A Dissertation Concerning the Customs, Manners, Language, Religion, and Philosophy of The Hindoos.
THE learned of modern Europe have, with reason, complained that the writers of Greece and Rome did not extend their inquiries to the religion and philosophy of the Druids. Posterity will perhaps, in the same manner, find fault with the British for not investigating the learning and religious opinions which prevail in those countries in Asia, into which either their commerce or their arms have penetrated. The Brahmins of the East possessed in ancient times some reputation for knowledge, but we have never had the curiosity to examine whether there was any truth in the reports of antiquity upon that head.
Excuses, however, may be formed for our ignorance concerning the learning, religion, and philosophy, of the Brahmins. Literary inquiries are by no means a capital object to many of our adventurers in Asia. The few who have a turn for researches of that kind are discouraged by the very great difficulty in acquiring that language, in which the learning of the Hindoos is contained; or by that impenetrable veil of mystery with which the Brahmins industriously cover their religious tenets and philosophy.
These circumstances combining together, have opened an ample field for fiction. Modern travellers have accordingly indulged their talent for fable, upon the mysterious religion of Hindostan. Whether the ridiculous tales they relate proceed from that common partiality which Europeans, as well as less enlightened nations, entertain for the religion and philosophy of their own country, or from a judgment formed upon some external ceremonies of the Hindoos, is very difficult to determine; but they have prejudiced Europe against the Brahmins: and by a very unfair account, have thrown disgrace upon a system of religion and philosophy which they did by no means investigate.
The author of this Dissertation must own, that he for a long time suffered himself to be carried down in this stream of popular prejudice. The present decline of literature in Hindostan served to confirm him in his belief of those legends which he read in Europe concerning the Brahmins. But conversing by accident one day with a noble and learned Brahmin, he was not a little surprised to find him perfectly acquainted with those opinions which, both in ancient and modern Europe, have employed the pens of the most celebrated moralists. This circumstance did not fail to excite his curiosity, and in the course of many subsequent conversations he found that philosophy and the sciences had, in former ages, made a very considerable progress in the East.
Having then no intention to quit India for some time, he resolved to acquire some knowledge in the Shanscrita language; the grand repository of the religion, philosophy, and history of the Hindoos. With this view, he prevailed upon his noble friend the Brahmin to procure for him a Pundit, from the university of Benaris, well versed in the Shanscrita, and master of all the knowledge of that learned body. But before he had made any considerable progress in his studies, an unexpected change of affairs in Bengal broke off all his literary schemes. He found that the time he had to remain in India would be too short to acquire the Shanscrita. He determined, therefore, through the medium of the Persian language, and through the vulgar tongue of the Hindoos, to inform himself as much as possible concerning the mythology and philosophy of the Brahmins. He, for this purpose, procured some of the principal SHASTERS, and his Pundit explained to him as many passages of those curious books as served to give him a general idea of the doctrine which they contain.
It is but justice to the Brahmins to confess that the author of this Dissertation is very sensible of his own inability to illustrate, with that fulness and perspicuity which it deserves, that symbolical religion which they are at so much pains to conceal from foreigners. He, however, can aver, that he has not misrepresented one single circumstance or tenet, though many may have escaped his observation.
The books which contain the religion and philosophy of the Hindoos are distinguished by the name of Bedas. They are four in number, and, like the sacred writings of other nations, are said to have been penned by the Divinity. Beda in the Shanscrita literally signifies SCIENCE: for these books not only treat of religious and moral duties, but of every branch of philosophical knowledge.
-- The Rig Veda, translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith
-- Hymns of the Samaveda: Translated with a Popular Commentary, Ralph T.H. Griffith
-- The Hymns of the Atharvaveda, translated by Ralph T.H. Griffith
-- The Texts of the White Yajurveda, translated With a Popular
-- The Veda of the Black Yajus School Entitled Taittiriya
-- Ezourvedam: A French Veda of the Eighteenth Century, Edited with an Introduction by Ludo Rocher
The Bedas are, by the Brahmins, held so sacred that they permit no other sect to read them; and such is the influence of superstition and priestcraft over the minds of the other Casts in India, that they would deem it an unpardonable sin to satisfy their curiosity in that respect, were it even within the compass of their power. The Brahmins themselves are bound by such strong ties of religion to confine those writings to their own tribe, that were any of them known to read them to others he would be immediately excommunicated. This punishment is worse than even death itself among the Hindoos. The offender is not only thrown down from the noblest order to the most polluted Cast, but his posterity are rendered for ever incapable of being received into his former dignity.
All these things considered, we are not to wonder that the doctrine of the Bedas is so little known in Europe. Even the literary part of the Mahommedans of Asia reckon it an abstruse and mysterious subject, and candidly confess that it is covered with a veil of darkness which they could never penetrate. Some have indeed supposed, that the learned Feizi, brother to the celebrated Abul Fazil, chief secretary to the Emperor Akbar, had read the Bedas, and discovered the religious tenets contained in them to that renowned Prince. As the story of Feizi made a good deal of noise in the East, it may not be improper to give the particulars of it in this place.
Mahommed Akbar, being a Prince of elevated and extensive ideas, was totally divested of those prejudices for his own religion which men of inferior parts not only imbibe with their mother's milk, but retain throughout their lives. Though bred in all the strictness of the Mahommedan faith, his great soul, in his riper years, broke those chains of superstition and credulity with which his tutors had, in his early youth, fettered his mind. With a design to choose his own religion, or rather from curiosity, he made it his business to inquire minutely into all the systems of divinity which prevailed among mankind. The story of his being instructed in the Christian tenets, by a missionary from Portugal, is too well known in Europe to require a place in this Dissertation. As almost all religions admit of proselytes, Akbar had good success in his inquiries till he came to his own subjects the Hindoos. Contrary to the practice of all other religious sects, they admit of no converts, but they allow that every one may go to heaven his own way, though they perhaps suppose that theirs is the most expeditious method to obtain that important end. They choose rather to make a mystery of their religion, than impose it upon the world, like the Mahommedans, with the sword, or by means of the stake, after the manner of some pious Christians.
Not all the authority of Akbar could prevail with the Brahmins to reveal the principles of their faith. He was therefore obliged to have recourse to artifice to obtain the information which he so much desired. The Emperor, for this purpose, concerted a plan with his chief secretary, Abul Fazil, to impose Feizi, then a boy, upon the Brahmins, in the character of a poor orphan of their tribe. Feizi being instructed in his part, was privately sent to Benaris, the principal seat of learning among the Hindoos. In that city the fraud was practised on a learned Brahmin, who received the boy into his house, and educated him as his own son.
When Feizi, after ten years' study, had acquired the Shanscrita language, and all the knowledge of which the learned of Benaris were possessed, proper measures were taken by the Emperor to secure his safe return. Feizi, it seems, during his residence with his patron the Brahmin, was smitten with the beauty of his only daughter; and indeed the ladies of the Brahmin race are the handsomest in Hindostan. The old Brahmin saw the mutual passion of the young pair with pleasure, and as he loved Feizi for his uncommon abilities, he offered him his daughter in marriage. Feizi, perplexed between love and gratitude, at length discovered himself to the good old man, fell down at his feet, and grasping his knees, solicited with tears forgiveness for the great crime he had committed against his indulgent benefactor. The Brahmin, struck dumb with astonishment, uttered not one word of reproach. He drew a dagger, which he always carried on his girdle, and prepared to plunge it in his own breast. Feizi seized his hand, and conjured him, that if yet any atonement could be made for the injury he had done him, he himself would swear to deny him nothing. The Brahmin, bursting into tears, told him, that if Feizi should grant him two requests, he would forgive him, and consent to live. Feizi, without any hesitation, consented, and the Brahmin's requests were, that he should never translate the Bedas, nor repeat the creed of the Hindoos.
How far Feizi was bound by his oath not to reveal the doctrine of the Bedas to Akbar, is uncertain; but that neither he, nor any other person, ever translated those books is a truth beyond any dispute. It is, however, well known that the Emperor afterwards greatly favoured the Hindoo faith, and gave much offence to zealous Mahommedans, by practising some Indian customs which they thought savoured of idolatry. But the dispassionate part of mankind have always allowed that Akbar was equally divested of all the follies of both the religious superstitions which prevailed among his subjects.
To return from this digression. The Brahmins maintain, that the Bedas are the divine laws, which Brimha, at the creation of the world, delivered for the instruction of mankind. But they affirm, that their meaning was perverted in the first period of time by the ignorance and wickedness of some Princes, whom they represent as evil spirits who then haunted the earth. They call those evil genii Dewtas, and tell many strange allegorical legends concerning them; such as, that the Bedas being lost, were afterwards recovered by Bishen, in the form of a fish, who brought them up from the bottom of the ocean, into which they were thrown by a Deo, or Demon.
The first credible account we have of the Bedas is, that about the commencement of the period called the Cal Jug, of which era the present year 1769 is the 4887th, they were written, or rather collected, by a great philosopher and reputed prophet, called Beäss Muni, or Beäss the inspired. This learned man is otherwise called Krishen Basdeo, and is said to have lived in the reign of Judishter, in the city of Histanapore, upon the river Jumna, near the present city of Delhi.
The Brahmins do not give to Beäss Muni the merit of being the author of the Bedas. They however acknowledge that he reduced them into the present form, dividing them into four distinct books, after having collected the detached pieces of which they are composed, from every part of India. It is, upon the whole, probable, that they are not the work of one man, on account of their immense bulk.
The Mahommedans of Asia, as well as some of the learned of Europe, have mistaken Brimha, an allegorical person, for some philosopher of repute in India, whom they distinguish by the disfigured names of Bruma, Burma, and Bramha, whom they suppose to have been the writer of the religious books of the Hindoos. Ferishta, in the history now given to the public, affirms, that Brimha was of the race of Bang, and flourished in the reign of Krishen, first monarch of Hindostan. But the Brahmins deny that any such person ever existed, which we have reason to believe is the truth; as Brimha in the Shanscrita language allegorically signifies WISDOM, one of the principal attributes of the supreme divinity.
The four Bedas contain one hundred thousand ashlogues, or stanzas in verse, each of which consists of four lines. The first Beda is called Rug BEDA, which signifies the science of divination, concerning which it principally treats. It also contains astrology, astronomy, natural philosophy, and a very particular account of the creation of matter, and the formation of the world.
The second Beda is distinguished by the name of She-HAM. That word signifies piety or devotion, and this book accordingly treats of all religious and moral duties. It also contains many hymns in praise of the Supreme Being, as well as verses in honour of subaltern intelligences.
The third is the JUDGER BEDA, which, as the word implies, comprehends the whole science of religious rites and ceremonies; such as fasts, festivals, purifications, penances, pilgrimages, sacrifices, prayers, and offerings. They give the appellation of OBATAR BAĦ to the fourth Beda. OBATAR signifies in the Shanscrita, the being, or the essence, and Bah good; so that the Obatar Bah is literally, the knowledge of the good being; and accordingly this book comprehends the whole science of theology and metaphysical philosophy.
The language of the Obatar Bah Beda is now become obsolete; so that very few Brahmins pretend to read it with propriety. Whether this proceeds from its great antiquity, or from its being wrote in an uncommon dialect of the Shanscrita, is hard to determine. We are inclined to believe that in the first is the truth; for we can by no means, agree with a late ingenious writer, [Mr. Holwell: The author of the Dissertation finds himself obliged to differ almost in every particular concerning the religion of the Hindoos, from that gentleman.] who affirms, that the Obatar Bah was written in a period posterior [later]to the rest of the Bedas.
It has been already observed, that the Bedas are written in the Shanscrita tongue. Whether the Shanscrita was, in any period of antiquity, the vulgar language of Hindostan, or was invented by the Brahmins, to be a mysterious repository for their religion and philosophy, is difficult to determine. All other languages, it is true, were casually invented by mankind to express their ideas and wants; but the astonishing formation of the Shanscrita seems to be beyond the power of chance. In regularity of etymology and grammatical order, it far exceeds the Arabic. It, in short, bears evident marks that it has been fixed upon rational principles, by a body of learned men, who studied regularity, harmony, and a wonderful simplicity and energy of expression.
The argument of "brahmanical fantasy" has been used in other areas as well. Cf. Mill's statement on the Brahmins above. Also, in connection with the Dhatupatha, a list of some two thousand verbal roots of which more than half have not been met with in Sanskrit literature, it has been suggested that it was "concocted" by the Indian grammarians (Whitney 1884; reprinted in Staal 1992: 142). In fact, the Indian pandits have been accused of inventing the Sanskrit language (Dugald Stewart and Christoph Meiners, quoted in Rosane Rocher 1983: 78)
-- Chapter 4: Law Books in an Oral Culture: The Indian Dharmasastras, Excerpt from "Studies in Hindu Law and Dharmaśastra", by Ludo Rocher
A Specimen of the measure of the Bedas.
Rugh Beda
Joidippi nabatti hani
Parakian chirritti basa bodat chan
Assa mon jesso mitaeh muttah
Jodopu kela kidatti sheta.
Sheam Beda
Aiati jati punareti puna preati
Padang kourani bishenuti dunoli puckow
Udbeieniti succulani puddani juckow
Sari sati bolina bidatenati.
Judger Beda
Malla Maiah pugalla pindeh
Sukollo Sullch dingkilisi soddeh
Luhi putti chulani hing janibo
Upa bimilla subabo.
Obatar bah Beda
Jaboda gummateta norrindiran
Saissam baro gohaia mokinderan
Tabo debo crissi crindro dedico
Stridissa damo jagamo.
The Shanscrita Alphabet.
Ka
Kha
Ga
Gha
Gna
Cua
Sua
Jo
Jho
Nia
Ta
Tah
Da
Dah
Na
Tha
The
Doa
Dhoa
Nah
Pa
Pah
Ba
Bah
Ma
Ja
Ra
La
Bha
Sua
Sha
Sa
Ha
Cha
A
AA
J
JJ
U
UU
Ri
Rii
Li
Lii
E
Ey
O
Ou
Ang
Ah
The first thirty four Letters are Consonants, and the last sixteen are used for Vowels, but never written as above except at the beginning of a proper Name or Paragraph: the manner of writing the common Vowels being different, as for Example.
Ka
Ki
Kii
Ku
Kuu
Ku
Kiii
Kli
Klii
Ke
Ky
Ko
Koo
Kang
Kah
Though the Shanscrita is amazingly copious, a very small grammar and vocabulary serve to illustrate the principles of the whole. In a treatise of a few pages, the roots and primitives are all comprehended, and so uniform are the rules for derivations and inflections, that the etymon of every word is, with facility, at once investigated. The pronunciation is the greatest difficulty that attends the acquirement of the language to perfection. This is so quick and forcible that a person, even before the years of puberty, must labour a long time before he can pronounce it with propriety; but when once the pronunciation is attained to perfection, it strikes the ear with amazing boldness and harmony. The alphabet of the Shanscrita consists of fifty letters, but one half of these convey combined sounds, so that its characters, in fact, do not exceed ours in number. Some small idea of the Shanscrita may be conveyed by the annexed plate, which contains the alphabet, and the measure of the four Bedas.
Before we shall proceed to the religion and philosophy of the Brahmins, it may not be improper to premise something concerning the most characteristical manners and customs of the Hindoos in general. The Hindoos are so called from Indoo or Hindoo, which, in the Shanscrita language, signifies the Moon; for from that luminary, and the sun, they deduce their fabulous origin. The author of the Dissertation has in his possession a long list of a dynasty of Kings, called Hindoo-buns, or Chunder-buns, both of which words mean, the Children of the Moon. He also has a catalogue of the Surage-buns, or the Children of the Sun, from whom many of the Princes of India pretend to derive their blood. Hindostan, the domestic appellation of India, is a composition of Hindoo, and Stan, a region; and the great river Indus takes its name from the people, and not the people from the river, as has been erroneously supposed in Europe.
The Hindoos have, from all antiquity, been divided into four great tribes, each of which comprehends a variety of inferior casts. These tribes do not intermarry, eat, drink, or in any manner associate with one another, except when they worship at the temple of Jagga-nat [Jagga-nat signifies Lord of the creation. This is one of the names of Bishen and the Obatar, or Being, who is said to preside over the present period. He is represented under the figure of a fat man, sitting cross-legged, with his arms hanging down by his side as if they had no strength. This last circumstance alludes to the imbecility of this age. His temple is in the greatest repute of any now in India.] in Orissa, where it is held a crime to make any distinction. The first, and most noble tribe are the Brahmins, who alone can officiate in the priesthood, like the Levites among the Jews. They are not, however, excluded from government, trade, or agriculture, though they are strictly prohibited from all menial offices by their laws. They derive their name from Brimha, who, they allegorically say, produced the Brahmins from his head, when he created the world.
The second in order is the Sittri tribe, who are sometimes distinguished by the name of Kittri or Koytri. They, according to their original institution, ought to be all military men; but they frequently follow other professions. Brimha is said to have produced the Kittri from his heart, as an emblem of that courage which warriors should possess.
The name of Beise or Bise is given to the third tribe. They are for the most part merchants, bankers, and bunias, or shop-keepers. These are figuratively said to have sprung from the belly, of Brimha; the word Beish signifying a provider or nourisher. The fourth tribe is that of Sudder. They ought to be menial servants, and they are incapable to raise themselves to any superior rank. They are said to have proceeded from the feet of Brimha, in allusion to their low degree. But indeed it is contrary to the inviolable laws of the Hindoos that any person should rise from an inferior cast into a higher tribe. If any therefore should be excommunicated from any of the four tribes, he and his posterity are for ever shut out from the society of every body in the nation, excepting that of the Harri cast, who are held in utter detestation by all the other tribes, and are employed only in the meanest and vilest offices. This circumstance renders excommunication so dreadful, that any Hindoo will suffer the torture and even death itself rather than deviate from one article of his faith. This severity prevented all intermixture of blood between the tribes, so that, in their appearance, they seem rather four different nations than members of the same community.
It is, as we have already observed, a principle peculiar to the Hindoo religion, not to admit of proselytes. Instead of being solicitous about gaining converts, they always make a mystery of their faith. Heaven, say they, is like a palace with many doors, and every one may enter in his own way. But this charitable disposition never encouraged other sects to settle among them, as they must have been excluded entirely from all the benefits of society.
When a child is born, some of the Brahmins are called. They pretend, from the horoscope of his nativity, to foretell his future fortune, by means of some astrological tables, of which they are possessed. When this ceremony is over, they burn incense, and make an offering according to the circumstances of the parent; and without ever consulting them, tie the zinar [A string which all the Hindoos wear, by way of charm or amulet.] round the infant's neck, and impose a name upon him, according to their own fancy.
Between the age of seven and ten, the children are, by their parents, given away in marriage. The young pair are brought together, in order to contract an intimacy with one another. But when they approach to the years of puberty, they carefully separate them, till the female produces signs of womanhood. She then is taken from her parents to cohabit with her husband: nor is she ever after permitted to visit them. It is not lawful among the Hindoos to marry nearer than the eighth degree of kindred. Polygamy is permitted, but seldom practised; for they very rationally think, that one wife is sufficient for one man.
The extraordinary custom of the women burning themselves with their deceased husbands, has, for the most part, fallen into desuetude in India; nor was it ever reckoned a religious duty, as has been very erroneously supposed in the West. This species of barbarity, like many others, rose originally from the foolish enthusiasm of feeble minds. In a text in the Bedas, conjugal affection and fidelity are thus figuratively inculcated: “The woman, in short, who dies with her husband, shall enjoy life eternal with him in heaven." From this source the Brahmins themselves deduce this ridiculous custom, which is a more rational solution of it than the story which prevails in Europe; that it was a political institution, made by one of the Emperors, to prevent wives from poisoning their husbands, a practice, in those days, common in Hindostan.
People of rank and those of the higher casts, burn their dead and throw some incense into the pile. Some throw the bodies of their friends into the Ganges, while others expose them on the highways, as a prey to vultures and wild beasts. There is one cast in the kingdom of Bengal, who barbarously expose their sick by the river's side to die there. They even sometimes choke them with mud, when they think them past hopes of recovery. They defend this inhuman custom by saying, that life is not an adequate recompence for the tortures of a lingering disease.
The Hindoos have a code of laws in the NEA SHASTER. Treason, incest, sacrilege, murder, adultery with the wife of a Brahmin, and theft, are capital crimes. Though the Brahmins were the authors of those laws, we do not find that they have exempted themselves from the punishment of death, when guilty of those crimes. This is one of those numerous fables which modern travellers imported from the East. It is however certain, that the influence of the Brahmins is so great, and their characters as priests so sacred, that they escape in cases where no mercy would be shown to the other tribes.
Petty offences are punished by temporary excommunications, pilgrimages, penances, and fines, according to the degree of the crime and the wealth of the guilty person. But as the Hindoos are now for the most part subject to the Mahommedans, they are governed by the laws of the Koran, or by the arbitrary will of the Prince.
The Senasseys are a sect of mendicant philosophers, commonly known by the name of Fakiers, which literally signifies poor people. These idle and pretended devotees assemble sometimes in armies of ten or twelve thousand, and, under a pretext of making pilgrimages to certain temples, lay whole countries under contribution. These saints wear no clothes, are generally very robust, and convert the wives of the less holy part of mankind to their own use, upon their religious progresses. They admit any man of parts into their number, and they take great care to instruct their disciples in every branch of knowledge, to make the order the more revered among the vulgar.
When this naked army of robust saints direct their march to any temple, the men of the provinces through which their road lies, very often fly before them, notwithstanding the sanctified character of the Fakiers. But the women are in general more resolute, and not only remain in their dwellings, but apply frequently for the prayers of those holy persons, which are found to be most effectual in cases of sterility. When a Fakier is at prayers with the lady of the house, he leaves either his slipper or his staff at the door, which, if seen by the husband, effectually prevents him from disturbing their devotion. But should he be so unfortunate as not to mind those signals, a sound drubbing is the inevitable consequence of his intrusion.
Though the Fakiers enforce, with their arms, that reverence which the people of Hindostan have naturally for their order, they inflict voluntary penances of very extraordinary kinds upon themselves to gain more respect. These fellows sometimes hold up one arm in a fixed position till it becomes stiff, and remains in that situation during the rest of their lives. Some clench their fists very hard, and keep them so till their nails grow into their palms and appear through the back of their hands. Others turn their faces over one shoulder, and keep them in that situation, till they fix for ever their heads looking backward. Many turn their eyes to the point of their nose till they have lost the power of looking in any other direction. These last pretend sometimes to see what they call the sacred fire, which vision, no doubt, proceeds from some disorder arising from the distortion of the optic nerves.
It often appears to Europeans in India, a matter of some ridicule to converse with those distorted and naked philosophers; though their knowledge and external appearance exhibit a very striking contrast. Some are really what they seem, enthusiasts; but others put on the character of sanctity as a cloke for their pleasures. But what actually makes them a public nuisance, and the aversion of poor husbands, is, that the women think they derive some holiness to them- selves from an intimacy with a Fakier.
Many other foolish customs, besides those we have mentioned, are peculiar to those religious mendicants. But enthusiastic penances are not confined to them alone. Some of the vulgar, on the fast of Opposs, suspend themselves on iron hooks, by the flesh of the shoulder-blade, to the end of a beam. This beam turns round with great velocity, upon a pivot, on the head of a high pole. The enthusiast not only seems insensible of pain, but very often blows a trumpet as he is whirled round above, and, at certain intervals, sings a song to the gaping multitude below; who very much admire his fortitude and devotion. This ridiculous custom is kept up to commemorate the sufferings of a martyr, who was in that manner tortured for his faith.
To dwell longer upon the characteristical customs and manners of the Hindoos, would extend this Dissertation too far. Some more particulars concerning that nation will naturally arise from an investigation of their religion and philosophy. This last was the capital design of this introductory discourse; and we hope to be able to throw a new, if not a complete light, on a subject hitherto little understood in the West. Some writers have very lately given to the world an unintelligible system of the Brahmin religion; and they affirm, that they derived their information from the Hindoos themselves. This may be the case, but they certainly conversed upon that subject only with the inferior tribes, or with the unlearned part of the Brahmins: and it would be as ridiculous to hope for a true state of the religion and philosophy of the Hindoos from the illiterate casts, as it would be in a Mahommedan in London, to rely upon the accounts of a parish beadle, concerning the most abstruse points of the Christian faith; or, to form his opinion of the principles of the Newtonian philosophy, from a conversation with an English carman.
The Hindoos are divided into two great religious sects: the followers of the doctrine of the BEDANG; and those who adhere to the principles of the NEADIRZIN. As the first are esteemed the most orthodox, as well as the most ancient, we shall begin to explain their opinions, by extracts literally translated from the original SHASTER, [Shaster literally signifies Knowledge; but it is commonly understood to mean a book which treats of divinity and the sciences. There are many Shasters among the Hindoos; so that those writers who affirmed that there was but one Shaster in India, which, like the Bible of the Christians, or Koran of the followers of Mahommed, contained the first principles of the Brahmin faith, have deceived themselves and the public.] which goes by the name of Bedang.
Bedang, the title of the Shaster, or commentary upon the Bedas, concerning which we are about to treat, is a word compounded of Beda, science, and Ang, body. The name of this Shaster, therefore, may be literally translated, the Body of science. This book has, in Europe, been erroneously called Vedam: and it is an exposition of the doctrine of the Bedas, by that great philosopher and prophet Beâss Muni, who, according to the Brahmins, flourished about four thousand years ago. The Bedang is said to have been revised some ages after Beäss Muni, by one Sirrider Swami, since which it has been reckoned sacred, and not subject to any further alterations. Almost all the Hindoos of the Decan, and those of the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, are of the sect of the Bedang.
This commentary opens with a dialogue between Brimha, [Brimha is the genitive case of Brimh, which is a primitive signifying God. He is called Brimha or Wisdom, the first attribute of the supreme divinity. The divine wisdom, under the name of Brimha, is figuratively represented with one head, having four faces, looking to the four quarters, alluding to his seeing all things. Upon the head of this figure is a crown, an emblem of power and dominion. He has four hands, implying, the omnipotence of divine wisdom. In the first hand he holds the four Bedas, as a symbol of knowledge; in the second, a sceptre, as a token of authority; and in the third, a ring, or complete circle, as an emblem of eternity. Brimha holds nothing in the fourth hand, which implies, that the WISDOM of God is always ready to lend his aid to his creatures. He is represented riding upon a goose, the emblem of simplicity among the Hindoos. The latter circumstance is intended to imply the simplicity of the operations of nature, which is but another name for the wisdom of the divinity. These explications of the insignia of Brimha, were given by the Brahmin, and are, by no means, conjectures of the author of this Dissertation. the Wisdom of the Divinity; and Narud [Narud literally signifies REASON, emphatically called the son of THE WISDOM OF GOD. He is said to be the first-born of the Munis, of whom hereafter.] or Reason, who is represented as the son of Brimh. [Brimh.] Narud desires to be instructed by his father, and for that purpose, puts the following questions to him.
NARUD.
O father! thou first of God, [The supreme divinity.] thou art said to have created the world; and thy son Narud, astonished at what he be- ! holds, is desirous to be instructed how all these things were made.
BRIMHA.
Be not deceived, my son! do not imagine that I was the creator of the world, independent of the divine movers, who is the great original essence, [Pirrim-Purrus; from Pir first, and PURRUS essence or being.] and creator of all things. Look, therefore, only upon me as the instrument of the great Will, [ISH-BUR; from Ish will, and Bur great: commonly pronounced ISHUR. This is one of the thousand names of God, which have so much perplexed the writers of Europe. In the answer of Brimha, mention is made of the first three great deities of the Hindoos; which three, however, they by no means worship as distinct beings from God, but only as his principal attributes. ] and a part of his being, whom he called forth to execute his eternal designs.
NARUD.
What shall we think of God?
BRIMHA.
Being immaterial, [Nid-akar.] he is above all conception; being invisible, [Oderissa.] he can have no form; [Sirba-Sirrup.] but, from what we behold in his works, we may conclude that he is eternal, [Nitteh.] omnipotent, [Ge-itch.] knowing all things, [Subbittera-dirsi.] and present every where. [Surba-Birsi. These are the very terms used in the Bedang, in the definition of God, which we have literally translated in the text. Whether we, who profess Christianity, and call the Hindoos by the detestable names of Pagans and Idolaters, have higher ideas of the supreme divinity, we shall leave to the unprejudiced reader to determine.]
NARUD.
How did God create the world?
BRIMHA.
Affection [Maiah, which signifies either affection or passion.] dwelt with God, from all eternity. It was of three different kinds, the creative, [Redjogoon, the creative quality.] the preserving, [Sittohgoon, the preserving quality.] and the destructive. [Timmugoon, the destructive quality.] This first is represented by Brimha, the second by Bishen, [The preserver; Providence is personified under the name of Bishen.] and the third by Shibah. [Shibah, the foe of good.] You, O Narud! are taught to worship all the three, in various shapes and likenesses, as the creator, [Naat.] the preserver, [Bishen.] and the destroyer. [Shibah. The Hindoos worship the destructive attribute of the divinity, under the name of Shibah; but they do not mean evil by Shibah, for they affirm, that there is no such thing but what proceeds from the free agency of man.] The affection of God then produced power, [Jotna.] and power at a proper conjunction of time [Kaal.] and fate, [Addaristo.] embraced goodness, [Pirkirti, from Pir good, and Kirti action. God's attribute of goodness, is worshipped as a Goddess, under the name of Pirkirti, and many other appellations, which comprehend all the virtues. It has been ridiculously supposed in Europe, that PURRUS and PIRKIRTI were the first man and woman, according to the system of the Hindoos; whereas by Purrus is meant God, or emphatically, the Being; and by Pirkirti, his attribute of goodness.] and produced matter. [Mohat. In other places of the Bedang, matter is distinguished by the name of Maha-tit, the great substance.] The three qualities then acting upon matter, produced the universe in the following manner. From the opposite actions of the creative and destructive quality in matter, self-motion [Ahankar. The word literally signifies self-action.] first arose. Self-motion was of three kinds; the first inclining to plasticity, [Rajas.] the second to discord, [Tamas.] and the third to rest. [Satig.] The discordant actions then produced the Akash, [A kind of celestial element. The Bedang in another place, speaks of akash as a pure impalpable element, through which the planets move. This element, says the philosopher, makes no resistance, and therefore the planets continue their motion, from the first impulse which they received from the hand of Brimha or God; nor will they stop, says he, till he shall seize them in the midst of their course.] which invisible element possessed the quality of conveying sound; it produced air, [Baiow.] a palpable element, fire, [Tege.] a visible element, water, [Joal.] a fluid element, and earth, [Prittavi.] a solid element.
The Akash dispersed itself abroad. Air formed the atmosphere; fire, collecting itself, blazed forth in the host of heaven; [Dewta; of which Surage the Sun is first in rank. ] water rose to the surface of the earth, being forced from beneath by the gravity of the latter element. Thus broke forth the world from the veil of darkness, in which it was formerly comprehended by God. Order rose over the universe. The seven heavens were formed, [The names of the seven heavens are, Bu, Buba, Surg, Moha, Junnoh, Tapu, and Sutteh. The seven worlds are, Ottal, Bittal, Suttal, Joal, Tallattal, Rissatal, and Pattal. The author of the Dissertation, by a negligence which he very much regrets, forgot to get the proper explanation of those names, or the uses to which the seven heavens were converted.] and the seven worlds were fixed in their places; there to remain till the great dissolution, [Mah-pirly.] when all things shall be absorbed [Mucht.] into God.
God seeing the earth in full bloom, and that vegetation [Birgalotta.] was strong from its seeds, called forth for the first time, Intellect, [Mun.] which he endued with various organs and shapes, to form a diversity of animals [Jount.] upon the earth. He endued the animals with five senses, feeling, seeing, smelling, tasting, and hearing. [The five senses are, Suppursina, Chowkowna, Nasiga, Rissina, Kurnowa.] But to man he gave reflection [Manus.] to raise him above the beasts of the field.
The creatures were created male and female, [Nir and Madda signify male and female.] that they might propagate their species upon the earth. Every herb bore the seed of its kind, that the world might be clothed with verdure, and all animals provided with food.
NARUD.
What dost thou mean, O Father! by intellect?
BRIMHA.
It is a portion of the GREAT soul [Purmattima literally signifies the great soul.] of the universe, breathed into all creatures, to animate them for a certain time.
NARUD.
What becomes of it after death?
BRIMHA.
It animates other bodies, or returns like a drop into that unbounded ocean from which it first arose.
