Page:A Short History of Aryan Medical Science.djvu/27

I.] a truth, which must remain under trial until Science in its progressive course has reached its goal.

The Vedas are four in number, viz. : — Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. We will not pause to discuss the various points by which the Brahmans, who are the custodians of the sacred lore of India, try to establish the eternity of their inspired writings. Suffice it to say, that in computing time by regular divisions and assigning dates to events of antiquity, the ideas of the Eastern and the Western people widely differ. Some Western authorities assert that man did not exist on the surface of the earth prior to B.C. 3000 ; while in Indian cosmogony deeds are recorded of persons said to have flourished in the previous Yugas or cycles of time thus divided : —

Krita Yuga lasted for 1,728,000 years.

Treta Yuga lasted for 1,296,000 years.

Dvapara Yuga lasted for 864,000 years.

Kali Yuga will last for 432,000 years.

The Kali Yuga is the present age of the world, and is said to have begun on Friday, the 18th February, B.C. 3102. These cycles go on