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They had no one god in particular, no superior deity guiding and controlling tlie rest, but they paid the tribute of their praise to the deity whose bounties they enjoyed, or whose favours they desired for bodily comfort. They lauded also in glowing language the personifica- tions of those beauties of nature which filled their minds with INTRODUCTION. xi delight and kindled the poetic fire. So each of the deities in turn received his meed of praise, and each in his turn was the powerful god, able to accomplish the desires of his votary or to excite a feeling of awe or admiration. Thus there were many distinct deities, and each of them had some general distinctive powers and attributes ; but their attri- butes and characters were frequently confounded, and there was a constant tendency to elevate now this one now that one to the supremacy, and to look upon him as the Great Power. In course of time a pre-eminence was given to a triad of deities, foreshadowing the Tri-miirti or Trinity of later days. In this triad Agni (Fire) and Surya (the Sun) held a place, and the third place was assigned either to Vayu (the Wind) or to Indra (god of the sky). Towards the end of the i?/g-veda Sanhita, in the hymns of the latest date, the idea of one Supreme Being assumed a more definite shape, and the Hindu mind was per- ceiving, even if it had not distinctly realised, the great con- ception. As the Yedic hymns grew ancient, ritual developed and theological inquiry awoke. Then arose what is called the Brali- marza portion of the Veda. This consists of a variety of com- positions, chiefly in prose, and attached to the different Mantras. Ritual and liturgy were the chief objects of these writings, but traditions were cited to enforce and illustrate, and speculation was set at work to explain, the allusions of the hymns. The simplicity of the Yedic myths gradually became obscured, the deities grew more personal, and speculations as to the origin of the world and of the human race invested them with new attributes. Later on, in the Ara?zyakas and Upanishads, which form part of the collective Brahma?ia, a further development took place, but principally in a philosophical direction. Between the times of the Sanhita and of the Brahmaa the conception of a Supreme Being had become established. The Brahma?zas recognise one Great Being as the Soul of the Uni- verse, and abound with philosophical speculations as to the work of creation and the origin of man. A golden ^gg was produced in the universal waters, from which in course of time came forth Prajapati, the progenitor — or, the quiescent Universal Soul, xu INTRODUCTION. Brahma, took a creative form as Brahma the Prajapati. From the Prajapati, or great progenitor, there was produced a daughter, and by her he was the father of the human race. The explana- tions and details of this connection vary, but there is a general accord that the Prajapati was the progenitor of all mankind by a female produced from himself. Before the times of the Brah- ma?ias some of the old myths of the hjTnns had crystallised, the personifications had become more distinct, and the ideas from which they had been developed had grown hazy or were quite forgotten. Philosophy speculated as to the origin of the world, theories were founded upon etymologies, and legends were in- vented to illustrate them. These speculations and illustrations in course of time hardened into shape, and became realities when the ideas which gave them birth were no longer remem- bered and understood. The priestly order had advanced in power, and had taken a more prominent and important position, but the Ivshatriya or second class held a high place, and asserted something like an equality with the Brahmans even in matters of learning. Another interval elapsed between the days of the Brahma^^a and of Manu. The theory of the golden ^gg is held by Manu, and he calls the active creator who was produced from it Brahma and Narayana, the latter name being one which was afterwards exclusively appropriated by Yishmi. But the most remarkable change observable in Manu is in the condition of the people, in the great advancement of the Brahmanical caste, the establish- ment of the four gTeat castes, and the rise of a number of mixed castes from cross intercourse of these four. In a hjmm called Purusha-sukta, one of the latest hymns of the i?/g-veda, there is a distinct recognition of three classes, Brahmans, Kshatriyas, and Vai^yas, and these appear more distinctly in the BrahmaTza, but no mention of the Siidras and mixed castes has been found before the work of Manu. The Ramayana and Maha-bharata are poems of the heroic age, and though they are full of marvels, they deal more with the actions of mortal men and romantic creations than the might and majesty of the gods. The old deities of the Vedas have retired into the background, and some have disappeared alto- INTRODUCTION. xiii getlier. Indra retains a place of some dignity; but Brahma, ySiva, and Yish?zu have, in the Epics, risen to the chief place. Even of these three, the first is comparatively insignificant. His work of creation was over, and if he was ever an object of great adoration, he had ceased to be so. Vishwu and /Siva both appear in these poems ; and although YishTiu is the god who holds the most prominent place, still there are many passages in which /Siva is elevated to the supreme dignity. The Vish?m who, in the Vedas, was the friend and companion of Indra and strode over the universe, has become the great deity of preserva- tion, and the terrible and howling Rudra is now >S^iva, the deity of destruction and renovation. Each of these two gods in his turn contends with and subdues the other ; now this, now that, receives the homage of his rival, and each in turn is lauded and honoured as the chief and greatest of gods. The Avataras or incarnations of VishTzu assume a prominent place in the poems, and still more so in the Purawas. The first three, the Fish, the Tortoise, and the Boar, have a cosmical cha- racter, and are foreshadowed in the hymns of the Vedas. The fourth, or Man-lion, seems to belong to a later age, when the worship of YishTzu had become established. The fifth, or Dwarf, whose tliree strides deprived the Asuras of the dominion of heaven and earth, is in its character anterior to the fourth Avatara, and the three strides are attributed to Yish?zu in the Veda. The fifth, sixth, and seventh, Parasu-rama, Rama- chandra, and K?'?'sh?za, are mortal heroes, whose exploits are celebrated in these poems so fervently as to raise the heroes to the rank of gods. The ninth Avatara, Buddha, is manifestly and avowedly the offspring of the preaching of Buddha ; and the tenth, Kalki, is yet to come. When we reach the Purarzas there is found a very difierent condition of things. The true meaning of the Vedic myths is entirely lost, their origin is forgotten, and the signification and composition of many of the mythic names are unknown. Mar- vellous legends have gathered round the favourite divinities, and many more have been built upon fanciful etymologies of the old names. The simple primitive fancies suggested by the opera- tions of nature have disappeared, and have been supplanted by -xiv I X TROD UCTIGN. the wild imaginings of a more advanced civilisation, but of a more corrupt state of society and religion. The Tri-miirti or triad of deities has assumed a distinct shape, and while Bralimil has quite fallen into obscurity, Yish??u and /Siva have each become supreme in the belief of their respective followers. Yishwu, in his youthful form KWshwa, is the object of a sensuous and joyous worship. The gloomy and disgusting worship of /S'iva, in his terrible forms, has grown side by side with it. Tlie worship of his fierce consort, Devi, has become established, and the foundation has been laid of the obscene and bloody rites afterwards developed in the Tantras. The Yeda, in modern Hinduism, is a mere name, — a name of liigh authority, often invoked and highly reverenced, — but its Lmguage is unintelligible, and its gods and rites are things of the past. The modern system is quite at variance with the Yedic A\Titings out of which it grew, and the descendant bears but few marks of resemblance to its remote ancestor. The Pura?ias and later writings are the great authorities of modern Hinduism ; their mythology and legends fill the popular mind and mould its thoughts. The wonderful tales of the great poems also exercise a great influence.