatCt,Cr sin \1.C c,.:rr,r;ritrcd r n o r . t , r l ll r . r r . , _ against the pc<-rplc oi iirc gi",i ,, i f , i o o l i s h , u ' e l t : i v c t i t ; ' . : t t t l r i ' / ( ' , . i ir l t ' rI ! ' i , !i O g o d , d o l r o t d c s i r ' - , i u , ; i l l ' i j : u a i r g , r r '" T u n a , l c t r J o f t h c r i , ' r i , 1 .\ , , . ' , r l s o l t o f A d r m , t i i e f i r s t n l a n t o d i e , who bccaure g r-lia:r c,i til,' \'i l,t'lcl t>f tlte Iiathcls. rtltere the blessed - iu va l rlo dead, th<-,se lravc l.cr[r)rlircd tlre ritcs of tlrc A11'ans, feest

joyfully forever. Budra (perl',ap.sIlcatrinpl "the l{ou'ler"), like Varuna, had a , u t , u n l i k e V a r u 4 r , r v a sq u i t e a n t o r a l ' dangerous s i d e 1 o l , i s c l r a r u c t c rb IIe rcscnrblcti tlrt (ircek APollo in tlrat lte rvas an arcl)cr-fiod,u'hose arrows brouglit diseasc. I-ike II.rdra he \\'as associated witll the stornr, but he lackt:d Indra's PoPular and genial cltaracter. IIe was a rL'lr)otegod, drvelling in tlre tnountains, and rvas generally an object of l'ear,invokcrl to rvar<ioff lris arrorvs of Plague and disaster. horvevcr, a bcneficcntaspect,for he rvas guardian ofhealing lle ha,,l, hcrbs, and as such rniglrt gil'e health to those rvltom he capriciously favourr:d, Tlrcre rvere lrlany other gods, stlch as Ttallr, the Vedic Vulcan, .4ryanan, guardiarr of con)pactsand Irtarriage, and l/d1u, the rvindgod, wlro, tlrough inrportant, cannot be described hcre. There were llso denrigods of I'arious liinds, among them l'ii7'ed4:as, ^ vague group of indetenrtinate deities, tlte trfaruts, or storm-sPirits, gnonres u'llo \\'orked in nretal, Gandharuas, already rnentioned, {16/tzs, divine musicians, oriiir)ally a single divinity but later looked on as many, and the lovclv lpsaruses,comparableto the nynrphs of Greece, of gods and nlen. rvho nriglrt becontetlte tnistresses No Ilonrcr or Ilcsiod attclnpted to construct a definitive genealogy o{'al1 t}rese'gods; their relationships are trsually vague, and there is among tltem. Each god ntust have rrrr tiill' scllelrteof prececlct:ce devotccsand pricsts, and tlle IJg I'edd i.stlle result lrad I,is o\tn s1,cc:ial cults. Already tribal belicfs ar-rd of ntart,Y ol an irnl;crlcct s,\'ncrctisln in tlrc lrrtcst stratunl of thc Vedic lrvrnns gods are equated or paircd greatt'\t. t , r g c t i i c r , a t r d t l i r : t ' ca r e d o t r b t sa s t o u l r i c l r g o d i s r e a l l - t ' t h e l i s a s k c da s a r c f r a i t tl ( ) ( ' \ ' ( ' v I n o t t e l r l n r n { t l i i s i n r p o r t a t t tr l t t c s t i o t t l . r t . l o t t r o l , r l a t i , , t r r / " ; l t o t t o t t r r v i t l l s l r a l l t h e n , t v c \\'lrorrr, dy t l r i s t h a t t h e y d c c i , l t ' t lt l r . r l t l r t t t ' s . r , 'ct'e s o p r r z - z l eb t h e , - i l o g i r i t\t\s r" ' I 1:1 a y 1 i , ,t!' a l l t c lh ' , r( W l r o i ) , 1 ( )\ \ l , o r l ri l r e l r v t l l : t1 ' 's 5; 1 , 1 1

Sar.riftt 'flrc ,:crrtre of the ,Lryan cult was sacrifice. f'he cult of the domestlc lrearth existed in many ancient Indo-European con)lnunities, and .\rnall dr)rr)esticsacrifices, performed by the head of the itouse, must lrave been as important in the da5's of the fg Yeda as they lvere in later l{induism, but the earliest texts describing them are the Gfh)'a Siltras (p. 1t3) of a much more reccnt period. The f;g Ycda is rather concerned with great sacrifices, paid for by chiefs and rvealthier tribesmcn. They lvere already complex rites involving much preparation, the slatrglrter ofnunrerous aninrals, and the participation of several well-traincd priests. The main purpose of the sacrifice was the gratification of the gods in order to obtain boons from them. The gods descended to the sacred strarv (barhis) on tlle sacrificial field, drank and ate rvith the rvorshippers, and duly rervarded them rvith succcss in war, progeny, increase of cattle and long life, on a quid pro gzo basis. Tlre solemn Varuna and tlre grinr anci unpredictableRrrdra are exceptional in the Vedic parrthcon, Jr{ostof the gods u'ere good rratrrred. Guilt-offerings and thank-offcrings, of the kind offered by the ancient Hebrews, are alnrost unheard of'r the Veda, Neverthulc.sstlre cc.rrnony must hale ]rad its elenrent of awe and 'l he rvorslrippers, inebriated *'ith soma, saw wondrous wonder. visions of the gods; they experienced stfange sensations ofpower; they could reach up and touch the heavens; they became immortal; they rvere gods themselves. The priests, rdro alone knew the rituals and formulae whereby the goCs were brought to the sacrifice, were nasters of a great mystery. With these ideas, which are explicitly stated irr tlre iiymns, went others less obvious. Often in the flg kda 'rle read o[ a nr.t'steriousentit-y called brahmaz; in many contexts brahman is tlre magical porver in the sacred utterance (mantra), but sometirnes it lras a rvider connotation, and implies a sort of supernatural electricit.l',hnorvn to studcnts of prinritive religion as nrana, The posscss(,r of br;rlrrrrarr, processof sccondaryword formab\'a corr)nron tion in Sarrslirit, bccarnc lirrorrn as brihnano,* the tribal priest and magician. In latcr Vctlic tirncs thc connection of brahman with speechbccarncrrrorc and rllorc l)ronounced,and the brihman's magic was thorrglrt to lic in t)rc nords lrc uttcred. The words aad syllables of thc Vcda rvcrc anal.yscd,arrd, though the texis were still unwritten, the letters of the alphabet $ere recognized and personified as etemal divinities. The metres used in the Veda were also tlrought of as gds. Later certain slllal-'lcs u'ere believed to be particularly holl',
r In tlris bool< usuallv written in its modern formbrdhru4 tacrod texts of the sme narne. to avoid confusion with thc

9+2

THE woNDER THAT \ilAs tNDrA

notably 6*t ltne lrapaw), which contains the essenceof the Vedasand is pregnantwith the utmost power and mystery. t*ol{ conception,which is hinted at in many hymni of the f;g __4 Ycda, and beconres prominent in the latest stratum, is also widel"v in primitive religions-the mystical identificationof goj, FoI" victim and sacrificer. From these ideas the sacrificeobtaineJ an e_ven greater importancein the schemeof things than it had had at the time of the compositionof the earlier parts of the Sg lreda. By the end of the period it was widely believel that the uniierse itself irose from a primeval sacrifice. Though Varu4a may sometimes have beenlooked on as a sort of creator,and there are suggestions of Indra's having fulfilled the same function (p. yu), there is no clearly definedcreator-godin the main body ofthe lS Ycda. By the end of the gg Vedic piriod, horvever, sucha god had developed,whether wholly from the speculations o, the.brihma4s or from non-Aryan influencis. This god was prajdpati,"the Lord of Beings", often identifiedwith Braimd, the mas-culine form of the neuter brahman. Prajepati was thought of as a primeval man (puruqa), who existed before the foundation of the universe. The man u'as sacrificed, presumably to himself by the g_ods, who-apparentlywere his children.r From the boay of the divine victim the universewas produced. The .,Hymn of the Primeval Man", in which this first cosmic sacrificeij described, bristleswith obscurities,but its purport is quite clear. " When the godsmadea sacrifice with the Man ast}eir victim, Springwas the meltedbutter, Summetthe fuel, andAutumn the oblation. "From that all-embracing sacrifice the clottedbutterwascollected. From it het madethe animals of air andwoodandvillage. "From that all-embracing sacrifice were bom the hymnsandchants, from that the metreswere born, from that the sacrificial spellswere born. "Thencewere bom horses, andall beingswith two rows of teeth. Thencewere bom catde, and thence goatsandsheep.
. . . ln- the-_Eddathe god Wodan, in order to obtaln magic powcr, is recrrflce<t by himsclfto himself. "the Mm" Prajrpatihimself,who sunived his ou,nrrisrrrerrrrrrrrrent. f Presumably

RELIGIoN: culTs, DocTRlNEs AND METApHysrcs "When they divided the Man, into how many parts did they divide him? \A'hat was his mouth, what were his arms, what were his thighs and his feet calledI t'The brihma4 was his mouth, of his arms was made the warrior, his thighs becamethe vaidya, of his feet the 6[dra wus bom. "The moon arose from his mind, from lris eye \tas bom the surL fronr lris rrurrrth Indra and Aeni. frorrr his breath tle ni:rd ias bom. "l'rom his navcl came the air, frorn lris hcadthere c"r,rcihe sLv. fronr lris fcet tlre.earth, the f,>urqJarters from his ear, tlrus tlrt,y fashioncdtle worltls. "\\-ith S:rcr ifir.ctlrc grxls srcrificcclto Sacrifice_ tlrcscryt,rclhc lir.stof the sacrcd laws. ?'lrrserrrigirtylrcirrgs rc.tclrcrl thc sky,r rvhcr.c alc tlrc etr:nralslriritsr tlre gods.,,r

245

sis not dependent on the godsat all, but on the Urahm"{,;il; br;,i; rrr:rgicof trre sacrificemiintained and compelledtheni.' Th" 6.atnran \\'as rnore powerful than any earthl.yking or any god; by his accurateperformanceof sacrificeLe mainiainej'At tf,ing-r,*i*r, tlrere.fore the-suprerne social servant; by the slightest ?".i"ii"" ritual he could turn the sacrifice againsth-is "f nutronsanaa.rt and rvasthereforethe most dangirous of eriemies. "ylf,.*, This is the basic doctrine o{the Brdhm(tf'r, and. it prevailed in many Aryan communitiesin North nJi" ir"^ about 9oo B.c. orwards, and left its mark on Hinduism in the exaltation of the braiiuran, In this period many of th.eo]d gods of the lrriiiitli"i, f;g -rihile greatness, and became comparativery unimportant, others rose n.otably Vi94u.and Ruira; the latter'was alreadysome:i_f^4,1:':t: u mescatted by.the epithet Siaer,, the propi tious,,, originally i deprecatory euphemism.
' It is not crear who are thernighty beings.referred -- -- to, --' rr.lvcs,and tl)e last versemay be a"laier ad8ition. They are not the gods them.

. Il-y tlris tinrc a ncw attitude to the sacrifice had developed, and the ritc Ir'rtlIrctrr'e a su'crnal,mystery. By means of it the priests mvstic:urv rcl)cared ilre prir)leval sacrifice, and the lvorld wis born inew. Witlrout regular sacrifices all cosmic processeswould cease,and chaos rvould come again. Thus the order if nature was on ultimate analv-

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2+5

I'leu, Da:elobrnents of Dortrine Ar Aryun culturJ pressed !'urther dorvn the Gangi it absorbednew In the {g L?da tlrc Iate of the dead seems ideas about thc afterlife. to have been fir,ally decidedrvhen tire,ydied-tlre,t'lent either to the "World of the Fathers" or to the "Ilouse oi'CIav", t'r'lrerethey remained indefinitely. But itr one late hvnrno it is su(gcsted in cryptic language that they miglrt pass to tltc rlatcrs or rcntaitt in plants. -I'his may be a reference to metempsyr:hosis in the crude forrn believed in by r:rany primitive peoples, according to rihich the souls of the dead pass to anintals, plants or natural objects beforc being reborn in a hurran body. abe lJrdhrnana literature, *'hich had lost the optimism of the fg l/eda, recognized the possibility of death even in heaven, ln the Byheddra1yaka Upanisalt the first form of the dor:;trine of transrnigration is given. The souls of those uho hale lii'cd lives of sacrifice,charitv anrl austerity, after certain obscure percqrinatiotis, pass to the World of the Fathers, the paradise of Yarna; tirence, atter a period of bliss, thcy go to thc mooni from the rnoon tirey go to empty space,whcnce tlrey pass to the air, and descend to earth in the rain. There they "become food,... and are offeretl again in tlte altar fire rvhiclr is man, to be born agein in the fire of l'otir;ur", l'liile T the unrighteous are rcincarnatcd as lvorlns, birds or in.sects. his tltat conception prirnitive belief rvhich seems on a to rest doctrine, occurred through the eating b_yone of the parcnts of a frult or l'egetable containirrg the latent soul of the oflspring, is Put fonvard as a rare arrd nelv one, and was not univcrsally held at tlre tinre of thc conrposition of the Upani;ad. Even in the da1'sof the Budclha, transmigration rnay not lrave been believbd in b;' everl'one, but it secnts to have gained ground very rapidly in the ?th and tjth centuries or B.c. Thus the rnagnificentl-y logical Indian doctrines of .rarytsa7a, transmigration, and htrmo, tlre result of the deeds of one life aflecting the next, had hurnble beginnings in a soul theory of qtrite prinritive type; but even at this early periotl they had an ethicai content, atld had attained sorne degree of elaboration. In whatever way the doctrine of transmigration 'rvasdevelopetl it irivolved belief in the repeated passage of the soul fronr life to liie, either for all eternity cr for an inestirnably long time. It lirrked all forms of life into a single systcm. The gods titetnscli'es rnust pass away, and be replaced by other gods. As one Indra died, anotl)cr was born. The souls of the departed, though now ilr bliss, rv<.,trld sooner or Jater pass to new abodes. Anirnals, ittsects, :rI)(l \\'itlr accordinq to some sects plants, all lived under the sante llrv. renrarkable irtraginatire insiglrt son)e sages tatrglrt tlt:tt cvcrt l ;rttr,

<lust and air rvere fillcd rvith minute animalcule, and that these too had souls uhiclr s'ere tlrc same, in esscnce,as those of men. Tlre ulrole of life thus passcdthrough innunrerablechanges. It was generally, though not universally, thouglrt that these ch.rnges rvere determined by conduct. As one behaved in the preserrt lifc so one's status in the scaleofexistence rvould in future be exalted or abased, and one's lot rvould be happy or rvretched. This doctrine cf karma (literally "deed" ) soon becamefundamental to most Indian thought. It providcd a satisfactory explanation of the mystery of srrfilring, which has trcubled rnany thoughtful souls all over the world, and it justified the manifest social inequalities of the Aryan conrnrunity. 'I'o tlre ordinary nran such a doctrine might not appear distasteful, and the fact that it <luickly obtained almost universal acceptancesholvs that it met in great nlcasure ancient India's spiritual needs. Indeed in nrany re.spects the idea of sam.sira,'ryhichoffers infinite potentialitics ofnerv cxpcricncc to the soul, and rvhich holds out hope even to tlrc lrurrrblc.st of Iivirrg tlrings and rlre rnost evil of bcings, nliglrt seem n r o r e a t t f a c t i v c t l r a n t l r e t r a r l i t i o r r a ls t a t i c h e a v c n a n d l r c l l o f t h e West. IJut to rr:ul,y carri(.stIrcolrlc tlrc tlrouglrt ol transnrigration was not lrlcasarrt. I)c:rtlr s';rs alrval's tcrrible, and the prospect of lravirrg to tlic irrrrrrrrrcr;rblc tinres \\'ls not a happy one. Life, even wltcn dcvoitl of tlrc lnajt,r sorroivs, tvas drab anJ inadequate,while colltinual rebirth sccrnedntonotonousl;rboring. The growth of the doctrine of transnrigration coincided with the developrnent of pessimistic ideas. Rebirth in heaven rvas not enough-a way had to be founcl to escapethe cycle of birth arrd death altofether. Ii rvas found, to the satisfaction of the best minds of the times, in mystical knorvledge, achieved by much meditation and asceticism ,4sceticism Irr a late hy'mn of the Rg ledaa we read of a class of holy men different from the brihmans, the "silent ones" (munis), who wear the wind as a girdle, and u'ho, drunk rvith their orvn silence, rise on tlre u'ind and fly in the paths of the demigods and birds. The muni knorvs all men's thoughts, for he has drunlt of the magic cup of Rudra, which is poison to ordinary morrals. Another clasJof early ascetic, nruch mentioned in the Atharta L'eda,e1y^t tlte ardl^la. Thij terrn, in its later broad meaning, inrplicd an Aryan rvho hacl fallen from the faith and no loirger respected the Vedas; but tlre vr;rtya of the Atharxa l'cda u'as a priest of a non-Vedic fertility cult, rvhich involved ritual diurcing and flagellation. He travelled from place to place in a cart, with a r.,'oman whom he prostituted, and a musician who performed

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247

for him at his rites. The status and rrature of the vritvas are 6till not wholly clear, but it is evident that great efforts were made to convert them to the Aryan faith and to find roonr for them in the orthodox cult, and they were probably one of the chiefsources ofthe new doctrinesand practices. By the time of the Upanigad.s asceticisrn had becomevery widespread, and it was through the ascetics, rather than the orthodox priests,that the new teachings sacrificial developed andspread. Some ascetics weresolitarypsychopaths, dwelling in thedepthsofthe forests, aud sufferingself-inflicted tortures of hunger, thirst, heat, cold and rain. Others dwelt in "penance-grounds " on the outskirtsof towns, where, like some of the less reputableholy-menof later times, they would indulge in fantasticself-torture, sitting near blazing fires in the hot sun, lying on beds of thorns or spikes, hanging for hours head downwardsfrom the branchesof trees, or holding their arms motionlessabovetheir headsuntil they atrophied. Most of the new developmentsin thought, however, came from asceticsof less rigorous discipline, whose chief practiceswere the mental and spiritual exercises of meditation. Some of these dwelt alone on the outskirts of to*'ns and villages, while others lived in huts, under the leadership of an elder. Others wandered, often in large groups, begging alms, proclaiming their doctrines to all who wishedto listen, and disputingwith their rivals. Somewere completelynaked,while otherswore simple garments. The original motive of Indian asceticism was the acquisitionof magical power. Thc brihma4s claimed this already, by virtue of their birth and training, but there were other types of power, obtainable by other means. By the time of the Upanigadsfaith in the cosmic mystery of the sacrificehad perhaps begun to wane, even among the brihma4s themselves. Though sacrificialmysticismdid not immediatelydisappear the rite oncemore cameto be thought of as a meansof obtaining prosperity, long life, and rebirth in heaven, rather than ofsustainingthe cosmos. Indeedthe wealthypatronsof sacrificeshad probably alwa.vshad the former as their main motive. In the eastern parts of the Gangd Basin Brihm4'.'ismwas not so deeply entrenchedas in the west, and older non-Aryan currents of belief flowed more strongly. The sacrificialcult did not wholly meet the needsof theselands, where firmly foundedkingdoms were gro\ying in power and materialcivilizationwas rapidly progressing. The ascetic, even though his penance was of the most severt type, rose far above the heights achievedby the sacrificialpriest. joys Oncehe had inured his body to pain and privation immeasurable awaitedhim. The hermit of the lower type had rruch to look for-

ward to evell on the material plane, in the form of honour and resPect which as an ordinary man he could never hope for, and completefreedorn from lvorldly caresand fears. This senseof freedom, of a great load lifted from one's shouldersby casting asideone's family and posofcalmjoy in the religiousliteris evidentin manypassages sessions, to asceticism than ature of India. But therervere greater incentives in his self-training the hermit acquiredpowers these. As he advanced beyond those of ordinary mortals. He saw past, present and future; he-mountedthe heavens,and was graciously received at the courts of to earth and visited him in his the gods, while div.nities descended herriitage. By the magicalpower acquiredthrough his asceticismhecould work miracles-he could crumble mountainsinto the sea; if offended,he could burn up his enemieswith the glance of his eye, or his magical causethe crops of a rvhole people to fail; if respected, power could protect a great city, increaseits wealth, and defend it irom famine, pestilenceand invasion. In fact the magic potency formerly ascribedto the sacrificenow began to be attributed to age the idea that the universe was' asccticiim. Itr tlte succeeding slippedinto the background; tlrroughsacrifice andrnaintaincd firunded on thein its placeit rvas widcl.vbclievcd that the cosmosdepended of p.nu,,... of the grcat goi Siuu,rueditatingfor ever in the fastnesses ancl-on thc continued austerities of his human ihe Ilirn;rla1'as,f<.rllorvers. had its charmsevenfor the less s'piritual'they were still lf ascctism greaterfor the questingsoulswho took to a life of hardshipfrom truly developedhis psychic ieligious motives. .Ai his mystical exercises obtainedinsight which no words could exPress. the ascetic facuities, Graduallyplurnbing tlie cosmicmystery, his soul enteredrealms far bcyond il,e contp"tutively tawdry heavenswhere the great -gods <lwelt in liglrt arid splendour. Going "from darknessto darkness dccper1'ct;; hc st,lvedtlre mystery beyondall mysteries; he underthe nature of the universeand of himsell, stood,fully and linall,r', anrl lre rca.lr.,,l a rcalin of trtrtlt and bliss, beyond birth and death, knowt' evil. And with this transcendent loy arrdsorro\\',good.artd utterln free. i.dg" .tttt" attotircrrc'alilatiort-l)e was completelyrtlre final triumph of the soul. The salvatiotr, Ile-lradfoutrtlultirrtatc asceticwlro rcachcd the goal of his quest was a conqueror above all con<lucrors. lhere rvas nolle greater than he in the whole universe. mystical knowledge interpretation of the asceticrs The metaphysical varied frorn-sect to sect; but the fundamentatexperiencewas the same,and, as has beehmany times pointedout, was not appre-ciably differentfrorn that of the Wistem saintsandmystics,whether Greek,

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Jewieh,Christian or Muslim. But Indian mysticismis uniquein its elabor-ationof techniquesfor inducing ecstasy,and in the iomplex metaphysical _systems built upon interpretitions of mystical experience. Where in-_other- religions mysticism is of varying importance, in those of India it is fundamental. The great development of asceticismand mysticism soon became too strong for the more earthbound and materialisticBrihmanism to ignore. _ Placeswere found for the hermit and the wandering ascetic ii 4" Aryq social-structure by the formula of the four si"ges of life (p. t59f), which first appear in the Dharma Sfltras. Adounts of the discussions and teachingsof some of the more orthodox of the early mystics were collected and added to the Brihma4as as Aranyakasand Upanigads. A little later short treatisesof nrvstical character rilere composedin verse, and also appendedto the Brihma4asas Upanigads.Later still a method of mystical training, often known asloga ("union") (p. Seltr), was accepted o.thodox "s taken "n element of the Hindu iystem. Indian religion had a new direction. - It has been suggestedthat the developmentofascetic and mystical doctrines, especiallyin the heterodox systemsof Buddhism Juin"ndof the ism, representsa reaction of the warrior classto the pretensions brihma4s and to the sterility of the sacrificialcult. This, however, is certainly not the whole truth. Buddha and Mahivira, the founder of Jainism, were kgatriyas; they proclaimed the futility of sacrifice, and more than one passagein the Buddhist scriptures may be interpreted in an anti-brihmanic sense. But many of the teachersof the new doctrines were themselves brihmaps. The Upanigads, which represent the thought of the more orthodox mystics, in no way oppgse sacrifice,but maintain its qualified validity; and passagei speaking resp$tfully of brihma4s are quite as frequent in ihe Buddhistscripturesas thosewhich disparage them. There wascertainly someoppositionto brihmanic pretensions, and dissatisfaction with the sacrificial cult; but behind this, and the growth of pessimism,asceticism and mysticism,lay a deep psychological anxiety. The time of which we speak was one of great social change, when old tribal units were breaking up. The feeling of group solidarity which the tribe gave was removed, and men stood faceto facewith thi world, rvith no refuge in their kinsmen. Chieftains were overthrown, their courts dispersed, their landsand tribesmen absorbedin the greater kingdoms. A nerv order was coming into being. "f Great heroesand mighty kings] havehad to give up their glory; we haveseenthe deathsof fdemigodsand demons]; the oceanehave dried up; mountains have crumbled; the Pole Ster is

shaken;the Earth founders;the gods perish. I am like a frog in a dry well"; so speaksa king in-one of the Upanigads.ro - Despitcthe great growttr.of material:civilization at the time the hearts of mutty men-*ere failing them for fear of what should come to Pass upon earth. It is chiJfly to this deep feeling of insecurity that r1e in the middle and asceticism niust attribute the growth of pessimism ccnturiesof the first millennium r.c. ionani G nosis ,sptculal from an unhappy of e.scape \l';rsIX)t trrerclya mean.s Ascr,lilisrn rv go r l d ; i t h a d a p o s i t i v ea s p e c tf,o r i t w a s i n p a r t a r r l r r r r s ; r l i s l l i rr for the wisdom which the four lr_y a ttesirefcrrknorvlcdge, 111.;'ir.rl is not only a could not give. Thus the growth of asceticism Vt.,las uncertainty of the times, but also of nr(,lsrrrcof tlre ps1'chologicat her rlrr.irtlrirst for knowledge. It is not just to India to stigmatize it'rrtuisdoln as mere "life-negation". rurrt All tlrrough the first millenniuml.c. intelligentminds in India of the cosmicmystery. In u crc striving for convincingexplanations tlrc latcst phaseofthe flg lredapoetsbeganto wonderabout creation, explainedby the current mythology. As rvlritlr uas not adequately rvc lrave seen, creation was thought of by some as the effbct of a that it was due to a sort of l,rirlcval sacrifice. It was also suggested sr.xualact;ll elsewherethe world was said to have originated in a " (.ioldenEmbryo" (Hiranyagarbla),lz the Prototype of the Cosmic IigS (p. a9o) of later Hindu mythology. - In, one hymn the poet stites that the world arose from warmth (ta!as, later usually and then rather regretfully admits or asceticism), rneaningpenance tlrat he is not sure of this hypothesis,and suggeststhat perhaps evcn the high god Prajnpatidoesnot know the truth. This wonderful " Hymn of Creation", one of the oldest'surviving of philosophicdoubt in the history of the world, marks the recr>rds of a high stageof abstractthinking, and it is the work of development a very great poetr'whose vision of the mysterious chaos before creation, and of mighty ineffable forces working in the depths of the prinreval void, is portrayed with impressiveeconomyof language. wasnot, nor existence. "Then evennothingness beyond it. There wasno air then,nor the heavens keepingt it? Where wasit? In whose What covered Was therethencosmicwater,in depthsunfathomedl "Then therewere neitherdeathnor immortality, nor was therethen the torchofnight andday. windlewly andcelf-sustaining. The Onebreathed There was that One then, andthere wasno other.

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THE woNDDRTHAT w^s tNDra "At first there was only darkness wrapped in darknesr. All this was only unillumined water. That One rvhich came to be, erclosed in nothing, arose at last, born of the power of heat, " In the beginning desire descendedon itthat was the primal seed, bom of the mind. The sageswho have searched their hearts with wisdom know that which is is kin to that which is not. "And they have stretched their cord across the void, and know what was above, and u'hat below,r Seminal powers made fertile mighty forces, Below was strength, and over it was impulse. "But, after all, who knows, and who can say whenceit all came,and how creationhappenedl The gods themselves are later than creation, so who knows truly whenceit has ariseni " Whence all creationhad its origin, he, whether he fashionedit or whether he did not, he, who surveysit all from highest heaven, he knows-or maybe even he doesnot know.,,t3

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In the centuries succeeding the composition of the fig lzcda, how.ever, speculation was mainly concerned with the symbolism of the sacrifice. "Dawn is the head of the sacrificial horse, the sun its eye, the wind its breath, fire its mouth; the year is the trody of the saciificial hor_se, heaven its back, the sky its belly, earth its chest, the four quarters its sides,.. the seasons its limbs, the monthsand fortnightsits joints; days and nights are its feet, the stars its bones,the heaveni its flesh. Its hail: digestedfoodis sand,its bowelsthe rivers, its liver and lungs the mountains, its hair plants and trees, When the sun rises it is the horsi,s fore-quarters, when it setsit is its )rind-quarters. Wben the horseshakes itself it lightens; when it kicks, it thundersiwhen it makes water, it rains. Sourl is its voice."ll The symbolism of the sacrifice was carried much further than this. E-very word or action of the ritual was identified with some aspect of the cosmos. The intellectual ingenuity spent on this process of finding pratikas or symbols must have been considerable, but it was largely sterile, Yet the questing spirit of the " Hymn of Creation,, never wholly disappeared, and in the 6th century B.c. it bore fruit in a . My translation of this obsureverse is veryfree,

great wave of thought which was to alter the whole religious life of India. The early Upanigadsand the scriptures of Buddhism and Jainism, all of which look back to the ?th oi 6th centuriess'c' (though the latter rvere much later in their.final composition),show that there and theories on the existed a bewildering variety of speculations kindred problems' and soul, ofthe naiure the universe] the of origin and Sof,e of these rvere acceptedby one or other brihma4ic scho-ol bases germinal the were others belief. incorporatedinto orthodox two of *'hich surviveto this day, but most of which of heierodoxsects, in passingreferand are only remembered have long sincevanished, oPponents. of their scriptures in the ences to we fi.1dcreation ascribed A*ong the more orthodox t-eachings Prajdpati), i'e' (Puru1a, Ferson primeval of the the self<"onsciousness the need of companionship' The Perwho felt fear, loneliness, "nd son divided himself, and produceda wife. This couple,taking the forms of animalsand men, createdthe whole universe'16 The idea part of creationby a cosmicsexualact was one which played a gr-eat in forms in various is repeated in later religiousthought. The theme tiom derived whichtapas-thepower of sonte Vediciiterature,In later asceticism-is an essentialfeature in the Processo[ creation-a ,ignincunt shifting of emphasisfrom the oldei theory that the world on a primeval sacrifice. depended btlrer mo.e lreterodox teachersput forward naturalistic and atheistic cosmogonictheories. Somebelieved that the world beganas postulatedfire, wind, or ether (dhd{a,p' 49e) asthe ;;i.rtoth&s ultinrate basis of the universe. For some the universe was based entity, but on a principle neitheron a deity nor evenon an impersonal -fate (niyati), iime (kala), nature (rrabrdoa),ot chance(sarygat-i)' not by the-intervention It *o, srlgesied thai the'world developed of internal evolution or ,,f gr4 or flices external to it, but by a Process".i1,.ning" (pariyana). Some tiachers, like the Buddha, gYght tl,"i spefiilatio" o" first carses was a futile v/aste of time' There rvcre out-and-outPyrrhonists,denying the possibility of any certain krrosledge at all, and materialists,who rejectedthe existenceot the proclaimed s,,r,land'ill other imriraterialentities,while someteachers life of intellectual The atoms. eternal of rlr:rrtlrc $.orld was made Irr,lil irr the ?th and 6th centuries8.c. was as Yigorousand pullulating as tlrcjungle after rains. 'l'l,"l,r,,pagators of thesedoctrines, evenof materialismand scepti,ir,,r, rie." frearly all ascetics,though the literature of the time Dlore tlan one king who took a keen interest in the new rrr|rrtir.rlls of Videhaand Janaka i,lr';rs. C'5icfof tliesephilos|pler kings \4'ere

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AjitaSatruofKiSi (Verdpasi),both ofwhom probablylived in dre ?th centuryB.c. Theforest hermits (oAnaprastha) seemtohavedeparted Iessfar from Vedic orthodoxy than the wanderers (pariwdjala), who maintained a bewildering variety of doctrines. It rvaschieffyamong the former tbat the literature of the Upanigads developed. The terrn Upanigadmeansliterally "a session", sitting at the feet of a master who imparts esotericdoctrines. There are said to be l08 UpaniEads altogether,but many of theseare late sectarian works cf little importance. The earlier Upanisads, like the gre* Blhaddra4yala and the Chdndogya, are in prose and consist of a series of short expositionsof some aspectof the new doctrines,often in the form of question and answer. The Upanigadsof somewhatlater composition, like the Kalha and the Soetdluatara,are in verse, and their contentsare more closelyintegrated. Though the speculations of the Upaniqads differ very considerably, their main purport is the same. One entity, often called Brahman, the term used in the fg Ycdato mean the magic of the sacredword (p. z+l), fills all space and time. This is the ground beyond and below all forms and phenomena,and from it the whole Universe, including the gods themselves, has emerged. The great and saving knowledge which the Upanigads claim to impart lies not in the mere recognition of the existence of Brahman, but in continual consciousness of it. For Brahman resides in the human soul-indeed Brahmanrs the human soul, is Atman, the Self. When a man realizes this fact fully he is wholly freed from transmigration. His soul becomes one with Brahman,and he transcends joy and sorrow, life and death. In sleepa man's spirit is set free; it wandelsthrough the universeas a bird or a god, it beconres a king or a brihman. Beyond dreaming is dreamlesssleep, where the soul'sexperiences are suchthat they cannotbe expressed; and beyond this again is Brahman. When he reaches Brahman,man is free, In their struggle to express the inexpressiblethe sages of the Upanigads usedimagery of every kind. Sometimesthe idea of the soul is rather primitive, and it is describedas a tiny manikin in the heart; sometimes it is saidto be the breath,or a mysteriousfluid which flows in the veins; but sometimes it is thought of as quite incorporeal and immeasurable: "'Fetch me a fruit of the banvan tree.' "'Hcre is one,sir.'
"'Break it.' "' I hav.. broken it, sir.' " 'What do you see ?' "'Very tiny seeds,rir.

"'Break one.' "'l have broken it, sir.' "'Now what do you seel' "'Nothing, sir.' "' NIy son,' the father seid, 'what you rlo not perceive is the essence, and in that essence the nrighty banyan trce cxists. I}eliel'e me, my son, in that essence is the Sclf of all that is. f-hat is the True, that is the Self. And you are that Self, Svetaketu ! "'to Here the soul is the innrost self of the being, in no sense material,

though ideas of a sort of soul-stufr a subtle matter of rvhich the soul was composed, persisted, especially among the Jainas. The term Atman came to mean indiscriminately "soul" and "self", which lends a certain ambiguity to niar)y passagesin the I'Iindu scriptures. The identity of the souls of the individual and the universe is reiterated tltroughout the Upanigadic litcrature, rvith varying emphasis, and *'ith differing interpretations of the nature of the identity and tlre character of the universal soul. Tat h;am asl, "you ( the individual) are that (universal essence)", the tvords of the father to the son in the passage u'e have quoted, is thc leading theme of the Upanigads, The one eternal undifferentiated essence, above good and evil, is in a condition ofconsciousness which is beyond deep sleep (susupti), but is yet arvakeand living. Though it fills the lvhole of space, by a mysterious verity which defies logic but is proved by expericnceit drvells in the core of the human heart. It is generally tlrought of as uniform and impersonal, and the word Brahman is of nctttcr gcnder, Thus all the multifariousness and incoherence of tlrc urriver.sc is e-xplained away, and reduced to a single entity. " ' l ' u t t l r i ss a l t i r r r v a t c r ,a n d c o r n et o m e i n t h e m o m i n g . ' "'I'lrt.sorr tlitl es lrc rr.:rt so l , l . ' I ' h e f a t h e rs a i d : ' F e t c ht h e s a l t . ' f i e son krrkcd ftrr it, lrrrtt.,Lrltl rrrt lirrdit, lrccause it had dissolved, " ' - l ' a s t et l r cu a t c r f r o r nt h c g o p , s ' a i dt l r cl h t h c r . ' H o w d o e si t t a s t e ? '
"'Of salt,' tlre son n'|1i1.,.1. " "faste fronr the nriddle. I l o r v d o c s i t t a s t e ? ' "'Of salt,' the son replicd. "'Taste from the bottoln. I I o w d o c s i t t a s t c i ' "'Of srlt,' tlre son relrlicd.

"Then the father said: '\'ou don't perccivethat the one Reality (saf) exists in your own body, nry son, but it is truly there. Everything which is has its being in that subtleessence. That is Ilealityl That is the Soul! And you u." tlut, Svetaketut"'r7 The Universal Essence is sometimes defined in purely negative lerms, "The Self can only be described as 'Not this, not this'. It

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is incornprehensible, imperishable,. . . unattached, . .. unfettered, .-. . it doesnot suffer, . . . it doesnot fail.,,r8 tsut,despitethe negationsof this passage, the sageYijfravalkya, to whom ii is attributZd, couldnot esc-ape giving the Un_iversal Essence a degreeof personality, and in one place almost identified it wittr the HigliGocl. of lnowledge, is . . . tJ-re ether in . "T?rat great unborn Sell, comprised the heart. In that is the ruler andlord, theking of all things. He grows n-ogreaterby good deeds, nor smalierby evil dleds,but he is the l6rd of all things,the king of all things,the protectorof all things.,,re In the verse Upanigads the World Spirit is describedrather as e god than as a cosmic essence. all things,radiantand bodyless, "IIe encircles unharmed, anduntouched by evil, All-seeing,all-wise,all-present, self-existent, he hasmadeall things well for ever andever."Zo In the Uplnipad from which this is taken the World Spirit is referred to as I{a, "the iord".- The Kalha lJpanisarlcalls^the Spirit "the Person" (Puru;a), reminding us'of the divine victim of the primeval sacrificefrom which the world was bom. In one passase the-.World Spirit is mentioned with fear and dread, recalling th'ai earlier felt for the god Varur.ra; "All thingswhatever, the whole*'orld, produced ffrom Brahman]tremblein its breath. It is a great terror, an upraised a\underbolL They who know tlis become immortal "From terror fof Brahman]the Fire bums. From terror fof Brahman]the Sunshines. From fear of Brahman Indra, andthe Wind, and Deathas the fifth all run away.,,zl The Sz,etdioatara IJlanisad which is later than those previously mentioned, describes tlre world spirit in completely theiitic terms. It is longer an impersonalessence, but a creator god-in fact the -no god Rudra, or Siva. Rudra may be reachednot onf by meditation and penance,but also by devotion and worship.
"?'he snarcr, who nrlcs alone in his might, - he u'ho govcrr)sthc rvorld in lris pciwcr, is ahvaysone and the sanre, though all else rise antl dccry. . . .

"There is one, Rudra alone,. . . who mles the world in his mislrt. He stands.behind all beings,tl" ilia" all the worlds, and protects them, andiolls t'em up at trre e'd of time. .,The Lord lives in the faces ofall beings, in their heads,in their necks. IIe lives in the inmostheart of all. the all_penading,all_present Siia,,,zz of tlte Bhapaud Gita, tli most e_xolted t;;;;i;i"oit'aiu,. retigious pu"i,., u.hich teaches "r,r a fully_fledg.a *"i.ni-u"i i, pu.t of the more recent Hinduism rather than of ite old B.ahmuni#,;l'.lr;ili;;ffi: from a religion of sacrifice ,o o". of J.u*ion. This brinqs us very nar to the religious atmo.sphere

Ethics of the [Jpanisads In general the Upanipad-s_ proclaim salvation by knorvleclge or realization rather than by faith oi *".r," "rrr"i, !,rri", mentailypragmatic. GoLd ana uuil "*"r?,"a"] ..e ' -l'.Ji., r..olved in the Drahman, anJ are rerativet".*, onry. "ll;;;;;;; ,,," 'oint of view of thi seekerafter t^rth, that is good *r,iir, r*i.'^r,im to the realizationof Brahman,and evil the rei.erse. Thus an;,f1ipg H;;;; the meditative life is u]1i1agelyb;,;;';;ong ";t;h ure most serious of theseobstacres are selfisha"."ir"r.-'h';;;" than one context it is said t'at t'e uni'erse cameinto u*itt.n.u ihiough a primevar desire .f tlre \\'orlcl Soul; to attainbliss tfr" fr"._it _"st, so to speak,restore rl)(!srar{} of tlri'gs bcrore creation. The normul uutu., iiarl;;;: srr< r iiit t.,. lrt.rrcr..'rnce, and evenasceticism, ar" g".i^iil"?; : t l r t ' yI t ' , r ,t1 l r cs o u lr r J r r r . a r d s . "rif "'l'lrtrc ert'tirr','c r,l'.,,r,1'", c,ftrrer,arv. sacrifice, studyandcharityare thefirst,arrstcr irv is rlrc.sctrrrrrl, ,r,,,1 to d*j.ll irr;;ljlr".yln urehouse ofone,s teac'cr. . . is tlic rlrirrl. ,itt ,t,"r" n,i"'u,,tj....fr". the worlds .lt,r,. of the blcssed, but the r'a' *lr, is li.r.,l i,, Itr;i,;;;;';i,,,ls ir,,nrortolity.,,er "The *'isenre' of ordditrrr.t rvarrt .\\'rratshourd <rrirtrren. we do with *.c lr"r.c llr"l,,,ra. ,f," rvorld besidesl, An. :lll9l:",'they.said.,,rv'c. tlreyconquered "ll.f theirdesire for.so.s a.d rvcalth ihetr".r.nty ruo.tar,.;i rvandered "rr,l aboutas l)esfars., ....f f" u.hokrrorr.s 6th" _yrt"ry of Brahrnan.l becomes calm,rcstraiircJ.,^ satisfirrl, p.r;"r,i'",,,i'.rnnU"nt, and he see! himself in the l-Great-t Self, sccs i"ff.... Evil does not "ff-tfii,,gr'orif," o\.ercome him,lut heiverconres cr.il. . . I F."u Lonr freefromdecav. sLvqr, freefrom hatred, freefrom rhirst,1,"b;.;';l;;"; "vit, Urat *rn.;ri' Occasionally it is suggested, especirliy in the later Upani;ads, that alr desires whate'er aiJ itrcompaiiut" riith' ti," sa'ing rilo*r.ag..'"

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" \['hen all desireswhich cling to the heart fall arvav then the niortal bccomesimmortal, and in this life finds Brahnran. "\l'hen all the earthly ties of the lreart are sundered, then the mortal becomes immortal. This is the end of all instruction."g6 A lile of ascctisn)\\'as not absolutely necessaryto salvation-everr kings are said to have realizccl Brahrian rvhile still ruling-but the saving knouledge was at best very hard to obtain, and doubly diflicult for one lvliose mind was full of material cares and desirei. All pleasure was therefore suspect., "Tlre good is one thing and the pleasantanother. Doth, rvith their differcnt ends,control a man. But it is r.r'ell with hirn who chooses the good, while he who chooses the pleasantmisseshis mark.":r Though often rather negative, the ethical attitude of the Upanigads is neither unmoral nor antinomian. IIe who has not ciased from evil conduct u'ill never obtain Brahman. Here and there are passages of high ethical value among the reiterated mystical similes and parables of the texts. Thus honesty is highly extolled. "SatyakEmason of Jabili said to his mother: .Mother, I want to be r student. What is my familyl' 'I had you in my youth, _"' I don't know your family, my dear,' she said. when I tr:rvelled about a lot as a servant-and I just don't knowi My i name is Jabili, and yours is Satyaklma,so say you are Satyakema Jabeta., " fle u'ent to GautamaHiridrumata, and said: 'I want to be your student, sir. I\{ay I come?' " ' Wtrat is your family, my friend?' he asked. "'I don't know my fanrily, sir,'he answered. 'I askedmy mother, and she said that she had me in her youth, when she used to travel about a lot as a servant. ... She said that as she rvas Jabili and I was Satyakima I was to give my name as SatyakimaJibala.' " ' N o b o d y b u t a t r u e b r l h m a 4w o u l d b e s o h o n e s t ! ' h e s a i d . . , . . G o and fetch me fuel, my friend,and i will initiate you, for you havenot swerved from the truth-"'2| A further fine ethical passage occurs in the form ofa legend irr rlrc Brhaddranyaka Upanigad, We quote this passage p"ril_y h*'.,,r" an allusion to it must have puzzled many readers of T. S l..lior r.
I A patronymic, named Jabtla. which would give the impression that the boy wes rlre torr r>f , rrrrt

"'lhe threefold descendants of Prajipati, gods, men and demons, were oncestudentsat the feet of their father. When they had finishedtheir training the gods said:'Sir, tell us sornethingfgood for our souls]'. IIe uttered the syllableDA, and thcn askedthem uhether they had understood, "'We understood', they answercd. 'You told us Dzlnyata (be selfc o n t r o l l e d ) . ' ' Y e s , ' h e s a i d , ' y o u u n d e r s t o oid ndecdl' "Then the men askedhim, and he uttered the samesyllableDA, and then asked them rvhether they had understood. 'We understood,' they answered. 'You told us DAtta (give).' 'Yes,'he said, 'you understood l' indeed "Then the denronsaskedhim, . . . and he uttered the samesyllableDA, and then asked them rvhether they had understood. 'We understood,' 'Yes,' tlrey answered. 'You to\d vs D.4Xadhaam (be merciful).' he said, 'you understood indeed !' "And the blessedvoice of the thunder ever repeats DA DA DArbe self-controlled, give, be merciful. So these three should ever be taught -sel[control, charity and mercy."29 Perhaps the highest ethical flight of the Upanigads occurs in the instructions said to have been given by Yajiiavalkya to his favourite u'ife before taking up the life of an ascetic. Remembering the double meaning of theworda-hnanr"selt" or"soul", thepassagenraybe read in two rvays, but the context shorvs that the Higher Self is intended. This Higher Self, the World Soul, the mystic recognizes in all things, and loves them for their participation with himself in the unity of the spirit. The passage is too long to quote in full, but we paraphrase its most important parts. "Yijiiavalkya had nvo wives, Maitreyi and Iietyiyani. Maitreyi knew somethingof the World Soul, but Kityiyani orrly knew what every wornan klows. \\'hen he rvishedto enter on anotherphaseoflife Yijilavalkya said: 'Nlaitreyi, I am leaving home. Let me make a settlement on you and Ketyiyani.' " N{aitreyi asked:'Nfy lord, if I owned the whole earth and all its wealtlr, slrouldI be inrmortal?' "'No,'YEjfiavalkya replied,'your life would be the life of the wealthy, and there is no prospectof immortality in wealth.' "Nfaitreyi said:'Of what use to me arethings which will not give me immortality? Give me rather your knowledge,Iny lord.' "'La,Jy,; he repliedr'you are truly dear.to me, and now you are even dearcr, So if you like I will teachyou.- r,isten carefullyt, "'A husbani is not dear for love of the husband-a husbandis dear for love of the Self. Similarly wife, sons,wealth, cattle, priests and warriors, r*'orlds,gods, the Vedas,everything-none of them are dear in their own right, but all are dear for love of the Self. -;"Truly you can see and hear and perceive and know the Self' Maitreyi.
' A traditional onomatoPeic expression of thc sound of thunder'

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you have seen,heard,perceived and lnown rJreSelf you will ,frd wfr-enknow all tbings. "'Where thereseems to be a dualityof selfandnot-self onesees, smells, tastes, perceives, hears, touches andknowssomething othcr. Ilut whenall is the Self thereis no consciousness of anythingotlrcr than Sclf.. . . '.fhus Maitreyi I haveinstructed you-this is immortalityl' " Whenhe hadsaidthis Yajfravalkya.r,vent away."so (rr) luooursu Tlu Buddha While the doctrines of the Upanigads found a place in the brihmapic system,there rilere other teachingswhich could not be harmonized with orthodoxn but were fostered and developedby heterodox sects. Chief among the teachersof such doctrines was the man who at the end of the sixth and the beginning of the fifth century B.c. establisheda community of yellow-robed followers, and was known by them.as the Buddha,the EnlightenedorAwaken"d. Eu.o ifjudgei by his posthumouseflectson the world at large he was certainly ".nly the greatestman to have beenborn in India. The traditional story of the Buddha, like those of most saints and heroes of ancient days, has suffered much at the hands of higher criticism. The story of his .birth and early life appears o-nly i1 the later books of the Buddhist Scriptures, and many of the leferences to him in those parts of the canon which purport to give his teachings verbatim are by no means reliable. Even the "Sermon of the Turning of the Wheel of the Law", which is said to be the first sermon preached after the Buddha's enlightenment, and which is the basic teaching of all Buddhist sCcts, is of dubious authenticity,and in the form in which we have it is not among the earliest parts of the canon. Much doubt now exists as to the real doctrines of the historical Buddha, as distinct from those of Buddhism. One eminent authority suggestedthat they differedbut little from the teachingsof the Upani.sadic sages,st thile another held that he rejected thi doctrine of transmigration, and taught merely the almost self-evident truism that one generation is affectedby the deedsof the preceding one.32 We here discuss, however, not the life of the Buddha, lut what his later followers belie-ved about his life, and not what he taught, but what Buddhism taught. Certain facts about the Buddha'slife are reasonablv certain. IIe was the son of a chief of the Sakyas,a srnall tribe of thc Ncpalese Terai. He bccame an ascctic, and propoundcd a ncw dtx:trinc which gained the srrpportof nurnerousdisciples. Aftcr nrany year.r

of teaching in the kingdom.s of Kosala and Magadha and in the tribal lands to the north of the Gangi, he died at the age of eighty at some time between the years *go and 41s 8.c., probibly nea-reithe former date than the latter. The story of his life as-told by his followers is far more vivid and colourful-than this dry outline, ;d it is infinitely more important, for it has influenced countless millions throughout the rvhole of Asia east of Afghinistin. One night Mahamayi,r chief queenof Suddhodhana, linq of the Sakvas. dreamt that she was carried away to the divine lake Anivatapta in-the Himilayas, where she was bathed by the heavenly p;uardiansof the four quartersof the universe, A great white elephantholding a lotus flower in his trunk approachedher, and entered her side (pl. XVc). Next day the dream was interpreted for her by wise me'-she had conceiveda wonderl ful son, who would be either a Universal Emperor (p. e+f) or a Universal Teacher. The child was bom in a grove of sdl trees called Lumbini, near the capital of the Sakyas, Kapilavast-u, while his mother *u, on th" *uv-lo her parents'home for her confinement. At birth he stood upright, took seven-s.tride-s, and spoke: "This is my last birth-heuceforth,tlire is no more birth for me." w_as named SiddhErtha,at a gteat ceremony on the fifth day from . . Tl" !.y his birth,. His gotra name was Gautama (in pali, Gotama) by which he is commonly referred to in Buddhist literature. The soothsayeis prophesied that he would becomea Universal Emperor, with the exception oiorie, who declared that four signs would convince him of the miserybf the worli, and he would becomea Universal Teacher. To prevent tlris prophecycomine true King Suddhodhana resolvedthat he shouldne'er L"o* ti,e ,;;;;;? the world. He *,as reared in delightful palaces, from whose parks everv sign of death, diseaseand misery was removed. He learnedall the arts that a princeshouldlearn, and excelledas a student. He married his cousin Ya(rrllrari, r'r'h.rnhe won at a great contestat which he performed feats of st*rrgtlr arrtl. .skill wl:ich put to shame all other contestants, including his etrviorrs cousirr I)et'edatta, f": all lris-pnrslr.rity and succcss he was not inwardly happy, and for .,8:a all the eflirrts t'f lris f:rtlrt.r|e did scc tfie four signs foreLld,'*iri.h we.e to decide his carcer, for thc gods k'cw his dcstiny, a.d it was they who -One,day, placed the.sign-s before hirn. as he was iriving round thJroyal park rvith his faithful charioteercharura, hc sarv ar og"i'man, in the last s-tages of infirmity and decrepitude-actually a god, who had taken this disguise in order that siddhertha Gautama mighibecome a Buddha: siddhartha asked channa who this repulsive being was, and when he learned that all men must grow old he was even mo-re troubled in mind. Thi; was the first sigru Tbe secondcame a little later, in the same wayr.ln the
and tern)s, tor the sake ofconsisterrcy. The reader who goes on to more se(alreq studJ may meet tllem in their pi,.li lbrrrs, as used by the sthavira-vida Buddhists.

r rhroughout t}is section andgenerally in tbis book we emptoySanskrit formsof nuooJ)rstnames

THE woNDERTHAT wAs TNDIA form of a very sich man, covered with boils and shivering with fever. fie third was even more terrible-a corpse, being carried"to the ground, fo]lo-wed "."m"tionby weeping moum.is. But dre fourth sign Urouel,i l,oDe and consolation-a wandering rerigious bcggar, crad in "a simplS yellJw robe,peacefuland calm,.with a mieirof inuarll joy. On r""ingi,i.n'S;aJhirtha realized where his destiny lay, urd sct hls lreart on L.omi,.,j'" wanderer. Hearing of this King Suddhodhana doubredhis prccautiors. sidtlhrrtha was made-a-virtual prisoner,rhough still surroundedwith pleasures an,r Iuxuries ofall kinds; his heart knew-nopeace,and he could never forget thi fou-r ligns- one moming the news wis brought to him that yasianara had given birth to a son, but-it gave him no pleaslure.That nigt t th".u *"ru great festivities, but when all were sleeping he roused channi who saddled his favourite horse Kanlhaka,and he rode'offinto the night, su.ro,,-d"d bv rejoicing demigods,wiro cushionedthe fall of hi, ho.'r'"i'ii""fr';;;;;; one-should hear his-departure(p. 4SE, utd pl, XXIVc). When far from the city he stripped-off his jewellery and fine garments, and put on a hermit's robe, provided by an attendantdemigod. "Witf, f,i, sword he cut off his flowing hair, and sent it back to hisiather *ith hi; gallenjs by the handofChanna. The horse Kanthakadroppeda""a frogrief w}en he found that he was to be parted fiom his ,n"'rt"", ;;; rebom in oneof the heavens, 'Thus-siddhirtha performedr,is .. c."ui""d Coing Fol,lr" -(Ma_habhini$ramana) and becanie a wanqermg asceuc, ownmg nothing but the robe he wore. At first-he begged his food as a wanderer, but be soon gave up this life for that of a forest hermit. From a sage nimed Ar;ra Kilima r,. r""-.J the technique of meditation, and the iore of Brahman t"rgil-i; th; upanigads;but he was not convinced "r liber?tion that man could obtain from sorrow by nre'tal disciplineand knowledge, so he joined ro."",.r"ir-ni= ascetics.who were practisingthe rnostrigoious self-riortificatio" i" tt t op" of_wearingaway their karnra and obtairiing final bliss. " IIis penances became so severe that the five quickly recognizedhim as _ their.leader. For six years he tortured himself until he was"nothinl u"J walking-skeleton. One day, rronl out by penanceand hunger, f," f?i"t.a, and his followers believed that he was deai.- But after a whiie he recoverei consciousness, and realized that his fasts and penanceshad been useless. t9 beg food, ard his bocly regained its strength. 1)r; fi"; 11" 3q"i". tqp disciples_ left him in disgust at lris backsliding." O1e lay SiddherthaGautama,now thirt!_five years old, was seated be_ u large pipal,tree on the outskirts of tire towi of Gayi, in the realm 1gu+. of 'a-nearby Magadha.^ the. daughter of frrmer, P]l].bl:irl,I]ltg,of .Sujata,_ a targe.bowl of rice boiled in milk. After eatingi ,orn" oi :J,:ugnr,nrm thrs ne bathed,and that e.rening,again sitting beneath the pipll trcc, he madc a solemnvow that, though his bonesu,asicdarvay and his't,loo<l tlric,l up, he would not leave his seai until the ri<ldlcof sLrfl.;iingwas solvctl. S.o for forty-.ine dayshe sat beneaththe tree. At first irc u.assurr.run,l"d Dy hostsol gods and spirits,awaitingtlre great rn()nlcnt o(.cnlightenrncnt;

960

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f6t

but they soon flcd, foi Nlirl, the spirit of the *,,rrl,l an,l of scrrsual p l c a s u r e , t t r e l l r L t i d l r i s td c i i l , a p p r o a c h e d . F o i d a l , s ( i a r r r a m a w i t h s t < _ r o t l tenrptatior)s of all kinds (pl. XIX). Illira, disguised as I messengcr, l r r . u g l r t r r e r ' s t h a t t h e w i c k e d c o u s i n D c r . a t l a t . . ; rl t a C r e r . o l t t d , t h r J r r , , Suddhodhana into prison, and sciz_ed YaSoclhard, but Gautar'a ll.as not rnoveil. NIira calledhis demon hosts, ard attackedhirn with rvhirlrvind, tenrpest, flcocl and earthrlrrake, but he sat firm, cross-leg6.ed bcne;rth the rree. The' ti,e rel.pter called o'r Gautama to producJ evirjence ol hrs goodness ard bene'r'ole:rce;he toucheci the ground ,,r.ith his hantl, and tlre E a r t h i t s e l f s p c k e r v i t h a v o i c e o f t h t . : n d e r :. , I a m h i . s r v i t n e s s , ' . M,ira thcn tricd p;entler rneans of shaking Gautama's rcsolve. IIe called his thrce bearrtiful daughters, Desire, I'leisure and passiorr. rvho clancerl and surg before hirn, o'rd tried every lneans of seduciion, Thcir rviles rvere 'l-hey guite ineffectu:rl. ofrercd hirn LT'iversal Emoirc; but he v.,asunmoved. At last the denlon hosts ga'e up the strugglc and Gautanre, lcft alone, sank dcepcr_end deeper into meditation. Ai the dau,ning of tire forty_ nin'Jr day l:e !'.'ew the truth. Ile had found the secret of soriorv, ar,.l u'dr.'rstood at last rviry tire world is full of suffering and urrhappiness of all liin,Js, a-'rd r'hat rnar) r))rr5t do to o'crc.r:re t)rem. I{e was full_v rrrlightcned_*a Bu'ldha. l:irr another seven * eeks he renrained under the Tr.e if wir,lo* ( b d h i ) , m e d i t a t i n g . r n t h e g r e a t t r u t h s h e h a c lf o u n d . For a tirne lie d'ubted rvhetlrer he shouid proclaim his u.isdorn t,: the r'r'orld, as it rvas so recondite arr,l dillicult to exprcss that few rvould untlerstand it; L'ut the god Brairrni hinrselfdescended from heaven amd ocrsuaded him to teach tlre rvorld. l,ea'ing tire 'f:-ee of Wlsdorn, lre journej.etl to the Dcer Park near vira-nasi (the rnodern sernrth), rvhere his live lbrrrrer discip'les lad settled to contir:uc their penances. 'fo tlrese fir'e asceticsthe Iiuddha preached his firstsermon, or, in Bu<ldhist .fhe l,hrascology, "sct in motiorr tlre \\'hcel of the l_aw,,. fivc were so r r r : 1 ' r r - s s tr 'd vith lris new doctrine that tlre_v gave up their austeritics a::i! once r ' ( ) r c l ' ( ( - - u r ( 'i r i s r l i s c i | l c s . A f c r v d a y s l a t e r a b a n d o f s i x t y y o u n g a s c e t i c s h r . i r , r , l r i . f r , l l , ; " < r , , : r r , i h e . s c . t t i r e n o u t i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s - t op i c a c h r l r e L l t t ( l ( l l r . ti ) l r . r r l r . r . S , , , r rl,i i s r i i r l e \ \ ' a s r + c l i k n o r v n t l r r o p g | o u t i h e C a : r c ; I ' l a i r : , a r , L lr l r ( ' g r r ' . r l {\ r ) r i . q . r ' I t l r c t i r n c f a ' . u r e d h i n r a n , ] i r i s f o l l o u . e i r s . H e g . : r ! ) r t ; r t lt t r g l l l r , r . r r l r , , i 1 l i r r , r l l , , t , l y r , f r 1 , , 1 f t s( c a l l c d 6 l r i - r r e r6 , ,; in I ' a l i D lj , ( i / r r i . r l,i t c . r a l l , v" l ) ( A l { . r . s" ) , k r r i t t o g c t l r r . r i r y a c o r ; r r n o n g a r b , t h e l rrriy.l:rrc,-accgrtlipg 1 1 5 a 5o f t h c o r . l t . r , ; l n 1 l ; \ ( ( , l u t r 1 ( , i d .Vellor.v to"irac.iition l a i d d o * n i n d e t a i l b y t l r c I l r r c [ i l i . r l ; i r r . , , ] f . \ 1 ; r r r r ,: rt o r i e s a i e t . i d r . , i h i , long I'r-,xp5 o f p r e a c h i n g . I J c r . t . i r r r r r . t It , r I i . , 1 , , l l r ] . r s t i r , and conrcrteci liis fatlrer, rvifc ald son lllhula, as *.ei) a:; lit.ln-\.orlr,,r r l r c r r r b c r so f d t c c o u r t , i n c l u d i l r gh i s c o u s i n D e ' a d i . r t t a , r r l r , ' e l r r : r r t r . r r rr i r r c t lf ' l l o f j e a l ' u s v . A i t h e r e , l u e s t o f l ; i s f o s t r : r - m o t l r t ' :a ^ nd aunt, lir;J-(iautanri, he ailcrveC u.,tlr m u c h m i s g i r i r g t l , c i r ; - m a t i o no f a c . l r r r n u l t i t _ r ,f . r.rr's. De'atiatta qrew so o jerlorrs of hinr tlrat i;nce hc e'err rrlc.l to l.ili tht rluirJha, by arr;i,jirrg fr,,i. a n r a d c l t , r ' i r : r r rt o b e l e t l o o s c i n l i i s p ; : r h ; l r r r t t l t i : l : , . r r t , i , . ; , , . , , r . " , I b i , 1 , " IJu.Jdha s g - e t r t l c l r e sa sl d f c a r l c s s n c s s , , : a l r n l y hrrwrri;.r lris r'eei1pt. f XiVal. H,: averted a uar bet*.een tl,c f-l _v:rs antl rhe tic,1.;;as,I,y walk-ing betw.",.,

a
THE WONDER THAT WAS TNDIA ITELIGtoN: CULTg, DOCTRINES AND METAPHYSTCS

263

oea.rn,an4 ulls prssxAcJJ may bc an interpolation directed agf,inst early hctcrodox schools w l l l c l r c l a r r i l c dt o p o s s c s ss e c r c t t c f , c l r i n g s o f t l r e B u d d l r a . l i i s c q u a l l v n o s s i l , l e .h , u c v r . r tnat lt,rclcrs.to tl)c tcarlrcrs of tlrc Ul'ali$ads, ulro kcpt tlrcir tirr,-*t-sccrctdatrincf t,,i closest Inetr dlsctoles. --f Most-rnodcrir Ilurldbists chirn ihat the last nreal was of trrrfllcs, anrl tlre t'ili phrrse rilIara-maddava, "6weetncss of I'igs_", is certarrrly arrrlrrguous.r. tf.,t .;,,i,;;;;;; t a t o r s t o o k i t t o m e a n a c l r u i c ec r r t o f r r r r k . . l "rity

the assembled armies a'd convincing them of the useressness and evil of bloodshed. He went alone to the camp of a notorious bandit, Arigulimila. and converted him and his followers from their evil wavs. Though according to legend his life was attended by many wonders, the earliest traditions record ferv miracles accomplishedby the uiuaahahimself. once he is said to have pcrformed feats of lcvitation and other miracles at Srrvasti, as a result of i challange from rival teachcrs, but tr" rte-ry iorbade the monks to imitate him, a.d there is no record of his healing the sick by- supematural One touching .rnears. !J9ry of the Butldha ii interesting in this co'nexion, since it contrastsstrikingly rvith the Gospel stories of the nriracles of Jesus. A woman, stricken v.ith grief at ihe death of her only so', and hearing that the Buddha was in t"he vicinitv. brought the child's corpse to him in the hope that he would restore it io life. He asked her first-to go-to-the nearby town and bring a handful of mustardseedfrom a family in which no one had died. she went from house to housc, but ofcourse could find no such family, until at last she urderstood the inevitability of death and sorrow, and became a nun. For eight months of the year the Buddha and his followers would travel from place to place, preaching to all and sundry. For the four months of the rainy season,roughly corresponding{o the English summer, they would stop in one of the_parksgiven to the Buddhist order by wealthy lay fo-llowers, living in.huts of bamboo and reed-the first forrn of the greit Buddhisi monasteries of Iater times. For over forty years his reputalion grew and the saigha (literally sogiety, the Buddhiit-order) incieased in"numbers and influence. With the exception of the conspiracy of Devadatta he suffered no persecution, thougJr a few of his followers were maltreated by their.religious opponents._His ministry was a long, calru and peaceful one, in this respect very different frorn that ofJesus. end cameat the age of eighty. IIe spentthe last rainy season of his .. ^The life near the city of vai3eli, and after the rains he and his followers ioumeved northwards torvards the country which had beenthe home of his vouth. bn the way he preparedhis disciples for his death. He told them that his bodv was now like a worn-out cart, creaking at everyjoint. He declaredthat hL had made no distinction between esoteric and Lxoteric teaching, but had preachedthe full doctrine to them.t When he was gone they wfie to look for no new leader-the Doctrine (Dharna) which h1 had pieached would lead them. They must rely-on themselvei, be their own lamps, aud look for no refuge outside themselves. At the town of Pava he was entertained by a lay disciple, Cunda the smith, and ate a meal of pork.f Soon after this he waiattaclied by dysentery, bui r.,we cannot, of cour_se, rcly on the verbatim acflrrary of the account of the Buddhr'r ,

he insistedon moving on to the nearby town of l{u6inagara (Pali, KusinEri). Here, on the outskirtsof the town, he lay down undera sil tree, andthatnight he died. His lastwordswere:" All composite thingsdecay. Snive diligentlyl" This was his "Final Blowing-out" (Parinirvd4a). llis sorrowingdisciples cremated his body, and his ashes were divided between the representatives of varioustribal peoplesand King Ajitadatru of Magadha. The Growth of Buddhism According to tradition a great gathering of monks met at the Magadhancapitalof Rajagrhasoonafter the Buddha'sdeath. At this councilUpili, one of the chief disciples, recited the VinayaPilaka, or rules of the Order,_as he recalledhaving heardthe Buddhagive them. Another disciple,Ananda,who bearsiposition in Buddhiim similar to that of St. John in Christianity,recited the Sutta Piyaka,the great collectionof the Buddha'ssermonson mattersof doctrineand eihics. Though there may have been a council of some sort, the story as it standsis certainly untrue, for it is quite evident that the scripturesof Buddhism grerv by a long process of development and accretion, perhapsover severalcenturies. A second generalcouncil is said to have beenheld at VaiSeli,one hundred years alter the Buddha's death. Here schism raised its head, ostensibly over small points of monastic discipline, and the Order broke into two sections,the orthodox Sthaviravddins(peli or "Believers in the Teaching of the El<Iers"r'and TlzeraoAdi) the Mahdsafighikas or "Members of the Great Cornmunity". The tradition of the secondcouncil is as dubious as that of the first, but it at least records that schism began very early. The minor pointsoirlistiplineon rr'hich the Order dividedweresoonfollowedbv raltli lli:rcnccs of nruch doctrir greaterintportance. Nunrcrorrs sruh rlilli.rt'nccs appcarcdat the third great council, held at I)italil)utrarrrrrler tlrc l)rrtrollrgc of A3oka,r.r'hich resultedin the expulsiono[ ntany lrt:rctics arrtl tlrc cstablishntcnt of the Sthaschoolas orthodox. At this councilit is said that the last viravEda section was.added to the Pali scripturcs, tlte Kathiuatthu of the 'Tbhidhamma Pilaka, dealing .r.r'ith ps1'chology and nretaphysics. In fact many of the works of this part of the canon are of later composition, and the detailsof the accountof the councilare suspect, but the record shorvsthat by this tiure l'idespr-ead differences had developedwithin tle Order. Meanwhile great changes were taking place in the constitutionof Buddhism. Some modern authorities believe that the Buddha had no intention of founding a new religion, and never looked on his

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.ItIE

WONDER THAT WAS INDIA

RF,LICION: CULTS, DOCTRINES ANn l{ETAPIIYSICS

I
its orvn. Ac.cordIt rvas tltc cult 0f tlrc caitl'a that Budtliiisril nra,-lc over the l.rttilt [r,v tlre recip!ents uerc: or tlrnruli r/t-b.rj irrg to traditit)n coirtrirring the rcmains aiiiiaea aslrcsof tlic lluddha. Otlrer st,i1,:rs, of locally re\.ered ltronks and asceticsof otllcr dcnontinations, rose urrcarthcdthe ashes centuries. ,A.6,tlia up all o. cr Inclia in succeedrng oi the Buddha fronr their original resting pleccsand dividcd them still The sacred grove further, rcaring stlpas for tirem all ovcr India.'lrct', a pipal planted or trce c,f tlre <ild popr'rlar cult becanle the Bodlri cllliglltcnlnent' an near tl)e stir|;1 16 colnnlcnlorate the IJtrildlle's 'I'rrrc of Ga-r'd, under object of grcat rcvercnce. The original Ilodiri *'iicli th,: Iludrllta sat, bccame an object of pilgrirrrate, and ctrttings cult of it \\,cre carricd as far as ce1'lon. one ferture of'tire I-]uddhist rvhich has ttorv vanished is the column, perhaps the surl'ival of a existed in tnaly ancient phallic enblern or rnegalitlt. Such coluttttt,; place in the cult is not clear. but thcir monasteries, buddhist 'femples pr()per or sltrine-rooms do not altfear to ltave beelr erected until the teginning of the Christian era, rvltctr the Buddha began to be worshipped in the forrn of an image. His sinrpler lbllorvers evidently raised the Bud.ilra almcst t<.r divinity even in his lifetirne, and after his deatlr he u'as rvorshipped in his syrnbols-the stfipa, recalling lris parinirvina, and the tree, of circumamrecalling his enliglrtcnr:rent. l'he worship consister-l bulation in the auspiciousclockwise direction, and prostrations, with 'fhough tlte more intelligr-'nt monks tnay have off-erings of florvers. for the ordinary beiievcr he rvas the lris true status, recognized greaiest of the gods. This is not surPrising, for to thi.s day Indians iecl and shorv the utmost respect for those u'lroln thcy considr:rlroly' It is ratlrer a nlatter of surprise tllat it rvas only 5oo 1'earsafter the Buddlra'srlcath that a theology devclopetlwhich gave full recognition t o t h i s s t a t t :o f a t l : r i r s . of A(oha Btrrlcllrisnr greatly cxplndccl, spreading $tith tlre .sul)l)()rl 'l'llcrc i s . s o t r t cd o i i b t a s t o h o w t h r o u g l r o u t I l r r l i a : r r r , lt o ( i ' . 1 ' l o t t . at tlris tittlt,, bttt at ]east a rtldimentary far the doctrinc ltacltlt'r','lr,1rr-'tl ,) s( ) t \ ' ( ' t t ' o t t t t t t i t t t ' ttlo l v r i t i n g . T h e c a n o n e x i s t c t l , t l r o t r g l ry , t ' t l r a 1 l (irovc at Iiapiiavastu t l l r t , l \ ' I l r r d d l r i s t great 1'l:rtt's rt' l.trtrrlrirrl w h e r e t l r c I l t r r l t l h ar v a s l t o r t t , t l r c ' i ' r c c o f \ \ ' i s d o r n a t G a l ' a r v l t e r eh c g a i n c d e r r l i g l r t c r r r t t c r rt l,r c I ) t ' c r I ' a r k I r c a r V a r a r l a s i u ' l t c r c ' l r e preached his first scrrrlorr,arrd tlre grove near l{u6irragara where he died-rvere visitcd by rnany pilgrirns, including A6oka himself. Though there is a traclition of crucl persecution under Pu;yamitra Suirga tire faith continued to grorv. Of all thc religious remains of between 2oo n.c. and a.o' 2oo so far discovered in India those of Buddhisnt outrrunrber those of Br.lhmanisnr, Ilirrduisrn and

doctrine as di.stinctfronr the popular cults of the tirnc, but rarlrer as transcending thcrn---a sort of super-doctrine, rrhich .w'ouldhelp his follorvers lurtlrcr alorrg tlre road to salvation t]ran llrhlrnranisrn or 'I'his Upanisatlic gnosis. vicrv is, in our opinion, r'crv qr,re.stionable. Thougir tlre traditions o1' Iluddhisnr givc little cli,lcnce of direct antagoilisrn bctu'ccn lJuddlrists and brillrnrans at tlris cat-11. pcriod l-retu'een thcre rvas trru,-:lt atrtagor:isni ],lLrddlrists arrclotlrcr lretcrorlo.x 'I'lrc.sc sccts, suc:iras .Jairrasand Ajir ilias. sccts did not lncl'e!\, rvranglc tn'ct' docti-itralpoints, but carricd on vig(,rous l,l'ol:rll:lndr arnong la.vnretr for tlieir support, \Ve bclieve tlrat cven in tlre <le1's of the Iluddlra lrirlself the Order con.sciousll'tricd to buil'J urr a follo*ing of h-r'f.;lli, u'ho w'ould pay to tlre luAAIra thcir clricf if irot 'I'lrc thcir oniy lrorrr.qe. cnormous gifts rvhich so many rvcalthl, peopie xre siLidto lirve nradeto the Ordcr are no doubt exaggcratcil, liut tl'rc traclition is rnore probably partly true than r',lroll-y falsc, and at least sotrte ol tirc s'calllrv merchants tvlro so libcrallv srrrrported t l r cn c r v t c a c l r i a g s l r , , r r rl , a v c - l o t , k c u dp o n t l r c r n s c l v ca s sl a i ' B u , l i l r i . s t s . Wltatever its position in the Buddira's iifetime, 9oO 1'ears later tsutldhisrnu'as a distiirct religion. A6olia cla.ssified all the religions of liis ernpire under five heads; tlre (Iludclhist) Saigha, the Bralrrnans, the Ajit'ikas, the Nirgrantlras (or Jainas), and "other scct.s". lle firrther declarcd that, lvhile he gave his chief patronage to tlre )re liontiurcd and rcsDccteritlrern ali, ard calied on his IludChi.sts, t o d o I i k c r ri s e. 3 0 sub.jccts r'r'lrichs'crc botlr lly AJolta's tirnc Irrdia rves covcrccl rvith z'lra7a.r, monasterics and tctnplcs. In bct'otnirrg a rcligiort Ilurldlrisrn trruclrfr'<,rrt tlrc popul:rr l>clicfi; of tlrc tirrrc. Its borrcwed and a<l:rptcd but orr sinrple ritual rvas in no u'a','bascd on sacrilicial llrilrrnar.risnr, tlre cult of caiQas, or sacred spots. These rvere often small groves of trees, or single sacred trccs, on the outskirts of villages, ancl miglrt also inclucic turnuli, such as those in u'hich the ashes c'f chiefs were 'fhese caityas lvere the abodes of earth-spirits and genii buried. who, to the sirnpler folk, lvere more acccssible and less expensive to worslrip than the great gods of the Aryans. The Jaina scriptures shorv that unortlrodox hol1'-men often made tireir homes in or ncar the caitl'as, no doubt in order to obtain alms from visitors; and the Buddha is said to have respected thcse local shrines, and to have encoungcd lris lay fc,llorvers to revere thetn. Soon altcr the l3ircldlra'sdeath many communities of nronks gave and rrp tlic pructicc of constaut travel except in the rainy sea.son, settlcd pcrnrarrcnily on tlle outskirts of torvns and villagc.s, oftcrr near thc local caitt'as. \\'ith tinre urany o( thcse Iittlc rrlonastclics grerv in size atid intJ'ortattce.

r66

THE WONDER THAT

WAS TNDIA

RELIGION: CULTS, DOCTRINES,AND METAPHYSICS

967

Jainism together. The old stlpas were enlarged -r{Jl and beautified u'ith carved railings, terraces and gatervays. classes of t}re community, kings, princes,merchantsand craftsmen,made donations to the Order, which are recordedin numerous inscriptions. Though the individual monk was bound by his vows to own no property exceptbarenecessities, andto touchno silver or gold, the monasieriei grew rich on the alms of the faithful. The revenues of whole villages were alienatedto them by pious kings, and even the individual monks beganto take their vows of poverty lightly, for more than one inscrip tion recordsdonationsmadeto the Order by ordainedmembersof it. Though there is little evidence of stron! sectariananimuswithin the Order, sectsalready existed, and the scriptures had beencodified in more than one recension. It is possiblethat much of the pili canonof the SthaviravEdins, in the form in which tve have it, emarates from the great monastery on a hilltop near the modern village of Sanchl, the remains of which are among the finest relics of iarly Buddhism. Another very important sect, the Sarcdstioddins, was strong in the region of lvfathuri and in Kashmir. It was in Kashmir, aciording t.oa tradition preserved in China,that, underthe patronage of Kaniska ( tst-end century A.D.,p. 6lf), a fourth great council was held, at which the Sarvistividin doctrineswere codified in a summary, the Mahiiaibhdsd. It was chiefly among the Sarvistividins, but ilso in the old schism of the Mahi.sar'rglrikas, that new ideas developed, which were to form the basisof the division of Buddhism into the "Great" and "Lesser Vehicles" (trtahAfina and l-Iinaydna). The brihmans and their lay supportershad by now largely turned from the older gods,whom tliey worshipped with animalsacrifices, towards others,who were worshipped w'ithreverentdevotion. In N.-W. India the rule of Greeks, Sakasand Kupa-4as in turn had thrown open the gates to the West, and ideas from Persia and beyond entered India in greater strength than before. In these conditions teachers of the- early Christian centuries gave to Buddhism a wholly new outlook. They claimed to have found a new and great vehicle which would carry many souls to salvation, while the Sthaviravidins and kindred sectshad but a small one. The Great Vehiclesoon became popular in many parts of India, for it fitted the mood of the times and the needsof many simple people better than did the LesserVehicle, which then began to lose ground. In Ceylon, hotvever, the Lesser Vehicle resistedall the attacks of the new sects and thence it was Iater taken to Burma, ThaJand and other parts of South-EastAsia, the nationalreligion. where it becanre The Great Vehicle,on the other hand,itself soondividedby various

schisms,was carried by a succession of Indian monks to China and thenceto Japan. By the time of the Guptas it predominated,and Ilsiian Tsang, in the ?th century, fowrd the Lesser Vehicle almost extinct in most of India, and only flourishing in a few parts of the West; evidently it had ceased to make a strong emotional appealin the India of early Hinduism. Buddhism as a whole was already declining. In miny placesgreat monasterieswere in ruins, 'ani placesof pilgrimage almostdeserted. But the faith was still important, and had thousandsof monks and many prosperous monasteries. Chief of these was Nalandi (p. t001, which, under the patronage of kings of the Pila line, remained a centre of Buddhist piety and learning until the Muslim invasion. From Ndlandi,the missionary monk fladmasambhava went forth to convert Tibet to Buddhism in the 8th century, while pilgrims from as far afield as China and South-East Asia visited it to learn the pure doctrine. At this time the generalstandards of culture in North India were declining. From the end of the Gupta period onwards Indian relirnore and morepermeated gion became with primitive ideasof sympathetic magic and sexualmysticism,and Buddhismwas much affected by these developments. A third vehicle, " the Vehicle of the Thunderbolt" (Irajraydna), appearedin Eastern India in the 8th century, and grew rapidly in Bengal and Bihir. It was this form of Buddhism,modified by primitive local cults and practices, which was in Tibet in the llthcentury, as a result of missions finally established sentfrom the great Vajrayina monasteryof Vikramadila,in Bihdr. was not wholly unknown at this time. Anti-Buddhist persecution In the 6th century the Hii4a king Mihirakula destroyedmonasteries and kille<tmonki. A fanitical Saivite king of Bengal, Sadifrka,in the courseof an attack on Kinyakubja at the very beginning of the 7th century,alrnostdestroyedthe Tree of Wisdom at Gayi. There are othcr less rcliable accounts but it is certain that of persecution, this was not the main causeof the disappearance of Buddhismfrom India. A more important factor r.r'asthe revived and reformed Hinduism, which began to spread north\.1'ards from the Tamil c-ountryfrom the 9th century onwards, when the great theologian Sairkara travelled the length and breadthof India disputing with the Buddhists. Behind him he left an organizedbody of Hindu monksto carry on his work. The new form of devotionalHinduism made a very vigorous appealto the ordinary man,and the persistent tendency of Hinduism to assimilate, rather than to attack,was alwaysat work. As early as the Gupta period Buddhist monks often took part in Hindu processions. The Buddhist familn which gave its chief support to the local monastery, would at all times rely on the servicec

TIIE WONDER THAT

WAS INDIA

of bralrmansat births, marriages and deaths. If frrr a tirne Buddhism bccanreto all intents and purposcs a scl)aratercligion, denying the Vedas, the ordinary lavman rnigbt not see it in that light. For hirn Buddhisrn \r'as one of many cults and faitlrs, bv no means nrutually exclusive, all of'w]tich led to salvatiott, anclall of rvlriclt1\'crerespect'fhLrs, in Irredicval Nortlt in<lia, tlre abie and u'orthy of honour. Buddha calne to be loolied on as the ninth of tlte tert incarttations of the great god Vi;1u. (p. soo), an<l Buddhism gradually lost its individuality, becorning a special and rather unorthodox Hindu sect, which, likc nrany others, did not strlvir.e. Hinduisnr, relying for its strength mairrly on independcnt brahma4s and ascetics and on domestic cerenronies, suffered frorn the lr{uslim invasion but was not seriously weakcned by it. Buddirisnr, by now tnainlv concentrated in large rnonasteries and alreadl' ralridly declining in influence, could not stand up to the change, In the first rush of the Jvluslim advance dorvn the Gangi Nilandi and other great nlonasteries of Bihir u'ere sacked, librarics were burnt, and tnonks were put to the sword, Most of tlte survivors flcd to the mountains of Nepll and Tibct, but some Buddhist ntonasteriesstill survived in Bihir and East Bengal. An illurninated Buddhist manuscript contains a colophon statirrg that it rvas prepared jn Bi}ir in the tSth celrtury.3? This is our last record of Indian Buddhisttt, until its revival in recent years. Thc Itsser l'ehirle Accordirrg to Sin]ralcsetr;rdititin tlrc Pali crnon of tlre Stlra','iravid i n s c h o o lr v a sc o n t r r r i t t c d t o l r i t i r r g i n ( ' c . t l o n ,i ; r t l r c r c i g n o l K i n g Vatlagiurarli (ec-lz n.<:.), aftcr it lra,.lbecn firrall.r'cstablished at a great council of Sinhalescnronks. If ue are to believe tradition it had already been silied and co<iifiedat the thrce councilsofRajagrha, Vaiiali and Pitaliputra, and haC been passed dorvn by rvord oftnouth for some four centuries by teachers u'ho had not the strict mnemonic system of the Vedic schools. As late as the sth century a.l, written scriptures ivere rare, and the pilgrim Faisien rvas hard put to it to find a good copy of thc l/ina1a Pilaka. Probably even the codification of the canon in Ce.ylondid nct l holl_vend the process of accretion and interpolation. At the same time as the cal)on old comrnentaries in Sinhalese Prikrit rvere also committed to rvriting. Tlrese rvere translated into Peli, ald no doubt considerably altered and expanded, by the great doctor Buddhaghosa, wlro ri'orked in Ce1'lon in the 5th centur_v. ltave The original cotnnrentaries have cornplc'tclvvanished,antl .sotrre doubted rvhetirerthey cvcr cxistcd, but it is certain tlret Buddl'.aglrose to man)'earl_vtraditions not rr'cordt'clt'lsert'lierc. had access

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Plate 17

c0 -i

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Plate 18

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l l r : ; r r l l u s rS l , r l t r r t t f K r t t < 1 K;rniska. A.[). M ; r l l r t r r . r .l . ; t ? r r r i r r . r r t r r r y (; i, ; irc l r < r o l .rrrrilr,rrl I l t c S L t r l r l l r . lr' r r : , r r : l r r t r r . ,rrrr,rl<1 lr I t t r l o ( l o n t t t l t u r r rO , r p r t , r l J .r. r A [) l'r::;lritwitt.1:;t 2rrtlr.r:rrtttry ( i , r t r t l l t , r r ;S rr:lrool. llr,rl ol llrr, litrtltllr.r. 4 l l l l ) t l r ( . r i i l t u r yn . [ J .

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Plate 2O

RELT(;tON: CULTS, DOCTRINES AND METAFIIYSICS

As it stands today the Pili canon of the Sthaviravidins, including the scriptures, commentaries and semi<anonical texts, would fill a fair-sized bookcase. It consists of three sections called "baskets" palm-leaf on Uilaka), from the fact that the long strips_of_prepared *ttictr itre texts were written were originally stored in baskets. Suttar ("SrThese three are known as the l/inaya ("Conduct"), nron") nd Abhidhamma (" Metaphysics ") Pipkas. to the attributeil fhe YinaXa Pilaha contains pronouncemenb Buddha, laying down numerous rules for the conduct of the Order' With each rull the circumstances which led the Buddha to propound i t are given, and thus the Yinay a contains much early tradi tional. m{ter' ThElargest and most impdrtant of the "Thr-ee Baskets" is the Suf/a I'ilala,wn-"lchis divided into five "Groups" (Nikaya)z (r) Digh4 (L""S) NiIEya, a collection of long sermons ascribed to the nraaira, iitt i..ori't" of the circumstancesin which he.preachedthem. (z) Majjhina (Medium) Nil'dya, shorter sermons. of brief Pronouncement! isi Saiyutta iConnected) Nitdia, collections on kindred topics. (+) Anptiara (Graduated) Nihdya, a collection of over 9,ooo brief ,tui"m"nti, u.t*g"d rather aitificially in eleven sections, according to the number of topics?eated in each statiment. Thus SectionTwo_containsa discussionon the two thngs which a man should avoid, sectionThree, one on the trinity of thought, word and deed, and so on. works in prose and verse, (s) Khurtaka (Miior) Nikaya,miscetlaneous but certainli addedto the canonlater than the four other ,,,,,r"'""ry arrcieni, N,l,.iy"r.' Arrtong the contenis of the Khuddaka are the Dhammap-ada ("VJrr.r t,rr Viriue"), the ThaagdthEand the TllignthA ("Hymns.of the religio.us i.l.t.r lrl,,r,k, arrtl Nrrns), which iontain some of lndia's g_reatest poems,brieflyoutlining folk600 over of a collection JataAa, rn(l tlrc l.r,(.try, ir!". ar,.lotlrcr storit's,u'hichrvereoriginally intendedto be told in the words 'l'lrt rrlt.s arc told in iutt in a prosecommentary attributedof ;r narrrtor. with the verses' Many of wlri.lr is invariablypublislreJ ro lluddhaglrosr, but a very exalted message' convuy ill rt.,i antl thcy.l,, s"cular, tlre talesar"e tlrev have all been given att odour of sanctity by bcing ascrlbed to tne ofhis previous births It,:idha, who is sai4 Io l,"ve told them as recollections These racy and a Buddha' become to destined a beirrg s a Bodhisattua, elsewherein that and will be considered uiuia .ari., are ireat as"literature, aslr*ct (p. 455tff,, They are an hvaluable source of social history' 'I-l-re third Pilaka, Abhidhammd, consists of some drily pedantic and metaphysics of little interest exw0rks on Buddhist psychology 'It is clitainly latei than the other two Pi.takar. , ept to the specialisi.
are generally empio;'ed h thic aslion' I'rli flmri ,rr n"t""t and t"*r : . ' \ l r r t l ( , r r Dl t b c l t t r k n o q T .

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Plate 32

2io

THE WONDER THAT

WAS INDIA

thereare several As well 4s the canonandits manyconrmentaries of Menander" is the" puestions Chiefof these semi-canonicalworla. of the Greco(Mitinda4ailha\, an accountof the discussions w6ich is written with sudr ilactrian ftng fia the monk Nagasena, without much iitlr".u andiialecticalskill that iI hasbeensuggested, Of a different of Plato. something knew author the tltat eviden"ce, whichta1 the historyof Buddhism arethe versecluonicles charactei in Cevlon. and Eive valuableinformationon political and social (the "Island !hro-nthe earliest,Dilaoarysa also. Of-these, histor'v hasno literzrymerit' but the lo., and from the4thcentury icle" ) dates ("Great Clronicle"), of thefollo*'ing century'contains Mahaaaqsa as the (p. +6gf). [t wascontinued of o.rr.n". 'Anor'orproteautv and vigour of monksdown to ("I,esser Chronlicle")'bya-succession the falf of the ki"gaom of Kandyto the British at the beginningof tbat a fluther appendir basttthe tsth century ind we rurdersiand tP the presortday. it down bringing centlybeenaddid, not lDetaliteratue aFe of this geat body--of propositions The basic urd dissatilfaction, suffering, psr-chological Sorrow, butnhvsical '"tt"tt by the word which are refened_to manifoldunplelsantnesses be " are inherenl in 1ifeas it is ordinarily lirred; they-can-only iulrkto, Eanslated (ta4h!,;tften "cravup "thirst"eliminatedby giving longing,andsclfisbdesire, ambition, ing " ) , whichir;lude; peisonal the cause of this to orthodoxteachiug of all kinds. According ne'ss -mistakcn of individualityconviction but t}e innate "thirst" is core'.4! ego or-soul' that thereis in eachtiving being a Permanent early period by all very to a at While this doctrinewasslbsmi-6ed sects somemodernautloritiesdenythat it waspropounded Buddhist of andclaimthat he merdy taught the abandonment bv the Buddha, but life, plaue of everyday lower on tbe individualism silfhood and ye of an etemal soul Ttris proposition the existence maintained in the find hard to beteve, despitecertain apparentinconsisteucies Fali scriptures. If we can placearryrelgnce at $ gpoo *g-]g.*a life, the knowledgefained underthe Tree of Wisdom of the Budaha's was startlingly original, and not iP.Ig lehashof the lore of the slight shifting of emphas'rs. tii"s *ittt a comparatively Upanisadic 'whiteuer oriqinal doctine, therecaube no question Buddha's i-he teachiig of Buddhism,the kernel of whicb is about the fundamental in the "sermon of tI'e Turning of the Wheel of the Law " contained (Dhanmamtr:Iabonattatd Suttd),which the Buddhais said to halve the "Four ai Varalasr'. This contains to hii first disciples rlreached hoble Truths", andthe';Noble EightfoldPath", whictrareaccepted Jects. We give it in e somewhat by all Buddhist catego;ies asbasic rbridgedform.

f-7l "'l lrrrr I hl'e heard, Oncethe Master was at V5rinasi, at the - deer park rrll",l lsir'.rt;rrra. l-here the Master addressed the fivi *lr"t", " "1 lrere are two ends not to be served by a wanderer. What are those trv. ? of the pleasurewhich springsf.o,n a1rir.r, -'11,"pursuit of desires-and r'hir lr is base,common, leading to rebirth, ignoble ani un-profitabh; ;; drt' 1'rrrsuit of pain and hardship]whichis griev"ous, ignobr"'ia *pr"ni"ur.. 'llrc.l\lit'lle way.of the Tathigatar aviids boti ihese ends; it'is lcrr.rl, it lrringsclear vision,.it makesfor wisdom, and leads ";u"h: to ;";;;; ;;iffi, frrll rr is,Lrn and Nirvdna. What is this tvtiddle Way? . . . Ii; ;ilN;;il I illlrtfoltl I'arh-Ilight Views, Right ReJ"", fiLf,, Sfte*r, nigfrt C";d*t, l(rlilrr l.ivclihood, Itight Effort, Right Recoliection ai,a night"Meditation. llrrr is rlre l\lidclleWav. , . , "'And this is the Noble Truth of Sorrow. Birth is sorrolv, age is sorrow, rlisea.se.is sorrow, death is sorrow, contact with the unple"sarit sorrow, is .i:l)rratiol frorn the pleasant is sorrow, every wish unfutilted is so*ow_in rrr(,rtau llrc lrvc conrponents of individuality are sorrow. "'furtl rlris is dre Noble.Truthof the Ariiing of Sorrow. f It arisesfrom] tlrirst, *lrirlr leads to reb''th, which brings alright and pasiion, a.d se"r.i I'l.rsrrrc n.rv 'cre, now rhere_the thirsi for s?nsualpi.u.u.", til itirr; lur c(,ntirru('(l lilc, thc thirst for power. "'Arr,l rlris is tlr. N.rrrc Truth of the stopping of sorrow. It is the comr,f rlr.rtrlrirst so that no pr'.riorir..ains, Ieaving I'lrlr rt,'y'J'irr11 it. -- o ' beinc .rn.rx rl'.rt,.(l trorn ir, l',.ingrcleascd fronr-it,giving no pta"eto itl -'Arr,l rtrrqis tlrc Not,tc1,T,1l Wa]r which f^.a* to it! Stopping :lltS p"tnanig[t ('r s'rr(,w. rt is the N'bre l.ightfota Views, night R"iJrr"l I(iglrt S1x.cch,Itight Conduc{ Right Liveliho-od, nighi A"tr rf R[],t llccolltrrionand Iliglrt Meditation.,;s8 rlrr.rerrc nran-y difficrrltiesin interpretingthe finer points -'l'lrr,r11'f1 t'f tl'ir r,lr.rI 5,.r,,r,,rr rrr;ri. trc.ssallc il quite clear_sorrorv ( t e . t r r " r r r l ri.rrr 1 lt l r . r l t l r r .-iis I , . r l i r r r , l i t , 7 p 1 , q 7 , , r ' . u ri, " f ra , r wider range of f r r l r t r l Jt l , r r r t l r ( . I r ' 1l,i , . l rr r . 1 , l 1 1 . i 1l[l , r i r l r 1 . c t r a n s l a t ei t ) i s i n h 8 r e n i i t l r ' 1 , ; 1 1 , r tl 1 r l r . ;i r r r r l r r r . t , , , r . r r i r r 1 l i1 rr i11,11r.1, t f a C t i oi n s1 a,t,i,.,s ;an tc 1,,,'rs,';';'l .. ,v 1. . r , , l , l , n r r l i. l r . r tr,' . r r i r r 1a 1ri r , lt l r i sc ; u ru , l t y b L a o * : l : : l l r ' J ' r ' r h r r t ' ' r r r r r ' r , r r .r , , r r ' . r ' r , r ' t \ r ' r ' r . r srr . r r ' - i r r , r r r r g a t r a e e x t r e m e l : r c l i , r r r n ; l t r r l r . . r r l r r r 1n , l ( , r . r tl l t , l \ \ ( . l l o r , l c r . r .lti lf c , " n d 'tl,,"rr.r1'rirrrJ,l,.,l,utrrrrr.rr.rr,l,.11.lr,11.,l irrvariousratherpedantic l " t r r r . r , " 1 t ' r l ' i , r t . ' r t , , 1r r l r r lrr * a s t l r t : ' , , ( i l r a i n oinepenaeni Origi( I'ttt,,,rr,tnul,l,t,tr), ;r scrit,s of tn.elve terms, repeated*in :::::l',., l r ( l r c l l r . r n ( , n ( . l , . r s s . r At(,:( t l r c I , . i l i s c r i p t u r e s , commentedLn again rrrrl n1i1is1 1,1' arx.ir.^t arrd rrr<xlcrnscliolars,'*ap*ftao, ;;i flji; rrrrrlt.rst..rl by arrl,botlv. Out of Ignor"nce ;ri:;; i;.;ilil; . "lle whohasthu!attained"_onc of thctitlesof thc Buddha.

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thence Name and Form (i.e. corporeal thence Self-consciousness, Senses,*thenceContact, thenceFeeling the Six thence existence), thence Becomirrg, Attaclrment, Craving,thence (or Emotion),thence thenceRebirth, and thence1ll the Irranifold ilis that flesh is heir to. 'fhe mechanics of this doctrinc are indced obscure,but it shows first sermon,is at to tlre Budd)ra's that the craving which,accorcling the bottom of humanmisery is ultinlately due to ignorance-a sort of cosmic ignorance rvhich leads to the delusion of selfhood. The nature of the universe, the fundamental ignoranc-primarily concerns *hictr hasltrree silent characteristics-it is full of sorrow (dultkha)' (anatta), and it is soulless it is transient (anicca), The universeis sorrowfirl. Buddhistswould not claim that there in the rvorld, but that in some form or other sorrow is no happiness every aspectof life. "As the ocean has-only o19 in is ineviti6le flavour, the flavour of silt," the Buddha is purported to have said, "so has my doctrineonly one flavour-the flavour of emancipation ffrom sorrbw]."ae In ordinary existencesorrow caruIot be long avoided. The universeis transient. There is no abiding entity anywhere. In this Buddhism has much in common with the teaching of Heraclitus. Every being or object, however stable and-h,omogeneous-it muy appeui,is in ieality transientand composite. Man, who thinks hiniseif to be eternal and individualized, is actually a compourld of Statesof elements-Body, Feelings,Perceptions, five'psychosomatic Mind,-ancl Awareness. Tl.resefive vary fronr minute to minute and there is no pertnanentsubstrattrmto them. The old man is evidently not the sameperson as the baby in arms of seventyyears ago, and similarly he is not the same as the man of a moment ago. Alt every instartt the old man vanishes, and a new man, causedby continuity is given by the frst, comesinto being, though a specious and effeit which links one with the other. Buddhism the chain of cause knows no being, but only becoming. Everl'thing is resolved into momentary coiifigurations of events'f The universe is in conis part ofthe basicignorance tinuousflux, and iU iaea ofpermanence out of lvhich sorrow springs. Thus thcre is no immoital soul. The universe is soulless. In over from one life to anotherlnly.a notbing passes transnrigration nerv life-arise, u, puriof the chain of eventswSich includesthe old. and the World Soul of the Upanigadsis Even the goclsare soulless of the Lesser Vehicle is therefore a Buddhisnr The an illusioi.
r The sixdr being thought. 'f Calle,J dharnu, t}r term here used in a sPccial susc.

'rrr'' l t'r r'c 'ew being sufrers asa resurt of the actions 'r'lris .iril;i; ,lf ection rvas often.raised "rr' by theopponents of Buddhism,
ll tlrrr sirrrilc was unconvincing, it was pointed out that-the oiJ rrrrrr, rlrorrglr not, on ultimate the'same.person as the youn; "'r. srrli'red illnessas a result"rr-"lyris, oftf,e excesses ot hrs youth, and so one l"'rrrrrrrriglrtsufferas a result of the evil done by an earrierbeine who rrrr l'.rrr ,,f the chain of causeand effectleading r rrrr..r(('. l'erms like ..individual,,, ..persor,;,,p ,"-f,1, pi".Lii ind ,o on *""a r,rrrr'ly ( ()frvenient labels for a series6f *parut" momentarvevents ..lrr,' r'..rinued indefinitely, .."t,lrioti just ;;;';';;il;il; l.,lx.l frrr a collectionof piecesof wood ", and metal put ag",h"il-;; , . . tt . l i n
of a lamp. r,rp.lrr kir*tlt,a flamein ano.the?"';i ;J-,h".;"-.;';A,ihJ: which .tr'|.\r.rq (('unrered by the analogy of"the flime

r rlr rrr"rr rlr. rrrrt: Iluddhist by-passed them, for ,rr"y l.rrJ n.io.l r" lrr rr"r lrrrlh'r hirn g."1jly, andthey would in c"!e do what they "---'--*J rrr rr. rl,lr. tr;1.5.5is1 hirn if he kept toihe Middle"ny fav. ( )rr rlr'rr' themachinery of transmigraiion-" r'r't'rrri.sses doctrine s 1,,, lr *,rs r,rlit.rrover-by Buddhism from the gJreral beliefs of the rr lr.rrrlt, cx'lain. If nothirrg passesfrolm life to life tt" n"*_ :,,". l-,r11 la.1;11' r';rrrrr.tbe thought of as'in any way connected with the r', ,r't: \\ lr,r lr.r* rlicd, and whose actions have conditioned his p.;;;,

i'.,;,'l .;t; il, ;i;:;1,15:Jiliil:J,Tffffi::' ::l"rsx*;

eis r c 1 r 11 ,,,1, r r r r l r , , r r tr , r ; 1 1 n 1 1 , t rritltout God. No Buddhist teacher was ' . . t r r r , , , , r 1 ' l rr , , , l . . n y r l r c e x i s t e n c e of the gods outright, Uri rii",

i r | . , , r r , { | r , l t s , l x ) ( r l R t N E .A SN D M E T A p H Y S I C S

illanner. f lrr'.rrrlly stable entity in sthaviravida Buddhism was Nintiina .rr, l'.rlr, Nibbdna), the state of bliss reached bt th; ild:h";;; I ltntt, <rr perfected beings. Nirvina is iimcutt to unJ.rrt"rr=J ,,, *)ro hasrot experieiced it, and some early Western;;h;h., i rr, . :': rr',; it implied complete annihilati-on. A statement " .11,o1 r t I r rI rrrr.rl r., the Buddha: " I have not said that the Arhant exiro lrrtlr,,rrr,l I have not said that he does not exist . . . because. . ."iiu. tfri, 'r tr,'t rr lrl\'ing, neither does it tend to supreme wisdom,,.o would '"r'r'' r rlr'rt Nir'dna was berieved to be a state neitrrer of beine nor ,,r rr,rr t ri.rri.rr. The Aristotelian Law of the Exclud"d MiilF;; ' . \'.t ..rrr, rlv applied in.Indian thought, and a third rr",r, t"*.."ia] ,r' r",rlr lx.rrrg and not-being, woulf not be considered * irnp.r.i_ ' ,,t1 Il rlrt: whole world was in a state of flux and Nirvanaivas a r'rrr,l r.sr rlris too did not present an i n s u p e r a b l "p " r " i o x , i o . ',' ,\r..r w.rs.utside the univerie; it underlay ii, Uut rr", notp;;i;f ",, ), e r ',rr('('l)tis not very different from that of the World Soul of

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THE lilONDER THAT WAS TNDIA

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the Upaniqads,and, far from being looked on as a state of annihila' tion, Nirvi4a was sometimes described in brilliantly colourful larr guage-"a glorious city, stainlessand undefiled,pure and _white, unaging, deithless,secureand calm and happy".ar Nirv4a hasno definite location, but it may be realized anywhereand at any time, while still in the flesh. The man rvho finds it never again losesit, and when he dieshe passes to this state for ever, inhis Tarinirudyarhis "Final Blowing Out". The doctrinei which we have describedare those of the SthaviravEdin sect of the Lesser Vehicle, which is the only surviving sect of that branch of Buddhism, and is today dominant in Ceylon, Burma, of theLesserVehiclehave Thailand,Cambodia andLaos. Other sects now quite disappeared, though they survived longer in India itself than the Sthaviravidins, Chief among these was the sect of the. (They who say " All is " ), tvho had a canonin Sanskrit, Sarudstivddins and who difered from the Sthaviravddinsin their view that the conare not wholly momentary, but stituents of phenomena (dharmas) -Another important sect was that exist for ever in a lateni form. who maintained that our knowledge of the outside of the Sautrdnlr,tas, world is only a feasible inference, and lvho rvere well on the way to the idealism of some schoolsof the Great Vehicle. A fourth sect' the Sammitiyas,even went so far as to reject the doctrine of soullessness which passes and to postulatea sort ofsoul inthe pudgalaor Person, from life to life. Theseearly sectsof Buddhismprobably gavemuch encouragementto the evolution of Indian philosophy, as distinct from mystical thought. Though the Buddhais said to have disapprovedofspeculationon the origin and end of the world, Buddhists of the I-esser Vehicle devised a cosmological scheme, based largely on prevalent Indian ideas, rvhich accountedfor the existence of the rvorld without the intervention of a creator. As in all I;ndiancosmologiesthe rniverse is cyclic. Over an enorof evoluit goes through a Process mousperiod of time (mahahalpa) tion and decline, only to evolve once more. The cycle is divided and irrto four great periods (asaikfueya), In the first man declines, at last everything is destroyedexcept the highestheaven; the good go to this heaven, and the sinners to the hells of other universes, which may at that time be passing through different stages. The period is oneofquiescence. In the third periodevolutionagain second begins. The good karma of the beingsin the highestheavenbegins to fail, and the "'World of Form", a lower heaven, evolves. A great being dies in the highest heavenand is rebom in the World of Form as the god Brahmi. As he is the only living thing thereinhe is

. ,r' li,. llrrr orlrcr beingsfollow him from the highdstheaverr to the I ,,r, r. Ar llralrrnd was the first to be bom in the World of Form, r', I rl, ir l,ilrh agreeswith his wishes,he imaginestbat he is the ,', .,r,,r r,l tlrc r>tlter gods,and of all the world, which actuallycomes ,rrr,r r.risrt.rr(c tlrroughcosmic larv. Meanwhilethe earth develops, rr rrr.ll as otlrer earths. The first men are fairy-like beings, but tLey degenerate and becomeearthbound(p. gS). The 1'r.r,lrr.rlly riod is one of continuation, t, 'rrrt lr 1re markedonly by a regular pattern , ' I r , ,rr,li;r rative advance and decline,forming a seriesof lessercycles rlrlrirr tlre greater one. This processis repeatedfor all etemity, l,rrr'rrc grcat cycleis uot exactly like the next. There are "Buddha , r, I,,s" arrd "empty cycles", and we are fortunate that we live in a lr'r'l,llrl c1'cle,in which four Buddhas(Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, l,,r(1a1.r, and Sdkyanlurir) have taught and a fifth (Mditreya) is )ct to conle. I hc l.i'olution of thc Great Vehich It is nowhere claimed in the Pili scrlptures that the Buddhawas in ;ur\' \\'ay supernatural His supremeinsight was gained by his own r tL'r'ts, after many agesof striving in many different births. But his I'irrlr, cnlightenmentand death were cosmic events of the highest rn rl',)r't;rnce, and his greatlxess was such that he was revered even by rlrt: rrriglrty gods BrahmE, and Sakra (an epithet of Indra commonly rrrr.,l Lry the Buddhists), not to speak of the myriads of lesser ,lt.irics inhabiting earth and heal.en He is reported to have said rlr;rt shoever had faith in him and love for bim vras aszuredof a re, Li l tlr irt lteaven,,(z a prospectwhich, as we know frou A6oka's iuscrip r r,,ns, was much.more intelligible and desirable to tho ordinary nan rlr.rrr the rarefied and indescribable Ninri4a \\'hcn the Buddha died, according to orthodox theory, the chain , 'f lris cxistencewas broken. He finally enteredthe Nirver.rawhichhe lr.r,l rcrlized at his enlightenDxent,and ceasedto be an individual, ,'r to aflect the universe in any way. Just before his death he bad r,,l,l lris disciplesto rely on the Doctrine for leadership. But soon ,rr, r' lris dcatlr, if not before, his followers evolved the "Tbree , l ; ", rvhich form the basic profession of faith of Buddhism, and t, .,, ,, 1,,, ir t,r'cry Buddhist,both monasticand lay, repeatsto this day: .. I r' ' | 'r' r't:luge to the Buddha; I go for refuge to the Doctrine I tt:.tr rtt,t); I go for refuge to the Order (Samgha)!, fhough the r1,,,'r i.,tc rrright explain away the first of the Three Jewels,on the rrl,r'i.u.sirrtcrpretation "going for refuge to the Buddha" inrplied that
. " The lhgp of thc Silyu', r dtle of,Cartnr Budalhr.

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WAS INDIA

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tlre Master, as distinct from his teaching,was in someway still Present and able to help his followers. The Buddhahimself probablytaught that he was the last of a long of earlier Buddhas,who had lived before him' Accordsuccession ine to tradition these former Buddhaswere revered even in the Buddha'slifetime. By Mauryan times their cult was his"torical by Adoka. In the end the orthodox and was Patronized widespread, Sthaviravi4in schoolcountedno less than twenty-five Buddhas,not found the truth numberof pratyeka4uddhas,whohad to speakof a large "without but hadnot taught it to the lorld' guidance, for ihemselves in the executed of Bhirhut and S5nchi, The carvings of the s-tupas worshippers adoring of crowds depict n.C., tst ienturies znd and reverencingthe symbols of the Buddha. A little later sculptors began to i".ue images of the Buddha himself, and within a few seier"tions all Buddhistsectstook to worshippingimages' l"dlF "i.- t up with the times, and by the Middle Ages, even in the just as a "p, shrinesof the Lesser Vehicle,the Buddhawas worshipped waving lamps, and deepdevotion' llindu god, with flowers,incense, Amo"ng the doctrines of Zoroastrianism, which has strongly influencef other religions both East and West, is that of the Saviour (saolyant\, who at-the end of the world will lead the forces of against those of evil and darkness' Under the )ooa"*a''tiuht "N.-W. India Zoroastrianismand Buddhismcame invading rule"rsof in cont""ct,and it was probably through this that the idea of the future Buddhab"""me part;f orth;dox belief. lf there had been Buddhas beforeGautamathere would be Buddhasafter him. By the time of ..Questions of Menander", aroundthe beginningof the christian the luture Buddha,Maitreya, was widespreadamong of the cult tft era, all Buddhistsects. wrought rnanydeeds the Buddha Accordingto the olderconceptions and mercy in a long series of transmigrationi-:ul a of kindnessachievinghis final birth as the Sageof the Sikyas; Bodhrattoa,before andothei unnamedBuddhasafter him irre.yetto Maitreya since but, existing at presentin the universe' come,there *uti b" Bodhisattvas the welfare of all things living. for *ho are working continuously .fhe can be incamated as men, Bodhisattvas that show storiis Jntaka who have Bodhisattvas, as animals; but the more advanced o, htil:::; "J"n the in be divine.beingl good,.must for power the greatest Tlough neither omniscient nor almigJrty these .celestlal might be adoredand prayed to witllout any mlsglvmg' Bodhisaitvas for it was part ;f their missionto answerPraygl' The. Bodhisattva doctrine, a logical development from tlre older Buddhism' thus and presented with niighty forces of goodness, peopledthe hea-vens

l! tlr,r rrr sitlr a nerv m1'thology. It was this which formed the ! , . l , r r r . r r lr.' f t l r c l t f a h i y i n a , t h e G r e a t V e h i c l e . Itn t,rrt! IThicle \, r,r111i111; to the older doctrine the Bodhisattva works in w.isdom ,,rI , l,,rr.tlrroughmany lives so that he rnay becorne a Buddha, and , r,lrr.rr,\' believers are encouraged to follow his example and win \ rr r .ir.rras quickly as possible. Yet, since the Bodhisattva is a being ,,t inrrrreasurable charity and compassion,surely while one suffering ,rr,lrr itlual remains in the toils of transmigration he will not leave him rr rrlrout help and enter Nirvila, where he can be of no further service r,, rlre rvorld. So, quite logically, in the schools of the Great Vehicle rlrr. Ilodhisattva was thought of not as a being who lras soon to l,r.r,rrrea Buddha, but as one who would bide his time until even the ..rrr;rllcstinsect had reached the highest goal. The old ideal of the .,\rlrant,the "Worthy" who achievedNirviqra and would be reborn n() nrorc, began to be looked on as rather selfish. Instead ofstriving r() l)ccome Arhants men should aim at becoming Bodhisattvas, and 1,1'the spiritual merit which they gained assist all living beings on tlrt rvay to perfection. 'I'he idea of transference of merit is a special feature of the teaching ,,1 tlre Great Vehicle. According to the l-esser Vehicle a man can ,,rrl_v help another on the Way by example and advice. Each being rrrrrst be a lamp unto himself, and work out his own salvation. But rlrc bclief in transference of merit spread very widely, even affecting rlrc sects of the Lesser Vehicle. The numerous Buddhist dedi(.rtor_yinscriptions throughout India often contain some such phrase as: "May it be for the welfare of fthe donor'sJ mother and father an<lof all living beings." I\{oreover, the Bodhisattva was thought of as a spirit not only of r .rr1p155i6nbut also of suffering. In nrore than one source we read tlrc vow or resolve of the Bodhisattva, which is sometimes expressed rrr alrriost Christian terms: " I takeuponmyself. . . the dced! ofall bqings, evenofthose in the hells, r r r o t l r c r * o r l d s , i n t h e r e a l m so f p u n i s h m c n t . . . . 1 t a k e t h e i r s u f f e r i n g ulx)n r n e , . . . I b e a r i t ,I d o n o t d r a w b a c k f r o mi t , I d o n o t t r e m b l e aitt , , . , I l l r v e n o f e a r o f i t , , . . I d o n o t l o s e h e a r t . . . . I m u s t b e a rt h e b u r d e n ,'l .rll bcings, for I have vowed to save all things living, to bring them safe tl,rouglrthe forestof birth, age, disease, deathand rebirth, I think not of nrv ()\r'nealvation,but strive to bestow on all beings the royalty ofsupreme urr,l'rn. So I take upon myself all the sorrows of all beings. I resolve r,' lr'.rr evcry torment in every purgatory of the universe. For it is better

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that I alone suffer than tle multitude of living beings. I give myself in exchange. I redeem the universe from the forest of Purgatory, from the womb offlesh, from the realm ofdeath. I agree to suffer as a ransom for all beings, forthe sake of all beings. Truly I will not abandonthem. For I have resolved to gain supreme wisdom for ttre sake of all that lives, to save the world."ac The idea of the Sulfering Saviour may have existed in some form in thc Middle East before Christianity, but features like this are not attested in Buddhism until after the beginning of the Christian err. The Suffering Bodhisattva so closely resembles the Christian conception of the God who gives his life as a ransom for many that we

cannot dismiss the possibility that the doctrine was borrowed by Buddhism from Christianity, which was vigorous in Persia from the grd ccntury a.p. onwards. Thc universeof the Great Vehicle containsnumerousBodhisattvas, chief of whom, from the earttrly point of view, is Avaloftih{vara ("Thc Lord who Looks Down"), also caJledPadnapE4i ("The His special attribute is compassiorq Lotu+-Bearer") (pl. )(LIV). and his helping hand reaihes even to Atki, the deepest and most unpleasantof the Buddhist purgatories. Another important Bodhisattve is Maf,juki, whose special activity is to stimulate the unden standing, and who is depicted with a naked sword in one harrd, to destroy error and falsebood,and a book in the other, describing the ten fdramitds, or great spifitual perfections, which are the cardinal virtucs developed by Bodhisatwas.r Yajrafdg.i, a stemer Bodhirattva, is the foe of sin and evil, and like the god Indra bears r thunderbolt in his hand. The gentle Maitrela, the future Buddha, is worshipped as a Bodhisattva. Also worthy of mention is. KE#l: gtbha, the guardian of the purgatories, who is thought of not as a fierce torturer but rather as tlre govemor of a model prison, doing his best to make [fe tolerable for his charges, and helping them to eam remission of sentence. Though the Great Vehicle'agrees in theory with the ksser that the world is full of sorow' it is fundamentelly optimistic" Tbe world contains much good as well as evil, and there is help for all who ask. Every llving thing' from the humblest worm upwards,is in a sensea Bodhisattva,for most schools of the Great Vehicle maintain implicitly or explicitly tlrat ultimately all beings will attain Nirvn4a and becomeBuddha. The Great Vehicle was not content with creating this pantheon of
e Charig (diina), good conduct (!rlz), forbearance($dnti), courage (ofrya), meditalo take" (to help beings to tion (illAna),nsight(trajild)," skill in knowing what means echievcsalvetion) (updlalaufalya),resolution (2ragidltiaa),power (6&), and knowledge ( ililla\. surrounded ln somc lists onlv the 6rst six are mentioned. Much mysticism i6c iaei ofttrc Pnjnrprramitrs, especiallyin the Vejreyina School.

nELtcloN:oulTs, DocTBJNES AN.D METApHysrcr 279 noble and beneficient Bodhisattvas. Probably developing from the old hcresy_of the Mahisanghika school (p. eos) the iclealrose that Gautama Buddha had not been a mere man, but the earthly exof a mighty spiritual being. This being has three boaies; 1>r-ession a Ilody of Essence(Dharmakdya), a Body of Bliis (Sambhogahay), :rnd a CreatedBody (Nirmdnakaya),arrdof these only thelast-wis seen on earth. The Body of Essenceeternally penet;ates and pernreatesthe urriverse; it is the ultimate Buddha,-of which the other trvo bodies are emanations,more or less unreal. The Bodv of Bliss exists in the heavens,and will continue until the final res6lution of all things in the Body of Essence. The Created Body was a mere cmanationof the Body of Bliss. fiis reminds us of the Docetic hcresy in Christianity, and it is possible that Docetism and the doctrine of the Three Bodies owe much to a courmongnostic source in the Middle EasL The Buddla's Body of Bliss is the presiding deity of the most inrportant Mahdyana heaven, Sukhivati, the ..Happy Larrd,,, where the blessedare reborn in the buds oflotuses, which iiie from a lovelv Iake before the Buddha's throne. This divine Buddha is usuail! called Amitdbrla (Immeasurable Glory) or Amitdyus (Immeasurabll Agu). He too shares the,compassionof the Bodhisattva, for, though he enjoys endless and infinite bliss, he maintains arr interest in h-is world, and_especiallyin his heaven. At his touch the lotuses open to give birth to the blesscd,who are nourishedand grow through the food of his word, According to some Chinese ant JapanesJsects rvhoever calls on his name, however sinful he may hive been, is assuredof rebirth in his heaven. Amitabha is, in fact, a Father in I leaven. He, the historical GautamaBuddha,and the Bodhisattva Avalokitedvara are closely associated,and play a bigger part in N{ahlyinist thought than do other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, because they are chiefly concernedwith this region of the universe and this 1'uriodof cosmic time, but there are marry other heavenly Buddhas, l,rcsiding over other heavensand other universes. Atl ire emanario11s 6f the primal Body of Essence,which is no other than the Bralrrrr;in, the World Soul orAbsolute of the Upanigads, indifferentguise. I lrc Body of Essenceis sometimesreferred to in later Buaanist s r itirrgs as Adi Buddhd,"the Primeval Buddha,,,and is also described ,rs t t1_e-Voi-d " ( SAn1a), " theTrue " (Ta t toa),,, fr lsdom,,( Bodli), or '' t .' I rcWomb of thosewho Attain the Goal " (Tat hdgatagarbhir 1. Ubre"\'cr it is Nirvd4a. The final state, which the Sthaviravidin school l,,rurd so difiicult to describe in words, was for most sectsof the Great \',.lri<:le not really different from the mystical union wittr the absolute llr rlrrrren of the Upanigads. The wheel tumed full circle, and the

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mystical monism which early Buddhism so strongly- opposed found iti way into later Buddhism,but with a new terminology. Moit guaahist sectsof both Vehiclesbad their own versionsof the Pilakas, but, with the exception of the Pili Pigakasof the Sthaviravidins, these have not survived in entirety, and in the schoolsof the Great Vehicle their place was largely taken by later texts, mostly written in the early centuriesof the Christian era. These are in Sanskrit, which becamethe oflicial language of tlre Great Vehicle in India, though in other parts of Asia it tended to prefer the local tongue. Many of these texts, are.ostensibly sermonsof the Buddha,but of nuch greater length than thoseof the Sutta Pitaka; hence they were knolvn as Yaipulla Sutras ("Ex' panded Sermons"). Among the earliest Mahnyina texts is the Lalitaoistara, e flowery narrative of the life of the Buddha,containingmuch more of the supernaturaland the marvellousthan the Pali account;this text was uiilized by Sir Edwin Arnold for The Light of Asia, a lengthy poem on the Buddha'slife which enjoyedmuch popularity at the end though its style has somewhat and is still readable, of the lust "entury, important scriptures are the SaddharmapuTtdarila dated. Other ( " The I-otus of the Good Law " ),. a long seriesof dialoguesof con("Diamond Cutter"), iiderable literary merit; the Yairacchedika containing very subtle metaphysicalwriting; the Suhhdvatittyfa, ise ; theKaraP bing the glories of Amitdbhaandhisparad descri /aoyilJta, glorifying Avilokitedvara; and the Aplasahasriltapraiiiapdramitd,,a of theBodhisattvas ( p' 278,n) . workdesiribingthespiritualperfections Literature on this latter subject was considerable. As well as muchreligious poetry thesesacredtexts the Great Vehicleproduced literature, some of very philosophical and a great deal of sectarian high merit. were perhapshamperedby the ahe Sthaviravrdin commentators speculation,and, though Buddha'sinjunctions against unnecessary they could on occasionargue very logically, they producedcomparaphilosophy. The Great Vehicle, on tivily few works of systematic the other hand, produced many. It had two chicf philosophical schools, the Mddhyamika and the Togfudra. it took socalledbecause ( "lntermediate") School, The Madhyamr,ta realism of the Sarvdstia line midway betweenthe uncompromising vidins and the idealismofthe Yogicira, lookedbackto one oflndia's greatestphilosophers,Nigirjuna, who according to tradition was a contemporary of Kanigka, and whose MddhyamikaKdrikd formed the basis text of the school. We have seen that in almost all Buddhistsectsthe universewas believedto be a flux of momentary

lrtrt irrterdependentevents (dharma). Nigirjuna shorved by very ,,rrbrle argutnents that on final analysis the cosmic flux was unreal, wlrich perceived it and r.r'hich *'as itself part ir\ \{as tl)e consciousness ,,f the flux. Therefore Sar.nsara,the inrmeasurably long process of transmigration, did not really exist. If the world of change was t,nrcal, its contrary, Nirvi.na, was also unreal. lihere was therefore and Nirvina, which were one and the rro dificrence between Sar.nsdra In fact if all things were equally s;rrnein their common nonentity. rurrreal,they were on ultimate analysis one and the same. The One Thing which alone had real existence could have no predicate; it was therefore called by Negnrjuna "Emptiness", or "the Void" $nnyata). This philosophical nihilism did not lead Nigirjuna and his tbllowers to scepticism or agnosticism. Though nothing but the Void was wholly real, the world and all that it contained, from Amitibha downwards, had a qualified practical reality; and the great Void underlying all the universe was, in fact, the Body of Essencc itself, the Primeval Buddha, Nirvi4a. Final immeas:rrable bliss was lrere and now for all rvho would perceive it-not something remote and cold, but the very breath of life, nearer and more real than one's own heart. "The life of the world is the same as Nirvi4a. . .", said the MEdhyamikas, "and really there is no difference between t h e n ra t a l l " . a { The Togacdra ("Way or Yijftdnavddin School comof Union") pletely rejected the reaiism of the Lesser Vehicle, and maintained a tlrorough-going idealism, not even allowing the qualified realism of the Madhl'amikas. The r.r'orld was built by the consciousness,and Irad no more reality than a dream. The onl_yreality was " Suchness " (Tathdfi), also called Dharnadhdtu (freely translated "the Raw N{aterial of Phenomena"), which was equivalent to Negarjuna's Void. The Yogicira school, though perhaps less influential than the Mddhyamika, produced many important philosopheis and logicians. Chief of these were Asafrga, a monk of Peshf,rvar of the *th rrr 5th centurj, lvhose Sutrdlaikdra is the earliest text of the school, Vasubandhu, the younger brother ofAsariga, and the great logicians I)igndga and Dharnrakirti. Anrong the most important writings of Yogncira is the Latilduatdra Siltra, a lengthy text of great subtlety, Yehrcleof the Thundcrbolt Quite early in the history of the Great Vehicle fenrinine divinities found their way into the pantheon. One such rvas Prajiiipiramiti, tlre Perfection of Insight, the personification of the qualities of the Ilodhisattva. Later the Buddlras and Bodhisattvas, who were 'thc

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thought of as male, were, like the gods of Hinduism, endowedwith wives who were the active aspect, the "force" or "potency,, (fu*ti) of their husbands.The god was believedto be trariscend6nt and aloo{,while the goddesswas active in the world; thus the god might be best approached through the goddess. The produciive activity of the divine was thought of in terms of sexual union, an idea as old as the 4S hfu. With the spreadof theseideassexual symbolism, and even sexual intercourse as a religious rire, were incorporated into the teachings of someschools of both Hinduism and Buddhism. With these ideas was combined a nerv magical mysticism. The I*sser Vehicle taught that releasewas obtainedby tl_re gradual loss of individuality through self-disciplineand meditation: the Great Vehicle added that the grace and help of the heaverlly Buddhasand Bodhisattvasassistedthe process. The followers of the new teaclringe taught that it could be best attained by acquiring magical power, which they called vajra ( " thunderbolt ", or " diamond" ) . Hence the new schoolof Buddhismwas called Yajrayd.na, "the Vehicle of the Thunderbolt". Even the Sthaviravidinstaught that the monk who reachedr high andmentaltraining acquired stageof detachment supernaturalpoun'eis. At all times there were free-lanceBuddhist monks, who did not live regularly in monasteriesunder orthodox discipline, and who attempted feats of sorcery and necromancy, such as the Buddha is said to have condemned. It was perhapsamong these free-lances that the ideasofthe new Vehicledeveloped, to be codifiedand given dignity under the Pnla kings of Bengal and Bihir. Even in the ?th century Hsiian Tsang found certain monasteriespermeated with magicalpractices. The chief divinities of the new sect were the "saviouresses', (TAras), the spouses ofthe Buddhasand Bodhisattvas. There were also a host of lesserdivinities, manv called by the namesof demons, such as "outcaste women" (m&tungis), "demonesses" (pilAcis), "sorceresses"(1oginis),and "she-ghouls" (lnkinis). The Buddhas and Bodhisattvaswith their Tiris were approximated to the less amiablemembers of the Hindu pantheon,and were often depicted with many arms in ferociousposes. As in the da1'sof the BrEhmanan, it was thought that thesedeities should be conrpelledrather than persuaded. The textbooks outlining the means (sddharra)of doing this r,r'erecalled Tantras, and hence the new cult is often referred to as tantric. By pronouncing the right formula (nuntra) in the correct manner, or by drawing thi correctmagicalsymbol (yantra), one might force the gods to bestow

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magicalpower on the worshipper and leaclhim to the highest bliss. Arnong the many formule of tantric Buddhism one is speciallv hilm, still farrroui-the "Six Syllables" ($a(akyrd), Om manipadme rvritten and repeated thousands of times daily in Tibet. This plrrase:"Ah! the jewel is indeedin the lotus!", nray be sexualin its original significance,mystically repeating the divine coitus of the heavenly Buddha and Prajiidpiramite, and of Avalokite6vara and his Tiri. Tantric Buddhismdid not neglect the techniquesofmental training which were part of all the chief religions of India, but their direction was altered. Their primary purposenow was to obtain supernormal polver. The meditations of the Vajrayina were often positively psychopathic The practitioner of the system rnight so hypnotize himself as to imagine that he was reborn from the womb of a Tiri, to kill his fatJrerthe Buddhaand take his place. In sexual union with Buddhaand Tere, a femaledevoteehe and his partner would become or he himself might become TdrE In the sexual rites of tantric Buddhism all taboos were lifted. Even incest was permitted, for what was sin to the ignorant was virtue to the initiate, and so as u'ell as ritual copulation meat and alcohol were indulged in at the tantric covens. These things were, however, done under sffict control, and only by initiates at sacredceremonies. Like the Bengali tantricist of later times the Vajrayina initiate might in his ordinary life be a normal man, whose occasionalreligious debaucherys'erved as a catharsis to his evil psychological propensities and was of real help to hncxilr leading the good life as he understoodit Thc Buddhist Ordcr Membership of the Buddhist Order was not restricted by caste, but slaves,soldiers, debtors, and other personsunder obligation or in tutelagemight not enter it without the permissionof their superior. Novices might be admitted from the age of eight upwards, but they could only qualify for full membership of the Order after a long course of studS at the minimum age of twenty. The rites of adurission were simple, involving putting on the three yellow or orange robes of the Order, ceremonially shaving the head, and pronouncingthe Tlree Jewels(p. ZZSI and the "Ten Precepts". The lattcr form a sort of Buddhistdecalogue: ( t) (e) (3) (*) thepreceptto refrainfrcm harmingliving beings. "I accept the precept to refrainfrom takingwhat is not given. " I accept ". . . from evil behaviour in passion. "... fromfalse speech.

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(5) "... from sar,i,rrcra1e and mal (alcoholic drirks), whichcr":sc carelessness. ( o ) " . . . f r o me a t i n g a t f o r b i d d etn ( i . e .a f t e r midday). imes (7) "... fromdancing, perforrnances. singing, music anddramatic jewellery. (8) ". . . from theuseofgarlands, perfumes, unguents and ( s ) " . . . f r o mt h eu s eo f a h i g ho r b r o a d bed. ( to) ". . . from receiving gold andsilver." These precepts were not lifelong vows, but earnest resolveg. They were repeatedregularly, and if any monk felt that he could no longer honestlymaintain them he might leavethe Order quite freely, though public opinion tended to frown on the backslider. The vows were oftentakenfor a definiteduration only, as is still donein Burma, wherc boyson leaving schooloften slend somemonths in a monastery in preparationfor adult life. In this the Buddhist Order sharply contrasts with Cluistian monasticism. Of the ten vows the first did not originally involve complete vegetarianism,though it came to do so in many Buddhistcommunities. A monk might eat meat if the animal providing it was not specially killed for his benefit, The third vow, for the monk, meant absolute celibacy. The fifth was generallytaken to mean abstention from all intoxicants. By the sixth, a monk might eat no solid food after midday; this, in a warrn climateand for a man not engagedin strenuous work, was no very great hardship,especially as the monk might take sweetened bwerages at any time. In colder climates,such as that of Tibet, monks often take an eveningmeal, which is looked on as medicine. The seventh rule was not taken to include singing and musicfor liturgical or other religious purposes. The tenth was interpreted very liberally in many monasteries. Strictly a monk rnight own only eight "requisites"-three robes, a waist-cloth,an alms-bowl,a razor, a needle, and a cloth to strain his drinking-water in order to save the lives of any animalcula it might contain. In fact he often owned much more than this by the convenientfiction, not unknown in some Christian religious communities, that his property belonged to the Order, from which he had it on loan. The monk had to beg his food from door to door every morning, taking it backto his monasteryfor his midday meal. As the monasteries became wealthy, however, the begging round was often reduced to a mere formality, or droppedaltogether. While the Buddhist monk resembledhis Christian counterpartin his vows ofchastity and poverty, he took no vow ofobedience. Each novice or junior monk had his preceptor,and was expectedto treat a free member him with great respect,but the monk was essentially of a community of free n.ren. There was no central authority to

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regulate the manl' monasteries and eniorce uniformity; each was a law unto itself, guided only by the precepts of the Master as it had received them and as it interpreted them. The constitution of the mor)astery had elements of dernocracy about it. The chief monk or abbot was not appointed from above or nominated by his predecessor, but held olfice by the suffrage of all the mcnks in the monastic parish. The day-today business of the monastery was managed by a committee of elder monks, and significant decisions, such as the admission or expulsion of members, could only be made by the committee and not by the chief. Important business was discussed at meetings of the rvhole monastery in chapter (p. se). The monks assembled every fortnight on the evenings of the full and new moons for upavasatha(irr Pili, uposatha), an act ofgeneral confession. The long list of nronastic rules (I'rdtimolga, in Pili Patinokkha) from the Yinaya Pigaka was read, and each monk confessedany breachesof which he had been guilty during the preceding If his fault was serious his case was referred to a comfortnight, mittee of elders, which might impose penance or expel him from the Order. The ceremony concluded with the preaching of sermons, to which the pious la1'folk of the vicinity listened. The daily life of the monk was chiefly spent in study and religious exercises, but he was expected to take his share in the work of the monastery, cleaning his cell, and sweeping the courtyard and tlre monastic buildings, while the elder monks devoted much of their time to teaching the novices, Among the most important of the monk's spiritual exercises were the Four Sublime Moods (Brahnavihdra), in which, sitting quietly cross-legged, he endeavoured to fill his mind with the four cardinal virtues of Buddhism-love, pity, joy, and serenity-and to consider all living beings in the light of these virtues. A fiith mood was that of impurity, in which he considered all the vileness and horror of the world and of the life of the flesh. For those more advanced in sanctity there were more exalted meditations, which brought the monk very near to the realization of NirvE4a. One aspect of the monk's mental discipline which deserves mention is the seventh element of the "Noble Eightfold Path" (p. 97r)"Right Recollection". He was taught to rrain himself to be continually arvare of what he was doing, observing himself, as it were, all the time. It was taught that every act must be fully conscious, and distraction, carelessness and lack ofconsideration were serious faults. \Athen he ate, the monk should be aware of the nature of the act, its purpose, and the transience of the body which lie fed, and similarly *ith every act throughout tho day. No doubt few but the mort

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monks were able to keep up this state of "Right Recollm' advanced tion" continuously. thoug} numerousBuddhistnunneries, At one time Iniia possessed now monasticlife in Buddhismis largely confinedto men, exceptin Tibet lfhe nun.swore yellorv robes-andshavedtheir headslike the monks, and their discipline was very similar. Though strict-rules of were laid dorvn for preserving the respectability of the two branches accusations the Order, which oiten dwelt in adjoining establishments, levelledagainstthem by their religious of immorality were sometimes opponents, it.td these accusationsmay have had some foundation. The sexualactivity of tantric Buddhism,of course,did not coustirute with the rites of a breach of tlle vows when performed in accordance the sect IJuddhistEthln and Moralitl Bud4hism inculcatesa high system of ethics. The Noble Eightfold PatL, whereby a man atdins'Nirvd4a, is not merely- a matter of belieior knowledge,but also one ofconduct, and the Four Cardinal tJran the Virtues of Buddhiim (p. ees; are more positive in character of the Upanigads. and abstinence non-violence The chief of these virtuesr love-(Pali, nelfd, Sanskrit,.maitri), is somervhat less tinged with emotion than the comparable virtue nitra, " a in Christianitp The term is derived from the word t'good will" or translated "friendliness", friend", ana inight be "benevolence".- NeYcrthelesstle Buddhist scriptures contain passageswhiclr describe mettE with t passion which recalls the famous w6rds of St Paul on the virtue of charity. " May everyliving being,weakor shong,large-orsmall,seenor unseen, unForn-m"y everyliving thing befull ofjoy' n"". o, iu., bom or y-et or in or think ill of him in any\vay \rybatever, another, deceive none " May oi ill-will desireevil for anothet "ns"r ?.|ustas a mother,aslong asshelives,cares for her only c}jld, so should love to all living bcings. a manfeelall-embracing belowandacross, love for alllhe world, above feel bouridless "He should, walking, Ettti"g. Standing, enmitp without unrestrained, -or- lylng of lovq For this ig vbat be firm iri the mindfulness down,. . . he should. mencall the Subliue Mood."ro In this connexion the follon'lng extract ls lnterestiug, for it recalb a well-linown verse of the Sermon on the Mqut 'It in a deeppig thinking: will beusefulin " A man bwies a treasure or fall if I am robbed me, or with is displeased king or if t}e time of need, or if badluck befallsme.' into debt.or if food is scarce,

RELIGIoN: culTs, DocTRtNEs AND METAPHYSICS 287 all this treasure may not profit the ownerat all, for he may forget "But wherehe hid it, or goblins maystear it, or his enenfes or evenhis linsrien rnaytakeit whenheis not on hisguard. "But by charity,goodness, restraintand self+ontrol man and woman alike.can s.tore!pa rvell-hidden treasure-atreasure whichcannot be given to others,r arrdwhichrobbers cannotsteal. A wise manshoulddo gJodtbat is the treasure whichwill uot leavebim."{o

quoted abovecannot be clatedwith precision - Though the passages prc-CJuistian, gre and there is no possibility of .certainly {eq Lnrlsuan ulnuence. The vow of tjre Bodhisattva, rvhich we have already quoted (p.-z-lZt1, givessufficient indicationof the ethicsof the Greai Vehicle, which teaches an impassioned altruism scarcely - to be found elservhere in the literature of the non-Christiur rvorlil. Though the Buddhist virtue of mettd seems often rather a state of mind than a spur to benevolentaction, the view that faith without works is dead is sometimesexpressed, notably in the story of the Buddhaand the sick ntonk. As the Master wal going on a iound of inspection,visiting the monks in their cells, he ibun,l one who lvas aick with dysentery and who had fallen from his bed and lay in iris own ordure. With his orvn handsthe Buddhawashedthe sick man from head t9 foot, laid hin comfortably on his bed, and gale a new rule to the Order: "Brethreq you haveno mother or father to care for you. If you do not carefor oneanothcr who elsewill do sol Brethren, he who wouldcare f<lrme shouldcarefor the sick.".z Though this precept appliesprimarily to the Order of monks, it -such was no doubt under the influence of teachinEsthat A6oka established free dispensaries, and that Buddhist n:onis have at all times studied nredical lore, and treated la;men as weII as their own fellows, to - The Buddhist scriptures were chiefly written for and addressed the monks and,nuni of the order, but a number of passagesgave special instruction to the layman, and the first five of the ..Ten Precepts" (p. essf) were biniing on the lay community. According to the first ofthese no Buddhistiould follow the profeJsion ofhuntei or butcher. The resoh'e not to take life was generally interpreted as pelmilling lar+ful warfare and the sentencinf of criminals lo death, and did not preclude Buddhists from eating meat, if provided by
I The doctrine of the Stlraviravrdin school. In the Great vehicle merit can bc traruferied (p. 977),

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non-Buddhistbutchers. But Buddhism tended to encouragemildness and vegetarianism,and somewhatdiscouragedthe militarisnr u'hich prevailed at most periods in ancient India (p. lesf). The secondprecept, not to take what is not given, included abstention not only from theft, but also from sharp practicein business. For the laymen the third precept did not, of course, invoh'e absolutecelibacy, but permitted larvful marriage. It was utuaily interpretedas forbidding urulatural sexuality and extra-marital relations. Buddhismlaid down no hard and fast rules on the questions ofmarriage and divorce,and at the presentday in Buddhistcountries marital laws are largely influencedby local custom. The fourtlr was taltento includelying, perjury precept,forbidding falsespeech, and slander, while the fifth forbade alcoholic drinks. Modern Buddhistsoften put a rather liberal interpretationon this rule, and the samemay have beendone in ancientdays,for in one sermonthe Buddhais said to have classedonly the first four sins as "vices of action", and to have includeddrinking among the six less reprehenup of lvealth", the others being sible "openings for the svvallowing hours, frequenting festivals, roaming the streets at unseasonable gambling, keeping bad companyand idling. This sermon,the most important Buddhisttext on lay morality, is the "Address to Sigila",le in which the Buddhagives instructionto a young layman on his relationswith his fellorvmen, and on the duties and wives, and and pupils,husbands bfparents and children,teachers friends. It breathesa spirit of rvarm affectionand fellowship,not raisedto an exalted spiritual level but ofan everydaypracticaltyPe. The text is too long to quote, and we can only summarizesome of its instructions. as far as ;nssiblewith their wives,andcomply respect should Husbands give their adultery' Tlreyshould not commit t[reirrequests. They should wives full chargeof the home,and supplythem with fine clothesald jewelleryas far as their meanspermit. Wives shouldbe thoroughin chaste, andcareful in their drties,gentleandkitd to the u'holehousehold, and they shouldcarry out their work rvith skill and enhousekeeping, tlusiasm. kindly of them,act in speak to his friends, A man shouldbe generous
their interestsin every way possible,treat tl)enr as his equals,and keep his word to them. They in turn should u'atch over his interestsand property, infatuated, or takecareof him when he is "offhis guard" (i.e. intoxicated, otherwise liable to commit rash and carelessactions), stand by him and help him in time of trouble, and respectotlter membersof his farnily' Employers shoulCtreat their servantsand workpeople decently. Th"y shoutd not be given tasks beyond their strength. They should receive adequatefood and wages, be cared for in time of sicknessand infirmity, and

be given regular holidays and bonuses in times of prosperity. Tlrey should rise early and go to bed late in the service of their master, be ccntent with their just wages,work thoroughly, and maintain their master'r rePutation. Precepts such as these, u'hich are implicit in the teaching of other religions, are nou'here else so clearly and unequivocally expressed. Specially noteworthy are the duties of husbandsto wives and of masters to servants, which seem to anticipate twentieth century ideas on the rights of women and enrplol'ees. Among the most inrportant vehicles of Buddhist ethical teaching are the Jitaka stories. These are mostly of secular origin, and many merely inculcate shrewdness and caution in everyday lile, as do Asop's fables (e.g. that given in full on p. .4,56f). Others teach generosity and self-abneg-ation in morbidly exaggerated forms, lor instance tl're tale of King Sivi (known also in l{induisrn), who ransomed a pigcon from a famished hawk with flesh cut frorn his own thigh. Many modern readers may well find the very popular story of Prince ViSvdntara (Pali, Vessantara) distasteful. This prince gave away so much of his royal father's treasure that he was banished with his wile and children in a carriage drawn by four horses. As he left, he gave away the carriage and horses for the asking, and settled in a hut in the forest with his family. Soon he gave his children to a wandering ascetic who needed them to do his begging for him, and finally he disposed of his wife in similar manner. But all ended happily, for those who had asked him for his most precious possessions were gods in disguise u'ho had decided to test his generosity, and he was at last restored to his family and his patrimony (pl. XIX). But many old Buddhrst stories are of the highest ethical quality, such as that of the monkey who saved the lives of his fellows from the king's archers at the risk of his own by making himself a living bridge over the Gangi, or that of the noble parrot who laid down his life for his friends in a futile attempt to querrch a forest fire by drops of water scattered from his wings. (rrr) rerNrsM AND orHER uNoRTHoDox sEcrs Jainism Among the many unorthodox teachers who were contemporary with the Buddha was Vardhamina, known to his followersas Mahiivira ("the Great l{ero"). Jainism, the "Religion of the Conquerors" (jinas), which he founded, had a history very different from that of Buddhisrn. It succeededin establishing itself firmly, and in

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became very influential,but it never spreadbeyondIndia. ggmeptaces Unlike Buddhism,there were no fundamental changesand develop ments in Jaina doctrine. But though the history of Jainism is leis interesringthan tlrat of Buddhism,and though it rvas never so important, it survived in the land of its birtl, r,r.here it still has some two nrillion adherents, mostly well-todo merchants. The legendsof Vardhamdna Mahavira are lessattractivethan those of the Buddhaand are evenmore forlnalizedanclunreliable,but as he is referred to in the Iluddhist scripturesas one of the Buddha'schief opponentshis historicity is beyond doubt. He was bom about 64o r.c. and was the son ofsiddhirtha, a chiefofthe clan ofJfiitrikas, the associates of the Licchavisof VaiSili; his mother, Tri3ali, was the sister of the Liccbavi chief Celaka,and thus, like the Bu,lilha,he was wholly the product of the oligarchic martial clans which were a powerful political force at the time. Though he rvas educatedas a prince,andmarried andhada daughter, his reil interestlay in the quest for salvation. At the age of thirtn whenlris parentswere deaj, he left his homefor a life of asceticism. At first he followed the practices of an asceticgroup called the Nirgranthas (..Free from Iionds,,), which had beenfoundedsome 9oo years earlier by a certain parjvi. The term Nirgrantha was later u."d for the membersof the order which Mahdvira founded, and Pirjva wasremembered as the trventythird of teachers or Tirthaikaras (,,For:d.the lrvelty-foy1 -great makers") of the Jainafaith. from place to place, - For over twelve years Vardhamlna wandered begging his food, meditating, disputing, anci subjectinghis body to austeritiesof all kinds. At firs! he woie a single garment whicir he never changed,but after thirteen months ne taia tnis encumbrance aside,and the rest of his life was spentin completenudity. For some six years his hardships were shared by another asietic, GoSala Maskar-rputra, but ultimately the two quarrelled, and .Gojala left Vardhaminato found the secl of Ajivikas. In the thirteenth year of his asceticismVardhamina found.full enlightenmentand Nirv54a; he became a ..Worthy,, (.drhant),a.,CorF que_ror" (Jina), a " Ford-maker". He soongained a great ieputation and a large band of followers, arrd for thirt! years hle taught in the Gangetic kingdoms, patronized by the v"ry king. who alJo patrorF ized the Buddha. He survived the death 6f niJ.ti.f rival, bo6ila, rnd probably also that of the Buddha, and died of self-starvation at the.ag-e_of-seventy-two in the little town of pivi, near the Magadhan -date capital There are conflicting traditions about the of lajagilr_a. his dearh, which was probably in +oe slc. For sometwo centuriesthe Jainasremaineda small community of

I i,

monks and lay follcwers, less important than the rival sect of the Ajivikas. Accordingto a strongly hel<l Jainatradition Candragupta joined thcir orderas a monk on lris abdicatiorr, I\Iaur1'a and it ieems certain that there was an accession of strength in N{auryatimes. A fanrineat the eltd of Candragupta's serious reign led to a great exodus of Jaina monks from the Gangd Valley to the Deccan,lvhere they important centresof their faith. established Out of this migrationarose thegreatschism of Jainism, on a pointof monastic discipline. Bhadrabihu, the elder of the community, who led the cmigrants, insisted on the retention of the rule of nudity which Mahivira had established. Sthulabhadra, the leaderof the monks who remained in the North, allolved his followers to weal u'hite garments,owing to the hardshipsand confusions of the famine. Hence arose the two sects of the Jainas, the Digambarat ("Space-clad", i.e. naked), and the Suetdmbaras ("White-clad"). The schismdid not becomefinal until the tst century A.n., and therc were never any fundamental doctrinal differences; later most monkr of the naked sect took to rvearing robes in public, but dre division hac persisteddown to the presentday. According to tradition an oral sacred literahrre had been passed was the last perron down from lhe duysof Mahivira, but Bhadrabdhu to know it perfectly. On his deatlrSth[labhadra calleda great council at Pataliputra,and the canon rvas reconstructed as best possiblein twelve Aigas, or sections, which replaced the fourteen "former texts" (Pnrvas), This canonwas accepted only by the Svetimbaras; the Digambaras claimed that the old canon was hopelesslylost, and proceeded to devisenew scripturesfor-themselves, some of which aro still unpublished. The texts of the Sveta-mbara canon were finally settledand reducedto writing at a council at Valabhi in Gujardt in the 5th century ^.D. By this time the texts had becomevery cotrupt and one of the Afrgas had been completely lost, while new material had been added to the original canon in the form of the twelve or minor sections, Upafigas, and variouslesserworks. In the Middle Ages a great body of commentarial literature was written both in Prdkrit and Sanskrit, and there were many able philosopher monks, who interpretedthe scripturesof the sect. Somemonks tumed their attention to secular literature and other branches of learning, apparently without losing their piety. One of the last great poets in Sanskrit, Nayacandra,of the t.4th century (p. +s5t), was a Jaina monk, as rvas Mallinitha, the author of the standardcommentaryon the poemsof Kilidisa. We otve much to the Jaina monks' love of literature. To copy a manuscript, even a secularone, was considered a work of great religious merit, and thus the old Jainamonasterierof

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Western India have presen'ed nrarl-v rare and otherwise unkrown texts, some of which havestill to be publishedand many of which are of non-Jaina origin. In the period betweenthe l\{auryas and the GuptasJainismcanbe tracedfrom Orissi in the East to lr{athuri in the West, but in later times it was chiefly concenrratedin ts'o regions-Gujarat and parts of Rirjasthln, where the Svetimbara sect prevailed, and llre centralpart of the Peninsula, the modern I\fysore, tvherethe Digatt baras were donrinant. The Gangi Vallen the original home of by it. Jainism,was little affected The Svetlnrbaras foundrnuchsupportamong the chiefsof Western India, and gained a position of great prominenceduring the reign of the Caulukya king Kumirapila, who ruled Gujarit in the tgth century. Under the guidance of a great Jaina scholar, Hemacandra,KumErapila is said to have instituted a Jaina reformation; but on his death the sectlost much of its influence,and though it still flourisherl it never again becameso important. Similarly in dre Souththe Digambarashad great influence in the early Middle Ages, thanks to tlie patronage of kings, but this influence gradually diminished as that of devotional Saivism and Vai;4avism grew. There are traditions, u'hich somehave doubtedbut rvhichwe believe to have a basisof fact, that the Jainaswere sometimesseverelypersecuted. But although Jainismdeclinedit never disappeared. Though the Jainascriptures are comparatively late in their final fornr, there is little divergence in fundamentals bettveen the trvo great Jaina sects; thus it seemsthat the basicteachingsof both are very ancientindeed,and are essentially those of Mahivira himself. Jainisnr,like Buddhism,is fundamentally atheisticin that, rvhilenot denying the existenceof the gods, it refusesthem any important part in the universalscheme. The world, for the Jaina,is not created,maintained or des-troyed by apersonal deity, but fturctions only according law. to univer.sal The universeis eternal. Its existenceis divided into an infinite numberof cycles,eachconsistingof a period of improvement (utsar|i1i), atvJone of decline (avasarligi). Each period is to all intents and purposes like the last, containing twenty-four Tirtharikaras, twelve Universal Emperors (Cakraoartins),both classesbeing included in tlre total of sixty-three Great l4en (Sala*a-puru;as), who live at regular intervalsin the cycle. At the peak period men are of enormoussize and reacha tremendou.s age. They have no need of laws or propert_y, for wishing-trees(kal1>a-ofisa) give them all they needfor the asking. At presentthe rvorld is rapidly declining. The of this agc haspa.sscd lastTirtharikara to final Nin,ina, andgradually

evengave his true religion rvill be lost-Mahivira in his omniscience followersthe name and addr. of the last Jaina of this aon. The of declinewill continuefor 4.0,OOO process years, when men will be drvarfsin stature, with a life of only twent1' years, and will dwell in having forgotten all culture, evento the use offire. Then the caves, ride will turn, and they rvill begin to improve again, only to decline oncemore, and so on for all eternity. Unlike the cosmologyof the Buddhistsand Hindus, that of the Jainasinvolves no catadysmsof destruction, universal The universe functions through the interaction of living souls (7iuas, literally "lives"), and fir'e categoriesof non-living entities (ajioa)z "ether" (akala), the means or condition of movement (dharma),the meansor condition of rest (adharma),, time (kdla), andmatter (pudgala). Soulsare not only the property of animal and plant life, but also of entities suclr as stones,rocks, running water, andmanyother natural objectsnot lookedon as living by other sects. The soul is naturallybright, all-knowingandblissful. There are an infinite number of soulsin the universe,all fundamentallyequal,but differing orving to the adherence of matter in a fine atomic form. This subtle matter, quite invisible to the human eye, is karma, the immaterialentity of other systemsinterpretedmaterialistically. The naturally bright soul becomesdulled and clouded over by karmic matter and thus acquiresfirst a spiritual and then a material body. of the soul is compared The obfuscation to the gradualclouding of a bright oily surfaceby motes of dust. Karma adheres to the soul as a result of activity. Any and every activity induceskarma of some kind, but deedsof a cruel and selfishnature inducemore, and more durable,karma than others. The karma already acquiredleads to the acquisition of further karma, and tlrus the cycle of transmigration continues indefinitely. by dispelling On thesepremisses transmigrationcan only be escaped thekarmaalreadyadheringto the soulandby ensuringthat no more is acquired. This is a slorv and difficult processand it is believedtlrat manysoulswill never succeed it, but will continueto in accomplishing transmigrate for all eternity. The annihilation (nirjard) of karma comesabout through penance, and the prevention (saryaara) of the 'rtflux (diraoa) and fixation (bandha)f of karma in the soul is ensuredby carefullydisciplinedconduct,as a result ofwhich it doesnot
! Like the Buddhists the Jainas gave to these familiar terms very special connotationl, the full discussion of ulrich is bevond tlre rope of this work. Dfuriaiia sort of secondary space wlrich pcrmits movemeni, as water permits a fish to swim; adharma is a tertiary vhrch spnce permtts rest. (couls), ajlru (the five categorier { We qucite these four Sanskrit terms as, with/ua mcnricned earlier), and slvarion (mofua ), they constitute the seven furdamenrrlcategorier ( tdrrla ) of Jlinism.

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enter in dangerousquantitiesand is dispersedimmediately. When the soul has finally set itself free it rises at once above the highest heaven to the top of the wriverse, where it remains in inactive omniscientbliss through all eternity. This, for the Jainas,is Nirvipa. Though Jainaphilosophers developedtheir doctrines,and evolved a theory of epistemology of great subtlety (p. SO+f)and a remarkable view of space and time suggesting the world pictwe of relativity physics, their fundamental teechings remained essentially unaltered. Mahivira and the twenty-three other flrtlrafrkaras were adored in the same way as the Buddhe and the Hindu gods, but Jainism nevcr compromised in its atheism, and-there was no development in this sect comparableto the Great Vehicle in Buddhism. Jainism has survived for over 9,ooo yearson the basisof theseaustereteachingsalone. Full salvationis not possibleto the layrnan. In this Jainismdiffers from Buddhism an{ Hinduism, which concede it in exceptional cases. To attain Nirvd4a a man must abandonall trammels,including his clothes. Only by a long courseof fasting, self-mortification, study and meditation cart he rid himself of karm4 and only by the most rigorous discipline can he prevent fresh karma from clinging to his soul. Herrcea monasticlife i3 essentialfor salvation, Very early, however, many Jaina monks gave up the rule of nudity, and today few if any monks, even of the Digambara sect,practise it regularly. Both sects of Jainas, however, would admit that it is necessary to full liberation. The universe is now rapidly declining, and no soulsnolv reachNirviqraorhave any hopeofreachingit in the foreseeable future, so in these degenerete days clothes ars wom as a concession to human frailty. The regimen of the Jaina monk was, and still is, strict in the extrema At his initiation his hair was not shaved,but pulled out by trheroots. He subjectedhimself to many hardships,suchas meditating in the full sunlight of the Indian summer, or maintaining an uneasypos-ture for long periodr on end, tlough Jainism .lid not permit the more spectacularpenances of some Hindu ascetics. The monk's frugal meals were interrupted by numerous fasts, and many monks starvld themselvesto death, following the example of Mahivira himself. The life of tl-remonk was govemed by five vows, abjuring killing, etealing,lying, sexual activity and the possession of propertlr. theie vows were interpreted quite strictly. Acts of violence and killing, whether intentional or not, were the most potent causeof the influx of karma, and were thereforeparticularly to be avoided. Meat-eating was quite forbiddento monk and layman alike, Even insectlife wai carefully protected. Uke thc Buddhist monks, the Jainas strained their drinking-water to save the lives of animalcule. Jaina monks

usually eanied featherdustcrs, to brush ants and other insectsfrom their path andsavethemfrom beinc tranrpled untierfoot, andtheywore veils over their mouths,to preventthe rninuteliving things in the air from bcing inhalcdand kilicd. No lay Jaina cotrldtaheup the profession of agricr,rltr.rre, sincethis involvcdnot oniy the destruction of piant li[e, but alsoof nranyliving beingsin the soil itself. liindling a liglrt or fire rvasnot perhtittedby the rrronk,.since it destroyed livcs both in the fuel and in the surroundingair, lvhile putting a fire out $'as aiso forbidden,since it destroyedthe iife of the fire itself. Thus, in its insistence on ahimsii,or non-violence, Jainisrnwent uruch further than any other Indian religion. It has been suggestedthat Jainism sur"vivedin India, whereas Buddhismperished,because the forrner sect took better care of its layfolk. In Jainism the layrnan was a definite member of the Order, encouragedto undertake periodical retreats and to live as far as possible the life of the monk for specificperlods. Like Buddhism, Jainisrn encouragedthe commercial virtues of honesty and frugality, and at a very early period the Jaina lay community became predominantly mercantile, The splendid Jaina temples at such placesas Jr{ount AbA aud SravanaBelgoJi are testimonies of the great rvealthand piety of medievalJaina laymen. Jainisrnhad no specialsocialdoctrines. The domesticrites of the layman, suchas birtlr, marriage and death,v'ere thoseof the l{indus. At one time Jainismmaintained a cult of stlpas in the sameway as Buddhism, but this hasnot survived,and early in tlre Clrristianera the Tirtharikaras were adored in templesin the forrn of icons. By the Middle Ages this rvorshipapproximatedto that of the llindus, rvith offerings of flowers, incense, lamps and so on. As with Buddhism, the chief gods of the Hindus found their way into'Jaina templesin subordinate positions,and though there was no real compromise u,ith theism the sect easily fitted into the Hindu order, its menrbers forming distinct castes. Jaina religious literature is generally dull and pedantic, and its ethics,though they inculcatesuch virtues as honesty and mercy, tend to be negative and fundamentallyselfish. The virtue o[ nonviolencein Jainismoften had little of love about it, but merely involved vegetarianismand precautionsagainst the accidental killing of small animals. There are, however,passages in the Jaina scrip tures rvhich show rvarmth and human svmpathy. Thus, discussing the doctrine of non-violence,the early AcdrdfigaSitro writes: "A wise man shouldbe neitherglad nor angry, for he shouldknow and consider the happiness of all things. . . . Ufe is dearto the manywho own
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fieldsand houses, ufio get dyed and colouredclothesandjewels and earrings, and grow attachcdto thenl . . . Only thosewho are ofcontrolled conductdo not desire these things; therefore, knolving birth and death, you should firmly rvalk the path. "For nothing is inaccessiblc to death,and all beingsare fond of themsclves, they love pleasureand hate pain, they slrun destiuction and cling to life. 'l'o Thcy long to live. all tbings Iife is dear."re More typical of Jaina moral teachings are the follorving verses, said to have been spoken by Mahivira to Gautama, one of his disciples (not, of course, to be confused with Gautama the Buddha). " As the dead leaf when its time is up falls from the tree to the ground, so is tlre life of man. Gautama, always be watchful! "As the dewdrop that sways on a bladeofgrass lasts but a moment, so is the life of man. Gautarna, always be watchful I "For the soul which suffers for its carelessness is whirled about in the universe, tlrough good and evil karma. Gautama, always be watchfull "When the body grows old and the hair turns white, and all the vital powersdecrease... despondencyand diseasebefall, and the flesh wastes and oecays. Gautama, always be watctrl'ull "So cast away all attachments, and be pure as a lotus, or as water in autumn. Free from every attachment, Gautama, always be watchful!"60 As an example of Digambara teaching we give a ferv verses, remarkable for their conciseness, by the +th century monk Pfrjyapida. " Bodn house, wealth and wife, sons and friends and enemiesall are different from the soul. Only the fool thinks them his own." "From all dirJctiJns'conlethe birdr and rest together in the trees; but in the morning eachgoes his own way, flying in all directioru."

I fearl "Death is not for me. Why thenshould is not for me. Why thenshouldI despairl Disease I am not a child,nor a youth,nor an old manAll these states are only of my body." "Time and.g'"in'in iry i'oolishne.s I haveenjoyed thenr. all kindsof bodyandhavediscarded Norv I am wiseI ?" Why shouldI long for rubbish "The soulit on" it ing, matteranotherof truth. that is the quintessence Whatever elsemay be said is merelyits elaboration."ol The .t{jtvikas A third unorthodox sect which emergedat the sametime as Budw'ho dhism and Jainismwas that of the Ajivikas, a body of ascetics andwho wereundera rigorousdisciplinesimilar to that of the Jainas, also practisedcompletenudity. The doctrinesof the founderof the sect,Go$ila Maskariputra,beara genericlikenessto thoseof his contemporaryand former friend Mahivira. Like Mahavira, he looked and ascetic groups,rvhosedoctrineshe refurbackto earlier teachers bishedand developed. According to both Buddhistand Jaina tradition he was of humblebirth; he died a year or so beforethe Buddha, r.c., after a fierce altercationwith Mahivira in the city of abour.tr87 Srivasti. His followers seem to have combinedrvith those of other teachers,such as Pira4a KiSyapa_the antinomian and Pakudha Kityiyana the atomist, to form the Ajivika sect. After a period of DaSaAdoka and his successor prosperity in Mauryan times,_when iatha presentedcavesto the Ajivikas, the sect rapidly declined,and only retained some local importance in a small region of Eastern parts of Madras, where it survived until the Mysore and dre adjacent l4th century, after which we hear no more of it. No scripiuresof the Ajivikas llave come down to us, and the little we know about them has to be reconstructedfrom the polemic literature of Buddhismand Jainism. The sectwas certainlyatheiqtic, and is main feature was srict determinism. The usual doctrine of karma taught that though a man's presentcondition was determined by his past actionshe could influencehis destiny, in this life and the future, by choosingthe right courseof conduct. This the Ajivikas denied. The whole universewas conditionedand determinedto the smallestdetail by an impersonalcosmicprinciple,Niyati, or destiny. in anyway. to influence of transmigration It wasimpossible the course

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"All that have breath, all that are bom, all that have life, are without power, strength or virtue, but are developed by destiny, chanceand nature, joy and sorrow in the six classcs and experience fof existence]. There are...8,4OO,OOO great aons (nahAkafpa), through which fool and wise alike must take theircourse and make an end of sorrorv. There is no I'auestion ol bringing unripe karma to fruition, nor ofexhausting karma j.eudy ripened, by virtuous conduct, by vows, by penance,or by chastity. Thai cannot be done. Sar.nsdra is measuredas with a bushel, with its joy and Eorrow and its rppointedend. It can neither be lessened nor increaseJ, nor ir there any-e.\..)ess or deficiency of it. Just as a ball of string rvill, when tlrown, unwino io its f'rll l.ngth, so fool and wise alike will take-tlieir course, and make an enc .,. twi'62 ihat a man could do would in any way influence - Though nothl his future lot Ajivir.a monks practised severe ascetici-sm, iecause the force of destiny compelled them to do so, although their religious opponents accused t!-lem of licentiousness and immorality. The Dravidian A.livikas developed their cloctrinej in a way resembling Buddhism of the Great Vehicle. Goriala became an ine ffabll divinity, like the Buddha in the Mahayina system, while the doctrine of destiny evolved into a Parmenidean view that all change and movement were illusory, a.nd that the world rvas in reality eternally and immovably aB rest This view bears a certain resenblancc to N5girjunat doctrine of "the Void".

, .,t., .,,. . .,',, ..

,' 1 1,,.'.ip f:rlntrt the dead man] ls.far Es the bumingground, endin . t,,,ritl,c colour of a dov& w'ing and his sacrifices th c . ! r , 1 , , , , I* in sl t o p r e a c h a l m s g i v i n g , a n d t h o s e w h o m a i n t a r t rrrrrn.rl, ti.tl catcgoriesftpJtkvuitt andlyingnonsense' When ',, l','tlr li,ol and wise alike are cut offurdperirh. They do not

1 , 1, . , , r l t r t t l t . r t l t . " 6 l

Scclticism ond Matcrialism Buddha,Mahivira, Go3ala,and many lesserteachersof their period ignored--thegods, but they were not thoroughgoing atheisis and materialists. All admitted the existenceof supernaiuralbeings of strictly limited powers, and all acceptedthe fundamental doctri-neof transmigration, though they interpreted its mechanicsindividually. Some thinkers, however, rejected all immaterial categories coripletely, and their influencemay have been wider than appearsfrom the religious te1!s of the period. , In the fairly early Xafhi Upani;ad the interlocutorNaciketas(p. :Ss) questions Yama, the god oi'death, in theseterms: "There is doubt about the stateof a m"n-who is dead -some-say he-is,others,he is not.', .,On this point,,, yama replies, "eve1$e gods formerly lrad their doubts. It is not easy to und"rstand." At this time unbelief must have been fairly widespread. Ajita Kedakambalin("Ajita of the Hair-blanket,,, no doubt co called-from-thegarb of his order), a contemporaryof the Budd.ha, wat the earliest known teacher of iomplete materiuiism. -Man," he said," is formedof thefour elements. Whenhediese:rrth rctrlls !o the aggregate of earth,water to water,fire to fire, and air to air, while his senses vanish into space. Four men with the bier take up thi

Ajitafounded as'rctof tt rr, :rrc lo bclievethe BuddhistscriPtures, them as having no good motive f(r condemned i ,. 'l l',' tlrrddha , r, ' r ,, ri, i',rrt,the degreeof which is nowheremadec'ean It is ' l,' rlr.rt, iik" tlt"" Epicureans,th-ey were not I much l t , 'r,l, f ns a fratemiti of men with common air , cultivating :, ,i of life. -Inany case, I element.of , , r , r' tlrt: sirnpler pleasirres in Indian thought from thL trln on'ffardl' is traceable r, ,,,1,.,11",,, ancl philosophicalliterature'-whetherHindu, Buddhist^or ltr l 1,i,,rrs ,1,'r',rtcs riruch.pu.e to attackingthe evil tenetsof the Cdrvdkot J.,,,,., were called. Throlghout the ,,, , ,,{.,r',,/u.r, as the materialistschool-s are referredto with scom and unbelievers I,,,,,, I rrI ritli we treat these of seemsto containan undertone It .,1,1,,r,Ir:rtion which sometimes t, ,, , l,', tlurugh the pious authors though.tit-really polliUJe that tho ordeL r, ,r, , i.,lisrsii,ight ihake the foundationsof the established lisr andirreligious undercurrentsare traceablein someseculrr t,| ",, r r.r |, l,,, r,rI r', suchas the Artha(dstraand the Kdmasiltra' 'l t,,. tlth$r attitude of the materialist schools,acc,ording 1,':ncral and morality were futilc. .,!, , , ...,'r i0s,rvasthat all religiousobservance ,\ rrrrrr ,l'uuld make the mo-stof life andgetwhathappinesshecolld , rrt trl it. The frugal virtues of BuddhismandJainismwere rejected' ashe lives a man shouldlive happily "As long -drink ghee, though he nrn into debt, urd for when the bodYis turned to ashes how can there be any retunr to lile?"lr rnrrstnot tqm baCkfrOm pleasurefof feaf Of Concomitantsor,{ rrr.rrr | 1: t'ust acceptoccasiottaisorrow gladly, for the sake.of the r,'\\'. the bones with the fish lri, r' h he finds in the world, as he acceptsr' 1, in fear from thejoy that turns l,rl r1,,. rvith the cortl. "'Whoever lrrrslt Ir,.s, ,'s bcfore him is a fool no better than an animal"'6! 'l lr''ir opponents ascribe only base ideals to the materialists, and that they had any ethical doctrines,b-ut rlr,.rr.is noiefinite evidence (!nr. \.crse attributed to them shows ihat they were not blind to thc wrrrn ticg of family and friendship. " If a manreallYleft his bodY, on to the other wodd, andPassed would he not comebackoncemore, drawn bY hir love for hb kinl""

Rr:ttctoN: cu|.Ts,DocrntNEs AND METAPHYstcs

9OO THE woNDER THAT wAs tNDrA

3ol

Besidcs numerous quotations attributedto materialists in religious and pldlosophical works one anti-religiousphilosoprrical text has"sur. vived. This is tlte Tattaopapta-oasiryFa (frelly.,The Lion Destroying all Refuious Truth") wrilten by aiertiin Jayaridi in the 8th ."n",ui! e.o. The author was an out-and-outpyrrhonist denying the po.si Ullity 9f any certain knowledge at all, and he demolishJ with able dialectic,to his own satisfaction at any rate, all the basicpresupposi. tions of the chief religious systemsof his day. (rv) urNoursu Dcoelopment and Literature As well as the aristocraticreligion of the brdhmans,the Buddhist and Jaina scriptures mention popular cults, connectedwith earthspirits- lyak;a1), snake-spirits (ndgas), and other minor deities, centred round sacredspots or caityas (p. ze+). Very early a goj nanred Visudevawaswidely worshipped,-ispecially in *esteir lniia. It was-to this god that the Besnagarcoiumn,-to which we have more than oncereferred,was erected. The inscriptionon the column shows-thatbythe endof the gnd centuryr.c. the cllt ofVisudeva was receivingthe support of the ruling clai.ses, and even of the Western invaders. soon after this va-sudera was identifiedwith the vedic god Vig4u, if indeed the identificationhad not alread"v been made,ind further s1'ncretisms were taking place. Nira-1,ana, a god of obscure origin mentionedin the Brahminl lirerature,u'ai alsoldentifiecl with Vigpu, whosenamewas by now closelyconnected with that of K19pa, one of the heroes of the martial tiarlitions rvhich were Urougl,i together to form the great epic, the lvlahdbhdrata. The characterof Vig4u,anclthoseof the gods associated with him, developed through the centuries,as further popurardivinities were in one way-or- anotheridentified with him. Among some of the lower orders dteriomorphiccults prevailed, especially"inparts of Milwi, where divinity in the form of a boar was worshipped. By Gupta .a ' times the cult of the divine boar was assimilated to ihat of Vi94u. A pastoral flute-playing deity, popular among herdsmen and'bf uncertain_ ongin, was identifiedwirh the hero K1-s4a, by now recognized as an incaination of vigpu. The Brihmaltit'irero parasur5mawas similarly accountedfor, while later Rima, the hero of the second great Indian epic,was also brought into the Vaig4avite pantheon. a fertility deity, whose cult may hive been kept ..Simultaneously alive in non-brihm:lic circlesfrom the days of the-Harappaculturl, rose in prominence. This was Si"",la"riin.J with the Vedic Rudra and usually worshippedin the form of the phallic emblem (lingq.

\Vith Siva were later associated certain other popular divinities, such GaTeSa. At the end of the Gupta as Skantlaard the elephant-headed p:riod goddesses rose to prominence, together with magical cults, rcligious sexuality, and a new form of animal sacrifice, which increased in irnportance throughout the early Middle Ages. The final form of Hinduism was largely the result of influence from the Dravidian South. Here, on the basis of indigenous cults fertilized by Aryan inffuences, theistic schools had arisen, characterized by intense ecstatic piety. It was this devotional religion, propagated by many wandering preachers and hymn-singers in the medieval period, which had the greatest effect on Hinduism as it exists today. During this period an enonnous body of sacred literature was Produced. The Vedas. Brihmanas and Upanigads, theoretically still the most sacred of all India's religious literature, were studied only by those who had undergone the ceremony of initiation, and became more and more the preserve of the brihmans, who themselves often interpreted them figuratively in the light of the new doctrines. The real scriptures of Hinduism, as distinct from Brihrna4ism, were available to all, even to men of low caste and to women. These were the Epics, the Purdpas, the books of Sacred Law, which we have treated elsewhere ( p. t t s ) , and numerous hymns and religious poems. For the leamed there was a voluminous literature of commentaries, and many treatises were written on various aspects oftheology and philosophy. The two great Epics were originally secular, and in their literary aspect will be treated later (p. ao9ff). Very early, probably well before the Christian era, the Mahabhdrata began to receive religious interpolations and to be looked on as a sacred text. The most important of these interpolations is the famous Bhogaoad Gila, itself a compilation of material from various sources, to which we shall often refer in the course of this chapter; and much literature on the Sacred Law, as well as religious legends of many kinds, has found its way into the Epic which, as it exists at present, forms an encyclopedia of early Hinduism. An important appendix to the Mahibhdrata is the HarivamJa, giving the legend of the god KJ94a in a developed [orm. The second epic, the Rdmiiyarya, was also at first secular, but at a comparatively lare period, possibly after the age of the Guptas, an introductory and a final canto were added, together with other interpolations, which raised the text to the status of a eacred scripture. The Purd4as ("Ancient Stories") are compendia oflegends and religious instructions. There are eighteen chief Puri4as, of which perhaps the rnost important are the lldyu, Vignu, Agni, Bhaoigta and Bhigavata Pw'E1tas. In their present form they are not very aricient,

'O'

THE WONDER THAT

WAS I}IDIA

none g:oing back earlier than the Gupta period and all containing interpolatio's, but most of their legendary material is very olZ indeed. Much later religiouspoetry is of smail riterary value, and haslittle m-ore sanctitythanhave" Hymns Ancientand N{odern';in the church of.England. Certainpoems,however, becamevery sacredin later Hindnism, notably tbe Gita Gooinda, a collectioi of interlinked religioussgngsby the l2th-centuryBengalipoet Ja5,adeva (p. +sof). -of Some medieval stotras or hymns p.ulre,'suchas those iitributJJ to the.theologianSairkara, have consid.rubl" Iit..ury ,""rit, *a ur" Iookedon with great respect. The Peninsula_produced much vemacurarsacred poetry during our period,someof whichis of great value,andis considered toL verviolv. A beautifulcollectionof moral aphorisms in Tarnil verse ,tttc riritt*uiat ("SacredCouplets"), attributedto Tiruvalluv"., perhaps.1";"; i;; the,!th or 5th centuries A.D.,though someauthorities would put it much earlier' Later, from the 7th-t, the loth centuries,were'composed the eleven sacred books (Tirunuyai) of the Tamil saivites, 'N61a4drs, anthologies olJrymns by the sixtl-111y.. or Teachers. Chief of theseelevenworks are theTeaaram,.ont"i'ing ,ung, Uy tL. thre poets and Sundaram[rti,-and ii,e 4ppur, Nenasarnbandar, vdtagamof Mrnikka vacagar. The Tamir vaisnavitesat about "lrzthe sameperiod producedtlte Nalafiram (" Four Thousand"), a collection of stanzasattributed to thl twelve ilz,ars or saints oi the sect. Similarcollections ofdevotional poetry,stiil lookedon locallyu, u"ri holy, were. composedat the encl oi ou, period in Cu"u;";; ;i Telugu. At a later time much devotionar iit"."tu." was written in but none survivesfrom the period beforethe lhe Aryan vernaculars, l\{uslim invasions,exceptperrraps the ll'orks of sorneof the Marithd Vaignavitehymn singeri, jijan"3uu., Nimdev and a few ott".r, *t,o, accordingto tradition, lived at the end of the Isth centurv. we cannot here cataloguethe great massof religio-philosophicar Iiteratureof Hinduism,someof whlch will be mentioieclin the f;Uo;_ rng Pag$. Yi;pu the.Vaisnavite, tlre devoteeof Visnu, this god is the source -To of the universe and of all tlrings. Accoiaing to the most famouc cosmicmyth of Hinduism he sieepsin the piimeval ocean, on the thousand-headed snake Sega. In ilis sleep i lotu, grr_rrvs from his navel,and in the lotus is born the demiurgeBrahme",r who creates
t Not to be confused with the irnpersonalBrahman (p. 95e) of the lJpani$ads,

l\l t lUloli:

CULTS, DOCTRINESAND METAPHYSICS

3O.9

.. 'rl,l. ()rrce the n'orld is created Vigpu awakes, to reign in the ' , I lrr..rvt,rr, Vaihur.rtha, He is usually depicted as a four-armed , | ,i.rrk l;lue colour, crowned and seated on his throne, bearing l, rrr,lsIris ctnblcrns,the conch, discus,mace and lotus, wearing r lr'.icrvcl called Kaustubharound, his neck, and with a tuft of , l.,ir (Srit,atsa) <lnhis chest. He rides the great eagle Garuda, , r.'llv slrown with a half-hurnanface, who is perhaps the survival rr .r,rr with icrrt theriomorphic cult and who was already associated ', Li,lr'\:r,one of Vi;4u's early forms, when lleliodorus erected his , i, 11111 at Ilcsnagar. Vig4u's spouse, Iak;mi, is an important godrl, ., irr lr(:r own right. \ i,,nu's status as the Universal God, of whom all other gods are r'1 , r ts or errlanaticns, appears as early as the Bhagaaad Gttd, " Now I rvill tell the chief of my holy powers . . . . though therc is no end to my fullness. I rnr tlre self in the inmost heart of all that are bom . . . . I :rm their beginning, their middle and their end. . . . I anr the beginning, the middle, the end, of all creatiorr, the science of the soul among sciences, of speakersI am the speecb, of letters I am .{,.r " I am unendingtime, am the ordainer who facesall wayr, am destroying death, am the sourceof all that is to be. . . . am the dice-playo[ the gamester, arn the glory of the glorious, anr victory, I am courage, am the goodnessof the virtdous, . . . am the force of those who govern, am the statecraftof those who seek to conquer,
am the silence of what is secret, arn the knowledge of those who know,

and I am the seedof all that is born. . . . "There is nothing that can exist without me. fiere is no end to rny holy powers, . . . And whatever is mighty or fortunate or strong springs from a portion of my glory."67 I lr.rrgh his counteryart Siva has a rather ferocious and dangerous r, l,' to his character, Viglu is generally thought of as wholly bene, ,,1,','g. The god works continuously for the welfare of the world, and ' t i! rhefirst letterof the Sanskrit alphabet.It is alsoimplicitin all thc othcr
',rrrr, if tlrey are not modified by spmial marks (p. 398).

30+

THE WONDER TTTAT WAS INDTA

with this in view he has from time to time incarnated himself, either rvholly or partially. The earliest version of this doctrine is contained in the Rhagavad Gitd, wherein KSEna reveals himself as t]re ever active godhead incarnate. t'In essence I arn never born, I never alter. am the lord of all bcings I and the full master of nry own nature, yet of my o\\'n power I corne to be. "Whenevcr the SacredLaw fails, and evil raises its hcad. I take embodied birth. To guard the righteous, to root out sinnerr, and to cstablishthe SacredLaw, I am born lrom age to age."58 The Aaatdras ("I)escents") or incarnationsofVisnu are, according to the most popular classification,ten. The divinities and hcroes composing the list were adopted by Vaispavism at different times, but all were incorporatedby the I I th century. It may be that the Vaignavite doctrine of incarnation owes something to the Buddhist and Jaina doctrines of former Buddhas and Tirthaikaras, which are certainly attested earlier. An incarnation might be total or partialfor " whatever is mighty or fortunate or strong springs from a portion of my glory". In this sense every good or great man was thought of as a partial inc.rnation of Vignu. The ten chief incarnations,however, are of a more special type, for in them the full essenceof the god is believed to have taken flesh to save the rvorld from irnminent danger of total destruction. They are as follorvs: ( t ) The Fish (Matsya). \&'hen the earth was overwhelmed by e universal flood Visnu took the form ofa fish, rvho first warned lr{anu (the llindu Adanr) of the impending danger, and then carried him, his family, and the seven great sages (rsrs) in a ship fastened to a horn on his head. He also saved the Vedas from the flood. The fish legend first appears in the Brihmanas, and the Noah's Ark theme suglje.sts Semitic influence. The Fish incarnation was never widelv worshipped. (e) The Tortoise (Kilrma). Many divine treasures were lost in tlre {lood, including the ambrosia (amrta),* with which the gods pre-. served their youth, Vignu becanrea great tortoise, and dived tothe bottonr of the cosmic ocean. On hii back the gods placed Mount N'landara,and, tuining the divine snakeVisuki around the mountain, churned the ocean in the manner in rvhich an Indian dairyman churns
. Thc words amhrosia an<l amrla are prol,ahly connected etrmrolosicdly: war r drink, end should therefore perhapi be translated ,.nectar,.. but amrtr

1',,t tlrt' attttrrosiaand various other treasures, including . | .rl'srrri. Tlre story is probably a piece of very early | ,,r tlr. i,lt'rrtificationof the tortoise with Vi94u is compara, i,r,, .rrrrl,tlrouglr frequently mentioned in literature, this in', l',r,1 lrttlc rcal importance. ' | 1., ltr,:11(l'araha), A demon, I{ira4yikga, cast the earth . | ,, r. rrrt, tlte depths of the cosnricocean. Vi54u took the form . ,' "r rrrr,q;s lv63p,killed the demon, and raised the earth on hls .! 1i \\\'rl). The legend looks back to the Brdhmanas, but ' , ., ,l, rtloped through a primitive non-Aryan cult rif a sacred I r,,, rrlt of the Boar incamation was imPortant in somepartsof , r , n ( ; u l ) t at i m e s . , r I I't' Ntan-Lion (Narasimha\, Another demon, Hira4yat. 1',r. l , , r , lr l r t e i n e da b o o n f r o m B r a h r n i e n s u r i n g t h a t h e c o u l d n o t ' i ,i, I r'itlrer b1'dayor night by god, ntan or beast. Thus safegods and nten, including his own pious son r , 1, I lr'' Jrcrsccuted l 1l.,,l.r \\'hen Prahlada called on Vi;1u for help the god burst t, 'r, .r l,rll.rr of the denron's palace at sunset, when it was neither ,rr r,,,r ,lay, in a form half man and half lion, and slew Hiratya| . i',1 N.rrasir.nha was worshipped as their special divinity (iplaful,r ;r srnall sect, and was often depicted in sculpture' ' ) I lrt' I)warf (Vamana). A demon named Bali gained control '' ,',,' s,r'ld, and commenced a course of asceticism, by which his 1 , rn.rtrrral power so increased that he menaced even the gods. \ rrrr.r;,1,t'apgd before him in the form of a dwarf,end asked as a boon .. r,,rr, lr sl)ace as hecould cover in three strides. When the boon was 1,rrrrr rl tlrc god became a giant, and in two strides covered eartll, I r r r n ;rrrrlthc middle air. Magnanimously he refrained from taking I rlrir,l stride, and left the infernal regions to the demon. The , ,' ' :,r(l)s of Vig4u are as old as the .Bg Yeda,but other popular ' ilr'ilr\ rvcre incorporated into the story. r, ) I ';rraSurdma( " Rima with the Axe " ). Viglru took human form . r l,' \(,rr of a br5hma4 Jamadagni. When his father was robbed by , , '. ', Lt.tl liing Kartavirya, ParaSuremakilled the latter. Jamadagni ,. ,,, runr kiiled by the sons of Kirtavirya, after which the enraged | , , ,,r.rrnadestrol'ed all the males of the lightriya class twenty-one , , ,, . rr srx:ccssion. Though Para6urdma is frequently referred to in i r, r.,rrr,', lrc seems rarely to have been specially worshipped ;1 li.irrrr, Prince of Ayodhyi and hero of the Riimdyana. Vignu ,,,' I r I r.r t ( (I lrirnselfin tliis form to save the world from the oppressions I r i'' rlr,nr()n llavana. To one who is not a Hindu his story is rather a | 'rr'r (,f litcrature than cf religion and it will L,etold iu a latcrcltrpter , |

,,,, illf;lT:I*" ;,,,",,i,;."1;T;;,ffi "n,,lll

306

THE WONDER TIJAT \ryAS INDI

Rima may have been a chief who lived in the 8th or ?th (p. +r+tr). century 0.c., and in the earliest fcrm of the story he has no divine attributes. Though he was believed to be an earlier incarnation than Krsna, his cult developed later than Kygna's, and does not appear to have become very inrportant until toll'ards the end of our period. Rdma is usually depicted as of dark hue, often bearing a bow alrd arrorv. He is attended by his faithful queen Siti, the personification of wifely devotion, an4 often also by his three loyal brothers, Lakgmana, Bharata and Satrughna, and by his friend and helper, the monkey-god Hanumant. To his devotees Rdma combines the ideals of the gentle, faithful husband, the leader brave in hardship, and the just and benevolent king. It i.s perhaps significant that his cult only became really popular after the Muslim invasion. (a) Klqna is undoubtedly the most important of the incarnations of Viq4u, His legend in its final form is very long and can only be outlined briefly here. Kyg4awas born at Mathuri, of the tribe of the Yadavas, His father was I and his mother u'asDevaki, the cousinof the ruling King liar.nsa. Vasudeva, rvould be killed by Devaki's eighth son, so he It was prophesied that Iiar.nsa set out to destroy all her children. But Krsna and his elder brother Balarima were saved,and were brought up as the sons of the cowherd Nanda his clutches, and his wife YaSodd. Kalnsa,bearing that the boyshadescaped ordered the slaughter of all the male children in his kingdorn, btrt Nanda smuggledthe boys away, first to Vraja and then to Vpdivana, districts not far from Mathuri which are still very sacredto K1g4a. In his childhood the incamate god performed many miracles, killing demons, and sheltering the cowherds from a storm by holding l\{ount Govardhana over their heads with his finger; he also played numerous he had childishpranks, suchas stealing YaSodi's butter. In his adolescence many amours u'ith the wives and daughtersof the coq'herds (go2is), and acconrpaniedtheir dances on his flute. His favourite was the beautiful Radha. But his youthful days soon ended. Kar.nsatraced him and rnade further attemptson his life. Kygpathen gave up his idyllic pastoralways, and tumed on his wicked cousin. I{e slew Kar.nsa, and seizedthe kingdom of Mathurd, but, pressedbetrveenKar.nsa's father-inJaw, Jarisandhaking of Magadha, and an unnamed Yavana king of the North-\\'est, he was forced to Ieave his kingdom, and rvith his followers founded a new capital at Dvirakd in Saurishtra. Here he made Rukmili, daughter of the king of Vidarbha(modern Berar), his chiefqueen, a total ofover l6,000 and amassed wives and lSo,ooo sons. His adventuresat this stage of his career include
I There is some ambiguity about thc relationship ofKarlsa and Iirsne, oting to thc Itct that Indian us"ge malcs no sharp distinction beiu'cen brothers or iisicrs andiousins. Hence Kamsa is oftdn rcfcrred to as i(Jgpa's uncle, v'lren according to strict Iinglish usage the two were second couins.

rrr.r-rctoN s N DM E T A P H Y S I C S 3O7 c:u l T s , D o c T R t N EA ' ,r,ri,'n of rvickedkings and demonsall over fndia. Throughout the , r't,,..llrh,ibhdratahe appearsas the constant friend and advisor of l .ll,,l.rvas, Gita and he preached the great sermon of the Bhagar;ad . , | ,.lirrethe battle rvhich is the centreof the epic story. \ ', r ,,,, irrg the Pi4davas safely installed in the Kuru land, Krsna re,l r,r .l)rrralii, llere ominousportentsbesetthe city, as the Yddava , r . ,l,r.rr,.llcd arrrong thenrselves. Klg4a bamed strong drink, in the hoJ>e | ,. rrr. ()fl tlre evil day, but on the occasion of a festivalhe relaxedtlre 'l . lrr.\'iidava chicfsbeganto brarvl,and the rvholecity was soon in up,I I ()r all his divinity, Krp4acould do nothing to quell the feud,which in1.,,1tlrc u'hole people. His son Pradyumna was killed beforehis eyes, t l,r. l.ritlrful brother Balarima woundedto death; nearly all the chiefsof , \.,,l.rvas were slain. K; g4a dejectedlywandered in a forest near the r r . rlrcrc., as he sat musing on the loss of his friends and family, a hunter ; ., 'l lrirrrthrough the undergrorvthand nristookhim for a deer. An arrow i , r,,,1 lris heel, which like that of Achilleswas his one vulnerablespot, ' I l,, rlicd. The city of Dviraki was then swallowed by the sea. . I ( )l rlrc many elements which have gone to the making of this story ,r rr .f'Krsna as hero was the earliest to have been given a place in , rlnrlox tradition. A Kp;na son of Devaki is mentioned in one of the , ,'lr' l:pani,sads6e as studying the nerv doctrines of the soul, and it , rrr.;t'crtain that there is some historiial basis for the legend o[ r) ,. lr,.r.t>godl but evidently tales of many heroes from many ages and , tr,\' I)arts of India have been fused together in the Krgpa myth, ,,, lrr,lirr{ a ferv rvhich seem rather inconsistentwith the general char,, rt.r' ()f the conquering hero, such as that of ltis somewhat igno| .uri,)us retreat from Mathuri. Other elements in the story, such as r ,. rlt'struction of the Yadavas and the death of the god, are quite '' lrr,lianin their tragic character. The themes of the drunken brawl l, r,lrn11 to general slaughter, of the hero slain by an arrow piercing ' , 'rrr:r'ulnerable spot, and of the great city engulfed by the sea, are , ll Iinou'n in European epic literature, but do not occur eiservhere r rlr.rt of India, and are not hinted at in the Vedas. The concept of ' , ,lling god, so widespread in the ancient Near East, is found , , ,r ir.r'c clse in Indian mythology. Kar.nsa,the wicked cousin, seems r , ,. lro Ilerod, and perhaps also Acrisius, the cruel grandfather of r', r .,, us. Sonre parts of the legend may_bederived from very ancient r,,r r, s, lranded dou'n and developed by Aryan wariors from the days , t ,rr. llrcy entered India; others are of indigenous origin; and yet 'i r r:; irrc possibly inspired by garbled versions of tales from the \\, .t. l,r,:.r:Lin his pastoral and erotic aspect is evidently of different ,r l rr li'orrtIirgna the hero. The name means" black", and the god is ,.,llr' ,lcJrictcd as of that colour. Perhapsthe oldest clear reference

tf,LlcloN:
3O8 THE WoNDER TIIAT w^s TNDIA

c u l , T s , D O C T R T N EA 8 ND METApHysrc,

3og

to the pastoral Krqna is in the early Tamil anthologies, where "the Black One" (ItIay64) plays his flute and sports witlr milkmaids. He nray have been originally a fertility god of the Peninsula,whose cuit was carried to the North by nornadictribes of herdsmen. A tribe whiclr appeared in Milwi and the Western Deccan early in the Christian era, the Abhiras, is thought to have played a big part in the propagation of the worship of Krgpa Govinda ( " Lord of llerdsma.n ", r a very conlmon epithet of the god in this aspect). The young Krpr.ra'serotic exploits }iave been the source of much romantic literature which, superficially, contains but a faint religious element. Invariably, however, the love of the god for the cowhen!.;' wives is interpreted as symbolic of the love of God for the humrn soul, The notes of Krg4a's flute, calling the women to leave the,r husbands' beds and dance with hirn in the moonlight, represent thr voice of God, calling man to leave earthllr things and turn to the jo,vs of divine love. So Jerv and Christian alike have interpreted the Sori5 of Songs, and so many mystical poets of all religions have depicted their spiritual experience. Despite its luxuriant eroticism the legend of the Divine Cowherd has produced greatreligiouspoetry (p. +sof ), and inspired many pious souls. The third element of the Krg4a legend is that of the child god. This is definitely the latest part to be assimilated, and its origin is Can it be partly inspired by tales brought by quite unknown. Christian merchants or Nestorian missionarics to the west coast o[ India in the early Middle Ages? Most authorities would deny this, but we do not reject the possibility out of hand. [n any case, the story of the child Ky94a, often depicted in later sculpture as a plunrp infant crawling on all fours, gave the god a rare conrpleteness. As hero he met the worshipper's need of a divine father and elder brother; as the young cowherd, he was a divine lover; and as infant, a son. The cult of the child Krgna made a special appeal to the warm matemity of Indian womanhood; and even today the simpler women of India, while worshipping the divine child, so delightfully naughty despite his mighty power, refer to themselves as "the Mother of God ". Visudeva, the popular god of Western India in the early centuries 8.c., was early identified with Ky94a, and it may be that the name, falsely interpreted as a patronymic, resulted in the tradition that K194a'sfather was called Vasudeva ( rvith short a in the first syllable ) . Other deities, originally independent, were associated with Krg4a in one way and another. Chief of these was his elder brother Balara-nra, . Gwirda is probably by Sanskrit in its originalform. T}e a Prikrit word,absorbed
On the onhodox correct Sanskrit equivalent would thus be Gopadra. the word is pure Sanskrit its translation would be "Cow-finder", assumption rhet

.. fIr. t('\'('fcnce.

, ,.,llr.,l Ilaliyudha (..Armed with a ?lough,,) and Sarikarqala. .,,,.r, l,ca-ring a wg.odgl his shlouljer, was originaily .plough-on ,' '| ! ',l.rrr.al deiry. Traditionallyhe was a heavydrinker i,ul . ' , I llr(' characteristics "ia at of a Silenus. Templesio him existed , r,nr(., lrut his importance wanedin the tr4icldle Ages, as that oi t, ,,r ur(rcascd. l,ess important were the cults of Krlna;s son pra_ ,,,.,fr,r, Aniruddha,anclof his friend'Arjuna,the .r,{'lrisgrandson r ,rr,l.rr.r lrr'ro, The chieffeminine associate of lilg4a was niaha, ttre {..,,'rrt(,rrristress of his youth, who was often worshipped with him , rlrr. l;rtc Middle Ages. Rukmili, his chief qu""rr, also received . !

r \ ,tl.il il.

1't) lluddha, the last historical incarnation of Vi94u. According to , r rlrcologians the god became Buddha in order to delude"the .,, 1.,,1, lcad them to deny the Vedas, and thus ensure their damna_ |,,rl .f.r1'adeva's Gita Go'inda, ho*,ever, which contains one of the ' 'rlrr sr lists of incarnations,states that visnu became Buddha out of ,,,1,.rrsion for anirnals,60 in order to put an end to bloody sacrifice. ll,rr 1,11rlraily gives a clue to the true background of the Buddha r \.,l.rrir. He was included in the list, as otheideities were included, 'rr r'1r11'1 to assimilate heterodox elements into the vaigr]avite foldl I ,,r]l (lyi_t_g recenrly the tenrple of the Buddlra at Gayi was in the ' ',,| ' .f I lindus, and the teacher was there worshippei b-vHinJu" , llrrrrlu god; but in general ltde attention "s wus paid to the Buctdha

( ro) Kalkin, the incarnationyet to come. At the end of this dark ''1'''. \'jsnu rvill appear in the form of a man mounted or, *hit" hoi.", ,,rh a liamingsword in his lrand. He will judge " the wicked, ."*u.i 'l,r' and restorethe age of gold. Thir*is a late adclition [r)od, to '.rr*r.ravite myth, and doesnot play:a very irnportantpart in literar,ri(' ()r iconography, though it ii said ihut'm"ny simple Hindus ',1',r' tlrc,K:lkt. very-seriouslj,and long for his airival just as old_ '.nr,'n('dLnnstlans look lbrward to the sccond conringof Christ. I lrrirtianparallels havebeenfound,especially with tl" f;orr".un oi r ,, llook of Revelation,or but the main inspiration of the Kalkin may r.,\('('orne from Buddhism,r.r,hich taughf the conringof Maitrevi li',ltllra long be.fore the Vaiq4avites devi"sed the Kalkinl Z"r;;rtd; r,l,;1s 1113y also have helpedin the formation of the rnyttu
.irrLr

Alrrr<;st as popular as the numerousforms of Vig4u was Siva, who r r , , l r t r l l r o r nt l r ef i e r c e Vedicgod R u d r a( p . s + a ) , * i t h * h o m ; ; r ; ; ; 'l'| r.r'i'rrs of a non-Aryanfertility deity.' Though developed s"i}," r'.'r r\ rltefr madeof their cliosen di'inity a wholrymoral andpatemal

3to

THE WONDER TI{AT

W.{S IND'A

father in lreaven, Siva's character, unlike that of Vi;nu, is ambivalent. IIe lurks in horrible places,such as battlefields, burning-grou'rds and crossroads,which, in India as in [urope, uere looked on as very inauspicious. He wears a garlanC ofskulls and is surrounded bv ghosts, evil spirits and demons. IIe is rleath and time (IlIaheAala), which tlestroy all things. But he is also a great ascetic, and the patroh deity of ascetics generally. On the high slupcs of the llimalayan l\{ount Kailisa Siva, the great yogi, sits on a tiger skin, deep in meditation, and through his meditation tlre uori<l is nraintairred. He is depicted thrrs as wcaring his long nrattccl Lair (yalA) in a topknot, in r.r'hich the crescent rnoon is fixed. and frorn rvhicll florvs the sacred river Gangi. In the middle of his forehead is a third eye, emblem of his superior wisdom and insight. His neck is black, scarred by a deadlypoison wlrich was the last of the otrjects churned from tlre cosmic ocean, and which he drank to save tlie other gods from destruction. Snakes, of w'hich he is the loi'd, encircle his neck and arms. His body is covered rvith aslres,a favourite ascetic practice. Beside him is his weapon, the trident, while near him are lris beautiful wife Parvati and his nlount, the bull Nandi. Though in this aspect Siva is continually rvrapped in meditation, he can, in his divine power, divide his personaiity. I{e is not only the god of nrystical stillness, but als-othe Lord of the Dance (Nalardja) (pl. XXXVIII). 1-liis aspectof Siva is specially popular in'the Tanril country, rvhere religious dancing was part of the earliest knorvn tradition. In lris heavenly palace on Mount Kailasa, or in his southcrn lronre, the temple of Cidanrbaram or Tillai (near the seacoast about fiity nriles south of Pondicherry), nrysticall-yidentifled with KailJsa, Siva dances. I{e has invented no less than l08 diffei'ent dances, some calm and gentle, others fierce, orgiastic and terrible. Of the latter the most farnous is tb,e tar3daaa, in w'hich the angry god, surrounded by his drunken attendants (gurJ^), beats out a rvildrhythm rvhich destroys the rvorid at the end of the cosmic cycle. A firrther fornr in wlrich the god is worsiripped is known as the "South-facing" (Daksindrnurti); in this aspect hc is the universal tcacher, dcpicted in an inforrnal pose, u'ith one foot on the groLrndarrC tlre other on the throne on which he sits, and with one lrrnd rai.scdin a gesture c[ explanation. This f<rrnrof Siva perhaps o\\'es sonrctl)ing to Bucldhistinspiration. IJut Siva rlas and still is chiefly *'orshipped in the form of the liige (pl. XVIIb), usually a sholt cylirrdrical pillar rvith rounded t o p , u i r i c l : i s t l r e s u n ' i v a l o f a c u l t o l d c r t h e n i n d i r n c i v i l i z a t i o ni t s e l f . Phalli l:ave beerrfound in tl-reIiarappl remains. Early Tamil litera-

'

: '

, | '

I '

Ilut Siva was contirruallyrvrappcdin rne,itation, an. the rrrosrrcct of r ,,.,iu,ing gffspring.se"nreJ to tlie othergods to be'faini;,;;;";."?;;I"irvati, the beautifur derrghter of lrirniliya, was scnt at their behest to ' , t,11 but thorrghslrernade. nranyatt"enrpt.s to win the goa,r"tt"nl li.,"a, . r,, took rro notice ofircr, and in the c,Lrse ofherefforts ffa_-", ito toro'tIr. had-done his best to help her to win him, was burnt to u.i,". t u tr,u ,, .. irorn Siva's third eye. At last pirvati aeciaJ;;'i;il;;"" ;iJl; , r', t'ticism, u.ide h"" orn"rfnr, .tu-Ulurn" a hermitess flfing_ on a ,rl,y nrak, and in this guise Siva noticedher and fell in love *i;;;": , , {rre.married ata great ceremonyat which all the gods toot puri, ,\\ *i rr I'Jrr-ati ee'e birt'to the_wa.r_god Skanda, who, whEnhe g;J;;;;; .,t rlr':tro).cd the delnonTEraka]

HIr.rGloN : L T sD cu , ocTRrNE tr{ET^pHystcs gl t As ND '' r, ft r. to t]resettingup of ritual posts,which seemto havebeen ,.rrIrtt'')s. The Juliof th" ti,id;;;;li iimesfoltowed by some , rr',.-.\11'1t., p_liples, ou, i.rco.po.atea inio Hinduism . Lrg 'f'tlre Clrristian*era, "roi"Jif," though at first it was not ' ,lir ,\s early as the fg, I/cda, Rud,ra, "";tir* the mountain goa, was , r,.,J.*ithplantsand animals. The hornedithyphallicsla ; , ',,,, l)aro, surrorrnded by anirnals, may well U" t"trlp.otoffi "l oi , .,r rlrcparron of reproduction in men, animals*a pf"ni'rl-tn ' ,nr lrc is luiorvn paiupati as (',Ircrd otBeasts,,) i. on"n ,rrt'rl in SouthIndia as "na afour'armedman, with Jne h*d i";; ' ', lt blessing, the secondopen,as thoughLrto*ing . a;;, ;; .,f 'i,. tJiird,an<l a.smalldeer springingirom tt" nft.r,.i'tf," .,,,',, '' '"" saivite sectsdeclarethat siva has performed a seriesof ' r.rSr but theseare pure imitationsof thoseof Viq4u *d h;; 'I I'h)'cd.abig part.in. Saivite.thought The god tur, to*"*", ,, ,rcd lrimself from time to time ii theophanie., or i"k"n t"nn_ ' 'r '. irrcarnation to destroy demons or test the vrrtueof warriorsor Nunrerous legends are told of him. someof them quit" u.,"orr,r , rrl'r)'. -l-lre mostfarn.usof these legends is thatof iris...rir." 1 " ' r r r r i ,t L e t l a r r g l r t e orf I I i r n i l a l ' a ,t h e " p e r s o n i f i e d ; ; i l " i ; ; . " " I i . r,,cxls weretroubled.by thedemon Tiraka, andit wasprophesied that I i<rrrly.be destroyed b1, t'e childof Siva ani theDaughter oi th"N;;;:

lrr f"rrrtlr India a rather similar story is told of the marriage of siva I \ 1rrriksi, daughter of a Rir;rdyan k-ingof Madurai, and the event is r,, ; rrlorated by one of the most fairous and splendid .f S";th , I r.r , r tcrnples. , - Iitlations cf yi;r1u and Sioa ,,', Ueginning of the Christian era, if not before, most , " rr.tt119 Ilindus have

"'

been eithervaignavites or s"i"it"Jir,i,l'r".

312

THE WONDER THAT

V/As INDIA

nELtotott: cuLTs, DoqTntNEs AND METAPHystca " In the cycle ofyour day and night all things live and all thingr die. \['hen you wake we live, when you sleep we perish. . . . " Hard and soft, large and small, lreavy and light, you are all things. )'ou are both substance and fornr, ineffable in power. . . . "You are the knower and the known, you are the eater and the food, you are the priest and the oblation, you are the worshipper and the prayer."6t

Sls

say they have looked on either Vig4u or Siva as the high god, or indeed as the only God, the others being merely secondary expressions of the divine, holding rather the same positions as the saint.sand angels in the mind of the Roman Catholic. Thus the Vaisnavite docs not deny the existence of Siva, but believes that he is merely one god among many, the creation or emanation of Vignu or of his demiurge Brahnri. In the same rvay the Saivite looks on Vislru as an emanation of Siva. Occasionally thii difference of viewpoint has led to friction and some degree ofpersecution, but generally the t$'o great divisions of Hinduism bave rubbed along happily together, in the conviction that on ultimate analysis both are ecluallyright.. Hinduism is essentially tolerant, and rvould rather assimilate than rigidly exclude. So the wiser Vaiglavites and Saivites recognized very early that the gods whom they worshipped were different aspects of the same divine being. The Divine is a diarnond of innumerable facets; two very large and bright facets are Vippu and Siva, while the others represeni all the gods that were ever worshippcd. Some facets seem larger, brighter, and better polished than others, but in fact the devotee, whatever his sect, worships the wholc diamond, which is in reality perfect. The more devout Hindus, even when illiterate and ignorant, have always been fundamentally monotheist. Thus in the Bhagaoad Gitd K19pa bays: " If any worshipper do reverence with faith to any god whatever, I make hi.sfaith firm, and in that faith he reverences his god and gainshis desires, for it is I who bestow them."r2 With this background of tolerance it is not surprising that attempts were made to harnronizeVaisnavism and Saivism. As early as Gupta times tlrere was devised a holy trinity of Hinduism, the Trimurti or Triple Form of Brahml the creator, Visnu the preserver, and Siva the destroyer. The doctrine of the Trimlrti was popular in some circles, and is proclaimed in a finc h1'6p of KilidAse which inspired e once well-known poem of Emerson: "Praise to you, O Trinity, one bcfcrre creation, afteru'ardsdivided in your three qualitierl . .. t'You. the one cause of death and life and bir&, in your three forms procleinryour o,r"nglory. . .

li;rrly western studentsof Hinduism were impressed by the parallel l,rr \\'r'('n the Hindu trinity and that of Christianity. In fact the parallel ,r nr,t very close, and the Hindu trinity, unlike the l{oly Trinity of t l,rrrtianity, never really "caught on". All Hindu trinitarianisrn r, n,l(.(lto favour one god of the three; thus, from the context it is ,l,..rr llrat Kalidasa's hymn to the Trimirti is really addressed to lrr.rlrrrri,here looked on as the high god. The Trim[rti was in tr, | ,rn artificial growth, and had little real influence. ,\rr.tlrer significant syncretism was the god Harihara (Hari being r trrlr'<rfVisnu and Hara of Siva), worshipped in the form of an icon rrl, ,lr <'ombinedcharacteristicso[ both gods. The cult of Harihare ,1,',loped in the middle ages, and had some success in the Deccan, rr lr.r't: llarihara temples were patronized by Vijayanagara kings, and rr lrt.rc the god is still worshipped. 7lr llother Goddtss Nlother Goddesses were worshipped at all times in India, but 1,, trvlt'n the days of the Harappi. Culture and the Gupta period the , 'rlts of goddessesattracted little attention from the leamed and inllrr.rrti;rl,and only emerged frorn obscurity to a position of real imc in the Middle Ages, when ferninine divinities, theoretically l','r r.ur( r r,11v11 1tg1lwith the gods as their spouses,were once more worshipped l, \' I lr(' rrpper classes. 'llrc goddess was the lakti, the strength or potency of her male (,,,r')tr.rl)art. It was thought that the god was inactive and trans,,rr,lr'rrtw , hile his femaleelement was active and immanent,and by tlrr'(irrJrtl pcriod the wives of the gods, whose existence had alwayr 1,,'r1v11'1r*rtlred but who had been shadowy figures in earlier the,,1,'1;y,l.reganto be worshipped in special templec. In the early 6th

gl+

THE WONDER THAT WAS INDIA

RELIGION: CULTS, DOCTRINES AND METAPHYSIO'

3I6

century an inscription of Western India tells of a certain N{ay[rikEaka, "nrinister of the king, who estaLlished, to gain nrerit, this most arvful tcmple, a temple filled u'ith dernonesses, .. . sacredto the N{others,u'ho shoLrt most loudlv in the thick darkness. where tl,e lotusesarc slrahen by the fierce 'winds arousedby nragic spells."ol Frorn this tinre onwards the N{othcr Goddess increasedin importance,until the wave of delotional Vaisnalisnr swept Northern In,lla early in the Musiim period, and stopped tire py6g1-s5r of her cult, which is still strong in Bengal and Assant, and is }urorvn in other parts of India. The chief form of tlle Jvlotlrer Goddess rvas that of t]'rervife of Siva, called in her benevolent aspect Parz'ati ("Daughter of the Mount1h"),_ fu[ahddeai ("the Great Goddess"), Sati ("the Virtuous"), Gauri ("the Fair One"), Annalilr4d ("Bestorver of itfuch Food"), or simply "the lvfother" (Mat,r,Tami| Annai), In her grirn aspeit she qas known as Durgd ("Inaccessible"), Kali ("the Black One"), and Cay(i ("the Fierce"). The terrible T."nril u'ar-goddess Korlavai, wbo danced among the slain on the battlefield and ate their flesh, thicugh independent in origin, r,r'asearly identified with her. In her fierce aspect she is often depicted as a horrible hag (pl. XXXVIIb), frequently with many arms bearing different weapons, vith fierce carnivorous tusks, a red tongue lolling from her mouth, and a garland of skulls. Her mount is a lion, and she is sometimes shown' as a sternly beautiful l\'oman, sla-ying a buffalo-headed demon in the manner of St. George and the dragon. T he more gentle aspcct of the goddess is- that of a beautiful young wornan, often portrayed rvith her lord Siva, An interesting iconographical developnrent is that of the Ardhandriioara, a fig.ure half Siva and half Pirl'ati, represenring the union of the god *n;ith his Sakti. As Siva is worshipped in the liriga or phallic emblem, so Durgi. is worshipped rrr tlre female emblem, or loni. According to legend Pirvati, in the incarnation before that in rvhich she became the bricie of Siva, had been born as Sati, the daughter of the sage Daksa, and had then also become the wife of the great god. V'hen her father quarrelled *'ith her divine lord she flung herself into the flanres of his sacrificial fire, and the ashes ofher yoni fell in various spots in India, which becanre the pithas, or sacred shrines of her cult.

I ttsrr Gois .\r s.:ll as Visnu, Siva and Durgi, many other flods were rvort, 1,;x'rl. Llnlike the gods of the Veda, the new gods of Hinriuism \\, r (. r)o l<-rnqer closely tied to natural phenomena, but were thought | llr()rc anthropornorphically. I;rahna, the Prajapati of later Vedic times, had a history of slow ,r, Iine. In the early Buddhist scriptures he and Indra rvere the l, | ,.iuestof the gods, and in th e Mahibhdrata he was stilt very important; l''rr tlrough depicted in medieval sculpture, son:etimeslvith four faces, l' rvaS little worslripped after Gupta times. A single temple of llr.rlrrnl, by the sacred lake Pugkara near the modern Ajrner, is tl,,' only one known. 'l he numerous solar deities of the Vedas were merged in Hinduism rrrr,,a single god, usually known as Sirla ("the Sun") (pl. XXVIa) lrr (iupta anclmedieval times there existed numerous ternples of the ',';rr,especiailyin \l'estern India, which was open to Zoroastrian inseem to have looked on him as llrrlnr'c, ard some r;f his rvorslriPPers t l r ( 'g r c a t e s tg o d o f a l l . "i{e uho is worshipped by the host of gods that they may live, and by the blessetifor their weifare, itrtent on meilitation,for their rvho suppress their senses, by ascetics, salvation. -lnay that shiring one, causeof the world's rise and de,cline, protect you. "-l-]re divine seers, u'ise in true knowledge,for all tlreir effortshave not known hirn rvlrolly, rvhoseravs reachout to nourish the tlrrce rvorlds, n'lroni gods and demigods and rnen hyrnn together as he rises, rvho f'ul6lsthe desiresof his u'orshippersh o m a f et o t l r eS u n ! " 6 6 Irr comparison with the sun, the Moon (Candra or Soma), nlascul,rrr.in gender, had but-slight rcligious itnportance,being little t ult, but'wlrs r r r , , r tt,l r r n a n e m b l e m o f S i l ' a . H e h a d n o i n d e p e n d e n c ...,,,r.lripped as one of the nine planets (p. +ss). The cult of tire r r.ilr(ts rvas popularized by the growth of astrology in medieval rrur(r, and representationsof them are fairly numerous. I nlra, the Vedic war-god, lo.st much of his prestige but gained nerv .r| | | rl)utcs, l!{ounted on his elephantAirivata, he was guardian o[ the , ,\t( r'n (luarter of the universe, and ruler of -oneof the lower heavens, \rrr;rravatl. Under an alternatii'e name, Sakra, perhaps originally n , l r f l i ' r c n tg o d , h e w a s a m o n g t h e c h i e f d i v i n i t i e s o [ e a r l y B u d d l r i s n r ,

3r6

THE WONDER THAI'WAS

TNDTA

RELIGION: CULTS, DOCTRINES AND METAPHYSTCS

3I7

second only to Brahma=.By the Middle Ages he had ferv templesor worshippers. r:runo,the all-seeing god of the Vedas(p. 2s8ff), descended from ,. nls lleave'ly palaceto become a god of the u.aters, but he remained the guardianof the western quuit"" of the uni'erse. The cult of Varunadisappeared early, thougl Tarnil fishermeniong worshippJ a_marinedeity called Varunan,in the er'blem of a ..sliark,s ho;;,. 1-his. god, however, is clearly an indigenousTamil divinity *h; h"j acquired an Aryan name. __To*o, guardian of the southern quarter, the death_god of tbe Vedas,was still remembered, -though rarely if "u"" .p&iully *o.shipped. His role had sonrewhat al"tered, for he was io fon[", ti," chcerfullord of paradise, but the sternjuttge of the .l.u,l, *li;; o;t over.the purgatories where trre wickei siffered until thei-Juirtti. of,adivinejudge, theoretically unnecessary according to the TtlO* doctnne ol karma, may have beenirnportedfrom tlie West, where it $'as loown -in many cults. Sornetimesyama, aided by his clerk citragupta,is described as weigrring thedeeds of the soulsof thedead in a balance, rather like the Egyptiin Thorh. The northem quarter *or ili"d by the god Kubera,lordof precious rnetals,. miner"l*, j:y:k, and wealth geneially. This god, uila"i ti" attematlvename VaiSrava4a-, first appears briefly andiaintly in later Vedicliterature,and is u.ell knou.nin Buddhismand Jainism. He dwells in the beautiful jewellcd city of Alaki, near Mtunt Kailisa, and hostsgf gn_o1e_s (guiyaka) and fuiries (1ak;a). H" i; 13m1na1ds usuallJ'deprcted asa dw,arfish figurewith a largepauncii. IIe rvas the objectof a cult, tboughnot of in importantoie. Thesefour gods, Yama, Indra, Vaiu4a and Kubera,were known as , LohaPdlas, or Guardiansof the Uni'erse. In late texts four further guardians of the intermediate quarters were added_,Soza in the Ydyu folh{ast, _(the.wind-goi) in the North_West, )gii i" riri south-.Last,.and Sirla in the South_\tr/est.Of theseAgnf, the fire_ god, was-stillimportantat the time of the Epics,but he too lost much .l- his hold on the imaginationin later times, while Viyu, tf," *ina$9u1.*ur.a vague and tenuous deitv, except in the late school of M a d h v a( p . s s o ) . Th" y1.-So<)Skanda, also calledKumira (,,Th. prince,,), Ka.r/r._ . L1f und;.inthe South, Subr.ahmanya, ru", p.obubl.yorlginolly a nor* Aryan divinity. He was the sori of siv; and pirvatiand-his sore function, accordingto ortlrodox tradition, was to slay the demon wnlctl,scarcely accounts for his great popularity. From the ,totun"., b-eginning of the Christian era tlre cult oi St ai-,a" was widespread in North India,thoughit declined someu,hat in medieval times. In the

S.rrtlr it was even more inrportant, for the name and attributes of the l' ' ,,1rvcre irnposedon the chief deity of the ancientTamils, Muruga!, l,v rvlrichname Skandais still sometimesknown in the Tamil country. l. I rrrtrgn4in his original form was a rnountaingod, worshipped in bac, i'.rrralian dances, at which he was inrpersonatedby a medicine-man lr,,l1fi1;g a spear (vela4), wl.rom the dancers identified with the god. | 1.. aroused passion and erotic frenzy in girls and women, and the ,l rnt'cs ol Muruga! were evidently orgiastic. The Tamil Muruga! \\.rs anncd u'ith a spear, and joined his fierce mother Iioryavai in her ,,rrrrribalfeasts on the battlefield; hence his identification with the A r 1 :rn Skanda is not surprising, though l\{uruga!'s original character .. :r [ertility god is evident even today. Skanda is usually depictedas r lr;rn,lson)e young man, often with six faces,mounted on a peacock. (),tleia or Galtapati, "Chief of the Gatqas" (a class of demigod {rt(.n(liurt on Sivi), another son of Siva and Pirvati, is bne ,,1 thc best krown'Indian divinities in the'West. He has an elet'.s lreadu'ith one broken tusk and a fat paunch,and he rides on a rat. 1,1'.rrr \rrnrig tlre latest of the gods of the Hindu pantheon,he is not attested l', l,'r'c tlre 5th century .,r.o., and ire u'as of little irnportancebefore the \ l r , l , l l c A g e s . E v i d e n t l y h e i s t h e s u r v i v a lo f a p r i m i t i v e n o n - A r y a n rl, 1,)1111f god, but in Hinduism he has becornemild and cultured. He ., rlrr: "Lord of Obstacles" (Yighnelaara), and is worshipped at the l, r'.rrr)inE of all undertakings to remove snags and hindrances. lle , . l . r r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t e di n l i t e r a r y a n d e d u c a t i o n a a l c t i v i t i e s ,a n d i s , , l'.rtron of grammarians; manuscfipts and printed books often benamall, "Reverence to , ,r rr itlr tlre auspiciousformula Sri-Ga4eia1,a I ' r,l ()aneSa". The clreerful and benevolent elephant-god was, and ' r ,ll is, rcvered by nearly every I'lindu, u'hether Vaignavite or Saivite. \ ..rrr;rllrnedieval sect looked on him as their chief god, but his status 1,,., 11r'nerally been comparatively hunrble, though important. Ilttumant, the monkey god, the son o[Viyu and the friend and ' r.rrrt of Ilima, \.r'as no doubt a popular deity long before his in,,,11'r,;11'11;n in the pantheon. He is stiil an important village god, ..., 'r 'lri1'1;ed in many shrinesin the form of a monkey with more orless li,nr.nr lx)(ly. He is a beneficent guardian spirit, and in his honour r,',,rrl,r.r,'5 are generally looked on as sacred. h,tnt (" |)esire "), known by many other names and epithets, was rl '. lrr,lian love-god. Like his European counterpart he is depicted .! .r lr.rn(lsorne youth, armed with a bow and arrow, but the Indian I r,'s lurs a bow of sugar<ane strung with a row of bees, and his .l |,,\\\ arc flowers. He is attended by a troop ofnymphs (apsarases), ,,"r'r'1 11 l;1;1111 carries his standard, which bears a sea-monster. Kima ,: rr l.r'rcrl to in the "Hymn of Creation" (p. e.fof; and in certain

518

TIIE II'ONDER THAT WAS tNDtA

is usuallyportrayedas a w"oman of mature beauty,seated on a lotus and often rvittl i totr, ; i,;;;: attendedby tr'o clephants, rvho sprinkle water on t.r from tt.i, rrunKs. lroughneveran objectof a special cult, Irericonsarenume_ -l rous, and she was much u.orlhippedas a subsidiary deity. Sh;;;, believedto incarnateherself asiire rvife of the incirn.tiJn of vi.:r,ul and thus sire *,as worshippecl as Sita, the spouse of Rama, fiut_ mini, the chiefqucenof l{r.,sna, or as Ridhd, t}ie favouriteof ni, ", youtf,. Surasaatl (pl. XXXIIIb), the rvifeof Ilrahmi, lrad an uutonoo,ou, role as the patron of art, musicand letters. In the ^Flg lre./ashe was a sacredriver, but in later vedic literature she was identified u.ith a hypostatic goddess of tcnrporarl,in)portance, Vac (..Speecl,,;y. Sf,"*"! depie lcJ as a beautifulfair young *omurr, oit",a *rith'" zl-na-,'or I*dian

at theciurni"s;i;i;; r]ory,like-Aphrodite, :l,pji:.:| il 1".,.'l_ pnmeval ctcean (p. Soaf). She

passafles. a.sbeirrg_ the firstborn of the primeval chaos, 3theqJc.<t]c but this kttmais certainl-y not fhe Hindu love_god, but ,rg,,.t;, fi"rl s.nified c.sr'ic desire.. On the strengtlrof these*o.ly ,"i"..,i.!"it uas generallybeliere.lbv trre thec-,lo=gians of llinduism tt"t ria,r," had no parents,but enrerged spontaneiusly at the beginning.iil;; to act as a catalvstin trre urri'ersalprocess. His iiou'eri arrorvs a.tii'ct gods an,l me. alike, a'd h."; .;t;;; u"." lr.*"t"'ii;'; their purpose-rvhen riama attemptedio rouse tit" p".rio., oi-ir'," gleat god Siva,andu.asburnt to ashes f* t,i. pains (p. sr r;,-io-U" restored .,9 ]j1".through the cntreatiesof his fartouritewife, tire god_ des.s Ilati ("pleasure,'). tle is frequentlyr.f.r."J-to i;it,;;r";;; i-dcntlJ a popular deity among people,f both ,;;;:; 1.oung fl]j^:i: ,er nonorrred.at a great annuelfcsrival (p. eOO). TIrL nuaahist Mara ("the Smiter") wassor'cri'rcs i<tentified witl Kuma,Uifr"Jri"*., rttributes,and rvasa sorl-gf Satan,the personificatio, ;;;il, the fleshand the de'il. [Iis tenrptation of th" Buddha"f;t i, ou" oi *u tnost-fanrous episodes of Buddhisilegend. -All the godshavecomplementaru [odd.rr.r, t]reirwives,but most of the-se are pale rcfle_x.ibns of theiijords, bearingth" ,u_" n"_., with ferninirreterminations (e.g. Indrdni, I3rahiani, etc.\. Th;; were,often wgrlhippedin a group,usuallyof seven,. r\arnKeJ'a and uanc5aweresonretimes "fri.fiifr" ""ir, added, andportrayals of tlese goddesses (ll.Iat7Aa, Ambikd,..theLittle Nfoihers;,) u." i"i.tu mon in mc<lie'alsr.rrllilure.As *,t.ll as l)urgi, ."1i,;r;;';'"J;;; "orn_ one of the thrce chiel' deities of lli',luisrn, goA,l*..;"; ;;;; intportant,however. "tl,"r ("Fortune-),.the wife of Vignu,also oftencallcdjii was ^,!k:T,, tne godcless ot good luck and.temporalblessing, In sonrclegends she is.saidto bJcoexistentwith Vignu,but accoraing to other.s she

nELtcroN: A N DM E T A P H Y s l c g 319 culTs, DocrRrNEs 'fraditionally by a swan.* hrte, anrl a book in hcr hand, and attendecl slrr. rras tirc itnentor of tirc Sanskrit language and tlte I)etanfigttrl lrecn u'ors]riPpcd by studel]ts, writers ald s, r il)t. Si.rasvati has alrva-r's urusiclurs, and her cult is stiil tnaurtained. I)enigods and Sltirits As rvell as these greater gods there was an infinite nunrber of oneS. Ever_vvillage had its local god or goddess (grdmadeIr,sscr' rir/,i), often a rude image or fetish set up under a sacrcd tree. Sorne t,l- thcse village fertility deities, through a process of assimilation, were often vaguely ;rttainedwidespread popLrlarity. Local goddesses r,lt'ntified rvith Durgi, but n'ere rarely thoroughly incorporated into tlrc mythological schenre, and they maintaineci an autonomous cxistence on the fringes of the orthodox pantheon. Chief of such rvas Sit"l^"("the CooI"), called in the Tanril country 11,xl<lesses \lJriyammai ("Mother Death"), the goddess of stnallpox, wor.lriyrpcd for prevention and cure, especially by mothers on behalf ,,(' their children. Sirnilarly the snake-goddess lvfanasa protected lr',rrnsnakebite. I{er rvorship is not certainly attested in our period, l,ut in t:redieval Bengal she attained a respectable status in the ortho,1,,x pantheon, and she was almost certainly rvorslripped by tlre nrlssesin the earlier period. A male deity of tiris type, rvidely popular i:r tire'Iarnil countrysidefrom ancientdays, was Aiyanar, a beneficent 1'rrardiandeity nruch revered by peasants, and sornctirnes thought 'l'he ,,t as a son of Siva. cities of ancient India, like those of the r l:rssicalworld, had their guardian deitics, rvho nright be important rrrtnrbers of the pantheon but rvere often of only local significance, Ilcsidr:s these local gods the world rvas full of denrigods and spirits, rood and evil. 'I'he (pl. XXVIII6), half-human but with ser.srrake-spirits (,\',-rc,z) w a n c i e n t o b j c c t so f w o r s h i p . ' f h e y d w e l t i n t h e 1,r'rrts'tarls ,ere ver_V l,r'e111if,r1 undergrormd city of Bhogavati, and guarded f{reat treasures, s,)n)c or -;'hich thev occasionally bestorved on rnortals whorn they f.rrorrrcd.'L-hevcould take wholly hurhan lortrt, and tnore tltan one ,l\ rrast-\' of ancientIndia claimed descentfrorn the union of a human hero ttvl a ni{irri. Probabl-v the prototypes of the nigas were the dark prirnit rr c tribes, met by the Arvans in thcir erpansiott over India, frrr a prirnitivc people called Nigas exists in Assam to this day; the cult of s, r l)r'r)tsis so u'idespreadin India that the nigas must certainly owe rrrrulr to aboriginal snake cults followed by nrany tribes all over India. 'l'lre Ialgas, especiallyassociated u'ith the god Kubera, were a sort

' I [rm!d, strictly a tlpe of goose; but, ouing to the connotationof tlre word "goosc" rr I rrglrrlr,laryuais usinlly tianslated "swan'i in this and other tvorks onancieni Indie,-

32O

THE woNDER THAT w^s INDIA

ItELICION: CU!,T5, DOCTRTNES AND METAPHYSTC$

391

of gnome or fairy, reverenced by country people. Before the Christian era their cult was widespread, but they lost their significance as the great gods of Hinduisr:r became more widely worshippcC, 'fhey u'ere gcnerally looked on as friendly to men, but their womenfolk might sometimes be malevolent, and ate little children. 'lhe Gandhartar srrrvived from Vedic times as servants of Indrr and heavenly musicians. In the time of the Buddha they seem to have been specially connected with the procreation of children, and the presence of a Gandharva was thought necessary for conception. Associated with them, and sometimes referred to as a subdivision of their order, were the Kinnaras, also heavenly musicians, who had human heads and horses' bodies, and thus resembled the classical centaurs, with whom they may be connected, The Gandlrarvas were all male: Their female counterparts were the Apsarases,in Vedic tirnes connected with water, but later translated to heaven. They u'ere beautiful and libidinous, and specially deliglrted in tempting asceticsin their meditations. Thus Menaki the apsaras seduced the great sage ViCvimitra, and conceived Sakuntali, the heroine of Kalidasa's famous drama (p. ,137ff). Another apsaras famous in story was Urvaii, the heroine of another drama of Kilidisa, the story of whose love for the mortal king Purfiravas (p.*OZtr) isasold asthepgYeda. appear Sometimes the apsarases in the role of valkyries, raising slain heroes from the battlefield and bearing them to heaven to be their lovers. A further group of demigods was that of the Yidyddharat u heavenly magicians, mysterious beings who lived in magic cities in the high Himdlayas. Like the Vedic munis (p. z+S) they could fly through the air and transform thenrselves at will, and they were generally favourable to men. The .Bsrs( " sages" or more liteially " seers" ), were the composert of the Vedic hymns, and other legendary wise men of olden timer who had been translated to heaven, where they enjoyed a status comparable to that of the gods. Chief of these were the "Seven $9is", identified with the stars of the Great Bear-Marici, Atri, Afrgiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasiqtha. Other important f$is were Ka6yapa and Daksa, said in some stories to have been the progenitoru of gods and men; Nirada, who invented the vini and was a sort of paffon saint of music; Vi6vimitra, a ksatriya who by his piety and asceticism raised himself to br5hman status, and who is heard of in many legends; Byhaspati, the preceptor of gods and demons, who began his career in Vedic tirnes as a god, but whose status fell to that of a 1pi, also identified with the planet Jupiter, and who is said to have founded the materialist system .of philosophy and

tlre science of statecraft; and Agastya, who taught the Southerneru r,'ligion and culture. Less exalted than the fgis were the Siddha, t Lrrgc class of saints who had won aplace in heaven by theirpiety. (llricf among evil spirits were the Astras, or detnons. The word .r\r/r.rwas in Vedic times applied to certain gods (p. 238), but in llirrtluism it was used for a group of supernatural beings continurlly at war u'ith the gods, wlrose polr'er they sometimes shook, but ,,,.r'cr conquered. More inrnrediately dangerous to men were the r.rlirrus classesof goblin, such as the Rdk;asas,most famous of whorn rr.rs Illvapa the ten-headeddemon king of Lafrka (Ceylon), whom l(.irna defeated and killed, Few rakpasashad the same power as I(.rvana, but all were frightful and dangerous, taking terrible formr rrrrl lurking in dark placesat night, to kill and eat men and otherwise 'jl\trcss thenl. Somewlrat less terrible were the Piidcas, who, like rlrt.rrigas, may have had a matcrial basis in a wild tribe, since a very l,;rscdialect of Prikrit was attributed to them. Both tlreseclasses of rlr.nror haunted battlefields, cltarnel ground.s, and places of violent ,fr.:rth, as did a special class of denton, the l/etdla or vampire, which r,ok up its abode in corpses. Finally the night was haunted by lrrrsts(prala, bhilta), the naked spirits of those who had died violent 1' ,1,:rtlrs and for *'hom Sriddha had not been performed, Tlrese were vr.r-ydangerous to men, particularly to their own surviving rclatives. llindu worship was not confined to tlle propitiation of gods and rlt'nrigods,for the whole of nature was in some sensedivine. Great .rrrrl lroly men were reverenced,both during tlreir live.s and for long -Thus aftcr their deaths, for they contain-eda portion of godhead. the sixty-three Nayalars of Tamil Saivism and the twelve Alvirs of 'l';rrnil Vaignavismstill enjoy tlre status of demigods, as do otlrc-rgreat r, ligious teachers. Not only men, but anirnals and plants were and ,,rill are holy, notably the cow. According to legend the cow srrllbhi, the mother of all cows, was one of the treasures churned from rlr,' cosmic ocean. The "five products of the cow" (paficagaaya)rrrilli, curd, butter, urine and dung -were all of great purifying potency, '.\l)rcialiy when combined in a single mixture. Despite her sanctity, rlrt'rc was no cow-goddess, and Surabhi and the various "wishingr,,ss" ollegend, by milking which all desires r+'erefulfilled, had no r.rrrplcs in thgir honour. The living beast was revered, not as re-. l,rcscntative of any deity, but in her own right. The bull, on the ,,rlrcr hand, recei!'edhonour as tlre mount of Siva; the image of Nandi r,, lirund in most Saivite temples and honoured with offerings. Alter the cow the snake was perhaps the rnost revervd animal of rru icnt India. Legendary serpents, such as S.S" (p. 3o2) and V r srrki (p. 3O4), gave the srrrke prestige, but the cult no doubt sprang

Y
322
THE \PONDEN TH.{T WAS JNDTA (',tlnt0(OrU

b"ii;*d i;'il;t;fii groundandjoin the Gangi a-t_its conflu"i*'*i,f, the yamuni. at Prayiiga(Allahibid), tt19_ -i".L *."i"oivari, y1.-"ir',' the Krsni ( modernIristni ) and'the Kaviri. r. i"t.".; ;;,;'b.iy ffi ;r.Ji;
were aii,:*-fp. eo2,n).

i"rv,'fjiiiiv"t r* alola (p.,aoa), to-whichwoTen prayed for children. There *.ere also sacrpdplar.rts, such as the tulasi, a type of basi! which was connectcd with ViE4u,and which is still grou,i;; ,t;;;;,yards of many Hi'du homes and tended with greai care. Two types darbha, were also sacred"from v.ai"lii".'f,n*aros. of grass, kula and, The vedic sonra plant,.ltowever, was forgotten rvery lull or nrountainhad somedegree of sanctity,especially the ) Iinri.layas, rv'ie h were the foot'iiis riil"r* rrr"ru, trrecentrcof the world. Around Meru. on-mountains which reache; ;,h.ll;^;;; drvelt..the gods. Vaikuntha,,h; h;;;';;'viuor, was never satisfactorily identified,but I{ailasa, tt,u .o*#n ;i1st;";;;;';;_;l;:; as a certain peak in the Himaluyas*rri.rri", i.#f;"": _Central .l-pi|$.image. Numerous ott"r.L*t.ins lk:" and hills in many parts of India were famousf9r_-their sanctiil,.'-iven rocks often had a religious significance, i1 vaguely resemblins ie.rili.ani tlre liirga of siva' The"11"cr"rrr am.monite llit"fra*t1fa f<rss'izedshetfisli, uas.recognized as one of rhe sl,rnbth Rivers were also sacred, "iti;;i,: oi *u Ganga, which sprang from the foot of thp 9{r."i"ffV, "otil.u, d;;-;;;; the sky in the form Jiepu, of the mitkv wav ( Manddr;-;), iirJtit""'i.'iri" i*,r, from the matted Iocksof.Siva, bii,ga *", oit"., p";;fi;l'; --od;. a goddessin her own right,,like hc1 great"tributary )-amuna. rivers held speciallv sacred were the Sarasy4li,which *;,

from very primitive rev'els, sincethe mysterioussnakeis revered all overlhe rvorld by unciv'ized-peupr..rr"* ofboth deathand An ofibring ro ,nuk"s,'mua" ui tl,. "-urem t of the rainy titilitf. season, was parr of t.e regular domestic ritual"ginning Jf lli"iri;.],;;rhills n'ere reipectedas the"home oi;il;'"b,her animals,thoush associated with variousdivinities,ptry"Jiittl" part in Hil;;",rf.: 1)re rnonkey, nruch reveredUyp"orinii .rj,irpf" folk in manvparts ,' of India, is not relerred to as specio'y.;;;;'i;.;;.i;H;;ilJ.,;, Tree cults, common,the*oil,l on.!r r_ong'*.i..,t peoples,were widespread in India, w'ere each h.;;?s sacredtree or grove. Speciatlysacred *.ere the pippat_a "ill"g" ilr"ii)ipt;;l; r',.',)J; ,;;;;i, ", the sanctityof which ,gr1ia'1o IJ"ddl;i;;;; ) rn" ooloor nyagrodha, the banyan (Ficw iniical, the s".ond"; ;;;" of which, reachins down from its branches,'formed ttu l"ir-oimuch religior.,urn-bolism.

R E L I C I O N : C U L T S ,D O C T R T N E A SN D M E T A p H y S t C S

523

Many othertreesweremoreor r.r,

llintlu cosmology in its final. form lvas perhaps later than the ,,''rrrolt,gies of the Iluddhists and Jainas. According to this systcirl rlL'' (:osnros passes througlr cycles rvithin c1'cles for all eternity. I lrt' basic cycle is the kalpa, a "day of Brahtni", or 4,,920 million ,.rrtlrly ycars. FIis night is of equal lengrh. 560 such days and rrrylrts constitute a "year of Brahrni" arrd his life lasts for loo ,,,lr vears.* The largest cycle is therefore 3ll,o4o,Oo0 million .,r.,rls long, after which the whole univcrse returns to the inetfable r,,,r'kl-spirit, until another creator god is evolved.f Irr cach cosmic day the god creates the universe and again absorbs rr. I)uring the cosrnic night he sleeps, and the whole universe is 1.rtl:crcd up into his body, where it remains as a potentiaiity. Within , ,, lr halpa are fourteen manz:antaras, or secondary cJ'cles,each lasting ',()rt,?9o,ooo years, rvith lorrg intervals betrveen them. ln these t,,.riotlsthe.w'orld is recreated, and a newl\fanu appears,as thepror'.,rrltorof the human race. We are now in the seventh manvantara ,'t tlrt' kalpa, of which the Manu is known as Manu Vaivasvata. l ..ttlr manvantara contains seventy-one Mahdlugas, or eons, of ,.. I'i, h a thousand form the kalpa. Each mahiyuga is in turn divided t r tt,, l\ty17 yyg4s or ages, called K1ta, Tretii, Duipara and Kali (p. 209 ). I l,' ir lengths are respectit'ely4,8Oo, 3,600, z,+oo, and l,eoo "years ,,t tlrr:gods", each of which equals 36o hunran years. Each yrga reI,,.,,,nts a progressive decline in piety, morality, strength, staturc, ' . , ..ity and happiness. We are at present in the Kali-yuga, whiclr I , i .rrr,aCcordingto tradition, in 9lo2 a.c., believed to be the year of 'War. rr '. \lahiibhirata .[ lrc end of the Kali-yuga, according to many epic passages, is r', 'r Ltrl by confusion of classes,the overtlrrorv of establishedstand.'r,1.,,tlre cessation of all religious rites, and the rule ofharsh and ,,1',rr liings. Soon after this the world is destroyed by flood and fire. llris'r'icrv is propounded strongly in texts rvhich date from about the 1,,l irrrringof the Christian era, when alien kings did in fact rule muclr , 't lrrrlia,and rvhen establishedpracticesu,ere shaken by heresiessuclr ., , llrrrLlhismand Jainism. An earlier tradition u'ould place the Mahnr,1,.' r.tt:r War c, 9OOB.c .(p. 4o), according to which tlre l,2oo years of r , li,rli-vrrga,i[read as human )'ears and nc-rt as "year.s of tlre gods", rr,,q1l1l ,11 tlris time be nearing thcir end. Evidently some pious llindus r L,'rr1' l rt that the dissolution of the cosmos wa.simrninent. Perhaps it . Ilr.rlrrrri year. is sridto benowin his fifty-first
| |l,,rrr;lrrlreterms"day"and"yearofBrahmi"arecommonlyused,thegodwhosc ,. , ,,'rr.rr\ tlrc universeis, as we have seen,tlrouglrtof by Vaignavites asVi5nu and by . . r . r \ S r l r , a r r l l l r a h n t a i s a m e r e d e r n i u r g e ,t h e g o d i i r I r i s c r e a t i v e a s f e c t .

itiru' 1.1;y:i:j K;u;'3.,'#ilu :91 ll'l near Aj er..,u, mer, wereiql also sacred, and evericities

s24

THD, WONDER THAT

WAs INDIA

of this fear in later times that we must attribute the is to the departure of the of the "years of the gods", whichmadethe dissolution devising textsstatethat thecosn,ic worldcomfortably distant. Most medieval dissolutionoccursonly after the last cycle of the kalpa, and that the transition from one reonto the next takes place rapidly and comparaof the Kalkin (p. Sos), who will not detively calmly; the expectation the world, couldnot otherwisebe harmonizstroy but will regenerate ed with the schemeof the yugas. In this, its final form, the Hindu rystem of world<ycles is clearly an imperfect s]'nthesisof more than especially,do not fit one independentdoctrine; the manvantaras, tidily.into the scheme,and must surely be derived from a source different from that of the mahdyugas, The systemof the four yugas immediatelybrings to mind the four agesof ancientGreece-and indeedthe Indian yugas are sometimes namedafter metals-gold, silver, copper and iron. A similar doctrine of four agesexistedin ancientPersia,and the three schemes ma1, have been borrowed from a common source. The act of creationwas thought of in more than one marurer. The (p. Seof) and somelesserschools postulated schoolcalledSdnkhya the of primeval nratter (yolrti), of which the creator madeuse existence to form the world, but the Yeddntaschool, certainly the most influential in the Middle Ages, maintainedthat everything in the universe,soulsand matter alike, was producedfrom God's own essence. The rnotive of creation was explainedby the Vedinta schoolas the "sport" (lilA) of the World Soul, and the creationof the cosmoswas thought of on the analogyof the productionof a work of art from the mind of an artist. Tlu Soul,Karma and Sat.nsdra in Upanigadic times and adopted The doctrineof karma,elaborated by Buddhism and Jainisnr,was also part and parcel of Hinduism. to the Hindu definitionkarma (literally "work,"or "deed") Aocording wasthe uriseen ripeningof past actions,and though not in Hinduism a category,as in Jainism,it was thought of as accumulating substantial and dispersing. Through karma the body of the next life, divine, human, animal or hellish, was acquired;and on previous karma defortune and socialclass,and his happiness pendeda man's character, and sorrow. Every good act sooneror later brougbt its result in and every evil act in sorrow. happiness, The belief in karma does not necessarilyinvolve fatalism. A fatalist srain often appeared in Hindu thought, but most teachers disapprovedof it. Our present condition is inevitable,but only

tEltctoN: culTs, DocrRtNEsAND METAPHYSTCS

tt6

hecaus of the karma accruing from our past deeds, We cannot escape rlre law of karma any more than we can escapethe law of gravity or the l.rssafle of time, but by judgement and forethought we can utilize tirc larv of karma to our own advantage. 'f he process of transmigration was interpreted somewhat variously, lrut all schools agreed that the soul does not transtnigrate in a state of nudity, but with a sheath or series of sheathsof subtle matter; the c,rrrditionof the sheathsdependson the balanceofprevious good and cvil karma, and the new birth is determined by the nature of the sheaths which surround the soul. The subtle body of transmigration is deprived of sense-organs, including mind, tlte sixth sense, and tlrcrcfore the soul cannot normally remember previous births or the l,lssage from one body to another. Very advanced souls, however, (.rn sometimes recapture memories of previous existences,and sonte s(cts evolved a special technique for doing so. Souls are liable to rransrnigration throughout the life of the god Bralimi, though .rt tlre end of each cosmic day or kalpa they return to his body rI potentialities only. On the death of Brahmi, at the final ,lisr^olution of tlre universe at the end of a hundred Brahrnl-years, they .'re absorbedinto the World Spirit and their karnra is annihilated. Salnsira, the continual passage from body to body, often compared i,) an ever-rolling rvheel,is infinitely tedious, and }linduism inherited rlre desire for release from transmigration which was almost universal rrr Indian thought. Conceptions of the state of release or salvation (nu|ti) arrd the means of obtaining it differed widely. Siz Systems of Saloation l,arly in the Christian era, if not before, there was a theoretical r l.rssification ofthe various schoolsofthouglrt Iooked on as orthodox, errrltlre Say'dar{ana or "Six Doctrines" became a regular feature of I lirrrluisur. The Six Schoolswere actually of differing origin and pur', r:t, but all u'ere brought into the scherrreby being treated as equally 1 r.rlrd rvays of salvation. They were divided into three groups of two, u lrich wcre thought to be related and complementary. These were: ,\ r,9'a and Yaite;i*a; Safihlya and Toga; wtd Mimarysd nd l/cddnta, .,\'r'.-g'a ("Analysis ") was rather a school of logic and epistemology tl,,rrrof theology. It looked back to the teacher Akgapida Gautama, tlr,. .siitrasor aphorisms attributed to whom are probably no earlier rir.rrr tlre Clrristian era. Logic was forced into the schemeas a nreans ,,1 s.rlvation by the contention that clear thinking and logical argur,, nt \i'ere essentiallneans to the highest bliss, and thus a religious heriswas giventowhatwar essentiallyasystemof reasoning (p. Sosf). 'l'he

'86

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("the School of Individual Characteristics.,)was conr-I/a!!c$Ia plementaryto Nyiya, thoughperhaps older, andin medievaltimesthe two.merged into ra,hat was virtually a single school. While Nyeyr specialized in logic, VaiSegika rvas interesiedrather in physicsthan theology._ earliest text of the schoolis the s[tras of theiegendary lhe founder, Ul0ka Ka4-da, u'hich had nunrerousexponents com"ril nrentat()rs, the greatestof.whom was Prasastapada tf the stlr century, The basictenet of vaiiersika, held in commo*with Jaini.srn and sonle schoolsof Buddhisrn, u'as that nature is atomic. The atornsare clistinct fronr the soul, of which they are the instrument. Each element has individual characteristics (adEas), which distinguishit from the four non-atomic substances(dravyas) which ti'e school recognizes-time, space,soul and mind. The atoms are eternal, but in the great dissolution at the end of the life of Braltmi they are separated one from another,and all things are destroyed, The nerr Brahmi utilizcsthe old atomsto createthe world afresh. vaisegikr thus postulated a dualism of matter and soul, and declared that salvationdependson fully recognizingthe atomic nature of the universe, and its differencefrom the soul.r SAilthya("the Count") is perhapsthe oldest of the eix systemr, being mentionedin the Rhagaoad Gita and occurring in a piimitivi form in the Upanipads. Its.legendaryfounder nuu.ihe anc-ient sage Iiapila, but tlre earliestsurviving t-extof the system is tlte Sa;tkh17_ lari.,ia of idr'arakrsna,perhapsoT the ath cent;ry A.D. Sankhvaiesembles Jainismin its rigid dualismand fundamental atheisrir, It teaclres the existenccof twenty-five basic principles (tattaa), ot which the firstis pratrti-a term usuallylooselytranslated"rnatier',. creation,or ratherevolution, is not due to the operation of a divinitv but to the inherentnature of praklti. From pra-krtider.elops (e) In'_ tellifience (buddhi, alsocalledmahat',theGreat dne,,), uni lrtnl" i, produced (s) Self-consciousness (ahankara). prakiti has in fact evolvedinto an active divinity. Through self-consciousness emerge the fir'e subtle elements (tanmitra), in'isible matter in its mo"st etlrereal form; the five are (1) "eth.r" (akd{a),(5) air, (o) light (z) water and (s) earth. From the subtleeiernents the'rr,.t.".i"i elements(mahdbhuta) enrerge(o-ts). Working on this material, Self-consciousness then producesthe five otg"n, of sense(jfidnend_ r i l a ) t ( r a ) h e a r i r r g(,r s ) t o u c h ,( r o ) s i g h r ,( r z ) t a s t ei " n a f r e t srnell,and tlre five of action (karmendrijta): ( ro) sp'eech, (zo) giasp. 'ei.n ing, (zr ) rvalking,(zz) evacuation and (zs) procreation. lf
r For furthcr details on Vai6egika atomism see p. ,1199.

*l *l
'l

to an element,in respective rlrese organscorresponds order. Finally produces components S,'1t'-consciousness the twenty-lburth of the basic ,,1-tlrc on as a sixtlr sense, uorld, mind (manas),looked which actsas ir)tcrmediarybetweenall the ten organsand the outsideworld. This and fantasticdoctrine of cosmicevolution, interpretedin r,:nrarliable cosmos, sinrpleterms, irnplies that bodies,and indeedthe ra'hole are as basicallymaterial. of the ego (ahaikara), conceived lrroducts But there is another tattva, the twenty-fifth. This is Puru;a, litcrally "the Person", the soul. As in Jainism,there is an infinite numberofsouls in the universe,all equal,eternallyinactivespectators on praklti nor of the evolution of prakrti. Puru;a is not dependent completely devoid of praklti on puruga-a universe is conceivable soul and yet evohing in the sameway as the universewe know, for intclligence,personalityand mind are not parts of the soul. Yet involved in matter, and their salvationlies soulsin somewav become from it. in realizing their difference is the doctrineof metaphysics A very important featureof Sairkhya qualities (glza), causing virtue (sattca),passion the threeconstituent statecosniicmatter (rajas) anddullness(tanas). In its undeveloped containsthesethree in equilibrium, but as the world evolvesone or in different objectsor beings,and other of the three preponderates tlre proportions accountfor the valuesof the universe. Sattvagu4a, the quality of virtue, is presentin all things tending to truth, wisdom, ircautyand goodness;the quality of passion inlteres in all that is {ierce,violent, energetic,forceful or active; while dullnessis found in rvhat is dark, stupid, gloomy, wretched or unhappy. This threeaffectedmany aspectsof Indian life and thought fold classification and its influencereachedfa,r beyond the Sankhyaschool which made it its olm. The dualism of soul and matter and the fundamental atheism of modified in the Middle Ages as a concession Siikhya were somervhat to tlre prevalentmonism and theism. Puru;a literally mcans"person" or "man", andprakyti is of femininegender. It is not surprisirrg that the latter waspersonifiedas the wiie of the former, especially by the tantric sects. The inactive purugaof the earlier system became a generativeforce, and the cold and rather pedanticSafrkhya, in a much modified form, becamethe comrnonproperty of popular lndian religion of Iater times. Toga, the name of the fourth system, is a word well known in the etymologically with the Englishword "yoke ". \\'cst, andis connected ", It nray be freely translated"spiritual discipline" or " application 'l'he and acts term is loosely usedto imply all the religious exercises

i.Et.totot{: cvlTs, DoCTRINES AND METApHyStCt

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of self-mortification of Indian religion, the earnest follower of such practices being a 1ogi. In this broad sense yoga has been part of the teaching of every Indian sect, but it was also the name of r distinct school, which emphasized psychic training as the chief nreans of salvation. The basic text of this school is the 2loge Sritras of Patairjali; this teacher was traditionally identified with r famous grammarian believed to have lived in the 9nd century 8.c., but the s[tras in their present form are probably several centuries later. The metaplysical ideas of the Yoga school were originally closely akin to those ofsiirkhya, but they differed in that they brought a deity into the picture. The God (Tioara) of Yoga was not a creator, but t specially exalted soul wlrich had existed for all eternity without ever being enmeshed in matter. Thus the god of Yoga resembled the Buddha of the Lesser Vehicle, or the glorified flrtharikara of Jainism, never conring in contact with his worshippers but invaluable ar an example. He was specially symbolized in the sacred syllable OM, which in the Yoga school was much revered, as giving insight into the sublime purity of the soul and thus aiding meditation. A Yoga theism soon developed, horvever, and the God of later Yoga textr differs little from that of other schools. The course of training of the yogi was divided into eight stages' reminding us of the eightfold path of Buddhism, but far less practical: ( t ) Self<ontrol ( lana), the practiceof the fi ve moral nrles: non-violence. of greed' truthfulness,not stcaling,chastity, and the avoidance (e) Observance(niyama), the regular and complete obsen'anceof five furthet moral rules, some of them rather overlapping with those in thc category of self-control-purity, contentment, austerity' study of the Vedar, and devotion to God. (s) Posture (asana), sitting in certain postures,difficult without practice, lvhich arc tlrouglrt to be essentialto meditation. The most famousof "I-otus I'osture", in which the feet are placcdon the tbeseisparlmdsana,tl'te thighs, and in rvhicb gods and sagesare commonly depicted' opposite (+) Control of the Breath (lrdnaynna), uliereby the breath is held and controlled and the respiration forced into unusual rhythms, which are b+ lieved to be of great physicaland spiritual value. organs are trained to takc (f) Rcstraint (pratydhara),whereby tlte sense no note of their percePtions. on a.single object, (o) Steadyingthe N{ind (dharatlA),by concentration ruch as the tip of the nose,the navel, an icon, or a sacredsymbol. fills the whole (z) Meditation (lhyana), when the objectof concentration mind. (8) Deep Meditation (satnndhi),whentle whole personalityis temporrrily dissolved.

Yoga was sometimes developed in special and rather dubious ways, r's1,r1i1lly by the tantric schools of the Middle Ages. Tlre course of trairrirrgoutlined above was known as "Royal Yoga" (rtjayoga),but ,'tlrcr yoga systems developed, such as the "Yoga of Spells" (zaztr,ryoga), which taught the continual repetition of rnagic syllables and the "Yoga of I'lrrasesas a means of dissociating the consciousness; I rrr.tc" (halhayoga), which enrphasizedthe inlportance of physical rrrt'unssuch as special acrobatic exercises and very difficult postures, errtlsometimesadvocatedsexual union as a lneansof salvation; and the " \'<'Fa of I)issolution"(layajtoga), often identified with hatha-yoga, l'.rscrl on certain ancient Indian physiological notions, wh'ichplay a big t irr tlre form of ;,'ogasometimes taught by'Western practitioners. 1,,rr 'I lre clrief vein of the body, known as sutumna, runs through the 'l,irral colutnn. Along it at different points are six "rvheels" (cakra), ,,f ( ()r)cer)trations of psychic energy. At the top of the vein susumna) rr rtlrirr tlre skrrll, rs sahasrdra,a specially powerful psyclric (:entre syml',,lically reflcrred to as a lotus. In the lowest "wheel", behind the I', rlitals, is t\e kult(alini, the "serpent power", generally in a quiesr.rrt stat. By yogic practices the ku4{alini is awakened, rises rlrr.trgh the vein sugumna, passes through all the six "wheels" of 1,.r'tlric force, and unites u'ith the topmost sahasrira. By awakening rrr,l laising his kundalini the yogi gains spiritual strength, and by rrrrrtirrg it with sahasrira he wins salvation. 'l lrc arvakened kup{alini gives to the yogi superhuman power and l.rr,'ulcdge, and many yogis have practised yoga rather for this rlr.rn f<rr salvation. Some adepts of yoga have developed certain l"'\r'('r's which cannot fully be accounted for by European medical r, ' n('e and which cannot be explained away as subjective, but the is certainly false; there ic I l,r',i,'krgical basis of laya- and ha.tha-yoga r ' Aun,lalini, salumna or sahasrAra. The ancient mystical physiology , t lrr,lia needs further study, not only by professional Indologists, I Lr l,\' ()pcn-minded biologists and psychologists, who may reveal eft t h e y o g i . F o r r v h a t e v e rw e m a y t h i n k a b o u t h i s r r , q 1 q 1 1 ' s c c ro , rrrr.rl tlaims there is no doubt that the advanced yogi can hold I I rr'.rtlrfor very long periods without suffering injury, can control r rlrltlrrn of liis own heart-beats, can withstand extrenles of heat . I ,,'111, can remain healthy on a starvation diet, and, despite his . ' , r , : r n r lf r u g a l l i f e a n d h i s r e m a r k a b l e p h y s i c a l c o n t o r t i o n s w ,h i c h ' J r uirr tlre sj'stem of any ordinary mar, can often survive to e , ' , .r lr.rru'edage with full use of his faculties. \lrn,insii ("Enquiry"), differed in origin from the other systems , rrrr rr \\'ls not so much a school of salvation as of exposition. Itt

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"There is nothing in the three worlds which I need, nothing I do not orm" rvhichI must getnotl)ir)g a-rdyet I labour forever. " If I did not aluays work unwearying, . . mcn rvould follow my ways. 'lJre *'orlds u'ould perish if I did not workI should bring backchaos,and all beingswould suner. " So, as the unu'isework with attachmcnt, the wise should work without attachment, O son of Bharata, and seekto establishorder in the u'orld. . . " Cast all your actsupon me, with your mind on the Highest Soul. Have done uith craving and selfhood. Ttrrow offyour terror, and fight! , . . " For there is more joy in doing one's own duty badly than in doing inother man's duty well. It is joy to die in doing one's duty, but doing another rxan's duty brings dread."rt The teaching of the Bhagaoad Gita is summed up in the maxin In rr "your bu.sinessis with the deed, and not with the resuit". organized society each individual has his special part to play, and in every circumstance there are actions which are intrinsically rightfrom the point of view of the poet who wrote tbe Gitd theyare tlrort laid down b1'the Sacrcd Law of the Ar1'ans antl the traditions of chu and clan. The right course must be chosen according to the circunr. stances,without eny considerations ofpersonal interest or sentimenl Thus man serves God, and in so far as lre lives up to this ideal hl draws near to God. The stern ethics of the GitE are clearly intended as a defence of tha old established order against the attacks ofreformers and unbelieverl The virtue of the brihmap is wisdom, of the warrior, valour, of th vai6ya, industry, of the Sldra, service; by fulfilling his class functirn to the best of his abllity, with devotion to God and without personrl ambition, a man wiil find salvation, whatever his class. It may br that the author of the Gitd sought merely to convey this messagt, rather barren and uninspiring when thus condensed. But behind hb teaching was the fervour of a great religious poet, which transcendcl the narrow framework of contemporary social and religious lu, Hence the inspiration of the Bhagaaad Gifi has been widely felt I India from the time of the Guptas to the present day, and it has beq

. r"rrrended by Christians and Muslims, as well as by the Hindus, .1., sc most influential scripture it is. No one so ungrudgingly . 'r'itted his debt to its doctrine of tireless and unselfishserviceas \lrlritma Gendhi, who so strongly opposedthe two features of f,,. r.r)t Indian society which the Gitd itself was in part written to 't, r, ntl-militarism and the classsvstem. (v) xor-rxDrAN RELrcroNs ll *e are to believe a very old tradition the first Christian converts ,, lri,lia were made by the Disciple Thomas himself, soon after the , ,,r,itixion. The Indian king Gondopharessent to Syria for a .r,llrrl architect to build him a new city, and the envoy returned -,rlr St. Thomas,who told the king of a City not madewith hands, r," l r orrverted him and many membersof his court, St. Thomasafter..r,1,;preached in otherparts of India, and died a martyr's deathat: r,.'.lr.rrrds of a king calledin Christian tradition Iltisdeos,who carurot r. r,ltntified. The historicity of Gondophares,however, is rrn, '.ri.ncd (p. 6l ), and the story in its main outline is not impossible, | ' ,rr rl)e time contact betweenIndia and the West was close, and 1 , , rrtrrprising missionarycould easily havetravelledfrom Palestine , . lr,,lr;r. RomanCatholics believe that the tomb of St. Thonrasis to t. t, urrrlln the cathedral at Mailapur, a suburbof Madras, though the r,.,!,ruc ior the Saint'smartyrdomthere is not sumcient to satisfy ,., )rrrtorian. 'r'rlral rather unreliable references to other early missions , .r irr churchtradition, but the first certain evidenceof Christian r, .. rv in India is found in the Clz'stian Topography of Cosmas -monk : , ,, l,l(.u.stes, an adventurous Alexandrian of the 6th ''.,,,r ,'' rvho left an accountof his travels. He states that there -", ,lrrrrr-hes in Keralaand Ceylon,in the handsof Persianpriests, h. .'r1'r'rvised by a Persian bishopat Kalliana(perhaps the modern ',). It is clear that the Indian Christians had embracedthe r,,,' 'r.ur Ireresy,which was then widespreadin Persia. The t' " r i.rrrsrvere active missionaries, and their intrepid monks even . .. I rlrt.wastesof Central Asia and foundedsuccessful churches in , \\'lratever truth there may be in the legend of St. Thomas,it N.. ' tl,.rt thesenrissionaries, no doubt following in the wake of | ,,r rrrr.rchants, were chiefly responsible for establishing the 'When, , ,n (()rnnlunity in SouthIndia. at a later date, Islim | .rrr both Zoroastrianismand Christianity in Persia, the n. ' , , t )ni:tians turned for guidanceto the patriarchof Antioch, and r,r' , rrnr.rincd contactwith Syria to this day.

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When European travellers again visited India they noticed thl of the South. Marco Polo, at the end of the ltth Christianchurches century,saw the tomb of St. Thomas, and remarkedon its popularity as a placeof pilgrimage. But the Syrianchurchwas corrupt. Therl is no evidencethat Indian Christiansever accepted the doctrine ol transmigration,but many Hindu customshad beenadopted,and tln Kerala Christians,like the Buddhistsand Jainasbefore them, werc in the processof becoming a rather heterodox Hindu sect. Jesuit o[ the t6th and rZth centuriessucceeded missionaries in preventing further decadence. One sectionof the Syrian church in India accepted the authority of Rome, while the other, which remained true to iO traditions,reformedand purified itself. It is in this connexionthat we find the first record of an Englislr. man visiting India. The Anglo-Sa.ron Chronicle states that in e.o. 88a King Alfred, to fulfil a vow, sentan envoyto India with rich giftr for the tomb of St. Thomas, Florenceof Worcester, writing somc 2oo years later, addsthat the name of the envoy was Swithelm,and that he retumed safely. William of Malmesbury,on the other hand, gives his nameas BishopSigelinus,and statesthat he brought backr rich presentofjewels andspices from the local Indianking, who, if thc story is true, must have been the C6!a King Aditya I or one of hir chiefs. The Anglo-Saron Chroniclc is generally reliable, and it ir to believethat Alfred sent the DVol,but " India" for 9tlr reasonable century Europe was a very loose term, embracing many vaguely known parts of Asia and Africa, and we cannotbe sure that the envoy actuallyvisited the tomb of St. Thomas at IVailapur, or even that it was in existence at the time. The discrepancy in the namesgiven to the envoy by the two later chroniclers shows that the tradition wrr and addsto our suspicion. not vividly remembered, On the other handwe know that Christianpilgrims undertookvely difficultjourneys in order to visit holy places. At the time Islirr, wu not violently anti-Christian,and the pilgrirn might have found hit way acrossEgypt without difficulty, and thencein an Arab merchant vesselto South India. It is pleasantto picture the brave Englirh cleric, whatever his name, telling the C6!a king through Arab ard Tamil interpretersof King Alfred's battleswith the Danes,and King Alfred, several years later, listening to the envoy's acrount of thc wonders of India and sanrpling the rare spicesof the Tamil land. Whatever our doubts, we carnot but hope that the story of Bishop Sigelinusis a true one. As well as Christianssmall communities of Jewssettled in Kera|. The earliest certain referenceto this community is a loth-centurt charter by which the king of the CEras, Bheskara Ravivarmrri.

b1t ,.," lendsand privilegesto a Jew namedJoseph-Rabban; $e cochln at settlement a large of ,lrt:r,rrof the Jewsof Keralatells , rl,r' lst centuryA.D. In any casea small lewish community-has , r '.r.rl in India ior well over a millennium' One branchhas mixed and its membersnow have ''.,1v with the local Malaydli inhabitants the other branchretainsits ,,1 ,,.,1lrrdiancomplexions and features; , . ,.,1l,urity, and ii still evidently Semitic'-. A further ancientcom,, ,,rrrty: of tidian Jews,the Bcni israzl, has lived for many centuries ,, rl,c w'cstcoast' and is now centredin Bombay' .\rrrr1|1s1 non-Indianreligious community was that of the Zoroasr,,r.\, now generally knJwn as P6rsis. Under Achamenid and was certainly practisedin Pi1.Fof .,..,,,,.r, Zoroastrianism "-p"..o., '. \\'. lndia, on Hinduism and Buddhism' influence some had and l,r'r n() very clear tracesof a Zoroastriancommunity have.survived rl,,'r,'. Thlugh Zoroastrian merchants may have settled on the *rrt ('o?st of lrrdin verY early, we have no record of them until rrr.r' thc Arab conquesiof Persia,when Persianiugitives came to numbers. According-to.the Pdrsis' own tradii,, t'., i,, "pp.eciable and then ,, ,,,,,u,,. ULa of tefugeessettledfirst aiDiu in Saurdshtra, century' rr I lr.rni near Bombay,in the early 8th thatof the Muslims' Arabsvisitedlndta I ct anothercommunitYwas l,rry1Seforethe days of"Muhammad,and there is evidenceof small communitiesin many of the coastaltorvns of the Peninsula "t',1,1'rn ,'. rn rl)e 8th century onwardi. The Mappila (Ivloplah.)community from settlersand convertsof ''r li,'r'alais undouttedly descended of India' There is' however' invasion ,r1' of Muslim 11,'1e1" I the days of any influenceof Isldm on Hinduism until after the ,,,,, i,'.. evi6ence \trrslirn conquest. 't1,,,. Indil, though always loyal to her indigenouscults' g?.t:: " \\ , l( {,nlc to those of the West. If we exceptthe uncertatntradltlon ,,t ),t.'l-homas'martyrdomthere is no good evidenceof the persecusects. Their membersquietly pursued r ,,r!rl'rtnvof thesenon-In<Iian in the religiouslife of elements ,',,, ;,r-;icults,smaUbut significant aware were scarcely Hindus of body the g"reat , while , ,,:rstal r' cities, to them' This capacity t rl'r' alien faiths,and in nJway antagonistic t r t, ,le ratiorlcontributedto the charaiteristicresiliencyof Hinduism' its survival. to assure .',,1lrt'lped