History of Sanskrit Literature -8 (BY ARTHUR A. MACDONELL

History of Sanskrit Literature

(BY

ARTHUR A. MACDONELL, M. A., Ph.D.

BODEN PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT)

The Mdndukya is a very short prose Upanishad,

which would hardly fill two pages of the present book.

Though bearing the name of a half-forgotten school

of the Rigveda, it is reckoned among the Upanishads

of the Atharva-veda. It must date from a considerably

later time than the prose Upanishads of the three older

Vedas, with the unmethodical treatment and prolixity

of which its precision and conciseness are in marked

contrast. It has many points of contact with the

Maitrdyana Upanishad, to which it seems to be posterior.

It appears, however, to be older than the rest

of the treatises which form the fourth class of the

Upanishads of the Atharva-veda. Thus it distinguishes

only three morae in the syllable am, and not yet three

and a half. The fundamental idea of this Upanishad

is that the sacred syllable is an expression of the universe.

It is somewhat remarkable that this work is

not quoted by (^ankara ; nevertheless, it not only exercised

a great influence on several Upanishads of the

Atharva-veday but was used more than any other Upanishad

by the author of the well-known later epitome

of the Vedanta doctrine, the Veddnta-sdra.

It is, however, chiefly important as having given

rise to one of the most remarkable products of Indian

philosophy, the Kdrikd of Gaudapada. This work consists

of more than 200 stanzas divided into four parts,

the first of which includes the Mdndukya Upanishad,

242 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

The esteem in which the Kdrikd was held is indicated by

the fact that its parts are reckoned as four Upanishads.

There is much probability in the assumption that its

author is identical with Gaudapada, the teacher of

Govinda, whose pupil was the great Vedantist commentator,

(^ANKARA (800 A.D.). The point of view of

the latter is the same essentially as that of the author

of the Kdrikd, and many of the thoughts and figures

which begin to appear in the earlier work are in

common use in Cankara's commentaries. (^ankara

may, in fact, be said to have reduced the doctrines of

Gaudapada to a system, as did Plato those of Parmenides.

Indeed, the two leading ideas which pervade

the Indian poem, viz., that there is no duality (advaitd)

and no becoming (ajdti)y are, as Professor Deussen

points out, identical with those of the Greek philosopher.

The first part of the Kdrikd is practically a metrical

paraphrase of the Mdndukya Upomishad. Peculiar to

it is the statement that the world is not an illusion or

a development in any sense, but the very nature or

essence (svablidvd) of Brahma, just as the rays, which

are all the same (i.e. light), are not different from the

sun. The remainder of the poem is independent of

the Upanishad and goes far beyond its doctrines. The

second part has the special title of Vaitathya or the

"Falseness" of the doctrine of reality. Just as a rope

is in the dark mistaken for a snake, so the Atman in

the darkness of ignorance is mistaken for the world.

Every attempt to imagine the Atman under empirical

forms is futile, for every one's idea of it is dependent

on his experience of the world.

The third part is entitled Advaita, "Non-duality."

The identity of the Supreme Soul (Atman) with the

THE KARIKA OF GAUDAPADA 243

individual soul (jiva) is illustrated by comparison with

space, and that part of it which is contained in a jar.

Arguing against the theory of genesis and plurality,

the poet lays down the axiom that nothing can become

different from its own nature. The production

of the existent (satojanmd) is impossible, for that would

be produced which already exists. The production of

the non-existent {asato janmd) is also impossible, for

the non-existent is never produced, any more than the

son of a barren woman. The last part is entitled Alataganti,

or " Extinction of the firebrand (circle)," so called

from an ingenious comparison made to explain how

plurality and genesis seem to exist in the world. If

a stick which is glowing at one end is waved about, fiery

lines or circles are produced without anything being

added to or issuing from the single burning point. The

fiery line or circle exists only in the consciousness

(yijnana). So, too, the many phenomena of the world

are merely the vibrations of the consciousness, which

is one.

CHAPTER IX

THE SUTRAS

{Circa 500-200 B.C.)

As the Upanishads were a development of the speculative

side of the Brahmanas and constituted the textbooks

of Vedic dogma, so the (Jrauta Sutras form the

continuation of their ritual side, though they are not,

like the Upanishads, regarded as a part of revelation.

A sacred character was never attributed to

them, probably because they were felt to be treatises

compiled, with the help of oral priestly tradition, from

the contents of the Brahmanas solely to meet practical

needs. The oldest of them seem to go back to about

the time when Buddhism came into being. Indeed it

is quite possible that the rise of the rival religion gave

the first impetus to the composition of systematic

manuals of Brahmanic worship. The Buddhists in

their turn must have come to regard Sutras as the type

of treatise best adapted for, the expression of religious

doctrine, for the earliest Pali texts are works of this

character. The term Kalpa Sutra is used to designate

the whole body of Sutras concerned with religion which

belonged to a particular Vedic school. Where such a

complete collection has been preserved, the (Jrauta Sutra

forms its first and most extensive portion.

To the Rigveda belong the ^rauta manuals of two

244

THE gRAUTA SUTRAS 245

Sutra schools (charanas), the (Jankhayanas and the

Acvalayanas, the former of whom were in later times

settled in Northern Gujarat, the latter in the South

between the Godavarl and the Krishna. The ritual is

described in much the same order by both, but the

account of the great royal sacrifices is much more detailed

in the ^dnkhdyana Qrauta Sutra. The latter, which

is closely connected with the ^dnkhdyana Brdhmanay

seems to be the older of the two, on the ground both

of its matter and of its style, which in many parts

resembles that of the Brahmanas. It consists of

eighteen books, the last two of which were added later,

and correspond to the first two books of the Kaushltaki

Aranyaka. The Crauta Sutra of AgvALAYANA, which

consists of twelve books, is related to the Aitareya

Brdhmana. Acvalayana is also known as the author

of the fourth book of the Aitareya Araiiyakay and was

according to tradition the pupil of (^aunaka.

Three (Jrauta Sutras to the Sdmaveda have been preserved.

The oldest, that of Ma^aka, also called Arsheyakalpa}

is nothing more than an enumeration of the

prayers belonging to the various ceremonies of the Soma

sacrifice in the order of the Panchavimca Brdhmana,

The (^rauta Sutra composed by Latyayana, became the

accepted manual of the Kauthuma school. This Sutra,

like that of Macaka, which it quotes, is closely connected

with the Panchavimca Brdhmana. The (Jrauta Sutra of

Drahyayana, which differs but little from that of Latyayana,

belongs to the Ranayanlya branch of the Sdmaveda.

To the White Yajurveda belongs the (Jrauta Sutra of

Katyayana. This manual, which consists of twenty-six

chapters, on the whole strictly follows the sacrificial

246 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

order of the Qatapatha Brahmana. Three of its chapters

(xxii.-xxiv.), however, relate to the ceremonial of the

Sdmaveda. Owing to the enigmatical character of its

style, it appears to be one of the later productions of

the Sutra period.

No less than six (Jrauta Sutras belonging to the Black

Yajurveda have been preserved, but only two of them

have as yet been published. Four of these form a very

closely connected group, being part of the Kalpa Sutras

of four subdivisions of the Taittirlya (Jakha, which represented

the later sutra schools (ckaranas) not claiming a

special revelation of Veda or Brahmana. The (Jrauta

Sutra of Apastamba forms the first twenty-four of the

thirty chapters (pracnas) into which his Kalpa Sutra is

divided; and that of Hiranyake^in, an offshoot of

the Apastambas, the first eighteen of the twenty-nine

chapters of his Kalpa Sutra. The Sutra of Baudhayana,

who is older than Apastamba, as well as that of Bharadvaja,

has not yet been published.

Connected with the Maitrdyani Samhitd is the Mdnava

Qrauta Sutra. It belongs to the Manavas, who wTere a

subdivision of the Maitrayaniyas, and to whom the lawbook

of Manu probably traces its origin. It seems to be

one of the oldest. It has a descriptive character, resembling

the Brahmana parts of the Yajurveda} and

differing from them only in simply describing the course

of the sacrifice, to the exclusion of legends, speculations,

or discussions of any kind. There is also a Vaikhdnasa

Qrauta Sutra attached to the Black Yajurveda, but it is

known only in a few MSS.

The (^rauta Sutra of the Atharva-veda is the Vaitdna

Sutra. It is neither old nor original, but was undoubtedly

compiled in order to supply the Atharva, like

CONTENTS OF THE ^RAUTA StJTRAS 247

the other Vedas, with a Sutra of its own. It probably

received its name from the word with which it begins,

since the term vaitdna (" relating to the three sacrificial

fires") is equally applicable to all (Jrauta Sutras. It

agrees to a considerable extent with the Gopatha Brdhmana,

though it distinctly follows the Sutra of Katyayana

to the White Yajurveda. One indication of its lateness

is the fact that whereas in other cases a Grihya regularly

presupposes the (Jrauta Sutra, the Vaitdna is dependent

on the domestic sutra of the Atharva-veda.

Though the (Jrauta Sutras are indispensable for the

right understanding of the sacrificial ritual, they are, from

any other point of view, a most unattractive form of literature.

It will, therefore, suffice to mention in briefest outline

the ceremonies with which they deal. It is important

to remember, in the first place, that these rites are never

congregational, but are always performed on behalf of a

single individual, the so-called Yajamdna or sacrificer,

who takes but little part in them. The officiators are

Brahman priests, whose number varies from one to

sixteen, according to the nature of the ceremony. In all

these rites an important part is played by the three sacred

fires which surround the vedi, a slightly excavated spot

covered with a litter of grass for the reception of offerings

to the gods. The first ceremony of all is the setting

up of the sacred fires (agni-ddheya), which are kindled

by the sacrificer and his wife with the firesticks, and are

thereafter to be regularly maintained.

The (Jrauta rites, fourteen in number, are divided into

the two main groups of seven oblation {havis) sacrifices

and seven soma sacrifices. Different forms of the animal

sacrifice are classed with each group. The havis sacrifices

consist of offerings of milk, ghee, porridge, grain,

17

248 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

cakes, and so forth. The commonest is the Agnihotra,

the daily morning and evening oblation of milk to the

three fires. The most important of the others are the

new and full moon sacrifices (dar^apurna-mdsd) and

those offered at the beginning of the three seasons

{chdturmdsyd). Besides some other recurrent sacrifices,

there are very many which are to be offered on some

particular occasion, or for the attainment of some special

object.

The various kinds of Soma sacrifices were much

more complicated. Even the simplest and fundamental

form, the Agnishtoma ("praise of Agni") required the

ministrations of sixteen priests. This rite occupied only

one day, with three pressings of soma, at morning, noon,

and evening ; but this day was preceded by very detailed

preparatory ceremonies, one of which was the initiation

(diksha) of the sacrificer and his wife. Other soma

sacrifices lasted for several days up to twelve; while

another class, called sattras or "

sessions," extended to

a year or more.

A very sacred ceremony that can be connected with

the soma sacrifice is the Agnichayanay or "

Piling of the

fire-altar," which lasts for a year. It begins with a sacrifice

of five animals. Then a long time is occupied in

preparing the earthenware vessel, called ukhd, in which

fire is to be maintained for a year. Very elaborate rules

are given both as to the ingredients, such as the hair of a

black antelope, with which the clay is to be mixed, and

as to how it is to be shaped, and finally burnt. Then

the bricks, which have different and particular sizes, have

to be built up in prescribed order. The lowest of the

five strata must have 1950, all of them together, a total

of 10,800 bricks. Many of these have their special name

THE GRIHYA SUTRAS 249

and significance. Thus the altar is gradually built up,

as its bricks are placed in position, to the accompaniment

of appropriate rites and verses, by a formidable

array of priests. These are but some of the main points

in the ceremony ; but they will probably give some faint

idea of the enormous complexity and the vast mass of

detail, where the smallest of minutiae are of importance,

in the Brahman ritual. No other religion has ever known

its like.

As the domestic ritual is almost entirely excluded

from the Brahmanas, the authors of the Grihya Sutras

had only the authority of popular tradition to rely on

when they systematised the observances of daily life.

As a type, the Grihya manuals must be somewhat later

than the (Jrauta, for they regularly presuppose a knowledge

of the latter.

To the Rigvcda belongs in the first place the dnkhdyana

Grihya Sutra, It consists of six books, but

only the first four form the original portion of the

work, and even these contain interpolations. Closely

connected with this work is the Qdmbavya Grihya, which

also belongs to the school of the Kaushltakins, and is

as yet known only in manuscript. Though borrowing

largely from (^ankhayana, it is not identical with that

work. It knows nothing of the last two books, nor

even a number of ceremonies described in the third

and fourth, while having a book of its own concerning

the sacrifice to the Manes. Connected with the Aitareya

Brahmana is the Grihya Sutra of Acvalayana, which its

author in the first aphorism gives us to understand is

a continuation of his (^rauta Sutra. It consists of four

books, and, like the latter work, ends with the words

" adoration to aunaka."

250 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

The chief Grihya Sutra of the Sdmaveda is that

of Gobhila, which is one of the oldest, completest, and

most interesting works of this class. Its seems to have

been used by both the schools of its Veda. Besides

the text of the Sdmaveda it presupposes the Mantra

Brdhmana. The latter is a collection, in the ritual order,

of the mantras (except those occurring in the Sdmaveda

itself), which are quoted by Gobhila in an abbreviated

form. The Grihya Sutra of Khadira, belonging to the

Drahyayana school and used by the Ranayanlya branch

of the Sdmaveda, is little more than Gobhila remodelled

in a more succinct form.

The Grihya Sutra of the White Yajurveda is that

of PARASKARA, also called the Kdtiya or Vdjasaneya

Grihya Sutra. It is so closely connected with the

(Jrauta Sutra of Katyayana, that it is often quoted

under the name of that author. The later law-book of

Yajnavalkya bears evidence of the influence of Paraskara's

work.

Of the seven Grihya Sutras of the Black Yajurveda

only three have as yet been published. The Grihya

of Apastamba forms two books (26-27) f ms Kalpa

Sutra. The first of these two books is the Manfrapdtha,

which is a collection of the formulas accompanying

the ceremonies. The Grihya Sutra, in the strict sense,

is the second book, which presupposes the Mantrapdtha.

Books XIX. and XX. of Hiranyakecin's Kalpa Sutra

form his Grihya Sutra. About Baudhayana's Grihya

not much is known, still less about that of Bharadvaja.

The Mdnava Grihya Sutra is closely connected with

the (Jrauta, repeating many of the statements of the

latter verbally. It is interesting as containing a ceremony

unknown to other Grihya Sutras, the worship

CONTENTS OF THE GRIHYA SUTRAS 251

of the Vinayakas. The passage reappears in a versified

form in Yajnavalkya's law-book, where the four Vinayakas

are transformed into the one Vinayaka, the god

Ganeea. With the Mdnava is clearly connected the

Kdthaka Grihya Sutra, not only in the principle of

its arrangement, but even in the wording of many

passages. It is nearly related to the law-book of Vishnu.

The Vaikhdnasa Grihya Sutra is an extensive work

bearing traces of a late origin, and partly treating

of subjects otherwise relegated to works of a supplementary

character.

To the Atharva-veda belongs the important Kaucika

Siitra, It is not a mere Grihya Sutra, for besides

giving the more important rules of the domestic ritual,

it deals with the magical and other practices specially

connected with its Veda. By its extensive references

to these subjects it supplies much material unknown

to other Vedic schools. It is a composite work, apparently

made up of four or five different treatises. In

combination with the Atharva-veda it supplies an almost

complete picture of the ordinary life of the Vedic

Indian.

The Grihya Sutras give the rules for the numerous

ceremonies applicable to the domestic life of a man

and his family from birth to the grave. For the performance

of their ritual only the domestic (avasathya

or vaivdhikd) fire was required, as contrasted with the

three sacrificial fires of the Crauta Sutras. They describe

forty consecrations or sacraments (samskdras)

which are performed at various important epochs in

the life of the individual. The first eighteen, extending

from conception to marriage, are called "

bodily sacraments."

The remaining twenty-two are sacrifices. Eight

252 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

of these, the five daily sacrifices (inahayajnd) and some

other " baked offerings

"

(pakayajna), form part of the

Grihya ceremonies, the rest belonging to the (^rauta

ritual.

The first of the sacraments is the pumsavana or

ceremony aiming at the obtainment of a son. The

most common expedient prescribed is the pounded

shoot of a banyan tree placed in the wife's right nostril.

After the birth-rites (jdta - karma), the ceremony of

giving the child its names {ndma-karand) takes place,

generally on the tenth day after birth. Two are given,

one being the " secret name," known only to the parents,

as a protection against witchcraft, the other for common

use. Minute directions are given as to the quality

of the name ; for instance, that it should contain an

even number of syllables, begin with a soft letter, and

have a semi-vowel in the middle ; that for a Brahman

it should end in -qarman, for a Kshatriya in -varmany

and a Vaicya in -gupta. Generally in the third year

takes place the ceremony of tonsure (chuda-karand),

when the boy's hair was cut, one or more tufts being

left on the top, so that his hair might be worn after

the fashion prevailing in his family. In the sixteenth

year the rite of shaving the beard was performed. Its

name, go-ddna, or "gift of cows," is due to the fee usually

having been a couple of cattle.

By far the most important ceremony of boyhood

was that of apprenticeship to a teacher or initiation

(upanayand), which in the case of a Brahman may take

place between the eighth and sixteenth year, but a

few years later in the case of the Kshatriya and the

Vaicya. On this occasion the youth receives a staff,

a garment, a girdle, and a cord worn over one shoulder

THE RITE OF INITIATION 253

and under the other arm. The first is made of different

wood, the others of different materials according to

caste. The sacred cord is the outward token of the

Arya or member of one of the three highest castes,

and by investiture with it he attains his second birth,

being thenceforward a " twice-born " man {dvi-jd). The

spiritual significance of this initiation is the right to

study the Veda, and especially to recite the most sacred

of prayers, the Sdvitrl. In this ceremony the teacher

{achdryd) who initiates the young Brahman is regarded

as his spiritual father, and the Sdvitri as his mother.

The rite of upanayana is still practised in India. It

is based on a very old custom. The Avestan ceremony

of investing the boy of fifteen with a sacred cord upon

his admission into the Zoroastrian community shows

that it goes back to Indo-Iranian times. The prevalence

among primitive races all over the world of a rite

of initiation, regarded as a second birth, upon the

attainment of manhood, indicates that it was a still

older custom, which in the Brahman system became

transformed into a ceremony of admission to Vedic

study.

Besides his studies, the course of which is regulated

by detailed rules, the constant duties of the pupil are

the collection of fuel, the performance of devotions at

morning and evening twilight, begging food, sleeping

on the ground, and obedience to his teacher.

At the conclusion of religious studentship {brahmacharya)>

which lasted for twelve years, or till the pupil

had mastered his Veda, he performs the rite of return

{samdvartana), the principal part of which is a bath,

with which he symbolically washes off his apprenticeship.

He is now a sndtaka ("one who has bathed"),

254 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

and soon proceeds to the most important sacrament

of his life, marriage. The main elements of this ceremony

doubtless go back to the Indo-European period,

and belong rather to the sphere of witchcraft than of

the sacrificial cult. The taking of her hand placed

the bride in the power of her husband. The stone on

which she stepped was to give her firmness. The seven

steps which she took with her husband, and the sacrificial

food which she shared with him, were to inaugurate

friendship and community. Future abundance and

male offspring were prognosticated when she had been

conducted to her husband's house, by seating her on

the hide of a red bull and placing upon her lap the

son of a woman who had only borne living male

children. The god most closely connected with the

rite was Agni ; for the husband led his bride three

times round the nuptial fire whence the Sanskrit name

for wedding, pari-naya,

"

leading round " and the newly

kindled domestic fire was to accompany the couple

throughout life. Offerings are made to it and Vedic

formulas pronounced. After sunset the husband leads

out his bride, and as he points to the pole-star and

the star ArundhatI, they exhort each other to be constant

and undivided for ever. These wedding ceremonies,

preserved much as they are described in the Sutras,

are still widely prevalent in the India of to-day.

All the above-mentioned sacraments are exclusively

meant for males, the only one in which girls had a share

being marriage (yivdha). About twelve of these Samskdras

are still practised in India, investiture being still

the most important next to marriage. Some of the

ceremonies only survive in a symbolical form, as those

connected with religious studentship.

DOMESTIC RITES 255

Among the most important duties of the new householder

is the regular daily offering of the five great

sacrifices (mahd-yajna)f which are the sacrifice to the

Veda [brahma-yajnd], or Vedic recitation ; the offering

to the gods (deva-yajna) of melted butter in fire (Jiomd) ;

the libation (tarpana) to the Manes (pitri-yajna) ; offerings

(called bait) deposited in various places on the

ground to demons and all beings {bhuta-yajna) ; and the

sacrifice to men (manushya-yajna), consisting in hospitality,

especially to Brahman mendicants. The first is

regarded as by far the highest ; the recitation of the

sdvitrly in particular, at morning and evening worship,

is as meritorious as having studied the Veda. All these

five daily sacrifices are still in partial use among orthodox

Brahmans.

There are other sacrifices which occur periodically.

Such are the new and full moon sacrifices, in which,

according to the Grihya ritual, a baked offering {pdkayajna)

is made, while, according to the (^rauta ceremony,

cakes (j>urodd$a) are offered. There is, further, at the

beginning of the rains an offering made to serpents,

when the use of a raised bed is enjoined, owing to the

danger from snakes at that time. Various ceremonies

are connected with the building and entering of a new

house. Detailed rules are given about the site as well

as the construction. A door on the west is, for instance,

forbidden. On the completion of the house, which is

built of wood and bamboo, an animal is sacrificed.

Other ceremonies are concerned with cattle ; for instance,

the release of a young bull for the benefit of

the community. Then there are agricultural ceremonies,

such as the offering of the first-fruits and rites connected

with ploughing. Mention is also made of offer256

SANSKRIT LITERATURE

ings to monuments (chaityas) erected to the memory of

teachers. There are, moreover, directions as to what is

to be done in case of evil dreams, bad omens, and

disease.

Finally, one of. the most interesting subjects with

which the Grihya Sutras deal is that of funeral rites

(antyeshti) and the worship of the Manes. All but

children under two years of age are to be cremated.

The dead man's hair and beard are cut off and his nails

trimmed, the body being anointed with nard and a

wreath being placed on the head. Before being burnt

the corpse is laid on a black antelope skin. In the case

of a Kshatriya, his bow (in that of a Brahman his staff,

of a Vaicya his goad) is taken from his hand, broken,

and cast on the pyre, while a cow or a goat is burnt

with the corpse. Afterwards a purifying ablution is performed

by all relations to the seventh or tenth degree.

They then sit down on a grassy spot and listen to old

stories or a sermon on the transitoriness of life till the

stars appear. At last, without looking round, they return

in procession to their homes, where various observances

are gone through. A death is followed by a period of

impurity, generally lasting three days, during which the

relatives are required, among other things, to sleep on

the ground and refrain from eating flesh. On the night

after the death a cake is offered to the deceased, and a

libation of water is poured out ; a vessel with milk and

water is also placed in the open air, and the dead man is

called upon to bathe in it. Generally after the tenth day

the bones are collected and placed in an urn, which is

buried to the accompaniment of the Rigvedic verse,

a

Approach thy mother earth" (x. 18, 10).

The soul is supposed to remain separated from the

FUNERAL RITES 257

Manes for a time as a preta or "

ghost." A qrdddha, or

"

offering given with faith

"

(graddhd), of which it is the

special object (ekoddishta), is presented to it in this state,

the idea being that it would otherwise return and disquiet

the relatives. Before the expiry of a year he is

admitted to the circle of the Manes by a rite which

makes him their sapinda (" united by the funeral cake ").

After the lapse of a year or more another elaborate

ceremony (called pitri-medha) takes place in connection

with the erection of a monument, when the bones are

taken out of the urn and buried in a suitable place.

There are further various general offerings to the Manes,

or grdddhasj which take place at fixed periods, such as

that on the day of new moon (pdrvana $rdddha)y while

others are only occasional and optional. These rites

still play an important part in India, well-to-do families

in Bengal spending not less than 5000 to 6000 rupees

on their first grdddha.

From all these offerings of the Grihya ritual are to

be distinguished the two regular sacrifices of the Crauta

ritual, the one called Pinda-pitri-yajna immediately preceding

the new-moon sacrifice, the other being connected

with the third of the four-monthly sacrifices.

The ceremonial of ancestor-worship was especially

elaborated, and developed a special literature of its own,

extending from the Vedic period to the legal Compendia

of the Middle Ages. The Qrdddha-kalpa of Hemadri

comprises upwards of 1700 pages in the edition of the

Bibliotheca Indica.

The above is the briefest possible sketch of the

abundant material of the Grihya Sutras, illustrating the

daily domestic life of ancient India. Perhaps, however,

enough has been said to show that they have

258 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

much human interest, and that they occupy an important

place in the history of civilisation.

The second branch of the Sutra literature, based on

tradition or Smriti, are the Dharma Sutras, which deal

with the customs of everyday life (sdmayachdrikd). They

are the earliest Indian works on law, treating fully of its

religious, but only partially and briefly of its secular,

aspect. The term Dharma Sutra is, strictly speaking,

applied to those collections of legal aphorisms which

form part of the body of Sutras belonging to a particular

branch (cdkhd) of the Veda. In this sense only three

have been preserved, all of them attached to the Taittirlya

division of the Black Yajurveda. But there is good

reason to suppose that other works of the same kind

which have been preserved, or are known to have existed,

were originally also attached to individual Vedic schools.

That Sutras on Dharma were composed at a very early

period is shown by the fact that Yaska, who dates from

near the beginning of the Sutra age, quotes legal rules

in the Sutra style. Indeed, one or two of those extant

must go back to about his time.

The Dharma Sutra which has been best preserved,

and has remained free from the influence of sectarians

or modern editors, is that of the Apastambas. It forms

two (28-29) f *h e thirty sections of the great Apastamba

Kalpa Sutra, or body of aphorisms concerning the performance

of sacrifices and the duties of the three upper

classes. It deals chiefly with the duties of the Vedic

student and of the householder, with forbidden food,

purifications, and penances, while, on the secular side,

it touches upon the law of marriage, inheritance, and

crime only. From the disapprobation which the author

expresses for a certain practice of the people of the North,

THE DHARMA SUTRAS 259

it may be inferred that he belonged to the South, where

his school is known to have been settled in later times.

Owing to the pre-Paninean character of its language

and other criteria, Biihler has assigned this Dharma

Sutra to about 400 B.C.

Very closely connected with this work is the Dharma

Sutra of Hiranyakecin ; for the differences between the

two do not go much beyond varieties of reading. In

keeping with this relationship is the tradition that Hiranyakecin

branched off from the Apastambas and founded

a new school in the Konkan country on the south-west

(about Goa). The lower limit for this separation from

the Apastambas is about 500 A.D., when a Hiranyakecin

Brahman is mentioned in an inscription. The main

importance of this Sutra lies in its confirming, by the

parallelism of its text, the genuineness of by far the

greatest part of Apastamba's work. It forms two (26-27)

of the twenty-nine chapters of the Kalpa Sutra belonging

to the school of Hiranyakecin.

The third Dharma Sutra, generally styled a dharmacastra

in the MSS., is that of Baudhayana. Its position,

however, within the Kalpa Sutra of its school is not so

fixed as in the two previous cases. Its subject-matter,

when compared with that of Apastamba's Dharma

Sutra, indicates that it is the older of the two, just as

the more archaic and awkward style of Baudhayana's

Grihya Sutra shows the latter to be earlier than the

corresponding work of Apastamba. The Baudhayana

school cannot be traced at the present day, but it

appears to have belonged to Southern India, where

the famous Vedic commentator Sayana was a member

of it in the fourteenth century. The subjects dealt

with in their Dharma Sutra are multifarious, including

260 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

the duties of the four religious orders, the mixed castes,

various kinds of sacrifice, purification, penance, auspicious

ceremonies, duties of kings, criminal justice, examination

of witnesses, law of inheritance and marriage,

the position of women. The fourth section, which is

almost entirely composed in qlokas, is probably a

modern addition, and even the third is of somewhat

doubtful age.

With the above works must be classed the wellpreserved

law-book of Gautama. Though it does not

form part of a Kalpa Sutra, it must at one time have

been connected with a Vedic school ; for the Gautamas

are mentioned as a subdivision of the Ranayanlya

branch of the Sdmaveda) and Rumania's statement that

Gautama's treatise originally belonged to that Veda is

confirmed by the fact that its twenty-sixth section is

taken word for word from the Sdmavidhdna Brdhmana,

Though entitled a Dharma (^astra, it is in style and

character a regular Dharma Sutra. It is composed

entirely in prose aphorisms, without any admixture of

verse, as in the other works of this class. Its varied

contents resemble and are treated much in the same

way as those of the Dharma Sutra of Baudhayana.

The latter has indeed been shown to contain passages

based on or borrowed from Gautama's work, which

is therefore the oldest Dharma Sutra that has been

preserved, or at least published, and can hardly date

from later than about 500 B.C.

Another work of the Sutra type, and belonging to

the Vedic period, is the Dharma Castra of Vasishtha.

It has survived only in inferior MSS., and without the

preserving influence of a commentary. It contains thirty

chapters (ad/iydyas), of which the last five appear to

THE DHARMA SUTRA OF VASISHTHA 261

consist for the most part of late additions. Many of

the Sutras, not only here, but even in the older portions,

are hopelessly corrupt. The prose aphorisms of the

work are intermingled with verse, the archaic trishtubh

metre being frequently employed instead of the later

clokas of Manu and others. The contents, which bear

the Dharma Sutra stamp, produce the impression of

antiquity in various respects. Thus here, as in the

Dharma Sutra of Apastamba, only six forms of marriage

are recognised, instead of the orthodox eight. Kumarila

states that in his time Vasishtha's law-book, while acknowledged

to have general authority, was studied by

followers of the Rigveda only. That he meant the present

work and no other, is proved by the quotations

from it which he gives, and which are found in the

published text. As Vasishtha, in citing Vedic Samhitas

and Sutras, shows a predilection for works belonging

to the North of India, it is to be inferred that he or his

school belonged to that part. Vasishtha gives a quotation

from Gautama which appears to refer to a passage in

the extant text of the latter. His various quotations

from Manu are derived, not from the later famous

law-book, but evidently from a legal Sutra related to

our Manu. On the other hand, the extant text of

Manu contains a quotation from Vasishtha which

actually occurs in the published edition of the latter.

Hence Vasishtha's work must be later than that of

Gautama, and earlier than that of Manu. It is further

probable that the original part of the Sutra of a school

connected with the Rigveda and belonging to the North

dates from a period some centuries before our era.

Some Dharma Sutras are known from quotations

only, the oldest being those mentioned in other Dharma

262 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

Sutras. Particular interest attaches to one of these, the

Sutra of Manu, or the Manavas, because of its relationship

to the famous Mdnava dharma - cdstra. Of the

numerous quotations from it in Vasishtha, six are found

unaltered or but slightly modified in our text of Manu.

One passage cited in Vasishtha is composed partly in

prose and partly in verse, the latter portion recurring in

Manu. The metrical quotations show a mixture of

trishtubh and cloka verses, like other Dharma Sutras.

These quoted fragments probably represent a Mdnava

dharma-sutra which supplied the basis of our Mdnava

dharma-cdstra or Code ofManu,

Fragments of a legal treatise in prose and verse,

attributed to the brothers (^ankha and Likhita, who

became proverbial for justice, have been similarly preserved.

This work, which must have been extensive,

and dealt with all branches of law, is already quoted as

authoritative by Paracara. The statement of Kumarila

(700 A.D.) that it was connected with the Vajasaneyin

school of the White Yajurveda is borne out by the

quotations from it which have survived.

Sutras need not necessarily go back to the oldest

period of Indian law, as this style of composition was

never entirely superseded by the use of metre. Thus

there is a Vaikhdnasa dharma-sutra in lour pracnas, which,

as internal evidence shows, cannot be earlier than the

third century A.D. It refers to the cult of Narayana

(Vishnu), and mentions Wednesday by the name of

budha-vdra, "day of Mercury." It is not a regular

Dharma Sutra, for it contains nothing connected with

law in the strict sense, but is only a treatise on domestic

law (grihya-dharma). It deals with the religious duties

of the four orders (dcramas), especially with those of the

PREHISTORIC RITES 263

forest hermit. For it is with the latter order that the

Vaikhanasas, or followers of Vikhanas, are specially connected.

They seem to have been one of the youngest

offshoots of the Taittiiiya school.

Looking back on the vast mass of ritual and usage

regulated by the Sutras, we are tempted to conclude

that it was entirely the conscious work of an idle

priesthood, invented to enslave and maintain in spiritual

servitude the minds of the Hindu people. But the progress

of research tends to show that the basis even of the

sacerdotal ritual of the Brahmans was popular religious

observances. Otherwise it would be hard to understand

how Brahmanism acquired and retained such a hold on

the population of India. The originality of the Brahmans

consisted in elaborating and systematising observances

which they already found in existence. This

they certainly succeeded in doing to an extent unknown

elsewhere.

Comparative studies have shown that many ritual

practices go back to the period when the Indians and

Persians were still one people. Thus the sacrifice was

even then the centre of a developed ceremonial, and was

tended by a priestly class. Many terms of the Vedic

ritual already existed then, especially soma, which was

pressed, purified through a sieve, mixed with milk, and

offered as the main libation. Investiture with a sacred

cord was, as we have seen, also known, and was in its

turn based on the still older ceremony of the initiation

of youths on entering manhood. The offering of gifts

to the gods in fire is Indo-European, as is shown by the

agreement of the Greeks, Romans, and Indians. Indo-

European also is that part of the marriage ritual in which

the newly wedded couple walk round the nuptial fire,

18

264 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

the bridegroom presenting a burnt offering and the

bride an offering of grain ; for among the Romans also

the young pair walked round the altar from left to right

before offering bread {far) in the fire. Indo-European,

too, must be the practice of scattering rice or grain (as a

symbol of fertility) over the bride and bridegroom, as

prescribed in the Sutras ; for it is widely diffused among

peoples who cannot have borrowed it. Still older is the

Indian ceremony of producing the sacrificial fire by the

friction of two pieces of wood. Similarly the practice in

the construction of the Indian fire-altar of walling up in

the lowest layer of bricks the heads of five different

victims, including that of a man, goes back to an ancient

belief that a building can only be firmly erected when a

man or an animal is buried with its foundations.

Finally, we have as a division of the Sutras, concerned

with religious practice, the (^ulva Sutras. The thirtieth

and last praqna of the great Kalpa Sutra of Apastamba is

a treatise of this class. These are practical manuals

giving the measurements necessary for the construction

of the vediy of the altars, and so forth. They show quite

an advanced knowledge of geometry, and constitute the

oldest Indian mathematical works.

The whole body of Vedic works composed in the

Sutra style, is according to the Indian traditional view,

divided into six classes called Vedangas ("members of

the Veda "). These are qikshd, or phonetics ; chhandas,

or metre ; vydkaraiia, or grammar ; niruktay or etymology ;

kalpa, or religious practice ; and jyotisha, or astronomy.

The first four were meant as aids to the correct reciting

and understanding of the sacred texts ; the last two deal

with religious rites or duties, and their proper seasons.

They all have their origin in the exigencies of religion,

THE VEDANGAS 265

and the last four furnish the beginnings or (in one case)

the full development of five branches of science that

flourished in the post-Vedic period. In the fourth and

sixth group the name of the class has been applied to

designate a particular work representing it.

Of kalpa we have already treated at length above.

No work representing astronomy has survived from the

Vedic period ; for the Vedic calendar, called jyotisha, the

two recensions of which profess to belong to the Rigveda

and Yajurveda respectively, dates from far on in the

post-Vedic age.

The Taittirlya Aranyaka (vii. 1) already mentions

qikshdy or phonetics, a subject which even then appears

to have dealt with letters, accents, quantity, pronunciation,

and euphonic rules. Several works bearing the

title of qikshd have been preserved, but they are only

late supplements of Vedic literature. They are short

manuals containing directions for Vedic recitation and

correct pronunciation. The earliest surviving results

of phonetic studies are of course the Samhita texts of

the various Vedas, which were edited in accordance with

euphonic rules. A further advance was made by the

constitution of the pada-pdthay or word-text of the Vedas,

which, by resolving the euphonic combinations and

giving each word (even the parts of compounds) separately,

in its original form unmodified by phonetic rules,

furnished a basis for all subsequent studies. Yaska,

Panini, and other grammarians do not always accept

the analyses of the Padapdthas when they think they

understand a Vedic form better. Patanjali even directly

contests their authoritativeness. The treatises really

representative of Vedic phonetics are the Praticakhyas,

which are directly connected with the Samhita and

266 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

Padapdtha. It is their object to determine the relation of

these to each other. In so doing they furnish a systematic

account of Vedic euphonic combination, besides adding

phonetic discussions to secure the correct recitation of

the sacred texts. They are generally regarded as anterior

to Panini, who shows unmistakable points of contact

with them. It is perhaps more correct to suppose that

Panini used the present Praticakhyas in an older form,

as, whenever he touches on Vedic sandhiy he is always

less complete in his statements than they are, while the

Praticakhyas, especially that of the Atharva-veday are dependent

on the terminology of the grammarians. Four

of these treatises have been preserved and published.

One belongs to the Rigveda, another to the Atharva-, and

two to the Yajur-veda, being attached to the Vdjasaneyi

and the Taittirlya Samhitd respectively. They are so

called because intended for the use of each respective

branch (cdkha) of the Vedas.

The Prdticdkhya Sutra of the Rigveda is an extensive

metrical work in three books, traditionally attributed to

(^aunaka, the teacher of Acvalayana ; it may, however,

in its present form only be a production of the school of

(^aunaka. This Praticakhya was later epitomised, with

the addition of some supplementary matter, in a short

treatise entitled Upalekha. The Taittirlya Praticakhya is

particularly interesting owing to the various peculiar

names of teachers occurring among the twenty which it

mentions. The Vdjasaneyi Prdticdkhyay 'm eight chapters,

names Katyayana as its author, and mentions (Jaunaka

among other predecessors. The Atharva-veda Prdticdkhya,

in four chapters, belonging to the school of the

(Jaunakas, is more grammatical than the other works of

this class.

METRE AND GRAMMAR 267

Metre, to which there are many scattered references

in the Brahmanas, is separately treated in a section of

the ^dnkhdyana ^rauta Sutra (7, 27), in the last three sections

(patalas) of the Rigveda Prdticdkhyay and especially

in the Niddna Sutra, which belongs to the Sdmaveda, A

part of the Chhandah Sutra of Pingala also deals with

Vedic metres ; but though it claims to be a Vedanga, it

is in reality a late supplement, dealing chiefly with post-

Vedic prosody, on which, indeed, it is the standard

authority.

Finally, Katyayana's two Anukramanis or indices,

mentioned below, each contains a section, varying but

slightly from the other, on Vedic metres. These sections

are, however, almost identical in matter with the

sixteenth patala of the Rigveda Prdticdkhyay and may

possibly be older than the corresponding passage in

the Prdticdkhyay though the latter work as a whole is

doubtless anterior to the Anukratnanu

The Padapdthas show that their authors had not only

made investigations as to pronunciation and Sandhi, but

already knew a good deal about the grammatical analysis

of words ; for they separate both the parts of compounds

and the prefixes of verbs, as well as certain suffixes and

terminations of nouns. They had doubtless already distinguished

the four parts of speech (jpadajdtdni), though

these are first mentioned by Yaska as ndmany or " noun "

(including sarva-ndmany "representing all nouns" or

"

pronouns"), dkhydtay "predicate," i.e. "verb"; upasargay

"

supplement," i.e. "

preposition

"

;

' nipdtay

" incidental

addition," i.e.

"

particle." It is perhaps to the

separation of these categories that the name for grammar,

vydkaranay originally referred, rather than to the

analysis of words. Even the Brahmanas bear evidence

268 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

of linguistic investigations, for they mention various

grammatical terms, such as "letter" (varna),

" masculine"

(vrishari), "number" (vachana), "case-form" {vibhakti).

Still more such references are to be found in

the Aranyakas, the Upanishads, and the Sutras. But the

most important information we have of pre-Paninean

grammar is that found in Yaska's work.

Grammatical studies must have been cultivated to a

considerable extent before Yaska's time, for he distinguishes

a Northern and an Eastern school, besides

mentioning nearly twenty predecessors, among whom

Cakatayana, Gargya, and (Jakalya are the most important.

By the time of Yaska grammarians had learned to distinguish

clearly between the stem and the formative

elements of words; recognising the personal terminations

and the tense affixes of the verb on the one hand, and

primary (krii) or secondary {taddhitd) nominal suffixes on

the other. Yaska has an interesting discussion on the

theory of Cakatayana, which he himself follows, that nouns

are derived from verbs. Gargya and some other grammarians,

he shows, admit this theory in a general way,

but deny that it is applicable to all nouns. He criticises

their objections, and finally dismisses them as

untenable. On (^akatayana's theory of the verbal origin

of nouns the whole system of Panini is founded. The

sutra of that grammarian contains hundreds of rules

dealing with Vedic forms ; but these are of the nature

of exceptions to the main body of his rules, which are

meant to describe the Sanskrit language. His work

aimost entirely dominates the subsequent literature.

Though belonging to the middle of the Sutra period,

it must be regarded as the definite starting-point of the

post-Vedic age. Coming to be regarded as an infallible

YASKA'S NIRUKTA 269

authority, Panini superseded all his predecessors, whose

works have consequently perished. Yaska alone survives,

and that only because he was not directly a grammarian ;

for his work represents, and alone represents, the Vedanga

"etymology."

Yaska's Nirukta is in reality a Vedic commentary,

and is older by some centuries than any other exegetical

work preserved in Sanskrit. Its bases are the Nighantus,

collections of rare or obscure Vedic words, arranged for

the use of teachers. Yaska had before him five such

collections. The first three contain groups of synonyms,

the fourth specially difficult words, and the fifth a classification

of the Vedic gods. These Yaska explained for

the most part in the twelve books of his commentary

(to which two others were added later). In so doing

he adduces as examples a large number of verses, chiefly

from the Rigveda, which he interprets with many etymological

remarks.

The first book is an introduction, dealing with the

principles of grammar and exegesis. The second and

third elucidate certain points in the synonymous nighantus

; Books IV.-VI. comment on the fourth section, and

VII.-XII. on the fifth. The Nirukta, besides being very

important from the point of view of exegesis and grammar,

is highly interesting as the earliest specimen of

Sanskrit prose of the classical type, considerably earlier

than Panini himself. Yaska already uses essentially the

same grammatical terminology as Panini, employing,

for instance, the same words for root (d/zdtu), primary,

and secondary suffixes. But he must have lived a long

time before Panini ; for a considerable number of important

grammarians' names are mentioned between them.

Yaska must, therefore, go back to the fifth century, and

270 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

undoubtedly belongs to the beginning of the Sutra

period.

One point of very great importance proved by the

Nirukta is that the Rigveda had a very fixed form in

Yaska's time, and was essentially identical with our text.

His deviations are very insignificant. Thus in one passage

(X. 29. 1) he reads vdyo as one word, against vd yd

as two words in (^akalya's Pada text. Yaska's paraphrases

show that he also occasionally differed from

the Samhita text, though the quotations themselves

from the Rigveda have been corrected so as to agree

absolutely with the traditional text. But these slight

variations are probably due to mistakes in the Nirukta

rather than to varieties of reading in the Rigveda, There

are a few insignificant deviations of this kind even in

Sayana, but they are always manifestly oversights on the

part of the commentator.

To the Sutras is attached a very extensive literature

of Paricishtas or "supplements," which seem to have

existed in all the' Vedic schools. They contain details

on matters only touched upon in the Sutras, or supplementary

information about subjects not dealt with at all

by them. Thus, there is the Acvaldyana Grihya-paricishta,

in four chapters, connected with the Rigveda. The Gobhila

samgraha-paricishta is a compendium of Grihya practices

in general, with a special leaning towards magical

rites, which came to be attached to the Sdmaveda. Closely

related to, and probably later than this work, is the

Karma-pradlpa ("lamp of rites"), also variously called

sdma-grihya- or chhandogyagrihya-paricishta, chhandogaparicishta,

Gobhila-smriti, attributed to the Katyayana

of the White Yajurveda or to Gobhila. It deals with

the same subjects, though independently, as the Grihya

SUPPLEMENTARY VEDIC LITERATURE 271

samgraha} with which it occasionally agrees in whole

clokas.

Of great importance for the understanding of the

sacrificial ceremonial are the Prayogas (" Manuals") and

Paddhatis (" Guides ")f of which a vast number exist in

manuscript. These works represent both the (Jrauta

and the Grihya ritual according to the various schools.

The Prayogas describe the course of each sacrifice and

the functions of the different groups of priests, solely

from the point of view of practical performance, while

the Paddhatis rather follow the systematic accounts of

the Sutras and sketch their contents. There are also

versified accounts of the ritual called Kdrikds, which

are directly attached to Sutras or to Paddhatis. The

oldest of them appears to be the Kdrikd of Kumarila

(c. 700 A.D.).

Of a supplementary character are also the class of

writings called Anukramanls or Vedic Indices, which

give lists of the hymns, the authors, the metres, and

the deities in the order in which they occur in the

various Samhitas. To the Rigveda belonged seven of

these works, all attributed to (^aunaka, and composed

in the mixture of the cloka and trishtubh metre, which

is also found in (^aunaka's Rigveda Prdticdkhya. There

is also a General Index or Sarvdnukramani which is

attributed to Katyayana, and epitomises in the Sutra style

the contents of the metrical indices. Of the metrical

indices five have been preserved. The Arshdnukramani,

containing rather less than 300 c/okas, gives a list of

the Rishis or authors of the Rigveda. Its present text

represents a modernised form of that which was known

to the commentator Shadgurucjshya in the twelfth

century. The Chhandonukramani, which is of almost

272 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

exactly the same length, enumerates the metres in

which the hymns of the Rigveda are composed. It

also states for each book the number of verses in

each metre as well as the aggregate in all metres. The

Anuvdkdnukramani is a short index containing only

about forty verses. It states the initial words of each of

the eighty-five anuvdkas or lessons into which the Rigveda

is divided, and the number of hymns contained in

these anuvdkas. It further states that the Rigveda contains

1017 hymns (or 1025 according to the Vashkala

recension), 10,580! verses, 153,826 words, 432,000

syllables, besides some other statistical details. The

number of verses given does not exactly tally with

various calculations that have recently been made, but

the differences are only slight, and may be due to the

way in which certain repeated verses were counted by

the author of the index.

There is another short index, known as yet only in

two MSS., called the Pdddnukramam, or "index of lines"

(flddas), and composed in the same mixed metre as the

others. The Suktdnukramaniy which has not survived,

and is only known by name, probably consisted only

of the initial words {pratikas) of the hymns. It probably

perished because the Sarvdnukramanl would have rendered

such a work superfluous. No MS. of the Devatdnukramanl

or " Index of gods

"

exists, but ten quotations

from it have been preserved by the commentator

Shadgurugishya. It must have been superseded by the

Brihaddevatd, an index of the "many gods," a much

more extensive work than any of the other Anukramanls,

as it contains about 1200 clokas interspersed with occasional

trishtubhs. It is divided into eight adhydyas corresponding

to the ashfakas of the Rigveda. Following

BRIHADDEVATA SARVANUKRAMANI 273

the order of the Rigveda, its main object is to state the

deity for each verse. But as it contains a large number

of illustrative myths and legends, it is of great value as

an early collection of stories. It is to a considerable

extent based on Yaska's Nirukta. Besides Yaska himself

and other teachers named by that scholar, it also mentions

Bhaguri and Acvalayana as well as the Niddna

Sutra. A peculiarity of this work is that it refers to a

number of supplementary hymns (kkilas) which do not

form part of the canonical text of the Rigveda.

Later, at least, than the original form of these

metrical Anukramanls, is the Sarvdnukramanfoi KAtyayana,

which combines the data contained in them within

the compass of a single work. Composed in the Sutra

style, it is of considerable length, occupying about fortysix

pages in the printed edition. For every hymn in

the Rigveda it states the initial word or words, the

number of its verses, as well as the author, the deity,

and the metre, even for single verses. There is an introduction

in twelve sections, nine of which form a

short treatise on Vedic metres corresponding to the

last three sections of the Rigveda Prdticdkhya. The

author begins with the statement that he is going to

supply an index of the pratlkas and so forth of the

Rigveda according to the authorities (yathopadecam),

because without such knowledge the (^rauta and Smarta

rites cannot be accomplished. These authorities are

doubtless the metrical indices described above. For

the text of the Sarvdnukramani, which is composed in

a concise Sutra style, not only contains some metrical

lines (pddas), but also a number of passages either

directly taken from the Arshdnukramani and the Brihaddevatd,

or with their metrical wording but slightly

274 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

altered. Another metrical work attributed to (Jaunaka

is the Rigvidhdnay which describes the magical effects

produced by the recitation of hymns or single verses

of the Rigveda.

To the Paricishtas of the Sdmaveda belong the two

indices called Arsha and Daivata, enumerating respectively

the Rishis and deities of the text of the Naigeya

branch of the Sdmaveda, They quote Yaska, (^aunaka,

and Ac^valayana among others. There are also two

Anukramanls attached to the Black Yajurveda. That of

the Atreya school consists of two parts, the first of

which is in prose, and the second in clokas. It contains

little more than an enumeration of names referring to

the contents of its Samhita. The Anukramani of the

Charayaniya school of the Kdthaka is an index of the

authors of the various sections and verses. Its statements

regarding passages derived from the Rigveda differ

much from those of the Sarvanukramani of the Rigveday

giving a number of totally new names. It claims to be

the work of Atri, who communicated it to Laugakshi.

The Anukramani of the White Yajurveda in the Madhyamdina

recension, attributed to Katyayana, consists of

five sections. The first four are an index of authors,

deities, and metres. The authors of verses taken from

the Rigveda generally agree with those in the Sarvauukratnanu

There are, however, a good many exceptions,

several new names belonging to a later period, some

even to that of the Qatapatha Brahmana. The fifth section

gives a summary account of the metres occurring in the

text. It is identical with the corresponding portion of

the introduction to the Sarvdnukramaniy which was probably

the original position of the section. There are

many other Paricishtas of the White Yajurveda, all attriPARigiSHTAS

SAYANA 275

buted to Katyayana. Only three of these need be

mentioned here. The Nigama-pariqishta, a glossary of

synonymous words occurring in the White Yajurveda,

has a lexicographical interest. The Pravarddhydyay or

u

Chapter on Ancestors/' is a list of Brahman families

drawn up for the purpose of determining the forbidden

degrees of relationship in marriage, and of indicating the

priests suitable for the performance of sacrifice. The

Charana-vyiiha, or "

Exposition of the Schools "

of the

various Vedas, is a very late work of little importance,

giving a far less complete enumeration of the Vedic

schools than certain sections of the Vishnu- and the

Vdyu-Purana. There is also a Charana-vyiiha among

the Paricishtas of the Atkarva-veda, which number upwards

of seventy. This work makes the statement that

the Atharva contains 2000 hymns and 12,380 verses.

In concluding this account of Vedic literature, I

cannot omit to say a few words about Sayana, the great

mediaeval Vedic scholar, to whom or to whose initiation

we owe a number of valuable commentaries on the Rigvedciy

the Aitareya Brdhmana and Aranyaka, as well as

the Taittiriya Samhitd, Brdhmana, and Aranyaka, besides

a number of other works. His comments on the two

Samhitas would appear to have been only partially composed

by himself and to have been completed by his pupils.

He died in 1387, having written his works under Bukka I.

(1350-79), whose teacher and minister he calls himself,

and his successor, Harihara (1379-99). These princes

belonged to a family which, throwing off the Muhammadan

yoke in the earlier half of the fourteenth century,

founded the dynasty of Vijayanagara ("city of victory"),

now Hampi, on the Tungabhadra, in the Bellary district.

Sayana's elder brother, Madhava, was minister of King

276 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

Bukka, and died as abbot of the monastery of (fringed,

under the name of Vidyaranyasvamin. Not only did he

too produce works of his own, but Sayana's commentaries,

as composed under his patronage, were

dedicated to him as mddhavlyaf or (" influenced by

Madhava "). By an interesting coincidence Professor

Max Mtiller's second edition of the Rigveda, with the

commentary of Sayana, was brought out under the

auspices of a Maharaja of Vijayanagara. The latter city

has, however, nothing to do with that from which King

Bukka derived his title.

CHAPTER X

THE EPICS

(Circa 500-50 B.C.)

In turning from the Vedic to the Sanskrit period, we

are confronted with a literature which is essentially

different from that of the earlier age in matter, spirit,

and form. Vedic literature is essentially religious ;

Sanskrit literature, abundantly developed in every other

direction, is profane. But, doubtless as a result of the

speculative tendencies of the Upanishads, a moralising

spirit at the same time breathes through it as a whole.

The religion itself which now prevails is very different

from that of the Vedic age. For in the new period

the three great gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and (^iva are

the chief objects of worship. The important deities

of the Veda have sunk to a subordinate position, though

Indra is still relatively prominent as the chief of a warrior's

heaven. Some new gods of lesser rank have arisen, such

as Kubera, god of wealth ; Ganeca, god of learning ;

Karttikeya, god of war ; (Jrl or Lakshml, goddess of

beauty and fortune ; Durga or Parvati, the terrible

spouse of (^iva ; besides the serpent deities and several

classes of demigods and demons.

While the spirit of Vedic literature, at least in its

earlier phase, is optimistic, Sanskrit poetry is pervaded

by Weltschmerz, resulting from the now universally

277

278 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

accepted doctrine of transmigration. To that doctrine,

according to which beings pass by gradations from

Brahma through men and animals to the lowest forms

of existence, is doubtless also largely due the fantastic

element characteristic of this later poetry. Here, for

instance, we read of Vishnu coming down to earth in

the shape of animals, of sages and saints wandering

between heaven and earth, of human kings visiting

Indra in heaven.

Hand in hand with this fondness for introducing the

marvellous and supernatural into the description of human

events goes a tendency to exaggeration. Thus King

Vicvamitra, we are told, practised penance for thousands

of years in succession; and the power of asceticism is

described as so great as to cause even the worlds and

the gods to tremble. The very bulk of the Mahdbhdrata,

consisting as it does of more than 200,000 lines, is a concrete

illustration of this defective sense of proportion. J

As regards the form in which it is presented to' us,

Sanskrit literature contrasts with that of both the earlier

and the later Vedic period. While prose was employed

in the Yajurvedas and the Brahmanas, and finally attained

to a certain degree of development, it almost disappears in

Sanskrit, nearly every branch of literature being treated

in verse, often much to the detriment of the subject, as

in the case of law. The only departments almost entirely

restricted to the use of prose are grammar and philosophy,

but the cramped and enigmatical style in which these

subjects are treated hardly deserves the name of prose

at all. Literary prose is found only in fables, fairy tales,

romances, and partially in the drama. In consequence

of this neglect, the prose of the later period compares

unfavourably with that of the Brahmanas. Even the

CHARACTER OF SANSKRIT POETRY 279

style of the romances or prose kdvyas, subject as it is to

the strict rules of poetics, is as clumsy as that of the

grammatical commentaries; for the use of immense compounds,

like those of the Sutras, is one of its essential

characteristics.

Sanskrit literature, then, resembles that of the earlier

Vedic age in being almost entirely metrical. But the

metres in which it is written, though nearly all based

on those of the Veda, are different. The bulk of the

literature is composed in the qloka, a development of

the Vedic anushtubh stanza of four octosyllabic lines ;

but while all four lines ended iambically in the prototype,

the first and third line have in the qloka acquired

a trochaic rhythm. The numerous other metres employed

in the classical poetry have become much more

elaborate than their Vedic originals by having the

quantity of every syllable in the line strictly determined.

The style, too, excepting the two old epics, is In

Sanskrit poetry made more artificial by the frequent

use of long compounds, as well as by the application

of the elaborate rules of poetics, while the language is

regulated by the grammar of Panini. Thus classical

Sanskrit literature, teeming as it does with fantastic

and exaggerated ideas, while bound by the strictest

rules of form, is like a tropical garden full of luxuriant

and rank growth, in which, however, many a fair flower

of true poetry may be culled. ^_

It is impossible even for the Sanskrit scholar who

has not lived in India to appreciate fully the merits of

this later poetry, much more so for those who can only

become acquainted with it in translations. For, in the

first place, the metres, artificial and elaborate though

they are, have a beauty of their own which cannot

19

280 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

be reproduced in other languages. ^\gain, to understand

it thoroughly, the reader must have seen the tropical

plains and forests of Hindustan steeped in intense sunshine

or bathed in brilliant moonlight ; he must have

viewed the silent ascetic seated at the foot of the sacred

fig-tree ; he must have experienced the feelings inspired

by the approach of the monsoon ; he must have watched

beast and bird disporting themselves in tank and river ;

he must know the varying aspects of Nature in the

different seasons ; in short, he must be acquainted with

all the sights and sounds of an Indian landscape, the

mere allusion to one of which may call up some familiar

scene or touch some chord of sentiment. Otherwise,

for instance, the mango-tree, the red Acoka, the orange

Kadamba, the various creepers, the different kinds of

lotus, the mention of each of which should convey a

vivid picture, are but empty names. Without a knowledge,

moreover, of the habits, modes of thought, and

traditions of the people, much must remain meaningless.

But those who are properly equipped can see many

beauties in classical Sanskrit poetry which are entirely

lost to others. Thus a distinguished scholar known to

the present writer has entered so fully into the spirit

of that poetry, that he is unable to derive pleasure from

any other.

It would be a mistake to suppose that Sanskrit

literature came into being only at the close of the Vedic

period, or that it merely forms its continuation and development.

As a profane literature, it must, in its earliest

phases, which are lost, have been contemporaneous with

the religious literature of the Vedas. Beside the productions

of the latest Vedic period, that of the Upanishads

and Sutras, there grew up, on the one hand, the rich

TWO CLASSES OF EPICS 281

Pali literature of Buddhis^n, and, on the other, the

earliest form of Sanskrit poetry in the shape of epic

tales. We have seen that even the Rigveda contains

some hymns of a narrative character. Later we find

in the Brahmanas a number of short legends, mostly

in prose, but sometimes partly metrical, as the story of

(Junahcepa in the Aitareya. Again, the Nirukta, which

must date from the fifth century B.C., contains many

prose tales, and the oldest existing collection of Vedic

legend, the metrical Brihaddevatd, cannot belong to a

much later time.

(Sanskrit epic poetry falls into two main classes.

That which comprises old stories goes by the name of

Itihdsa,

"

legend," Akhydna,

"

narrative," or Purdna,

" ancient tale," while the other is called Kdvya or artificial

epic. The Mahdbhd7'ata is the chief and oldest

representative of the former group, the Rdmdyana of

the latter. j)Both these great epics are composed in the

same form of the qloka metre as- that employed in

classical Sanskrit poetry. The Mahdbhdrata, however,

also contains, as remnants of an older phase, archaic

verses in the upajdti and vamqastlia (developments of

the Vedic trishtubh andjagatt) metres, besides preserving

some old prose stories in what is otherwise an entirely

metrical work. It further differs from the sister epic

in introducing speeches with words, such as " Brihadacva

spake," which do not form part of the verse, and which

may be survivals of prose narrative connecting old epic

songs./ The Rdmdyana, again, is, in the main, the work

of a single poet, homogeneous in plan and execution,

composed in the east of India. The Mahdbhdrata, arising

in the western half of the country, is a congeries of parts,

the only unity about which is the connectedness of the

epic cycle with which they xleal ; its epic kernel, moreover,

which forms only about one-fifth of the whole

work, has become so overgrown with didactic matter,

that in its final shape it is not an epic at all, but an

encyclopaedia of moral teaching.

The Mahdbhdrata, which in its present form consists

of over 100,000 qlokasy equal to about eight times as

much as the Iliad and Odyssey put together, is by far

the longest poem known to literary history. It is a

conglomerate of epic and didactic matter divided into

eighteen books called parvan, with a nineteenth, the

Harivamga, as a supplement. The books vary very considerably

in length, the twelfth being the longest, with

nearly 14,000, the seventeenth the shortest, with only

312 g/okas. All the eighteen books, excepting the eighth

and the last three, are divided into subordinate parvans ;

each book is also cut up into chapters (adkydyas).

No European edition of the whole epic has yet

been undertaken. This remains one of the great tasks

reserved for the future of Sanskrit philology, and can

only be accomplished by the collaboration of several

scholars. There are complete MSS. of the Mahdbhdrata

in London, Oxford, Paris, and Berlin, besides many

others in different parts of India ; while the number

of MSS. containing only parts of the poem can hardly

be counted.

Three main editions of the epic have appeared in India.

The editio princeps, including the Harivamga, but without

any commentary, was published in four volumes at

Calcutta in 1834-39. Another and better edition, which

has subsequently been reproduced several times, was

printed at Bombay in 1863. This edition, though not

including the supplementary book, contains the comTHE

MAHABHARATA

mentary of Nllakantha. These two editions do not

on the whole differ considerably. Being derived from

a common source, they represent one and the same

recension. The Bombay edition, however, generally

has the better readings. It contains about 200 glokas

more than the Calcutta edition, but thes^ additions are

of no importance.

Om Tat Sat

                                                        

(Continued...) 

(My humble salutations to  Brahmsree Sreeman  Arthur A. Macdonell  and also my humble greatulness to  great Devotees , Philosophic Scholars  for the collection)