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' " Lorsque VArhat eut achev^ ces paroles, il donna une preuve de sa puissance divine en disparaissant a Tinstant m^e. ^^Le Brfthmane se sentit p^n^tr^ de foi et de respect, et apr^s avoir fait ^clater son admiration, il alia raconter cet ^v^nement dans tout le voisinage. II permit aussit6t k son fils d'embradser la vie re- ligieuse et de se livrer k I'^tude. Lui-m^me se con- vertit imm^diatement, et montra la plus grande estime pour les trois Pr^cieux. Les hommes de son village suivirent son exemple, et, aujourd'hui encore, les habitants s'affermissent de jour en jour dans la foi. " En partant au nord de la ville de Ou-to-hia-han- fcha (Udakhftnda?), il franchit des montagnes, traversa des vall^s, et, apr&s avoir fait environ six cents li, il arriva au royaume de Ovrtchang-na?- (Udyana).^ ' Inde du nord. ' M^moires sur les contr^es ocddentales, traduits du Sanscrit X 3 PA.NIliri's DATE. Sl^ |.^e historical value of this legend . ^^^^ftteve ^^^ ^^gar tliat it lends no support of i* ^* ?* oP*^**^°^^ ^^ those who would place \>e, to the ^ui 500 years after Buddha, or ^^r& ^^*^'' jble t^at the inquiries into the anci ^\ti ** ^f i^addhism, particularly in China, n v+^r**^*% ht ^^"^^ "^^^ ^**®*' *^d J^elp us in v^ng ^'^ .€ chronological traditions of the Br IvelVi^S. i^ia. ^^^ services already rendered !^ati3 of l^^gology ^y *le publications of M. Stan ^aii^^^'^*" of *^^ V^gl^est value, and they hold 0 \ftS J"^*^®"- of * larger harvest; but for t the P^^^'^^mttS* ^ satisfied with what we possei resent ^® rl^t^ ^^^^ carefully against rash co aTvd-w®* A wed f"0°^ evidence that would brei (,\usion3' ^®'\g 9lig^*^8t pressure. Even without tl • do>vn ^^^*^®T . vi it ^^* attempted to derive fro guppoTt ^^^^ ^^ty^ya^a's date is as safe as any da Hioueti-t^^f^^J^ ^^c't^nt Oriental chronology ; and tl \s Vilely *° J^ .gji Kfi.ty&,yana and his predecesso connection ^ auPpo^'^^ *^ ^* ^® ^o* o'^V ^7 *^^ and succe9S0^^> ^^^^racter of their works which i tlon httt hy -ijes the strongest confirmation 6tiU possess, .^^ calculations. As to other wor OUT chrono og .^^3^ there are no doubt man of the Sutt v^^ cannot be fixed by any extern t^e date °*^^^^^.^on is completely silent as to t evidence. . authors. With regard to tht ^geofinanyoftbe 648 P*^^ Hiouen-thsang, et du Chinois en Cbitioi8> en ^^^^.^^^^^3 Julien, Membre de Vlnstitut ; tome i. yrs^9ft^® ^^^ ^/ %^lerins Bouddbistea, vol. ii. See also 19^- Voyflges des -DiK-veda and Prati6akbya, Introducti ^'^''A-'s edition of tbe & aiitbor p. 12. K^SUBii. 311 we must trusty at least for the present, to the simi- larity of their style and character with the writings of those authors whose age has been fixed. It is possible that the works of earlier authors quoted by Y&ska and Pftnini and others might still come to lights if any systematic search for ancient MSS. was made in different parts of India. Many works are quoted by S&yana, Devar&ja, Ujjvaladatta, and other modern writers, which are not to be found in any European Library. Some of them may still be recovered.^ We must not, however, expect too much. Vast as the ancient literature of India has been, we must bear in mind that part of it existed in oral tradition only, and was never consigned to writing. In India, where before the time of P&nini we have no evidence of any written literature, it by no means follows that, because an early Rishi is quoted in support of a theory, whether philosophical or grammatical, there ever existed a work written by him with pen and ink. His doctrines were handed down from generation to generation ; but, once erased from the tablets of memory, they could never be recovered. In the Sutras which we still possess, it is most important to observe the gradual change of style. Saunaka's style, when compared with that of his successors, is natural, both in prose and verse. His prose more particularly runs sometimes so easily and is so free from the artificial contrivances of the later SiHtras, that it seems a mistake to apply to it the ^ According to the opinion of M. Fitz-Edward Hall, a scholar of the most extensive acquaintance with Sanskrit literature/ the number of distinct Sanskrit works in existence is, probably, not less than ten thousand. (Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1858, p. 305.) X 4 Xt^SUM^. -|^^ It is xiot unlikely that this title of S^*^' ^orks at ct time when its meaning xi^'^^ -j^ed ^ ^stricted. either to the long " yai f^s^^^^^t beet^ ^ QY ^^ -tl^^ compendious paragn ^o*' ^^ B^^^ ^ti^ ^^^ ^^^ may well helieve the si L ^ ^^ B^^ ^naJ^'^ ^works on the ceremonifd t *^ that ^^ the Brfilimanas than the later SAl o o '^ ti^ B^^ ^naka' ^wrorks on the ceremonial >C * t ^^^* *^^ BrlLhmanas than the later SO iJi^^-_ |43d iJaor^ ^tyie is stiil intelligible, and ^^^ 1 AV*^* ^^ -r tha^ the style of the Nirukta, a in cr-^?,nly agci to Yliska, the collector of He is \ rtiOi*J - -p^^'^^ ^^ more artificial. co^, ^^tu8 p,jjd composing, but he squeezes i ^^^ -vftitio^ t-t9,aTid puts them before us in a fc \OXl?^^ .n— .Iff** ., . . . ^°"v\9 ^^ *^*'^p9ei'V®8 the name of style. Katyftyi ^* -c^ l**"*^^^ 1 e^^^^* ^"* ^* " ^'^ Pingala that . '^iU Uiore aJ^^ ^{itras becomes complete. K J ^* * ^-4^*^ °^ A d ^^™ *^®y could hardly have ^^? -9 sttcceett® .^atic obscurity, and we may i ^^i^a ^^ '^^ ^^^ o^ *>f *^® 1*^* writers of SAt V vet^^^^^TiSje Parifeishtas, unwilling to ^ "^^y aut^°^ of *^® Sdtrak&ras, and unabl T stra^^'J* ^opriate dress, adopted the 8lov( ^veot a x°^ ^^Ltry. ^eU adapted for legem \re of epw po scientific discussion. jiBtra.^ .tiouj 313 CHAPTER 11. THE BrAhMANA PEBIOD. Having assigned to the SAtra literature of India the wide limits of a period extending from 600 to 200 B.C., we have now to examine another and con- fessedly more ancient class of Vedic writings, diflTer- ing in style both from the SAtras, which are posterior, and from the Mantras, which are anterior to them. These are called by the comprehensive name of Br&hmanas. But as between the Siitras and the later Sanskrit literature we discovered a connecting link in the writings known under the name of Pari- fiishtas, so we meet on the frontier between the Br&h- mana and the SiHtra literature, with a class of works, intermediate between the Br&hmanas and Siitras, which claim to be considered first. These are the Aranyakas, or " The Treatises of the Forest/' The Abanyakas. The Aranyakas are so called, as Sd.yana informs us, because they had to be read in the forest.^ It > Sayana on the Taittiriyaranyaka. S|<^aiU|€nf^<|41- Andagain, It^^KUM^; ^^ ^lUcft ^ft^l^p^H Parts of the Taittiriy&ranyaka are exempted from the restriction that thej ARA^IJIYAKAS. s\* ^ as if tliey Avere intended for ^litiost B^ ^^^ people who, after having p ^gl^*' ^^(isth^ AU^^^® ^^ ^ student and a householc ycLT^^^^ 0II t^^ -v^ot^^ "^^ tlie forest to end their d ion^ fto^^^^ X0,non ^f: the deity. Thus it IS S TeU v\ J contet**P ^lishad, tHat the Sannydsin^ the 11 .jj^ikt'F ^gcites tl\e Mantras and no Ion/ loBg^^^eS^ is bound to read, out of all t re sacn*^ Jtt^^ya'K^a or the Upanishad. ^erf^^^ otily *^^ the Aranyakas form part of 1 ^e<l^^l itiftt^^^^ tl^ey are thus made to share t or revelation. We have sec ^ atx^^' A iiti revelation. we nave se ]3r&^^^^, * of ^^ ^^^ of an Aranyaka was ascribed aut^^*^^^ that V^ lo A&valfi.yana. Another part to iv.svalfi,yana. Another part ^o^v*^^^^^ authoi^^ .^ j^ig Commentary on the Ri a ^^"^^ w S&.y'^^' Stltra work of gaunaka's. Col q^^^^f as ^^^^^. ^ot^^ transcript of this Aranyal ^^^^, ' foun^> *^? ;i to AfevalsLyana ; but he remarl livefi of the transcriber." This baW ^^ a ^* ^* * ^ood proof of a certf ''^! t^e c®®*! *^*cVen amongst the orthodox d< est only: •IK'HII'J^niPi*!**: ^ ^''^'alcoDscVence cr\tic8 ea4*° tbefof* fibou^A ^® '■®*''* '" ce tbey are ranged with the Brahma ^ I • and u^^ ,^ -Q^ "'^ jds occur in the Aitarey&raijyaka, .^^S'5^^. ,^ c&vana from this Aranyka can aV 11. .9sage<l°*!* iLeyVranyaka. Cf. Cokhrooke. Other P'o^*:-.; the Ai^^'^' ABANTAEAS.