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) This is pure, refreshing, life-giving religion ; it has the true ring of the ancient Upanishads, which are among the noblest works that have been composed by man. The historian only regrets that in later ages this noble faith became the exclusive property of the educated few, that the common people were referred to idols and temples, to unmeaning rites performed by Brahmans and unhealthy restrictions prescribed by priests. Why should the people be fed on poison in a land where the stream of an ancient and life- giving religion flowed perennial ? Elsewhere Alberuni speaks of the Hindu idea of transmigration of souls, of every act in life bringing its reward or punishment for the life to come, and of final emancipation derived by true knowledge. Tlun " the soul turns away from matter, the connecting links are broken, the union is dissolved. Separation and dissolu- tion take place, and the soul returns to its home, carrying with itself as much of the bliss of knowledge as sesame develops grains and blossoms, afterwards never separating from its oil. The intelligent being, intelligence and its object are united and become one." (Chap. V.) Among social rites, marriage and funerals require a brief mention. The ceremony of marriage was per- Digitized by Google CHAP. XV.] LATER PAURANIK CIVILIZATION. 489 formed much in tlie same way as at the present day. The implements of wedding rejoicings were brought forward, Brahmans performed the sacrificial rites, and they as well as others received presents and alms. (Chap. LXIX.) Funeral ceremonies were also much the same as at the present time. The body of the deceased was washed and covered with a shroud, and then burnt with sandal or other wood according to the means of the heirs. The burnt bones were then brought to the Ganges and thrown into the holy river in the hope that the deceased would thereby find a place in heaven. A monument was then raised over the place where the body was burnt (probably in the case of distinguished men only), as U still done in Eastern Bengal. (Chap. LXXIII.) Of the administration of law some interesting account is given. Written plaints were generally filed in which the case against the defendant was stated. Where no such written plaint was filed, oral complaints were received. There were different kinds of oath, having different degrees of solemnity, and cases were decided on the testimony of witnesses. (Chap. LXX.) All foreign visitors have commented on the extreme mildness of the criminal law in India, and Alberuni compares it with the leniency professed by Christians, and adds some shrewd remarks which deserve to be quoted. " In this regard the manners and customs of the Hindus resemble those of the Christians, for they Digitized by Google 490 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK V. are, like those of the latter, based on the principles of virtue and abstinence from wickedness, such as never to kill under any circumstances whatsoever ; to give to him who has stripped you of your coat also your shirt ; to offer to him who has beaten your cheek the other check also ; to bless your enemy and to pray for him. Upon my life, this is a noble philosophy ; but the people of this world are not all philosophers. Most of them are ignorant and erring, who cannot be kept on the straight road save by the sword and whip. And indeed, ever since Constantine the victorious became a Christian, both sword and whip have ever been em- ployed, for without them it would be impossible to rule/' (Chap. LXXI.) The punishment for a Brahman murderer who killed •a man of another caste was expiation consisting of fasting, prayers and almsgiving. But if a Brahman killed another Brahman, the punishment was banishment and confiscation of property. In no case was a Hrdh- man offender punished with death. For theft the punish- ment was in accordance with the value of the stolen property. In serious cases a Brahman or Kshatriya thief might be punished with loss of hand or foot, and a thief of a lower caste might be punished with death. A woman who committed adultery was driven out of the house of her husband and banished. (Chap. LXXI.) Children inherited the property left by the father, a daughter getting a fourth part of the share of a son. Digitized by CHAP. XV.] LATER PAUPANIK CIVILIZATION. 491 A widow did not inherit but was entitled to support and maintenance as long as she lived. Heirs in the direct line, i.e. sons, grandsons, &c, inherited in prefe- rence to collateral heirs as brothers ; and the debt of the deceased devolved on the heir. (Chap. LXXII.) In matters of taxation Br&hmans enjoyed the same indulgence as in punishment for offences. One-sixth of the produce of the soil was the tax due to the ruler ; and labourers, artisans and trading classes also paid taxes calculated on their incomes. Only Brahmans were exempt from all taxes. (Chap. LXVII.) With regard to Hindu literature, Alberuni begins his account with the Veda, which he says was transmitted by memory because it was recited according to certain modulations, and the use of the pen might cause some error. He repeats the story that Vydsa divided the Veda into four parts, the Rik, Yajus, SSman and Atharvan, and taught one part to each of his four pupils — Paila, Vaisamp&yana, Jaimini and Sumantu. He gives us the names of the eighteen books into which the Mahetbhilrata in its present shape is divided, and also makes mention of its continuation the Harivansa ; and he also tells some legends from the R&m&yana. He names eight grammarians, Plnini and others, and gives us some account of Sanskrit metre ; and he also tells us something of the Sankhya and other schools of philosophy, although his information is not always derived from the original works of these Digitized by Google 492 ' PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK V. schools. Of Buddha and Buddhism his account is meagre, vague and erroneous, shewing that Buddhism had practically died out in India by the eleventh century. He tells us of the twenty works on Smriti, Manu, Ydjnavalkya and others. He gives us two different lists of the eighteen Pur&ias and the second list corresponds exactly with the eighteen Purinas as we have them now. This is an important fact for the student of Hindu literature, as it shews that all the eighteen Pur&nas were composed before the nth century of the Christian Era, although they have been altered and added to in subsequent ages. On the other hand, we have no mention in Alberuni's work of theTantra literature. And lastly, Alberuni, being him- self a clever mathematician, gives us a long account of Hindu astronomers, Aryabhatta, Var&hamihira and Brahmagupta, and of the five astronomical Siddha\ntas (Surya, Vasishtha, Pulisa, Romaka and Brahma) which were condensed by Var&hamihira. Alberuni specially praises Var&hamihira as an honest man of science, and states that the astronomer lived 526 years before his own time, it. about 505 A.D. It is not necessary for us to go into the long and learned account which Alberuni gives of Hindu astro- nomy. His criticisms are sometimes erroneous ; but on the whole he tries honestly to comprehend and explain the system of which he speaks. He gives us the names of the twelve Adityas, i.e. the names of the Digitized by CHAP. XV.] LATER PAURANIK CIVILIZATION. 493. sun in the twelve months of the year, vis. Vishnu of Chaitra, Aryaman of Vaisakha, Vivasvat of Jyaistha, Ansa of Asadha, Parjanya of Sravana, Varuna of Bhidra, Indra of Asvayuja (Asvina), Dhatri of Kirtika, Mitra of Margasirsha (Agrahayana), Pushan of Pausha, Bhaga of Magha and Tvashtri of Falguna. He states correctly that the names of the Hindu months arc derived from the Hindu names of lunar constellations : Asvina from Asvini, Kartika from Krittika, Margasirse from *MrigasM, Pausha from Pushya, Magha from Magha, Falguna from Ptirva Falguni, Chaitra from Chitra, Vaisakha from Visakha, Jyalshtha from Jyeshthci, Ashadha from Purvashadh£, Srdvana from Sravana, and Bhadra from Purva Bhadrapadl He gives us the names of the twelve signs of the zodiac adopted by the Hindus from the Greeks who had adopt- ed them from the Assyrians. And he also gives us the Hindu names of the planets, Mangala for Mars, Budha for Mercury, Vrihaspati for Jupiter, Sukra for Venus and Sanichara for Saturn. (Chap. XIX.) Alberuni further tells us, and it is a remafkable fact for Hindu students to know, that some idea of the law of gravitation was known to Hindu astronomers. Brah- magupta, as quoted by Alberuni, says, " All heavy things fall down to the earth by a law of nature, for it is the nature of the earth to attract and to keep things, as it is the nature of water to flow, that of the fire to burn, and that of the wind to set in motion." Varahamihira Digitized by 494 PAU&AN1K PERIOD. [HOOK V. also says : " The Earth attracts that which is upon her." (Chap. XXVI.) Alberuni also alludes to Aryabhatta's theory, of which we have spoken before, that the earth revolves, the heaven does not turn round as appears to our eyes. (Chap. XXVI.) That the earth is round was also known to Hindu astronomers, and the circumference of the earth was stated to be 4,800 yojanas. (Chap. XXXI.) Alberuni also tells us of the precession of the equinoxes, and quotes Varahamihira, that whereas the summer solstice took place in the midst of Aslesha and the winter solstice in Dhanishta in olden times (in the Epic Age when the Vedas were finally compiled as we have seen before), the former now (in Varahamihira's time) takes place in the Cancer and the latter in Capricornus. (Chap. LVI.