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5. Kshattri, or Kshatta, by a Sudra from a Kshatriya | that the Hindus have always professed the same faith. Th woman. His occupation is said, by the 'Jatimala,' to con- sects into which the Hindus are divided in the present da sist in killing and confining such animals as live in holes. are of modern origin; and the system of theology taugh 6. Ayogava, by a Sudra from a woman of the Vaisya by these sects differs very much from the antient religion class, is a carpenter. the people. It is proposed in the following remarks to giv a brief account of the antient religion of the Hindus (whe is still the faith of the majority of the Brahmans and of th educated part of the community); and afterwards to men tion the principal religious and philosophical sects int which the Hindus are at present divided.

Colebrooke remarks (Miscellaneous Essays, ii., p. 187) that 'besides the particular occupations assigned to each of the mixed classes, they have the alternative of following that profession which regularly belongs to the class from which they derive their origin on the mother's side: those at least have such an option who are born in the direct order of the tribes, as the Mûrdhabhishicta, Ambashtha, and others. The mixed classes are also permitted to subsist by any of the duties of a Sudra; that is, by a menial service, by handicrafts, by commerce, or by agriculture.' Numerous other classes are formed from the intermarriage of the twelve mixed classes that have already been enumerated. The 'Jatimala' mentions the number of 42 mixed classes, springing from the intercourse of a man of inferior with a woman of superior caste. A further account of these classes is given in Mr. Colebrooke's Essay On Indian Classes.' One of the best known of the impure classes is that of the Pariahs, a corruption of the Tamul name Parriar, in the Deccan. They are called Maliwanlu in Telingana, ard Walliaru in Carnata. Their numbers are very considerable, amounting, according to the Abbé Dubois, to one-fifth of the whole population of India (Description, &c. of the People of India, p. 454); but this statement must, we should think, be very greatly exaggerated. Most of them sell themselves with their wives and children to the farmers, who make them undergo the hardest labours of agriculture, and treat them with the utmost severity. They are likewise the scavengers of the villages, their business being to keep thoroughfares clean, and to remove all the filth as it collects in the houses. Some of them who do not live in this state of servitude are employed to take care of the horses of individuals, or of the army, or of elephants and oxen. They are also the porters and run upon errands and messages. In some parts they are permitted to cultivate the lauds for their own benefit, and in others they can exercise the profession of weavers.' (Dubois' Description of the People of India, p. 458.)

There are other tribes, which are considered inferior even to the Pariahs. Such are the Pallis and the Pulias, in the southern part of the Deccan; the Curabarus, the Lambadis, the Dumbarus, the Chensu Carirs, and many others; of which an account is given in Buchanan's 'Journey through the Mysore.'

The lower classes are also divided into left and right hand sides, or Eddagai and Ballagai; the former class containing nine, and the latter eighteen castes. A few subdivisions of the Vaisya and Sudra castes are also included in these sides. The different castes of which each division is composed are not united by any common tie of religion, occupation, or kindred; it seems therefore to be merely a struggle for certain honorary distinctions. The right hand side pretend that they have the exclusive privilege of using twelve pillars in the pundal or shed under which their marriage ceremonies are performed; and that their adversaries in their processions have no right to ride on horseback, nor to carry a flag painted with the figure of Hanumanta. The left hand side pretend that all these privileges are confirmed to them by the grant of Kali; and that they are of the highest rank, having been placed by that goddess on her left hand, which in India is the place of honour. Frequent disputes arise concerning these important matters; and on such occasions not only mutual abuse is common, but also the heads of the divisions occasionally stir up the lowest and most ignorant of their followers to have recourse to violence, and encourage them by holding out the houses and shops of their adversaries as proper objects for plunder.' 'Buchanan's Journey from Madras, &c., i., pp. 79-80.)

Religion and Philosophy.-A knowledge of the religion of a people is always useful in assisting us in forming an estimate of their civilization. With regard to the Hindus, such a knowledge is indispensable, since every circumstance in the life of a Hindu, from the time of his birth to that of his death, is closely connected with religious observances; and the most insignificant as well as the most important acts cannot be performed without the observance of some religious rites or without a reference to some sacred doctrines. It is erroneous to suppose, as often has been done,

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The whole of Indian theology is professedly founded on the Vedas, which are four in number; the Rig-, Yagur Sama, and Atharvana- Veda. The present arrangement the Vedas, which are supposed to have been composed by inspired writers, is attributed to the sage Vyasa. Only a small portion of them has hitherto been known to Euro peans; and our principal information about them is a dis sertation by Mr. Colebrooke, in the eighth volume of the Asiatic Researches.' A few of the hymns of the Rig Veda were published, with a Latin translation, under the title of Rig-Veda Specimen, by the late Dr. Rose Lond., 1830; and the whole of the Rig-Veda, accompanied with a Latin translation, which Dr. Rosen was employed in editing at the time of his death, will, it is expected, be shortly published by the Oriental Translation Committee. Each Veda,' Mr. Colebrooke remarks, 'consists of two parts, denominated the Mantras or prayers, and the Brah manas or precepts. The complete collection of the Mantru (or hymns, prayers, and invocations) belonging to one Veda is entitled its Sanhita. Every other portion of Indian Scripture is included under the general head of diviraty (Brahmana). This comprises precepts which inculcate religious duties, maxims which explain those precepts, and arguments which relate to theology.'

The original worship of the Hindus appears to have been addressed to the elements. In the Mantras or prayers, which form the principal portion of the Vedas, Indra, or the firmament, fire, the sun, the moon, the air, the spirits, the atmosphere, and the earth, are the objects most frequently addressed. The mythology of the Vedas personifies the elements and the planets, and thus differs from the more recent legendary poems, which inculcate the worship of deified heroes.

The Vedas undoubtedly teach the belief of one supretac God. Mr. Colebrooke remarks that the deities invoked appear, on a cursory inspection of the Veda, to be as various as the authors of the prayers addressed to them; but as cording to the most antient annotations on the Indian Scrip tures, these numerous names of persons and things are all resolvable into different titles of three deities, and ult mately of one God. The Nighantu, or glossary of the Vedas, concludes with three lists of names of deities: the first comprising such as are deemed synonymous with fire; the second with air; and the third with the sun. In the last part of the Niructa (a treatise on the Vedas), which e tirely relates to deities, it is twice asserted that there are but three gods. The further inference that these inter but one deity is supported by many passages in the Veda and is very clearly and concisely stated in the beginning t the index to the Rig-Veda, on the authority of the Niruca and of the Veda itself.' The name of this supreme dety omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, is Brahma, wh is no longer an object of worship, but merely of devot contemplation. His attributes are represented by the thre personified powers of creation, preservation, and destruction. which, under the respective names of Brahmâ, Vishnu, and Siva, form the trimurti (that is, three forms'), or triad d principal Hindu gods. These deities are sometimes repre sented singly with their respective attributes, and son times with one body and three heads. It would be possible in our limits to give any account of the numerou inferior deities, which are said by Ward (View of the Hindoos, p. xviii., 6, Serampore, 1815) to amount, accord to the computation of the Hindus, to 330 millions. T most important of these inferior deities are the Lokapai that is, guardians of the world,' who are the eight god next in rank to the Trimurti:-1. Indra, the god d Heaven, of the thunder and lightning, storm and ra 2. Agni, the god of fire; 3. Yama, the god of the infert regions; 4. Surya, the god of the sun; 5. Varuna, the god of water; 6. Pavana, the god of the wind; 7. Kur the god of wealth; 8. Soma, or Chandra, the god of the moon. Many other deities were afterwards included in the

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list of Lokapalas, of whom a list is given in a note to Wilson's translation of the Vikramorvasi. (Hindu Theatre, vol. i., 219.) Those who wish for further information respecting the Hindu deities, may consult with advantage Moor's Hindu Pantheon,' Lond., 1810; Coleman's Mythology of the Hindus,' Lond., 1832; and Rhode, Ueber Religiöse Bildung, Mythologie und Philosophie der Hindus,' Leip., 1827. The worship of these gods, as well as of numerous others, which was once very popular in Hindustan, has almost entirely disappeared, in consequence of the exclusive worship which is paid to Vishnu, Siva, Sakti, and a few other deities, by the religious sects of the Hindus of the present day. The exclusive worship of these deities does not appear to have arisen much earlier than the tenth century of the Christian æra. Each sect maintains that the god which it worships unites in his person all the attributes of the deity. The exclusive worshippers of Vishnu, Siva, &c., must not be confounded with the orthodox worshippers of these deities. Few Brahmans of learning will acknowledge themselves to belong to any of the popular divisions of the Hindu faith; they acknowledge the Vedas, Puranas, and Tantras, as the only orthodox ritual, and regard all practices not derived from these sources as irregular and profane. Some of these sects appear to have arisen in great measure in opposition to the Brahmanical order; their teachers are frequently chosen from the lower castes, and the distinction of caste is in a great measure lost in the similarity of schism. (Wilson, On the Religious Sects of the Hindus, in Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi.) The following is a list of the principal sects:—

1. Vaishnavas, who worship Vishnu, or rather Rama, Krishna, and other heroes connected with the incarnations of that deity. This sect has numerous followers in Bengal and Orissa, and is distinguished generally by an abstinence from animal food, and by a worship which is less cruel than that of the Saivas. But it must be recollected that the Vaishnavas are subdivided into numerous sects, which often agree only in maintaining that Vishnu is Brahma, that is, the deity. A long and interesting account of these sects is given by Wilson in the sixteenth volume of the 'As. Res.' One of the most important of the Vaishnava sects is the Kabir Panthis, founded by Kabir in the beginning of the fifteenth century. No one, with the exception of Nanak Shah, has produced a greater change in the popular belief than Kabir. He assailed the whole system of idolatrous worship, and ridiculed the learning of the Pandits and the doctrines of the Sastras. Though the immediate effect of his doctrines was considerable, their indirect influence has been still greater. Several of the popular sects are little more than ramifications of the Kabir Panthis, and Nanak Shah appears to have been principally indebted to him for the doctrines he promulgated among the Sikhs. This sect is included among the Vaishnavas because they pay more respect to Vishnu than to any other deity; but it is no part of their faith to worship any Hindu deity, or to observe any of the rites or ceremonies of the Hindu religion.

2. Saivas, who worship Siva, are more numerous than any other sect. Siva is usually represented by the Lingam, which the Saivas worship, some figuratively, others literally. The sectarial mark by which the Saivas are distinguished consists in three horizontal lines on the forehead with ashes, obtained, if possible, from the hearth on which a consecrated fire is perpetually kept; and thus differs from the sectarial mark of the Vaishnavas, which consists in perpendicular lines, of which the number differs according to the sect to which the individual belongs.

3. Saktas. The Hindu mythology has personified the abstract and active powers of the divinity, and has ascribed sexes to these mythological personages. The Sakti, or active power of God, is female, and is considered the consort of the abstract attribute. The Saktas, who may perhaps be regarded as only a subdivision of the Saivas, worship the Sakti of Siva, which is usually represented by the female organ, as the counterpart of the phallic personification of Siva.

4. Sauras, the worshippers of Surya, the sun.

5. Ganapatyas, the worshippers of Ganesa, the god of wisdom. The Sauras and Ganapatyas are not numerous. Most of these religious sects are divided into two classes, which, for want of a better name, may be called clerical and lay. The priests may also be divided into two classes, P. C., No. 753.

the monastic and secular clergy, of which the maxanty belong to the monastic order, since the preference is usually given by the lay part of the community to teachers who lead an ascetic life. These ascetics usually spend the greater part of their life in travelling from one holy place to another, subsisting by alms or merchandise; and when they are no longer able to pursue this wandering mode of life, they generally settle in some of the numerous maths, or monasteries, which are scattered over the whole country These maths, Mr. Wilson remarks, vary in structure and extent, but they generally comprehend a set of huts, or chambers, for the Mahant, or the superior, and his permanent pupils; a temple, sacred to the deity whom they worship, or the Samadh, a shrine of the founder of the sect, or of some eminent teacher; and a Dharma Sala, one or more sheds or buildings for the accommodation of the mendicants or travellers who are constantly visiting the math. Ingress and egress are free to all. (Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi., p. 39.)

The sects which have already been enumerated profess to follow the authority of the Vedas in all matters which relate to religion and philosophy, though their opinions are in many points quite at variance with the doctrines of these books. But there are other sects which entirely disavow the authority of the Vedas, and which are therefore regarded as forming no part of the Hindu church. The most important of these sects are the Buddhists [BUDDHA], the Jainas, and the Sikhs. The Buddhists have long since been expelled from Hindustan; but it is evident, from the existence of large architectural remains clearly referrible to this sect, from the account of the Brahmans themselves, and from other circumstances, that the Buddhists were once very numerous in all parts of the country.

The sect of the Sikhs was founded by Nanak Shah, who was born A.D. 1469, at a small village called Talwandi, in the district of Bhatti, in the province of Lahore. He attempted to reconcile the religion of the Mohammedans and Hindus, by recalling them to the consideration of the tenet in which they both believed, namely, the unity of God. I am sent, he said, 'to the Mohammedans to reconcile your jarring faiths; and I implore you to read the Hindu scriptures, as well as your own; but reading is useless without obedience to the doctrine taught: for God has said no man shall be saved except he has performed good works. The Almighty will not ask to what tribe or persuasion he belongs; he will only ask what he has done. (Malcolm's Sketch of the Sikhs, in As. Res., vol. xi., p. 275.) Nanak gained many proselytes, and his doctrines continued to spread in peace for two centuries. But in the beginning of the seventeenth century their numbers excited the jealousy of the Mohammedan government; and from that time the Sikhs may be considered as an armed people. A series of bloody contentions ensued; in which the Sikhs were at first entirely crushed; but Gura Govind gave a new character to the religion of the followers of Nanak, by the complete abolition of the system of castes, wisely judging that the only means by which he could ever hope to oppose the Mohammedan government with success was by admitting individuals of every caste to the profession of arms. His plan succeeded to a greater extent than might have been expected; immense numbers of the lower castes joined his ranks; and on the downfal of the Mogul government the Sikhs obtained possession of the greater part of the northern and north-western provinces of Hindustan. Malcolm describes the present faith of the Sikhs as a creed of pure deism, grounded on the most sublime general truths; blended with the belief of all the absurdities of Hindu mythology and the fables of Mohammedanism.' The Sikhs reject the authority of the Vedas, Puranas, and all other religious books of the Hindus; eat all kinds of flesh, except that of cows; willingly admit proselytes from every caste; and consider the profession of arms the religious duty of every individual. An interesting account of this sect is given in Malcolm's Sketch of the Sikhs. (Asiatic Researches, vol. xi., pp. 197292.)

A belief in the transmigration of souls forms an important tenet in the Hindu faith. It is the great object of Hindu worship to obtain a deliverance from future existence, which is supposed to be effected by a reunion of the spiritual nature of man with that primitive spirit which pervades all nature, and which receives the souls of men, when they have been purified, into its essence. The prevailing notion of the means by which an individual may accomplish this VOL. XII.-2

object is, by subjecting the body to sufferings and privations, and withdrawing from all intercourse with mankind. It is expressly commanded in the laws of Manu (vi., 2, 3), that a Brahman, when his children have attained maturity, should retire from the world and take refuge in a forest. He is required to spend his time in studying the Vedas and in performing penances for the purpose of uniting his soul with the divine spirit.' (Manu, vi., 29.) Many of these hermits appear in former times to have also studied the abstract sciences with great success; and they have always been considered by the orthodox Hindus as the wisest and holiest of mankind. The Greeks gave to them the name of Gymnosophista, or naked philosophers,' since most of these ascetics dispensed almost entirely with the use of clothes, and many of them went entirely naked. After remaining in the woods for several years, they at length arrived at the dignity of Sannyasis, that is, 'those who have abandoned all worldly concerns;' which is the most perfect state of existence which a Brahman can attain, in which state he is not to wish for death, he is not to wish for life; but he is to expect his appointed time, as a hired servant expects his wages.' (Manu, vi., 45.) He must entirely detach his affections from all worldly desires; for should he cherish in his heart the slightest wish for any earthly object, the fruits of his previous penance and all his holiness would be lost. This doctrine is inculcated in the 'Bhagavad-Gîtâ,' a philosophical poem, forming an episode of the Mahabharata,' which has been translated into English by Wilkins (Lond. 1787), and into Latin by Schlegel, who has also edited the Sanskrit text (Bonn, 1823). But the term Sannyasi is used in the present day with a wider signification, to designate all the wandering mendicants of the different Hindu sects. These mendicants are also frequently called Vairagis, that is, persons who have subdued all their passions and desires; and Yogis, that is, 'persons who perform worldly actions and ceremonies without regard to their results, and who keep their minds fixed upon Brahma or God alone.' (Wilson's Sanskrit Dict., under 'Yogin.')

The Hindus have various philosophical systems which they consider to be orthodox, that is, in accordance with the theology and metaphysics of the Vedas; and others which are deemed heretical, as incompatible with the doctrines of their holy books. The professed design of all these schools is to teach the means by which eternal beatitude may be attained after death, if not before it.' The most orthodox of these schools are the two Mîmânsas, of which the former, Purva Mîmânsa, said to have been founded by Jaimini, teaches the art of reasoning with the express view of interpreting the practical part of the Vedas, that is, the ritual of religion and devotion, including also moral and legal obligations. (Wilson's Sanskrit Diet., under 'Mîmânsa.') The latter, Uttara Mimansa, commonly called Vedanta, said to have been found by Vyasa, treats of the spiritual worship of the Supreme Being, or soul of the universe; and deduces from the text of the Indian scriptures a refined psychology, which goes to a denial of a material world.' The two together,' Mr. Colebrooke remarks, comprise the whole system of interpretation of the precepts and doctrine of the Vedas, both practical and theological. They are parts of one whole. The latter Mîmânsâ is supplementary to the former, and is expressly affirmed to be so; but differing on many important points, though agreeing on others, they are essentially distinct in a religious as in a philosophical view.' There are three other schools of philosophy, the Sankhya, Nyaya, and Vaiseshica, which, though not strictly orthodox, are respected by very rigid adherents of the Vedas.

The Sankhya system of philosophy, which derives its name from a word signifying reason or deliberation, because precision of reckoning is observed in the enumeration of its principles, maintains that true knowledge can alone secure perfect deliverance from evil; and that this knowledge consists in rightly discriminating the principles, perceptible and imperceptible, of the material world, from the sensitive and cognitive principle, which is the immaterial soul.' The Sankhya philosophy is divided into three schools; of which the first, founded by Patanjali, recognises the existence of a supreme God, and is therefore denominated 'theistical' (Seswara Sanchya); the second, founded by Capila, acknowledges no supreme ruling providence, and is therefore called atheistical' (Niriswara Sanchya); the gods of Capila are beings superior to man, but like him subject to change and transmigration; the third school, which has

not many followers, may be called 'mythological' (Purânia Sanchya), because the cosmogony contained in several e the Purânas agrees with this system.

The Nyaya and Vaiseshica systems, said to be founded respectively by Gotama and Canâde, may be taken generally as parts of one system. The first is chiefly occupied with the metaphysics of logic, whence it derives its name s Nyaya, that is, reasoning;' the second, with physics, that is, with particulars' or sensible objects, whence it derives its name of Vaiseshica, particular.' These schools coreur with other schools of psychology in promising beatitude e (nihsreyas) final excellence, and (mocsha) deliverance from evil, as the reward of a thorough knowledge of the principles which they teach, that is, of truth, meaning the conviction of the soul's eternal existence separable fmm the body.

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An interesting account of the philosophical tenets of these seets is given by Mr. Colebrooke in his essay On the Palosophy of the Hindus,' in the Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society,' vol. i., pp. 19-43; pp. 92-118; pp. 439-36! vol. ii., pp. 1-39; reprinted in his Miscellaneous Essays vol. i., pp. 227-325: to which we are indebted for the greater part of the preceding remarks. See also Kennedy on the Vedanta System,' in the 3rd volume of the 'Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society.'

Laws.-Works on law form an important branch of Sanskrit literature. Of these the most celebrated is the code generally known under the title of the Institutes of MANU, to which the reader is referred for an outline of the antient Hindu laws. Those who are desirous of further information on this subject may also consult Halhed's 'Code of Gentoo Laws,' London, 4to., 1776; 8vo., 1777, which was compiled under the administration of Mr. Hastings M a set of the most experienced lawyers selected from every part of Bengal. They picked out sentence by sentence from various originals in the Shanscrit language, neither adding to nor diminishing any part of the antient text The articles thus collected were next literally translated into Persian, under the inspection of one of their own body, and from that translation were rendered into English. with an equal attention to the closeness and fidelity of the version. (Preface to Code of Gentoo Laws, p. x.) Seve ral other works on Hindu law have been published at Caleutta, of which the most important are:-Dâyâ Bhâga, a Treatise on Inheritance,' 1814; new edition 1829; DayâCrama-Sangraha, an original Treatise on the Hindoo Law of Inheritance, with an English Translation by P. M Wynch,' 1818; Dâyâ Tatwa, a Treatise on the Law of Inheritance, by Raghunandana Bhattacharya, 1828; Two Treatises on the Hindu Law of Inheritance, from the Dâyâ Bhaga, and the Mitakshara, translated by H. T. Colebrooke, 1810. An interesting account of the composition of an Indian court of justice, conformably with the antient Hindu institutions, is given by Mr. Colebrooke in his Essay 'On Hindu Courts of Justice,' in the 'Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society,' vol. ii., pp. 166-196: and a curious instance of a trial of a criminal cause in a Hindu court occurs in the Sanskrit play of 'Mrichhacati,' or the 'Toy-cart,' translated in Wilson's Theatre of the Hindus,' vol. i., pp. 143-159.

Arithmetic, Algebra, Astronomy, and Geometry.—The reader is referred to the articles ARITHMETIC; ALGEBRA; ASTRONOMY; GEOMETRY; SURHYA SIDDHANTA TIRVALORE, TABLES OF; and VIGA GANITA, in this work.

Medicine.-Professor Wilson remarks (Oriental Mag, Calc., Feb., 1823) that there is reason to conclude, from the imperfect opportunities of investigation we possess, that in medicine, as in astronomy and metaphysics, the Hindus once kept pace with the most enlightened nations of the world; and that they attained as thorough a proficiency in medicine and surgery as any people whose acquisitions are recorded, and as indeed was practicable, before anatomy was made known to us by the discoveries of modern times. It might easily be supposed that their patient attention and natural shrewdness would render the Hindus excellent observers; whilst the extent and fertility of their native country would furnish them with many valuable drugs and medicaments. Their Nidan, or Diagnosis, accordingly appears to define and distinguish symptoms with great accuracy, and their Druvyabhidhana, or Materia Medica, is sufficiently volumi nous. They have also paid great attention to regimen and

et, and have a number of works on the food and general | as durability, of their colours were as celebrated among the reatment suitable to the complaint, or favourable to the Greeks and Romans as among ourselves. (Ctes., Indic., c. peration of the medicine administered. This branch they 21; Strabo, xv., pp. 1018-1024; Pliny, Nat. Hist., XXXV., entitle Pathapathya. To these subjects are to be added the c. 6.) Silk also, as already remarked, was probably manu Chikitsa, or medical treatment of diseases, on which sub-factured in India in very early times. ect they have a variety of compositions, containing much bsurdity, with much that is of real value, and the Rasadya, or pharmacy, in which they are most deficient.' The medical writings of the highest antiquity and authoity are collectively called the Ayur Veda,' and are supposed to be a portion of the fourth or 'Atharva Veda.' The Ayur Veda,' which originally consisted of 100 sections, of 1000 stanzas each, is divided into eight parts-1. Salya, which means 'a dart,' is the art of extracting extraneous diseases, whether of metal, bone, grass, wood, earth, &c., violently or accidentally introduced into the human body. 2. Salakya, is the treatment of external organic affections, or diseases of the eyes, ears, nose, &c. 3. Kaya Chikitsa, the science of medicine: the two preceding divisions constitute the surgery of modern schools. 4. Bhutaridya is the restoration of the faculties from a disorganized state, induced by demoniacal possession. 5. Kaumara Bhritya, on the diseases of women and children. 6. Agada is the administration of antidotes. 7. Rasayana is chemistry, or more correctly alchemy; as the chief end of the chemical combinations it describes, and which are mostly metallurgic, is the discovery of the universal medicine, the elixir, that was to render health permanent and life perpetual.' 8 Bajikarana, professes to promote the increase of the human

race.

The most celebrated parts of the Ayur Veda' are the treatises of Charaka and Susruta. Part of the work of Susruta has been published at Calcutta, 1835. Professor Royle, in an essay On the Antiquity of Hindoo Medicine,' and a writer in No. 15 of the Journal of Education,' p. 176, inform us that a variety of medical treatises were translated from the Sanskrit into Persian and Arabic, and give many reasons for believing that the Arabs derived their principal knowledge of surgery and medicine from the Hindus. In the present day surgery is not studied by the Hindus; but Wilson remarks that the disappearance of surgery from among the Hindus is evidently of comparatively modern occurrence, as operative and instrumental practice forms so principal a part of those writings which are undeniably most antient, and which, being regarded as the composition of inspired writers, are held of the highest authority.' The Hindus must at a former period have possessed a considerable knowledge of surgery, since many difficult operations, such as those of lithotomy and the extraction of the fœtus ex utero are mentioned in Sanskrit works. The reader will find in the essay of Professor Royle above referred to much valuable information on the subject of Hindu medicine.

Arts, &c.-It is evident from the most antient Sanskrit works, as well as from the testimony of the Greeks who visited the country, that the useful and fine arts had attained a considerable degree of perfection among the Hindus in very early times. The Ramayana contains numerous proofs of the progress they had made in working metals. The art of smelting iron-ore and of manufacturing steel is undoubtedly of great antiquity (Ctes., Indic., c. 4); and their skill in the manufacture of gold and silver ornaments is evident from the descriptions of the Ramayana. The antiquity of their coinage is more doubtful, but they possessed a gold coinage in the time of Arrian, who mentions, in his Periplus,' gold coins under the name of Kaltis, and probably at a much earlier period. Major Tod gives an account in the 'Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society,' vol. i., pp. 340, 341, of several gold coins which he considers to be of a great antiquity. The Hindus must also have been acquainted with the art of working diamond mines at a remote period, since Arrian informs us, in his 'Periplus,' that diamonds and precious stones of every kind were brought from the interior to the port of Nelcunda. Ear-rings of ivory are mentioned by Arrian (Indic., c. 16); and the pearl fishery was known to the companions of Alexander (Arrian, Indic., c. 8).

The degree of perfection to which the Hindus carried the art of weaving in antient as well as modern times is well known. Their country has always been distinguished for the number and excellence of the substances which it contains for dyeing colours and the beauty and brilliancy, as well

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The art of obtaining intoxicating liquors by distillation 's mentioned in the Ramayana and the laws of Manu. In the laws of Manu (xi. 95) three kinds are specified; 'that extracted from dregs of sugar, that extracted from bruised rice, and that extracted from the flowers of the Madhuca.' In painting the Hindus appear never to have attained much proficiency: their artists draw with great accuracy, but they have no knowledge of perspective. With regard to music their instruments are numerous; but their compositions are confined to a few simple melodies, many of which possess,' according to Sir W. Ouseley, the plaintive simplicity of the Scotch and Irish, and others a wild originality pleasing beyond description. Counterpoint seems not to have entered at any time into the system of Indian music.' (Oriental Collections, vol. iii., p. 298.) An account of Hindu music is given by Sir William Jones in his essay 'On the Musical Notes of the Hindus' (As. Res, vol. iii., pp. 55-87). The Hindus lay claim to the invention of the game of chess. [CHESS, vol. vii., p. 52.]

With respect to the present state of the arts among the Hindus, Bishop Heber remarks (Journal, vol. iii., pp. 251-2), Nor is it true that in the mechanic arts they are inferior to the general run of European nations. Where they fall short of us (which is chiefly in agricultural instruments and the mechanics of common life), they are not, so far as 1 have understood of Italy and the south of France, surpassed in any great degree by the people of those countries. Their goldsmiths and weavers produce as beautiful fabrics as our own; and it is so far from true that they are obstinately wedded to their old patterns, that they show an anxiety to imitate our models, and do imitate them very successfully. The ships built by native artists at Bombay are notoriously as good as any which sail from London or Liverpool. The earriages and gigs which they supply at Calcutta are as handsome, though not as durable, as those of Long Acre. In the little town of Monghyr, three hundred miles from Calcutta, I had pistols, double-barrelled guns, and different pieces of cabinet-work brought down to my boat for sale, which in outward form nobody could detect to be of Hindoo origin; and at Delhi, in the shop of a native wealthy jeweller, I found broaches, ear-rings, snuff-boxes, &c., of the latest models, and ornamented with French devices and mottos.'

Most of the subjects treated of in this article are discussed with considerable learning by Bohlen in his 'Das Alte Indien,' Königs., 2 vols. 8vo., 1830; and in a more popular manner in the Hindoos' published under the superintend ence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 2 vols. 12mo. 1834-35.

Hindu Architecture.-Much yet remains to be done before we possess precise information in regard to a style of architecture which has not yet been studied by professional men, they being indebted for what they know of it solely to the accounts of travellers and antiquaries, which, again, either consist of merely verbal descriptions, or if accompanied with drawings, are not illustrated by delineations of the kind indispensable for obtaining exact and accurate ideas of the structures themselves. Till we shall be furnished with accurately measured plans, elevations, and sections, not only general but particular, so as clearly to express every circumstance of detail, our knowledge must be very imperfect; and even with such aid very much would still have to be left to the imagination, since the most accu rate drawings or models could, in regard to dimensions, effect no more than words themselves, it being utterly impossible for them to convey the impression caused by actual magnitude and colossal bulk, which, as much as their forms, characterise the edifices both of Egypt and India.

After the difficulties which we have just stated attending the subject, it cannot be supposed that we here pretend to do more than offer a sketch which must be very slight and imperfect. Nevertheless a few observations in regard to it seem preferable to omitting it altogether; nor perhaps can we com mence them more suitably than by calling attention to some of the resemblances and distinctions existing between Hindu and Egyptian architecture; since the obvious affinity exist

ing between them will afford means of direct comparison, while such comparison will greatly facilitate explanation. In the article on Egyptian Architecture we referred rather to points of difference and contrast between that style and the Grecian, than to anything of positive similitude, they being separated from each other by an exceedingly wide interval as to all that regards feeling and taste. The Egyptian and Hindu styles, on the contrary, seem absolutely to come in contact with each other, agreeing most in those points wherein they most differ from Grecian and from modern taste. If there existed no other resemblance between the architecture of the two regions, there would be a decidedly strong one in their hypogaa, or subterraneous cavern-structures hewn out of solid rock, works therefore more properly of exstruction than of construction, and to which, to doubt, ought to be ascribed the chief peculiarities of the styles originating in them, namely, extraordinary massiveness of bulk and proportions coupled with no less singular capriciousness of form. Where the forms are produced by cutting away instead of putting together and building up, they may be shaped quite arbitrarily, moulded according to fancy alone, because they still belong to one naturally coherent mass: whereas were the same forms worked out of separate pieces of material, not only would hey frequently be at variance with security and stability, but would occasion an enormous waste both of material and labour; the difference between the process of exstruction and that of construction being, that in the former the solids are only left after the operation of taking away, while in the latter they are produced by what is built up. This, in our opinion, goes far towards accounting for the various capricious, not to say unmeaning shapes we meet with in many of the columns of the cavern-temples of India; and these, again, account for the similar taste which was afterwards manifested in works of construction, a taste so remote from our own that the two can hardly be said to have any sympathies in common.

back to periods lost in the obscurity of fable, the most remarkable are those on the Island of Elephanta near Bombay [ELEPHANTA], at Kennereh, in that of Salsette; those at Ellora near Dowletabad; at Perwatam on the Kistna; those near the pass of Ajanti, and those at Carli, about 30 miles north-west of Poonah. Many of those excavations are of prodigious extent, being composed of a series of apartments and recesses cut out of the rock, amounting in some instances to an almost incredible number, it being said that in the mountains of the Soubah of Cashmere there are no fewer than twelve thousand. Merely as monuments of human labour and perseverance the works of this class would be truly astonishing, but it is their stupendousness combined with magnificence, barbaric and frequently monstrous, that imparts to them a character almost supernaturally sublime and awfal. As if to imitate nature in her most minute as well as her grandest productions, while colossal statues and sculptures display themselves within these cavern-temples and on their walls, elaborate embellishments of detail are frequently given to the columns, which appear composed of fragments capriciously put together, it being impossible to determine where their pedestals terminate and their shafts commence, or how much of these latter belong to the capitals. In fact, what is sometimes described as pedestal supporting the column, might with as much propriety be termed its lower portion, although square or polygonal, while the rest of the shaft is circular. In this respect the Hindu style, at least this earliest class of it, differs materially from that of the Egyptians, where the shafts of the columns have no pedestals, and scarcely any thing amounting to a distinct base, and where, however much the column itself may be ornamented, the capital is plainly distinguishable from the rest. The forms themselves are so singular as to baffle all attempt at verbal explanation or even comparison, and so varied, that to illustrate them by drawings would be laborious. As far however as a solitary example can be of assistance for such Of these subterraneous or grotto edifices, whose anti-purpose, some idea respecting them may be obtained from quity at the most moderate computation extends to several those in the mple at Elephanta; which, if the square centuries before the Christian æra, and is by some carried part is to be considered as a distinct pedestal, are remark

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ably short, whether compared with that or with their own diameter

It will be seen too that the pillars partake as much of the square as of the circle in their plan, and have quite as much of the baluster as of the column, both in their shape and proportions. Another circumstance to be noticed, as in this instance constituting a striking point of difference from the practice of the Egyptians, is, that they are placed so far apart, so very stragglingly, as to resemble only occasional props, instead of a continued colonnade. In this respect however there appears to have been no fixed system. for in other examples the columns are placed so close together that the parts of their capitals almost touch. This is the case with those in one of the temples on the Island of SalLette, which have flattened globular bases and capitals,

and plain polygonal shafts of less massive proportions thes
usual; owing to which the architecture has a more regul
and uniform appearance, a close file of pillars on each side
leaving a lengthened vista between them. Although there
fore there is no positive evidence to show which are t
earliest works of this description, it is but reasonable
infer that those which display greater architectonic symmet
in their arrangement and forms belong to a later per
than those which are fashioned more after the manner
natural grottos, in regard both to the number and dispe
tion of their columns and the forms given to these latte
Neither have we anything beyond conjecture to inform
as to either the time it must have taken to execute su
prodigious excavations or the mode of operation pursued
Equally matter of conjecture is it whether advantage va

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