Page:A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol 1.djvu/171

Rh fourth, and the third centuries B. C., and not simply to their philosophical tenets. We know also that there were many teachers, contemporaries of Buddha, but they. have left no traces in the literary history of India.

"We cannot be far wrong therefore if we assign the gradual formation of the six systems of philosophy to the period from Buddha (5th century) to Asoka (third century), though we have to admit, particularly in the cases of Vedānta, Sāmkhya and Yoga, a long previous development reaching back through Upanishads and Brāhmanas to the very hymns of the Rig Veda.

"It is equally difficult to fix the relative position of the great systems of philosophy, because, as I explained before, they quote each other mutually. With regard to the relation of Buddhism to the six orthodox systems it seems to me that all we can honestly say is that schools of philosophy handing down doctrines very similar to those of our six classical or orthodox systems are presupposed by the Buddhist Sūttas." (pp. 116—120)

As regards the question of priority, we shall also take the liberty to quote below from Prof.