A Cultural History of India Edited by A. L. BASHAM OXFORD z UNIVERSITY PRESS x. Daksinimart (Siva as Teacher). South side of East Gopura,OXFORD ‘YMCA Library Building, Jal Singh Road, New Delhi 130 001 nerd ates est deparnentof te Unie of Osan ‘ctr the Unive sete oeselnce feet cele, Sa edteateny pbs aie Ort New York ‘tne. Avcad Bang Bop Muenos Ae Caleta ‘ape Cheat Durer Sahar DAD Rone Hang Kong se isch ls tumpur asl Melbostee ets Ghy Habel att! ears Seo Poo Singapore spe Tyo Torome Wasew en atte espa in ‘erin hada! (© Oxford University Press 1975 st publishes 1975 ist Indian Impression 1983 reprinted by arrangement with Oxford University Press, Oxford ‘Oxford India Paperbacks 1997 ‘Third impression 1999 All sights reserved. No part of this public stored ina retrieval system, o transmitted, fn slectroni, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise, ‘without the prior permission in whiting of Oxforé University Press 1 may be reproduced ISBN 0 19563921 9 323 y “C86 1999 245522 Printed in india at Saurabh Print. 0-Pack, Noida, UP and published by Manzar Khap, Oxford University Press YMCA Library Building, Jal Singh Rood, New Delhi 110 001 ny form or by any means, PREFACE THe Legacy of India, edited by G. T. Garrat, appeared in 1937, Its contri- butors included some of the ablest specialists of the time and several of its fifteen chapters are as valid today as they were at the time of writing. Never- theles, he Second World War, tbe independence of India, and the-ghangd of attitudes since those two momentous events, have fendered some of the chapters quite out of date, Others have become obsolete as the result of the many discoveries made and new theories put forward sines the war, The need for a new edition was clear and Dr. Raghavan Iyer frst drafted ‘out « plan aad approached & number of contributors some firteen years ago. Jn 1968 the Clarendon Press asked me to assume responsibility for bringing the Work to a conclusion, on the basis of the material collected by Dr. Iyer. 1 ageeed to do so, and vas given authority to commission authors and recast the plan of the volume in whatever way 1 might think fit, As is almost inevit- ably the case with large collaborative works, composed by contributors scattered across the world, the task (ook fonger and proved more arduous ‘than I had expected. But itis completed at last, and the result is offered to the reader, not without some misgiving, in the hope that he will accept it as a sincere attempt on the part of the contributors and the editor to explain India’s heritage from the past, and the world’s heritage from Indie. ‘The ‘original Legacy, forall its merits, contained several Incunae. In the attempt to fil these and to produce an even more comprehensive survey, it beeamne in- cteasingly clear that what was emerging could not be contained winder the original ttle, TLwas no longer a ‘Legacy’, and t0, not too immodestly I hope, it was decided to call the book A Cultural History of India While many of the chapters ate the work of senior scholars with well- established international reputations Thave not hesitated to enlist the help of younger and les well-bnovn specialists, where this has seemed advisable. The very fact that contributions have been received from four of the five con tineals (and one contributor now works inthe fifth, Aftiea) is surely evidence in itself of the importance of India in the world today. Four of the contributions to Garratt’s original Legacy have been retained, ‘The venerable Professor Radhakrishoan's sincere and well-writen chapter on Hinduism survives, with some editorial additions, Similarly, with editorial changes, T have retained the chiapter by the late Professor 8. N. Das Gupta, ‘whose monumental survey of Todian Philosophy is still the most authoritative ‘and comprehensive study of the subject. The late Professor HG. Rawliason's sympathetic chapter on India's cuttural influence on the western world re- rains, but itis now divided into two and is brought up to date by a German "ven as itstands, this book contains Iecunse, I should have liked to include achapter on the Gypsies, who are also part ofthe history of Inain; nd the much debated question of Contacts, of which there were cvtlaly some it Pre-Columbie trees, thes ht acd indirect, might also have been considered, More serious fe the abseoce of = chapter onthe Indian dance, one of her greatest contributions tothe world’s culture. a USSU eee wou7 Preface Scholar who has made a special study of the’ subject. The contribution of Martio Briges on Indian Islamic Architecture is also kept, purged of several pages of discussion of matters which were once coatceversial, but ace cow no Jouger so. Other than these chapters, all the material is new. In my editorial capacity T have made no attempt to force my numerous hhelpers to fit tbeir contributions to a particulac pattern, beyond explaining to them at the outset that I hoped thatthe book would emphasize the inheritance of modera India from the past, and her many bequests to the world of the present. My main task, except in respect of the chapters inherited from the Garratt Legacy, bas been In trying to impose a uniform system of translitera. tion, orthography, and typographical conventions, in occasiGnally adding brief explanatory remarks, and in abridging a few contributions which were definitely over length. Ak was part of my original plan to include chapters on “India since Inde- pendence’ and ‘Pakistan since Independence’, which would survey the main trends in the two countries over the last twenty-five years. But I finaly de- cided aguinst this in view of the size ofthe votume, and ofthe fact that many aspects of the contemporary situation were covered in other chapters. In the place ofthese two unwritten chapters a brief conelusion tries to drayr the many and diverse threads of this book together. If in this T have alloyed myself to sake value judgements, some of which may be in disagreement with the state. nents of certain contributors, 1 put my vjews Forward ith all deference, as those of one who has had close contacts with the region of South Asia for many years, and has deepvaffection‘for the people of that region acd for their culture. Some readers miay be iritated by the numerous dincritic marks a be found over the letters even of well-known indian names. I take full responsibility for uy annoyance this may eause. It has long been ong of my zhinor tasks in life (o encourage the English-spsaking public te pronounes Indian names-and {erms with atleast an approximation to accuracy, and the attention of readers is drawa to the notes on pronunciation which immediately follow this preface, One of the most difficult problems facing the editor of a work such as this, in the present-day context, rests in is ttle. When the original Legacy was pub. lished the whole ofthe region of South Asia, with the exception of Nepal, the foreign affairs of which were controled by India, and of Ceylon (now ofically ‘Sci Lanka), which like India was part of the British Empire, was clearly and ‘unequivocally India. The region now consists of five completely independent states, of which the Republic of India is unquestionably fhe largest in size and population. This fact, perhaps understandably, sometimes leads to expres- sions of protest when the word ‘India’ is used, in eerlain.contexts, to cover regions beyond India's preseut-day frontiers. As un extreme example Irememn- Yer a student from Kathmandd indignantly declaring that his Country had ‘not received. the cred that was its due becaase Gautama Buddia Wal invari- ably refercedto as ag Indian when in fact he had been a Nepalese. The ene éemic tension betweea India and Pakistan leads o similar protests, on grounds too numerous to mention. I recognize the foree of national feeling, and do not wish to give offence to citizens of the other countries of South Asia; but here inevitably ‘India’ must be understood at times in its brokdest historical sense i Preface vi ‘the inhabitants of that region ever thought of calling their country India, Tt would appear that for Herodotus the Indus basin was the whole of Botalsoin English. Since itis te name by which those who dwell onits banks taining the classical modification of the Indian word, and we have accurate, regularly applied the term India to the large land mass. a Siole, We are compelled to retain ‘India’, even if we go beyond the bounds ieee ut at esc) for their patience; 1 am especially grateful to a few of peal seca cl etree kee a Selontetrine atentaee eM inmer tee ti ina er een i A cert a ale nyvil Preface Postscairr. While this book has beem in the press, several important potiticsl changes have taken place. The secession of East Pakistan, to become the independent state of Bangladesh, occurred shorily before the final typescript ‘was submitted, and note of this has been taken in the text. The change of the fatailiar name Coylon to Sri Lankk came later, and I have not attempted to alter the text of this book accordingly. More recently the Indian state-of Mysore has become Karnataka, and several small hill-states have been de tacked from the former Assam, It would delay the appearence of the book still farther if 1 attempted to bring every reference to these regions of South Asia up to date, and I crave the reader's indulgence for inconsistencies in this respect. ALB. (1974). CONTENTS List of Plates and Maps x Chronological Tables ait Notes on the Pronunctation of Indian Words xvi List of Contributors xix 4, Introduction A. L. Basttane 1 PART ONE: THE ANCIENT HERITAGE the Indus Civilization B.B. Lat in "The Barly Aryans T. Burnow 20 1¥. The Early Drevidians Jom P. Mana ~ (% Afokan India and the Gupta Age Rosita THAPan #8 Vi. Medieval Hindu India A. L, Bastian 3! (Git, Bieduism 5, Rapwanasinan 6 (i) Buddbiom Binxsmy Sanonanaxsuura 3 “GN Jainism A. N, Urapave 100 x Plosepty $.N. Das Guera m xt. Social and Political Thought and Institutions J. DUNCAN'M.:Detingrr 124 si, Selene 1.3.3, Wavren 7 ‘xu. Ancient and Modern Languages T, Burrow 162 XIV, Classipal Literature A. K, WARDER . ” 170 vv, Bony Art and Architecture P , Rawson 191 xv, Mose. taazanor a ART TWO: TE AGH OF AMAL DONNA x The Masi Rang Dynasties 8. A.A, Rta 7 ss, Medieval Hindu Devotionals J, F Jonnes 2665 (Geis Islam in Medieval Todia. 8, A. A. Rizvt 281 aout nade ] xx, Medieval Jndian Literature Kaustnsa KXIPALANt 303x Contents yout, Muslim Architecture in India Mantin S. Briss ~ no xxtt, Medieval Indian Miniature Painting Prawion Canora 326 PART THREE: CHALLENGE AND RESFONSE—THE COMING OF THE WEST xauv. The Portuguese J, 8. HARRISON 337 xxv, The Mughals and the British Pencivat. Sean 38 XXVE, Hindu Religious and Social Reform in British India T.T. F.JORDENS 365 . Islamic Reform Movements Aziz AuMAD 383 |. The Nationalist Movement Huo Owen 201 Modern Literature Knusiwa KatraLANt 408 PART POUR: {NDIA AND THE WORED OUTSIDE xoxx, Barly Contacts between India and Europe H.G. Rawsinson 425 xxi, Indian Influence in Ancient South-East Asia ALAsTAIRLAMD 442 Appendix HHL, Loors 452 2oou, Indian Influences on China J, LeRoy Davipson 455 recut, India and the Medieval Islamic World 8. A, A. Rrzvr 460 xxiv. India and the Modern West Frreprrcit WituELat AND HG. Rawuiwson 470 xxxV. Conclusion A, L. BASHAR 487 Books for Further Reading sor Index 319 LIST OF PLATES Siva Daksinamarti Siva as Teacher), South side of East Gopura, Cidambaram, Tamilnidu. ¢, 4.0, 1200. J. C. Harle frontispiece kr END Kalibangan: steatite seals (two upper rows) and clay sealings (bot- om row). Archaeological Survey of India Lothal: cast of obverse and reverse ofa seal of ‘Persian-Gull” style. Archaeological Survey of India Surkotdd: general view of the citadel, with enteance-ramp in the ‘middle distance om the right. Archaeological Survey of India Surkotada; entrance to the citadel, with ramp, staircase, and guardrooms(7), Archaeological Survey of India Indo-Greek and Persian coins. From H, G. Rawlinson, Inter- course between India and the West, Cambridge University Press . Bronze statuette of Harpocrates from Taxila, From the Cambridge History of India, vol. + 1. Greek intaglio gems from North-West India, ibid. North Indian Astrolabe, brass. ? r8th century. Obverse. Museum of History of Science, Oxford North Indian Astrolabe, brass, 7 18th century. Reverse, Museum of History of Science, Oxford Samra yantra, Delhi, Winter Mother Goddess, moulded terracotta plaque. Tamluk (near Cal- ccutta). ¢, 1st century B.C, Ashmolean Musewn, Oxford ‘Yaksa, stone, Besnagar, now in VidiSa Museum. c. 1st century B.C. 4.0. Harle Seated Buddha, sandstone, Sarnith. Late sth cealury A.D. J. C. Harle ‘Visqu in his Boar incarnation, sandstone. Udayagir Pradesh), Early sth century A.D. J. C, Harle ivalaya-Malegitti (e Siva temple). Bkddimi (Mysore State), First half of 7th century a.b. J. C. Harle Head of Siva from an Pkamukhalingam, spotted red sandstone, Mathura. 4th-sth century A.D, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Siva Nataraja (Siva as Lord of the Danee), bronze, From Tamil- nadu, probably Pudukottai, Thanjavor region. Chola Dynasty. roth contury a.p, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Bodhisattva, Gandhira (Graeco-Buddhist), 2nd-sth century a.p. Archaeological Survey of India (Madhyaai List of Plates and Maps CHRONOLOGY 38, Kali: interior of chaitya cave, e, 150 2.¢. India Office Fouiricat-econonie eeeTuRsc a6] evens amon 19, Nasik: sun-window and horseshoe-areh, e, 150 2.¢. = no Saure 20. Bow-harps and flutes, Amaravait.c. 4.0, 200. British Museum ay ents 21, Vini in the hands of Sarasvatl.e, A.D, 900 British Museum Ei 22, Ajmer: Great Mosque. c. 1209. Indian Museum, Calcutta oe ead 23, Delhi: Qutb Minder, a.p. 1232. Indian Museum, Caleutta ene seat eh 24, Delhi: Tomb of Humiyan, C.P, Bureau, Judion State Rathvays ae pie eta! Pe 25, Fatdhpur-Siket: the Buland Danwaza, av, 1575, From S.-M. | a eee Eawardes and H. £. 0. Garrett. Mugiel Pale India (Oxford e| a Unboersity Press) i Apaatin Mant {asco 26, Agra: the Taj Mahal, A.D. 1632. India Office ee eee nncaes eee 27, The Dying Tnayat Khan, miniature painting. Early 7th century, ee Bodleian Library Oxford 28 Asvarl Ragini (a musical mode personified), from the Laud 2 Régamiala, Eacly 17th century. Bodlelan Library, Oxford 29. Plaque with Siva and Parvati, carved ivory. From South India c. vlna war nyepeereaonntun [ROO | A. 1700. Victoria and Albert Museum, London vole trase ta es to 30. Girdle (paika), stencilled and painted cotton. Rajasthan. Late 17th aeol?| fecha Bena deggie Krk | anges i or early 18th century. Victoria and Albert Museum, Loudon eal eggagnnict few 31. Seated Buddha, git bronze. China. Former Chao Dynasty. Dated AD. 338. Avery Brundage Collection vk] spss nate om sett fo 32. Standing Kuan-Vin, gilt bronze, Ching. Mid-T’ang Dynasty. Late F| [SRE con ‘reentry A.D. Avery Brundage Collection # E Fee \. LIST OF MAPS ' et ance ta eas ras ATED pias eas, “agate te Le 1, Physical Features of India eee eee 11, Asoka's Empize (250 3.0.) i cae 1, The Gupta Empire at the Close of the Fourth Century see | veneer 7 1N, Indie at the Close of the Ninth Century eee v. India in 1236 sage tem vi. The Mughal Empire at the Death of Akbar (1605) Se on bts vl. The Mughal Empire at the end of the Seventeenth Century vo, | is hs ‘vin. The Portuguese Possessions in the Hast and the Route to India # ea nese “Saga ER nape 2x, India at the Close of Dalhouste's Administration i Is Digger onan x, India in 1939 a B aciaeaat Iss 24, Trade Routes from Inia to The Levant ’ e| heseettuaer- | dagan | ktbaaee: i On es : fee Sy aoe sas isto 3 E orc * JEIEEE |. nsermarnnnss y E i E F a E H a E E ay recente E By " soe reccranto “pares i - Shraiastssemn jaghacaanas F : Bl me stat as i 1 & gianiet ss F if i 4 i ofl j fy : a samen te z enter ome ts bot eam SE mt oon aac tes oo , ;| nas be so Hl : prop mttct “peeNOTES ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF INDIAN WORDS "ty Indi language has complex phonetic sytem and contis phonemes the Indian nr are completly deen Onlyaerlong pracite earth ee be tained to reognie thet dftrencs, or the woed onpeee eee them secratly. The sexpso Indn nggesreprodes tan reer ne they can only be exrssed in roman sonpt by means Fauna tee marks below or above the ters, ltisassume tet moto tierendor ree ook will not be aidenis of Indian languages and hersiore a sipeeied systam of (ansiteaton kas beon uses whi yl ge some ee che Sypiosinate wound ‘Words in lassie enguages ave tanslterated according tothe sinplifed system mentioned above, Placenames in general flog the eee ae afl spelings of he governments ofthe counties of Soul Aer in Bartholomew's Word ‘tev Map, Ine Patiams at Chaba en Proper names of nineteeathy and twenttiveetury ladans are oren ie he spalngyhic they themes favoured, ining he homoaele tee "Tagore, which shouldbe Thur, with te sires onthe fee aplable Die ext mais have ben pled ove fhe lng vows ins tne eden tive some idea of the correct pronunciation Exceptions are site cnae fase of ory ev Angled word ke Celetonnd Ronin from Sasi the fll sytem of cars hasbeen ice, We Un bene ok those who know something of the language. Only four ltrs th dase marke ate normaly wed and & The first three distinguish long from short vowels. In most Indien languages ¢ and O ae alvay long, and therefore do no ead dace vowsts 4 shorts pronounce lke un ‘hu’, never like ain ‘ba. Bengt speakers usually pronouace itlke short ows inet" long, a in ea, og sperms the vowel in ‘ame’, butcloter othe long in Feneh or 1a in pin’ The word Sik, ncdentlly should sound approxisaely like Baglih sick’ The pronunciation like “seek sem fo have ean doped by ‘one Baglismen in Indi fortis very reason, in order to aval cepreing overtones in the name of a tough, vigorous peor, Tasin ‘machine’ 0, approximately an *s0", Closer to longo in French or Geaman wras in bull never sin “bu Pajdby however, am Anglced spel Ing, and is more accurately wtitten ‘Panjab’, In the case of this word we have deviated from our rule abou Uslog the seeped speling, im order fo ave the Notes on the Pronunciation of Indian Words xvii pronunciation ‘Poonjab’, which one sometimes hears from speakers Who are doing their best to be correct. The first syllable is like the English ‘pun’,) as in ‘rul (ata yin ‘my’, ‘au a3 ov in ‘how’. consonants Most of the consonants are pronounced roughly as isi Bagish, buts care should be taken ofthe aspirated consonants ki, gi, ch, J, th, dh, ph, and ‘nh, These are exacly like their unaspirated counterpart, ky g, hs 1, hp, and », but with a stronger emission of breath, English speakers often espirate ‘hete letters when they bogin a word or sylable. Thus the English ‘cake’, scgording to Indian phonetics, might appear as hel&. The distinction between the two sounds is immediately obvious to the Indien (except perhaps if his mother tongue is Tamil), but to the English speaker they are vctually alike In a native Indian word, this never pronounced as in ‘thing’, ph aever as in “phial” (except by some Bengal speakers). The letters pronounced as in the English “joke, never asin Preach or German. ‘The liter Sis pronounced approximately as sh in ‘sheet’ The reader will find both Sand si used in spelling Yadian words in this book; this not de to carelessness. The two represent two separate letters in Tndian seripts, which are nowadays pronounced alike, or almost alike, by most Indians, though ‘onvs the distinction was much more definite, ‘The letter v varies Irom region to region between the sounds of English ‘v" and ‘wy’, Beogilis and some other Indians regulely pronounce it as "The biggest diicuty of the Indian phonetic system—the distinction between the retroflex consonants, ff, di, and y, end the dental, ft, dy dh, and n—is too specialized for the ordinary reader who does not intend t0 earn an Indian language, and is not indicated in the system used here ‘Urdd fas imported several sounds from Arabic and Persian, Many speakers ‘are inlined to pronounce words in these laniguages according to the Indian phonetic system, but educated Muslims atempt to pronounce them corzectly, For example gis a very deep k sound pronouaced with the throat in the posi. tion of swallowing, The ‘rough breathing’ indicated by “is a similar deep swallow associated with a vowel, zther like the “glottal stop" which replaces ¢ in the broad Cockney pronunciation of ‘bottle’. In Persian and Arabic loan- words hi is pronounced as chin Scots or German ‘lock; gh isthe same, but voiced, lke the French r. The English sounds of thin ‘worth’ and "worthy" occur in Arabic, and some speakers attempt them, but in Tndia and Pakistan they are usually pronounced as English sand z, even by the edueated, sree ‘The amount of stress placed on any one syllable of a word varies with ifferent speakers. With some, especially in the south, evory syllable of word has almost the same value, while others make 4 definite stress. In classical Indian languages (Sanskrit, Pali, and the Prakrits) the stress is fon the last prosodically long syllable of @ word, other tha the final syllable. A prosodically long syllable is one containing a long vowel or diphthong (4, ¢,xviii Notes on the Pronunciation of Indian Words #, 0, i al, a) oF a short vowel followed by two consonants. Thus Himalaya is stressed on the second syllable, not on the third, The Situation is more complicated in the modern languages because the short final -a, with which many Sanskrit words terminate, is no longer pro- nounced in most contexts, and is not usually writtea in trancliteration. Thus Sanskrit vihdra ‘monastery’, with the stress on the secoad syllable, becomes the modern state of Bibar, with the stress on the last. Hence no simple rule can be given for the siress of words in modern languages, including Pessian and Arabic loan-words, but in necrly ail cases it is on a prosodically long syllable ifthe word contains one. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Ahinad, Aziz, D.LIL(Lond.). Professor of Islamic Studies, University of ‘Toronto, Canada Bashan, A. L., D.Lit (Lond), Hou.D.Lit(Kuruksbetea), FS.A., RAAA, Professor of Asian Civilizations, Australian National University, Canc berra, Australi Biggs, Martin S. (1882~__), FURJ.B.A. Pormetly Lecturer, London Unie versity School of Architecture. Burcow, TM, A., Pb.D.(Cantab,), F-B.A. Boden Professor of Sanskrit nd Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, U.K, Chandra, Pramod, Ph.D. Professor in the Departments of Art and of South ‘Asian Languages and Civilization, University of Chicago, U.S.A. Das Gupta, S.N. (885-1952), M.A., D.Lill(Cantab,), Hon.D,LittRome), Formetly Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Cambridge, and Profes- sor of Mental and Moral Science, University of Caleutta, india. Davidson, J, LeRoy, Ph.D,(Yale). Professor (and Chairman) of the Depart- anent of Art, Univesity of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A, Dertett, J. Duncan M., D.CL(Oxon}, LL.D., Ph.D (Lond), Professor of Oriental Laws in the University of London, Lecturer in Hind Lawin the Inns of Court School of Law, London, Harrisoa, J. B, M.A(Cantab). Reader in the History of South Asia in the ‘University of Lodon, Jairazbhoy, N., B.A.(Wash). Associate Professor of Asian Studies, Univer- sity of Windsor, Ontario, Canada Jordeat, J.T. F, LicPhitos, Ph.D.(Lowvain). Reader in South Asian Civili- zation, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Keipalaai, Krishna, B.A(Bombay), Bar-at-Law (Lincoln's Inn, London), Formerly Seeretaty, Sihitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters), New Deli, India, Lal, B. B,, M.A. Professor of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeo- logy, hivajt University, Gwalior, M.P., India. Formerly Ditector-General, Archaeological Department, Government of India, New Delhi, India, Lam, Alastair, Ph.D.(Cantab,). Formerly Professor of History, University of Ghiina. MoLeod, Hew, M.A.(N.Z), Ph-D(Lond,). Associate Professor of History, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, Marr, Joho, Pk.D.(Lond.). Lecturer in Tamil and Indian Music, School of Oriental and African Studies, Universiy of London, (Owen, Hugh, Pb.D.(ANU). Lecturer in History, University of Western Aus+ ‘ali, Perth, Australia, Radhaksshuan, Sarvepalli (1898- ), O.M., FBA, D.Litt, LLD., D.C.L, Numerous honours and honorary degrees. Formerly Professor ofXx List of Contributors Philosophy, University of Calcutta, Professor of Bastern Religions, University of Oxford, Vice-Chancellor, Banares Hindu University. 1962~ 1967, President of the Republic of India, Rawlinson, H. G. (1880-1957), CLE, M.A.(Cantab). Formerly Principal, Devean College, Poona Rawson, Philip, M:A.(Lond,). Curator, Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art, University of Durham, U.K, ‘Rizvi, S.A. A., Mun PhD., D.Litt(Agre), F.AGHA, Reader ia South Asian Civitiration, Australian National Univesity, Canberra, Austalia Sangharakshite, Bhikshu Spear, T. G. Percival, O.B.E., M.A., Ph.D,(Cantab,), Fellow of Selwyn Cole lege, Catnbridge. Formerly Hon, Reader in History, Delhi University, and University Lecturer in History, University of Cambridge, UK. ‘Thapar, Romila, Ph.D.(Lond,). Professor of Historical Studies and Chairman of the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Ind Upadbye, A. N., M.A. D.Litt, Professor of Jainology and Prakrit, Univer: sity oF Mysore, India, Warder, A. K., Ph.D.(Lond). Professor of Sanskrit and Indi University of Toronto, Canada, Wilhelm, Friedrich, DPhil, Professor of Indology and University of Munich, West Germany. Wintet, HL J.J., PhD,, D.Se(Lond). Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Exeter, UK. CHAPTER I Introduction by A. L. Basan ‘Turns are four main eradies of civilization, from which elements of culture hhave spread to other parts of the world. These are, moving from cast to west, China, the Indian subcontinent, the ‘Fertile Crescent’, and the Mediter- ranean, especielly Greece end Italy, Of these four arets India deserves a larger share of the credit than she is usually given, because, on a minimal asiessmeni, she has deeply affected the religious life of most Of Asia and bas provided very important elements in the culture of the whole of South-East Asia, as well as extending her influence, directly and indirectly, to other parts of the world, It has been commonly believed in the West that before the impact of European learning, science, and technology ‘the Fast" changed little if at all over many centuries, The ‘wisdom of the Fast’, unchanging over the millen- nia, it was thought, preserved eternal verities which Western civilization had ‘almost forgotten, On the other hand ‘the East’ was not ready to enter into the rough and tumble of the modern world without the guidance for an indefinite perlod of more developed Western countries. ‘These ideas were no doubt held in good faith by many wellinformed people of earlier generations, and there may have been a grain of truth in them from the point of view of the nineteenth century. But there is no reason to believe that the rat of change in India in earlier times was tay slower than that of other parts of the world. It was only from the sixteenth century on- wards, when a combination of many factors led to increasingly rapid techno- logical and scientific advances in Europe, that the myth of the changelessness of Asia began to appear. Tn fact Indie as always been steadily changing. The civilization of the Guptas was different from that of the Mauryas, and that of medieval times ‘was different again, The Muslims altered conditions considerably, and the high flowering of Indian Muslim civilization under the four great Mughals brought yet more changes, The religious life of India, forall her ‘ancient wisdom’, has changed greatly over the centuries. Between the time of the carly Greek philosophers and thet of St. Thomas Aquinas, Buddhism developed into a ‘great religious movement ia India, changed if¢ outlook almost completely, declined, and finally sank back into the Hinduism from which it had emerged, but only after Buddhist missionaries had spread their message throughout half of Asia, The Athenian Acropolis was at least 500 years old before the frst surviving stone Hindu temple was built, Some of the most popular gods, of Hinduism, for instance, GaneSa and Hanuman, até not attested wntil well after the time of Christ. Certain other features of Hitdduism also, for insiance the cult of the divine Rama and the complex and dificult system of physical {raining known as hatha yoga, are centuries Iter than Christianity,2 Introduction Yet the older strata of India's cultural life go back far beyond anythin haven the West. The whole of the ig Veda had been compose lon before tne ian theres hardly anything inthe Old Testament in ite present Torry which sas old even as the latest Rig Vedic hymns. Some practices and bells of popular Hinduism, for instance the cits of the sacred bull and the pipal tee, areas old asthe prehistoric Havappi culture, and probably even vider In fact every generation in India, For over 400 years, hes bequeathed some: thing, i onty'a very littl, to posterity. [No land on enrth has stich 2 Tong cultural continuity as Indi, sine, though there were more ancient civilizations, notably in Egypt and Iraq, these were vitally forgotten bythe inhabitants of hoe ands ad vere ove by new intrusive cultures, uni nobody remembered the Boo of the Dead or the Epes Of Gilgen, ae ret Sige och ae Ramesses Io Hammure wee fe recorded in any living tradition. Only nineteenth-century sebolarship resur- rected them from oblivion, and if they are now national heroes, remembered by every school-child in their cespeetive lands, this is not thenke either to the historical genius oto the retentive Follememory of tbe counties com (On the other hand in India the brahman still repeats in his daily wore YVeuio yrans composed over ye00 years ago, and ttedtion recais heros chieftain and the great battles fought by them at about the same time. In re. p22 of the length of continuous tradition China comes second to India and Greece makes poor thd The pre-Vedic Harappi culture bequeathed to later times sacred animals and ttees, the Mother Goddess, the preoccupation with personal elanlines and, less certainly, other aspects of Indian culture, From the Vedic Aryans came many of the gods, the Vedic hymns, some of the most important pet sonal tual of Hinduism, thepatriaechal and patrilineal family sytem, and the horse, Later Vedic times (c, 1006-699 0.c.) brought the passion for specula: tion on ultimate causes, the quest for the Absolute, the doctrine of tran. aigration, the search for celease from the round of cebirty and mystical nds, In social lifeand materia culture the same period saw the ecystalien tion ofthe four classes (sarnes) of Hindu cosiety, tbe iottoducton ot iron fom western Asia, the domestication of the elephant, the development of kingdoms out of tribal chietainships. 1m the 300 following years coined money became common, and writing, nov in the time of the Harappa culture and later apparently forgotten, De. came widespread. Heterodox teachers, chie of whom was the Budaba, spread sew doctrines whick bypassed the god, the Veda, anc the brakmans, ad the asea of civilization steadily expanded into the remoter parts of the subcon: tinent Political developments over the preceding period led to the fist great Gave of nd tht ofthe Maurya when rte fst time most ofthe sb continent was united under a single goverament. This period (e. 320-185 nc produced the Macblavellan em of tater usoaed ite seine ot tbe minister Kautilya, the reputed author of the famous Arihasasira, From tbe Mauryas also come the earliest surviving stone sculpture of Tedia, the oldest artical vee an the most anrient ishet te. trades Introduction 3 (c. 272-232 2.) Buddhism increased its influence, aad was taken to Ceylon, "The 500 years between the Mauryas and the Guptas (c, 184 9.c.~A.D. 320) saw tremendous developments in Indian civilization, partly duc to fresh in~ fences brought in by various invaders and traders, aud partly the result of internal developments. New forms of devotional religion emerged, centring round the gods Vishnu and Siva, and these led to the composition of the Bhagavad Gita, now the most influential text of Hinduism, Buddhism de- veloped a theology, the Mehayana, which was carried to China. Schools of Jaw appeared, codifying in written form earlier traditions, The two great epics of India, the Mahddhdrera and the Ramayana, were edited in something like their present form, Courty literature began developing out of vanished proto- types! drama, canging from the heroic to the sentimental, and verse, wonderful in its polish’and ingenuity yet often filled with deep and sincere feeling. Logically reasoned philosophical schools emerged, as distinct from the older religious teachers, most of whose arguments were analogical. Contact with South-East Asin became closer with the spread of trade, and that region began ‘to adopt many features of the religion and culture of India. These are only @ few of the many innovations of this, perhaps the most Formative period of Indian history before the nineteenth century. ‘The period from the rise of the Guptas to the death of Harshavardhana (320-647) can truly be called the classical period of Indian civilization. In this age the greatest sculpture of ancient India was produced, and the finest Hiteratuse weitten, in the poems and plays of Kalidasa. This was the time of the best surviving ancient Indian mural painting, typified by Ajanta. Know- ledge grew also in this petiod, India's most important practical contribution to the world, the system of place notation of numerals, with nine digits and a zero, was known by A.D. 500, and led to the great development of Indian ‘mathematics ancl astronomy, The recording of ancient legends and traditions in the Purdnas began. The Mother Goddess, after centuries of neglect, becam ‘an important object of worship again, Stone-built temples appeared through- ‘out the land, Between the death of Harshavardhana and the coming of Islam (647~ «. 1200) the eestatie devotional religion (blak), associated with the singing, ‘of hymns in the common tongue, appeared in Tamilndu, later to spread all ‘over the subcontinent, Temples became larger and grander, with spiti towers. The system of hatha yoga was developed, end tantrism, with its sacramentalization of sex, spread in both Hinduism and Buddhism, Tn Sankara and Réménuja Hindu religious philosophy saw its greatest teachers. Some of the finest schools of bronze-casting in the world appeared in Bengal ‘and Tamilnadu, The former region also doveloped a fine schoo! of miniature painting ‘With the coming of Islam fresh cultural influences made themselves felt. ‘Tho sultanate period (1192-1526) saw the introduetion of new styles of archi tecture, bringing the Gome and arch, New schools of miniature painting, both Muslim and Hindu, emerged, Soft teachers disseminated the doctrines of Islam and helped to make the religious climate of northern India favourable to the spread of popular devotionel Hinduism from the south. Paper was in- troduced, slow) replacing the traditional Indian writing materials—palm-leat4 Introduction and birch-bark, ‘The Urd language began to appear as the lingua franca of northern Tadia, and poets began to compote in the everydaysianguages instead of classical Sanskrit, : 1 The great days of the Mughal Empire (1526-1707) witnessed the perfection oftthe schools of Muslim architecture and miniature painting, with the pro- | duction of such splendid buildings as the Taj Mabal at Agri. Cannon and smaller fize-arms began to be used in warfare, Eucopesns esiablished trading stations at various ports, and through them, especially the Portuguese, new ‘crops were introduced into Indis, among them the potato, tobacco, the pine- "apple, and, surprisingly, the spice which nowadays is commonly thought typical of Indie, the chilli pepper. The Sikh religion was born just as this period began, as a surall devotional sect, and at about the time when the ‘period concluded it was reborn as a martial brotherbood, to play an important part in the confused politica life ofthe following century. + The eighteenth ceatury saw the break-up of the Mughal Empire and the steady expansion of the power of the British East India Company. It was @ time of general eutural decline in India, but the genius ofthe and was still at. work. The Unda language, little used hitherto aé a medium of literary expres- sion, became the vehicle of great poetry at the decadent couris of Delhi and Lucknow; while in the Himilayan foot-hills, at the end of the century atthe petty courts of local mabrajas, by some unexplainable miracle, these worked painters who produced works of unprecedented beauty end sensitivity. With the nineteenth century the subcontinent was exposed to the full force of ‘Western influence, and innovations ate too numerous to list, This cursory survey of the history of cultural change in India is sufficient in itself to show that, as long as civilization has existed there, the country has never been stagnant, but hes steadily developed through the ages, India as enjoyed over 4,000 years of civilization, and every period of her history has Teft something to the present day. ‘As well as‘this great legacy of ihe human past, the people of the subcon- finent have another inheritance from Nature itsel—the land aid its climate. We cannot understand South Asia without knowing something about what its people have received from the primeval forces which shaped the sucface of ‘the earth millions of years before man existed, Jn this sense perhaps India's ‘most important inheritance isthe great chain of the Himilayas, without which the land would be little mére than & desert, ‘As the plateau of Central Asia grows warmer in the spring, the warm sit rises and winds bearing heavy masses of cloud are attracted towards the high tableland from the Indian. Ocean. The movement of the clouds is interrupted by the mountains, and they shed their burden of rain upon the parched, over- heated land. The monsoon, beginning in June, lasts for about three months, and brings water for the whole yest, Except along the coast and ina few other ly favoured areas, there is little or no rain in other seasons, and thys the life of almost the whole subcontinent depends on the monsoon. ‘The conservation and just sharing out of the available water among the cultivators is a very important factor inthe life of lida It has been one of the Ina concerns of Indian governments for ove 2500 years and indeed the high civilization which is discussed in the pages of this book has depended, Introduction 3 ‘ad still largely depends, on irrigation, promoted and supervised by govern- ment, for its very existence, In the past, whenever the rains lave been inade- ‘guste, there has been famine; whenever a local goverament has lost grip and become ineflectve, irigation hes been neglected, dams have broken, canals have been choked with mud and weed, and great hardship has resulted. Thus villagers have lenent to co-operste independently of thei rules, by forming ‘heir own village goverament, under a commnittes of locally respected leaders, the panchayat, to cere for matters of common concern such as irigation, and to settle disputes as far as possible outside the royal courts. On a large scale the climate has perhaps encouraged autocracy, but at the local level it has necessitated government by discussion, : Let it not be thought that the South Asian climate is one which encourages idleness or quietism. There ate certainly periods in the agricultural year when litle work can bo done in the fields, but in a different way, in most parts of the subcontinent, the challenge of nature is just as serious as it is in northern Burope or America, Te driest part ofthe year is also the hottest, in April and ‘May, and its pechaps just as difficult to sustain life in such conditions as itis in the cold northera winter. The rainy season brings problems of another kind—almost constant heavy rain, floods destroying thousands of lives, rivers changing their courses, epidemics, and stinging insects, some of which carry the germs of such diseases as malaria and elephantiasis, In the winter season, moreover, though tho days are mild and sunny, the nights may be very cold, especially in Pakistan and the western part of the Ganga basin. In such times, ‘when the midnight temperature may be below freezing-point or only a little above it, deaths from exposure still occur. Only in the tropical coastal areas of the peninsula would elimatic conditions permit the survival of a considerable population without much herd work and foresight, sustained by coconuts, bananas, and the abundant fish of the Indian Ocean; and in these favoured ‘reas the population passed the limit at which such a way of life was possible "The abundant bouny of opis and subtropical nature hasbeen qualified by extreme heat, extreme rainfall, and extreme dryness i different parts of the yeat. In fact the climate of thé subcontinent tends to extremes, and possibly this too has influenced the Indian character and attitude to life, because, though one of the greatest of India's teachers counselled ‘the Middle Way’, succeeding generations have not always taken this course, and the extremes of rigorous asceticism and abandoned luxury have often gone hand in hand, South of the Himalayas lie the great plains of the subcontinent, the centres from which civilization expanded in ancient timesi Composed of deep silt carried down by the rivers Indus (Sind, Sindhu) arid Ganga (Ganges) these plains are naturally very fertile, bt for centuries they have supported a dense population, whose peasants used the most easly avtilable form of manure, cow-dung, as fuel. Hence the fertility ofthe plains destined, until by the end of the lat century many areas hed reached a rock bottom of productivity, from ‘hich they have begun to emerge only recently, with the introduction of arti- ficial fertilizers and the spread of knowledge of better agricultural methods. In ancient days, however, the fertility and the healthy wellfed peasantry of Yadia6 Introduction were noticed by foreign travellers from the Greek Megasthenes (c. 300 8.c.) onwards. South of the Ganga are thé Vindhya Mountains and the Jong and beautiful River Narmada, dividing the north from the plateau region of Mahirashtsa, generally called the Deceao (from Sanskrit dakshina, south”), The region, less naturally fertile than the great plains, has beea for at least 2,000 years the home of tongh martial peasants who, whenever energetic leadership appeared to consolidate their clans, would take advantage ofthe political weakness of theie neighbours to raid the wealthier lands to the north, south-east, and south. ‘The Deccan plateau! becomes steadily tess rugged and more fertile as oue proceeds south and south-east. Along the eastern littoral of the peninsula are fertile riverine plains, the most important historically being that of Tamilnadu, teaching from Madras to Cape Comorin (Kanyakurniri the extremesouthern tip of India). Here, over 2,000 years ago, the Tamil people developed a fairly advanced civilization independently of te Aryan north; this region has throughout its history maintained consciousness of it differences from the orth, and has cherished its own language, while remaining part of the whole Indian cultural area; there may be an analogy between the Tamil attitude to the northern Aryans and that of the Welsh to the English, with the difference hat, while many Welshinen have English as thoir mother tongue, few if any Tamils have a mother tongue other than Tamil. Yet another inheritance of India from the distant past is her people. De- spite the difficult mountain passes and the wide seas barring access to Indi, people have been finding their way there fom the days ofthe Old Stone Ase, ‘hen small hordes of primitive men drifted into the subcontinent, These are probably the ancestors of one of India’s three main racial types—the Proto- Australoid, so called because ofthe resemblance to the Australian Aborigines, In India the most pure Proto-Australoid typo isto be found among the tribal roples ofthe wilder parts of the peninsuls, but Proto-Austreloid features can be traced almost everywhere in the subcontinent, especially mong people of low caste, The ideal type is short, dark-skinned, broad-nosed, and large- mouthed, ‘The next main stratum in the popalation of India is the Palaco-Mediter- ranean, often loosely called Dravidian, a word not now favoured by anthro- pologists. These people seem to have come to south Asia from the west, not very long before the dawn of civilization in the Indus valley, and they may have contributed to the foundation of the Harappa colture, Gracefal and slender, with well-chiselled features and aquiline noses, the ideal type is part- culerly to be found among the better-class speakers of Dravidian languages, but i also occurs everywhere in the subcontinent ‘Then, in the second millennium n.c., ame the Aryans, speakers of an Tado- European language’ which was the cousin of those of lassieal Europe, Some hhave suggested that these people came in two or more waves, the eater i vaders being round-headed (brachycephalic) people ofthe type called Alpine ‘or Atmenoid, and the later long-headed folk, typical Ceucasoids, similar in build to northern Europeatis, Long before they entered India the people who called themselves Aryans had intermixed with other peoples, and their advent meant a severe cultural decline, which lasted for many conturies. Only when Introduction 7 Aryan culture was fertilized by the indigenous culture di it begin to advance, to form the classical civilization of India. There are good arguments for the view that ia the finished product non-Aryan elements are more numerous than Aryan, Nowadays the Caucasoid type is chlefly to bs found in Pakistan, Kashmir, and the Panji, but even here one rarely meets pure or neatly pure specimens. As one proceeds east and south the'typé becomes progressively ‘These three, the Proto-Australoid, the Palago-Mediterranean, and the Caucasoid or Indo-European, are the most strongly represented racial lypes among the iobabitents of India; but they are by no means the only ones. “Almost every race of Central Asia found its way to India. Turks provided the ruling femiies jn much of what is now Pakistan long before the coming of the “Muslims, who were also Turks, Mongolians of various races lave been enter- ing India over the Himélayan and north-eastern passes since long before history. The Mustim ruling classes imported numerous African slaves, who hhave long since merged with the general population. Persian and ‘Arab traders seitled along the west coast from before the Christian era, Some ‘warried Indian women, and the descendants have become indistinguishable From the rest of the population, Others, such as the small but vigorous Pars! community, have kept their stock pure. The various Buropean traders and conguerors have left theit mark also. Along the west coust of India and Ceylon an appreciable quantity of Portuguese blood circulates in the veins of the general population, while elsewhere in India the so-called Anglo-Indian community is the resait of many marriages and lisons between uropean (aot only British) soldiers and traders and Indian women, Thus, in reading these chapters, we must remember also India's enduring inheritance of climate, land, and people, the basis on which her high civitiza- tion has been built, and whic will remain, more ot less unchanging, to condi- tion the lives of her people ia all their triumphs and vicissitudes in future centuries,“parr one THE ANCIENT HERITAGECHAPTER 11 The Indus Civilization by B. B. Lau Mone than 4,000 years ago there flourished in the north-western parts of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent a civilization which, deriving its name from the rain river of the region, is known as the Indus civilization. In fact,however, it extended far beyond the limits of that velley—from Sutkagen-dor, on the seaboard of south Ballchistén, in the west to Alamglrpur, in the upper Gangi-Yamund doab in Uttar Pradesh, in the east; and from Ropar, almost impinging upon the sub-Himilayan foot-ills, in the north to Bhagatriy, on the estuary of the Kim, a small river betyieen the Narmada end Tapti in the south. In other words from west to cast the Indus civilizafon covered an area of 1,600 kilometres, and from north to south of 1,100 kilometres, and it will not be surprising if future discoveries widen the horizons still further. This is an area much greater than that occupied jointly by the contemporary cviliza~ tions of Egypt and Mesopotemia, And throughout the region a notably high standard of living was reached which is reflected in almost every walk of life. ‘The first thing that strikes a visitor to an Indus sito—be it Harappa or Mohenjo-diro in Pakistan or Kalibangen, Lothal, or Suckotada in India—is the town-planning, One finds the streets ard lanes laid out according.to a set plan: the main strets running from north to south and the eross-streets and Tnags running at right engles to them. At Kalibangen, among the north— south sirects there was a principal one, 7:20 metres wide, while the other north-south stresis were three-quarters of its width. The cross-streets and. lanes wete, once again, half or a quarter of the width of the narrower streets from north to south. Such typical and minutely planned residential areas, often celled the “lower towns", were themselves only a pact of the entire seitlement complex. For at Harappé, Mobenjo-daro, Kalibsngan, and Surkotadd, there was a ‘citadel’, smaller in szea than the ‘lower town’ and invariably located to the wost of it. At Lothal, although no ‘citadel’ as such hiss been found, a similar conception seems to have existed, for the more ime portant structures rested in a group on a high mud-brick platform. In marked contrast might be cited the contemporary example of Ur in Mesopotamia, ‘whee there was no rigorous planning of this kind, the main steeet wandering and corving as it wished Both at Harappé-and Mohenjo-diro the houses were mode of kiln-burnt beicks. At Kilibangan and Lothel too, although mud bricks were used for most of the residential houses, kiln-burnt bricks in large quantities were used for drains, wells, and bathing-platforms, and in particular for the dockyacd at the later site (below, p. 14). Such’ bricks were rare in contemporary Mesopotamia or Egypt. At Mohenjo-diro and Kalibangan, where large areas have been excavated, an average house consisted of a courtyard aroundra The Indus Civilization \hich were situated four to six living-rooms, besides a bathroom and a Kitchen, Larger houses,"however, might have up to thirty rooms, «nd the presence ofs Of fresh water, most of the houses had their own wels, and in addition, there Were public wells Sullage-water was discharged through well-covered street. drains matle of kiin-burnt bricks. At intervals they were provided with mans holes for clearance. The citadel at Mokenjo-diro contained many imposing buildings, all made ‘oF kiln-burnt bricks: forexample, the reat bath, the college, the granary, and the assembly ball, In the bath the actual tank measured 12 metres in Jength (north to south), 7 metres in width, and 2-5 metres in depth. It was approached by two staircases, one each on the northern and southern sides, ‘The loor and side-walls of the tenk were rendered watertight by the use ef gypsum in the mortar, while the side-walls were fusther bucked by « damp- Proof course of bitumen, Around the tank ran a pillaed veranda from which there was access to a serice of what might be called ‘dressing-rooms'. The tank was fed with water from a large well situated in the complex, while, for the discharge of uéed water, there was a corbelled drain in the south-west comer ‘Whether the bath had a purely secular use or hed a religious fumtion as wel is very dificult to say. However, it has been surmised that beneath the sttpa of the Kushina period, situated hardly fifly metres to the east of the \ bath, there may be the remains of a temple. And this is not improbable, for a kind of worship-place fas indeed been identified within the citadel at Kali- bangan, closely associated with a well and bathing-platforms (below, p. 14). {Between the bath and the sfapa le the remains of a building 83 metres long ‘and 24 metres wide, with a large number of rooms on theee sides of a Lo-mette square courtyard. The presence of staircases suggests the possibility of there thaving been some more rooms, besides terraces, on the first floor. From the ‘general disposition of the building, the excavator was inclined to regard it 2s the residence of ‘the high priest’ or of a ‘college of priests’. Juxtaposed to the south-western wall of the bath was a granary covering an overall area of $5 by 37 metres. It consisted of a podium formed by 27 blocks of solid brickwork, arranged in three rows of nine each, and separated one from the other'by passages about a metre wide. The latter were evidently pro ded for the cieulation of air underneath the timbered floor of the storage hall that stood above the podium, Built on to the northern side ofthe podium ‘was a platform, with a ramp going down to ground level outside, To this, one can imagine, were brought wagons full of wheat and-barley (below, p. 13) for unloading. ‘There are many other buildings within the citadel, but one is particularly striking. Though not completely excavated, itcovers an area of over 750 square ‘metres, t has twenty massive piers of kiln-burnt bricks arranged in four rows of five each, with traces of corresponding pilasters atthe ends. Ths there are six aisles from nozth to south and at least five from west to east, the farther plan on theeast being incomplete, The building was very probably an assembly hall, which would fit the general context of other specialized buildings in the citadel. eases in many of them indicates a second storey, For the supply » The Indus Chvilization 3 Hoarappi was segarded es avother ‘capital’ of the ‘Indus Empire’ Here hardly any excavation has been done in the ‘lower ety” to the east of the ‘citadel’. Infact, even within the citadel, the sporadic diggings have not helped very much to produce a coherent picture, Of the enclosing wall, however, many details ate available. A section cut aaxoss it at about the middle of the ‘western side showed chat it was built of mud bricks, externally evetted with kila-bucat bricks, The mud-brick wall messured over 13 metres in width at the ‘bate and tapared wards on both the exterior and interior. At places it was found to rise to a height of about 15 metres above the surrounding plain. Be- bind it was a 7ometre-high mud-brick platform wpon which stood the build- ings inside the citadel. Extecoally, the citadel wall was punctuated at places by rectangular towers, and the One at the north-west corner shows that it ‘vas substantially rebuilt on three occasions. “The lack of data regarding the buildings inside the citadel is more than ‘compensated for by what bas been excavated to the north. In its shadow, there lay the workmen's quarter, their working-platforms, and a granary, the en- tire complex suggesting a high degree of regimentation of the working popala- tion. Enclosed by a boundary wal, of which only odd bits are now to be seen, the workmen's quarters stood in two rows running from east to west, Each dvelling, covering an area of about 17 by 7 metres, comprised two rooms and was entered through an oblique passage, evidently so atzanged for privacy. ‘The remarkable uniformity of these quariers reminds one of modern barracks ‘and al that they imply, Tmmediately to the north of these quarters have been identified five cast ‘west rows of working-platforms, and, although six is the maximum number excavated in any row, there were doubles many more. Wade of kiln-burnt bricks set on edge in circular rings, each platform measured about 9:5 metres in diameter. Excavation has revealed a central hole about 60 centimetres in ameter into which, itis surmised, was inserted a wooden mortar for pound ing grain, Such a gues is supporied, on the one band, by the presence of straw or husk and Wheat and barley ia the hole and on the platform and, on the other, by the location of a granary barely too metres tothe north, Why the granary at Herappa, unlike that at Mobenjovdiro, was located outside the citadel is a maiter for debate. The proximity ofthe river Ravi may be the answer, enabling the harvest from the neighbouring countryside to be transported by water direct to the granary. As to it tafe control, which its location within the fortified citadel Would have otherwise guaranteed, it may bbe assumed that an ever-vigilant eye was kept over the entire atea, right from the coolie quarters through the workshops up to the granary. Comprising two blocks, the granary complex occupied an over-all area of $5 by 43 mets. Each of the blocks contsined six storage balls, each all measuring 15 by 6 metres externally. As inthe case of the Mobenjo-déro example, here also air-duets were provided underneath the floor. f Situated on the left bank of the now-dry rived Ghaggar ia Réjasthia, Kilibangan zeveals the same pattern of plinning as do Mohenjo-déro aid fs rather loosely vie, fr thete sno cone evidence to prove tha the een ey sta, "This express system of goverament was tha of aa eopie. The possibly of there havi ‘bin Mesopotamia, should not be overlooked,4 The Indus Ciilization The Indus Chulization 15 from the dockyard to the south-west, It consisted of twelve rectangular blocks nade of mud bricks, arranged in four rows of three each and coveriog an over-all arca of 17 by 14 metres. Between the blacks ran eriss-ceoss channels, evidently ai-ducts, over a metre in width, It is suemised that overlying these blocks was « spacious hall of timber, some sligh{ evidence of the liter being te debris of charcoal and fragments of charred wood found in the airducts. Tn these ducts were also found over 100 lumps of clay, now partly or wholly ‘baked, bearing impressions of typical Harappan seals (below, p. 16) on one side and of reeds on the other. These were evidently sealiags on packages made of reed, What the packages contained we can only guess, Ip the context of the dockyard, however, it seems likely, though not proved, (hat this building was & warehouse where commodities ready for export or received from abroad ‘were temporarily stored, ‘About 270 kilometres nosth-west of Ahmadabad in Gujarat is Surkotads. ‘The seitlement pattern of Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Kalibangan is re- peated here, but with a difference. The citadel and the lower town were joined, ‘although their relative directionsl position remained the same, the former to the west and the latter to the east, As at Kalibangan, both the citadel and the ower town were fortified. Each had its independent entrance, located on the southern sides there was also an intercommaunicating gate between the two, [a addition to mud bricks, stone rubble which is easily available in the neigh- bourhood was liberally used for construction. ‘The massive wall ofthe citadel can still be seen to a height of 4:5 metres (PI, 3). No less impressive is the gateway coraplex of the citadel, with its ramps and staireases (PI. 4). ‘So much for the structural remains which, apart from revealing te archi- tecture and town-planning of the time, have also thown valuable light on organizational, religious, sud commercial aspects of the life of the people. ‘Now we shall consider the finds—the pottery, terracottas, sculptures, seals, weights, ete, Poltery is found in very large quantities at all ancient sites and may well be regarded as the index to the economie and artistic standards of the popula tion—standards which may also be reflected in the few sculptural or other artistic pieces that survive. The Indus people used a very characteristic sturdy red ware, made of well-levigated and yery wel-fired clay. Often it had a red slip and was painted over in black pigment with a variety of pleasing designs, floral as well as geometries Sometimes birds, animals, and human figures ‘were depicted. In one ease there is 2 she-goat suckling her kid, while a hen Toiters nearby. In another, a man carties across his left shoulder an equipoise with to large nets. Judging from the portrayal of the fish and tortoise in the scene, the person may well have been a fisherman, On a painted pot from Lothal there occurs a scene in which are depicted « bird perched on a tree holding a fish, and @ fox-like avimal below, The scene is very reminiscent of the story of *the clever fox’ narrated in the Pauchaiantra, Wherein the fox praised the crow seated on the tree-top for its sweet voice and thus made it ‘open its mouth and drop the morsel wiih the fox ran off with. ‘The terracotta figurines, human as well as animal, show vigour, variety, and ingenvity. The often illustrated short-horaed bull om Mohenjo-déro aud 2 similar one from Kalibangan are among the most powerlul portrayals6 ‘The Indus Cwilization ofthe animal fromany ancient civilization, The human head from Katibangen, though only an inch in height, is a Keen competitor, from the point of view of expression and art, with the head of the famous steatite figure from Mohenjo-déto (below). The female figurines, with their panier head-dresses ‘an bedecked bodies, though hand-modelle, are indeed pleasing little things. ‘Ang then there are the terracotta Loys, some of which are to be noted for thie ingenuity: for example, « but with a mobile head or a monkey going up and down a sting ‘The Indus people had a highly developed art of making stone soulptores in the round. There isa striking steatite figure ofa beacded man, supposed to be 4 priest, ffom Mohenjo-daro, The inward-looking eyes and the serene expres- sion induce a relletive, meditative mood, Likewise the wo sandstone statv- | eltes from Harappi, one representing youth with muscular body and { another a dancer with one leg entivined round the cher, are of @ really high order. These could well have been the envy even of Greek sculptors some 2,000 years later. { In the art of metal sculpture too, great heights were achieved, ‘The famous | bronze female figure from Mohenjo-diro, supposed to represent a dancing F girl, with her right hand poised on the hip, her bracelet-covered left arm swung | fo rest on a bent lft leg, a necklace dangling between her breasts, and, above | al, her well-braided head haughtily thrown back, is a perfect piece of art, In | this case the feet are missing, but one is tempted to imagine that she wore | anklets as shown in another fragmentary bronze seulpture, of which only the lower portion is preserved. As well a the human figures there are fine speci- mens of bronze animals, the bufftlo from Mohenjo-diro with its massive head upraised, for exarople, or the dog attacking « deer depicted on the top of a pin from Harappa. But the Indus artist was at his best when he dealt with his seals (Pl 1). Cut out of steatite, the seals are usvally 2 to 3o milimetces square. On the ‘obverse is an inscription, generally accompanied by an animal figure; on the reverse, a perforated knob, evidently for suspension, Ite in the engraving of these seals that the great gilts of the Indus valley a ted. Indeed, there ean be no two opinions about the superb depietion on the seais of the brahmant bul, with its swinging dewiap, pronounced hump, and museular body. ‘That the Indus people were literate is fully borne out by the inscriptions on the seals, The occurrence ofinseriptions even on pottery and othec household ‘objets further shows thal literacy was not confined toa select few. ‘The script, seemingly pietogrephie snd having nearly 400 signs, hes not yet been de- ciphered. The various attempts so far have not been based on the strictest scientific prineiples and litle agreement has been reached. However, overlaps of the signs insoribed on some potsherds discovered at Kalibangan clearly show that the direction of waiting was from sight to IeN. Wherever the inscription ran into a second line, the style seems to have been Bousrophedon. While reaging and writing are duly attested to by these inscriptions, pro. Sicengy inthe third R, arithmetic, is clearly shown by the cleverly organized system of weights and measures. Made usyally of chert and cubical in shape, the weights fal inthe progression of 1,2 $3, 8, 16, 32, ete, up to 12,800. The The Indus Ctotlization " scales, of ivory or shell, indicate 2 foot’ of about 13:0 to 13°2 in. and a ‘eubit? of 20°3 to 20°8 in. Mention in this context may also be made of plumb-bobs and ‘angle-measures' of shell, ‘The Indus civilization represented a perfect Bronze Age, though chert blades continued to be used for cortain specific purposes. Bronze objects for domestic use inchucied knife-blades, saws, sickle, chiels, celts, razors, pins, tweezers, fish-hooks, and the like, “Those for defence or offence comprised spears, arrowheads, and short swords. That bronze was used in plenty is, shown by its employment for non-essential items like vessels, However, as in most other contemporary civilizations of the world, age culture was the backbone of the Indus economy. The extensive use of kill burt bricks, for the firing of which plenty of wood was needed, and the fre- quent depiction of jangle feuna such as the tiger, bison, and rhinoceros on the seals, suggest the Possibility of there having been more rainfall during the Indus period than there is now. Today itis news if Mohenjo-daro gets ev 10 centimetres of rain during the whole year. Moreover, dry channels occtir- Ting close to the sites show that in ancient times the Indus, Ravi, Ghaggst, Satlyj, and Bhogavo flowed respectively on the outskists of Mohenjo-daro, Harappi, Kalibangan, Ropar, and Lothal, Thus there was an adequate water- supply which, coupled with a rich alluvial soil, produced crops of wheat and barley, besides bananas, melons, and peas. However, pechaps the most re= ‘markable agricultural achievement was the cultivation of cotton, Even Beypt did not produce it until several centuries after it was grown i the Indus valley, ‘There is evidence to show that the people ate, besides cereals, veeetables and fruits, fish, fowl, mutton, beef, and pork, The relevant animals were evidently domesticated. There is also evidence of the domestication of the eat, the dog, and perhaps the elephant. The data about the camel and horse are less conclusive. ‘Not much evidence is available regarding the dress ofthe Indus people. The portraysl of a man on & potsherd from Harappa shows the use of the dict, ‘While the shawl as an upper garment is indicated by the famous figure of a priest from Mohenjo-diro (above, p. 16). The two—the dot? and shav!— bring to mind the picture of an average Hindu of the modern Indian village ‘The occurrence of needles and buttons shows that atleast some of the clothes were stitched. ‘The variety of ways in which the women-folk did their hair and bedecked their persons suggests that life was not all toil. The brnaments included, from head to foot, the btja, eat-rings, necklaces, bracelets, girdles, and anklets, The bija, a hollow conical object, is typical even today of the maids of Rajasthan. ‘There were pastimes too, like the playing of dice ot, for the more daring, the hunting of wild animals. The youngsters played hopscotch and marbles, while the small children played with rattles and toys, some being noteworthy for their clever methods of manipulation (above, p. 16). ‘The Indus population, particularly of the cities, was a cosmopolitan one. Tt included Mediterraneans, Proto-Australoids, Alpines, and Mongoloids, In keeping with such s mixed popalation, there was 4 wide variety of religious practices. The portrayal on,several seals of a-horned, three-faced figure,a The Indus Civilization surrounded by various animals, wile ane! domesticated, brings to mind the con- ceplion of Siva in the form of Pagupati, the Lord of Animals. The presence of a prototype of the later Saivite cult is also suggested by the occurrence of what may have been lingas and yonis. A kind of titual associated with fire-places has already been referred to. There was also the worship of the Mather God- ess. The adoration of trees and stceams, or pechaps of the spirits supposed to be residing in them, is also suggested by the relevant data. A belief in life hereafter is evident from the burial practice according to which slong with the dead person were placed objects like mirrors, antimony rods, mother-of-pea shiells, and a large number of pots, some of which in life seem to have been used for eating and drinking. In one case a fowl was also placed in the grave- pit. For some reason now unknown, the body is invariably to be found lying From nocth to south, the head being towards the north. Among the graves excavated at Harappa, of unusual interest was one in which the body was placed in a wooden coflin Coffin burials were common in Sargonid Iraq and itis not unlikely that a westerner was buried here. This probable presence of a weslerner at Harappa need not surprise us Contacts with western Asia are suggested on the one hand by the occurrence at the Indus sites of articles of known western origin, for example spical- and ‘pimal-headed pins, mace-heads, socketed adze-axes of copper or bronze, and vases of chlorite schist with typical ‘hut-andewindow* decoration; and, on the ther, by the find of seals and sealings of the Indus style at west Asian sites such as Ur, Susa, Umma, Lagash, and Tell Asmar, Incidentally, a scaling at Umma is reported to have been associated with a bale of cloth—evidently an export from India. In more recent years, 2 seal (PI. 2) hus been found at Lothal, which is more or less of the same type as thoge found at contemporary sites on the Persian Gulf such as Barbar, Res-al-Qala, and Failaka. This dis- covery, combined with that of the dockyard at the same site (above, p. 14), Proves beyond doubt that the trade with western Asia was, at least in part, Imatitime, Overland trade, pethaps in the fashion of the caravan trade of his torical times, also seems to have taken place. For the presence jn the Indus sites of articles of lapis lazuli, jade, turquoise, ete., nat indigenous to the soil, cannot be explained excep: by trade with iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Ceotral Asia, the last (vo of which are connected With the Indus valley by Jand alone, Until recently, the main evidence for fixing the chronological horizon of the Indus civilization was the aforesaid seals of Indian origin found in western Asia. OF these, a dozen were found in a datable context, seven in the Sargonid period {c. 2300 8.c.), one in pre-Sargonid, three in Larsa (c, 1800 #.c.), and one in Kassite (c, 1500 3c). To add to this was the evidence of segniented beads of faience from late Indus tevels, the composition of which has spectro- graphically been found to be similar to that of beads of the same material from Knossos, ascribable to ¢. 1600 n.c. On these bases, a rough millennium, 2500-1500 ¥.c., Was regarded as the period of this great civilization, During the past decade, however, Carbon-t4 measurements have been carried out om materials from’ Kalibangan, Lothal, Surkotadi, and Mohenjo-daro. While broadly upholding the above dating, the Carbon-tg determinations indicate a somewhat shorter duration of the civilization, fzpm ¢. 2400 to 1700 0.c, At the 19 some time it must be added that scientists working on the subject have ob= served that Carbon-14 aclivity has not been consent in the past and that there is a likelihood of the C-14 dates between 200 3.c. and 4000 8.c. being pushed back slightly. Again, at Mohenjo-daro there still eemain the unfathomed lower Tevels, Thus, it may’ well be that the beginning of this civilization was eacliet than that indicated at present by the Carbon-14 dates, ‘What brought the Indus cities to an end has for long been a matter of de- bate. The occurrence in the habitation area at Mohenjo-dlaro of some human skeletons, including one of which the skull bears the mark of a cut, has been interpreted as evidence of a massacre at the hands of the invading Aryans, ‘This view, however, now seems untenable. Tn the first place, the skeletons do not all belong to one and the same oecupation-level, which shoutd also be the latest, marking the end of the Indus settlement, Secondly at the site theres no evidence of an alien culture immediately overlying the Indus one. To save the situation, the post-Indus Cemetery Hat Harappa has been brought into the Picture. it has, however, been demonstrated elsewhere by the present writer that there was'an appreciable time-lag between the end of the Indus eiviliza- tion and the begining of Cemetery H. Thus the Cemetery: H people can nly be regarded as the jnvaders if those invaded had ceased to exist at the time. And to regard the Cemetery H people as Aryans is feaught with still, ‘greater difficulties. In the present state of our knowledge, sch people are con- spicuously absent from the Ghaggar (ancient Sarasvati), Satluj, and upper Ganga valleys—regions where the early Aryans are known from their own literature to have resided Another theory ascribes the end of the Indus civilization to heavy flooding. This may, however, be only partly (rue, For, while some evidence of devast tion by floods is to be found at Mohenjo-daro and Lothal, there is no such evidence in respect of other sites, for example Kalibangan. At this site, neither the invader nor the flood can be invoked. Here perhaps the drying up of the Ghaggar—gradual or sudden, owing either to climatic changes of t0 the diversion of the waters resulting from factors at or near their ource—may have been the cause of the, desertion of the site. Pestifence and the erosion of the surrounding landscape owing to over-exploitation may also be easons for the end of eertain settlements, Be that as it may, there is enough evidence to show that the great Indus civilization did not come to a sudden dead end, For example, at Lothal, from its Period A (Indus) to B (post-Indus), there is @ gradual change in the pottery ‘and the disappearance or replacement by others of certain kinds of antiquities. ‘This devolution is fucther continued at the neighbouting site of Rangpur, Likewise a change of face is also indicated by the evidence from sites in eastern Panjab and north-western Utlac Pradesh, The Indus civilization no doubt fell; all the same it left many indelible imprints on the latter-day cultures of the subcontinent.CHAPTER ITT The Early Aryans’ by T, Burrow ation of Tia developed from the cari Vedic civilization, ization was the creation of the Aryans, an iavadiog people, ‘Whose first areval in the subcontinent is probably tobe dated ubout 1500.3. Perhaps some 200 years after this estimated date there began to come into boeing a collection of religious hymns which were eventuelly organized as the Reveda, the fnal redaction of which probably antedates 1000 v.c. Or know edge of the Aryans in India dacing this earliest period is based primarily on this work, From the Reveda emerges a fairly clear picture of the situation at that time. A series of related tribes, settled mainly inthe Panjab and adjacent regions, speaking a common Ianghage, sharing & common religion, and de- signating themaeves by the name dry, are epresented as being ia state of permanent confit with « hostile gcoup of peoples known variously es Disa 6 Dasyu, From the Feequent references to these conflicts it emerges that their result was the complete victory ofthe Aryans. During the period represented by the later Samhitas and the Brahmaua texts the Aryans are scen to have ex- tended their tersitory, principally inthe direction of the east, dowa the Ganga valley, and references to conflicts with the Dasa are rare. Other terms, eg Imlecoha. and nipada~ are used a3 designations of non-Aryan tribes, while the ‘word désa becomes the usual word for “slave”. On the other hand the term 4rya- is opposed not only to the external barbaiian, but also to the lowest of the four castes, the sidra, I the latter context the word drya- naturally ac quires the meaning ‘noble, honourable’, and the word continues jn use in both senses down to the clastzal period, North Iadia is referred to as Aryivacte, “the country wheve the Aryans live’, or, in Pili as ariyam dyatanany, The Jaina texts have Frequent references to the distinction between Arya and Mlecebs, In Tamil fieratuce the/kings of north India are referred to Aryan ings. On the other hand the ethical use of the word is illustrated by the Buddhist ‘Noble Eightfold Path* (ariyam afshaigikam maggam)) where the ‘word has no etbni significance. “The Aryans, whose presence in north-westera India is documented by the Reveda, bad reached the territory they then occupied through a migration, or rather, a succession of migrations, rom outside the Indian subcontinent, The final stage of this migration eannot have been very fae removed from the be- ginning of the composition of the Revedo, but, at the same time, sufficient period of time must have elapsed for any clear recollection of it to have dis- "-Thie chapter, fa vow of the many Sansklt tne sad quotations which it contains, em- ploys the full apparatus of siartc signs used in the scholarly transieation of Indian Tanguages. The reader should remember that ji estwher transiteated a rand § 35 3h. sounded as English ch, The iranian £¥salso pronounced sss, Iranian 8 sous ks ‘hia thing’. Ianiad sik chin Seottsh of German Loch, The Barly Aryans 2 appeared, since the hymns contain no certain references to such an event, ‘The Aryan invasion of India i recorded in no written document, and it ean not yet be traced archacologicaly, but itis nevertheless frmly established as a historical fact on the basis of comparative philology. The Indo-European languages, of which Sanskrit in its Vedic form is one of the oldest members, originated in Europe, and the only possible way by which a language belong- ing to this family could be carrie all the way to India was a migeation of the people speaking it. The general outline of this process can be elutidated to Some extent oa the basis ofthe mutual celationship of the languages concerned. "Apart from its belonging to the Indo-European faily in general, Sanskrit, or Old Indo-Aryan, is more closely and specifically related to the Tranian troup of languages, of which the oldest representatives are Old Persian and ‘Avestan, The relationship is i fact so cose that these to peoples, who both designated themselves as Aryans, must, at some earlier time, have constituted fsigle nation of people, speaking, with due allowance for dialectal diver- ‘gence, the same language, This earlier Aryan language, commonly referred to fs Primitive Indo-Iranian, i the source fcom which the Jeter Iranian and Indo- ‘Aryan languages ate derived. Jn the period preceding the Aryan invasion of Tadla, they were settled, in all probability, io the Centeal Asian regions border- ing the Oxus and the Jexartes, and the Aral and Cespian seas. From this base, sections of them may be presumed to have pushed vp into the highlands of ‘Afghanistan, and then to have descended feom this base into he plains ofthe Panjab, In the opposite direction other Aryan tribes from the same region moved westwards jntoTean, whece they frst appear in Assysian records inthe nid ofthe ninth century a,c. The beginning of their occupation of Fran is Comaonly put not earlier than 1000 .c., whichis considerably later than the ryan migrations into India if the above-mentioned estimated dates are Correct, The Iranians retained a memory of their original home, under the name of airyanan vag (Evan Ve), and the egion continued to be occupied by them down to the time of the ‘Tarkish invasions. ‘The common culture and religion developed by the Aryans in their earlier home is sil refleced in the earliest texts of the Iranians and Indo-Aryans respectively. Inthe esse ofthe latter the religions reforms of Zarathustra Ted {o some remarkable alteations, which resulted, for instance, in the old word for "god" (Skt. deva-) acquiring the meaning ef ‘demon’ (Av, dagua.), while certain prominent gods in the Veda (eg. Indra) have been reduced to the fatter status in the Avesta, In spite of this, a considerable amount of the comuon heritage remained. Athough the name Indra came to be applied to S demon, his tide Vriraan- in its Iranian form PrOragna-, designates an im- portant deity. ‘The Iranian Mithra, corcesponding to the Vedic Mitra, re- aained one of their most important gods, later to hve e remarkable career in the Roman Empire, Fire-worship and the calt of Soma are a common in heritance in both India and Iran. A common mythology is illustrated by such figures as Vedic Yama the 4on of Vivasvant and Avestan Yimna the son of Vivabvant, A basi religious terminology is shared, e.g. Vetc hotar- "priest, ‘pofta"sactifce’, rt "truth, divine order": Av, zaotar, yasna-,afa-(O, Pers. ‘arta), Common terms occur likewise in the polltical (Skt. Kyatra- ‘sove- teignty"s Av. afore), military (Skt. send ‘army": Av. haénd, 0. Pets. hand),22 The Early Aryans and economic spheres (Skt Kgetra field’ ureard ‘arable land": Av, Sbitra- “homestead”, urvard‘erop”). A division of society into classes whiek in India crystallized into the four-case system is closely paralleled in Iran, ‘The evolution of this common inherited eultuce may be held to have taken place, in its later stages, in the Central Asian homeland of the Aryans, and iheie residence there, prior to the Indian migration, may have lasted for a considerable period. At a still easier period the evidence points to\n local: ization of the Aryans much farther to the west, In the fist place the Indo. European connections of the Aryan languages, which indicate that they originated in Europe, make it necessary to assuine a sill earlier migration ‘hich took them from Europe to Central Asia. In the second place interesting confirmation of an earlier Aryan homeland further to the west i provided by the evidence of Aryan loanwords in the Finno-Ugrian languages, An on ‘ample is the Pinnish word sora‘ hundred’, which can be showin to Tepreseat phonetically Sta (ve, the Indo-Aryan and Primitive Indo-Iranian form of the Word, and not the later Iranian sava). There is a considerable body of loans like this whieh eannot be derived from Iranian, and which must therefore have been taken over in the Primitive Indo-Iranian period. AC the time of these borrowings, therefore, the Aryans and the ancestors of the Pinno-Ugtians riust have been in close contact. In view of the present distribution ef the Tinno-Ugrian languages, and of their probable ancient situatign, is con, sluded that, when these words were borrowed, the primitive Aryans from Whose language they were taken must have been situated not further east than the Volgs and the Urals. 1t was only after the period of ther influence on Finno-Ugrian that the main centre of the Aryans shifted towards Central second millennium a.c., we are already dealing with the Aryans as a separate The Karly Aryans 23 ‘hundred’. It does in fact seem likely that this change took place at such an catly peviod that the ancestors of all these languages were still in contact. 2 addition to these special relationships Indo-Iranian also shows evidence of « special relationship with Greek, which is particularly noticeable in the mor- hology of the verb. ‘With other Indo-European languages Indo-Iranian shows no sign of special connection. This is not to be expected in the ease of the western Indo- Buropean languages (Italic, Celtic, Germanic) in view of theie geographical situation, Hitite and the kindred languages of Asia Minor are in a special position, since they show such profound differences fom the more familiar type of Indo-European that itis necessary to assume their very early separa- tion, These peoples must have passed over from the Balkans into Asia Minor ta period long preceding thei eaeliest appearances in the written historical record. Moze problematical isthe case of the two closely zelated languages, conventionally styied Tochériaa A and B, of which manuscript remains were discovered in Chinese Turkestan at the begioning of the present century. In View of their situation it might have been expected, that they would heve shown some sigas of closer contact with Indo-Iranina but of this there is no indication whatever. They further show no sign of any particular connection with any other section of Indo-European, andl these facts are best explained by the assumption of an early separation of this group (hough not as early as the separation of Hitits, ote), The later eastward expansion of the Aryan tcibes outlined above must have been responsible for pushing them further and Further to the east, until they Hnsally setled in Chinese Turkestan, There ace no linguistic traces of early contacts between the two groups, and itis nly much later thatthe influence of Iranian on Tochirian can be noted, ‘So fac we have ba to rely entirely on linguistic relationships to account for the origin and early movements of the Aryans. After about 1509 8.©. dx mentary evidence becomes availabl, not from India and lean, the countries Of their permanent settlement, but from the Near East, where a section of ‘Aryans established a temporary domination which was to have no lasting elects The documentary evidence Irom this quarter coatists of a number of proper names, some names of gods, and sorte words, from which the pre- sence of Aryans in this region during the period 1500-1300 v. can be de- duced. They appear always in connection with the Hurrians, a non-Indo- European people of local origin, who were also engaged in cousidecable ex- ppansion at the time. In particular the Hursian state of Mitanni, to judge by the names of its kings, Was, during its most influential period, winder the domination of Aryan kings backed up by an Aryan aristocracy. Other minor states in Syria hed rulers with similar Acyan names, "These Aryans did not come in sufficient numbers to impose their own language and civilization on the country in which they hee settled; they seem, always to have used Hurrian as their official language, and after the end of this period they were absorbed into the native population without leaving any further trace. The most important document is a treaty between the Hitite and Mitanoi kings, in which gppear four divine names familiar from the Veda, namely, Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and Nasatye. In addition Suried, * meaning the sun-god, appears in’a dociiment of the Kessites (who other-26 The Early Aryans the Vedic period in India remained archeeologicelly almost a complete blank. Even now the position has not advanced fer beyond this, It was only towards the end of the Vedic period that the development of cities was resumed, Whereas for the Indus civilization archaeology is the only soures of out Knowledge, information concerning the Vedic Aryans depends eaticely on literary texts which were hanced down by oral tradition, ‘These do not provide ‘any proper historieal account, since that is not their concern, but a good deal of incidental information of # historical of semi-histotical cheracter emerges, and also a fairly clear and consistent picture of the life and civilization of the period, It is a much-diseussed question to what extent the Indus civilization uenced that of the Arysns, and opinions on this matter have considerably liverged. On the whole the Vedic texts themselves give the impression that such influence, iit existed, was not of great importance. In the first place, the attitude of the Vedic poets towards the Dasas and theie civilization was one of tunconipromising hostility, and was distinctly unreceptive to any influences the religious field, which might otherwise have had some effect. Fuethermore the physical destruction and depopulation of mast of the Indus cities, which is attested by archaeology, must have effectively removed most of the bases from which such influence could spread. Later, of course, as Aryan civil tion developed into Hindu civilization, many non-Aryan influences appeared, but they are not prominent in the Vedic period, and they do not seem to have Jnnd any direct connection with the prehistorie civilization of the Indus cities. ‘The territory occupied by the Aryans atthe time of the Receda can be de- fined with reference to the river names mentioned in the text. These are, in the first place the Indus (Sindhu) and its main tributaries, the five rivers of the Panjab, To the west of this there is mention of the Krumt, Gomatl, and Kubha (the Kurcam, Gomal, and Kabul rivers) and of Suvastu (Swat), show= ing that the Aryans extended to within the boundaries of present Afghanistan ‘To the east the Sarasvati, Dysadvatt, and Yamuna are in Arysn territory, and the Gangi is mentioned in one late hymn, Most ofthis territory had lain with in the sphere of the Indus civilization, On the other hand little is heard of the regions of the-lower Indus where that civilization had equally flourished, ‘The Aryans were divided into a large number of independent tribes, nora ally ruled by kings, who, when not fighting the Disas or Dasyus, were fie- quently engaged in fighting each other, Nevertheless, the Aryans were highly conscious of their ethaic unity, based on a common language, a common re- Higion, and n common way of Ife, and of the contrast between themselves and ‘earlier: inhabitants. The latter were partly absorbed into the Aryan com- ‘munity in the capacity of éOdras, and partly they withdrew to regions tem. porarily out of the reach of the Aryans. The fact that the Aryans were able to retain their identity and maintain their cultuce so completely, ia a country which had previously been both well populated and highly civilized, implies that they must have come in great numbers, not in one eampaign of conquest, ‘but in a series of waves lasting over a long petiod, sufficient to provide a ‘numerous population which in turn could form the basis of further expansion ‘The situation was just the opposite-of that which prevailed in the Near East, ‘where conquests effected by small bands of warriors resuited in temporary The Barly Aryans a domination, but where their numbers were too smal 1 prevent their absorp- tion after a Tow generations into the native population, “The area occupied by the Aryans continued to expand in the period repre- sented by the later Vedic texts, and there was a shift eastwards inthe centre of s1aviy. By the time ofthe Brdlmayas the centre of Aryan civilization had be- ome the country of the Kurus and Pareles, corresponding roughly to modem Uttar Pradesh, while the western settlements in the Panjab were lest important, Further expansion to the east had taken place and the most im- portant stetes inthis region were Kosala, Kis and Videha, The main Aryan ‘advance at this peviod was down the Ganga valley, keepi to the north of the river, Itis likely that the main route of migeation followed the foot-ills of the Himalaya, avoiding inthe first instance the densely forested country surrounding the river itself. By fac the greater number of tribes and Kingdoms mentioned in the texts ofthis period lay to the north of the Ganga ‘Those lying to the south, eg, the Cedis, the Satvants, end the kingdom of Vidarbha, were much fever, and more rarely mentioned, The Aryans were at this time Surrounded by a variety of non-Aryaa teibes, of which a ist Js pron vided by the Aitoreya Brahman: Andhras, Pundras, Matibes, Plindas, and Sabaras. The countries of Age and Magadha appear from the sources to have been only partially Aryanized. ‘In the Reveda the confit between Arya'and Dasyu figured prominently, rellecting, as we have seen, a prolonged stmed struggle in whieh the Aryans finally emerged as the undisputed victors. Such referenezs cease in the later Vedio literature, and the term Dasyu, as applied to non-Aryan peopl compatatively rare. On the other hand the term Nip, applied to primitive forestdweller, is comparatively Frequent, The explanation fs that the nature of the Aryan advance and settlement had changed. Once the Indus eviiza- 9 had been overthcoa, and the greater part of is teritory occupied, there remained no advanced civilized states to contend with, The Gangs valley seems at this time to have beea thinly populated by forest tribes, possessing no advanced civilization and waable to offer any coherent resistance to the Aryans. The colonization that took place down the valley, at fist prineipally {o the north ofthe river, was mainly a matter of clearing forests and Founding agricaltural settlements, a contisuous and prolonged process extending over centuries, In the uncleated forest segions the primitive tribes of Nisddes cone tinued to reside in the midst of Aryan territory, and relations between the two seer to have been established on a basis of mutual toleration. Naturally as the activity of forest-clearing proceeded the scope for the independent existence of the forest-tribes became more limited, and sections of thems, under. such names as Pukkasa and Cindala, attached themselves to the fringe of Aryan society, forming the nucleus of what were to become eventually the depressed classes, : “The third stage in the Aryan occupation of India falls within the period 800-5503.c. Ithas been observed that atthe beginaing ofthis period, accord- ing to the evidence of the Brahmanas, the portion of Ladin occupied by the Aryans was still comparatively limited, and that they were surrounded by & ring of non-Aryan peoples, some of whose names are mentioned. A very much wider extension of Aryan language and culture can be observed at the28 The Barly Aryans time of the rise of Buddhism and Jainism, towards the end ofthe sixth century 2.c. Obviously the intervening period had been one of extensive migration and colonization, The result was that the boundacies of Aryavarta, the country of the Aryans, were defined as the Himalaya and Vindhya mountains to the north and souti, and the eastern and western oceans, One of the roain lines of expansion at this time lay tothe south-west, embracing Avanti and adjacent regions, and extendingas far as Aémaka and Malaka in the region of the upper Godavari. The advance to the east continued with the eccupation of the greater part of Bengal (Pundra, Subma, Vanga, ete) and Orissa (Kaliiga). ‘The areas to the south of the Gangi connecting these two lines of advance ‘were also progressively brought within the Aryan fold. References to these events can be found scattered throughout the epics and Purdnos, of which it will be sufficient to mention the foundation of Dvaraka on the west coast ascribed to Kygqa, and the activities of the Haihayas and allied tribes in ‘Avanti, The overall result was that by the end of the sixth century 8.c. the portion of India occupied by Aryans was vastly increased, snd the currency fof the Indo-Aryan language was correspondingly extended. A map repre. seating the extent of the Aryan occupation-at the end of this period would probably show a general correspondence with the boundaries of Indo-Aryan in a modern linguistic map. After this, Aryan influence further south in Dravidian India, was a matter of cultural penetration, not, as previously, of conquest and settlement, Boe During the Bedimayé period the Aryans maintained in essentials their ethnic identity and their Vedic culture. There was considerable internal de- velopment, aug, ia patticular, the brihmans increased their status and strengthened theie organization: The citual was enormously developed, and the texts on which we depend for picture ofthe period are mainly concerned this, This state organization was stabilized and developed, and a variety Of offices are recorded, even though their precise functions are not always, lear. The political units became larger and the state began to replace the tribe, There were considerable advances in material culture, a¢ attested by bot literatuce,and archaeology. City ife began again in a satall way, since @ number of places mentioned, e.g. Kampilya, Parieakra, Asandivant, appear to hove been towns rather than villages. ‘The rapid expansion during the period 800-50 u.c. had the result that in the new territories the Aryans were much more thinly spread than in the old, sand they were to a greater extent mized with the pre-existing population. This, fact is noted in some ancieat texts. For instance the Baudhayana Dharmasitra says that the peoples of Avanti, Aiga, Magtdha, Surigire, Dakgindpatha, ‘Upavgt, Sindhu, and Sauvira are of mixed origin (saikinea-yoni) and further Jays down an offering of atonement for those who visit the countries of the Aratfas, the Karaskaras, the Pandras, the Sauviras, the Vaigas, the Kaliigas, and the Prantnas. These lists cover a large part of the territories colonized during the period 860-50 a.c., and attest to the fact that these territories were only imperfectly Aryanized in contrast to what had happened in the earlier petiods. The lists also contain the names of a number of non-Aryan tribes, many of which still no doubt retained their identity and language. “The influence of the pre-Aryans on Aryan colture should probably be re- The Early Aryans 29 arded as having begun to take effect during this period, and it is associated With the transition ftom the Vedic ciizaion (othe lates Hind evzation. “This was probably also th time when the epic traditions, late to culminate ia the Mahabharata and the Rampava, began to take shape. New developments in religion which eventually evolved into the later Hinduism, which contrasts in many waye with the Vedie religion, also had theic fist boginnings in this petiod, The great increase in the complexity of the caste system which cbarac- tevies later Hindu civilization was also stimulated at chis time by the neces- sity of somehow fitting into the framework of Aryan socaty a large variety of previously independent tribes, who in many parts of the newly conquered area rast bave formed the majority of the population. The Aryan culture, based on the Vedio culture, remained the centralizing factor, but from now on it was more subject to non-Aryan influences. The influence of Aryan civiliza- son wa fel neat nthe Dein south The eat Aryan colonization of Ceylon is supposed to have taken place about te time of Buddha, aud the tevlest Aryan penetration in south Indi is ikely to have occurred about the same time, Later the Maurya Empire was in control of most of the Decean, aly the Tamil princes of the extreme south remaining independent. The Sitavibsana Empire which followed also represented Aryan domination and penciration in this region, as can be seen fromthe fact thatthe offical lang- tage of this dynasty and of some of its immediate successors was Middle Indo-Aryan. This political influence was associated with the spread of reli sions from north India, both Brabmanical and Buddhist or Jaina. In contrast, hhowever, to the previous stages of expansion, the Aryan language was not peemanently imposed on this region, and after about 4.0. 500 Kannada, and jater Telugu, began to be used in inscriptions. Gradually the native Dravidian clement gained the upper hand, and the boundaries between Aryan and Dravidian India were resored to a line representing the limit of Aryan con ques about so0 2.6, At the same lime the whole subcontinent was waited by & common culture, of which the Aryans were the origioal founders, but to Which Davidians and others also made their conteibutions.CHAPTER IV The Early Dravidians’ by JOHN R, Marr ‘Twp word that has come down to us as ‘Dravidian’ hes had 4 very long. history as a referential term for the southern portion of India, Greek geo graphers knew the area as Damirlea or Limyriké: ‘Then come Naura and ‘Tyndts, the fist marts of Damitica.’: ‘8, Linyrike: Tyndis, w city ...'3 ‘The latter reference reminds one of course of the legendary Atlantis of the Indian Ocean, Lemuria, supposedly inhabited by lemurs. It will be noticed that both Greek forms, Damiriea and Limyrike, have au r at the beginning of the third syllable, They too had dificulty with a Dravidian sound in the source- ‘word, os will be seen shortly. Sanskrit sources have Dravid! and Domi, and later Dramida and Drévida, the immediate sources of ovr ‘Dravidian’. Tt seems likely that all these words are to be connected ultimately with a non-Indo-Aryan word, possibly in the form in which we have it today, namely, Tanai. The lest sound of this Word, & retcoflex aflricate, is one peculiar to one or two languages in the south of India, and has been dispensed with in two of the main ones, ‘Telugu and Kannada, Clearly, Greek and Sanskrit had difficulties with it, and did thefr best, as shown above. There is, however, no justification for assiming that, at the period of the classical geographers, the word meant the Tail language as at present differentiated from other south Indian tongues. It seems more likely that there was at that time a relatively undifferentiated non-Indo-Aryan speech in the south to which the term Profo- Dravidian is usually applied. Such a situation must have obtained long before the earliest surviving literary or other records in whet is now the Tamil-speaking area of south-east India Such records can be with some assurance assigned to a period around the third century n.c. for inscriptions, and o one about the commencement of the Chistian era for literature, Both are recognizable as Tamil, and we have no evidence of any sort for any other distinet Dravidian speech from so early a date, Indeed there is some evidence that points the otber way; at the level of ccourt-poetry atleast, Tamil was still used in the area where Malayélam is now spoken at the time of the earliest extant Tamil literature, ‘This region was Known in Tamil as Seranddi, and in Sanskrit as Kerala.t iteration of Tamil words following the sytem ef the Medias University Tani Lesoon, hich e standard nowadays among specialist, has ber simple fled sed adapted forthe Benet ofthe genera vader, except in the case ofa few words ds ‘cused in thei lotic context. The letlertranslterted hate 48 £ sl be found tn ober ‘ch according o ts sual pronuaclalon in Indo-Aryan languages. Pers satece KA. Nilkanta Sass, Forelgn Notices of South Indi. Se > Ptolemy, Geoerapiy, vi 1 See JW, MeCeindle, eter Indl, pp. 48°9- “Kerala probably preterver& Proio-Dravidian Wlsied Reva. See' urew in BSOAS, 11 (iq), 136, fa the Tal anthology: poems the Kings of this replon sere called Sera, Pi. Sevaler. The Karly Dravidians Er Proto-Dravidian, then, was « non-Indo-Aryaa speech, and it follows from this thot the languages we know as Dravidian languages are distinet too, It lies beyond the scope of this essay to enter into detailed linguistic discussion. as to the differences, One of the characteristics of the Dravidian, as of the “Turkic languages, is what is known as agglutination, whereby safes, them- selves often recognizable as connected with meaningful roots, are added to nouns and verbs to inflect their meaning, providing case-endisgs, for ex- tuple, For instance, the locative case-sufit in Tamil -f, would seem to be connected with the word for ‘house’ in various Dravidian languages; Tamil haat if, Telugu ily, otc. Number and case are indicated by two distinct suiixes, in that order, eg Tem, mip ‘fish’, mizat“fish* (accasative), miagal ‘fishes pilagalt ‘fshes" (ace.). Notice that the efse.sufbxin the ploral is the same as in the singular, It will be recalled that quite a different situation obtains in Indo-European or Indo-Aryan languages, where one set of single suffixes used in the singular and a differen set inthe plural, wherein such suffixes de= rote both ease and number Following from the readily analysable nature of agglutinative languages, at least in a primitive or theoretical stage, it can be seen that to write such lang ‘ages in a pictographic or ideographie script is an attractive possibility. OF recent yesrs, Dravidian las been the stcongest contender for the language of the as yot undeciphered Mohenjo-dico seal characters, These appear on about 2,000 seals as short inscriptions accompanying rather conventionalized pletuzes of animals, the bul figuting prominently among them.* It will at once be clear that we are speaking of an area very distinct geo- graphically from that of piesent-day Dravidian languages which is that of Peninsular India south of line from, say, Goa on the west coast to Ganjirm on the east. The area of the Mohenjo-daro and Harappa city-cultures is that ‘of the Indus valley, in Sind and the Panjab, But, just asi Britain and westera ‘Burope the Celtic languages, once widely prevalent, were pushed westwards to the Atlantic eoast, extending from north-west Spain to the Hebrides, by intrasive languages feom the eas, it has been argued that Dravidion languages ‘were once prevalent throughout India, being pushed southwards by the in- vasions of Indo-Aryan speakers fom the north-west, a movement that, itis pretty clear, took place between about 2500 and 1500 n.c. ‘That there were Dravidian languages in the north would be mere speculation were it mot for the fact that, to this day, there remains @ pocket of Dravidian speech, the language Brio, spoken by about 250,000. people in the highlands of Ballchistin, onthe Pakiston-Afghanistaa border, Notwithstanding the meagre nature ofthe historical evidence it seems more reasonable to assume flict status for Beans, rathec than an improbable migration from the plains of Dravidian speakers some 800 miles avay, and the exchange of a seitled agricultural regime for a hersh, nomadic, and pastoral one, ‘On the assumption then that Dravidian languages were once widely pre- valentin the subcontinent and that they were displaetd by Indo-Aryan in the north, the attractiveneas of them as the language of the city-cultures. of Pakisian becomes clear, ‘The most important and recent statement of this, + Fora recent accoun of these cules se S, Pigott, Preierte Id, po. 132-285: {See M.D. Emenea, Dra ond Dessldian Compara Grain Be2 The Barly Dravidians position is that of Asko Parpola and others, in three special publications of ‘the Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies.* While the authors have indeed amassed much evidence in support of their view, its the ease that the second ‘and third publications contain some corrections of their original position, to- gether with speculative matter connected with Indus valley culture, religion, ‘and iconography, all of which detracts from the acceptability of the purely linguistic argument out of which their theories originated, The authors do no, for instance, advance really convincing reasons for reading the ideographs from right €0 left? Moreover, we are of couse still none the wiser about the sound of the words or syllables “depicted” and the best the authors can do is to read them as reconstructed Proto-Dravidian, It should be added that similar conclusions have been reached hy Russian scholars, led by Yu. Knorozoy, also using computers If we accept the view of Parpola, Kaorozoy, and others that speakers of Dravidian languages were productive of cultures as far back as the third millennium n.c., a central date for the Indus valley eulture, we are still faced with a gap of 1,500 years during which no certain records of Dravidian were produced, a period when, we may assume, the Dravidians were overthrown rom their culture-centres in north India and pushed into the centre and south of the peninsula by the Indo-Aryans. Such a gap takes us up to the earliest known Tamil inscriptions, which are in the Brahmi script and belong to the thied century n.c. ‘These will be discussed shortly. Whether Dravidian languages or the speakers thereof existed in Tndia from the beginning of man in the subcontinent, or were themselves incursors like the Indo-Aryans and their languages later, is likely to remain unresolved in the present state of knowledge. Because of their agglutinative structure, these Jonguages bave been associated with Caucasian languages, and even with Basque.’ Better established is the longest-held view as to the external affilia- tions of Dravidian. 1t is that of Caldviell'™ and Rask, that Dravidian is afilated to what they termed Scythian languages, now usually called Turkic and Finno-Ugrian. Similarly there remains ignorance of what languages were spokea by the various Stone Age cultuzes in India, there being the added difficulty of the eo- existence of a number of these with cultures of an altogether higher order synchronically. We know nothing, for instance, of the languages of the Sean Industry in the Himélaya foot-hills or of the Madras Industry in south-east India. The most promising archaeological link with the admittedly tenuous theory of the Mediterranean affinities of the Dravidiaus is provided by the south Indian megalithic cultare. This, however, may not itself be older than about 200 8.c."" Gordon Childe bas seen possible links with Mediterranean ? Publications Nos 1 and 2, Copentaen, 1969,No. 3, Copenhagen, 1570. The theory wat previously advanced, someviat somantcaly perhaps by such Were as H. Heres, Stes In Prote-Indo-Meaterraean Culture, Vol. , Bombe, 1953 ie Parpol e el a Publication No. i, pp. 18-19. st N. Lahovaty, Dravidian Origins and the Hest, Bombay, 1964, "See R. Caldwell A Conparaioe Gransnar ofthe Droit of SouthIndian Faily of Langanges, seed, pp. 61. The original edon of the work, in 3836 fectivly masked the commencement of the study of Dravidian Ungustice, and a good desl of Bishop CCaldwe's work has yet to be surpassed," Piggott, op ety pe 38 The Early Dravtdians 33 ‘and Caucasian mogaliths of sites euch as Brahmagiri via the Sialk B eaves ia Iran; the connection may have been by sea," It may be speculative to assiga Dravidian speech (o any one particular racial type but it has been suggested that brachycephalic Armenoid types in India, having aifinities in Armenia, Anatolia, and Iran, brought Dravidian into ‘India. While there are, then, reasonable bypothieses on linguistic, cultural, and anthropological grounds for suggesting that Dravidian languages originated outside India, specifically jn western Asia, there is as yet no direct evidence for the existence of Dravidian outside the subcontinent," nor for its eurrency in the north other than that afforded by Brabtl, The Mohenjo-diro seals are not yet read, nor is, theic language or its structures identified for certain, However, we can look back a litle further than 2008.c., a possible date for south ladian megalithic culture, for definite record of Dravidian; this is pro- Vided by the south Indian Balint inscriptions mentioned earlier, and these date from the third century n.c. The first of the seventy-six known inscriptions was discovered by Venkoba Rao in 1993 some 23 miles north-east of Madura. ‘There are in addition twenty short grafiti in the same script on pottery from Arikkamedu, an important site on the east coast of Tamilnadu, excavated by Wheeler in 1945 and by others since, The first certain identification of their language as being Old Tamil was made by K. V. Subrahmanya Ayyar and presented by hit at the Third All-India Oriental Conference, held in Madras in 1924." The most important and recent work on these inscriptions is that of T. Mahadevan and R. Panneerselvam.* They show that the inscriptions con- rm certain kings and placenames meationed in the earliest extant Tamil literature, of roughly the same date. Mahadevan’ brilliant work demonstrates that, as early as the third to second centuries u.c,, the main modifications to the ‘All-India’ syllabary of 36 consonants and 10 vowels plus diphthongs hed been made to equip the ‘Script suitably for writing Tamil: the consonants had been reduced to 18, by the removal of letters for the voiced plosives, aspirated plosives, and sibilants, sind by the addition of characters to represent Tamil retrotlex / and / and alveolac r and a. As for vowels, these were reduced to 9 by the omission of the dipbthong au, the-existence in Tail of separate short é and 0 not being, recognized in this script (or until the time of Beschi in the eighteenth century). Mahadevan established an important phenomenon ia these inscriptions, the use of the character for medial d to represent medial a also, the vowel con- sidered inherent in all consonants in all other Tndian scripts and in those in South-East Asia developed from them. Thus there was no need for a ‘killer? symbol to remove this inherent vowel, such as the virdma in Sanskrit, and "Y, Gordon Childe ‘Malta’ fa dncent Idi 4 (967-8). The aatguty and ion portance ofthe sea ink between southern posfasune fina sa the Mil Eas (end later, ‘in the Bide Ent, withthe Roman Empire) esanot be exegperatd "a Comparable, for example, wilt the stots aie with Vedic Sanskrit of OF Iranian, boii adi cate of a seu Procedgeteteoh pp 273390, ‘See Rc Paanereivam, ‘An Jnpotant Brat Tami Inscription” fa Proceedings ofthe ‘rat Ineriaatonal Confeence-Sembvar of Tar Suds, Kuala Lurapar, HATH. 1968, and -Mahavan, “Tan Bech Tesrions of he Sangam Age in Procecdlags of he Second Irrnational Conference Seminar of anil Stas, Madr, ATR 15734 The Early Dravidians Mahadevan js able in consequence to read the hitherto-batfing kéla(nser.29), na (inser, 13), and maylya (inset. 72) a8 correet Tamil kal, makan, aed ‘ani. Ta effec, the early Tamil Brahm? inscriptions show s leer syetem gomparable to ou own alphabet, rather than a sylabary; thus the other “All India’ development of conjunct consonants for sueh sounds es kya, ra, of ‘iva was rendered unnecessary. Mabadevan convincingly suggests thatthe absence of the (available) voiced plosive characters from this seript means ‘that Tamil at this tage did not have the voiced intervocalic plosive phonemes {hat are one of its principal modern features (though one sil unenteced for ia the seripp, Jn addition to their linguist interest, these inscriptions have helped corro- borate some of the royal names occurting in early Tamil praise-poetiy, ns just noted. One king mentioned is Ko drop Cora)! Inumpitat(inses, 56 and 57), and from one of the earliest collections of Ta:nl poets, Padizuppatius an Anthology of praise-poems on the Seral kings, we know of wo With the fille of "He of the grest raouatain’, Jrumpdrai.2 More important perhaps is the fact that Pagel, where these two inscriptions were found, is about ten miles feom the modem Karr, mentioned in the form Karur inthe same cavern (inser. 66). We know from Ptolemy that Karourn wes “the royal seat of Ketobothtos""! and several references in the colopions to carly ‘Tetail poetns indicate that Karavi was a Seral royal town,'* usideration of these inscriptions has led us, then, to a discussion of the cavlest Tamil literature with which much of the remainder of ths essey will be concerned, as it represents probably the most important single eontibu- tion of Dravidian language and culture to the Indian heritage, The bulk of ft contained in Bight Anthologies (Bitttogai) wio being of bards poetry, and six of courtly love-poemis (hough one, Paral, includes religious praise Pociry and descriptive verse also). On the basis of internal evidence most of {these anthology-poems have been assigned to the fist three centuries of out frm, and it looks as if the epigraphical evidence now to hand confirms this. While it is clear that 2 good deal of synthesis with Indo-Asyen, especially Beibmanicel, cultural and linguistic elements from the north had. already taken place, these poems yet present a distinet culture, one in which attitudes and values come across (0 usin a very vivid and fresh manner, For its part, the literature i simple and dizect in appeal, and relatively free ofthe obscurity and sophistication of niuch later Indian literature, including that of Temi itself, Unlike the near-totaity of medieval literatures in the south, these poems are secular, The praise-poetry is quite unlike anything else extant fa the south, At the same time, a ‘grammar’, Tolkippipam, patls of which are probably contemporancous, sets out an elaborate rhetoric for bardic and love-poetry that is quite untike other Indian literary theories which have thelr origins in Sanskrit rhetoric, in which the needs of drama played a large part. ‘While it i true tha, ia Tamil courlly love-poctry, there are ‘dramatie pers sonae’, stock cheracterssuch as the hero, beroine,fosler-mother, and 20 0m 1 Ths contrast comparable to thal between Spanish itervocalis (lays uswotced) on the one hand and thet of Portoguess or Halla oo the othe. "See Panneerielvam,op.cit pp. 422-4,. ® MeCtindle, Ancient Dd, Vol. "See further, Mahadevan, op. Sits po 94-5. The Early Dravidians 35 ‘Natural Tamil’ (/yerramif), the name given to poetry, as opposed to ‘Drama. Agam, five aspects of love are involved: union, separation, awaiting (the re- tothwarane ign Seve hoon kel bedeied seston votes auch of tis religious verse jn praise of Tirumal (Vishnu) and Sevvel (Skanda). ‘through Madurai, the capital of the Pandiyar, another Tamil ‘ dynasty’. Sond Speers oy Tobe 8 pram bo eneaone36 The Early Dravidians drank a great draught of the liquor that bestows joy, he eyes shone like honey sweet Sowers, Sesing the loveliness of her eye, he praised them; he sang her praises as if he were a bard. Not realizing the direction in which his lateres lay, another eid] thought he was singing about her, and war rather surprised. He whose chest Was broad grew nervous at this and, sorrowtully wondering what would happen to him, ‘went up to his beloved. Because of the ridieslour misunderstanding, her eyes, ready inflamed through drinking the Loddy, grew sill redder, The prety gies who had gone bathing began squabbling among themselves; she became very cross and snatched the chaplets from their heads. Her lover, whe had seen how beautiful she ‘vas while she bathed, prosteated om the ground his body simeated with sandalwood- paste, But she would not stop scolding hi, and even trod on his head! Meanwhile, {he others went on bathing isthe bright ver” One example of the bardie poetry must suffice. The five stages of warfare were likewise suggested by flowers; garlands of them were worn by wartiors to indicate what stage of warfare they were engaged upon, recalling American Indian war-paint. Twbai, the white Tadian dead-nettle,* was Worn in open combat, and we have a poem upon tis theme in Puran: “Whoever you are, do not talk about collecting your scouts and flanking-troops before you have seen my lord of the drumelike shoulders, His warfateis good, and iscelebrated with festivals. On his beautiful and mighty chest he wears finely wrought orna- ‘ments that fash in the sun, He is a renowned scion of the vigorous Malavar clan whose glittering, scintillating spears are long." All the literature so Tar considered, and another extensive collection called the Ten Songs, Pattuppaitu, consists of discontinuous poetry, Until the epic appadigaram, composed some time between the second and the fifth centuries A.b., we do not find in Tamil a continuous narrative of the type present in other early literatures, such as heroic poetry from outside India, Space forbids a detailed examiuation of Silappadigaram, but it must be men tioned as being a distinctly Tamil story contributed (o Tndian literature. The portion of it relating to the Seralar kings clearly shares the traditions em. bodied in the early anthology of praise-poetry about them, Padirruppatt, ‘The story is the popular theme extolling the virluous wife. Kovalaa, the chief male cbaracter, hardly a hero, is a merchant in the Sola city of Pugir. He neglects his wife Kannagi, throwing away his fortune upon a courtesan Well versed in music and dancing called Madavi, Alter querrelling with her, how- exer, Kovalan returns to his faithful wife Kannagi and they both migrate to the Pandiya city of Madurai. They attempt to start life afgesh, and ralse ‘capital by selling Kannagi's anklets (tilambu).** But an evik-ninded goldsmith brings «false charge of theft of the queen's anklet,that had been reported lost; Kovalan is apprehtended, accused, and killed. Kannagi goes to the king and proves that the charge was baseless; the king dies of grief, but the enraged widow curses the city to destruction by fire, plucking off her breast and burl- it over the town.” She then goes to Vaoji, another Seral city, and is received into heayen as the Lady, Pattini, together with ber husband.» Puram 144 aranar).. Pari ines 62-76 (Matyota Kkovantd '»-The subleet of Puram has bees thoroughly surveyed by Ke Kallasapathy fa Tani! Harole Poetry, Oxford, 1968. 1 Leucas aspera Spreng. Purars 8 (Avraiyer). The tte Stoppadipavani means “Tae of te Anklet °* Ove left wonderiug i theiels apy connection between ths stonyAnd the androgyoous Siva-Parvatl image Ardhwoathivac." > A texenttansatjon fs by Alin Daision. The Early Dravidians 37 ‘The sequel {0 this story, Mantmegalai, need not detain us, Tt is largely 2 Buddhist work, inspired by the logical system pf the philosopher Dinnéga, and demonstrates the extent to which, by the time of its composition, Tamil had become influenced by external factors, Much ofits later literature, and all of the extant literatures of Kannada, Telugu, aad Malaydlam, the other tee main Dravidian languages, consists of the reworking of themes origin- ally preseated in Sanskcit. They are none the less important for this, but it be- ‘comes less easy to quantify te purely Dravidian element in them,” By reason of the fact that these four were, and are, spoken as well as written languages, there is an clement of the popuiar and spontancous in their fiter- atures that may seem to be absent from some Sanskrit writing, But this feature they of course share with Indo-Aryan vernaculats such as Maratht and Hindi. Thus the Tamil version of the epic Ramayana presents the hero RAma a god, anc (o that extent is 2 religious poems, unlike its Sanskrit prototype. ‘But this feature is common to all the vernacular Rima stories, i India and in South-East Asia, One must in conclusion note that the great medieval bhakéf movement, ex- pressing itselin hymns and mystical utterances in all the spoken languages of India, bad its real beginnings in the Tamil Saivite hymns composed from the sixth century onwards, and collectively knowa as the Tirwnurai, The most famous portion is the Garland of God, Yeuaram, but the mystical poems by Manikkavisagar, TiruvaSagam and Tirukkovaiyér, should be mentioned. The figure of the divine lover and his beloved, the soul, becomes common enough in medieval India, especially in the worship of Krishua, But Manikkava- sagar’s Tirukkoualyar antedates this to a considerable extent. The Viraéaiva Facanakdvyas of Basava were, in Kannada, an exteasion of this gente, Similarly, the medieval philosophical texts of the Saina Siddhnta were popularized through Tamit and, with the digest of moralistic treatises known as Tiruickural, wete hailed by eatly European missionary-scholats as the finest literary work produced in the south. But itis difficult to avoid the conclusion that, in tis coseate view, they were influenced by the apparent closeness of ‘many of the concepts in Tirutkuraf and in, say, Stoandnabodan to those of Christianity. The Tamils brought to these subjects an original and fresh approach, but in their anthology-poems they were themselves the originators, By Meykandadovar. The principal Salva Siddhanta work fa Tal.CHAPTER V Asokan India and the Gupta Age by ROMILA THAPAR ‘ASoxan India and the Gupta age ate the terminal points of & span of one thousand years, from the fourth century b.c. to the sixth century A.D. The span extends over a period of considerable historical change; yet itis possible to perceive an undetlying continuity. The erigin of institutions which were to mould Indian culture is frequently traceable to this period, The ASokan age .w the establishment of a centralized imperial structure which embraced most the entire subcontinent and rested on # methodically organized and ‘efficient bureaucracy. This was the first time that the imperial ides found ex- pression in India. In the subsequent period the personality of Indie acquired ‘ew contours and delineations which were both the result of an imperial system and the foreshadowing of other patterns. The Gupta age, for a briet period, came close in spit to the government of the Mauryas, but it exrried the seeds of a ew political system—the early stages ofa feudal-type organiza- tion—which was not conducive to empire building. The Gupta age is better remembered as the age which saw the triumph of Sanskritic culture in many parts of the subcontinent, CChandragupta Maurya conquered Magadha (south Bihar) and in 321 n.c. founded the Mauryan Dynasty with his capital at Pafeliputra (in the vicinity ‘of modern Patna). He proceeded to-annex Various parts of northern India and ‘campaigned against the Greek, Seleucus Nicator, the former general of ‘Alexander. The successful outcome of this campaign brought him the trans- Indus region and areas of Afghanistan, His son, Bindusira, continued the ‘campaign into peninsular India. But it was his grandson Agoka who, inherit- {ng the subcontinent, established an all-india empire and diseovered both the advantages and problems inherent in such a political structure. “The mechanics of a centralized empire came into existence after a lengthy ‘germination involving the life and deathof numerous kingdoms and republics in northern Indie from the sixth century n.c. onwards. Perhaps the earliest aglimmesings of empire were visible to the Nandas, the dynasty which immedi ately preceded the Mauryos, though the actual birth of empire had to wait until the arrival ofthe latter, ASoka inherited an efficiently running machine domin- ‘ated by a central administration, The imperial structure was provided with a ‘base through the spread and establishment of an agrarian economy. In later centuries, ia spite of the contribution of other types of economic activity such as internal and overseas trade, agriculture remained the dominant factor in the economy, with these other activities providing substantial but subsidiary in- ‘Land revenue had been recognized as a major sourceof state income before the Mauryas, The proverbiel wealth of the Nandas was doubtless due to their efficient collection of revenue from the fertile middle Ganga plain. That the Afokan India and the Gupta Age 39 legitimacy of taxation tiad been established by the time of the Mauryas and its potentiality in terms of income recognized, is evident from the references to lend reveaue and taxes in Kautalya’s drthasstra and x significant reference in the inscriptions of Agoka.* According to the Arthaédsira every activity, from agriculture to gambling and prostitution, might be subjected to taxation by the state, No waste land should be oceupied nor a single tree cut down in the forest without permission from the state, since these were all ultimately sources of revenue, It was conceded thet the main item of income was land revenue and this was dependent on correct assessment and proper collection. But other activities had also to be controlled and supervised by the state so that they would yield che maximum revenue, Al this necessitated a carefully worked out bureaucratic system, and from descriptions of administration in Mauryan sources this seems to have been achieved. Practically every professional and skilled person was registered and ‘was under the ultimate contcol of @ superintendent. The officers were very well paid, in the belie that « well-paid bureaucracy was likely to be more ficient, High salaries could be maintained only if taxes were rigorously collected. Thus the two factors of taxation and administration wece inter Jinked ‘These two factors had a bearing on yet another factor: the army and its role in the politics and economy of the Mauryan period, A large army was not ‘only essential fo vast conquest, it was equally important as a means of hold- {ng the empire together. Mauryan rulers were awace of this, The estimated strength of Chandragupta’s army, according to near-contemporary classical sourees, was 9,060 elephants, 30,000 cavalry, and 600,000 infantry. Even allowing far a margin of exaggeration in these igures the Mauryan army was ‘large one by any standards, To maintain such aa army would require a large state income, and this in turn would depend on taxation and the size of the kingdom. Thus it was the interdependence of texation, edministration, and armed strength which went into the making of a centralized em Control over these factors Iay with the king, who was regarded as the suprenie source of power and authority. This enabled the king to adopt 8 paternalistic attitude towards his subjects, ax is evident from ASoka’s edicts, Where be says, “All men are my children and just as I desie for my children that they should obtain welfere and happiness both ia this world and the next, the same do T desice for all men ...'* Or as, when referring to his officers in the rural areas, he writes, “Just as one entrusts ones eld to an experienced burse, and is confident that the experienced nurse is able to caze for the child satisfuctorily, so my raiukas have been appointed for the welfare and happi- ‘ess of the country people. ."8 Paternalism demands a co ued contact between king and subjects, The + Kaulalya, alematively known as Kautitya and Chinakya, was the chief minster of Chandeagupta Matsya and a work on pollzal economy, the srhatdire, salto to him In is present form the work has been dated by teholars tothe second and third cen lures Ao. Bu pats ofc appeae to reflect notions Which weréGrzent inthe administrative system of the Mauryas, With regard to land revende, itis sgnieant that, on visting Eambiol, Afoka ordeed a reduction in land vevenuo a a faveuc tothe Bithplace of the Budd’ This is clear indization of the importaace of such reveaie to the Mauryan polliealandesonomicsysiem. Second Separate Rock Edit, > Fourth illar Edt,ra Agokan India and the Gupta Age Mauryan kings, we ate tol, were always available For consultation. Megas hoped, who visited india asthe umbassador of Sloucus Nicator and stayed at the Mauryan Coutt during the ceigh of Chandragupta describes the king Teceiving complaints aod discussing matters of state even when being mas- aged. Afoka emphatically declares in one of his edets that, no matter where ire'may be, no member of the ministerial council should be debarred from seeing bin, Bot the availability ofthe king was not suliien, In a system as centralized as that of the Mauryas it was essential that communication be maintained ‘vith all part of the subcontinent znd with every level of society. This was Sone in pact by building a network of roads Hnking the entire empire with Patatigula, Adoka's justified pride inthe excellence ofthe roads which he had ‘onsteucted fe corroborated by Pliny the Elder's enthusiasm in describing the Royal Highway which fan from Taaila to Pateliputea, a distance of over a thousand ails. ‘Ktanotherleve, contact with the populace was maintained through the use of agents and infotmants, These were used both to propagate the ideas of the King and to being him feporis on Public opinion.* Frequent tours and the pnbintment of specially rusted inspectors Were other means of communica tion with the people, : ° "Although agriculture provided the most eubsteatal part ofthe state income it wat not the sole source of revenue. An indizest source of income for the Mauryan state was the use of the éidmas, the lonest of the four orders of nid society, as free labour when $0 required "The settlement of new areas, the opening of waste and to agriculture, the working ofthe state-owned mines Such asthe salt mines of the Panjab and the iron ore deposits ia Magadha, were some of the activities for which é0dras, in addition to prisoners of war ‘and criminals, provided labobr power. "Among the more significant changes which had taken place by the middle of the frst millenium hc. Was the development of (owns and urban calture, ‘The coming of Aryan caltre, based on pastoraism and agrarien village com- munities, resulted in the entre process of development from village cultures ‘urban cultures being re-experienced ia northern India. Towns evolved from {cade centres and erat villages, and consequently the dominant institution of tian life wes the puild, By the end of the fourth century B.C, artisan and tnerehant guilds were an esiablished part ofthe urban pattern. “The manufacture of goods and trade Formed additional sources of income ina taxcoriented system, Not surprisingly the Arthadéstra lists a number of {ayes on goods al various stages of production and distribution. ‘The existence of an slvindia empire under a single politcal authority and the excellent commurizations developed within the subcontinent led to an expansion in fnternal trade which added to the growing profits of the guilds. Ventures in overseas teade were dovblless encouraged by the protection of diplomatic. iniations gent by the Mauryan emperors. The exchange of envoys between the Grek Fings of westera Asia and Egypt and the Mauryas is on record, as also + Asmar system ws adopted bythe Aehaemenk King o Fess, where te faspectons wet cated "is kings oye andthe Kings ear'vand ao 6y Charlemagne, ia whose Klos Som ther were known a he al ‘ASokan India and the Gupta Age a the corious request for gifts such as sophiss, singing boys, and wine, The close and friendly tes between Agoka and Tissa, the king of Ceylon, must have re- sulted in greater commmunication between the tWo countries, ‘The improved economic status of the guilds introduced complications ia the existing social pattern, Guild leaders became powerful citizens controlling large economic assets. But, in the caste-based society ofthis period, the trader or the artisan was not included among the most socially privileged citizens. ‘The challenge which the meccantile coramunity presented to the more ostab- lished sections of society was yet to come, but the germinal tensions came into being at this stage. That there was an element of fear on the part of the authorities of the growing power of the guilds seems evident irom the Arthaséstra, which favours a rigid control of guild activities. Por instance every guild had to be registered with the local administration and no guild was allowed to move from its location without prior permission, ‘There was yet another factor which possibly aggravated social tensions. The two new religions, Buddhism and Jainism, had won the sympathy of the artisans and the merchants; and these religions were heterodox sects which Challenged the established order, The association of the emergent urban groups with dissident thinking and practice would make them suspect in the eyes of the orthodox. ‘These new religions sprang from a considerable intellectual ferment which had begun earlier in the period, around 600 n.c. A healthy ivalry was apparent ‘among a number of sects, such as the Charvakas, Jainas, and Ajivikas, whose doctcines ranged from pure materialism to determinisi, ‘This intellectual liveliness was reflected in the ecleetic interests of the Mauryan rulers, since it was claimed by the Jainas that Chandragupta was a supporter and there is evidence that Bindusira favoured the Ajivikas, Close contacts with western ‘Asia must have provided yet another stream of unorthociox ideas. This then was the empite which AGoka inherited. In arex « subcontinent, inhabited by peoples of many cultures and at many levels of development; & society with a wide range of customs, belief, afinities, antagonism, tensions, and harmonies. Magadha and the western Ganga’ valley were culturally Aryanized but the fringes of this area were less go. The north was in close con tact with the Hellenized culture of Afghanistan and Jean; the far south was on the threshold of the creative efflorescence of Tamil culture. To rule such an empire successfully would have required the perception and the imagination ‘of an exceptionally gifted men, This was the challenge which Agoka attempted to meet. For many centuries Asoka remained almost unknown to the Indian histori- cal tradition. He was mentioned in the genealogies of the Mauryan kings but nothing more than the length of his reign was stated about him. A vast amount of scmi-bistorical, lergely legendary, material on his life had been collected in Buddhist sources but this material practically disappeared from the Indian tradition with the decline of Buddhism in India by the ead of the thirteenti century. Tt was preserved in Buddhist centres outside India—in Ceylon, Central Asia, and China, The proclamations issued by Agoka were engraved on rocks and pillars throughout the subcontinent and these re- mained visible, but unfortunately the Bratt script in which they had been2 Abokan India and the Gupta Age engraved had become archaic and the inscriptions could not be read.s How- ‘ever, in 1837 the Orientalist James Prinsep deciphered the script, Although the ‘text was now kaowa, the author of the inscriptions could not be identified, since he was generally referred to only by his titles Devanampiya Piyadassi— ‘The Beloved of the Gods, of Gracious Mien—and these were unknown to the Indian king-ists, A tentative identification with ASoka was made in the late ineteenth century on the evidence from the Buddhist chronicles of Ceylon. twas not until 1915 that this identification was confirmed, however, with the discovery of an inscription which referred to the author as Devanampiye Asoka ‘The association of this name with Buddhist sources led to his ediets being interpreted almost as Buddhist documents. Undoubtedly Aéoka was a Buddhist and much of the ideology of Dianna? which he enunciated was i spired by Buddhism, But to equate it totally with Buddhism and to suggest that Afoka was propagating Buddhiem as the state religion is to read more into the edicts than was intended by the monarch, A careful analysis of thei scriptions reveals that they were of tivo categories, Some were addressed specifically to the Buddhist Church or Sangha and were concerned entirely vith matters relating to the Sangha. The majority ofthe inscriptions are. how- ever, addressed to the public at large and deal with questions of wider interest, eis significant that iti in this second category of inscriptions that the king expounds his ideas on Dhamma. : Ttwould appear that Agoke aimed at creating an attitude of mind among his subjects in which social beliaviour had the highest relevance. In the context of conditions during the Mauryan period, this ideology of Dhamma may have been viewed as a focus of loyalty and as. point of convergence for the existing diversities of people and activities, Dhamma stressed toleration, non-violence. (where the emperor himself forswore violence and foros us means to an end), respect for those in positions of authority, including both the brilymans and the Buddhist monks, consideration and kindness towards inferio general acceptance of ideals conducive to hnuman dignity. The king i saspecial class of officers—the oflicers of Dhiamma—vho were respon the propagation of this ideology and who worked for the general welfare of the people. Yet the ideology of Dhamma died witk the death of the emperor. As an attempt to solve the problems of the time it was perhaps too ideelistic. At the same time it can hardly be described as a revolutionary doctrine, singe it was largely an emphatic reiteration of certain existing principles of ethics. But ‘edit must be given to the man who had the vision to seek such a solution and the courage to attempt it Fifty years after the death of Agoks the Mauryan Empire had declined. + Opie ofthe sultans of Dei fa the fourteenth century, Fizz Shih Tupug, was both incgued ad inpresed by an Adokan pillar which he found near Delhiy and he had it removed to ble capital But no one could read the isciption on the pillar or expla ie purpose. Minor Rosk Rie at Mask: deadnanpiyasra Asoka. "Tihs ward dhemma le the Pal orm of the Sonskrit hrm a 5 almost posible to translate adequately into English Generally accepied renderings ate ‘morality, ley, vse, the social order Asokan India and the Gupta Age a that his pro-Buddhist sympathies led to a brilimanical revolt neaiant the of the Mauryas in the Ganga heart-land, Magadha, were the Sungas, a brah- man family which had usurped the throne at Pataliputra. The Sungas were to and north-western India, left behind a number ‘of governors, who on his death44 Asokan India and the Gupta Age Further south the Parthians made a brief thrust in the region of Sind, but could not maintain their power there for long, Events in Central Asia were now to jafiuence north Indian politics. A nomadic movement originating on the borders of China made the Yileh-chih tribe migrate westwards (0 the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea, dislodging the existing jababitants ofthis region, the Sakas (Scythians). Further migrations brought both the Sakas and the Yieh-chih to India. The early decades of the first century A.D. saw the ‘Yieb-chih settled in northern India and the Sakas concentrated in the region of Kutch and Kathiawar in westecn India. The Sakas were now neighbours of the Satavahana or Andbra kings, who had established a kingdom centred around the north-western area of the Deccan plateau. In time the Sakas found themselves sandwiched between two important powers, for ia the north the ‘Yueb-chib or Kushdna kingdom bad been consolidated by Kanishka, who not only extended its southern and eastern boundaries as far as Mathura and ‘Varinast, but also participated in campaigus in Central Asia.® To the south of the Sakas, the Satavihanas drew their strength from the fact that they were a bridge between the northern and southern parts of the subcontinent, This eharacteristic of the Deccan kingdoms, deriving their power from their loca~ tion, was to remain an important geo-political factor in Indian bistory for many centuries ‘The history of south India emerges in clearer perspective during the period bewween 200 8.c. and A.D. 300, the evidence being that of archaeology, epi- graphy, and the Sangam literature of the'early Tamils. The extreme south of the peniosula, Mysore and beyond, hed not been under actual Mauryan con~ ‘col, though the relationship between tbe imperial power and the southern Kingdoms was a close and friendly one. This is revealed by ASoka’s references to his neighboursin the south, the kingdoms of the Cholas, Pandyas, Kerala- putras, and Satiyaputras, come of which are also mentioned in the Sangam literature, Archaeology provides evidence of a well-organized megalithic ccultuce in this region during the Mauryan period. Possibly it was in contact with a similar culture in western Asia, a contact which had its antecedents and which continued in later centuries. ‘The anthologies of Tamil poetry contain among other things descriptive arcations of events, both actual and imagined, in the context of early tribal society in south India, Conflicts among the kingdoms were perpetual, because teach had two objectives—to control the fertile deltas, the only regions where agriculture was possible on & large scale, and to have access to the important trading stations along the coasts which were lucrative sources of revenue, since many of them traded with the Yavanas, the peoples of western As ‘The fragmentation of the subcontinent which took place duting this period may have been politically emasculating, but it was at this time that a new and vital interest came to be jntroduced into economic development. It was the age when India discovered the potential wealth inherent in trade. Despite the "In fact the prestige of Kanishka issue that the fnayguration ofthe much-ased Saka ora ‘of a. 78 i frequeailyaltbuted to him. His date fs vey oacertai, howere, and reeat ‘atimales vary belveen this dale and the ihied century 4... "Yavove, a back formation ftom the Prakit word Your is believed to refer orginally to Tonian Greeks and camie to be uted for aay of the trading peoples of western Asia—ibe Greeks, the Romans, aa fo later centuries the Arabs Afokan India and the Gupta Age 45 many political frontiers, internal trade increased very considerably. The ‘woollen blankets of Gandbaraand the linen of Bengal were familie to all parts ‘of the country, as were the precious stones from south India. But even more relevant to the economic prosperity of India was the overseas trade. Indian traders ventured out in all difections: to Central Asia and China, to western Asia, and in South-East Asia as far as the kingdom of Funan in modern Vietnam. Indion merchants became the middlemen in the commerce between, South-East Asia and the Mediterranean, They were the entrepreneurs i. the trace supplying the needs and luxuries of the Graeco-Roman world, 2 topic ‘hich is dealt with elsewhere (ch, xxx) in this book, ‘This increase in trade resulted quite naturally in the greater prosperity of the guilds. Guilds became not only the basis for the production and distribu- tion of merchandise but also the financial ceatres of trade. The Satavahana rulers, for instance, often gave to religious charities donations which came from money jovested with gullds.’The intensification of the guild system in- fluenced sub-caste relations within caste society, for each guild tended to be- ‘come & sub-caste drawing on its own resources for manpower. Thus even in urban areas the economic basis of the organization of caste society became firmer, With the accumulation of wealth in the hands of guilds and merchants, ‘patronage of learning and the arts was no longer limited torroyalty, Not sur- ‘singly, some of the most magoificent Buddhist monuments aze of this Period and many of them owe their existence to the donations of wealthy lds and merchants. The stipas at Sanchi, Bharhut, and Amaravatl stand ‘witness to this, ‘Together with Indian tcaders went the brihmans and the Buddhist mie sionaties, Westem Asia came into contact with them in the centuries before Christ. China received its first Buddhist mission in a.o. 68 at Loyang, Tn the carly centuries after Christ, Buddhists were active in Funan and Champa, Meanwhile Buddhism itself had undergone a considerable change, with doctrinal differences creating a split which was formally recognized at the Fourth Buddhist Council, held according to tration during the reign of Kanishka; and two groups of Buddhists were established, the Mahayéna and the Hinaydna, Missionaries of Mabiiyana sects established themelves in Central Asia, China, and Japan. Hinaydna Buddhism was mose popular in Ceylon, and later it ousted the Mahayana in South-East As ‘With increasing contact through commerce between the various parts ofthe Known world, the communication of ideas between these regions improved, For instance, Indian astronomers discovered the existence of Graeco-Roman ‘astronomy. Graeco-Roman art, particularly of the Alexandrien variety, not only found admirers in north-westera India and Afghanistan but became the model for a hybtid local school which artchistorians have. subsequently calied Gendhia ert, Yet another result was the artival of Christian teaching in India, which according to the legends came in the mid-irst century A.D,, ‘brought by St. Thomas, ‘The political fragmentation of the subcontinent did not put an end to the dream of an empire as vast as that of the Mauryas. An attempt was made by kings of the Gupta family to establish such an empire in the early part of the Fourth century A.D.6 Asokan India and the Gupta Age ‘The Guptis were in origin probably a family of wealthy landowners who gradually attained both economic power and politcal status. Unlike the founder of the Mauryan Dynasty, who is described as an adventurous young san with no significant aniecedents, the founder of the Gupta Dynasty, also called Chandra Gupta, belonged to a family which had established its power at # local Iovelin Magadba, A judicious marriage with a Licchayi princess agave him additional prestige, the Licchavis claiming a long-established re- spectabilty. Following his coronation as kiog of Magadha in A.D. 319-20 Chandra Gupta took the tile of maharajadhiraja—Great King of Kings. Tm about AD. 335 bis son, Samudea Gupla, inbected the kingdom of Magadh, He issued a series of beautifully exccuied god eoins in which be is depicted both as x congueror and as « musician, a strange combination of interests, Fortunately for later historians a lengthy panegyric on him was composed by ove of his high officials and engraved on an Agokan pillar which hiss since been brought to Allahabad, ‘The inscription refers among other things to the martia) exploits of Samudea Gupta; to the kings uprooted and the territory annexed in the northeen part of the subcontinent. It mentions also the long march which Samudra Gupta undertook in the south, reaching as ‘fac as Kanchipuram, Nor are the tributes from foreign kingdoms omit- ted, Mention is made of the Sakas, Ceylon, various Iranian ralers of the north-west and the inhabitants of all the islands. The latter may refec to Indian trading stations on the ishinds of South-East Asia and in the Indian ‘The nucleus of the Gupta kingdom, as of the Mauryan Empire, was the Ganga heactland, This and the adjoining tesitory to the west Were the only regions over which Samudra Gupta had absolute and unchallenged control. Gupta control of the Decean was unceriain and had to be propped up with a matrimonial alliance, s Gupta princess marrying a prince of the Vakitaka Dynasty of the Decedn, the successors to the Sitevahana power. This seeured a friendly southeca frontier for the Guptas, which was necessary to Samudra upta’s successor, Chandra Gupta 1, when he led a campaign agninst the Soka in western India, ‘t was ducing the reign of Chandra Gupta IL that Gupta ascendancy was at its peak, His successful campaign ageinst the Sakas, resulting in the annexa- tion of western India, wes, however, not his only acbievement. Like his pre- decestor, he was a patron of poets, philosophers, scientists, musicians, ané sculptors, This period saw the erystalization of what came to be the classical norma in ancient India ‘on both the politcal andthe evitural level. The Gupta kings took exalted titles such 22 mahardjadhirdja paramabhet- araka—Greet Kingol Kings, the Supreme Lord, This was n striking contrast to the Mauryas who, though politically far more powerful, never used such exalted titles. Superficilly Gupta administration Was similar (0 that of the ‘Mouryss. The king was the highest authority and the kingdom was divided into a bierarchy of administrative units—proviness, distriets, and groups of Villages-each with jis own range of oficers responsible to the most senior ‘officer in the uot, Yet theze was a significant difference between Gupta and Mauryan adminisiration: during the Gupta period these was far greater stress joeal administration and far less diet control from the centre. Even in Asokan india and the Gupta Age a urban administration, the City Boards consisted of representatives of local opinion and interest (such as the heads of guilds and artisan and merchant, bodies) rather than officers of state. ‘A parallel tendency was developing in the agrarian system, particularly in the sphere of land revenue. The revenue was still collected by the king's officers, but they retained a certain predetermined percentage in liew of a regular eash salary. This procedure of payment to officers came to be adopted with increasing frequency. On occasion the king would even grant the reveaue from an area of land ora villogt to non-official, such as brahmans renowned for their learning. Inscriptions recording such’ grants are known from the early centuries A.D. onwards. Since a major part of the state revenue came from the land, grants of revenue were gradually to cause @ radical change in the agrarian sjstem. Although it wus the revenue alone which was granted, it ‘beeame customary {o treat the and itself ss part of the grant. Technicelly the could resume the grant, but in fect he seldom did 50. The lessening of central control in any case Weakened the authority of the king and empha- sized local independence, an emphasis which increased in times of political trouble. The reeipient ofthe grant came to-be regarded as the lord ofthe land and the local patron, and he attracted local loyalty towards himself, The more obvious shift in emphasis from central to local power took place later, but its origin can be traced to the Gupta period. However, the more forceful of the Gupta kings still kept authority in their hands and continued to be regarded as the lords of the land par excellence. Patronage requires the easy availability of money, and the Gupta kings had the financial wherewithal to be patrons on a lavish scale. The steady stream of revenue from the land was augmented by income from commercial activity. Tndian trading stations were dotted throughout the islands of South-East Asia, Malaysia, Cambodia, snd Thailand. The gradual acceptance of many features of Indian culture in these areas must doubtless have been facilitated ‘by activities such as commerce. Indian merchants carried spices from Java to Socotra or were busy participating in the tade between China and the Mediterranean lands via the Central Asian ‘Silk Route’, not fo mention the fncreasing trade within the subcontinent itself, Goods Were transported by pack animals and ox-drawn certs, and by walee whea rivers were navigable. ‘The literature of the period is replete with deseriptions of the marvels and wonders witnessed by sailors and merchants in distant lands, There are frequent references to rich financiers and wealthy guilds, The tentile guilds hnad a vast market, both domestic and foreign. Ivory-workers, stone-workers, rmetal-workers, and jewellers all prospered in the economic boom, Spices, pepper, sandalwood, pearls, previous stones, perfume, indigo, herbs, and textiles were exported in large. quantities. Araongst the more iucrative im ports were silk from China and horses from Central Asia and Arabia of the wealth of merchants and princes was dooated to religious ‘causes| Large endowments hed made the Buddhist Church extremely power ful, andi provided comfortable if not luxurious living for many Buddhist monks in the more impostant monasteries. These eivdowments enabled the ‘monasteries to own land and to employ labour to work it. The surplus income. fcom such sources was iavested in commercial enterprlses which at timas were8 Adokan India and the Gupta Age so successful that monasteries could even act as bankers. Monastic establish- eats builtin splendid isolation, like the one at Ajanta, were emblished with some ofthe most megnifcent murals known tothe ancient worlé, The growth of centres of Buddhist teaching led to devoted scholars spending many hours tn theology and philosophical speculation, thus sharpening the intellect challenge Which the Buddbiste presented to the brabmans. ‘iinda insittions and personalities were also the recipients of envinbly lavish patconage, There are reecences to donations of land or revenue from villages to leaened brihmans snd renowned priest, enabling them and their Faailes to live in comfort for many generations, Ths was the age which saw attempts at building small stone temples to Hindu deiis, temples which within half a millennium were to become the dominant Tocises of society in many pers ofthe ebcomtinent. Together with te temples came the carving alimages and the depiction of popular legends in stone. Hinduism had by this time evolved from the beliefs of the Vedic period into a inimane and sophisticated religion, Perhaps the most fundamental changes were the two features which arore partially out ofthe heterodox chalienge to carly Hinduism. ‘The rst of these was the tendency towards monotheism, which was stfessed by the incteasing worship of ether of the two deities Vishnu and Siva. In addition the ritual of worship was also changing favour of personel devotion (Shakti) catber than sacrifice. Thus Hinduism re- vitalized itself and was able slowly to supplant the heterodox religions. The inethmans, who regarded themsclvesas the interpreters of Hinduism, were able torewte the oder texts fo conform to their own vision of society, as evident {om Purine literature, and were able ¥o convert popular secular materi, such as theo ep, the Baba andthe andy, ine need teratare, Te was ftom these cultrsl roots that the classical norm evolved. The Janguage of brahmenism, Sanskrit, became the language of erudition and court literature, Tho works of Kalidasa exemplify the inspired literary exaftsmanship of the period, The brahman gens fr classifcation was given foll vent, asi apparent from the careful categorizing of the divergent philo- sophieal schools. Compendia of scientific writings were produced and the classfcation of scientific knowledge led to many exciting results, Medical knowledge beyan to travel west and aroused the interest of west Asian physi- cians. Experienced metallcgists displayed their skill in minting besutfal ons inthe use of iron of such excllence tat i defies reproduction (as in the famous Iron Pillar of Mebrauli), in metal selptace, and in copperplate charters. Incisn mathematical knowledge was probably the most advanced of its time, wit the use of place sotation of numerals and familiarity with the concept ofthe cipher. Astronomy saw even more epectaciler progress. In 4:0. 499 Aryabhala calculated a3 31416 and the length of the solar Year as 4365358 days, He also postelated thatthe earth was a sphere rotating on its dyin axis and revolving round the sua, and tbat the shadow ofthe eat Falling fa the moon caused eclipses. The works on astronomy written by Va haraihica show knowledge of Greek and Roman systems, “The advancement of knowledge layin the hands of the bribmens, Tbs had o advantage ofintoaslying the intelectual tradition within a small group of Asokan India and the Gupta Age ” Unfortunately however, owing to the evolution of the social pattern in ancient India, this also led to jntellectual constriction. Bribnyan superiority ‘was in part sustained by the maintenance of cast¢ in Indian society. With the rewriting of early literature, especially legal literature, the division of society into castes was reiterated and the pre-eminent status of the brahman was emphasized, The result was a facly rigid ordering of society, in theory at least Inaddition, the educational function was appropriated by the brahmans, who, with the decline of the Buddhist monasteries in the post-Gupta period, be- ‘canie the major purveyors of formal education in many parts of the subcon- tinent, Technical knowledge was gradually relegated to the position of « craft ‘tradition practised in the guilds. Formal education was to become entirely scholastio, resulting in intellectual in-growing, ‘Despite the theoretical rigidity of the caste system, the Sidras now had 2 somewhat more advantageous position than in the Mauryan period, doubt- less due to the decreasing need for establishing new settlements and clearing ‘waste land, But the position of the uatouchables—thase beyond the pale of caste sociely—had declined considerably. Even accidental contact with an untouchable by a high-caste person was a source of great pollution and re- ‘quired ritual ablations, a custom which mystified the Chinese Buddhist pil- ‘grim Hotian Tsang when he visited India in the early seventh century. The untouchables lived on the oulskicts of towns and villages and theirs were the Towlier and unclean occupations such as scavenging, keeping the eremat ‘grounds clean, and making leather goods. The village or the town itself, gener~ filly enclosed by a wall, was divided into sectors, each occupational group living and working ia a particular area, Undoubtedly the finest parts of the town were tose in which the maia temple or the royal palace was situated tnd the residential area of the wealthy merchants, landowners, and courtiers Fa-hsien, who was in India between A.D. 4oo and 411, was favourably im- ‘essed by the prosperity of the people, more particularly the town-dwellers, ‘an impression which is borne out by archaeological evidence. ‘One of the most interesting of the documents throwing light on the social ‘motes of the well-to-do citizens is the Kanasitra, Better koown as 8 manual ‘on the art of love, it incidentally also depicts the young dilettante in his daily routine: a fife given over to a certain relaxed comfort; devoted to poetry, musi, painting, and sculpture; and embellished with flowers, delicate per~ fumes, wellseasoned food, and otber refinements of gracions living. An even ‘more graphic documentation of life in the Gupta age is available from the vast, umber of terracotta figurines and models of this period, ranging from toys ‘and representations of ladies and gentlemen of fashion, to cult images relat- to the more popular manifestations of religion. "The supremacy of Gupta power in northern India did not remsia us- challenged, ‘The challenge came from the unexpected invasion of north ‘western India by a distinctly barbaric people, the Zmas. The name is etymo- Togically related to the late classical Hui ot Huns, but they were probably only remotely connected, if at all, with the barbarian hordes of Attila. The threat was felt during the reign of Chandra Gupta’s son and successor ‘Kumara Gupta (a.n. 415-54) when a tribe of Hnas, branching away from the rmaia Central Asian hordes, bad settled in Bactria, and gradually moved over50 Afokon India and the Gupta Age the mountains into north-western Indie. Slowly the teickles became streams as the Hanas thrust further into India, The successor of Kumara Gupta, ‘Skanda Gupta (4.0. 454-67) had to bear the brunt of the Hana attacks, which were by now regular invasions, Gupta power weakened rapidly. By the eatly sixth century the Hong rulers Toramaaa and Mihirakula claimed the Panjab ‘and Kashmir as patt of their Kingdom, Once again northern India experienced migrations of people from Central Asia and Tran, and # pattern of readjustment followed. The coming of the Honas not only crested political disorder but also put into motion new currents whose momentum was felt for centuries to come, The migration of the Hinas and other Central Asian tribes accomapanying them and their settling in northern India resulted in displacements of population. This dis turbance led in turn fo changes in the caste structure, with the emergence of new sub-castes, The rise of many small kingdoms was also due to the general confusion prevalent during this period. ‘With the decline of the Guptas the northera half of the subcontinent splintered into warring kingdoms, each seeking to establish itself as a soves reign power. But, unlike the picture at the end of the Mauryan period, this sovereignty was to be based on a distinet regionalism which, though blurred | and confused at first, achieved clarity in Iter centuries, The successors of the Guptas attempted to reereate an empire, but the political fabric was such thet fan empire was no longer feasible, a possible exception being the Pratibara ingdom ia limited periods. The ability to,create large kingdoms and empires \oved south to the powers of the peninsula—tho kingdoms of the Deccan and the Tamil country. In the centuries that followed the Gupte period it was in the Kingdoms of the Chalukyas, Rashtrakatas, Pallavas, and Cholas that Indian civilization showed its greatest vitality CHAPTER VI Medieval Hindu India by ALL. Bastian ‘Tue Gupta Empice broke up and disappeared, By the middie of the sixth century a line of rulers with the same surname, but not connected in their official genealogy with the imperial line, ruled in Bihér and parts of Uttar Pradesh, The grest emperors of the fourth and filth centuries Were soon fo gotten, with the exception of Chandra Gupta II, who was remembered by his title Vikramaditya (in colloquial Hind Rajé Bikram) and the palmy days of whose reign passed. into folk tradition, Jn the second half of the sixth century a city on the Upper Gangi, before its confluence with the Jamuné, Kanyakubie (later known as Kanau)), rose to prominence as the capital of the Maukhari kings. The city of Sthanvigvara, now Thinesar, in the watershed between the Ganga avd the Indus, became the capital of rising femily of rulers descended from a certain Pushysbbit. Gujarat and Malwa were inthe power of the Maitraka Dynasty, founded by a several of the Guptas. In the Deccan the Chalukya Dynasty was gainin strengib, while in Tamilnadu the Dynasty of the Pallavas was also enlarging its boundaries. ‘This isthe pattern of Indian politics until the Muslim invasion. ‘There were generally five ot six main focuses of power throughout the subcontinent, with numerous lesser kingdoms, sometimes independent, sometimes tributary to fone ofthe greater rulers. Those corners of the subcontinent with well-defined natural frontiers, such as Kashmir, Nepal, Assam, Orissi, and Keralt, were Jess involved in the constant struggles for power, and their political life, though also often merked by local contlict, was rarely much affected by the constant strife in the great plains. ‘The usual system of government bore some resemblance tothe feudal system ‘of medieval western Furope. As the previous chapter has shown, the Mauryas lished a bureaueracy, and the Guptes revived some features of Mauryan ‘administration, though they allowed greater devolution of power, As the Guptas declined, provincial governors, whose posts were already often here~ ditary, took to calling themselves mahirdjes, and increasingly assumed the status of Kings, The typical larger kingdom of medieval times consisted of an area controlled directly from the capital city, and a number of provinces under hereditary sdmantas, «term loosely translated as “vassal, The more powerful ssamanias took regal titles and had subordinate chiefs who paid them homage and tribute, ‘These quasi-feudal conditions were encouraged by the political values of the times and given religious sanction in the epics and lswbooks. From the days of the Inter Vedas, when the tradition of the horse-sacrifice (aSoamedha) ‘began, warfare had beea looked on as good in itself, the natural occupation ofsa Medieval Hindu India the Kshatriya. Agoke’s voice, raised in favour of peace, had few echoes in succeeding centuties, Yet the traditional warfare of the Hindu king was tigated by a chivalrous and humane ethical code, which discouraged such ruthless aspects of war as the sacking of cities and the slaughter of prisoners ‘and non-combatants. Moreover the kshatriya ethic was averse to the complete annexation of a conquered kingdom, The righteous conqueror accepied the homage of the vanquished king, received tribuic, and replaced him on his throne as a vassal. If the conqueror ‘violently uprooted” his enemies, as Samudra Gupta had done, it was believed that be might suffer for his rutbless- ness in future lives, or even in the present one, Thus Hindu political ideology encouraged the ruler in bis efforts at empire building, but did not make for stable, long-lasting imperial systems, ‘The political history of India between the end of the Gupta Empire and the Coming of the Muslims cau be traced in some detail from thousands of i scriptions which contain the genealogies and brief accounts of the reigns of Kings, and in te panegyties which form the preambles to records of land- rants, mostly to religious bodies—temples, monasteries, or groups of leurned brihimans. The piecing together of history from such sources is a fascinating intellectual exercise, and the specilist takes up his task with enthusiasm; but the general reader may find the dynastic history of early medieval India’ dull in the extreme, and there is no need to do more than summarize it here. A temporarily successful effort at empire building was made by Harsha or Harsbavardhana (606-47), of the Pushyabhoti line of Sthanvidvara, who gained control of Kanyakubja and made it his capital. His reign is eompar- atively well documented, thanks to bis court poct Bina and the Chinese pilgrim Hition Tsang. The former composed an account of his rise to power, ‘The Career of Harsha (Harshacharita), in orngte poetic prose, while the later left a lengthy account of his travels, Records of Western Countries (His-yu chi), which tells us much about Harsha and the general condition of India at the time. Harsha appears to have governed his empire according to the system which was by now traditional, through vassal kings and henchmen, resem- bling the barons of medieval Europe, who might hold high offices at court or act a8 district or provincial governors, but who were also great landowners, and were virtually kings in their own domains, Harsha succeeded in maintain ing their loyalty and holding his loose empice together through the strength of his personality and his untiring energy. When he died, appareotly without heirs, his empire died with him, ‘The succeeding period is very obscure ond badly documented, but it marks the culmination of a process which had begun with the invasion of the Hlinas in the last years of the Gupta Empire. The sixth and seventh centuries saw the rise of many new dynasties, small and great, in the northeth part of the sub- contineat. Few of these ruling families are to be found metitioned in sources from periods before the Guptas, and many of their genealogies begin with ames which do not seem Saaskritic, These people appear to haye been new- comers. Some of them may have been related to the Hinas. A new people, who began to make their presence felt towgrds the end of the sixth century, ‘he Gurjaras, gave their name to the present Gujarat ang founded several int- portant ruling dynasties, Since place-aames containing a similar element can Medieval Hindu India 3 ‘be found as far to the north-west as Pakistan and Afghanistan, itie commonly: suggested that the Gurjaras entered India in the’ wake of the Hinas. Their tare hes beon linked with thet of the ancient people of the south Russian steppes called Khazars, and with the Georgians (Griz) of the Caucasus, Other obscure tribes of Central Asians may also havg followed the Haas, and wilder peoples from outlying areas may hays profited from the unsettled con- ditions to gain political coatsol of important regions. Ia any case, new ruling houses arose in the post-Ciupta period and many of their names survive to the present day as those of the Rajput clans. ‘Towards the end of the eighth century three of the receatly arisen dynasties contended for Kanyakubja, by How the acknowledged metropolis of northera India. These were the Palas of Bibar and Bengal, the Rashtrakdtas of the Deccan, and the Gurjara-Pratibaras, who controlled parts of Malwa and Rajasthin. ‘The great city was for a time occupied by the Palas, Whose Buddhist king Dharmapala drove up the Ganga valley and exacted tribute from many kings of the area. The Rashtrakota Govinda II, whose policy of raiding the north, continued by his successors, was to have many repercus- sions, drove Dharmapala out, but was forced to return to his base owing to trouble at home. The vacuum was filed, very early in the ninth century, by Nagathata II of the Gurjara-Pratihacas. For about a hundred years the Gurjara-Pratihiras of Kanyakubje restored alittle of the glory of the earlier empires. Under theie greatest kings, Mihira Bhoja (c, 836-90) and Mahendrapsia (c. 890-910), they received tribute from rulers from Gujarat to-the borders of Bengal, and Muslin travelers were rruch impressed by the peacefulness and prosperity of theic quasi-feudal em- pire. But their old enemies, the fierce Rashtrakalas from the Deccan, were constantly worrying them, and in about 916 Kanyakubja was again tempor- arily occupied by Indra IIT of the Rasbtrakitas, whose lightning raids provided 1 foretaste of the similar attacks of the Marithas Boo yeats later. Indra Hoon returned to the south; but his effects were longer-lasting than. those of previous Rashtrakata raiders. Though the Pratihias returned to theit capital, they were humiliated and weakened, and their vassals ccased to re- spect them, Within a generation or two the greater vassals had thrown aside their allegiance, and were fighting with their former masters and araong them- selves. It was in these circumstances that Mahmadd of Ghazni, in the early ‘years of the eleventh century, cartied out his seveoteea raids on India; but ‘though the Turkish raiders ransacked and destroyed palaces and temples, and returned to their headquarters in Afghanistan with immense caravans of riches and slaves, India resumed her (raditional political ways as if nothing shad happened, ‘The Turks overwhcimed the Saki kingdom, which had controlled a large area of the north-west, from Kabul to Lahore, The rulers of this realm had also been Turks, but Turks who had adopted Hindu traditions, and who offered no serious threat to their neighbours to the east. ‘The Ghaznavids also conquered the Muslim kingdoms of Sind, occupied by the Arabs early in the eighth century, whose chiefs had long ceased to trouble the Hindu kingdoms on their frontiers, Thus the Hindu states of the Gangetic basin and Rajasthan now had on their borders « young aggressive kingdom with new. methods of54 Medieval Hindu India Warfare and with a religious ideology which might be expected to encourage aggression. ‘The most remarkable feature of the situation was that, as far as surviving. records show, nobody whatever in Hindu India recognized the menace of the ‘Turks. The Ghaznavids made a few further raids, but these were far less i pressive than those of Mahmud. The Turks were soon torn by internal strife ‘and, though they continued to hold the Panjib, it must have seemed to the ‘Hindu politicians of the time that, like the Arabs before them, they would be contained indefinitely. Having no real historical tradition, the Indian memory of earlier conquerors coming from the north-west—Greeks, Sakas, Kushinas, fand Hnas—yas so, vague that it was quite inefiectual a a warning to the rulers of the time. Inthe involved situation arising from Mabmtid’s raids, ive larger kingdoms shared most of northera India between them, the Chabaminas (Chauhins) of Rajasthin, the Gibadavalas (Gahrwals) ‘of Kanyakubja (Kanayj) and ‘Varanast (Bandtas), the Chaulukyas or Solinkis of Gujarat, the Paramdras | (Permars) of Malwé, and the Chandellas (Chandols) of Bundelkhand, to the south of the Gangé. These dynasties bore names which are among the best- known of the thirty-six Rajput clans. Theie kings had already aequired some- thing of the traditional Rajput character—gallant, extremely sensitive to points of honour, glorifying war, but war of a gentlemanly kind, intensely de~ Yoted to tradition, and quite incapable of serious co-operation one with an- other. The Palas, who governed Bihér and Bengal, had been quite untouched by Mahm@d’s invasions, Barly in the twelfth century they were replaced by the Sena Dynasty, which reversed the Palas’ traditional support of Buddhism and encouraged Hindu orthodoxy. They seem to have played little or no part in the polities of the western part of India, where the five major king doms and numerous lesser tributary realms fought honourably among the ‘themselves, basing their strategy and tactics on principles inherited from epics. In 1173 Gheani was captured by Ghiydis-ud-din, whose headquarters were Ghar in Afghanistan, From his new.capital Ghiyis-ud-din turned his atten« tion to India, His brother, Mubammad bin Sim, occupied the Panjab and de- posed the last ruler of the line of Mahmbd. Thea in 1191 Muhammad bin Sim attacked Prithviraj, king of the Chahamanas, the Hindu ruler on his eastern frontier, Prithvirija, fighting on his own ground with a larger army, defeated Mohammad at Tardin, and he retreated. In the following year, 1192, Muham- mad came again with stronger forces, and on the same field of Tardin Prithviraja lost the dayyand the Ganga valley was open to the invaders. Before the century was over Turkish control was established along the whole length of the sacred river. tis easy to suggest reasons why the Hindus were unable to resist the Turks, ‘and many such suggestions have been put forward. In dealing with the ques: tion it must be remembered that the invasion of the Turks was only one of ‘numerous attacks through the north-western passes which took place in his torical times. The Aryans, by a process not fully known to us, gained control of the Panjib from the decadent Harappans. The Acheemenians of Iran ‘occupied partatleast of the Indus valiey; Alexander's troops reached the Reis, § i j Medieval Hindu india 35 Dut were compelled to retreat; in the second century ».c. the Greeks ftom Bactria occupied the Panjab; they were followed in the next century by the Sukes or Soythians; in the first century 4.0. came the Kushanas, and ia the fifth the Honas, Maim0d’s raids in the early eleventh ceutury were precursors of the even stronger Turkish attacks of Muhammad bin Sim, which led to the prdtracted domination of most of India by Muslim rulers. ‘These were not by any means the last attacks from the north-west, however, Soon afier the Turkish occupation, Mongol hordes swept into India and Seeupied much of the territory west of the Indus. In 1398 Timi, the great ‘Mongol conqueror, sacked Delhi and raged through western India, eausing ffemendous carnage and destruction. In 1526 Babus the Mughal defeated the ‘Afghan rulers of Delhi and occupied the country. In 1555 his son, Humaydn, econquered it from his base in Afghanistan, During the eighteenth century Persians and Afghans raided India in turn, both sacking Delhi before retura~ iti to their homelands. “If'we examine all these conquests together it becomes clear that many fre- quently heard explanations of the failure of the defenders of India to resist invasion are facile generalizations, based on too few instances. Indian Muslims were hardly more successful at defending themselves against invation than Hindus, and the weakness of Indian armies in these circumstances cannot therefore be duc to the fact that the pacific Mindu i essentilly.a less competent soldier than the Muslim. Ifthe hillmen of Afghanistan and Iran aid the no- mads of Central Asia were tougher and stronger than the inhabitants of the subetropical riverine plains of northern Tndia, in all the battles the hillmen ‘Were greatly outnumbered by the plainsmen and the latter should have made lip in numbers for what they Ieeked in individual stamina, Moreover there is 10 evidence to show that the Hindu troops were essentially Tess courageous han the Mustims, though the former were perhaps more prone to-take te ‘Bight when their leader was killed. *"Some modern Indian historians are inclined to blame the caste system for ‘the Hindu débacle, which, they suggest, was brought about by the feet that inost Hindus were non-combatants, who felt no real sense of national patriotism but only loyalty to their caste brotherhoods, But Hindu armies never consisted only of kshatriyas, and all classes, including brabmans, could “fake part in war. Moreover to deplore the fact that the Hindus did not adopt ‘a scorched-earth policy against their attackers is tantamount to regretting that they did not share the nationalist values of the nineteenth and twentieth ‘centuries. The same is probably true of nearly every people of the period which we ace considering. In all the invasions which we have listed there tegms to be at least one common factor. The Indian armies were less mobile and more cumbrous, “archaic in their equipment and outmoded in their strategy, when compared with those of their attackers. The invaders generally had better horses and better-trained cavalry. They were not burdened by enot mous bodies of eamp- followers and supernumeraries, nor did they make use of the fighting ele~ phant, the courage of which in the fice of the enemy jvas unpredictable, but which Indian commanders, whether Hindu or Musliz, stem to have found fatally fascinating, OMen the invaders had new weapons which added greatly56 Medieval Hind India to their effectiveness. The Aryans had the horse-drawa chatiot, the Achae- tmenians siege engines, Alesander dalistae, The Central Asian nomads were ‘equipped with small composite bows, carried by mounted archers, who could hit their mark while they were in full gallop. Babur made effective use of « small park of field guns In fact one of the main reasons for the repeated in- plitude of Indian armies in the defence of the natural frontiers of India was theie outdated and ineffective military technique. ‘Another important factor in the weak defence of India was the filure of her rulers to recognize the very existencs of the threat from the north-west, Where this threat was recognized, the defence was more successful. The three great empires of the Mauryas, the Guplas, and the Mughls were able to maintain their frontiers because they were united. Even the Hnas, who invaded India towards the ead of the period of the Gupta Empire, were expelled in the end, though the empite disintegrated in the process. The great Mughals were well aware of the potential danger from the northewest and tried to maintain their hold on Kabul and Kandsbar, beyond the natural frontiers of India, in order to keep out invaders. Only when their empire was already disintegrating after the death of Aurangesb did the Iranians and Afghans mount their great raids into Mughat territory. The early Turkish sultans managed to hold off the Mongols because, tough their henchmen were far from united and not aways loyal to their leaders, they were well aware ofthe common danger and took what steps they could to ward it off. ‘The Hindu kings at the time of the Turkish invasions were hopelessly divided. We have seen that, when Mahmtd of Ghaznt defeated the Sahis ofthe north-west and occupied the Panjab, no Hindu king seems to have been aware of the danger to the rest of India, When, nearly 200 years later, Mubammad bin Sim threatened a further attack, the main kingdoms of northern Tndia were in a state of constant friction, fréqucatly erupting into warfare, but ‘Warfare ofthe inconclusive type traditional to Hinduism, which never pushed & vietory home and thus inhibited both the building up of stable empires and the establishment of firm alliances. If Prithviraja had some help fom his neighbours to the east, as coriain Muslim accounts assert, it was bel hearted ‘and ineffectual, The same factors assisted the establishment of the power of the East India Company in the eighteenth century, for as soon as the Com ppany began to take part in Indian politics it learnt to profit from the dissea- sions of the Indian powers, playing one off against another by a combination of bribes, promises, and threats. ‘Thus the Turkish conquest of most of India, lke other conquests both carliee and later, must chiefly be ascribed to the Indian political system and to the intense conservatism of the rulers of India, especially in military matters. ‘These factors were cancelled out in the internal warfare of the subcontinent, whea foreiga iavasion was not involved, for in any such conflict both sides wore equally affected by them, When an army of vigorous marauders appeared con the north-west frontier, though outaumbered, it stood a very good chance of overrunning the plains, for the rulers of Todia Were generally at lopgerheads one with another, and their militery methods were technically outdated in comparison with those of the attackers, Medieval Hindu India 37 ‘The petiod from A.n. 550 to 1200 saw the rapid development of Aryanized culture in the peninsula. Two main focuses of power emerged, oe in the Deccan and the other in the Tamil plain, and their rulers contended constantly and indecisively for mastery for more than 600 years, The events ofthis region throw an interesting light on the workings of the Hindu political system. For jnstance in the Deccan the Chélukya Dynasty held power from the middle of the sixth to the middle of the cighth century. A sudden revolt by an important ‘vassal, Dantidurga of the line of the Rashitrakutes, brought about the over- throw of the Chalukyas. They were not completely eradicated, however, but were allowed to continue as the Rashtcakatas’ vassals, Thus the Chilukyas persisted for 200 years, unti inthe tenth century the Rashtrakotas grew weak. ‘Then the Chalukyas seized their chance and regained supremacy, only for their empire to be partitioned among three of their owa vassals after a further 200 years. ‘The frst great dynasty to contol the Tamil plain was that of the Pallavas, ‘whose rulers introduced many features of northera civilization into the south. Between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas were several minor Kingdoms, usually tributary to one of the greater powers, but always ready to become indepen ent whenever they found an opportunity. Among these the Kadambas are worth mentioning because of their origin. The line was founded in the fourth ceatury by a young brabman, Maydresarman, who gave up his studies and became leader ofa troop of bandits, and levied protection money from villages. in the hilly western part of the Paliava kingdom. In the end the Pallava’king recognized MaydraSarman as a vassal; he established his capital at Vana in Mysore and his desceadants were classed as kshatriyas, though they re- membered their brahman ancestry with pride. In the ninth century the Pallavas gave way to the Cholas, who claimed de- scent from the early Tamil kings of the same surname who had disappeared from history over s00 years earlier. The Cholas are noteworthy for their patronage of art and architecture—splendid temples with majestic towers and fine sculpture, especially in bronze, were produced during their rule, To some extent they revived the tradition of bureaucracy, and developed a more centralized form of government than that of most other Indian kingdoms, finding a place in the system for village councils, usually chosen by lot, the records of whose deliberations are still to be seen engraved on the walls of village temples in various parts of Tamilnadu, The Cholas are also noteworthy as the one dynasty of India which, if only for a while, adopted a maritime policy, expanding their power by sea. Under the great Chole emperors Rajardja I (985-1014) and Rajendra I (1012-44), first Ceylon was conquered and then the whole eastern seaboard of India as far as-the Gangi, Finally, under Rajendra, a great naval expedition sailed across the Bay of Bengal and occupied strategic points in Sumatra, Malaya, and Burma, This Chola macitime empire, the only cortain instance of Indian overseas expansion by force of arms, was not an enduring one. Later Chola rulers became once more involved in the endemic wars with the Chdlukyas ‘and Jost interest in theit overseas possessions. Within fifty years of the ex- edition all the Chola troops had been withdrawn to the mainland. Later the ‘Cholas weakened, and were replaced as the dominant power ia Tammillidu by38 Medieval Hind India the Pandyss, whose eapitel was the sacred city of Maduesi, in the extreme south, ‘The whole of the peninsula was shaken to its foundations by the invasions of the troops of Sultan ‘Ala’a’d-Din Khali of Delhi (1296-1316), led by his general Malik Kafar. As a resulf the Decean came under Muslim domination fot 400 years but the south remained under Hindu control, after a brief inter- Jude when a short-lived Muslim sullanate ruled from Madurai, The hegemony of the Dravidian south fell to the Empire of Vijayanagara, founded in 1336 and surviving until 1565, when iis forces were defeated by 1 coalition of Deccan sultans, Ths Was the last of the great empires on the old Hindu model, and by the time ofits fall the Portuguese were already controlling the seas around India. ‘The long period whose history we have outlined above is sometimes thought | of as one of decline, when compared with the stable and urbane days of the Guptas. This judgement is true in some particulars, ‘The Ieralure of the period, though it includes many important works, bes nothing es near per- fection as the main works of Kalidasa. ‘Tare is much excellent sculpture from this period, but nothing as fine as the best Gupte productions, Yet in archi- tecture there was an immense advance over Gupta times, and, only a century ‘oF two before the Muslims occupied northern India, there arose such splendid temples as those at Khajuriho, Bhubaneswas, Kénchfpuram, and Thanjaviz, among many others. Jn the religious life of India, after the Gupta period, the greatest vitality seems to have been found in the peninsula, Here certain south Indian brah- ‘mans developed Hindu philosophy and theology as never before, and, basing their work oa the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gia, and the Brahma Shires, pro= uced commentaries of great length and subtlety, to defend theic own eyste- riatic interpretations of the texts. Chief of these was Sankarichirys, Keeralan bribinan of tho ninth century, who has with some justification been called the St, Thomas Aquinas of Hinduism. Sunkarichirya was only one of many teachers nearly as great as he, such as Riminuja (died 1137) and Madhva (11197-1276), who founded Sub-sects of the Vedat philosophical school, ‘Pethaps even more important was the growth of simple popula: devotional- sm (bhakti) which began among the Tamils near the beginning ofthis p with the production of the beautiful Tamil hymns of the Nayandrs and Alors. Other products of thé same movement were the Sanskrit Bhagaoata Purdne, ‘whieh, composed in the Tamil country, soon spreed all. over Jadia and-was later translated fato tht everyday languages, to diffuse the cult of Krishna as the divine lover. Before the Muslim conquest of the Deccan this movement hed begun to spread northwards, and left its traces inthe earliest important ‘Maratht literature, su as the Jndnefvart of Jninesyae, Meanwhife Buddhisin steadily lost ground, though it was still very much alive in Bengal and Bihar when the Muslims occupied these regions, Both Buddhism and Hinduism had beoome affeted by what is genecally known af ‘Tanticism or Taatrism, emphasizing the worship of goddesses, especially the Mother Goddess, the spouse of Siva, known by many names, With this came sexual mysticism, and the sacramentalizatioa of the sexual ac, which was Medieval Hindu India 59 performed ritually by circles of initiates. Other socio-eligious practices, looked on as reprehensible by most modera Hindus, became more common in this period. Among these were the burning of widows on their husbands’ funeral pyres, wrongly called sati(suttee), child marriage, animal sacrifice, female infanticide, and the religious prostitution of the devadasi. One feels that there was a definite lowering in the value of human life in compatison With the days of the Guptas, when, according to Chinese accounts, even the death penalty was not inicted, ‘When the Turkish horsemen swept through the Gang& plain, Hindu cule ture was tending to look inwards end backwards—inwards to the private life of the spirit and backwards to the hallowed norms of the distant past. In many respects the legacy ofthis period to later times was a negative one, Yet, in the spiring teraples built ducing this period all over India, the age endowed posterity with monuments of enduring splendour and beauty. The parallel with the medioval period in western Christendom is a elose one. Here too these was in some respects « cultural decline, in comparison with the days of the great empire destroyed by the berbarians. But in ths time new forms of religious literature and art appeared, as well as glorious monuments to faith such asthe older empire could never have built,CHAPTER VIE Hinduism by S. RADHAKRISHNAN ‘Tae eloquent and moving contribution which follows is the work of one of the great minds of modern India, who has been President of the Indian Re- public and who now (1972) lives in honourable retirement, as one of the most venerated of India’s grand old men, Tt was written for the original edi- tion of The Legacy of India when its author was a professor of Calcutta University, and had olreedy made name for himself as an expositor of Indian thought to the West, a task which he was to continue as Spalding Professor of, Eastern Religions at the University of Oxford, ‘The character of this chapter is more personal than that of most of the ‘other contributions to our volume, but itis no less valuable for that. As the record of the faith ofa sensitive, highly intelligent Hindu of the early twentieth century, it introduces the reader to those aspects of India's ancient religion which Have moulded his life and thoughtefhere are, however, a number of spects of the subject which are still very important ia the life of India, but are litte touched on by the author, who would himself agcec that Hinduism has something for everyone, on all levels of eulture, For this reason we have added 1 brief postscript £0 the chapter. ‘THe SPIRIT OF HINDUISM. If we look at the various and sometimes conflicting creeds which it contains, we may wonder whether Hinduism isnot just a mame which covers 4 multitude of different faiths, but when we turn our attention to the spiritual life devotion, and endeavour which lie behind the creeds, we xalize the unity, the indefinable sel identity, which, however, is by no means static or absolute. Throughout the history of Hindu civilization there has been a certain inp ing ideal, a certain motive power, a certain way of looking at life, which can not be identified with any stage or cross-section of the process. The whole movement and life ofthe institution, its entire history, is necessary in order to diselose to us this idea, and it cannot therefore be expressed in a simple formula. It requires centuties for ideas to utter themselves, and at any stage the institution hes always an clement that is yet to be expressed, No idea is fully expressed at any one point ofits histosical unfolding, ‘What is this Idea of Hinduism, this continuous element that runs through all its stages from the eaclest to the latest, from the lowest to the highest, this fundamental spirit which is more fully ad richly expressed in the highest though itis prescat in the very lowest7 Life is present i every stage ofa plant's growth and itis always the same life, though itis more Fully expressed in the ‘developed tre than in the first push ofthe tender blade. In the Hindu religion i Hindutson o there must be @ common clement that makes every stage and every moverment fan expression of the religion. ‘The different phases and stages have proper content and meaning only in so far as this common element exists. With the perception of the unity which runs through error and failure up the long, ascent towards the ideal, the whole achievement of Hinduism falls into co- herent perspective, 1 is'this essential spirit that any account of Hinduism ‘would seek to express, tae spict that its institutions imperfectly set forth, the spirit that we need to develop more adequately and richly before a better age ‘and civilization ean be achieved. HISTORICAL OUTLINE ‘The spirits not a dead straction but a living force. Because itis active and dynamic the Hindu civilization bas endured so long and proved s0 cap- able of adaptation to the geoving complexity of life, The great river of Hindu fe, usually serene but not without its rapids, reaches back so far that only a Jong view can do justice to its nature, From prehistoric times influences have been at work moulding the faith. As a result of the excavations in Harappa and Mobenjo-diro we have evidence of the presence ia India ofa highly do- veloped culture that “must have bad a long antecedent history on the soil oF Inia, taking us back to an age that can only be diraly surmised" In age and achievement the Indus valley civilization is comparable to that of Egypt or Sumeria. The noteworthy feature ofthis civilization is its continuity, not as a political power but as a cuftual influence, The religion ofthe Indus people is hardly distinguishable, according to Sit John Marshal, from ‘that aspect of Hinduism which is bouod up with anism aad the cults ofSivaond the Mothec Goddess" These latter do not em to be indigenous to the Vedie religion, ‘Though the Sakti cult was later accepted by the Vedic people ther original opposition to itis not altogether suppressed. To the sacrifice of Daksba, all the Vedic deities are seid to have been invited except Siva, who soon gained authority as the scessor of the Vedio Rudra, Even so late as the Bhapavata Purana the opposition to Siva-worship is preseat, “Those who worship Siva and those who follow them axe the opponents of boly scriptures and may be ranked with pashandins. Let the fesble-minded who, with matted locks, ashes, ‘and bones, have lost thir purity, be initiated into the worsbip of Sivai which Wine and breWage ate regarded as gods."? Tt isa matter for conjecture whether the Indus people had any relation to the Dravidians, Nor can we say whether the Dravidians were natives of the soil or came from outside, Besides the Aryans and the Dravidiane there was also a flat-noved, black-skinned people who were commonly known as das, ‘The celigion, inthe ist literary records that bave come dow to us, is that of the Aryans, though it was much influenced by the Indus people, the Dravid- fans, and the aborigines. The simple hymns of the Rig-Veda reveal to us an * SicJoha Marshal, Mokeno-Davo and the Inder Cielcation, 1931, Vou, ps 106. 2 Toi. Vol Ip. vi > Dhagevara Burana, v2, To the Padma Prana, pashondin are sald tobe those who wear ‘shuls ahes, and bones, the symbols cautery tothe Vedss, put on mailed locks aad the tacks of res, even without eoferinginto the third order of fe and engage ip rites which are ‘ot sanetioned by the Vedas! Uiareskkanda, Ch 235,& Hinduism age when Pan was.ill alive, when the trees inthe forest could speak and the ‘Waters ofthe river could sing and man could isten end understand. The spell and the charms to be found ia part ofthe tenth book of the Rig-Veda aid in most of the Atharoa- Veda suggest type of religions practice based.on fear and associated with the spirits of the dark, A religious syathesis ofthe dillerent views and practices on the base of moniti idealisia is set forth in the eatly Upanishads. Soon after, a composite culture, springing fom a union of Greek pith Persian and Bactran inftences, dominsted northwestern Indi, Success: ve descents of Muslim conquerors from about A. 1000 affecied Hindu life and thought, The Pirsi fugitives who were expelled from Persia by Muslim invaders fouad a welcome shelter in India, St. Thomas brought the Christian faith from Syria to south India and for overa thousand years this remained the only Christan centre of influence, In the sixteenth century St. Francis Xavier introduced Latin Christianity, The modern Christian missionary movement started over @ century ago. The cultural invasion of the West has been vigor ous, thanks to its political superiority and industrial efficiency. Jainism, Buddhisei, and Sikhism are creations ofthe Indian mind and may be interpreted as reform movements from within the fold of Hinduism put forth to meet the special demands of the Various stages of the Hindu faith, Zoroastrianism, Ilim, and Christianity have been 20 long ja the country that they have become native to the sol and are deeply in lenced by the atmo- sphere of Hinduism, Tndia was a thorough ‘melting-pot” Jong before the term waa invented for ‘America. In spite of attacks, Hellenic, Muslim, and European among others, Hindu culture has maintained its tradition unbroken to the present day. The spiritual life ofthe Hindus at the present time has not precisely the samse pro: Portion or orientation as that of either the Indus people or the Vedie Aryans or even the great teachers, Sankara and Raménuja, ts changes in emphasis tellect individual temperaments, social conditions, and the changing intel. lectual environment, but the same persistent idea reappears in diferent forts, Hindvism grovs in'the proper sense of the word, not by accretion, but like én orgenism, undergoing fiom time to time transformation as a whole, It has carricd within it mach ofits early postessions, thas east aside a good deal and often it has found treasures which it has niade iis own. The history of Hindvism is chequered by tragie failures and wonderful victories, by oppor- tunities missed and taken. New truth hes been denied and persecuted coca sionally. The unity ofits body, realized at the cost of contatis of effort and Jabour, now and then came near being shattered by self-seeking and ignorance. Yet the religion itsef Is not destroyed. It is alive and vigorous and has with: stood attacks from within and without, I'seems to be possessed of unlnted Powers of renewal. Its histori vitality the abounding energy which it reveals, Would alone be evidence ofits spiritual genius. UNIVERSALITY In ts great days Hinduism was inspired to oarry its idea across the frontiers of India and impose it on the civilized world, Its memory has become a part of the Asiatic consciousness, tinging its outlook on life. Today itis t vital cle- Hinduism 6 ationalistic pragmatism of the West. Ithas therefore universal value, ithe ion ofa te nt of Grae iT ol ne sens ttt Was formulated by minds belonging tothe Indian soil. The value of that vision jy does ot reside in any tribal or provincial characteristics, but in those ele © ents-of universality which appeal to the whole world.’ What ean be re= {© e6gaized as peculiarly Indian is not the universal truth which is present init Dut the elements of weakness and prejudice, which oven some ofthe greatest as have in common with theie weaker brethren, ee 2 ggverning conceptions, controlling ideas, dezp dynamic links which bind to~ ~ ofian unchanging creed or a fixed deposit of doctrine, but isthe unity of a Coatinuously changing life. In this essay we can only deal with the general Grito the current of Hindu religion as a whole, not with the many confusing rorscurcents and sects. cae : ST poligion forthe Hind i experince or atitade of mia eis ot an idea © but a power, not an intellectual proposition but a life conviction. Rel sono of uate realy nt a teary about God The eae aius is wot a pedant or a pandit, aot a sophist or a dialectician, but a pro- Plt, ge or dis who embodies fa himel the spstoalvison- When the o. soal’goes inward into ftselt it draws near its own divine root and becomes pervaded by the radiance of another nature, The aim of all religion is the tial realization ofthe highest trth, Its intuition of reality Graken. hao insigh into rth rahmadarona), cootac withthe supreme (raha Sanophre) evel appresension of realty rahmastishtira). “Pia emphasing the experiential a distinet from the dogmatic or eredal harace of reign, Hindi sc 0 be more adeqat than or le 1. pont tothe history of eligion as well as to the coatemporarycligios stuac 5-7 lon: Buddhism ate cipal form id not avow any thes beit, Conf, like Buddha, discouraged his disciples from occupying their minds with {speculations about the Divine Being or the Unseen World, There are systems | of Hindi thought, like the Sanknya and the Parva Miniims, which, in © ome oftheir characteristic phases, cultivate « sprit and attitude to which + itwould be difficult to deny the name of religion, cveHt though they may not | avcept any belief in God or gods superior to oneself. They adopt other {methods for aobeving salvation fom sin and sorrow and do not look to God |) as the source of their saving. We cannot deny to Spinoza thereligiousspicit i it i wnunion between the simply because he did not admit avy reciprocal cotnu divine aod the hman sis, We have instances of eligou fervour end seriousness without a corresponding belie in any being deseribuble es God, i Again, its possible for us to believe in God and yet be without any religious sense. We may repard the proofs forthe existence of God as irrefutable end64 Hinduism ‘yet may not possess the feelings and attitude associated with religion. Rel sion is not so much a matter of theoretical knowledge as of life and practice. Whea Kant attacked the traditional proofs of God’s existence, and asserted at the eame time his faith in God as a postulate of moral consciousness, he brought out the essentially non-theoretical character of life in God. It follows that the reality of God is not based on abstract arguments or scholastic proofs, tout is derived from the speciicaly religious experience which alone gives peculiar significance to the word ‘God’, Man becomes aware of God through ‘experience, Rational arguments establish religious faith only when they are interpreted in the light of that religious experience. The argumeats do not reveal God to us but are helpful ia removing obstacles to the acceptance by our minds of a revelation mediated by that capacity for the appretiension of the Divine which is a normal feature of our humanity.‘ Those who have de- veloped this centre through Which all the threads of the universe are drawn are the religious geniuses, The high vision of those who have penetrated into the depths of being, their cense of the Divine in all theit exaltation of feeling. and entichment of personality, have been the'source of all the noblest work in the world. From Moses to Isaiah, from Jesus and Paul on to Augustine, Luther, and Wesley, from Socrates and Plato to Plotinus and Philo, from Zoroaster to Buddba, from Confucius to Mahomet, the men who initiated new eurrents of life, the creative personalities, are those who have known God by acquaintance and not by hearsay. ‘THE VEDAS What is Sua isthe religious experience itself, though its expressions change if they are to be relevant to the growing content of knowledge. The experience is what is felt by the individual in his deepest being, what is seen by him (@rishit) o heard (Grutf) end this is valid for all time. The Veds is seen or heard, not made by its human authors. Itis spiritual n. ‘The way to wisdom is not through intellectual activity. From the begioning, India believed in the superiority of intuition or the method of direct percep tion of the super-sensible to intellectual reasoning, The Vedic rishis were the first who ever burst into that sileat sea of ultimate being and their utterances about what they saw and heard there are found registered in the Vedas, ‘Naturally they attribute the authorship of the Vedas to a superior spirit. “Modern psychology admits that the higher achievements of men depend ia the last analysis on processes that are beyoud and deeper than the limits of the nornial consciousness. Socrates speaks of the ‘daimOn’ which acts’as the censor on and speaks through him. Plato regards inspiration as an act of a ‘goddess, Ideas are showered on Philo from above, though he is oblivious of everything around him. George Eliot tells us that she wrote her best work in a Kind of frenzy almost without kaowing what sho was writing. According to Emerson, all poetry is first written in the heavens. It js conceived by a self deeper than appears in normal life. The prophet, when he begins his message “Thus saith the Lord’, is giving utterance to’ his consciousness that the ‘message is not his own, that it comes from a wider and ceeper level of life and from a source outside his limited sel. Since we cannot compel these excep- +See Clement Webb, Rellfon and Thiam! 1934 p36. Hinculsm 65 tional ntoments to occur all inspiration has sometbiag of revelation in it, Ia- stead of considering creative work to be due to processes which take place ‘uavitingy, as some psychologists imagine, the Hindu thinkers affirm that the reative deeds, the inspiration of the pools, the vision of the artis and the genius of the man of science are in realty the utterance ofthe Elernal through fan, In those rare moments man sin ouch with a wider world and js swayed by an ovecsoul that is above his own. The sers feel that their experiences are Unmediated direct disclosures from the wholly other and regard them as fupernatural, as not discovered by man’s own activity (akarrika, apauru “theye). They eel that they come to them from God. though even God i said to be not tivie author but theitformulator. Inthe last analysis the Pedas are Without any personal author Sizce they are not due to personal activity they tre not subject to unlimited revision and restatement but possess in « sense fhe character of finality (ityaiv). ‘While scientific knowledge soon becomes obsolete, intuitive wisdom has a permanent value. Inspired poetry and religions seriptores have a certaia time- Iesenes or universality which intellectual works do not share. While Aristotle's bielogy is no longer true, the drama of Euripides is stil beawiful. White Vaiteshika slomnism is obsolete, Kaliddse’s Sakina is unsunpassed in is own tne “There is a community and continuity of ie between man in his deepest sel and God, In etbcal creativity and religious experience man draws on this, Source, or rather the source of power is expressing itself through birm. Jn {Tennygon's fine Figure th slujes are opened and the great ocean of power flows in, Tt isthe spirit in man tha is responding tothe spirit inthe univers, the deep calling unto the deep. 1 The Pedasaremore a record than an interpretation of religious experience. ‘While their authority Gna, that of the expression and the imerpretations of the religious experience is by no means final.'The latter are said tobe smrit or the remembered testimonies of great souls, These interpretations are bound to change if they are (o be relevant to the growing content of knovledge, Facts alone stand firm, judgements waver and change, Facts can be expressed i the dialect ofthe ag. The relation between the vision and its expression, the fact and its interpretation, is very close, It is more lke the body and the skin then the body and its clothes. When the vision is to be reinterpreted, what is needed isnota mere verbal change but a readaptation to new hebits of mind. We have evidence to show thatthe Vedas meast sighty different things to successive generations of believers. On the fundamental, metaphysical, and zeligious Issues the diferent commentators, Sankara, Réminuja, and Madhva, offer different interpretations. ‘To ascribe finality to a spiritual movement is to bring it toa standstill, To stand stil is to fall back, There isnot and there eannot be any finality in interpretation. AUTHORITY, LOGIC, AND LIFE 1 goal of the religious quest, is earned by in- Insight into reality, which is line, Three stages are generally distinguished, a {ellectual and moral disc 5 Rig-Vedo, x 99.95 Brikadiranyaa Upanisd, 4.10, ‘Porushabhavit ce alstha, Aimdinsdyadyaprokasa,Hinduism tradition which we have to earn (raoana), an itellestual ta ‘which we have to pass (manana), and an cthical discipl (nididhydsana)? ‘To hegin with, we areal earnees, We take our views on the authority of a teadition whieh Wwe have done notbing to create but which we have only to sceept in the frst instance. In every department, art or morality, seience or social ie, weare taught the fist principles and are not encouraged to sxerese ‘ue private judgement, Religion is not an exception to this role. Religious seriptures ae seid fo have aright to our acceptance. Te second step i logical reflection or mnnana, To understand the succed tration we should ise out intligence. “Verily, when the sages or rishiswece passing vray, men inquired ofthe gods, “who shall be our rishi? They gave them the sence of reasoning for constructing the sense of the hymns: Criticism helps the discovery of tuth and, if it destroys anything, it only illusions that ate bred by piety that are destroyed by it. Seu and Shi, ex- perience and interpretation, scripture and logo, are the two wings given tothe hhuenan soul to reach the teath, While the Hind view permite vs to erticize the tradition, we should do so only from within, It ena be remoulded and ime proved only'by those who accept it and use itn their livs. Our great re- formers, our eminently original thinkers like Sankara and Raman, are tebels against tradition; but theie convictions, as they themselves admit, are also revivals of tradition. While the Hindus are hostile to those who zevile theie tradition and repudiate it altogether, and condemn them as avait oF asta, they are hospitable to all those who accept the tradition, however critical they may be oft. ‘The authoritativeness ofthe Veda does not prelude critical examination of matters dealt with in it. The Hinds belove thatthe truths of revelation are 5ustiiable to reason. Onc convitions are valuable only whea they are the fe ‘sults of our personal efforts to understand. The accepted tradition becomes reasoned tcuth. Ifthe truths ascereined by inquiry coaflt with the stae- sents found in the seriptues, the latter most be explained ina way agreeable to teith, No seriptures can compel us to believe falsehoods. "A thousend scriptures verity eannot convert a jr into a cloth We have much fo the Peday Which isa product not of man's highest wisdom but of his wayward fancy, It ‘we reinember that revelation precedes its record, we will realize thatthe Veda ‘May not be an accurate embodiment of the former. It has in it a good deal of inference and interpretation mixed up with intuition and experience. nsstence oa Vedie authority is not an encouragement of ereduliy or an ensaving sub- Jestion to scriptural texts, It does not justify the conditions under which de- ‘rading religious despotism grew up iter. ‘The Vedie testimony, the fogiea! truth, mist become for vs the present fat. We must recapture something of that energy of soul of whith the Vedas aro the creation by letting the thoughts and emotions of that stil liviog past vibrate in our spirits, By niddhyarana or contemplative meditation, eteeal Aisciplin, the truth is bull into the substance of our life. What we actept on auiority and est by logics now proved by its power to sustain a definite and 12 through we have to undergo 1 Wivaraea-praneyecsemgraha, p.t. © Minter, xa, | f t | i ‘ ‘ i Hinduism o ‘unique type of life of supreme value. Thought completes itself in fife and we thrill again with the creative experience ofthe frst days of the founders of the religion. aon 1treliions experience, what it ehat we experience? Whats the nature of reality in ou knowledge of Oot, conte with theultimate reality through religious experience plays the'same part which contact with nature through tens perception plays in our knowlege of mature In both we have a sense of tiv eer, ie taneanbjetve, whieh eontols our apprehension, Tels s0 itey piven fous and not made by ux. We build the concept of reality fom the data of elles expeeace, ven as we bulla the order of nate fom the Immediate dat ef sense Tnathe long and siversied history of man's quest fr reaityeepresente by ‘inguis, theo wiah haunt he human snl asa presence atone all embracing and infin evisnge in many diferent ways, The Hindus are Sud to dope poyteism, monototo, arpanthlm a5 wel as bli in dermons, heroes, and nncestos It easy fo find texts in support of each of these es The cls of ive and Sakti may have come down from the lads people, Worship of tees, animals and eves, and other cults associated with tity teh, ray hove had the same org, while the dark powers of the Underworld who ate dreaded and propteted, may be due to aboriginal sources. The Vedic Aryans contributed the higher gods comparable to the Olympians ot the rest, ie the Sky andthe Barth the Sut an the Tire ‘The Hindu religion deal with these dren lines of thought and fuses them into a whole by means of its philosophical synthesis, A religion is judged by what it tends towards, Those who note the ts and sche uth are uate tothe Hindu attempt ' “The relly We experience cannot be fully expreted in terms of logic and language, It defies ll desorption. The ser as cera ofthe objective realty te appsbends as eis of the inadequacy o ough express, A God con proton iro God, bute area consevtion of or minds Indrkoaity, Mather human oc vf, can only be aeepted as given fact and not de- Scribe, Te isnot wholly tensporen to Tog C's ivenkustible by analy Ts inexhaustible proot of ebjexy. However far ye may earty our Towcal enalyi, the given abject nal aniguenes is thee, contig a iit to Our analyse Our (inking fs conolled by something beyond itll ich perception in pleat scence andthe intuition of Godin the scence of ison, The eternal being of God cannot be dseibed by eaeyoce. An stituge of reeves fs adopted regarding te question ofthe nature ofthe Supremes Thove uo kro tl Stnot hose wh tel it know it not, The Keno Upansha says Th efe dons no go thither, nor speech nor mind. We Go not know edo not understand how one can tech Its dierent rom the known, it is also above the unknown.’ Sankara quotes a Vedic passage het the etches sel th pul te secret ofthe sl by Keping lent sboat "Venyy te you, but you tndertend oot theses slence™ The deeper eet ha I oe knows thee of on let cant be Cod +r, Augustine’, fone tows6 Hinduism experience is a ‘wordless docteine. The sages declare that ‘wonderful is the ‘man that can speak of him, and Wonderful is also the ran that caa under- stand bio"? Buddha maintained silence about the nature of ultimate reality. ‘Silent ace the Tatbigatas. O, Blessed one-"? Tho Madhyamikas declare that the truth is frce from such descriptions as tt is’, ‘itis not, “both, and “neither. Négirjuna says that Buddha did not give any defsition of the ulti mate reality. “Nowhere and to nobody has ever anything been preached by the Buddha."¥.A vers attributed to Sonkara reads: "Its wonderful that there under the banyan tree the pupil is old while the teacher is young, The ex: planation of the teacher is silence but the doubts ofthe pupil are dispersed. ‘This atitude is teuer and nobler than that of the theologians, who construct slaborate mansions and show us round with the air of God's own estate agents. ‘When, however, attempts are made, to give expeession to the ineffable reality, negative descriptions are employed. The real is the whelly other, the utterly transcendent, the mysterious being which awakens in us a sense of awe and wonder, dread and desire. It not only fascinates us but produces a sense of abasement in us. Whatever is tcue of empirical beings denied of the Real. "The Atmaa ean only be described by ‘no, no”. ILis incomprehensible for'it cannot be comprehended." It is not jn space or time; i is free from, ‘eausal necessity Its above all conceptions and conceptional dffeentitions But on this account it s not to be confused with non-being. Tt being in a ‘more satisfying sense thaa empirical being, The iandequacy of intellectual doalysis is the outcome of the incomparable wealth of intrinsic reality in the supreme being, The eternal being is uttedly beyond all personal limitetion, is beyond all forms though the sustainer of all forms, All religious systems ia fr mankind bas sought to confine the reality of God are inadequate. They make of God an ‘ido’. While the negative characteristics indicate the teanseendent characte ofthe real, there is a sense in which the rea is also inxmanent. The very fact that we are able to apprehend the real means that there is something in us capable of appreliending it. The deepest part of our nature responds to the call of the reality. In spiritual life the lay holds that only like can kuow like, We ean oaly Know what is akin to ourselves. Above and beyond ove rational being lies hidden the ultimate and highest part of our nature, What the mystics call the ‘basis or ‘ground’ of the soul is not satisfied by the (ransitory or the tem poral, by the seasuous or the intelletual,” Naturally, the power by whieh we acquite the knowledge of God is not logical thought, but spiit, for sprit can only be spiritually discerned. While the rea is utterly transcendent to the empirical individual, its immanent inthe ultimate part of our nature. God's revelation and man’s contemplation are two aspects of one and the same ex- 18 See Katha Up, i 2.7 aso Bhagavad Ou, 2 * Mado ic 3 th + See Suara commentary oa Chandon Upansid i 2» Tas toa that we all person aod pereooasaded al that we saa now oe name ‘ussite: at alls but ope ireat a the whole Benenth it ison nu that whl ober ‘whose profundity impenetrable to any concept caw Yet be grape inthe muminowr cal Isley one whos epee he tper He” Rd Oe, ln of i bs ° Lankavassrastira i, a Hinduism 6 perience, The Beyond is the Within, Brahman is Atman. Hei the autaryamia, the face conteole. He it not only the iacomrounieable mystery standing for ver in bis ovn perfect ligt, bliss, and peace, but also is herein us, upholding, sustaining us: “Whoever worships God as other than the self, thinking he is One and Lam another, knows nol." Religion arises out of the experience of the Iruman spitit which feels its kinship and continuity with the Divine other. ‘A purely iinmauent deity cannot be an object of worship and adoration; & putely transcendent one does not allow of any worship of adoration. Hindu thinkers are not content with postulating # being unrelated 10 humanity, who is merely the Beyond, so far as the empisical world is con- cerned. From the beginnings of itindu history, attempts are made to bring God closer to the needs of man. Though itis impossible to deseribe the ulin ate reality, itis quite possible to indieate by means of symbols aspects of it, though tho symbolic description is nota substitute forthe experience of God We are helpless in this matter and therefore are obliged to substitute symbols for substances, pictures for realities. We adopt a symbolic account when we regard the ultiate reality asthe highest person, as the supteme personality, asthe Fether of us all, ready to respond to the jeeds of humanity. The Rig- Veda has it: “Ail this isthe person, that which is past and that which is future. It isthe mats of the entire eing. The Vaishnava thinkers and the Saiva Siddhanting make of the Supreme, the ful6iment of our nature. He is knowledge that wil enlighten the igoorast, strength for the weak, mezey for the guilty, patience for the sufferer, comfort for the comfortless. Strictly speaking, however, the Supreme is not this or that personal form but isthe being that is eesponsible forall that was, s, and shall be, His teraple is every work, every star that spins in the frmansent, No element can contain him for he is altelements, Your life and mine are enveloped by him. Worship is the acknowledgement of the magnificence ofthis supreme reality. ‘We have accounts of the ultimate Reality as both Absolute and God, Brabman, and Ts those who accept the view of the Supzeme as personality admit that the unsearchableness of God cannot be measured by bur feeble conceptions. They confess that there is an overplus of reality be- Yond the personal concept To the worshipper, the personal God is the highest. No one cen worship what is known as imperfect. Hen the idol of the idolater stands for perfection, though be may toss itaside the moment he detects its imperfection, ‘tis wrong to assume that the Suprerue is either the Absolute or God. Tt is both the Absolute and God, The impersonal ancl the personal conceptions fre not to be regarded as rival claimants to the exchisve truth. They are the diferent ways in which the single compzchensive pattern reveals itself to the spirit of man. One and the same Being is conceived now as the object of philo- sophical inquiry or jadna, now a8 a0 object of devotion or upasana, The conception of ulimate reality and that of @ personal God are reconciled in religious experience, though the reconciliation cannot be easily effected in the region of thought. We cannot Relp thinking of the Supreme under the anelogy ° Brits dranyoho Upanishads, ‘The Supreme “al hat whichever iy all tho word (Soren Kam yk Pattyn jog ea Up.)P Hinduisrs of selfconsciousness and yet the Supreme is the absolutely simple, unchang- ing, free, spiritual reality in which the soul finds its kome, its rest, and its completion, NOSPITALITY OF THE HINDU MIND A religion that is based on the central (suih of a comprehensive universal spicit cannot support an inflexible dogmatism. It adopts an attitude of tolera- tion not as a matter of policy or expediency but as a principle of spiritual ‘Toleration is a duty, not a mere concession. In pursuance of this duty Hindu- jam has accepted within its fold almost all varieties of belie? and doctrine and treated them as authentic expressions of the spiritual endesvour, however antithetic they may appear to be. Hinduism warns us that exch of us should be modest enough to realize that we may perlaps be mistaken in our views and what others hold with equal sincerity is not a matter for ridicule, IF we believe that we have the whole mind of God we are tempted to assume that ‘any one who disagrees with us is wrong and ought to be silenced. The Hinds: shared Aristotle's conviction that a view held strongly by many is not usually 1 pure delusion, If any view has ennobled and purified human life over a wide range of space, time, and circumstance, and is still doing the same for those who assimilate its concept, it must embody a real apprehension of the Supreme Being. For Hinduism, though God is formless, he yet informs and sustains ‘counties forms, He is not small and partial, or emote and ineflable. He is not merely the God of Isreet or of Christendom but the erown and fulfilment of you and me, of all men and all women, of life and death, of joy and sorrow, ‘No outward form can wholly contain the inward reality, though every form, " brings out an aspect of it. In all religions, from the lowest to the highest, mam isin contact with an sible environment and attempts to express his view of the Divine by means ‘of images. The animist of the Atharea- Veda, who believes that nature is full of spicits, is religious to the extent that he is convinced of the Divine presence and interpeneteation in the world and nature, The polythelst is right to the extent that the Divine isto be treated on the anslogy of human consciousness rather than any other empirical thing. The gods of the Vedas resemble the Supreme no more than shadows resemble the sun, but, even as the shadows dicate where the sum is, the Vedic deities point to the divection in whieh the Supreme reality lies. Ail forms are directing their steps towards the one God, though slong different paths. The reat is one, though it is expressed in different names, which are determined by climate, history, and temperament. Teach one follows his own path with sincerity and devotion he will surely reach God. Bven inadequate views help their adherents to adapt themselves ‘more successfully to their environment, to order theie experiences more sai factorily, and to act om their environment more creatively. In the great crises of life, our differences took petty and unworthy. All of us have the same urge towards something of permanent worth, the sume sense of awe and faseins: tion before the mystery that lies beyond and within the cosmos, the same pas- son for love and joy, penor and fone, If ve judge the saving power of touth from its empirical effects we see thatevery form of worship and belief Hinduism 1 has strange power which enables us to escape from our littleness and become radiant with a happiness that is not of this world, which transforms unhappy dens into beautiful homes and converts men and women of easy virtue and le knowledge into suffering servants of God. All truth is God's truth and even a little of it can save us from great troubles. Besides, the tcut of religion is, as Troeltsch declared, ‘polymorphic’. The light is scattered in many broken lights and there is mot anywhere any full white ray of divine revelation. Truth is found in all religions, though in different measures. The diferent cevelations do not contradict but on many points confirm one another, For the Hindu, religions differ not in thefe object but in their renderings of its nature. ‘The Hindu attitude to religious reform js based on an understanding of the place of religion in human life, A man's religion is something integral a his nature. Itis like a limb, which grows from him, grows on him, and grows out of him, If we take it away from him we mutilate his humanity and foree it into an unnatural shape. We are all prejudiced in favour of what is our own. In. spite of all logic we are inclined to believe that the home into which we are born is the best of all possible homes, that our parents are not as others are, and we ourselves are perhaps the most reasonable excuse for the existence of the human race on earth. If strangers are sceptical, it is because they do not know. These prejudices serve a useful purpose within limits. Mankind would. never have progressed to this high estate if it had not been for this partiality for our homes and parents, our art and culture, our religion aiid civilization, Ifeach pushes this prejudice to the extreme point, competition and warfare will result, but the principle that each one should accept his own tradition as the best for him requires to be adopted with due care that it is not exagge ated into contempt and hatred for other traditions. Hinduism admits thi principle of historical continuity, recognizes its importance for man's ade vancement, and at the same time insists om equal trentment for others’ views, ‘Trying to impose one's opinions on others is neither 20 exeiting nor so fruitful as joining bands in an endeavour to attain a result much larger than we know. Besides, truth will prevail and does not requise oue propaganda. The func tion of a religious reacher is only to assist the soul's natural movernent to- wards life. The longing for an ideal life may be hidden deep, overlaid, dise torted, misunderstood, ill expressed, but iti there and lly lacking. tis man's birthright which he cannot barter away or squander. We bave to reckon with it and build on its basis. 1t does not matfer what conception of God we adopt so long as we keep up a perpetual search after truth. The great Hindu prayers are addressed to God as eternal truth to enlighten us, o enable us to grasp the secret of the universe better and hetter. There is no finality in this process of understanding. Tolecation in Hindvisin is not equivalent to indifference to truth. Hinduism does not say that truth does not matter. It affirms that al truths are shadows except the last, though all shadows ace cast by the light of truth, Itis one’s duty to press forward whtil the highest trnth is reached. The Hindu method of religious reform or conversion has this for its Conver example, n is nof always by means of argument. By the witness of personat I changes are produced in thought and life. Religious eonvietionPR Hinduism is the result, not the cause of religious life. Hinduism deepens the life of spirit among the adberents who belong to it, without affecting its form, All the gods included in the Hindu pantheon stand for some aspect of the Supteme, Brehma, Vishnu, and Siva bring ovt the creative will, saving love ‘nd fearful judgement of the Supreme. Each of them to its worshippers be- Comes a maine of the Supreme God. The Harieansf, for example, tells us that Vishnu isthe Supreme God, taught inthe whole cange ofthe Scriptures, the Vedas, the Ramayan, the Purdnas, and the epics. The same description is, siven of Siva, who has Rudra for his Vedic counterpart. He becomes the highest God, Sekt, the Mother Goddess, in her diferent forms represents tbe dynamio side of Godhead, Whatever form of Worship is taken up by the Hinds foith it is exalted into the highest “The multiplicity of divinities is traceable historically to the acceptance of pre-existing faiths in great religious synthesis where the different forms are Interpreted as modes, emanations, or aspects ofthe one Supreme. In the act of worship, however, every deity is given the same metaphysical and moral per- Fections; The labels on the botles may vary, but the contents are exactly the same, That is why, fom the Rig-Veda onvards, Hindu thought has beca characterized by a distinctive hospitality. As the Bhagavad Gita has it: “ow Soever men approach me, so do I welcome them, for the path men take from every side i mine, Hiaduism did not shrink from the acceptance of every fspect of God conesived by the mind of man, and, as we shall see, of every fotm of devotion devited by his heart, For what counts is the attitude of sin- city and devotion and not the conception, whichis more or less itellectua, jeckegaard says: “If of two men one prays tothe true God without sincerity cof Beart, and the other prays to an idol with all the passion of an infinite Yearning, i ig the fest who really prays to an idol, while the second really prays 10 God.’ Dominated by such an ideal, Hinduism did not believe in Either spiritual mass-production ora standardized religion forall. “The great wrong, that which we can call the sin of iolaty, isto acquiesce in anything leis than the highest open (0 us. Religion is not so much fsith in the highest a faith inthe highest one can reach. At whatever leel our under- Sanding may-be, se must strive to transcend it, We must pecpetualy strive 0 Tift up out eyes to the highest conception of God possible for us and our ‘generation, The greatest gift of life is the dream of a higher life. To continue {o grow is the mark ofa religious soul. Hinduism is bound not by a creed but by a quest, not by a common belief but by a common search for truth, Every one is 2 Hindu who strives for truth by study and reflection, by purity of file nd conduct, by devotion and consecration to high ideals, who believes thet religion routs not on authority but on experience PERFECTION ‘Whatever view of God the Hindu may adopt, he belioves that the Divine is in man, Every human being, irrespective of caste or colour, can attain to the knowledge of this truth and make his whole life an expression of it, The 2 thor as Up... Noted in The Trapie cme of Ele by Unamnuno (3rd ip), p. 178. : | i f : [ : Hinduism B Divinity io us isto be realized in mind and spitit and made a power in life. ‘The intellectual apprehension must become embadied in a regenerated being ‘The Divine must subdue us to its purpose, subject the rebellious flesh to a new rhythm, and use the body to give voice to its own speech. Life eteraal ar liberation or the Kingdom of heaven is nothing more than making the ¢g0 swith all ts thought and desires get back to its source in spirit. The self still exists, but it no more the individusl self but a sadiant divine set, deeper than the individual being, a self which embraces all creation in @ profound sympathy. The Upanshad says: ‘The liberated soul enters into the All The heact is eeleased from ts burden of care, The sorcows and errors of the pas, the anxiety of unsatistied desire, and the sllenness of resentment are no more, ls the destiny of man where there isa perfect flowering ofthe human being. To embody this eternal greatness in temporal facts the sim of the world, The peace of perfection, the joy of heaven, isteslzable on earth, Perfection i open fo all We ae all members of the heavenly housebold, of the family of God. However low we may fll, we are not lost. Thete is no such thing os spietual death. As long as there isa spark of spiritual life, we have hope. Even when ‘we are on th brink of the abyss, the everlasting arms wil sustain us, for there is notbing, not even an atom of reality, where God does not abide, Men of spiritual sight take upon themselves the cross of mankind. They crown themselves with thorns ia order that others may bs crowned with life im- mortal. They go about the world as vagrants despising the riches of the world to induce us to believe in th riches oftheir world. When they gaze into men's eyes, whatever their condition of life, they see something more than man, ‘They see our faces not merely by the ordinary ligt of the world but by she teasing ligt of ou vive posites. hey therefore share ou joys atid sorrows. yous To gain this enlighicnment, this living firschaud experience of spiritual illomination, the aspirants submit themselves to long years of protracted search, to periods of painful self-denial, To be made luminous within we have to pay'a heavy price. We must reduce the vast complex of actions and reac- tions ve call human nature to some order and harmony. The appetites which call for satisfaction, the zest for life and the animal propensities, our ua- reasoned likes and dislikes, pull us in different directions, This raw material requires to be subdued into the pattern of self. We must attain an integrated vision, a whole life, health and strength of body, alertness of mind, and spiritual serenity. A complete synthesis of spirit, soul, flesh, and affections re- quires a radical change-over, so that we think and live differently, We have to endure a violent inward convulsion, As a frst step we are called upon to with draw from all outward things, to retreat into the ground of ove own soul and find in the inmost depth of the self the divine reality. The world of things in its multiplicity is revealed asa unity. The vision ofthe ive selfs a tue same time vision of unity ekafoan anupafyatl) He behoids all beings in himself and hime self in all beings.» "There one perceives no other, hears no other, recognizes Mandala Up 2.5. 1 Na Up. 61" Hindvism no other, there is fulluess." A life that is divided becomes a life thet is unified, ‘Yoga is the pathway to this rebirth or realization of the divine in us. ‘There are not only many mansions in God’s house but many roads to the heavenly city. They arc roughly distinguished iato three—yndna, Blick, and karma, God is wisdom, holiness, and love, He is the answer for the intel leotual demands for unity and coherence, the source and sustainer of values, ‘and the object of worship and prayer. Religion is morality, doctrine as well ns 8 fecling of dependence, It includes the development af reason, conscience, and emotion. Knowledge, love, and action, clear thinking, ardent feeling, and conscientious life all lead'us to God and ace necessary for spiritual growth, A relatively greater absorption in one or the other depends on the point we:have reached in our inner development. When the goal is reached ‘here i an advanes in the whole being of man. Religion then ceases to be 2 site or a refuge and becomes the attainment of reality, INAWA When jndna is ssid to lead to. moksha or liberation, it is not intellectual knowledge that is meant but spiritual wiscdom, It is that which enables-ns to know that the spirit is the knower and not the known. By phitosophicel ana. Isis (dattoa-vichira) we realize that there is in us a principle of awareness by ‘hich we perceive all things, though it is itself not perceived as an object in the ‘ordinary way. Not fo know that by which we know is to cast away @ treasuce that is ours. Yoga in the sense of the stilling of outward activities and emo. tions and concentration on pure consciousness is adopted to help the provess ‘of development. When We attain this ndna there is a feeling of exaltation and ecstasy and a bucaing rage to suffer for mankind. BHAKTE ‘While Hinduism is one of the most metaphysical of religions, itis also one that can be felt and lived by the poor and the ignorant, By the pursuit of ‘Shakti or devotion we reach the same goal that is attained by jndna, The de- votees requize a concrete support to theic worship and ta believe in a personal God. Bhakit is not the love which expects to be reciprocated. Such a fove is 2 ‘human affection and no more, Prayer becomes meditation, the worshiphl loyalty of will which identifies itself with the good of the world, If you are true devotee of God you become a knowing and a vieluows soul as wel. The ‘Shakta knows how to identify himself completely with the object of devotion, bya process of sef-surrender, My self Ive rendered up to thees [Pye cast it from me utterly. Now here before thee, Lord, T stand, ‘Attentive to thy east command, ‘The self within me now is deud, ‘And thou enthroned ini steud, Yes, this, I, Tuka, testify, No longer how is‘me" of ‘my'. Nicol Macnicol, Puan of Marah Saints, 9. 79. * Chhandogya Up. vi 24 Hinduisen 8 ‘The distinction between God and worshipper is only relative, Love and knowledje-have one and the seme end. They can only be conceived as per- fected when there is an ideatily between lover and beloved, koower and knowo. wARWA Ethical obedience is also a pathway to salvation, Hinduism desices that one's life should be regulated by the conception of duties or debts which one ‘has to discharge. The debts are. fourfold: (i) To the Supreme Being. One's Whole life is to be regarded as a sacrifice to God. (i) To the seers. Hy theie austerties and meditations the sages discovered truth. We become members of a cultured gconp only by absorbing the chief elements of the cultural tiadie tion, (i) To our ancestors. We cepay these debls by having good progeny, ‘The Hindu social code does not ask us to impose an unnatural order on the world. We discover the intentious of nature in the constitution of men and women and itis our duty to act agreeably to them, Marriage is not merely of bodies but of minds, It makes us richer, more human, more truly living, and becomes the cause of greater love, deeper tenderness, more perfect under standing. Itis an achievement whick roquites discipline. IFit is not the express sion of spci, itis mere lust. There are innumerable shades between love, the spiritual unity expressed in physical unity, and lust which is mere physical aitraction without any spiritual basis, and whieh has created prostitution both within and without marriage, ‘The great love stories of the world, even when ‘they involve a breaking of human laws, are eentred, lifted up, and glorified by their fidelity, by the fuct that they do not pass, (iv) To humanity. We owe & duty to humanity which we discharge by means of hospitality and goodwill, ‘Those who adopt this view are not content with merely earning their bread 6 seeking theie comfort, but believe that they are born not for themselves but for others, Hinduisn does not believe that the use of force is immoral in all circum- stances. The Bhagavad Gita, for example, lays stress on the duties of the warrior ond the claims of the nation, There isa place for polities and heroism, but wisdom and love are more than polities and war. In order to remain with. in the bonds of # class or a nation we need not free ourselves from the bonds of humanity, Real democracy js that which gives to each man the fullness of personal life. Animals are also included under objects to be treated with com= Passion, Alife js sacred, whether of animals or of fellow men, We shudder at cannibalism and condemn the savage who wishes to indulge in this habit of four ancestors, though the slaugbtering of animals and birds for human con- sumption continues.to be regarded as right. The Hind custom allows meat. ‘cating but prefers vegetarianism. On days dedicated to religious functions meat-eating js disallowed. Our right (o take animal life is strictly limited by ‘ovr right to self-preservation and defence, ‘The true man is he in whom the mete pleasure of killing is killed. So long da it is there, man has no elaim to call himself eivitized, While Hinduism has within its fold barbarians inher! ting the habits of wild ancestors who slew each other with stone axes for a piece of ‘aw flesh, it aims at converting them into men whose hearts are charged with tun eager and unconquerable love for all that6 Hindulsm In the priestly codes tere is a tendency to confuse virlue with ceremonial purity. To Hl a oan i bad) but to toveh his corpie fs worse. The great Scriptures, however, disregard technical morality and insist on the spirit of self-control and love of humanity. To be able to fulfil the obligations expected fof man he must exercise self-control. Not only what we accept but what we renounce contributes to our making. Thireefoldis the gate of hell that destroys the self: lust, anger, and greed, We must make war upon them with the Weapons of spirit, opposing chastity to lust, love to anger, and generosity to sgreed. The Veda says: “Cross the bridges hard (o cross. Overcome anger by love, untruth by truth. The Mohabhdrata says: “The rules of dharma or virtuous conduct taught by the great seers, each of whom relied om his own iMlumination, are manifold, ‘The highest among them all is seifcontrol."* Un- fortunately, in our times, the man of selfcontrol is regarded as @ weak man”? It is for developing self-control that austerties and asceticism are practised, but when self-control is attained these rigorous practices are unnecessary. In sistence on discipline or self-control avoids the two extremes of selfindulgence and asceticism, Diseipline does not mean either the starving of the senses or the indulgence of them. There is enough scope for zepentance also. “If be repents after he commits the sin, the sin is destroyed. If he resolves that he will never commit the sia, gaia, he will be purified.” . "The sannydsi i not one who absiains from work, Meditation and action both express the sare spirit. There is no conilict between wisdom and work. “Ttis the children of this world and not the mea of learning who think of wis- dom and work as different. The peace that is won by the knower is likewise ‘won by the worker. He ees in truth who sees that wisdom and work are one," KARMA AND REBIRTH ‘The world is not only spiritual but also moral. Life is an education, In the oral sphere no less than the physical, whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. Every act produees its natural result in future character. The result of the act is not something external to it imposed from without on the actor by fan external judge but isin very tcuth a part ofthe act itself. We cannot confuse belietin karma with an easy-going fatalism. Tt is the very opposite of fatalism. Itdeletes chance, for it says that even the smallest happening has its cause ia the past aad its result in the future. It does not accept the theory of predeter- rmination or the idea of an overruling providence. If we find ourselves helpless and unbappy we ate not condemned to it by a deity outside of ourselves. The Garuda Prana says: ‘No one gives joy or sorrow. That others give us these is an erroneous conception, Our own deeds bring to us their fruits. Body of maine, repay'by suffering." God does not bestow his favours capriciously. The law of ‘morality is fundamental to the whole cosmic drama, Salvation is nota gift of ccapticious gads but isto be woa by earnest secking and self-discipline. The law +of karma holds that man can control his future by creating in the present what will produce the desired effect, Man is the sole and absolute master of his fate. Sontparso, ev 6. See Bhagavad Ga, vi. 16-18, sm Tbid. Was Pid. Hinduism ” But so Tong as he is a vietim of his desires and allows his activities to be governed by automatic attractions and repulsions bye is not exercising bis free- dom. If chains fetter us, they are of our own forging and we ourselves may rend them asunder. God works by persuasion rather than by force. Right and ‘wrong are not the saine thing and the choice we make is a real one. ‘About future life there are three alternatives possible: (i) The soul dies wit the body, since it is nothing more than a function ef physical life. Hindu re- ligion does not accept this mechanical view. (i) The soul goes either (o heaven and ctecnal bliss, of (o hell and eternal torment, aud remains there. For the Hindu, the doctrine that the soul has only one life, a few brief years, in the ‘course of which it determines for itself an eternal heaven or an eternal hell, seems unreasonable and unethical. (i) The soul may not be ft for eternal lifeand yet may not deserve eternal torment, aad so goes from life to life, This life is not the end of everything. We shall be provided with other chances. The soul does not begin with the body nor does it end with it. It pursues its long! pilgrimage through dying bodies and decaying worlds, ‘The great purpose of redemption is carsied over without break from one life to another, All systems ‘of Hindu thought accept the idea of the continuous existence of the individual ‘humian being as axiomatic. Our mental and emotional make-up js reborn with us in the next birth, forming what is called character. Our strivings and en- deavours give us the start. We need not fear that the spicitual gains ofa long andstrenuious life go for nothing. This-continuity will go on watil all souls attain their destiny of freedom, which isthe goal of human evolutiov. If there 4s not a shred of empirical evidence for it, the same is true of other theories of future life also. ‘conctuston ____,_ Brom the beginnings of Hindu history the culture has been formed by new = forces which it had to accept and overcome, in the light of its-own solid and ‘euduringideas. In every stage there is an attempt to reach a harmony. Only the ‘harmony is « dynamic one, When this dynamicharmony or organic rhytim of life is missing it means that the religion stands in need of reform, We are iow in a period of social upheaval and religious unsettlement the world over, int ‘one of those great incalculable moments in which history takes its major tums, The traditional forms are unable to express the growing sense of the divine, the more sensitive insight into the right way of life. It is weong to con fuse the technique of a religion with its central peinciples. We nivst reform the © technique so as to make it embody the fertile seeds of tcuth. In ay travels both in India and abroad I have learnt that there are thousands of men and women today who are hungry to hear the good news of the birth of a new order, eager to do and dare, ready to make sacrifices that a new society may be born, men ‘and women who dimly understand that the principles of a true religion, of a just social order, of @ great movement of generosity in human relations, domestic and industrial, economic and political, national and international, are to be found in the bssic principles of the Hindu religion, Their presence in growing numbers is the pledge for the victory of the powers of light, life, and Tove over those of darkness, death, and discord,8 Hinduism POSTSCRIPT BY THE EDITOR “The most important ecligious heritage of India from her ancient past is no doubt the doctrine of taunsmigration (samséra) which is characteristic ofall Indian religions and sharply distinguishes them from those with « Semitic ancestry, such a3 Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A few ambiguous and in- conclusive references in Vedic literature suggest that vague ideas of metem- psychosis were known even among the early Aryans, but thoughts of the afler~ life seem then to have been mainly centced on a heaven whither the souls of the righteous went on death, to feast forever with their ancestors, Among the frat fruits of the pessimism of the later Vedic period was the gnawing doubt whether even the soul of the dead might not be liable to firther death, Thus theidea emerged that Death would hound the soul from world to world (loke- loka enam mirinur vindr, Sat, Brh, xi, 3. 9). The quest for permanence, finality, and complete psychological security is very evkdent throughout the later Vedic literature, where the Vedie heaven begins to seem inadequate and Tiited, in the ight ofthe contemporary dissatisfaction. ‘A definite doctrine of teansmigration appears for the first time in the Brihadaranyakea Upanishad (vi.2, repeated with some amplification is Chhuindogya Up. v. 4-10), The tetehing here enonciated, which has certain primitive features such as do not occur in the developed doctrine of samsira, Js ascribed tothe kshatrie, Saivall Pravahana, chief of tetribe of Panchilas, ‘ho taught it to the brahman Aruni Gautama, also known as Uddilaka ‘Acani, apparently one of the most vigorous thinkers of the period (perhaps @.700'm). Another passage inthe Brihadranyaka (i. 2) els how the arent age Vajnavallya secretly taught to a questioner as a new and seeret theory the docttine of kara, that the good and evil deeds of a man automatically fuenee his state in futuce lives. “The frst of these passages suggests that the doctrine orginally appeared in non-brihmanic circles. ‘The second indicates that it circulated secretly for sometime before it became public knowledge. From the later Katha Upenishad 20-9) it appears that there: was widespread doubt at one time about ‘whether the personality survived'at all after death, and the doctrine of trans: migration is again here put forward asa new one, revealed by the god of death to the boy Nachiketas only after much importuaing. In the latest ofthe pr cipal Upanishads, however, it seems to have become widely accepted, while in the Buddhist tradition transmigration is axiomatic. There is no discussion on whether ot not the pecsonality transmigrates, but only on the mechanics by Which it does so. “The evidence forthe origin ofthis docttine is very faint. Tt may have been borrowed from non-brahman and originally non-Aryan elements in the Ganga valley, and have gained currency only aginst considerable opposition frorn contervative elements among the priesthood. The names of historical sages—Yajnavallja and Uddalaka Arunf Gantamna—ate conpected with it the traditions, How this new and secret doctrine spread in a comparatively short period of time to become universsly accepted is also quite unknown, ‘We can only suggest that it was disseminated by wandering ascetics, outside the fraternities of snerfeial priests oper rs nrg sie store gamer esac Hinduism p Once it was universally adopted, the idea of samsava, the unending, or aimost unending, passage from death to rebirth and cedeath, conditioned the «ttifues of nearly all Indians and encouraged certain tendencies in the social life of Indie. The prospect of endless rebirth in a vale of tears, even When punctuated by long periods of residence in the Heavens, was extremely dis- tasteful to nisny of the more sensitive people of the times, as it still is, and the quest for psychological security in one changeless entity where there would no longer be fear of death and rebirth was redoubled. The proliferating religious thought of the Upanishads, Buddhism, Jainism, and other less-known helero- ox movements owes much of its existence t9 the growih of this doctrine, ‘hich appears to have become universal by the time of the Buddha. ‘Transmigration must also have encouraged the doctrine of akimsa (non injury), which was specially supported by Buddhism and Jeinism in theit eam- paign against animal sacrifice, for this doctrine linked all living things to- gether in a single complex sysiem—gods, demigods, human beings, demons, ghosts, souls in torment, warm-blooded animals, even humble insects and ‘worms, all possessed souls essentially the same, The man who tried to infringe the rights of brahmans to whom Jand had been granted by the king was threatened in the tite-deed with rebirth for eighty thousand years a8 a worm fn dung. On such premisses it is understandable that the wanton killing of animals should be looked on as littl better than murder, and mest-eating as Iitle beter than cannibalism, for the ant which @ man carelessly treads on as he walks down the road may contain the soul of his grandfather. ‘The great majority of Indians sill believe in this doctrine, and the con- comitantdocttine of karma, that man is reborn in bappy or unhappy condi- tions according to his works, and these doctrines, in thelr Buddhist form, have affected more than half Of Asia, They provide a potent sanction against evil-doing, or at least against a man's infringing the ethical norms of his society, for this leads to inevitable suffering, while rigbleons conduet brings happiness to the next ie ‘Moreover the aficted can learn to accept suffering with the thought that it is not ent at the whim of fate or chance, and is not the visitetion of @ eapei= cious god, but isthe just recompense for one’s own evil deeds in past lives. ‘This doctrine is not fatalism, and does not imply that the sufferer should not tty to better his lot—rigid determinism, of the type propagated by the hetero- ox sect ofthe Ajivikas, i stcongly attacked in many classical Indian texts— Dut it makes suffering ofall kinds intelligible, and gives hope to the sufferer who bears aflition patiently. Thus, as a source of consolation, it has done much to mould the Indian character and to shape the Indian way of life, ‘A further potent factor in the moulding of the Indian mind, relic from the same axial period that produced the doctrine of transthigretion, is the concept of endless cyclic time in.a cosmos so immense that the mind boggles at con- ceiving its size. The simple and comparatively small universe of Ptolemy, Which provided the traditional world-view of later Judaism, Cheistianity, and 2° This het, outing in many copperplate grants, ges the He to those ato-Hiad apologists who declare tha its knpesibe (ot the soul inbabling man beings to fall to ‘of aa aninal, Modern Hinds and their supporters may bellove tis, Dut thas No ny classiealHladu source.80 Hinduism and ‘Chistian doctrine of linear Gime—commencing al a period some: en ee ee al mythology, legnnd, and folklore has become actor ‘the tradition not only of India, but also of most of South- E Hinduism ar {ype ofthe loyal helper striding out with his mighty club, is stil among the most popular of the lesser gods of Hinduism. He figures as the diviity of countless minor shrines throughout the length and breadth of India, aud is the personification of the strong arm of the Lord, ever ready to help the righteous io the hour of need Krishna, probably even more popular than Rama, is a divinity of a rare completeness and catholiity, mecting almost every bumman need, As the divine child be satisfies the warm imsternal drives of Indian worvankood. As the divine lover, he provides romantic wish-fulhiment in a society stil tightly controlled by ancient norms of behaviour which give litle scope for freedom of expression in sexual relations. As charfoteer of the hero Arjuna on the battlefield of Kuruksheta, he is the helper of all those who turn to him, even saving the sinner from evil rebirths, if he has sufficient faith in the Lord. Siva, the divine dancer and the divine ascetic, has a less vivid body of ogy and legend associated with him, He dwvels in the heights of Mt. a with his beautiful wife Parvati his bull Nandi, and his two sons, the clephant-headed GaneSa and the six-headed Kartikeya, Despite its superficial forbiddingness, and its bizare elements, this group of divinities forms a sort of paradigm of family life. Often worshipped in the figam, a much-formalized phallic symbol, Siva represents the eternal power tarough which the universe evolves. As the divine dancer, subject of some of the most wonderfUl bronze sculptie in the world, Siva dances new steps in neverending varity until at length ina very fierce and wild dance (tGndava), be will dance the univeree out ‘of existence, later to create a new one by yet another dance. Stories and legends like these are perhaps almost as important as the austere monism of the intellectual Adoita of Professor Radhakrisboan. Its they that have provided tho raw material for most of India’s eatly art and literature, and they have given courage and consolation in face of adversity to countless millions through the centuries. Moreover they have provided India with her main source of entertainment Hinduism has its dark side, Psychopathie selftorture has long been part of it. Byileustoms such as widow-burning, animal (and sometimes even human) sicrifee, female infanticie, ritual suicide, religious prostitution, and many others like them have in the past sometimes been practised inthe nary of the eternal Aryan dharma. But let it aot be thought that Hinduism is morbid, sloomy, or forbidding, It is fundamentally « cheer religion. In its termple courts children play unorbidden; at its temple gates the begene finds his most profitable place of business. Anclall the larger temples ate places of pilgrimage ‘on holy days, centres of jolly religious fats, to which peasants come from ‘many miles around, not generally with feelings of guilt, fear, and sn, thong ave is certainly present, but with the intention of combining Feligious business with pleasurs, just as did the pilecims of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Here they are refteshed after hard weeks of labour in the fiei’s, the burden of rmaterial care left behind in thir villages. The dust and weatiness of the road are washed avay in the ritual bath ia the sacred river or tank beside the temple. Fora while they visi he shrine and pay ther respects tothe god who, like a mighty poteatate, sits within it. As a symbol of his grace towards thema Hinduisrs they receive from an officinat the prasdda, in the form of holy water, sandal- Wood ash, or red pigment, whieh they rub on their foreheads, Then, freed from earthly care, they enjoy their holiday among their fellows, secure in the knowledge of Got’ love, as they understand it, We do not intond to disparage the Hinduisia of the intellectual and the imystio, the Hinduism of the kind expounded by Professor Radhakrishnan, Dut et us remember the other Hinduism, the Hinduism of the aztist nad poet, ith its rich mythology and legend, the Hinduism of the simple man, with ts faith, its itu, is temples, and its snered images. Both are part of India’s Beritage, and itis impossible to pronounce objectively on their relative merits or importence; but there is litle doubt which hes the more strongly afected the majority ofthe inhabitants of the subcontinent for more than 2,000 years, EES SO te cae CHAPTER VIIT Buddhism by BHIKSHU SANGHARAKSHITA ue aupoma Fon the tational point of view Buddhism begin with the tliver going for zeuge tothe Three Jevels rirana, the ida, the Doctrine (Dharma) and the Community of monks (Sangha), As the first of these, the Buddha him- tel altough there is no Tongse avy doubt about his histoel existence, the exact dates of his birth and Parnas physical death) ace atl te sue Jeet of contoversy Tn all probabilty those given bythe Ceylon ebronils, the Dipaoamsa and the Mahivansa (exladig its continustion the Cifavan, the dates of which are sity yeas Out, equivalent to 63-483 Bc ae nt foo far wrong "The events of hs life are fo wellknown tobe recounted in detail. Born at Lumbini, in the territory of the Sikya republic, of wealthy patrician stock, he went fori "from home into the Homeess lt athe 2ge of twenty-nine, ined Supreme Enlightenment at Boda Gaya atthe age of thityfive, td psd aay at Kosinagea athe age of eighty. Duriog bis etic hit tenting spread throughout the kingdoms of Magadia and Kostle Corte sponding to the modern south bihir and eastern Uttar Pradest, as wells fa {he cieumjacent principalities and epublics, His dseipes were recruited from all laser of rose, and insivded both men and women. Besies instructing ‘an extensive circle of lay adherents, he trained a smaller, more select band of monks and-nune who contiuted the Sangha proper and upon whom, aftr the Pavinirna, the esponsibility for catying on bis mission mainly de- volved. "is personality, as it emergés from the ancient records, was a unique eom- bination of gay and aflabilty, viedom and hindlines, Together with @ majesty that awed and daunted kings he appears to have possessed a tender- ness thet could stoop to comfort the beresved and console the aficted, His Serenity was unshakable, bs self-confidence untaling. Ever mindful and sel postesed, fe faced opposition and hostily, even personal danger, with the Gm and compassionate el that hes lingered down the ages. fn debate he tas urbane mid courteoes, though not without a vein of iony, and almost invariably succeeded in wing over hie opponent, Such was his sucess in this direction, that he wa accuted of encing people by means of spell. ~ In addition to the ‘historical facts’ of the Buddha's carcer, notice must be taken ofthe myths and legend from whieh, in the traditional lographies, these facts are inseparable. When Buddhism ict eats within the purview of Westemlearningitmes generally ssomed that myth and legend were ynon)- tnoos with fetion and that, except ae ilusteations of primitive mentality, they Were vatles, Since then we have begun to know Better Some inekents fa84 Buddlison the Buddba’s biography, such a6 those in which he exercises supernormal ‘powers, may be based of actual occurrences recorded with legendary accre- tions. Others apparent relate tow diferent order of reality and a different type of truth altogether, being poctic rather than scicalife statements of psychological processes and spiritual experiences, Yet others ace in the aature ofilluminations caused by the tremendous impact of the Buddhe’s personality ‘on the minds of his disciples, and express the greatness of that personality subjectively interns of the feelings of rapturous adoration whic it evoked, “This introduces the great question ofthe alleged ‘deifcation’ of the Buddha. According to some modern scholors the Buddha was a human teacher whom ‘the devotion of his followers turned into a god, or God. Based as itis on assumptions quite diferent from those of Buddhism, such an interpretation of an important doctrinal development must be rejected outright. Within the context of @ non-theistc religion the concept of deifcation bas no meaaiag, ‘The Buddha claimed to be a fully elightened human being, superior even 10 the gods, and as such he has invariably been regarded, Since he was alzeady the highest being in the universe there remained no higher position to which he could subsequently be exalted. What roally happened was that, since Buddbists believed thatthe Buddba had realized the ‘ruth, thereby becoming its embodiment and eymbol, absolute Realty came to be iaterpreted con- cretely in terms of Buddhahood and its attributes, as well as abstractly in terms of dinyatd,tathar, etc. At the same time the devotion with which the Buddha was worshipped ives analogous to that which, in the thestc religion, is the prerogative of the Creator, ‘Thus there is no question ofthe deiication ofa teacher whom his contemn- porary followers looked on as ‘merely human’; bener we must also dismiss ‘the Buddba was in reality an ethical teacher like Socrates or Confucius, a rationalist, a bumanist, a social reformer, and s0 08. ‘THE DHARMA ‘The word Dizarma probably bas more meanings than any other term in the entire vorabulary of Buddhism. As the second of the three Refuges it has been variously translated as Law, Truth, Doctrine, Gospel, Teaching, Norm, and True Idea, all of which express some aspect of its total significance. To the ‘West the Dharma is known as Buddhism, and the question has often been asked whether itis a religion or a philosophy. Te answer is that so long as religion is thought of ia exclusively theistic terms and philosophy remains divorced from any Kind of ethical and spititual discipline, Buddhism i neither, ‘The general characteristies of the Dharma are summarized in an ancient stereotype formula which occurs repeatedly in the sifras and which is still widely used for liturgical purposes. The Dharma is well taught; it belongs to the Lord, not to any other teacher; its results, when itis put into practice, are visible in this very life; itis timeless; it invites the inquirer to come and see personally what i is likes itis progressive leading from lowar to higher states of existence, and itis to be understood by the wise each one for himself *'5yakkbito bhagavald dhammo sandithiko akaliko ehipassiko epanayiko paceatiam veditabbho vaadhi nature of existence Budhisni as ‘The Dharma consists of various doctrines or teachings. These sepresent neither speculative opinions nor generalizations from limited range of spiritual oxpecience, but ao, forthe Buddhist, conceptual formulations ofthe seen by 2 flly enlightened Being-who, out of compas- sion, makes knowa to humanity the ruth that he has discovere Its inthis sense that Buddhisia may be termed a revelation. According to the most ancient canonical accounts of eral episode, the teuth, lav, or principle whic the Buddha pereeived atthe time of his Entightenment—in the percep tion of whi, indeed, tht Enlightenment conssted--and which, on aeeoua of its abstuscoess, he was at fst celvetant to disclose to a passion vidden seoeration, was that of the ‘conditionally co-producedness”(paticea-sannp- parva) of things. Conditioned Co-production is, therefore, the basic Buddhist Aoctrne, recognized and taught as such fire by the Budlna and his immediate disciples and thereafter throughout the whole course of Buddhist history. Questioned by Seriputra, then & non-Buddhist wanderer, only afew months after the Enlightenment, about his Master's teaching, the Arhant Aérajt r- plies in a resounding verse that has echoed down the centuries as the credo of Buddhism: ‘The Tathagata has explained the origin of those things which proceed from a cause, ‘Their eesetion too he has explained, This is the doctrine of the great Sramana.’* Elsewhere the Buddha clearly equates Conditioned Co-production with the Dharma and both with himself, saying: “He who sees Conditioned Co-preduction sees the Dharma; he who sees the Dharma sees the Buddha"? As interpreted by the gifted early Buddhist 20 Dbammediand, whose views wete fully endorsed by the Buddha withthe remark that he had nothing Further fo acto them, the doctrine of Conditioned Co-production represents analcinchsive realty tbat admits of two eiterent tends of things inthe whole of existence. In one of them the reaction takes place in a cyclical order between tov opposites, such as pleasure and pain, virtue and vice, good and evil. Tn the other the reaction takes place ina progressive order between two counier= parts or complements, or between {wo things ofthe same genus, the cuoceed- ing factor augmenting the effect ofthe preseding one, The Santa or Round ‘of Concitioned Existence represents the fist rend, Firein, as depicted by the “Wheel of Life’, sentient beings under the influence of cfaving, hatred, and bewilderment revolve as gods, men, demons (astiras), animals, ghosts (pretas), and denizens of hell in accordance with the law of karma, and experience “pleasure and pain, ‘The process is'set forth briefly in the frst and second of the Four Aryan ‘Truths, the Truth of Suffering and the Truth of the Origin of Suffering, and at ength in the full list of twelve nfddnas oF links, which is often, though wrongly, regarded as exhausting the entire content of Conditioned Co- production, Conditioved by spiritual ignorance (avidya) arise the karma Formations (samskara); conditioned by the karma-form sciousness (binana); conditioned by consciousness ari 2°Ye dharma hetuprablava betur fesbientatbigatah hyavadat, Tee ca yo airodha ‘ranwvadl manasramanah.” 5S*Yah pratiyasamolptdam pasyat sa dharmam pasyati; yo dharmam padyath so Bude nam payatie86 Buddhism (ndmecripa; conditioned by name-and-form arse the sx sense-ields (shady ‘atana); conditioned by the six sense-fekls arises contact (sparéa); conditioned bby contact arses feeling (vedand); conditioned by feeling arises thirst (risa) conditioned by thirst arises grasping. (xpddana); conditioned by grasping arises ‘becoming’ (bhdua); conditioned by ‘becoming’ arises birth (jari}; and conditioned by birth arises decay-and-death jaramarana), with sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despai. These twelve links are distributed over thee lifetimes, the first ivo belonging tothe past lie, the middle eight to the present, and the last to to the fature. The Path to Deliverance and Nirvéna together represent the second trend, Nirvana being not only # counter-process of cessation of the cyclic order of ‘existence ({2, the twelve links in reverse ordes) but the furthest discernible point of the progressive one, This process is sot forth briefly in the third and fourth Aryan Truths, the Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Nirvana) and the ‘Truth of the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering, as well as at Jength in another set of twelve links which is contionovs with the fist one in the same way that a spiral winds out of a cigcle, Conditioned by sullering (dutkha, the ‘decay-and-death’ ofthe fis ist) arises fith Grad); o tioned ‘by faith arises delight (pramodye); conditioned by delight (iti); conditioned by joy arson serenity (prairabdh); conditioned by sere iy aces bis uta); conditioned by bls arises conceatretion (samadhi); conditioned by concentration arises knowledge and vision of things as they really ate (athibhita-jrdnadartona); conditioned by knowledge and vision of things as they realy are arises disgust (nro, nirveda); conditioned by disgust arises dlspasston (fraga); conditioned by dspassionases liberation (oti); and conditioned by liberation arises knowledge ofthe destruction of the in- toxicants (asravakshaya-jndna). The whole process can be experienced within a single lifetime, The Pat ig usually formulated, however, not in terms of the twelve ‘higher’ links but ia various other ways, such as the Three ‘Trainings (ridksha), or Morality (sie), Meditation (samddhi), and Wisdom (prajna); the Aryan Eightfold Path; andthe Six or Ten Perfections (Paramitd). Despite the fact thatthe connection ofthese formulations with the doctrine of Con- Jitioned Co-produtction is often lst sight of, the fact that the Path is essenti~ ally. sequence of progressively higher mental and spiritual states, and that the practice of the Dharma consists above all in the cultivation ofthese slates, is in all of thom made euficiently clea for practical purposes ‘As the doctrine of Conditioned Co-production is not a theory of edusation in the philosophical senso, there is no question of whether, in the case of either ‘the Round or the Pat, the succeeding link is ideatical with the preceding one ‘of different from it. The Buddhist position is simply that conditioned by, oF in dependence on A, there arises B, To say either that A and B ate identical, ‘or that they are diferent, isan extreme view, leading in one ease to eternalism (Sasvataviida) and in the other to nihilism (ucchedavada). Por Buddbism neither theeategory of being nor the category of non-being possesses ultimate validity ‘The Dharma is the Mean, As applied to the process of Conditioned Co- production this signifies that the one who is reborn and the one who died, and. the one who gains Pnlightenment and the one who followed the Path, are in reality neither the same nor diflzent persons. Rebirth takes place but nobody Buddhism: 87 I [is reborn; Nirvéna is attained, but nobody attains it, Ths the doctsne of E Conditioned Co-production involves that of endimd or nest iia banca he last of the thre Refoges isthe Seoghe, fn its primary senge this means ihe siya-Sangha, or Assembly of the Elst, consisting ofall those who have Es; sticceeded in traversing at least that stage ‘of the Path whence retrogression fo the Round for more then seven kerma-resultant births ie inapossibl {Such ate the Stream Entrant, the Once-Returners, the Non-Retarners, the oF Arhnots, and the Bodbisatvas- f#/Byen as the Boddhais symbolized by the sacred icon ané the Dharma by the © handwritten or printed volumes of the Serptuces, 0 the Arya Snoghe i r- {fe pissnted for practical purpose, bythe Bist Sangha or Order of Monks. E ‘This great insdtuton, whieh with the possible exception of it Jain counter- part is the oldest surviving religious order in the world, came into existence within a fow months of the Buddha's Enlightenment, It consisted—and J ideally sill consisis—of those of the Buddha's followers who, Having re: [ tiounced the household life, devote the whole of their time and all theic ‘eniergies.to the realization of Nirvaoe. Like the Dharma, the Sangha passed ~ through various stages of development, At fics, ducing the eatly lifetime of the Founder, the Sikyapuica Sramanas, as they were called, remained out- y wardly indistinguishable from the other religious fraternities of the time, © What in fact set them apart was the special Dharma they professed. They, too, were of eleemosynary and eremitical habit, assembled twice a month on the days of the full moon and new moon, were of fixed residence during the rains, and so on. The second period of development may have started before ‘the Parinirvana. It saw the compilation of a Rulle of 150 acticles knowa as the "> Prdtimoksha, the recitation of which replaced the original chanting of Dharma- Stanzas atthe fortaightly assemblies. Finally, the Sangha became coenobitical, whereupon the primitive undivided ‘Bhiksbu-Sangha of the Four Quarters’ » split up into a number of virtually autonomous focal communities, and the sPratimoksha had to be supplemented by the Skandhakas or complete insti tutes of eoenobitical monasticism. All these developments occurred within the space of about wo cealuries. Prétimokshe and Skandhakas together con- stitute the Vinaya, 2 teem originally connoting simply the practical or dis- ‘iplinary aspect of the Dharma. Parallel withthe Bhiksbu-Sangha there developed the Bhiksfueté- Sangha or 2+) Order of Nuns. But according to the tradition the Buddha was reluctant to ={f sllow women to go forth into the homeless life and, in the history of Indian j-Buddhism at least, the Bhikshuat-Sangha plays an insigaificant part. elm a more general senso the Sangha comprises the.entire Buddhist com- ‘munity, sanctified and unsanctified, the professed religiewe and the lay de- (© votees, men and women, As such it is sometimes known as the Afahdsangha ‘of ‘Great Assembly’. Lay devotees (updrakas and upasikas) are those who go [Eos refuge to the Three Jewels, worship the relics of the Buddha, Dbserve the : Five Precepts of ethical behaviour, and support the monks, {The growth of coenobitical monasticism naturally encouraged the de- velopment within the Sangha of different regional traditiois which, after8 Buddhism being consolidated into distinct versions of the Dharma, eventually emerged as independent sects. Thus a century or more after the Parinirvana tensions arose between the monks of the east and the monks of the west; and the ‘Mehisanghikas, who were more sympathetic (othe spicitual needs of the lity, seceded from the Sthavirauidins (more commonly known as Theravédins, the Pali form of the name) who tended to interpret the Dharma in exclusively monastic terms, This was the first formal schism within the Sangha. During the contucy that followed the Sthaviravading subdivided twice, First came the schism of the Pudgalavadins, who believed ia the existence of the person as a real absolute fact; then that of the Sarwastivddins, who asserted the real existence of the ultimate elements of experience (dharma) throughout the three periods of time. Ia this way there had ariten, by the time of ASoka, four independent monastic corporations, cach with its own centres, its own ordination-lineage, its own orally transmitted version of the Dharma, its owa distinctive tenets, and its own peculiarities of outward observance. Together ‘with their respective sub-civisions, the four make up the so-called “ighteen Sects" (actually there were many more) of early Buddhism, Tn contradistinction to the Mahdycina, ‘The Great Vehicle’, the seeds of Which were transmitted by the Mabasanghikas and their offshoots, all the other sects, but especially the Sarvastivadins, were retrospectively desigoated the Hinayana, "The Inferior Vehicle’. THE ORAL TRADITION tis well known that the Buddha himself wrote nothing, Spiritual influence and personal example apart, his teaching was communicated entirely by oral ‘means, through discourses (0, and discussions with, his disciples and members of the public, as well as through iespired spantanedus utterance, Whilé we do ‘not definitely kxiow what language he spoke, it would appear that he rejected the more ‘classical’ Sanskrit in favour of the vernacular, especially the dialects of Kofala and Magadha. Wiien two monks ‘of cultivated language and eloquent speech” complained that monks of various names, clan-nam¢ ‘and races (or castes) were corrupting the Buddha's message by repeating it in their owa dialects, and asked for permission to put it into Vedic verse he firmly rejected their petition. ‘Deluded, ment’, he exclaimed, “How can you say this? This will not lead to the conversion of the unconverted’, And he delivered a sermon and commanded all the monks: "You are not to put the Buddha's message into Vestic. Whoever does so shall be guilty of an offence. Lauthorize you, monks, to leara (and teach) the Buddha’s message each in his, own dialect (eakkaya niruttiya)." In order to impress his teaching upon the minds of his auditors, as well as to facilitate its dissemination, he moreover had recourse to the repetition of key words and phrases, the drawing up of numbered lists of terms, and other mnemonic devices. All these facts are of far-reaching consequence. In the first place, the Dharma having been orally taught, there intervened between the Parinirvana of the Buddba aud the coremitting of his teaching to writing a period of oral transmission lasting two or three centuries in the ease of some scriptures, and fr “Vinay Phe, 3 Budden 89 ‘much fongér in the case of others. Then the fact that the monks had been authorized to learn and teach the Buddha's message in their own dialects meant that the Dharma was from the beginuing.extantin a number of inguisticforms, so that, when finaly it did come to be written down, this wes done not in one Janguage only but in many. Thus, it is said, the Canon of the Mabasanghikas yas in Prakeit, that of the Sthaviravadins in Paisact, that of the Pudgalavadins in. Apabhirama, and that of the Sarvastivadins in Sanskrit. + Hence when’ Buddhism spread outside India it came about that the ‘Scriptures were translated into the language of these countries where the ‘message was preached, into Chinese, Tibetan, Uighur, and so on. At no time, {not even when Buddhism was confined to north-enstesa India, was there any {one canonical language for all Buddhists. The attempts made by some writers ‘to present Pali as such are mistaken. The word pali, meaning a line of the sacred text, isin fact not the name of a language at all, and the "Pali? Canon ‘of. Ceylon is probably Middle Indie recension of a version of the Tripiraka ‘eriginatiog in western India. The historical accideot of its being the only ‘Indian canon to have survived complete in the original language should not cause us to overestimate its importance, much less still to regatd its excellent but selective contents as the sole criterion of what is and what isnot Buddbism. Finally, when the oral tradition was reduced to writing, the mnemonic de Yyices employed by the Buddiia and his disciples for the transmission of the ‘Dharma were responsible for giving the Scriptures as literary documents cer ‘tain distinctive characteristics, [Tif CANONICAL LITERATURE 1) Wit the exception of the Pali Canon, the actual writing down of which took place in Ceylon, and certain Mahayana siiras that may have been composed Sa. Centeal Asia or even in China, the canonical literature of Buddbism is of exclusively Indian provenance. Where, when, and ia what circumstances the ‘thousands of individual texts of which it consists were ist committed to writ- sing isin most cases unknowa, All that can be afiemed with certainty is that the canonical literature carve into existence over period of roughly a thousand, years, from the ist (0 the tenth century ofthe Christian era, as a series of deposits froma the oral tradition the tendency apparently bsing forthe sore exoteri teachings to be committed to writipg before the more esoteric “cones. Even ducing the period of oral tradition the complete words of the iudaha were retested to s the Trpitaka, the three "baskets' or collections of the Buddha's words. These three are the Vinaya Pluaka, the Stra Paka ad © be Abhidiarma Pitaka, Together wit the Tantras they make up the four chief “divisions of the canonical writings. ‘The word viiaya, meaning ‘that which Jeads away from (evi), stands for [2 thepracteal or esitnary aspect of Buddhism, and he Vina ake co sprses the Collection of (Monastic) Discipline. Ia the form ia which itis now ‘extant it coasists essentially of two parts, the Vinaya-vibhanga and the Vinayo-oasty, together with historical and ‘catechetical supplements, The " Vinayo-uibhavga ox “Exposition of the Vinaya’ vontains the Pratinokshax [strain 150 atticles and its commentary the Sitra-vidhanga, one Work being Joo) embedded in the otber, While the former ensbodies the various categories of9° Buddiom rules binding upon members of the eremitical Sangha, the later gives a word~ for-word explanation of each rule and narrates the circumstances in which it came to be promulgated, The Vinaya-vastu contains the Skaxdtakas or “The Chapters’, of which there are seventeen or more according to the individuel recension, These comprise the complete institutes of coencbitical monastic- ism, and deal with such topics as ordination, the Poshadha or fortnightly smecting, the rains residence, medicine and food, robes, dwellings, and schism. Inter alia the Vinaya Pliaka records not only the regula of the monastic life but also, in the words of the pioneer scholar Csoma de Kérés, ‘the manners, ‘customs, opinions, knowledge, ignorance, superstition, hopes, and fears of a great part of Asia espocially of India in former ages’s Together with the ‘Suira Picaka itis one of our riches! sources of information on the civilization ‘and culture, the history, geography, sociology, and religion of India at about the time of the Buddia. In the Buddhist world there are now extant seven complete recensions of this collection, one in Pali and six from Sanskrit. ‘These are essentially alternative arrangements of the same basic material and differ mainly in the extent to which non-mongstic matter has been incorpor- ated, Theexistence, however, of the Mahivastu Avadna, a bulky Vinaya work of the Lokottaravadins (a sub-sect of the Mahisanghikas) which is not 9 dis- ciplinary work at all but a life of the Buddha ia which numerous legends have ‘een inserted, suggests that the original nuclevs of the Vinaya wes a primitive biography of the Buddha in which the monastic elements themselves were a later, though still very karly, interpolatio ‘The stra, literally a thread, and hence by extension of meaning the ‘thread of discourse connecting a number of topics, is perhaps the most important and characteristic of all Buddhist literary geores, It is essentially a religious discourse delivered by the Buddha as it were ex cathedra to one or more dis ciples, whether members of the Sangha, Bodhisattvas, lay devotees, ordinary people, or gods, The Sitra Piraka is thus the Collection of Discourses, and Constitutes the principal source of our knowledge of the Dharma. Some dis- ‘courses are either parily or wholly ia dislogue form. Others are delivered not by the Buddha but by disciples speaking either with his approval or under his inspiration, Broadly speaking the sitras belong to two groups, Hinayéna and. Mahiyina, the latter being those discourses which were not recognized as, authentic by the followers of the Hinayfna schools, thovgh the couiverse was not the case. Tht Hinayina sfitras comprise four great collections known as Agama: ia Sanskeit' and Nikdyas in Pali. The Dirghigama (Digha Nikaya) or ‘Tong’ collection contains, as its name suggests, the lengthy discoufses, thirty in number, while the Madhyemagama (Majhina Nikayc) ot * Middle* coltec- tion contains those of medium length, of which there are about five times 2s, ‘many. These collections ate the most important. The Samyuktagana (Samyut- ta Nikaye) or Grouped” collection contains some thousands of very short sitras arranged accdrding to subject, and the Pkottardgama (Aiguitara Nikaya) or ‘Numerical’ collection a similar number of texts arranged according to the progressive numerical value of the terms and topics dealt with. Both collec tions draw partly on the rst two Agamas and partly from original, sometimes extremely ancient, sources, The Pali Canon also contains a Kiuddaka Nikaya ‘Quoted A. C, Banerjee, Sarena Literature, Cleulle, 1957, P.79- Budhiom Py [or *Minor* collection, consisting of works such as the Dkammapada, the ‘Dhara and TherF-gathd, and the Jatakas, which are found in Sanskrit, ether “elsewhere ia the Canon, mostly in the Vinaya Pitaka, ot outsie it as inde- pendent quasi-canonical works, "The Mahiiyina s0tras ate distributed into six great collections, the fist five ‘of which represent natural divisions, while the Inst consists of miscellaneous _cindependent works, First comes the group of Prajndparanita or ‘Perfection of Wisdom” siteas, of which there are more than thirly, ranging in length from “oie thousands of pages t6 a few lines, Their principal subject-matter is © Sinyatd or Voidness, ant the Bodhisattva as the practitioner of Voidness, and £25. they are among the profoundestspirtuel documents known to mankind, The 51% *. Yajracchedika, popularly known as the ‘Diamond Sara’, forms one of the * Pshorter texts inthis class. The Avatamsaka or ‘Flower-Oreament’ group con “sists principally of three enormous and complex discourses of that name, one “of which, also known as the Gandaoyiiha o: ‘Workd-Array” Sitra, deseribes >the spiritual pilgrimage ofthe youtb Sudhiana, who in his search for Enlighten iient visits more than fiNy teachers. In a boldly imaginative manner it ex- “pounds the mutual interpenetration of all phenomena. The Dafabhiimika ‘tira, dealing withthe ten stages of the Bodhisattva’s career, also belongs to ~ P2this group. The Ratnakita and Mohdsamipava groups are both made up of veh shorter sitras, the former including such Valuable and historically im- portant works as the Vinalakirnirdesa or “Exposition of Vimalakicti* and ‘the longer SuthavaiFoyitha or ‘Atray of the Happy Land". As its name sug- gest, the Nirvana or Parinicvana group deals with the Buddha’ last days and bis final admonitions to his disciples. The sixth and last group, that ofthe mis- cellancovs independent works, includes some of the most important and ix Mfucatial ofall Mshiyans sutras. Among them are the grandiose Saddharma- ‘pundarika or “White Lotus of the Good Law’, which presents in dramatic and “parabolic form the main teuths of the Mahiyéna, the Lankdoatdra, an ine systematic exposition of the doctrine of Mind-Only, and the shorter Sut vati-ayiha, in which is taught salvation by faith in Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light. Abhidhariva means “about Dharma’, though (ragitionally the term was often interpreted as ‘higher Dharma’ in the sense of « philosophically more ‘exact exposition of the Teaching. The Abhidharma Pitaka is a collection of highly scholastic treatises whieh annotate and expla the texts of the Stra Pilake, define techoical terms, arrange numerically-clissifed doctrines in -! order, give a systematic philosophicel exposition of the teaching, and estab- Selish a consistent method of spiritual practice, Above all, they interpret the ‘Dharma in terms of strict pluralistic realism and work out an elaborate “philosophy of relations. Two different Abhidharma Pitakas have come down 2"to us, one compiled by the Theravidins and one by'the Sarvastivadins. *d eontsins seven treatises whieh, though covering sihilar ground in @ “Hmanner, ate really two independent sets of works, ‘Among the Theravada treatises the most impottant are the Dhamma ‘gant o- "Enumeration of (Ultimate) Elements" and the gigantic Parthina ‘(Book of) Origination’. The most important Sarvistivida work is the en syelopedie Indna-prasthana or Establishment of Kaowledge’, which i knowa2 Buddhism as the kayaséstra or “rank treatise, the others being the pada-tastras or imbs". According to Theravada tradition the Abhidharma Pitaka is eanonical nasauch as, though the details ate the work of disciples, the maikas or ‘matrices of discourse’ were laid down in advance by the Buddha, Sarvisti- vada tradition estibes the treatises to individual authors. The philosophical Writings of the great Mahiylna sages, such as Nagijuna and Asonga, which Sland in the same relation to the Mabéyana sUtvas as the Abhidbarma treaties do to their Hinayana counterparts, are sometimes refecred to as the Malayan Abhidharma; bat, although immensely authoritative, they were never collected into a Plaka. TThe Tantras ate the most esoteric of the canonical texts. The word itself, Gerived from a root meaning "to spread’, is applied to a variety of treatises, and affords no clue to the contents of these works, While resembling the satras in literary form, they differ feora them in dealing with ritual and yoga rather than with ethics and philosophy and in being unintetigible without the (aditional commentary. Moreover, the techniques they prescribe ean be practised only when, through the rte of abhifeka or ‘aspersion’, the requisite Epirtaal power has been transmitted to the disciple by a spiritual master in the succession. How many Tantras were oxiginally published itis impossible to say. Standard editions of the Tibetan Kavjur contain twenty-two huge dylograph volumes of these works, to which must be added twenty-five Yolumes of so-called Nyingmapa Tantras, Some Tontas exist in various de- fress of expansion and contraction, cach set of stich recensions making up f& complete Tantric Cycle, the publication of which is associated with the rname of a particular Siddia or “Perfect One", “The greater pact ofthis enormous literature is now available only i transla- tion, the priuepal collections being the Imperial Chinese Tripitaka and the "Tibetan Konjur or *Tratslated Werd (of tho Buddba)’. Within the lst hun- red years, however, a number of Sanskrit Buddhist texts, both canonical and non-canonical, have come to light in Gilgit (Pakistan) and been recovered from the sands of Central Asia. While the value of the Buddhist canonical Titerature wil always be priaarly spicitual, much of it provides, a the ome time, a useful corrective to any view of the social, cultural, and religious his- tory of India derived exclusively from brabmanical sources. PHASES OF DEVELOPMENT From the Parinirvana of the Buddha fo the sack of Nalanda (6. 1197) Indian Buddhism passed through three great phases of development, tradi tionally known as the Hinayana, the Mahayana, and the Vajrayana, each with its own characteristics and its own spiritual ideals, These phases were not mutually exclusive, The earlier ynas, besides continuing (0 exist as inde- pendent schools, were also incorporated in the later ones and regarded as constituting, with modifications, their indispensable theoretical and practical foundation. ‘The Hinayana, ‘Little Vehicle* oc ‘Lower Way’, was so called, by the Mahi yanists because it teaches the attainment of salvation for oneself alone. It is predominantly ethico-psychological in character and its spiritual ideal is Buddhism 93 ‘embodied in the austere figure of the Arhant, a person in whom all eraving is extinct, and who will no more be reborn, While mindfulness, self-control, ‘equanimity, detachment, and the rest ofthe ascetic virlues are regarded as in= dispensable, in the final analysis emancipation (nokta) is attained through in- sight into the transitory (anita) and painful (duhkha) nature of conditioned things, as well ag into the non-selfhood (nairdimyatd) of all the elements of ‘existence (dharmas), whether conditioned or unconditioned. This last consists :sviwthe realization that personality is illusory, and that, far from being a sub- = stantial entity, the so-called "I’ is only the conventional label for a congeries fof evanescent material and mental pracesses. At the price of complete with- aval from all worldly concerns emancipation, or Atlantship, is attainable in this very birth. ‘The Hinayana therefore insists upon the necessity of the monastic life, with, ‘which, indeed, it tends to identify the spiritual life altogether. The laity simply observe the more elementary precepts, worship therrelies of the Buddha, and suppor! the monks, by which means merit (punya) is accumulated and rebirth in heaven assured. As for the difference between Buddha and Arant, it is ‘only # matter of relative priority of attainment, and of relative extent of supernormal powers, The most widespread and influential Hinayina schoo! UC fatanter ume eo that ofthe Sarvasviins, who were greatly devoted to Fh" IReatudy ano propagttion of the abbidharia‘They were ter aso known as [eo the Vahashilan the Fiachea being the gigante commentary on the nana 5 paathdna which had been compled by the leaders of tie seo in Kasht dling the first or second century of the Christian ere, The contents of the Vibhasha ate systematized and explained in Vasubandhu's Abkidharma-Kosa of Treasury of the Abtidharma, 2 work which represents the culminetion of { Hivayane thought and has exetcsed enormous historical influence. The com: rentary incorporates Sauteintika views, thus not only bridging the gap between the Hinayana and the Mahayana but paving the way for Vasuban- ddhu's own conversion to the latter yng. ‘The Mahayang, literally “Great Vehicle or ‘Great Way’ is so called be- cause it teaches the salvation of all, Predominantly devotional and meta physical in character, its ideal is the Bodhisattva, the beroic being who, practising the six or ten Perfections (pdramita)thcoughout thousands of lives, pies 0 the allainment of Buddhahood for the sake ofall sentient beings erspectives infinitely vaster than those of the Hnayana are hete disclosed ‘the eaclet vehicle is regarded by the Mahayanists not as wrong but only as adequate, the provisional rather than the final teaching, given out by the judd to disciples of inferior calibre whom a sudden revelation of the trans- gendent glories ofthe Mahayana might have stupefied rather than enlightened Ta the Mahiyéna Arhantship, far from being the highest achievement, i “ froaly a slage of the path; the tcue goal is Supreme Buddhahood. This is “achieved not merely by piercing the gross vel of passions (kesévarand) by i- (ight into the non-selfhood ofthe person (pudgala-nairatmnya) but, in edition, jE by piercing the subtle veil of cognizable objects (jueyidvarana) by the realiza~ 15 ton thatthe so-called ultimate elements of which, according to the Hinayana, [the person consist, are only meatal constructs and, therefor, themselves de- void of selfhood (darma-nairéinya) and uateal. Ta this radical manner the94 Buddhism Mahdydna reduces all possible objects of experience, whether internal or ex- ternal, to the Void (Stnyata), which is not a state of non-existence or privalion ‘but rather the ineffable noa-dual Reality which transcends all apparent oppo- sitions, such as being and non-being, self and others, Samira and Nirvana, Expressed in more positive terms, ail things exist in a stale of suchness oF thusness (fazhard) and, since this is one suchness, also in a state of sameness (samara), \ On the mundane level the polarity of the Sangha anil the layfolk represents 4 socio-ecclesiastical rather than a spiritual division, all followers of.the Buddha being united through their common devotion to the Bodhisattva ideal, Faith, as a means of attaining Balightenment, ranks co-ordinate with ‘Wisdom. The Buddha is regarded not only as an enlightened being but also as the embodiment of the ‘Truth and Reality behind the wniverse, Besides being ‘endowed with threo Bodies (trikdya), the Dharmakiya or Body of Truth, the ‘Sambhogakaya or Body of Reciprocal Enjoyment, and the Nirmdnakiya ot Crested Body, corresponding to the absolute, the celestial, and the mundane planes of existence, he has various forms and attributes, These are the different Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, such as Amitabhe, the Buddha of Infinite Light, ‘and Manjuési, Avalokitesvara, and Vajrapani, the Bodhisattvas of Wisdom, Compassion, and Power respectively, around each of whom there centres popular cult Jn the field of philosophy the Mahiiyana is represented by the two great schools of the Mddhyamikas and the Yogaearins, the frst founded (or eather systematized) by Nagarjuna (c,150.a.p.) and the second by Asanga (c. 4004.0). Both are based primarily on the doctrine of Siinyatd as taught in the Perfection cof Wisdom sitras; but there are important differences of approach which give o cach their special character, The Madhyamikes or followers of the Mean ‘emphasize Wisdom, and their method is dialectical. They reduce mind and ‘matter direetly to Sinyata, the truth of which is revealed by exposing the self- contradictory nature of all statements about the Absolute, The Yogicdrins or practitioners of Yoga, on the other hand, sizess Meditation, and 1 proach is intuitive. They reduce matter to mind and them m the trath of which dawns upon: the purified consciousness in the depths of ‘meditation, In later centuries the two teachings were sometimes regarded as constituting one continuous’ doetsinal system, wherein the Yogacara repre. sented the relative and the Madhyamika the absolute truth. The Vajrayana, the ‘Diamond Vehicle" or “Adamantine Way’, isso eslled because, like the iresstible vara, meaning both thunderbolt and’ diamond, it immediately annihilates all obstacles to the attainment of Buddhaliood. It is predominantly yogic and magical in character, and its deal is the Siddha, ‘a man who is so much in harmony with the cotmos that he is under no con- straint whatsoever, and as a free agent is able to manipulate the cosmic forces both inside and outside himself™.* Except that it aims at the reslization of Sinyatd not only mentally but also physically, the Vajrajane differs from the Mahayana less in respect of doctrine than in its methods. Its goal js the trans- mutation of the body, speech, and mind of the initiate into the Rody, Speech 1. Conte, A Short History of Butéhiom, Bombay, 1960, px. Budedions 9s and Mind of the Tathagata, that is to say, into the Nirmnakaya, the Sambhe gakdya, and the Dharmakaya. tn the case of the Lower Tantea itis believed ‘hat this teansmutation can take place in sixteen lives, and in that of the {2 ipietuel power from an eniightened guru. For this reason the gura occupies Ia Sp the Valrayina an even more exalted position then inthe olfer yanan. being _ tegarded as the Buddha himelf in human guise, Various forms af Vajrayane be distinguished. These are not docttinal schools but lines of spinval ¢itansmission which, so far as the human plane is concerned, originated with fe or another of the eighty-four Siddhas, prominent among whom were Padmasambbava or Padmakara and Sarahapade, i §tne semeruay vive E+, While the experience of enlightenment is instantaneous, the approach to it i always gradual. In Buddbiom, therefor, the spriual life consists essentially tthe following of a path, the successive steps and stages of which have becy, = gluchlly mapped out by tradition in accordance withthe spititual exparience * ‘ofthe Buddhs and his iseiples, both immediate and remote, As temperaments {jfind methods of practico difer, this path can be formulated in various Ways ‘and the number and order of its constituent factors determined and deserieod {fom various points of view. Thus it comes abit that we have not only the ‘Aryan Fightfold Path, and the Path of the Ten Perfections and Ten Stages = {wo ofithe best-knovn formulations—but also the Path as consisting of seven ages of purification, thirteen ‘abodes" (okra), fifty-two yay, and $0 One fhe list beiog practically interminable, What we may cal We architectonic of {ihe Path, however, does not vary, just as different types of bridges, builtin _fesordance with the same principles of mechanies and for the same purpose, {foveal the same basic structure. This architectoni is most clearly exhibiied a ‘he formula of the Theee Trainings (titksha, narncly Mocalty (la), Medita, {ion (camddhi), and Wisdom (pra), which according to one tradition vas she recurrent theme of the discourses delivered by the Buddha during his eet 24 4btr and concerning which he is represented as declaring, “Great become the i situ, great the advantage of sanszahi, when itis set round with tle Crest be fry sgomes the fruit, great the advantage of prajul when it is set round with 2 eils primary sense fila means “behaviout* and in its derived sense ‘good © ‘behaviour’. Allbehaviour, good or bad, i the expression ofa mental attide, Despite the formidable lists of précepls with whieh, in practice, Buddhist {Hthics has tended to become identified, sla is in the last analysis defined fa [Purely psychological terms as thote actions which are associated with whole: bine mental states, productive of good karma, and dissociated from those “Which are unwholesome, What constitutes « wholesome mental state ciflers j lfom one yana to another; o rather, there isa difference of emphasis, For he E 4: flinaying, good actions are those connected with the wholesome mental roots 7 Digho-Ntkaya, i 196 Buddkism: of non-greed (alobia), vosshale (adeesha), and non- 2 measurable, and as bsfore and alle, is meaal coostecion In which the Ultimate unt of msapare io reparded ts the time taken by en atom to traverse Hisovn dimension of space, Shee al concelvale objects nthe wold ae pros + dots of the una reals, n sine there no other agent, the gun teats Hold in themacves in & potential mannee al things ef the Worle, Which aro * miinifested first in the emergent categories of cosmic personality, ego, the fleverseoses, ivekinde of potent tte, an five Kinds of actos) ater “These gett onthe twanty-ve categorie from the entmeratiog of which & * the Siinkhya system is supposed to have drawn its namo, meaning numeration ' perenne lie Guage eis Cues aeuduakat oc <°” tion of the Sdnkhya, thinks that the elements leading to @ positive misconcep- * tion or misidentification of the purusha as being of the same nature as the guna complexes are responsible for the possibility of the nisus and the resulting &. © expetiene, This is technically called ignorance or avidya. Yoga further holds | that this avidya manifests itself or grows into the various cementing principles (of the mind, emotional and volitional, such as ego-consciousness, attachment, Je antipathy, and the self-preservative tendency. As a result of the operation of16 Philosophy these principles, as grounded in the avidyd, the mind behaves as a whole and sqhites experience and determines itself in the objective environment. ‘According (o both Sankhya and Yoga, the individuated mind has a beginnings less bistory of emotional and volitional tendencies integrated or inwoven, a8 it ‘were, in its very steueture as it passes from one eycle of life to another. The Aetermination of the mind in pursuance of jts end as desire, will, or action is called karma. It is further held that all such determinations create potential energies which must fructily as diverse kinds of pleasurable or painful ex- petiences, environments, conditions, and the periods of particular lives in ‘which these experiences are realized. ‘The selfdetermining movement of the mind for the attainment of liberation can only stact when one begins to discover that all experiences are painful. As a result thereof the young saint becomes disinclined towards all the so-called Joys of the world and ceases to have any interest in the propagation of the life-cycle. Such a eessation cannot be by death. For death means further re- birth, The cessation of the lfe-cycles must necessarily be sought in the extinc- tion of the conditions determining the mind-structure, For this, he adopts means by which he can invert the process of operation of the mind-structure, which consists of the integrated content of images, concepts, and their emo tional and volitional associates, of various kinds, below the surface. These are immediately absorbed below the conscious level as the subconscious, semi- conscious, and unconscious. The various elements of the psychic structure in the different levels are held together to a great extent by ties of emotion and volition referring to the enjoyment of worldly objects. It is these that are con- sinvally attracting our minds. ‘The followers of Yoga should in the first instance practise a definite system ‘of moral and religious restraints, such as non-injury, truthfulness, purity, sincerity, sex-conirol, sell-contentment, ad thelike, called yamas and niyamas, for the exteraal purification of mind. Ordinarily all activites associated with ‘mental life are of the nature of continval relationing and movement. The Yogin who wishes to invert the processes underlying the maintenance of psyehie structure arrests his mind statically on a particular object to the ex- Chision of all others, so that on the focal point of consciousness there may be only one state, which does aot move, and all relationing process of the mind js at complete arrest ‘Yoga is defined as a partial or complete acrest or cessation of the mental states, As an accessory process the Yogin learns to steady himself in a par- ticular posture (sana) and gradually fo arrest the processes of breathing (pranayama), His efforts to exclude other objects and to intensity the selected mental state which is to be kept steady on the focal point are called didrand ‘and diyana respectively, As a resull of his progeessive suocess in arresting the mental states, there arise new types of wisdom (prajnd) aud the subconscious potencies gradually wear out; ultimately all the subcouscious and unconscious potencies ofthe structural relations aro destroyed, and, as a result thereof, the ‘avidya which was determining the nlsus of the mind is destroyed, and the whole fabric of the mind is disintegrated, leaving the pure purusia in his transcendent loneliness (kaivalya), which is regarded as the ultimate aspira- tion of the human mind. Philosophy uy In the Yoga process supreme ethical purity in thought, word, and deed is the first desideratura, When the mental field is so prepared the Yogin attacks the more difficult bondage of its psychological natare, consisting of the sub- conscious and unconscious forees which may drlve him to sense-objects and sense-gratifcations. At each stage of meditative concentration he bas a supra- consciousness which destroys the roots of the conserved experiences and the fundamental pessions, and yet does not build any psychological structure, ‘This leads to the ultimate destruction of mind aud selF-llumination of the transcendent purusia in an utterly non-phenomenal and non-psychological ‘The Yoga believes in the existence of God, who is associated with’ aa absolutely pure mind. With such a mind he exerts will such that the evolu- tion of the prakriti or the guna reals may take the course that it hes actually taken in consonance with the possible fruition of the mundane and supra- mundane or spiritual needs of the individual persons. The Yoga thinks that, hal it not been for the will of God, the potentialities of the gunas might not have manifested themselves in the’ present order. The Sankhya, however, thinks that the necessity inerent in the potentialities is sufficient to explain the present order, and the existence of God is both unwarrantable and ua- necessary. ‘The Yosa School of philosophy, of which Patanjali was the traditional Founder, must not be confused with what is commonly called yoga ia the ‘Western world. This, tho system of training known as hatha-yoga, is of niuch Jeter origin, as far as can be gathered from the sources, and is based on physiological theories related to the ‘serpent-power’ (kundalin?), which from its seat in the base of the spine may be raised by breathing and other exercises to rise through a vein or channel in the spine to reach ‘the thousand petalled lotus* (sahasrra) atthe top of the skull, This is scarcely a philosophy at all, buts rather a megico-religious system of training, with its roots probably to be found in primitive Shamanism. “The Nydya School was essentially a schoo! of logic, maintaining the view thal clear thinking was an essential preliminary to salvation. This school evolved, about the beginning of the Christian era, a system of syllogistc logis which seems to have been quite independent of the Aristotelian system which conditioned the thought of Europe. The usual formula ofthe Indian syllogism was as follows: () Thete is a fire on the mountain, (ii) because there is smoke on it, (ii) and where there is smoke there is fre, as, for example, in a kitchen, (iv) This is the case with the moun (8) and therefore there i a fire on ‘We may compare this with the Aristotelian formule: (i) Where there is smoke there is ie. ii) There is smoke on the mountsi (i) Thetefore there Is fre on it ‘The Indian syllogism is more cumbrous than the Greek one, but it might be more effective in debate, since the point is driven home by repetition, the first proposition being virtually the same asthe fifth and the second the same as the8 Philosophy fourth. ‘The example (here the kitchen) was looked on as an essential element ofthe syllogism, and also seems to derive from debating technique. It is asur- vival from the earliest phase of Indien philosophical thought, when listeners ‘were often satisfied with analogical arguments. An example of such an argu- ‘ment is the famous parable of the salt in the Clikindogya Upanishad (vi 13), ‘which is mentioned above (p. 113). As salt dissolves in water, so the individual is dissolved in the absolute Brahman, This, from the point of view of logl, is no argument at all, but it helps to exploia mystical theory and is very effective as a means of enforcing conviction upon one already predisposed to believe the propostt ‘On this basis the Nyda logicians developed the very subtle and difficult doctrines referred to at the beginning of this chapter as ultct-logiesl, which have bees litle studied outside circles of specially trained pandits ntl quite recently. They are too recondite for consideration here, butt should be noted that in some respects they prefigure the new logic of the twentieth-century West, and repiesent a significant element inthe intellectual heritage of India, ‘The Vaifeshika School was based on a system of etomism, explaining the ‘cosmic process in which the soul was involved. The Vaiseshikas lke the Sin- Kchyas, held that the soul was wholly different from the cosmos, and that its salvation layin fully realizing this difference. The fist stage in this process was the recognition ofthe world's atomic characte. The universe was an infinitely complex and endlessly changing pattern of atoms (an) combining and dis- solving according to regular principles. At the end of the cosmic oycle the atoms reverted {0 a state of complete equilibrium from which they only emerged at the beginning of the next cycle, as the raw material of new cosmos. ‘The Thdian atomio system, in many respects anticipating the theories of ‘modern physics, was the result not qKexperiment and observation but rather of logical thought, Since an endless regress was logically and psychologicelly unsatisfactory, it was believed that there must be a final stage in the subdivi- n of any piecd of matter, beyond which further subdivision was impossible, Hence the universe must be atomic in structure, Further developments of the theory led to & doctrine of molecules to aecout for the multifarious variety of the world. The Vaigesbika philosophers agreed thus far with modern sclentiic physics; they did not, however, hit on a realistic theory of elements, which ‘would have demanded practical investigation and experiment. Like most other Indian philosophers, they maintained the existence of five atomic elements — earth, water fire, air, and akaée, which flled all space; dkiia is generally translated ‘ether’, in the sense in’ which this term was used in Westera pre- relativity physies. ‘The Mindmsd Schoo! was primarily one of Vedic exegesis, and set out to prove the complete truth and accuracy of the sacred texts, n'rauch the same ‘manner as did the doctors of the medieval Catholic Church or such Protestant reformers as Calvi, The world-view ofthis school was not distinctive, but its teachers produced interesting and original theories of semantics, and some of them made contributions in the field of law. ‘Out of the Mimamsa School emerged the most important ofthe six ystems, the Uttara-Mindinsa (‘Later Mimimnsi"), more commonly known as Pednta, Philosophy 119 “The Bad of the Vedas’, This term was apt because, unlike the Mimémsakes, who placed equal emphasis on all the Vedic literature, the Vedintins stressed = the significance of the Uponishads, which for them formed a cort of New «Testament, not a mere appendix tothe earlier Vedio literature. The main task, 1s thoy conceived it, was to harmonize the teachings of these texts into a con sistent body of doctrine. 3€ basic text of the Vediinta School is the Brahma Sitras of Riidarayans, [jgomposed perhaps 2,000 years ako. These area serles of very terse aphorisms, Hk !pethaps originally intended as lecture notes, tobe filled out extempore by the {zaf leacher. Since they are so elliptical and ambiguous they were commented on a sand differently interpreted by numerous great doctors of medieval Hinduism {+ Hto produce a wide range of philosophical and theological systems. ‘Undoubted]y the most influential and probably the most subtle of these teachers was Sankara, a south Indian Saivite brihman who, early in the ninth ‘century, composed lengthy commentaries on the Bralina Siiras, the chief Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gira. In these he put forward his famous docteine of. Adeatta (‘No second’, je, monism), maintaining that the pheno- zmenal universe with all its multiferiousness, and the whole hierarchy of being, from the greatest of the gods downwards, were not absolutely real, but were ‘may, the secondary emanations of the one ultimate absolute being, the im. personal neuter entity known as Brahman, characterized by the three att- “butes of being (st), consciousness (chi), and bliss (dma). Braman wes une changing aad eternally stable, while everything else, being finally uncesl, was subject to change, which, inthe case of the individual being, ananifested itsel in the form of samsara, the process of transmigration, ‘The eternal quest of the Indian mystic was to be fulllled by the complete {and fine realization of the identity of his soul or inmost self (dima) with ‘Brahman, This was to be-achieved by spiritual training and meditation Sankara did not reject the gods, but taught that they were the primary mani. festations of the impersonal Absolute, sharing up 10 a point in the unreality of al things. Their worship might help humble souls, but the spiritual athlete strove to pass beyond them, to direct knowledge of final reality, which was to | be found in his own self. Thus Saokara’s system is sometimes referred to as The Way of Knowledge’ (udna-mdrga). 1s wrong, however, fo look on >this system as fundamentally an intellectual one. The knowledge referred to {snot comparable with that acquired by learning, but rather with the know- ledge gaiued from intensely close acquaintance—the knowledge of the man who declares 'I know my wife’, rather than that of the one who says ‘T know the theory of prime numbers". ‘The Upanishads contain a very wide range of doctrines and Sankera’s re- duction of their coatents to a single consistent system was only achieved by brilliant exegesis, in no way inspired by the modern open-minded attempt to think the thoughis of the authors of the texts. Like most medieval Christian Schoolmen faced with similar exegetical problems, Sankara approached his texts with the fall conviction that he already knew what they meant, His taske was to convince his readers and hearers that this was what they really did ‘mean, His brilliant dialectic was on the whole successful with later genera- tions, and his system even today is the most importent one in intellectual120 Philosophy Hioduism, It bas influenced modera scholarship, and mavy students of the Upanishads have been inclined to ignore the wide range of speculation in these {extsand bave followed Sankara’s lea, reading almost everywhere the identity of the soul (amd) and the Absolute (Brahman). Raminuja, a Tamil brahman who flourished about A.D. 1100, gave the ising piety of the times «firm philosophical basis, with a philosophy of “The Way of Devotion’ (biaktimarga). He interpreted the saxie texts as Sankara hhad commented on in a different light, to produce the system known as Visishtadeaita Qualified Monisa’). Ramanuja rejected Sankara’s impersonal Brahman, Which he interpreted as an inadequate and partial realization of “The Supreme Person" (Purushol/ana), the god Vishos, who was ultimate, eternal, and Absolute, Vishnu, inspired by a sort of cosmic loneliness, bad diversified himself at the begiuning of time, and hence had produced the ‘cosmos, which, being the work of the wholly real creator, could not be tl ately unteal, bt shared ia God's reality. In the same way the individual 3 created by God who was also an individual, could never wholly Tose is indivi= siuality, and even in the bighest stats of bliss was always constious of ise as being part of God and the recipient of God's grace and love. ‘Ramanuja may not have been as brilliant a diaiectician es Sankara, but his theology bas probably as much justification in the Upanishads as’ that of Senkara. It provided a philosophy for the blake! movements of the medieval period, and thus ramified into many subscchools, whose doctors debated Jearnedly and earnestly on problems of faith and grace. The most remarkable of these later schools was that of Madhva, « Canarese theologian of the thirteenth century. Madhva's doctrine, also theoretically based oa the Brahma Siftras and the Upanishads, was ove of unqualified duals (Duatie), Accord: ing to his system the individual soul was ereated by God, but never was and never would become one with him or part of him. In the state of highest bliss the individual soul drew infinitely close to transcendent godhead, and’ re- ‘mained thus forever, but it was alvays aware of its difference from God. Several features of Madhiva’s system, a8 well as this one, suggest Christin in- uence, and he may have gathered some of his ideas from the Syrian Christians of Kerala ‘There was & heretical schoo! of thought which was associated with tbe name of Charvaka, supposed to be its founder. It was also known by the name Lokayata ( popular’). The literature ofthe system is vow practically lott, and ‘we have to depend on the accounts of others to leara its main contents, The system had many schools, but the fundamental tenets seem to be the same ‘This school denied the existence of any soul or pure consciousness, which is admitted by all schools of Hindu thought. It also denied the possibility of liberation in any form, the iofalible nature of the Vedas, and the doctrine of arma and rebicth. All Bindu schools of thought assume as their fundamental postulates the above doctrines, and itis on account of theit denial that this systom was regarded as heretical (nastike), It beld that consciousoess was an emergent funetion of matter complexes, just as the mixture of white and yellow may produce red, or fermented starch become an intoxieant. Con- ‘sciousness being thus an epiphenomenon, nothing remained of the man after death, According to the Dhdrta Charvakas, in the state of life some sort of a Plilosophy rat soul was developed which was destroyed at death; but, according to the other, adberents of the Chirvika School, no such soul was formed and the be- haviour of a man was guided in responses by physico-physiological stimuli. ‘Thus Chirvikas did not believe in the law of karma or of rebirth and they also had no faith in any religious creed or ritual of any sort, In the field of logic {hey thought that since there is no way of proving the unconditional validity {f inductive propositions all inferences have only a probable value: percep- tions are all that we can depend upon, 7 zi ‘Side by side with the doctrine of the Charvaka materialists we are reminded {af the Ajivaka School of Makkhali Gosala, and of the sophistical school of ‘Ajita Keéakambali, and we read also of the doctrines of Panchasikha, Silabhé, and others, which were also intensely heretical. Thus Gosdla be- “Tieved in a thoroughgoing determinism and denied the free will and moral respon: lity of man. According to him, everything was determined by con- ditions and enviconments, Kefakemball also denied the law of karma and {insisted on the futility of all moral efforts. In the specific details, there is a ® great divergeace of views in the different systems of Indian philosophy regard- Ing the concept of the law of karma, Stated in a general manner, the theory supposes that the unseen potency of action generally requires some time be- fore it becomes effective and bestows on the agent merited! enjoyment or punishment, Through the beginningless series of past live, through which everyone passes, the mysterious potency of the action accumulates and only becomes partially mature from time to time. The period of life, the nature of enjoyment and suffering in particular life, and the environments are deter- mined by the nature of the karina which has ripened for giving fruit. The un- ripe store of accumulated karma may be annulled by the destruction of ignor- ance, the rise of true wisdom, devotion, or the grace of God. But there is a {ifference of opinion as to whether the inevitable fruits of the ripened actions ccan be annulled. The theory of karma is the foundation-stone of all Indian systems of thought, except the aforesatd heresies. “The system of thought that began with the Buddha and was developed by bis followers was also regarded by the Hindus as heretical, ast did not accept the infallibility of the Vedas and the existence of an eteraal and immortal soul, This, and the system knowa as Jainism, are both very important products of the Indian philosophical genius, but as they are treated in other chapters of this volume they ate not considered here, irutcan PuiLosoPHY ‘The Bhagavad Gitd is a metrical interpretation of the instructions of the Upanishads in thei beating on social life: The Gitd accepts the four types of dies fixed for the four clases, brabraana, ksbatriya,vaisya and &ddra, re- spectively, as study and sacrifice; fighting and the royal task of protecting sub- jes; looking after economic welfare, agriculture, and trade; and service and the menial duties, Tealso accepts the final instruction of the Upanishads re- garding the nature of the self as the ultimate reality, and the means of the highest moral perfection as leading to it, But at the same time it enjoins on all persons that the moral and sociat duties should be strictly followed, Ttargues, therefore, that, having altained the bighest moral perfection by cleansingie Philosophy: himasef ofall impurities of passion, such as greed, antipathy, sef-love, and the like, having filled the mind with a spirit of universal compassion, and charity, and having attained perfect stability of mind, so as to be entirely unaffected by pleasures and afictions of any kind, and being attached to God through bonds of love which also unite man with his fellow beings, the true seer should continue to perform the normal duties that are allotted to his station of life in society, Even if he has no self-interest in the performance of his duties, no end to realize, no purpose to fulfil, no feuition of desize to be attained, he must yet continue to perform all normal dutes, just as an ordinary ‘man in his station of life would, The difference between the seer and the ordinary man in the sphere of performance of actions is that the former, through the attainment of wisdom, the conquest of passioas, the wasting vay of ail inner impurities, through the bonds of love with God and fellow beings, and through the philosophical knowledge of the ultimate nature of the self, though dissociated and detached from everything else, yet takes his stand in the common place of humanity as represented in Society and continues to perform his duties from a pure sense of duty in an absolutely unflinching ‘manner, The ordinary man, however, being engrossed with passions nd ‘bound down with tes ofall kinds, eannot take a true perspective of life, and while performing his duties can only do thera from miotives of selP-iaterest. His performance of duties is thus bounc to be imperfect, and vitiated by self: seeking tendencies and the promptings of lower passions. ‘The aim of transcendent philosophy is thus not merely theoretical, but is intensely practical. However high a man may soar, to whatsoever higher per- spective of things he may open his eyes, he ultimately bound in ties of social duties to his fellow beings on earth in every station of life. A high and trans- ‘cendent philosophy, which can only open itself through the attainment of the highest moral perfection and which leads one through the region beyond good ‘and evil, again draws him down to the shsring of common duties with the othér members of society, The attainment of the highest wisdom, which ‘makes one transcend all others, is only half ofthe circle, The other half mist bbe completed by his being:on an equal footing with his fellow beings..‘The philosophy of ‘beyond good and evil’ does.not leave a man in the air, but makes him efficient jn the highest degree in the discharge of duties within “good and evil’, The illusoriness of good aad evil as to be perccived only for the purpose of more adequately obeying the demands of duties in the common social sphere. Almost al systems of Indian philosophy, éxeepting the followers of the Sankera School of Vedinta, agree in enjoining tho perfect performance (of normal duties on the part of a seer. ‘Though the chief emphasis of the Veileshika and Nyaya systems of thought may ordinarily appetr to be placed elsewhere, yet keener anelysis would show that in thei case also the ultimate aim is fundamentally the same—the attain- ment of salvation through moral perfection. A lerge number of sub-schools associated with various religious sects developed in India through s form of eclectic admixture of Vedinta, SAnkhya, and Yoge together with the Bhiga~ yata theory of love. But in all these systems the central idea is the same; the attainment of transcendent moral perfection and of the perfect social be- haviour induced by it. I Phtosophy na [| _ There is another vein of thought which runs through Indian minds, probe [f ably from pre-Buddbistic times, and which may be regarded as being in some sense a corollary aud in another sense a supplement to the attitude and per- spective of life described above, This attitude consists in the lowering of en phasis on one’s limited self-sense as egoism or selfishness in the consequerit J S¢ expetience of equality with all men, and in the development ofa spiit of love {5 towards them and towards God, who manifests himself in the persons of al |, men, The cultivation of love of himanity was one of the dominant characteris- tics not only of the Giié and Buddhism and Jainism, but also of Yogs and ‘most systems of Indian theism, such as those of Réménuja, Madhva, Nim- birka, and others, The Vishne-Purdna says that to look-upon all beings as ‘equal to one’s self and to love them all as one would love one’s own self i the service of God; for God has incarnated himself in the form of al living beings. E82 The Christin principle of love and equality is anticipated in: Buddhism and ‘Bhagavatisr, which flourished in India long before Christ; but the force of innate sia is not erophasized as itis in traditional Western Christianity. Limitations of space forbid me to enter into the vacious logical concepts and philosophical ereeds, criticisms of thought, and dialectic developed inthe semi-fogial and logical epochs ofthe evolution ofthe history of philosophy India, which could be demonstrated as anticipating similar doctrines and ‘modes of thougiit in medieval and! modera philosophy, Philosophy developed in India continuously for about 3,000 years over a wide tract of the countey, ‘and a large part of it still remains unexplored and unexplained in any modern language. A. careful reader of Indian philosophy who is fully acquainted with, Western philosophy is naturally agreeably surprised to see how philosophic minds everywhere have traversed more or less the same path and how the same philosophical concepts which developed in Ister times in Europe were so ‘losely anticipated in India. But itis impossible to dilate on this here, My chief effort in this chapter has been to show the Indian conception ofthe bear- ing of philosophy to life, which has been almost uniformly the sarse in almost all ystems of Indian philosophy and which hes always inspired all philosophy and all religion, That philosophy should not remain merely a theoretic science, but should mould our entice personality and should drive us through the hard struggles of moral and épiritual strife on the onward path of selfrealization and should vltimately bring us back again to the level of other men and make us share the common duties of social life in a perfected form and bind us with Hes of sympathy and love to all hunmanity—thisis the final wisdora of Indian thought, DeeCHAPTER Xi Social and Political Thought and Institutions by J. DUNCAN M. Denner A crviuizanion may be known by its ideals and the means by which these are ‘sought to be realized, No observer of the complicated picture of ancient and ‘medieval Indian polity can fail to note the ideals which were afficmed. He will find them voiced in adages and maxims as numerous as theit companions, the witty formulae that embody the essence of statecraft. The ideals were common toall regions, and were sbared by Jeacned and illiterate alike. Our treatises on Jaw and politics contain principles popularized through the epics-and the ‘Puranas, The essence of good manners and good policy reached the uneduc- ‘ated by such means, while the worldly wisdom of these texts fed the compilers Of fables end less juvenile bandbooks. The great popularity of Canakya-ni,! ‘that great pool of wise sayings on ‘good policy’, proves that techniques of ‘managing any social or political question were not the perquisite of courtiers. ‘Translation blurs the wording ia which the ideals are carried, and obscures the function and purpose of the social and political organs. Our texts, too, fanswer questions which we should not ask, and ignore problems which we fend to think inescapable, used as we ate to’ nou-Hindu traditional society. ‘Western wrtecs sought to sce familiar olements in an Oriental setting; some Indian patriots again have either followed that example or idealized the material at their disposal, The relation of ideals and theory to practice cannot be ignored; but we concentrate rather on the former, since the legacy of the past, both (o present-day India and to the world at large, consists rather in the peculiar balance she achieved and in her-view of life as it should be lived, @ ‘yew which has, in Jarge measute, outlived experiments and survived failures. ‘Now that Indians have migrated in such numbers to countries which might never have expected them ia the heyday of classical Indology, a need has sen to know the virtues, and also the limitations, of men and women of Jndian stock, and to estimate what they can, and what they will not, contribute to their new eaviroaments, ; ‘Traditional Indian-values must be viewed both from the angle of the indivi dual and from that of the geographically delimited agglomeration of peoples fr groups enjoying a common syster of leadership which we call the “state”. ‘The Indian ‘state's’ special feature is the peaceful, or perhaps mostly peaceful, coexistence of social groups of various historical provenances which mutually adhere in a geographical, economic, and political sense, without ever assimilat- ing to each other in social terms, ia ways of thinking, or even in Janguage. + Sco eg, Cavayor din, ef. Ladwik Stemmbach, Adyar, 1963, and the surpisiogly ovigiaal litle handbooe, Laakikanyayatloka, ed. ¥. Krshnamacharye, Adsar, 1963, Social and Political Thought and Institutions ws Modeen Indian law will determine certain rules, especialy in relation to the regime of the family, upon the basis of how the foin-cloth is tied, ot how the turban is worn, for this may identify the litigants as members of a regional group, and therefore as participants ia its traditional law, though their an- cestors left the region three ot four centuries-earlir. The use of the word “state” above must not mislead us. There was no sich thing as a conflict tween the individual and the state, at least before foreign governments be- came established, ast as there was no concept of slate ‘sovereignty" or of any choreh-and-state dichotomy. Medora Indian “secularism” has an admittedly "peculiar feature: it requires the state to make a fair distribution of attention “ani support amongst all religions. These blessed aspects of India's Famed [tolerance (Indian kings so rarely persecuted religious groups that the excep- {24 tions prove the rule) at once siruck Portuguese and other European visitors to “the west coast of India in the sixteenth century, and the impression made upon them in this and other ways gave rise, at one remove, to the basie constitution of Thomas More's Utopia.* There is little about modern India that strikes one at onee as Utopian: but the insistence upon the ineuleation of necms, and the * absenes of bigotry and institutionalized exploitation of human ot natural re- sources, are two very different features which link the realities of India and ther tradition with the essence of all Utopias. Part of the explanation for India's special social quality, its mavifest jf: virtues and compensating shortcomings, lies notin any prudent decisions by sny men or groups of men, but in the traditional coneept of the society jn * which praja (the subjects) and rg (the ruler) were the two principal elements, © one might say, polarities; and part again lies in the Fact that, though the ruler [es was a guardian of morals, the “cause, as it was put, ‘of the ag’, the power of ‘penance was immeasurably more vigorous than any service the state could » Perform—oven granted the fact that the prerogative of corporal or capital © punishiment (danda) served also as @ penance for the guilty, and granted, t00, <, that it was in theory one of the king's tasks to see to it that penances were actually performed. Ideals were expressed in terms of ethics, and are related, some to people in general, and some, more specialized, to the principal classes, jn:partieuler the brahmans, whose inherited religious and magical powers, ind responsibility for the spiritual and even material welfare of the state, “marked them ouc for respectful treatment, financial patronage, and, if they were suitably conscientious, cramping taboos. Special ideals were naturally ‘developed for the raj, the Key igure in leadership, whether he was ahead of & clan, ot an emperor. The ‘twice-born’, to whom we shall return, reached, according to Manu (vi. 92), supersensory bliss by obeying 2 tenfold “law, which was a mixture of moral and intellectual requirements, Hlrita,! who goss into greater detail, gives the constituents of Jia (good conduct) as “piety, devotion to gods and |: ancestors, mildness, avoidance of giving-pain, absence of envy, sweetness, 54.2 J-D:M-Derett, “Thomas More ad Josephus the nian’, PRAS, Ape. 196 09.1834 the iepc ls pursued by the sume at" Motes Utopia sod Taians in Eorepe Nore (Anges), ()965, 11-18 More's Uleia and Gymnosophy”, IB tam, Renta (Genre), «(21 Oats), 600-3; "The Utopian Alphabet oreona, 3 560) 1-4. * Ged by Kala commenting on Mani 6. Mat hinrel may tested conveniently ‘inthe translation of G. Bier, Sacred Books ofthe Eas, Vol. 25 1886196 Social and Political Thought and Institutions xbstention from injury, fiendliness, sweet speech, gratitude for kindnesses, succouing th distressed, compassion, and (ranquility'. Diarma, aterm we shall discuss, in its wider soase of a general moral ical (itis also used of a “law? as such), requires of every man truthfulaess, abstention from stealing, absence of anger, modesty, cleanliness, discernment, vourage, tranquility, subjugation ofthe senses, and (eight) knowledge.«This atitude towards moral Qualities and forms of behaviour introduces Us to the faet that equilibrium rather than equality, peace rather than liberty, were the fundamental ideals. ‘These notions can be interpreted partly as on escape from, and parily as on attempted insurance against the primeval chaos which was supposed to lurk in the background, the chaos which was believed to justify indirectly, and positively to requiee the state itself, ‘Unseen benelits hereafter and prestige in this life were not to be attained rerely by moral qualities and good behaviour. Tae quality of absolute ‘goodness" consists also in the study of the Vedas, austerity, pursuit oF Knowledge, purity, control over the organs of the body, performance of meritorious acts, and meditation on the soul. These properly belong ‘bedhmans or brdhmanized classes, but the opposite, the state of ‘darkness, is ‘demonstrated by covetousness, sloth, cowardice, cruelty, atheism, leading sn coil life, soliciting favours, and inattentiveness¢ and these were not confined to the upper clases, A similar arrangement of ideals is found in the maxim tat one falls from easte () by not observing what is laid down (In law of custom), (i) by observing whats prohibited oi) by not bringing the senses ‘under coatrol Civilized if requved that ll thee sourees of tall should be climivated-—an object no individual's power could achieve. ‘The leading themes are well evidenced in that distinctively Indian, if non-britimanical, sect, J ich combines venerable age and longevity. ial craving, tranquillity, aversion from the world, devotion, compassion, remorse, repentance, and loving-kindness; and by social virtues, namely non= violence, abstention from unrighteous speech (of which lies and slander are illasteations), abstention from theft or unrighteous appropriation (Including iberzlement), chastity, avoidance of covetousness, and non-atlachment. ince many Jainas have been commercially minded the significance of these virtues is apparent, How the social and personal intermingle is revealed in these standard characteristies of the Jaina householder: possessing honestly ‘earned wealth, eulogistic of the virtuous, wedded to a well-guarded spouse ‘who is of the samo caste but of a different patrilineage, appreliensive of sin, following the customs of the locality, not denigrating others (particularly rulers), dwelling in a secure house (affording no temptations to in-dwellers or strangers), avoiding evil company, honouring elders, eschewing sites of cal- amities, eschewing dccupations that are reprehensible according to family, local, of easte customs, economical and making a right use of his income, of ‘controlled diet and balanced aims (following righteousness (dharma), wealth (ariha), and physical pleasure (kama), the three purushdrthas or aims relevant to this life, in due proportion), charitable to monks Agd the aflicted, mindful 4 Yaievaya il. 6. Cf. the summary at Manu x, 61. S Yai il 219; of Mami 344. Magu xi 38, 33- Social and Political Thought and Institutions ey of his dependants, and victorious over the organs of sense.? We find thcough= ‘out that the most reprehensible misdeeds are theft and adultery, and a com= ‘mentary on Indian ethics could be woven on these ilems alone, Insistence that women must not be exposed to even a nominal risk of unchastty, the require- ment that marriage should subserve the family’s interest and not primarily that of the spouses, and the disfavour in which anything resembling ‘court- 1g before matriage is held, have developed an attitude towards women, and a level of expectation on the. part of women themselves, which set special limits to Indian social behaviour and give a peculiar quality to Indian life. Concern for the chastity of their womenfolk has, at least in the last millen- njum, been at the summit of every Indian family’s prime concerns, and when hraired boiled over, the females were the immediate targets, Obedience to , nulers, as such, we do not find amongst the typical virtues: but itis ineuleated elsewhere. Avoidance of sin and social disgtace was a primary obligation, while duty to the ruler was secondary and dependent upon the first, for the ruler’s function was to facilitate such avoidance. Respect for the easte-system is implicit in the scheme outlined, ‘Honestly earned weelth’, ‘reprehensible ‘occupations’ aze terms referring to an established, if theoretical, apportion- sent of activities amongst the castes (211). To search for social and political ideals anterior to the caste-system would be fruitless. No Indian ideal could be inconsistent with dharma, ‘righteousness’, This word tends to bring cosmology down into touch with the mundane details of te law.? One who follows his dharma is in harmoay, and attains bliss, though it remains doubtful how fer his contemporaries” behaviour should guide him in his understanding of his dharma, Without dharma, in however etiolated a form, fertility, peace, civilized life are considered to be imperiled, Dharma is in one sense natural, in hat itis not created or determined (though in practice in obscure cases its exponents determine what its sense i), and in ‘another itis always to be striven for. Dharma is uanatueal in that to achieve it fone must put forth uiicongenial efforis of self-tontro, irrespective af popular reactions, If dharma (as contrasted with positive legislation) only in part re- sembles natural law itis nevertheless a code of moral obligations to which the uninstructed nations (lecchias), innocent of bréhmanical learning, cannot attain. Dharma, indeed, meuns duty (kartayyatd), and the study of dhirma in volves a discovery of the duties of individuals, groups, and, among thera, ‘heir political leaders, For dharma, in the sense which predominates in politi- | cal theory, is an abstraction of suadhiarma, the ‘owa dharma* of each caste and category of person, As D. H. H. Ingalls, the Harvard scholar, has neatly put it, the ‘essentially isolationist society” recognized a religious sanction be- hind an infinite vatiety of personal laws. Perhaps the categorization and tendency to division was overdone in the writings, but they'are Faithful to the cestential character of that society. Nominate the man, state his age, easte, and. status, and one can be told what his dharma is. He deviates from it at his peril, his spiritual peril in any case, his physical or financial peril too if the King is as alert to deviations as be ought fo be, But this is not to suggest that dharma +R, Willams, Jaina Yora, 1963. Cl Mian x8, 2-10 The legal system based Gn dharma ives on in spiritual sense, but ite application in eased In India by vitue ofthe acts constiating the “Hind Code’ (1955-8).8 Social and Political Thought and Institutions \was a ‘natural awe in the European sense: the rule's conduct could not be {ested by reference to diarma and invalidated thereby, and, though it justified, it eould not delimit his administrative authority. ‘Adharma (ontighteousness) isthe foreruoner of chaos, Man has a natural tendency to decline into chaos. In one myth ehaos required the invention of kingship and the appointment of a semi-divine king. Dharma and kingship are thus inseparable, Dharma derives linguistically from 2 root meaning ‘to hold’. A loose hold is no hold. Dharmas vary according tothe person's varna (his quality’, class, or “easte") and his drama (stage of life, or status). Vena was acquired by birth (a principle nowadays under attack), dSrama was optional, though the family lost prestige if the sanskaras or sacramental ceremonies were neglected by which entry into the essential stages was pre- pared for and celebrated. Every diarma had the king as its protector; and law could not, asa set of practical requirements, effectively demand anything that was not at the same time morally and legally binding.» Unrighteous govern- ‘ment, illistrated by the fall of the mytbical king, Vena, is understood, but the point of the myth is that miracles are needed to dissolve the obligation of obedience. Texts evidencing the theory that a wicked king could be put to death by his subjects are rare and uncharacteristic. Varndérame-dharia it nominally encyclopedic, comprehensive; laying the king, noble, commoner, citizen, and peesant under an apparcatly equal burden of obligation to a.com ‘mon complex ideal. Ifthe subjects rebelled they did so because the King's duty to protect their dharmas was being neglected, and because his own life, on- Acting with diarma, prejudiced theie welfare from a religious point of view. Chaos could be forestated by rebellion, but our texts do nothing either to encourage or to justify such an attitude, The effort concentrates on making the reiguing king a success Some illustrations of dharma’s *hold” are needed or we cannot grasp what was expected of the king, The varaa of the braliman would limit his freedom toassociate, tomate, to dine; it seeks to number the occupations he may pur- sne—to study, to teach, to officiate at religious ceremonies (including the samskéras), and to advise and, if necessary, to chide rulers, To trade (éspect ally in certain goods) and especially to lend at interest are forbidden, except in times of distress. And the brahman’s dharma demands at least a misimum of classical education. The uarna of the siidca, at the other end of the scale of ‘clean’ castes, also delimits. Not being one of the twvice-born, as are the brifiman and those who intervene between them, be does not study the Veda, tnd does not take the sacred thread which indicates initiation; nor may he teach Vedic studies or have social intercourse with the twice-born exeept upon + Note Mans vik, 13 (where firs means, probably, topics provide for inthe Stra": an important verse, pocry 2550 allen) expressed, The problem ef the d “Igy as we understand it and Law as the diarnalasra weiter indersioed Festschrift e Otto Spies, 4, W. Hoanerbach, Wiesbaden, 196), 7D. 18-43. "= Vigvarpa on ¥ajpavalkys i340. The general complexion of the status of ‘sublet is handled ia" Roles and Ruled in india’, Recuel de fa Soci ean Bode, 22 (1063), 447-48: ad the elf: ofthese concepts on principles of international laws handled in Hinduism ud International Law: a Revisw of KR. Sasiry's Lectures at The Hague’, Indi Year- book of Iternationol Afr, 15-16 (1966-7), 328-47, Both articles contain bibliographical Indiestions, Tis subjets may Kila violeat kings Mahabharata wil 6, 19-20. Social and Polltical Thowght and Institutions 129 the footing of service, whether in the house, the workshop, or the field, Weally his very name should suggest a humble status and the higher castes are cu- titled to his labour—an ideal which, needless to say, the most numerous tbarna from time to time repudiated. We hear, accordingly, of ‘good stdras” who were supposed to be degraded lvice-born and generally copied the latter in their behaviour, Between brahman and édra were ranked the warrior (shatriya) and mercantile (vaigya) classes, upon a theoretical basis explained in terms of their objective qualities and teadencies. Anomalies abounded from the first and we meet the theory of ‘mixed castes, sprung from unions between the Four varnas. Disteibution of functions between the aarnas and the mixed castes was often in debate, both historically and throughout our Fterature “The brafman’s ancient hereditary function as a teacher (guru) of the other ‘castes is not dead. To this day brakimans are from time to time approached to resolve problems and act as ‘confessors’ by other castes; and a careful an- thropological survey of a remote village in Madhya Pradesh, the abode for several centuries equally of brahmans and non-bribmens, both oecupied in agriculture, revealed the strange fact that when the economy suddenly changed, due (o improvements in communications and markets, a large nun ber of the brakmans, but not of the other classes, took to teaching and other intellectual pursuits. Students of Western medieval literature know of the ‘gymnosophists" whom Alexander the Great and his companions found in northern India. These made an impression on the Greeks and earned a not- ‘able place for the ascetics in the Alexander romance and its many derivative conttibutions to Western culture, They spoke fearlessly €o kin 3g them their dharma, and their status as teachers (they were ostentatiously naked) de- pended on their utter indifference to the world and contempt for death. ‘The Jewish heroes of Masada, before committing suicide, as the Romans scaled ‘the last wall, eeminded themselves that they must not be inferior in faith to the poor Indians (whom they believed to be polytheists at that)" The ideals of the dharma-fastra, the ‘science’, or rather ‘teaching? of righteousness, proceeded far beyond these classifications. Marriage was a prime concern, Marriage between varnar was lawful provided that it was in the hypergamous form, the husband having the higher caste, The ideal mar- riage for a brahman was in the form of a gift of the bride, along with her dowry, to the bridegroom summoned for the purpose; that for the kshatriya ‘yas by eaptare of in the love-match which, to the minds of some’moralists, masked too often a mere seduction; while marriage by purchase, deprecated ‘as barely suited to th. furtherance of dharma, was let to the Sudras. Ideals out- lived facts, both in marriage and in occupations. Brahmans are found func- tioning as’ money-lenders or soldiers; SQdras are actually found occupying thrones (an eventuality pathetically deplored in many texts). Intercourse with fa woman other than one's wife was a sin; yet the Keeping of concubines per- sisted (never, though, to the total exclusion of marriage) amongst well-to-do classes unl very recent times. The dharmas of a Vedic student (brahmacdr) were naturally not relevant to fa Sidra youth, The principal dérama of the grikastha (householder), the "Josephus, Bellon Jedaeuny, i-341-57. ¥. Yad, Masada, London, 1986, p. 226.130 Social and Political Thought and Institutions rama upon which in practice all the others depended, was reached by all amas ideally at matriage, which should be celebrated soon after the comple- tion ofa young man's academic training (if any) and would signalize his entry info full social esponsibility. Marriage was the one drama which was nearly obligatory. Religious and social pressure made it vitlually unavoidable. Pro- creation of at least one son was recommended, and better of tWo, so that at Jeast one might go to Gaya and perform the efficacious éraddha there which ‘would secure perpetual bliss for deceased ancestors. If an aurasa (legitimate) son could not be expected, the mature male ought to provide himself and his paternal ancestors with a substitute by one of the approved methods of adop- tion, Spiritual responsibitity towards the ancestors and the right to inkerit theic property were ideally inseparable, No survey of the social order can neglect the slaves, for whom, a8 a social class, curiously, the varndérame-diarma (whieh calls them biped chattels) makes little or no room, satisfied, we note, to provide that a brihman could not be enslaved unless he lapsed from the status of semiydsi, or renunciate ‘This, the last dérama, was in theory available to every former householder who chose to retire from the world, but in practice it became a ttle to ive on charity, from which, naturally, only a lunatic would be likely to defect. Slaves were not, in the ideal view, a division of society, though they were a fact. In the status and fate of slaves, especially the “bora slave, some would see a dark feature of Indian social ethics." Yet oven an exteeme example of their situation bas its dharmic aspect. A young female oxphan, selling herselF into slavery in retum for her keep, would noknowledge that if she committed suicide as a result of her Keeper's chastisement she Would commit a dreadful sin. On the footing that itis a charity to buy children as slaves in times of faroine, the residual right to commit, or to threaten to commit, suicide seemed properly subject to limitation by contract. ‘The politically most significant branch of dharma, to which we sball devote attention, was that relating to the rdja. Preferably a kshatriya, his dharma could be summarized as ‘to conquer and to protect’. To fix him with his re- sponsibilites there must be a state. This existed (and could survive) when, ‘cording to traditional theory, there existed each of the seven constituents, the so-called saptanga, of that organism. These were the king himself, a minister of official class, a capital city, a rural area or inhabited tract, a ‘easory or revenue administration, an atroy, and at least one foreign ally. It was recognized that since all are constituents of the state no one could be aggeandized at the expense of others without endangering the organism. Men sion of the state calls into play the tivo sciences of dharnia and artha, The last word means polities and economies, and Kautilya's Arthasdstra isin fact the sole substantial trealise on the art of public administration," The passages dealing with the king's duties and powers in the smritis of Manu and Yajna- valkya, for example, were influenced by artha-Sasira learning. Wherever the Y.Bongert"Rélexions sure probidme deetlavage 1 Lebhapedthatl, p44 ‘The text as well as the tansstion should be consulted now only in the yersons of Prof, R. P, Kangle, to be modified by specialist discoveries published nthe books of 1 Sohaife (Wiesbaden, 1968) and (eum geana sas) T. Trautman (Leiden, 1971). 1 BEFE.O, $1 (1963), 143-944 Social and Political Thought and Institutions 1 [5 two sciences conflicted the ruler was expected to follow righteousness rather “than polities, and the cunning inculeated by the latter wes sopposed lo be at “5 the disposal of the former. Foe volitcs, sarcastically called the khatiavij, or *kshateyas" science’, ie, un- restrained opportunism, by the Buddhist writers, subsumed a minimum of Pye, tighleousness in any scheme upon the basis that the end justifies the means, PIE The ideal and the righteous king is insistently overdrawa in our sources, a fact 1 Alling its own story. ts claimed that, however kings came to exis as pheno- [mena (a question to which we return, the fonetion of a king is divinely pre- {© determined. “The Kshatciya be (the Céeator) commended’, says Manu,!* ‘to 2) protect the people, to bestow gifts, to offer sserifices, to study the Vedas, and Foto abstain from atiaching bimslf(o zensual pleasures,’ last has a comical © historical state of affairs rather plainly. [25° For the king's role an education of some intensity was recommended, and Fl-no doubt required. “Command of armies, royal authority, the office of & fe judge, and soveregnty over the whole work he alone deserves who knows the H Neda science’, says Mand elsewhere." "Let him act with justice in his own | {; domains Punishment (ands) strikes down a king who serves fom hie * evaluations of ancient astronomical methods by O. Neugebauer have supplied Sra pew background to our studies. Islamic selene manuscripts, though rich tsi in'examples of the Greek geometrical and deductive approach, also reveal new: £4 discoveries beyond those of Hellenism, Further fight has been shed in eceut PA Yeais on the complex nature ofthe sciences in dia through archaeological esearch and the cllection and examination of additional manuseripls,/Above All, forthe fist time, we have a full and systematic account of the history of (feienee in China, the monumental work of Joseph Needs," © Looking at the development of science dhrough the centuries we see an ‘scoumulating body of knowledge to which the races of Asia have made their Ebown particular contributions by their own methods of investigation, but we “are also confronted by a jigsaw of transmissions which render out Interpreta- «tion of these discoveries all the more dificult and uncestan, In studying the © ‘scionce of India? these transmissions can only be examined at present against * aichronology sometimes open to dispute, Yet in spite of this fascinating story emerges which indeed gins in interest because ofits mystery aes 1 E/ The earliest indigenous cultures which interest the historian of science are tise centred upon Harappa in the Panjab and Mohenjo-dio ia Sind, the led Indus valley civilization. In technology the prominent characteristic is that of standardization: cites built to a uniform plan resembling the layout of| “aychess-board and of welled bricks of a copiroled siz,’ and domestic ttery turned from the wheel in specification form and capacity. These sug- 5 fest in tura a methodical system in weights and measures, Indeed, «very large = jumber of weights consisting of accurately cut cubes of blended grey chert, Z- Which are found to follow the ratios 1:2:8/3: 4: 8: 16: 32: 64: 1603 200% 320: ‘H6qo, have been collected at various sites in the Panjab, Sind, end south {Ralchistin, and probably the Makran.* “This system of weights is unique inthe ancient world, It is unfortunate that ‘Needham, Seence and Cuiization ta Chine, Vos. t-3, 20d Yots 4 (1, (2, () #0 far, Cambridge, 1954-72 8 Seealo J, illozat, Le Doctrine classique de la nddecne indienne, Imire Nationals, Paris 1999, Into, p. Usually 11 by 5+ by 25 inches, “8. Pisgot, Preliitorie India te r00a B.C, Harmondsworth, 1961, pp. 181-3.ua no numerals appear on any of these weights—as in thecase ofthe Harappa seript, whichis pictographie and has yet to be deciphered, the mathematica Achievemenis of the people remain largely # mystery. Clearly there wasn con siderable merchant elas, through whom a commercial arithmetic developed, but academic achievements, like those of contemporary Egypt, were no doubt both channeled and ciccumscribed, However, it will be sec that the above system of ratios may be based upon 16, an important numbes* io ancient Indian numerology, and that certain others may be successively obtained by Goubling or hlving; also of iterest i the use of fractional thirds and the de velopment of a decimal form in the higher numbers. Further study of the rietrology of the Indus valley civilization does, in fact, revest decimal di sions of length, e.g the use ofa ‘foot of 13:2 inches divided into tenths. It is ‘lear from the planning and architecture of th cities that there was a com- petent knowledge ofsiple geometry and surveying based upon two units of length, afoot” of about 13-2 inches and a ‘eubit” of about 20-6 inches. Som interesting suggestions snight be made from allthis, but it would be unwise to resort lo idle speculation in the face of such incomplete evidence, Let us be content fo add three further practical achievemnents—the construs- tion of msia drains having brick ‘manhole-covers’, the cultivation of eotton and the manufacture of cotton-cloth, and the working of eopper, bronzé, and copper-atseuio alloy. The overall picture is of a technology standardized through several centuries by an inflexible and authoritarian regime. Science 0 ‘The Aryan ininsions of northern India (e, 1500 9.C.) may be said to mark the end ofthe Indus valley civilization. From henceforth the growth of Sian science isto be influenced by the speculative and philosophical miad, to be- come richer in generalization, to transcend the limited technology of Haeappé, Mohienjo-dico, and Chanhu-diro. In the hymns ofthe Rig Vedas to be found the frst acount of the way of life ofthe Indo-European conquerors, thet r+ cognition of and devotion to one supreme cause, their realization that bebind the phenomena of the natural world, which appear shifting and changeable, these is x constant principle (a) or order in events. Pigdott® has shown that the warchariot (rae) ofthe Rig Veda had a eentrai pole and yoke harness, the so-called throat-and-girth harness, not only unpleasant for the horse but ‘most inefficient mechanically, yet nevertheless common to the tegions of Tndo-Furopeun colonization, for example Homeric Greece and Celie Britain. Despite the gradual development of philosophy the petsoulication of the primal forees of nature i, for instance the god of the aun, Strya, or the god offre, Agni, continued. Socrifcil altars, at first mere hed of turf, evolved Into elaborate designs demanding arithmetical and geometrical calculations. ‘Vedic literature, Broadly considered, tells us only fzdgmentary information concerning the early stages of Hindu Sclence. The wisest procedure is to ex- amine the whole evaluation in the light of certain terminal writings such as the {Ths as been fount eqivales to 134 seam inthe series of weight 4 Fstop. cl p26. An creo! ln add cation are an tale on p 280, Sec ao SB. Singh, aie Idan TParfre with Spell Reference ote Pedic Posed Lele 1965, Stione 1B Kautiltya Arthasaitra, the Sulva Siitras, the Caraka Sambité, and ultimatel ihe Sry Stahant, which pssent wo vith an etetonel boty ot Lae dosti, Awvnfou eta acatc ogo poe Rete rae tre contol by vat oxen one hos which onal ed onenee rego neva to provide a fo betas ant Bre ues a Usa arte dave of te Chsstan cre ee | Perhaps the eas sores deng econo with astronomy ie the | Pits Veting tom bt voce oie ern ad [Sn torm, not may dtc rom soe one wang he ee ence (eh Position of the new and full moon amongst the 27 nakshatras, and of the 5 aren who alin ies af. yens ech 300 ote te gece ace Erlonar months othr fhecare hen asecuilet eee then a year of 12 mon{hs may be retained if the 31st and 62nd mouths are ‘omitted from each cycle. This ancient system of iunar-solar reckoning was [evict wsedin india ant occ acon Soo ema es es [e)een te nose nth Tuto Sanka oe ae aca Calms or pes books of a) gies a mice okies teats whisk mut haben wll etablited oy eet nscrend ee to certain xised nthe sith entry a rey ea eee _feocent syst of aonomizlltaqee tel sng, eee Hay the soliac of Mevopeariy anh hn ena te deca of f postion cece by the moon fo one leat soso te hates ‘aveappenre a odin anlar sod Chin se ian PP sine Tees no eidnce aston te a no eae te ald ben nsingtatndcponent surfecs Paki ge Fri threes he possly tat noose ae een Mioold Babylonia stenony of'e tows ne and te cokers hen | ied tro eesti eepenesnct beanie one eae [due of Seta Inn tu pesourinis nese orca | tay Incinn sonoegy's gery based spot tes utr end exbe—a | suotaon tron ©. Menon™ nunmaries te bane eee nea {ols There is first of al the earth based on a square, with a corner towards the south, and [shaped tke a pyamia, witha numb Bf siessive homosete star ences | Bata upto spot caos Oa sealer ce ae Urs pyro oig ott cen aa ca cr esi etn eds of he son ng bredenun ste ae eee eae Fe (sont rnsis arora same on hz ee above | sete sc ots tient sara esc a nen Stn (tera Ce tenets abel a seve sat scan arena esc teig he eas {Sree nramect kas |. Associated with sey Nero commosogy vera see of wombs, sch | jn. ta. a8 Go binned tough mb. of hosaten, reat he HE"? Tuiiriya Samhita, iv, 4. 10. 8 i the Metréyont Sarnia (i 1330) andthe AtharuaFeda (te ‘For Uighur and Tibetan versions see W. Pet, Indian Journal of History of Selene, Vol. 1, pt.2, New Dela, 1966, pp. 83-00. "°C. PLS! Menon, Aneient Asteosony and Cosmeloey, London, 193%, Pe 94144 Seience system was dictated by mathematical rather than by astronomical require- ents, Ths square" orbit of 8 could be represented by placing unitsquares [round the periphery of an original square of side 6 (containing 36 wnit Squares) and adding inthe unit square at each comes, ie. (4x6) 4, giving & ieomelrial piture ofthe alighting stations of the moon Tater Mesu cosmology, which is to be found inthe Jaina texts, adopts the cielo as the baste form. This radical departure occurs in the Siirya Prajnaptt {perhaps 200 n.c.) whete the earth ie represented as a circular dise with Mount Meru ns Ae centeg and the polestar diectly above. Surrounding the earth are feven concsatrie oceans and continents, whilst coplanar rotations of the Planets are from east to west around Mount Meru. In the Jambudelzapra- rapa further step ¥s taken when the detailed geometry and associated eal- ulations of this eirle ate made on the basis of the ratio circumference "ita, Numerical resulls are obtained for lengths of arcs, sagittas, Sind segments of chords, and in cettain cases quadratic solutions are required, ‘Though the history of Jalna canonical literature is sock that it is eifeut to dite, some useful papers have slceady appeared on the mathematical and astronornical aspects." ‘Maha Meru, or Sineru, also occupies the central position in the Buddhist vniverse as described in the Pali Books! Sara Sangaha, Visuddhi Maga, Sotta Sueyuegamana Suttanta, and Findlankara, Only one half of it is visible above the level ofthe ocgan, whilst between Mera and the outermost cece of the system, the ridge of rock called Sakvala, there are seven circles of rock, Sud seven oveans the ‘waters? of which are so attenuated thatthe feather of @ peafowl could not float in them. This picture has been much elaborated, so that to proceed further would only involve usin vast numbers and fanciful speculations having no relation to fact, curious and interesting though these thy be. The most important achievement of Buddhist thoogbt from our pre ent standpoint isthe law of eausstion, which was initially concerned mainly ‘with human conduct but bas since interested philosophers of science.» ‘Whilst dealing with Jaina and Buddhist cosmology we reust mention the doctrine of paranianus, better known 2s the stomie theory, Atoms could be grouped together to form moleeules, and whist the atoms envisaged by the Jains and Vaideshikas were eternal, those ofthe Buddhists, being ineluded in t plenomenalist view of anture, appear and disappear’ by cycles. In the ‘Kevaddha Stata appended tothe Digha Nikéya we also find that all matters tilimately formed from the four elements, fire, ai, water, and earth, To these is added, in the Mel? Upenishad, fifth ‘clement’, non-material and all diamet 1 gO. Thibaut. “On the Surya-Peajpt", 14S, 49 (1880), LoT-27, 181-206, B, Data cqhe Rina Schoo! of Mathematis', Deller of the Celeutra Marhemotical Society, 34 1939), 114. FAL Gt p. Malalasekera, The Pal Lieratre of Ceslon, RAS. London, 1998. M. Ht node, The Pall Lieratre of Barina, RAS. Londen, 1909. Aso issues of the Pa Text Society, Danson Place, Losion. SU: MeGovern, a fanol of Buddhist Pilosephy, Ve. t, Cosmology, London, 192%. NG's Ps iliora*Logicel and Senate Method in Early Buddhist Texts, Journal RAS. London (1968), Po. 1-25 ph. £454. T. W Rhys Davids and J.B. Carpenter, Dighe Mibsye, ‘voles Pal Pest Sosidy, Lanton, 1889-1910, reprinted 1847-196. Science 145 pecvading, The fully developed atomic theory in the Abhidlarma Hridaya, which was translated into Chinese in the third century A.D. represents the se- +, --finement of a doctrine which had existed for several centuries, but McGovern © js inclined to the view that both the Jaina and Buddhist versions ate not “original, but probably derived from the Vaigeshikas. Whatever the source, it isdian and seems independent ofthe Greck theories of Leuippus and Democritus.» To lean more of the worldly setivites of the Tadian peoples inthe lst few = centuries b,c. one must seek information other than that supplied by the many Ereligious and metaphysical writings, and it is fortunate that a text of the ‘Keuitlliya Ardhadastra,®© a unique work on stotecraft attributed to Kauiilya, | prime minister ofthe Mauryan emperor Chandragupta who ruled from about F{iaat 0 300 3.6, was discovered in 1909, Probably elaborated from the ‘Mauryais original and containing references to the economies and technology ofa mean date c, 100 B.C, its a store of information ou land and sea com- ‘munications, agriculture and irrigation, ores and mining, plants and medicine, find especially mechanical contrivances or yantras."” Engines of war and yantras of architecture are mentioned, with emphasis mainly on the former; @ whole chapter is devoted to armoury, and the yantras are classified as station fry of mobile; and even though their detailed operation can often only be inferred it is clear that the main descriptions refer to siege warfare, the role of ephants in war, catapult devices for hurling .projectiles, and’ incendiary ‘missiles, the composition of the inflammable materials used indicating the F< hseace of gunpowder. In the Furtberance of cultivation, irrigation canals aid Pe ange artificial reservoirs such asthe lake of Girnar in Saurdshtra (Kathiawie) 4 vere constricted, and these had their counterpart in the massive ‘tanks? of © Ceylon, frat seen in the Abayswewa of King Panduwasa built near the cepital ‘Seurddbapura as ealy as 504 bc." A successor, King Pandukbhaya, had Snatructe fn the lateral of the fth century bc two further "tanks the Jayawewa and the Gamini, in the same region, and such stupendous activity 2 fefraation works Went on ala Ind, nt te medieval period, One cannot Si bul marvel a these splendid monuments, some of whlch were 40 tales in perimeter and the phenomeaal apicaltural progress acbioved duting haf a Pijenaium feom the acession of Vaya, the frst of the Great Dynasty, nor fall to record the scholars indebtedness fo George Turnowr, who sought out 2 'the ‘tika’ with the help of the Buddhist pricst Gallé and through inconceivable dificult produced English version of thcd of the Mahdoamsa fa. 1836, Mich rendered our historical knowledge of these early public undertakings i posi Deneve machines of the peod ofthe Arthaidstra and ofthe early centuries 4". Olufsen pated that the Vakhans believe in fire, alr, water, and wind, and refers back to a asa ete at ea clgon We Coto etme enya Bake Manda so Pats, Landon, rn 193, Sea Py, aon :¥ Journal of History of Science, Vol. t, No. 1 (1966), 114. Fo ieee tetis dntlawe, 3c, Mysore, 529. R. P. Ken, Baie artes, Bomba 19, ee eee ett belenat Cnrvnces a dnl Ila Tl of Culture tant, ad sta, 1938 Se ee rion Woks a Ceylon, 3 i, Caen, 1945. e146 Science ‘Ax, were either useful devices of everyday life sueh as the vdriyantra, prob ‘2 revalving water-spray for cooling the air, mentioned by the poet K.lidaea in his Afglavikdgnimitra: or automata and toys such as those de~ scribed by Hero of Alexandria, Philo of Byzantium, and Vitruvius.” Re- ferences to Yavamas, who were often engineers, in early Tamil literature, end ‘commerciat inte.course between southern India and the West, especially in “Augustan times, suggest aoquaintance with Greck and Roman ideas. Though Bhaja in his treatise Samardnganasiradhéra gives many technical properties of machines neatly classed, zefers tothe use of toothed wheels in the opers- tion of types of merry-go-round, and has a general statement concerning the magnitudes of effort and load in a machine, we do not find scientific laws asin ‘Greek mechanics. Perhaps most remarkable is the absence from the Jaina physics ofa concept of fores, action and chenge arising out of tira, but, asin The ease ofthe atomio theory, this must be considered in terms ofthe contem- porary philosophy; there is error in reading too much into early texts, "Ancient Hindu mathematics shows an carly interest ia Iarge numbers ex- pressed in powers of ten, in the nature of numbers and their factors, ond in The division of time into ite smallest unis, ‘These large powers occur in the Vedic Sambitas, Briimanes, and Sitras, in the epies Mahabhérata. and Ramidyana, and in the Laltevistara (were 10 is given), Of particular interest ‘the Satapatha Brahman, which lists all the factors of 720 as far as 24,06 after stating that 360 nights and days contain 10,800 muhfrttas proceetls-by four successive multiplications by 15 to reach the ultimate prénas or breath. ings. The occurrence of the word rasi (« heap) in the Chindogya Upanishad recalls the use of the same concept by the Ancient Egyptians, and is clearly {the humble origin of what was later to become the burden of many a school- boy, standing for the unknown quantity x, ‘OF the greatest importance to.the historian of mathematics are the Sidea ‘Stras;® which form part of the Kalpa Stiirasand deal with the construction of ‘sacrificial altars used in Vedie ritual, As terminal writings they summarize the Knowledge of several preceding eenturies and provide an excellent picture of the achievements of Hindu geometry prior to the mathematics of the Jaina sect; furthermore, When teraple worship replaced the old rites of the, agn- ‘ayana, this geometrical tradition lapsed and was subsequently superseded by the growih of analysis for which Hindu mathematicians are justly re- ‘nowaed, From the mas of literature which must have been the prerogative of the priesthood seven Suloa Sitras have survived and of these three are especi- ally valuable —those of Baudhayana, Apastamba, and Katydyana.* They deal ‘vith such matters as the construetion of squares and rectangles, the selations (of the sides to the diagonals, the construction of equivalent squares and rect~ ‘angles, the construction of equivalent squares and circles, the construction of 1, Winter, ‘Mastin Mecbenics and Mechanical Appliances’, Endeaoour, See. H. 25 (1959), 25-8. ss Ribhutibushan Datta, The Selene ofthe Sulba, University of Cateuta, 1932, 2 piohutishushaa Datta; “Geomety inthe Jala Cosmography’, Queen und Sider zor Geschchve dee Mathzratily ABC. Bs BE. 1 1530), 245-84 “Sec eis V. Shamma, Kétyeyana Suloe Stra, Benars, 1978, D. Siivasachar sind Y. 8. Nateshnbschir, paste Silo Stra, withthe commentaries of Kapardisvémi, Kare SiadasvBet, and Sundaenrls, Universiy of Mysore, 1931 Selence 47 ‘hdriaugles equivalent to squares and rectangles, and the construction of 55, squares equal to two or more given squares or equal tothe difference between {two given squares. Io this connection we may note two interesting formulae, those giving the diagonal of a square and the squaring of the circle. Thus, cageording to Baudhiyana and Apastamba, to obtain the doi-karani.or {diagonal ‘Increase the measure by its third part, and again by the fourth part (of this thied part) less the thicty-foorth pact of itself (i.e. of the fourth pact)” This gives a value for +72 of Se 1a 4 334 3454 /rping from modern calculation only in the sixth place of decimals, "Baudhiyana says; "I you wish to square a cil, divide its diameter into ‘eight parts; then divide one ofthese parts into twenty-nine parts and leave out i twenty-eight of them and els the sixth part (ofthe previous division) less the th pett ofthis (leat) A relation between the sadivs of the circle (7) and the side (20) of the equivalent square is nally obtained in the form: @* Ea U296 Bayh 14 or 14142156 + £6 tn the construction of altars (ve!) requiring numbers of bricks of differing sizes in various layers e.g. i the faleon-shaped fire altar, we see the origin of E5"those indeterminate problems which form a notable part of later Hindu alge- #2 bra. Bibhutibhusan Datta, after examining Jaina canonical literature and the Scommentaries of Kapardisvami and Karavindasvaml, inclines also to the Yew thet the irrationality of y/2 was understood in the time of the Salvas f-Archaie Hindu medicine inl earliest context isto be found mostly inthe {f hiymns of the -Atharoa Yeda, and the Vecie term bheshaja, used to denote ® medicinal charms, which occurs also in the Avesva as baestza or baesazya, fo" - supgcsts a common Aryan origin. Itis& ‘psychosomatic! approach to healing, |E-partof «philosophical system, a scheme in which the lay physician and the {priest perform their respective roles in controling the ils of the Body and of Sythe sob). Native pre-Aryan lote and practice were absorbed, Mohenjo-daro, whieh had the faest public health facilities in the ancient East, could boast {Lo bathrooms and a drainage system, and no doubt inluenced personal hygiene. “The deity Dhanvanter, custodian of the elixi of immortality, became the 2. Tount of wisdom for virility und duration in life (@yurveda) and the remedies = (Uhatehapa) to ensue these. He figures in SuSeuta as the divine authority in medizine. We cannot, therefore, compare such & system with contemporary £ medical education, drawing ait does upon several of the extet sciences, but Swe can perceive the beginnings of certain features in general practice and in A corgery which ae sill with us; thus, we find the practitioner teaching his pupil by personal example, a blend of experience and tradition with fresh ‘observation and speculation, whilt specialized surgicel equipment in com- tion use by the first century A.. consisted of twenty types of knives and 5 Blog hese ofa square of area wie hat ofthe vi > ves wy asd this dokarant wean 3 torn re EY Stes 185.™ Baudhvane Sua Sto 59 saoare, Nomi this Vi baie The Stence148 Science needles (astra), thirty probes (Saléké), twenty tubular instruments, and twenty-six articles of dressing (upayantra).* “Hs theoretical basis being metaphysical, Hindu medicine was restricted by tradition and by isolation from other sciences. Life originated in the primal ‘waters, man the microcosm was inevitably moulded by the forces of the ‘maccocosun; the types of physiognomy are the result of specific incarnations. In the Purdnas fever is a demon, offspring of indigestion—the commonest ‘cause of illness, Since illness in general could be attributed either to a disturb: aapee jn the organism or to the entry of super-human forces, then, should the physician fail, prayers must be recited and offerings made to propitiate the in- truder. The human body was maintained in a state of health by the three humours, palegm, gall, and wind (or breath) in their correct proporlions.** ‘These proportions could be achieved by proper diet, an important considera- tion in a trying climate. The humours were forms of the life-energy and corre- sponded {0 divine forces or agents in the macrocosta, i.e. outside the body; thus phlegm, cool and heavy, which resided in the chest and lungs, was assoc! ated with the moon, Hindu interpretation gave wind prime’ significance ‘among the humours, since it appeared to govern the dynamics of the body; trom the pre-Aryan Yoga to the Vedanta philosophy there developed a theory ‘of winds (odyu) or manifestations of the life-breath,* This isa theory of breath- ing which ignores the lungs. In Fac, the lungs (kloman) and the palate were re- garded by Caraka® as the source of the vessels which carry water through the ody. Existing alongside Caraka’s description of the vascular system was that ‘of Suéruta, postulating the navel as the source; of the tubular vessels (sird) radiating therefrom, each of the humours (aow four in number) occupied 175. ‘So in all: "There ate seven hundred tubular vessels. As a garden or a tice field is irrigated by a system of canals carrying water, the body, by means of these vessels, is moistened and maintained; ... the root fcom which they spring. is the navel ... the navel is surrounded by the tubular vessels, as the hub of & wheel is surrounded by spokes.” Distogard of proper diet Jeads to a disturbance of the balance of the humours; these become incensed, and overflowing their normal chanaels in- ‘vade the domain of others, thereby causing disease, The basis of dietetics and phacmacology was the Hindu theory of the six essences (rasa), which appear to correspond to the Greek glyky, liparon, stryphuon, halnyron, pikroa, and 24H R, Zimmer, Hinde Medicine (ideyo, Noguchi Lectures), Fons Hopkins Press Baltimore, Ma, 1948, . 82. “J. Deshpande, K. R. Sharioa, snd G, C. Prasad, ‘Contribution of Susruia to the Fundarnentals of Orthopaedic Surgery’, Inun Journal ofthe History of Seince, Vo, No. (1990),13-35-L- M, Singh, K- 1. Thakral, ad P, J. Deshpande, Susruta’s Contibus tions to the Fuadameatals of Sorgety', ibid pp. 36-90. S20 J. Fillossl, Lo Doctrine ‘laaus det madetne indienne; ses origines see parler grec, Ynp. Nal, Pads, 1949, Ch. Vit 1H A fourth hous, blood, was Ister aed and is mentioned in the writings of Caraka ang Soiruta, 2 AS many a5 ton ate Isted in the Yoga tease Gorakshataaka. "> Caraka, vis. A. C. Kaviraiog and P. 5. Kavibhustans, Charaka Seria, Calcutta, 180-1911. SSutula, ii, 7 Kavita} K. L. Dhshapralas, Sudrte, Caleuta, 1907-18, Swshrica Sonthits, Chowskbaraba Sensket Studies, 30.4 Vol, 398)-4. Selence 49 | “drimy>* ‘Tradition had established an elaborate doctrine of correspondence between the essences (qualitics or flavours) in certain foods and the specific ‘gubstances in tbe humours. Avast phacmacopoela enshrined traditional Jomedies, In the treatarent of the patient an all-powerful arcana was blended from various herbs, cach contributing specific healing properties, and these faterial properties were reinforced by supernatural powers invoked by the ‘btabman practitioner who clsimed a special relatfonship with the twia horse~ leo and divine physicians, the Alvins. Honey possessed unusual healing rlues, being associated with amrita, the elixir of immortality. "Another significant feature of Hindu medicine was the absence of any’ © attempt to recognize diseases of the brain, One would not have expected much = progress in this study in ancient times in any case, but the reason for such heglect is to be found in the assumption that the centre of consciousness, thought, and feeling isthe hear, a generalization which i implicit also in the “writings of Homer.* Caraka® certainly mentions insanity, but it fs covered HE: by the general explanation of the overilowing of ‘incensed elements, inthis | fostance into the specist vessels caccying the ‘mind-atuf’, or by the entry of { dlemons, ‘Among the diseases mentioned in Vedic medical texts ate diarrhoea (sive, fever (lakman), dropsy (Jalodara), consumption (balase, yakshna), tumour © (akshata), abscess (vidradha), leprosy and certain skin diseases (kilésa), and 'F congenital diseases (kshetriya). Dropsy was seut by Varuna, the god of the © primal waters. Jaundice, for which Caraka later records diagnosis aud treat- ‘On pursuing inquiry to the borders of the realm of legend the historian * leans one indisputable fact, newly, that the fount of ancient Hindu medical isso was the oral teaching of Punarvasu Atreya. According to the Buddhist “ Jatakas a physician Atreya taught at TakshaGia (Taxila)in the age of Bud Tkappeers tbat six pupils of Atreya first set down this wisdom in encyclopedia orm, but of these versions only two, those of Bhela end Agnivefa, have sur- L vived. A defective manuscript of Bhola Samhitd, discovered in south India, | evens the same tradition as isto be found more fully expounded in the ‘Garaka Samhita, which i the final form ofthe compilation of Agaivesa and is Fo! Gur best source of Hindu medical knowledge as it existed in the last few) Eb ceataties n.c. Caraka is generally believed to have been the court physician to }_ Ripe Kanth at Peshavar ine ator stood emay 4 fd, TLR. Zimmer, on the evidence of the Bower manuscript» suggests a Pe possible third school parallel with Bhela and Aguivese. This oldest extant redicel manuscript, discovered by Lieut, A. Bower in tBg0 in a Buddhist S\(Imonument at Kuché, Chinese Turkestan, has been dated on the basis of Fi; palacography in the Second half of the fourth century A.D. but contains Lf HE. Zinwmer, op. city p- xl08. J. Fillioza, op. lt Ch, VET. Poi ellie opie Che Be ral veg. Caras, i 16, Ef ope phe Senshin Shoat text, Unvesy 0f Caioyts, 19a! See also P. Réyy Pentecost creed in Ancient an Meaoral nla’ Tndon Jourol af tory of ES Setence, Vol. 5, No. t(e1), A6-I00. Jo PSERT IR: Hoole, The Bower Noms, Ps 1,2, Arch. Survey of Tia, New Imp. Ser. 35, Cala, 19-1912150 Science raterial deriving from soveral centucies easier, and not only has certain chapters corresponding to those of Carake but almost identical pharraaceuti cal formulae, The work is interesting in that no reference is made to Carakay itis also significant in showing the penetration of Hindu medicine into Central Asia, Ayurveda (the scence of longevity) a set forth in Caraka makes no mention of surgery, ian. ‘The development of surgery is initially attributed to the genius SuSruta who may have taught and practised in Kait-(Varinasi, Banaras). He incorporated surgery. into jhe general field of medicine, advised a wide training and experience gained under Several teachers, stressed the importance of surgery in the study of anatomy (hich was the eajor weakness in Hindu medical knowledge), and altempted 4 slricer classification of existing data” which still resided in Separate mono- graphs marred by confusion and repetition. With Susruta alzo there ended the specialized tradition of elephant medicine. Hindu tradition made an eight-pat division ofthe field of etudy, broadly in respect of (a) diseases, their diagnosis and (reatment, and (b) the means of healing in reltion to the whole man, the philosophical and ethieal approach, ‘Thus under (a) we find illnesses requiting surgery (éalya) and the science of obstetrics; diseases of th eye, ear, nose, and throat (flaky); diseases due to the disturbance ofthe humours which involve the therapy ofthe whole organ- ism; mental and other disturbances of demoniacal origin; pediatrica, ic. children's diseases, caused by demons; and finaly, three aspects of dyureeda —tedicinal drags (agada) and antidotes, elixirs of life (rasayana), and Virility (eajikarana). More widely (b), we consider the organisa (lerra), its ‘moral and physical health (yi), the origins of disease, and, the-natore of pain and ilinss in terms of the balance of the humours, iretinent or action (Garman), the consequences of treatment, the influence of time (Kala) in re- spect of the age of the patient or perhaps the, seasons, an lastly, the profes- sional conduct of the agent or physician, his diagnosis, his methods and i stcuments (Zarane). Emphasis was laid upon the preventative aspect and early treatment. “There is no reference to hospitals in the ancient Hindu medica iteriture, but they evoive with the spread-of Buddhism. The second Rock Edict (c. 256 2.6, of the Maryan Emperor Afoks celebrates the beginnings of social med cine, whilst Ceylon, by the fousth century A.0., could boast some hospital, anda medical service; by royal command each physician served the villages, and veterinary officers tended the king's elephants and horses. Ample evidence ‘of the treatment of out-patient in dispensaries occursin.the Sagan literature of southera India.» 1% Tho present text ofthe Suuta Sunita probably dates from the Fourth century A. » Hay dyursei, ed Mabsdeva Cananui Apts (Ansadaicama Sanskrit Sot. No, XV), oq. H Zimmer, Spielun der Hlefaton, Minchen, 1925, Frankia Eegeton, The Hephan!. Lore of the Hinds, the Matanga-Llts of Nlokantha, Now Haven, Coon, 193%, On hares ‘medicine see Afomunidinka by Jayadata, and Aeaciklta by Naku, ed. Umelaeandra, Bibliotheca daca, Clout, 1887. "5. Guruimurihy, “Medial Slcace and Dispenstis ia Anclent Sauls Indians gleaned fom Epigraphy’, Zhan Jounal of History of Seles, Vol. 3. NO. # (3970), 16-3. Science m™ ‘We convenicatly leave the ancient world via the Siddhdntas, the astronomi= fal-treatises which in theniselves exhibit a transition ftom the Paitamaha Siddhanta, which retains the Vedinga astronomy, 1 the Sirya Siddhanta of ‘A, 400," which largely establishes the form of native astronomy for the Yi 7 duration of the Middle Ages. Varahamihira, e. a.D. sos summarized in bis [i Panchasidaantika the five Siddhantas entitled Paitdmaha, Vasishtha, Paulléa O} Romake, and Sirya, though his version of the Instenainedcindicates that j gradual changes i the text ofthis, the most important Siddhinta, must have fccurred subsequently, XK. S, Shukla lists ag a minimum twenty-eight com. ‘entaries on it by known authors, mostly in Sanskrit bat «wo in Telugu, si reaching to the carly cighteenth century, together with at.least:seventeen Matbsiatics and Astrongm, Locknow Universi, 196. % Suclikara Dvivedh, Sisheydiida of all, Beuaes, 1886,154 Science (a:b. 748), Matijula (4.0. 932), Aryabbata 115 (A.D. 950), Sripati (A.D. 1035 author of the Siddhanga Seklara and Ganita Tilak), and Bhisksta IE (6.0. 1150), who wrote the important treatise Sidahdnta Siromani, Since most of them 2iso made significant contributions to mathematics we shall meet them again in the ensuing pages. Hinds mathematics is undoubtedly the fnest intellectual achievement of the subcontinent in medieval times. Tt brought alongside the Greek geo- Ietrical legacy a powerful method in the form of analysis, not a deductive process building upon accepted axioms, postulates, and common notions, but {an intuitive insight into the bcheviour of numbers, and their arrangement ito patterns and series from which may be perceived induetive generalizations, in & word, algebra rather than geometry. This nstive power hes, fortunately, survived to modern times; Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), in Whom re- Sided a phenomenal memory allied with great facility in eeleulation, knew the positive integers ‘as personal friends". The quest for wider generalization be- ‘yond the limitations of pure geometry led the Hindus to abandon Ptolemy's ethod of reckoning in terms of chords of a circle and to substitute reckoning, jn sine, thereby initiating the study of trigonometry. Iso the philosophical tind of the brihman mathematician engrossed in the mystique of number that we owe the origin of analytical methods, In this process of absteaction two particularly interesting features emorged, at the.tower level of achieve- ‘ment the perfection of the decimal system, and at the higher the solution of certain indeterminate equations "The frst Hindu algebraist was Aryabhata J, of whore mathematical work wwe have only thirty-three sfokas which forma section of the astronomical ‘writing dryabhatiya. He had a prolonged influence in both astronomy and atbeniatics, a commentary, Bhatadlpika, upon the Aryabhariya being written by Patamesvara as Inte as 1430, The condensed form in which the mathe- matical knowledge of Aryabbata appears serves mainly as a criterion of the state of the subject at the end of the fifth century a.p., but certain topics Clearly emerge, e.g. square and cubs roots, simple areas and volumes, the simpler properties of circles, sines, gnomon problems, arithmetical progres- sions, factors, and simple algébraic-identties; whilst » is stated a8 3 1¥%¥s vc. 31416). Algebra is now defined as a separate study (ba) and ther given a gencral solution in whole numbers of the indeterminate equation of the first degree, Sections 3 and 4 of the dryablatiya deal respectively with time reckoning (kélakrivdpada) and spherical astronomy (golapdda), the latter treatment uitimately beating its full Frution in the spherical trigonometry of 2 Ty Maa Shira of dryabbafa If, Bensres, 191, % Babuall Mists, The Sddhdnra-Sekhara of Spal, wir the Commentary of Mkk(bhatta (gop. 1377), University of Caleuta, Ptr 1932, Pt 2, 1947. H.R: Kapadia, Ganliatlaka by ‘Spat, wth the Commentary of Sinhala Siri(e. A.D. 1273) (Garkwat's Osienal Set.78), Ontentt Institete, Baroda, 1937. '» For souree materials see 8. N, Sea, A Bibliography of Sanskrit Works in Astronomy and ‘Mashenatles, National Tesitute of Sclences of India, Calcutta, 1965, fa, "Tht Aryabhatiyam, own. Dept. of Leters, Univerity of Coleutt, 6 ‘The viryabhatiya of Aryabhata, Chicago, 1930.K. 8. Set, Ayabhaity of Aryabloja T, with the Commentary Mahtohotya of Nilakagiha (A.D. 1300) 3 paris, ‘Trivandrum, 1930-6. Setence 155 the Muslin astronomers Abi Raikn al-Bitat and Nasi al-Din al-To Whilst Aryabhata I excelled as an observer and in the classificat of astronomical data, Brahmigupta was stronger as a mathematician, Brahma- -gipta is noted for his Brahmasphuta Siddhania (s.0. 628) where in the a — and saheedalh chapters may be found important mathematical de- yclopments, and his Khandakhadyakat* (665), with its supplement Uttara EO Khandathddyake. The work on cyclic quadeiaternls (2, feorsised Rogues | tbe acento the Inds in he geometry of te ce bootns [Sem of whieh hey tended fo tin tthe han fo terms of angles Drab. [porte showed tnt eee eee (2) Ifthe sides of a cyclic quadrilateral are of lengths a, b, 6, d, and its semfpeineter es hen tase i A= Ve-0 6-9 6-6-8) () Ifthe éingooal ofthe same quatre eof eats x andy, then the relations between these diagonals and the sides ofthe quadtilateral ‘re expressed by ‘Brahmagupta’s Theorem’. x = (ad+bc) (ae+bd)-(ab-+el) YF = (ab ted) (acd bd) +(ad-be) [-@) Wa, b,c and p, 9, rare the sides of two separate rightangled triangles, a auch that at4-b'=e%, pt+g'=r, then if we make a quadrilateral of whl fe ies ae the products or oy and ep ths quadleter called ‘Brahmagupta's Trapezivm’, will be eyelie and its diagonals will leeset at ig sagen ns ue ane ponds wi r Using the newer consent of sas of angles, not anges, Brahmagopt, inthe ist slanaa of his chapter inthe Khordathadyaka onthe sing and sting of EE plans, gies he fora which i now enpered oo Ee a b e Bi ZK = Si ZB ~ fia ZO 1e astronomical writings of Brahimagupta were known in western India at “be time of the Muslim javasion of Sind (4.o. 712) and also to Aba Raihin Jal-Birinl on his Indian journey some three centuries Inter, and there is little 4 iitmie astronomers wee indebted fo Gresk and Hada mathematics and ia some 1e- ects Improved on both. Seo e.g. ALirini, Al-Qdnin Al Aaredy 3 vols. Osmania, Publications Buresu, Hyderabad-Decean, 1954-6. FS. Kennedy and Ahmad Muri, {Beal oo the Soin Equation oun. New Eastern Std, Vol 1, Nov 2 959. 3 Ge) Winter, "Formative Inuences lnislale Scenes" Arch. Int. @iltolee dev Sconces, 31-4 Ep c(sspiziga. A, Carthtodory,Trité da quadilatre, Constatioopley 189 Sidhkars Dive, Brehmasphufa’ Slddhinta' and. Diytna-Grabopedeyidiyaya by wot, cepiot from The Pandl, NS, 24 (1902), Sanskrit ext. 2 vole, “A shott treatise in astronomy which Is a8 pleasant af TWh ang fom he gc etn! in the Bena tua tat cots hse Coma Somgche vehi oe GOR Nines tte Sen oatenas noe156 Science ube hat sey were one ofthe medi through which Hindu astronomy and sa too hea dry fs “ADDAS caliphate” OF a mathematics pass (0 Os unum tothe Wen the sale’ Windy racic) ate nel gystem and tbe simpler algebraic and trigonometric] wera and deus oneatve unas andthe higher algebra of sen Ee mntiomats ye conan died in. 0 po ep cempan!and hogan fret conpried any rae ee cetean; game whch hd ens en ditt dipline in the Suloa Sitras, was now widened in scope and assimilated into Spin i a Se eats ecu ofthis hind of prseataion to be found in the Bakhshalf manuscript,!* which is written in old Saradé ee eae at batons fre war wneatbd fon «ound oe SSS AME Sennen May 8h Uneartinysecunds re ints bs aca aed tear athe dent 08 a estas tel. et, hel eseonred ay eae tu of ebns eatin, embraced proble In wh tee ree ee tukow aus than hte wee equation ah we 0 Sd Me en eae equations ws a nouble feta ef bl Soh Ge mutunrts Song hema pee ee ae aay sub enced He zeih io Dhskora Te de celta estan afte intdegee caution in tere of the puter Fe cae sah any whens mated yw umber ard a et bey ts gen gua, um ordre Ue ee ot render uy a pen divi tha be obaned ee ee ad whic say the enuation art bye aor ven cautions of te econ degree nthe ors aebyre= 39 and woh 2 aecady ben investigated by Brahnapupt, bute solo ofthe goer axtebeee =) by the chakravéla or cyclic method, was effected by Bhaskara IT in-a manner which Le steadier aoe en a eee a Shu, Lachoow Univ, #959, 88 ay he si Manner, Ashlie Say ai, Ne Ima Ser Vl Bt 2 GA ET idee wad Mem fro te Same of Seales sn Soacn Seige hs. Ae tor of hskre Samm of et Ft own Ded, hante-Siromasi by Bhdskara If, Sanskrit ans Hine Vols, | and 3, Lucknow, 194109 _ aoa tere ae (tas Hob trey i He Cowon opel pp. 2B Science = around the middle of the twelfth century; independent European investiga. tions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries did not reach completion about 1770, with the work of Bulet and Lagrange ‘The delightful Liteati and Sijaganiva, which form pact of the Sidddnca [Ey Siromari of Bhiskaca Ml, have been widely used since this componition, A {£ Persian version of Lilaai* appeaced in 1567 onthe orders of Akbar and one 2 29f Bu gaia in 1635 for Shah Jahan. Bijagnuita is intersting in tha it cone taine a demonstration of the theorem of Pythagoras which is distinct from that of Encl 1,47. The deductive proof in Euclid represents the squnces raven externally upon the thee sider of right-angled triangle, whereas the “Aigore in Bhaskar, which may well derive ultimately from the Chinese Chote ©) Pel Suan Ching of the Han peciod, is not part of a deductive system but i simply 0 practical demonsirstion which shows how two given squares may be 9 cu that the parts fit together agnin to form a third square. Lictt was cE later sialled by the Gane Kanna, composed in 1356 by Nevivana, « work = notable for its treatment of magic squarex Indian interest in magic squares feflectd in Siese mathematics ofthe seventeenth century. A vast literature surrounds the history of the so-called. Hindu Arabic sumer, Whereas theft pieaphic evidence orzo cers tries oe Dhojadeva inscriptions at Gwalior, around a.p. 870, much cari records illotating (he use of place value come from Cambodia (604), Champa (603), Fa n(n Aan? Camb np of fis hdl os to sepresent zero, whist an inscription on Banka Isidnd of 686 shows the closed ring, These are no doubt the result of the Hindi influence in South. East Asi, just as inthe case ofthe Po-lo-men (oribman) books tansmited j 0 China during the great period of Buddhist interchange Gay 350-1050), ot the calendricl texts of eastern Turkestan which derive from Sanskrie0r te [ Featlee dissemination of Indian ideas amongst the ‘Greeks, Iranians, and [iy Chinese in Khotan in the days of Kanishka. Confining ourselves, through the FF limitations of space, to questions of exigin only, we may quote a happy sg. fs aestion of Joseph Needham: It may be very significant thst the older titersey Andian references simply use the word *Stnya'=-emptines, just as if they are [1 describing the empty spaces-on Chinese counting boards." | fic During the medieval period the mediea! tradition of Caraka and Susruta vas continued by the Buddhist Vixbhafa (perhaps eighth eenturs) wh sume [= marized the cight divisions of mediine in his Ashingalviday Sani.” Ins i oe J. Winter and A, Mirza, Jown. Asiatic Society, Bengal, Science, Vol, 18, No. t i930 2 Sc ea, loem ef. Todhinter, ito Si Ee Tf Heat, Everyman Reprint endo, 1955 b 266. Neston. Selnc and Clann cing, Wtrn Came P1959, p. 22. H. T. Cokebrooke, op. cit, p. 222. Nissen Paodi, Cate Round Pices of Wals Dhayina Tous, Govermeat ‘SusktCalag, Rents, Va. 36s Vol ee MDa Lote. Desiotindryaume a St Vel. 2923588; Probie des ‘neces estan sian es fens Rata a NetN ap Vl ten 1, Higeborg en WY, Rive Veet’ Asigoidy mnie atts abr Fehr Mele ees, pp Re Vol Seth foe ST Fiat ne Chaps of Tbs Pecan, ith 96s Beto ash BR Sansiri Lieratre, Oxfors, 192, . $10. see158 Solence Portance was attached to the use of minerals and natural slts in pi fions, and books of such prescriptions appeared in popular medicine.* Medicine and chemistry were closely allied, Alchemy wos an integral part of ‘Tantric mysticism, Throoghout the Tantei period (c. 700-e. 1309) end the ensng Iatrochemiea perio (1300-c. 1550) the philosophy of mercury, which in the Rasoraimakara ofthe slchesit Naggrjuna and the Sava tanta Rasér- rnava wes concerned essentially with the elixi of life, gredually developed es xempliiein the Rosana Somcchaya and many athe similar treatises, into the more realistic study of mercurial remedies and the chemical bebaviour of the metals.” Indian alchemy reached Tibet® in the early eighth century with the spread of Buddhism, andi o be found inthe great scriptures Kanjur and Tanjur. In the field of raetallcgy remarkable technologieal competence was aticined as carly asthe foucth and fifth centuries; the easing of the pure- copper Buddha ac Sulangan in Bibi and the welding of wrought-ion shapes to complete the Iron Pillar near Delhi eannot fail to inspire the highest respect.tt Vv Jn astronomy the Muslim tradition of instramental technology survived in India until the middle of the eighteenth century. The astrolabe, which had been lovingly perfected by generations of Persian and Arab erafismen and ‘was again executed in fine Workmanship by the family of ‘Isa b. Allalidéd in Lahore'® in the reign of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1605-27), was sed by the astronomers in the service of the Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh TI (16861743) fat his observatories in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Varinasi (Beoares), and Mathura." Though Jai Singh's principal astronomer was the Hindu Jaga ‘ath he made full use of European and Islamic ideas. In particular his massive ‘masonry quadrants and dials, constructed to alain maximum accurécy, in the absence of the telescope in India, closely follow the precedent set by the Samarkand observatory of Uhugh Beg. On a much simpler level the gnomon, which in Borneo consists of a vertical staff placed in the ground (the co ‘tangent form), appeared with a short horizontal piece inserted near the top of the staf (the tangent form). A shepherd’s imestick of the latter type, insribed ndgart script and from Nepal, has been described elsewhere by the present writer ‘Dating the late eighteenth and most ofthe nineteenth centuries Europeans resident in India eid South-East Asia, excited by the new world of natural See eg, Flabeth Sharpe, An Eiphtlundred Year Ol Book of Indian Medicine ond Formuies, from Old Hind, Losdon, 192. “Waeherye Pratula Chandra ROY, HHory of Chemistry In Ancent and Meélaesal-Iadia, now edited by P. y, Indian Chemical Society, Cleat, 1936. Ray, op. cl, Toten lees, Bp 449-56. 22 furner, Taian Jovenal af Httory of Science, Vol. $, No. 21970), Sections XX. H1.3, 5. Wioter, “The Moslin Tradition in Asteanamy", Endeavour 10 (195). 1. Frank nd, Mayechol, Ela asrleb aus dem indices Moguveche, Heidelberg, 92s. 0, R. Kaye, The Astronomiea! Obseromertes of Ja Singh, Archaeol. Survey of Indi, New Tinperal Series, Vol 40, Caleutta, 1918 ‘sy, Needham, op. ety Vol. 3,» 286. Ri Je, Winter, Plyat, Vol 4 Pe 4 (1984), 377-84. Science 159 "istory eround them, began the process of describing and classifying the Enitive lore and fauna, ‘Thus the remerkable realism of the Mughal court inter" especklly of Ustéd Mansar under the patronene of Jahanett hit “tei an ardent naturalist, was followed by sill more accurate st form d S¢ated by the requirement of scientific recording, Beautiful drawings by Indian, "Chinese, and European acsts survive from this period. ® ‘ndia'has not failed in this century to produce her Fellows of the Royal Society. We conclude with the three names of SiC. V. Raman, Sir. C. Bose, “aiid 8. Ramanujan, Raman investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Ethe general problem of the molecular scattering of light,” which includes an explanation of the colours of the sky and the sea. In the course of these in- 7 estigetions he drcovered in 1908 that when a trnnapacen iguid i radiated ‘by a strong source of light of frequency n the spectrom lines as seen through the spectrometer used to examine the seatsred light contain not only the ex- “titng line n but several weaker lines of frequencies nd on either side, The inal elues dn depend not upon » but only upon the nature of the readied iquis. This phenomenon has been named the Raman Effect and explained a terms of the quantum theosy of Bitsein and Planck. Rose evosied the ‘oundares dividing physics and biology. In remarkable series of researches ‘which the taitionel indo sensitivity to the © living world of plants nnd animals attsined a new understanding, he mede « © unigue contribution to our knoviedge of physiological response I the course te apparatas to measure extcemely short inter vals of time and rates of reaction. Of his bigh magnification crescograph, which could detect arate of growth in plants of the order of one millionth oF [Fa milimetre per second, ie wrote: So sensitive isthe recorder that it shews a © change of growth-ente du to slight increase of illumination by the opening of Sn addtional window: Bose reached the ultimate in the stady of the inertia of mechanical systems prior to the development of the eathode-ay orcilo- graph and the new methods of electron engineering In Srinivats Ramamjen ° (1887-1920) ve sée once again the bribmaa mathematician inspired by the "stheoty of numbers, leaping intuitively to generalizations whilst the les gifted ponder on the intermetiate steps. The “quiet, meditative child who used 10 £25k questions about the distances of the stars’, who later said that the goddess [ist or Nornktat fc him with formate in is dears, and iho helped to crete F2 te benuifl pressions in the Rogers Ramanujan identities, developed e5 18, M, Hasan, "The Mughal Schon of Zoological Portraltuc’, Arts and Letters, Jounal Roy, Ladi Pakistn and Ceylon Soctery, Val. 37, NO.» (1983) 3-13 ‘dred Archer, Nana! History Drawings in the Ina Office Library, WMS.O., | Landon, 1952. CV. Raman, The Moleulr Difracion of Ligh, University of Caleutta, 922. Raman and Krishnao, Pree. Roy. Soe. 123 (1929).23. "=P, Geddes, The Life onl Work of Sir Jagedts C. Bose, London, 1927. Sic Jagadis (Chunder Boss, Colered Psteal Papers, Trans. Bose Inst, Catcuta, and Lonknans Gree, London 1927. Ibkhy 330. 10. H, Hardy, PV. Sesia Aijar, and B, M Wilson, The Collected Papers of Stisioara aj, Catrie, 19 t's Pros. Camb. Piles. Society, 19160 Selence G.H. Hardy has recorded, an ‘insight into algebraical formulae, transforme- tion of infinite series, and so forth, that was most amazing. On this side most certainly I have never met his equél, and I can compare him only with Euler and Jacobi. "in this survey emphasis las been laid upon the more recent investigations; the older works, important though some of them, such as those of Colebrooke ‘and Thibaut, stil are, have been only briefly mentioned, but any further in- formation relating to them may be found by studying the material listed in the select references atthe foot of each page; with the rapid development of researches into the history of science in Asia in the last few years priority of ‘pace must be given tothe results of these researches, especially those obtained by native scholars. Thus, the pioneer writings of Sudhakara Dvivedi of Varanasi (Benares) on Hindu mathematics have now been suppfersented by the publications on ancient astronomy and mathematics to the memory of Sit Asutosh Mookerjee by the University of Calcutta and by the current seties of texts being issued by the Department of Astronomy and Mathematics ‘of Lucknow University. Islamic seience is represented by Dr. Nizamuddin throug the impressive series of publications of the Osmania Bureau of Hyderabad in the Decean® Two conferences in 1952 and 196t have helped to clarify ideas,” and research papers are now appearing in the newly estab- Jished Indian Journal of che History of Sciences (See also Addenda.) It isin Sanskrit that the soul of India lies; the problem is one of interpreta tion of the slokas or stanzas which enshrine the ancient wisdom, a process often rendesed more dificult in astronomy and matlematies by the condensed nature of the original presentation. Morcover, meny manuscripts have been lost, for example the eighth-century writings Fatiganita and Siddhdnata Tilaka of Lalla and the ninth-century Govindakriti of Govinda; though there are hers being discovered and examined. Its desirable that the significant bireh= bark and palm-leat manuscripts should be dated by the Carbon-14 process.” “Hindu seience, though conservative, is strong in classification, This {ely evident not only in medicine but in the world’s earliest scientiic fgrammac, that of Panini, established by the fourth century 3.c. It is assoc ative, dravving by intuition from an accumulated background of experience; the ditect path of deduction so beloved of the Greeks is alien to it, Tt lies outside the European tradition: In both arcient and medieval times the native roastet-pupil relationship had its tciumphs and its failures; on the one hand ‘schools’ would merely perpetuate traditional methods or simply die away, on the other the torch of learning would be kindled anew by the genius of some isolated guri, We may study Hindu science only within the framework of The Collected Papers of Ramanujan, 3.333%. OF WE. Clark im the Lepocyof Indio, pp. 335-68. 1 See eucreal catalogue of tho Arable publcalions of the Dalrat ula’ Hyderabad, Deccan. ‘See eg. "Symposiom on the History of Sciences in South Asia’, Proc. Nat. Inst, of Selec of Tia, Vols 1, No. 4 (1982), 325-62, “t Onesolume has appeared annualy sites 1965. A Cancise History of Science ls Indin by D. Mt Bose 5. Ny, Sem tnd BV. Subbarayapps has jst been published by the Indian National Sciences Academy (Caiuti, 1979. iW. F Lilly, Radiocarbon Dating, University of Chicago Press, 2nd eda. 1955 Osmais, RE ae Science br philosophy and religion. ‘To the guru intuition meant illumination rom the infinite ocean of knowledge, and might, like a final cadence in Indian music, al any moment fade imperceptibly away. ADDENDA A recent attempt by Finnish philologists to read the Indus Valley script using a computer method seems to indicate that the nakshatras are of Harap- ppan origin, as also are the later Dravidian names of the five planets related to their colours (e.g. Mars, the ‘red star’). Should this be substantiated, it would locate the origin of the nakshatras, aditionally associated with the Hindus, within the earlier Indus Valley culture. (See e.g. Asko Parpola, Annales Acadensiae Scientiarum Fennicae, XL, st. B. tom. 185, Helsinki, 1973.) ‘An Institute of History of Medicine and Medical Research was inaugurated at Tugluqabad, New Dethi, early in 1970, and incorporates the library of Dr. Cyril L, Elgood.CHAPTER XIIL Ancient and Modern Languages by T. Bumnow ‘Taw literary tradition of India goes back more than 3,000 years, and during the greater part of thistime it was dominated by Sanskrit frst its Vediojand later in its classical form, ‘The early Axyan invaders of India brought ‘with them, along with other elements of & developed culture, a language of great shies and precision, and # higbly eutivated poetic tradition, ‘The ehiet tastodians and exponeats ofthis poetic art were the families of priests, evantu- ally to develop into the brahman caste, who were also the guardians and Srectitioners ofthe Vedio religion. The hymns to various deties composed by Tnembers of these families were orally preserved, frst among the several families concerned, and. were eventual united into one great collection known os the Rig Veda. This text not only served the pucposes of religion, but it provided common literssy standard for the Aryan tribes of India, ‘Tbe compilation ofthe ater Veda Followed after no rest neva, ad the corpus of Vedie poetry, whose beginnings may be fixed sonaeshere round 1300 B.C Svas probably complete in the main by about 1000 3.c, After this date byron Were no longer composed in the old poetic tadition, and instend there de Yeloped an extensive prose literature devoted to ritual matters, in @ form of Tanguage notably younger than that ofthe hymns, and showing some signs of telug based ona dialect situnted somewhat fortber to the east, This prose Iiteratuve was lso entirely oral, and its language is remarkably uniform. The petlod of the older Bralimanas, as these prose texts are called, may be put oughly at zo20-800 4.c,, but the Innguage continued to be used without Toticeable change for to or three cenlUries more, The next milestone in the History of Sanskrit is the Graoimar of Panini, which describes in complete detsila form ofthe language younger then that of the Bralimanas, and based on the spoken usage ofthe educated brihmans of the time, Panini's exact date {S unknown, but the fourth century v.c. may be given asa rough estimete, His grammer quickly giined universal acceptance, and as a result the form ofthe Sanskrit language as described by him was fixed for al ime. “The reason why Sanskrit asa language evolved no further ater Pint was not only his authority, but also the fact that by this time the Aryan Ianguage dhad become divided int to, on the one hand Sansksit, the language ofleara- ng, and in pasticulr the language of the brdbman caste and of it religion, and on the other hand Prakrit, the language ofthe masses, These terms did not {infact come into use until some conturis later, but the dichotomy was already cstablished by the ime of Buddba and Mahivira, From this time on normal Finguistic evetution affected only the vernacular language, Prakrit or Middle Indo-Aryan; Sanskrit remained fixed jn the final form given to it by Panini, dnd conignued tobe used asthe language ofthe educated closes, although, a3 Ancient and Modern Languages 163 Aime went on, the dilference between increased Although the gep between Sanskrit and the ordinary spoken language grew progressively, this did not have an adverse effect on the use of Sanskrit, but rather its importance grow with time, For instance the language of admi tion in Mauryan times, as attested by the inseriptions of Agoka, was Prakrit, and this continved for some centuries; but gradually Prakrit was replaced by Senskait until finally Sanskrit was almost exclusively used for this purpo similar development took place among the Buddhists. Originally, according 0 the directions of Buddha himself, their texts were composed in Middle Indo-Aryan, and the scriptures of the Theravada School ave preserved in one + form of this, namely Pali, but later, shortly after the Christian era, the northern Buddhists turned to Sanskrit, The old seriptures were translated into Sanskeit, and new works were composed in that language. As an intermediate singe some schools developed @ mixed or hybrid language which contiawed use for some time, The Jainas, though ata much later date, followed the ex- ample of the Buddhists, and also began to compose in Sanskcit instead of Prdkrit. On the whole it can be said that during the last 600 years of pre- [5 Muslim India Sanskrit was more extensively and exclusively used than at any time since the close of the Vedic period, ‘The Vedic literature, both verse and prose, was composed and handed {down orally. This was a remarkable achievement, and it was only possible be- ‘couse there existed a class of people, the brahmans, the major effort of whose lives was devoted to this end. Ai the same time it had a limiting effect, inas- svc as such literature as remains is confined mainly to the religious sphere. ‘The introduction of writing took place probably about the same time as Panini was codifying the rules of the Sanskrit language, and it rendered pos- sible a vast extension of the uses to which the recently codified language could bo put. Nevertheless the process was at first slow, due partly to the above- mentioned competition of Middle Indo-Aryan. The Sanskrit literature pre- = served from the time of Panini and the centuries immediately following is stilt mainly religious, consisting of various siras attached to the Vedic schools, “Their language corresponds mainly to that of Pinini, but tolerates a number of dcregularties Which would not later be allowed. «In the field of secular literature Sanskrit epic poetry was the next most im- portent development, but the oral tradition in this field seems to have con- tinued for some time, so that it was not until considerably later that the ‘writen epics in the form that we have them took shape, The epic language also, though following Pénini as e rule, admits a considerable number of itcegularities, The use of Sanskrit prose for scientific, technical, and philoso- phical purposes is first exemplified on x large scalé by the Mahdohisiva, Patanjal's commentary on Kiiyiyana’s Vartikas:to. Panini's grammar, {which ean be dated with some certainty to the second century 9.c. After this time, end particulerly during the early centuries of the Chistian era, a great corpus of technical scientific literature, covering the fields of philosophy, icine, polities, and administration, ete, came into existence. In the same i and the ordinary spoken language164 Ancient and Modern Languages J nth entry te, beginning with Klis, whois probably to be paced in the se toy avec vain a dah ete (iets ty exten Mea heron bal eed is he cay centres aby bathe aan th a aaa ce pried are mul ee ee ue Taw ots coniersble amoun tr sifu Rte Saas ar enigma ee Gg ie eae keeiees sed in the areas of Indian agi the Anan noth 2m part A Indone,sesAtheend of te peta sane Stahe fact thatthe diference between ie and the spoken vernaculacs had now become very great, it was flourishing as strongly as ever. tee sana we cer ony ested he Msn inasony ish eae see Wet ttoe ns ocean ashy een the ee at fhe se ee Stes pled sons Penen tht oe ngs a6 sch tnousty pc i bancet nu ate Nee: Te erste erate continued sronly and the abet 1 adn ems heh wets compoued dung he Msi pelos LE eee The pico Baten rule eer ftir Trsurale influence om Suns since a ne langaage of eign sp peared in the field, while the inereasing use of the modera Indo-Aryan et Iafrate oa spo yer coon aes was. ft ale ca tothe eset te, and Ja Sancho hat contin oe roars adopaion te oats thccxpesion of nogers sen, From the practe! point of view demain we Regs ann pt pest ew ote of vob) she oben ngage Sma co poe on gee sew fogthe modern Wes Sately needed, and whch he Todt la Se et auppi from ther on foe “ee ete Middle Indo-Aryan Iressa ato me vb he id ne atta blest numer eared a arya ete eal less, of whch erate msl uti, Fee dy he beset, td We nctheser, The Budd a heen A ned sn Maga ad a ou, oly, Do TREAERETN to ane eon semevi intel ten abs om RAN tenn rater avecrst. Consequently when te religions speed we ada change tn ngie paces eee eee. Te SRC ta aoe hor nnn peo Set rae ete at Pa tosh te soe: wee tans bed 1 anes erae wok bt ae nex sl romans 0 vio se eeepeden he Gina ginest fe nrhes Ts is ae rece menined soar Sense for Md ee-An ek eters Posy than a sme choos of pein an ee nas Baga yond Sankt The aias so modi Ancient and Modern Languages 165 {heir original Magacr dialect, though reteining certain Magadhi character tics, and this modified language is appropriately known as Ardbamagadbt or | HaltMagadhi, It also represents a considerably later stage in the develop- 38.2 ment of Middle Indo-Aryan than Pali and the texts composed init are mainly 59 fof later origin. Middle Yado-Aryan is divided into three stages, and it covers a period angiog from 500 v.c, to A.D, 1000, The first stage is represented by Pali and “the insriptions of ASoka and later rulers, and comprises the period up to sf shorily after the Christian era, The term Prakrit, whien used in the narrow "sence, applies to the second stage. It consists of the dialects described by the Eoprakrit grammarians, and itis exemplified in the drama, and ia certain lytic EJ and epic poems in the Mabarashtrt dialect, but principally in the canonical {and post-canonical writings ofthe Jains. The drama is eoverned by an interest- «ing convention, according to which kings, ministers, and learned men speak {( Sanskrit, while'men of fower status and women speak Prakrit,« practice re= Foflecting, no doubt, the current usage of tho time. Various Prakrit dislects are used ja drama, according to the prescriptions of the granitnarians, The lan guage of ordinary dialogue is Saurasent, which would strictly be the dialect oF the Mathura region, but whieh no doubt represents the language ofthe wider {{ area now kuown as Uttar Pradesh. The Maharashitt dialect, based on what is [E. bitious and eavying Yudhistbira’s prosperity, challenged him to a gambling S match, sure of victory through the trickery of an uncle. Yudhisthira loses ‘everything, his kingdom, and finally bis Queen Draupadi, who is publicly stripped as a slave by Dusyodbana’s brother, a humiliation she will never for- give, The elders intervene and errange terms: Draupadi is restored but Yudhisthira and his brothers are condemned to twelve years’ exile and a further year incognito, After enduring this, they enter the service of King Virifa of Matsya, From this base, Yudhisthira sends Kygpa a3 envoy to acgotiate the restoration of a kingdom, but Ducyodhans will not give up even. one village and war becomes inevitable. Yuhistbiea marshals his alles against 1 huge enemy army snd the battle lasts eighteen days. The main events are single combats: finally, through the stratagems of Krsna (deceit and foul ~ blows contrary to the warciors’ code), the Pindavas destroy their enemies and Yudhisthira becomes Emperor. We should note the etiiical questions raised by this story of a fratricidal war of succession, with ts bitter passions and terrible slaughter. Yudhisthira’s claim was legally sound, but Duryodhana stood for the time-honoured right J, of the first born and his descendants, Yudhigthira lost his kingdom through ddocoit and regained it through deceit, The loss was accompanied by hurniliat- ing insult, generating an anger that only the blood of the enemy could quench. ‘The Mahabharata fascinated Indian historians, who took it asa kind of model for their work, whilst critics argued about its sesthetic significance aud dramatists and other authors reinterpreted it. Many held that the ultimate aesthetic experience produced by it was the calmed state arising from the re nunciation of destructive woridly ambitions. Indeed in the extant Maha- bharaia Yudhisthira finally abdicates, after hearing of the tragic death of Kysoa, and retires to the Himalaya, leaving the Empire te his brother Arjuna’s grandson. In contrast to the simple style of the Mahdbhdrata, with its refrains and repetitions and verse-filling epithets, kduya, or literature asit developed gradu ally from about the fh century n.c., becomes highly organized in form, richly adorned with figures of speech, taut in style, profuse in metres, and above all aimed at producing methodically a defined aesthetic experience in an. audience, hearer, or reader. This trend, especially in metres, can be traced Dack to some of the Iyries of the Buddhist agama, the Tripizaka, available in Pali, which appear to reflect secular lyrics in the Mégadht language of the Buddha's time, The Tripttaka was enriched by the art of certain poets and actors who, becoming Buddhist monks, applied it in praise of the Buddba i suitable for meditation (notably find also dramatic dialogues in the Tripifaka, in verse with prose stage ditec- tions, showing the same new metrical art apparently extended to the stage.co Classical Literature Apart from some incidental discussions on genres, figures of speech, ete, in the ‘Tripifaka and in grammatical and other warks, the Napyasaira’ of “Dharata’ (the mythical first *Actor’) is the oldest work of Indian literary criticism now available, It is the outcome of several centuties of theatrical practice by hereditary actors, from the fifth century 3.¢. or earlier down to about the second century 4.0., no doubt at first handed down by oral tradition like the Mahabhérava. The purpose of draraa is the amusement of the audience, ‘but the ‘joy’ (arsa) and solace given them is not left to chance by the actors Dut induced through a special cechnique or method of acting, The drama is an imitation of all the actions of the world, but the essential part of this is the emotions (bidvas) which the characters ate represented as experiencing during their actions, These are eight basic emotions: love, humour, energy, anger, fear, grief, disgust, and astonishment. These are not conveyed directly but by playing their eauses and effects, the later including other, transient, emotions. ‘The audience, imagining the basic emotions in the characters through this acting, enjoys eight corresponding tastes (rasa), in other words the peccep- tion of them, the aesthetic experience (not the emotional experience its) correspondingly divided into sensitive (peiception of love), comic, heroic, furious, apprebonsive, compassionate, horrific, and marvellous. Besides being essentially enjoyable, the deama is incidentally insteuetive because it repre- sentsall Kinds of actions, good and bad, and the ends or motives which inspire them. ‘According to the Nafyasdstra, drama originated because of the conflicts which arose in sociely when the world declined from the Golden Age (Krte Yuga) of harmony. Thus @ drama always presents a conflict and its resolu- tion, and in construction, the conversion ofa story into a *plot’, with its ele- ments and conjunctions, is based on the single main action which ends the coofiict, Each of the five ‘conjunctions’ (opening, re-opening, embryo, obstacle, und conelusion) of a full-scale play is bodied out with up toa dozen dramatic incidents and situations (ts ‘limbs’ or parts), showing the charac- ters in action; and a large aumber of other dramatic devices were available to express the'eauses and effects of emotion through incidents celated to the ultimate action. Among these devices, the discussion of the ‘characteristics’ of