Indicates the past and present condition of a people confided
to Great Britain as a trust

History of British administration distinct from the history of
the Hindús

Difficulties in apprehending the history of the Hundús

Personal observation of comparatively small value

Imperfect knowledge of Oriental scholars

Knowledge of the masses in England of recent growth

History of India to be found in the Mahá Bhárata and

Rámáyana

Comprehensive character of the two poems

Interminable length and confusion of traditions and ideas
Familiarity with the two poems indispensable to a knowledge
of the Hindús

1

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

2

ib.

ib.

ib.

3

ib.

ib.

ib.

Vast influence exercised by the two poems upon the masses

Their extraordinary popularity

4

ib.

Belief in beneficial results of reading them or hearing them.
read

ib.

Long chronological interval between the age in which the
events took place and the age in which the Mahá Bhárata
and Rámáyana were composed

ib.

Events coloured by the ideas of the subsequent age

Changes in religion during the interval

5

ib.

Distinction between the Vedic and the Brahmanic periods

The Vedic period coeval with the main events recorded in

the two Epics

ib.

ib.

The Brahmanic age coeval with the composition of the two

Epics

6

b

Characteristics of the Vedic period

Characteristics of the Brahmanic period

Patriarchal simplicity of the Vedic period wanting in the

later age of Brahmanical ascendancy

Necessity for glancing at the civilization and religion of the

Vedic age, before commencing the Mahá Bhárata and

Rámáyana

The Vedic people

The white-complexioned Aryans of the Punjab

The black-complexioned settlers who preceded the Aryans,

and who are regarded as aborigines

Similarity between the patriarchal life indicated in the Vedic
hymns and that indicated in the Mahá Bhárata

Prayers for rain, abundant harvests, prolific cattle, bodily

vigour, long life, numerous progeny, etc.

Vedic deities mere personifications of the abstract powers of

nature

Confusion in the personifications

Distinction between Indra, the sovereign god who sent the
rain, and Varuna, the god of water, or the ocean

Conception of Agni, as the god of light as well as of fire .

Separate deification of the Sun and Moon

Distinction between Váyu, the god of wind, and the Maruts,

or breezes

Leading Vedic deities

Indra

Varuna

Agni

Súrya

Soma, or Chandra

Váyu

Maruts

Yama, the god of death, or judge of the dead

Fanciful personifications which appear to have been regarded

Presentation of simple articles of food to the different deities

through the medium of fire

The gods invested with human wants and aspirations, and

invoked to partake of food

Flesh offerings

Religious rites connected with eating and drinking, and per-

formed at every meal

Greatness of the preparations varied with the importance of

the occasion

Daily meals

Grand entertainments

Exultation of the worshippers in the gratification of the gods.

PAGE

6

ib.

ib.

ib.

7

ib.

ib.

8

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

9

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

10

ib.

ib.

ib.

11

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

12

ib.

ib.

ib.

13

The deities supposed to be attracted by the noise of the
mortar and churning sticks

PAGE

13

Relations between the Vedic Aryans and their deities

resembling those between children and a father

ib.

Necessity for a further development of the characteristics of

the leading deities

ib.

Characteristics of Indra, or the god of the firmament

Attributes of a human hero superadded to those of the god

14

of fire

General utility of fire

Hymned as the discoverer of the soma plant

Spiritualization of Indra, into a personified idea of the firma-

ment

Indra, the hero of the Aryans, and foe of the aborigines

Character of the Vedic hymns addressed to Indra

Invocations to Indra in his human capacity

Invocations to Indra as the Supreme Being

Characteristics of Agni or Fire

Mysterious attributes of fire

Family associations connected with fire in cold climates

Reverence excited amongst a primitive people by the presence

Higher manifestations of fire

Presence of fire necessary at the marriage ceremony

15

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

16

17

ib.

ib.

ib.

ib.

18

ib.

Springs and rivers generally separated into individual ab-

Conception of a god of the ocean

Distinction between a material conception of a sea monster,

and the Aryan conception of a spiritual existence

Varuna considered as a deity who rewards goodness and

punishes sin

Deep religious feeling in a hymn addressed to Varuna

ib.

PAGE

The golden chariot and invisible steeds

Characteristics of Súrya, or the Sun

Prominence of the Sun in all ancient religions

Personification of the Sun one of the earliest efforts of ancient
bards

Attributes of Súrya similar to those of Agni.

22

ib.

ib.

ib.

23

Súrya a distinct personification from Agni

ib.

Súrya regarded as the mythical ancestor of the Solar race of
Ayodhyá

ib.

Súrya regarded as a divine spirit pervading all things

The Gayatri

The twelve Adityas

The god Vishnu originally an Aditya

Characteristics of the minor Vedic deities

Soma, or Chandra, or the Moon

Connected in the Vedas with the soma plant

ib.

ib.

ib.

24

ib.

ib.

ib.

Regarded as the mythical progenitor of the Lunar race

of

Characteristics of Ushas, or the dawn

Contrast between the conception of Ushas and that of
Indra

Associations connected with the dawn in India

ib.

ib.

26

ib.

ib.

ib.

Minor Vedic deities the mere personifications of poetry

27

ib.

ib.

28

Grand monotheistic hymn translated by Professor Max Müller

Vedic conception of marriage

Subsequent decay of the Vedic religion in the Brahmanic age

Changes in circumstances and geographical position.
Existence of a military class and institution of caste
Origin of the caste system in the period between the Vedic
and Brahmanic ages

Question of how far the establishment of the Aryans, as a

conquering power, was calculated to lead to the introduction

of caste

Importance of the question from the general tendency of

foreign conquest to create a caste feeling

Question of how far the elements of an opposition of classes

are to be found in the Rig-Veda

ib.

29

30

ib.

ib.

ib.

31

ib.

ib.

32

ib.

ib.

ib.

Súdras

Outcastes and slaves

Bráhmans, Kshatriyas, and Vaisyas distinguished from the
Súdras by the thread, and the designation of "twice born"

Hypothesis that the three twice-born castes are descendants

of the Aryans of the Rig-Veda, and that the Súdras are a

pre-Aryan people

.

Antiquity of the Pariahs, or outcastes

Three distinct classes of worshippers indicated in the Rig-Veda

1st, A peaceful and religious class, the ancestors of Brahmans

2nd, A military class, the ancestors of the Kshatriyas

Marks of difference between the peaceful and the military

class

PAGE

32

ib.

ib.

Increased prevalence of animal sacrifices when the Aryans

became a conquering power

3rd, A mercantile class, the ancestors of the Vaisyas

Origin of the difference between the Bráhmans and the

Kshatriyas

Later Brahmanical compilers of the Mahá Bhárata. Their

falsifications and interpolations

Data by which the fact of an interpolation can be established

Buddhistic element in the Mahá Bhárata

Form in which the two Epics are exhibited in the present

history

ib.

Neither a translation nor an analysis, but a condensed para-

phrase interspersed with explanation, commentary, and

historical inferences

Degree of credibility to be attached to the subject matter

thus exhibited

Exaggerations and embellishments to be treated with

leniency

Simple character of ancient Hindú historians

Ballad histories

Excitement of the audience

Circumstances under which portions of the Epics are chaunted

or read

ib.

40

ib.

41

ib.

ib.

ib.