Page:The history of caste in India.pdf/67

 written in prose of sūtra style, as are the previous works of Baudhāyana and others. The language also is well suited to an epic, and some verses in this book are actually found in the epics. In several places the writer indulges in a play of words. He often indulges in immoderate language and description, which is in general ill suited for dharma literature (for example, his eulogy of the majesty of the Brāhmanas, strictures on women, and so forth). He often makes contradictory statements. When he is talking about the importance of a certain point, he is likely to depreciate other things which he might praise highly at other places. The older writers did not try to justify the precepts which they lay down, but our writer does so. In such cases he either gives Vedic authority or philosophic reasons.

Our author endeavors to pass his work off as that of somebody else, namely, Manu, and this motive has had a great deal of influence on the treatment. He nearly succeeded in deceiving the readers till the merciless historical criticism of modern times stepped in.

The method of interpreting the book.–After the textual criticism and general survey of the contents of the book, our next task is to understand the meaning of the author. To understand and interpret our author correctly is by no means an easy matter, as one may suppose. The book was written in Sanskrit, and contains many words for which there are no proper equivalents in English. Again, the meaning of words in the Sanskrit language was by no means stationary and consequently, the exact meaning of words must be determined by careful inspection of the entire work. We again have to determine the oblique meaning of the