Page:A History of Civilisation in Ancient India based on Sanscrit Literature Vol 1.djvu/61

Rh civilisation prevailed, and the Dravidians were Hinduised and founded kingdoms which became distinguished for learning and power. The three sister-kingdoms of the Cholas, the Cheras, and the Pandyas made their mark before the third century B.C., and Kânchî (Conjeveram), the capital of the Cholas, distinguished itself as the seat of Hindu learning at a later day.

In the west the Saurâshtras (including Gujrat and the Maharatta country) received Hindu civilisation; while, beyond a strip of the sea, Ceylon was discovered, and formed a great resort of Hindu traders.

The practical and enterprising spirit of the age shows itself in literature as well as in territorial conquests. The whole of the verbose teachings and rites of the Brâhmanas and Âranyakas were condensed into Sutras or aphorisms so as to form handy manuals for the sacrifice. Other Sutras were framed for laying down the rules of domestic rites and social conduct. Sutra schools sprang all over India, in the north and in the south, and works multiplied. And besides these religious works, phonetics, metre, grammar, and lexicons were studied, and Yâska wrote his Nirukta, and Pânini his Vyâkarana early in this period. And the construction of sacrificial altars according to fixed rules gave rise to geometry, which was first discovered in India.

And, lastly, the lessons of the Upanishads were not lost. The bold speculations started in these works were pursued, until Kapila started the Sânkhya philosophy—the first closely-reasoned system of mental philosophy known in the world. Other systems of philosophy were started by other thinkers, but the Sânkhya philosophy was destined to have the greatest influence on the future of India; for Gautama Buddha was born in the sixth century B.C., and he added to the cold logic of the Sânkhya philosophy a world-embracing sympathy and love for mankind which has made his religion the religion of a third of the human race.