Page:The Cyclopedia of India (Specimen Issue).pdf/153

 THE CYCLOPBDIA Ol’ INDIA.

The Yajur Veda was a collection oi sacriﬁcial tor- mulas. compiled tor the assistance at the priest! called Adhvaryus. who were entrusted with the ma. terial pedomance oi the sacriﬁces The other two classes 0! priests. whose nee was also necessa ° at eve ' sacrifice. needed no manual. The Hotrts simply d to recite hymns. and for this a knowledge of the Rig Veda was mthcient. while the Brahman needed no manual at his own. his function being to act as president. and superintend the whole ceremonial. O! the Yajur \‘eda there I'll: two 52mg]: I‘ka

. respectivey as c a

“WW” “mm. m- Black Yajur Veda is unquestionably the oldest. hot little accurate informa- tion is to hand about its compilation. 0! the White Yajur Veda. however. more is known. It is ascribed to Yajnavallrya. a learnidmuiest who workedunder the

tronage oi King J. The compilation is not.

owner. the work at one man. or even of one a ; and all that can be said with catninty is that the t and more important part at it. eighteen chapters of formulas. were promulgated trotn the court of King Janaka towards the end of the Epic Period, or about the ninth century EC.

Last comes the Atharva Veda. Although it in- cludes a few hymns chosen (mm the Rig \’eda,—-chieﬁy the later ones—it paineipally consists oi formula intended to protect men from haneiul inﬂuences, whetherdivineorhuman. ltislullot spells tor warding oil evil. incantatious against disease and imprecations against demons. sorcerer: andhaenemics. and ot charms

to secure many and pmspcrtty’.

“'mvd" Such spells hear the name of Mantras.“er inclusiouinasacredbook isn proof of the decline of rel' ’ou. The simplicity and manlinessol thcearlyv ‘ccreedmtsthavelong since passed away when such a compilation was in dailyuse. But there isgoodreason to suppose that the Atharva Veda. 'te its claim to anti uity. was not compiled until long alter the Epic For centuries to come only three Vedas are recognised. and although lragmenta ol incantations may have existed in t is period. it is not likely that they were put ﬁlls" in their ptesmt lorln until a later time.

next series at works to he noticed are the Brahmanas. The change of locality and political condghmntious which we have in thwgkaeccgun at this wereaccompani y wnsi ups in language and modes at thought. Hence the Vedic hymns were re 'dly becoming unintelligible. The Brahmans there are devoted themselves to a carelul explanation oi the text and wrote long piece commen- taries in which a number '3‘: M d lllug'ttltii’e ol social' a 'tic con ‘tions are new mixed up with dry t 'al discussions and descriptions of ceremonial. om. mentaries of this ltiud were written tor each of the Vedas in turn. and at length each Veda was explained by two or three rate Brahman». compiled for the most part during t period. but not entirely tree irons later interpolations. The Brahmanas are generallv regarded as dull and dreary. but they contain much curious intormation. Though their proleaaed ob ect istoteach thencriﬁceﬂhichcan be betters '

in the Sutras ot the ensuing age) they devote a much I s cc to dogmatical. exegetical. mystical and grill p cal speculations than to the ceremonial tsell. The fact oi so many authors being quoted by name in these works shows that the Brahmanas exhibit the accumulated thoughts at a in? succession at early theologians and philosoPhers “ ut the very earliest 01 these sages (allow a train at thought which gives clear evidence at a dccayin religion. The Brahman» presu pose. . . . . . a com etc break in the primitive tra 'tion oi the Aryan settlers in India. At the time when the law was laid down about the employment 0! certain hymns at certain parts of the sacriﬁce. the original meaning 0! those ymns and the true conception oi the gods to whom they were addressed had been lost. The meaning also of the old and sacred customs by which their lurc- lathers had hallowed the most critical epochs of lite and the principal divisions of the year, had faded away from the memory of those whose lncubrattons on the rt 0! the sacriﬁces have been elaborated in the m" in other words, the transition trout anatmalworsﬂtoanamﬁcnal' worshi .whichprocess tomathe ' interestottheV' Periode alreadv been completed. But the pre-Buddhistic Hinduism which was now takﬁlshape. was accom- ‘ed by so much pedantry. exempliﬁed in the mirror-mmuthechangetotbe holds ulations and the more healthy scepticism ol the tiouallst Age cannot havn been but beneﬁcial. The age at reason was however. preﬁgured by certain works compiled in the Epic Age itself. These are the Annyaltas and the Upanishads. The Amnyakas or ‘torest lectures,' were integgsd tgﬂbeby Brahmans w on gomg ctr period of ascetism as iorest her- mits—one of the {our riods into which Brahmanhood was now divided. guy of the Aﬂﬁlf'ﬂkﬂ form part at particular Bmhmnnas. and in cases they crap the existence of the Brahmanas. The pa ds are reli 'ous specula- tions contained in the Annyaltas. an any interest the latter have is derived lrom these Upanishads. The subject-matter ol the Upanishads concerns ghe- des 'ing at tll’ie soulhaand the nature of utilize upreme 'ng. suiectst tarnaeVet-ynatur from the speculations oi the Brahmans. although they paved the way for teachi of a character re- pugnant to the priesthood. Words of the great Vedic scholar, ltaa Muller. are worth quoting in this connection. “The philoao hical chapters, well known under the name at panishads. are almost the only portion 0! Vedic literature which is enemy read to this ﬂunglbtgy militia; or are sup to contain. ‘ t not t on which the various s terns ot philosophy inylndia rest. .\'ot only the cdanta philosopher. who, by his very name. eases his laitb in the ends and objects of the V. hot the Sanlthvu. the Vaisesilta. the Nyaymand Yoga philosophers. all pretend to ﬁnd in the U ' ds somemwamnhugvngor tenets. however antagonistic in t ' '. same ap ion to the numerous sects that have existed. and still exist in India. Theirlouuders.il they have any pretensinu