English
The veda of medicine teaches the causes and j symptoms of diseases, medical incantations, medical j remedies, and other matters necessary to the main¬ tenance of health. ii. The veda of sacrificial materials affords assistance towards the performance of the four principal duties of man, which are to be fulfilled by means of sacrificial fire, clarified butter, boiled rice, and other similar things. iii. The war veda teaches the method of preparing weapons and incantations for the destruction of enemies. iv. The veda of music teaches the details of the seven notes of the gamut Sa, Ri, Ka, Ma, Pa, Ta, Ni; and also the right method of singing the hymns of the Sama Veda, and other similar sacred books. The Essence of the Vedas. The works which form the theological vedic writings are the following thirty-two, bearing the names of their respective authors, i. Srirutlra. xvii. Karaseipiniu. ii. Prakataranniya. xviii. Brahmasapala. iii. SuvSdasvatara. xix. Dcsopintu. iv. Keivalya. xx. Yachiyaneya. v. Kalagni. xxi. Potayanlya. vi. Kada. xxii. Xsuvalayanlya. vii. Valli. xxiii. Meittrayaniya. Digitized by ^ooQle II viiL Ka tty ay ana. ix. Brahma. x. Narayana. xi. Angisa. xii. Paramangisa. xiii. Paskara. xiv. Brahmapintu. xv. Aruni. xvi. Amirtapintu. xxiv. Sangyayanlya. xxv. Vasirayanlya. xxvi. Savunaklya. xxvii. Sivasangarpa. xxviii. Siravana. xxix. Baraka. xxx. Kimburddiya. xxxi. Mukkala. xxxii. Mundaka. These writings explain in detail such things as the sacred ashes, rosaries, the knowledge of the deity, and other similar religious matters. Law. The recognized works nineteen, written by the ■ names they are called: i. The law of Manu. ii. - Attri. iii. - Arita. iv. - Vishnu. V. - Yagniyavalka. vi. — - ■ Ushana. vii. - AngTra. viii. ■- Yama. ix. - Apastamba. X. -- Smavatta. : on law are the following different persons after whose xi. The law of Kattiyayana. xii. - Pragaspati. xiii. -■ —- Parasara. xiv. -- Vyasar. xv. - Sangallta. xvi. - Dasha. xvii. - Goutama. xviii. - Sandappa. xix. - ■■ Vasishta. Of these law-codes the chief of those written in ! the Krita age is that of Manu ; in the Treta age, j that of Goutama; in the Dwapara age, that of Sangalita; and in the Kali age, that of Parasara. j These several works on law treat of the different j Digitized by LjOoq le 12 nationalities and castes, tbe four social states of mankind, the different kinds of law-suits between members of tbe same family, the eighteen kinds of general law-suits, the punishments due to convicted criminals, and other matters of law. The different Nationalities and Castes. There are four nationalities, the Mahratta, the Canarese, the Telugu, and the Tamil. There are also four classes of the community, the Brahmin, the Kshattriya, the Veisya, and the Sudra. The Bkahhin. The Brahmin is one who has passed through the sixteen religious ceremonies, namely, the ceremony performed on his conception; that belonging to the third month after conception; the ceremony of pour¬ ing water upon the pregnant mother’s back in the sixth or eighth month of her pregnancy ; the cere¬ mony of lifting up the child immediately upon its birth; the ceremony of working out his horoscope; the ceremony of naming him at twelve days old; the ceremony of taking him into the open air when four months old; the ceremony of giving him solid food when six months old; the ceremony of shaving his head in his second or third year; the ceremony of investiture with the sacred thread in his seventh or ninth year; the ceremony on his first introduc¬ tion to his spiritual teacher; the ceremony of pe- Digitized by LjOoq le nances; the ceremony of preparation to read the vedas; the ceremony of worshipping the sacred fire; the marriage ceremony ; and the funeral ceremony. I He has also the following six special duties as¬ signed to him, namely, the duty of offering sacrifices, the duty of causing sacrifices to be offered, the duty of reading the veda, the duty of teaching the veda, the duty of giving alms, and the duty of receiving alms. He is also specially a worshipper of Siva, and | is distinguished by everything that marks a good | and upright man. i > > i l § > I The Kshatriya. j The duties of the Kshatriya are the following six, \ namely, the defence and preservation of the people; j to offer sacrifices; to read the veda; to destroy j wicked men, wild beasts, obnoxious birds, and i enemies; to be liberal in making the following six¬ teen established gifts, namely, gifts of food, of clothing, of virgins, of land, of gold, of cows, of cows in calf, of buffaloes, of horses, of white horses, j : of time, gifts of money sewed up in the hide of a \ > deer, gifts of the receiver’s weight in gold, gifts of I whatever a man asks for, gifts of knowledge, and j the gift of the golden cow through which the Kshatriya has to pass on being converted into a Brahmin; j and, lastly, to make inquisition of times, places, j I and utensils. I Digitized by 14 He is moreover specially a worshipper of Vishnu, j The Veisya. < It is the duty of the Veisya to be acquainted j with the science of numbers from an unit up to the thirty-sixth place of figures; and to be familiar with the symbolical language of numbers in use j amongst merchants, in which unities, such as ‘ the j earth/ ‘ the sun/ &c. used in place of the word ‘ one / dualities, such as ‘ eyes/ ‘ feet/ ‘ wings/ &c. instead of ‘ two / triads, such as ‘ Siva’s eyes/ * the j sacred fires/ &c. instead of * three / ‘ the vedas/ ‘ the castes/ &c. instead of ‘ four* Siva’s faces/ ‘ the elements/ &c. instead of * five / ‘ the seasons of the \ year/ * the god Subrahmanya,’ &c. instead of * six;’ I ‘ the horses of the sun/ the notes of the gamut, j &c. instead of ‘ seven / { the points of the compass/ j * the Vasu gods/ &c. instead of ‘ eight / * the planets/ ‘ the emotions/ &c. instead of nine; * dot/ ' sky/ j &c. instead of ‘ tenhe must be acquainted with the customary methods of counting such marketable articles as betel nuts, &c.; he must be accustomed to weigh camphor and similar articles by the karansu weight according to the following rule,— Four karansus make one karisha; j Four karisbas --palam ; S , Forty palams-vis; I Five] vises-tulam; j Thirty-two tulams-bharam; j Teu bharams — astam: f Digitized by ^ooQle 15 he must also be able to measure goods by the niku- sansa measure, according to the following rule, Tour nikusansas make one kuduva; Four kuduvas - - prasta; Two prastas - — vaka; Two vakas — - vftdaka; Four vadakas — — drdna; Five dronas -- —- kari: f he must be familiar with the different colours and qualities of gold, with the proper weight of coral | with the difference between genuine and unreal pearls, with the methods of testing different gems, and with the rule for weighing diamonds and emeralds; he must also know the market price of goods, and the I I current rate of interest and discount. All these things enter into the first of the six du¬ ties of the Veisya. Those duties are, to buy and sell goods, to cultivate the earth, to keep cows, to offer sacrifices, to read the vedas, and to give alms. | He is specially a worshipper of the sun, and simi¬ lar deities. I The Scdra. I The duties of the Sudra are to serve the three < 1 higher classes, to watch the fields, &c, I He is to worship all gods alike. The four Social States. I The four stages of man’s life are the state of pupilage, the domestic state, the state of partial re¬ nunciation of the world, and the ascetic state. Digitized by LjOoq le 16 The Pcbanas. There are eighteen puranas, or works on ancient history, containing together four hundred thousand stanzas. They are in strict accordance with the vedas, and were written, through the aid of the divine favour, by Vyasa, the follows,— i. The Brahma Purana; ii. The Padma. iii. The Vishnu. iv. The Siva. v. The Bhagavat. vi. The Naradlya. vii. The Markandeya. viii. The Agueya. ix. The Bhavisbyat. Of these the following i. The Siva purana. ii. The Skanda. iii. The Linga. iv. The Kurina. v. The Vamana. sage. Tbeir names are as x. The Brahmaveivarta. xi. The Linga. xii. The Varaha. xiii. The Skanda. xiv. The Vamana. xv. The Kurina. xvi. The Matsya. xvii. The Garuda. xviii. The Brahmanda. ten are Siva puranas, vi. The Varaha. vii. The Bhavisbyat. viii. The Matsya. ix. The MarkandSya. x. The Brahmanda. The following four are Vishnu puranas, i. The Naradlya purana. iii. The Garuda. ii. The Bhagavat. iv. The Vishnu. The following two are Brahma puranas, i. The Brahma purana. ii. The Padma purana. The Brahmaveivarta is the purana of the Sun. The Agneya is the purana of the god of fire, j From the number of puranas of each class may I Digitized by ^ooQle 17 be inferred the relative superiority of the deities to whom they belong. These puranas are divided into chapters, and treat of religious and scientific matters. The Minor Puranas. There are also eighteen by the individuals whose to them; namely, i. The Janatukumara Upapu- ii. The Nrisinha. [rana. iii. The Nandi. iv. The Sivadhermraa. v. The Durvasa. vi. The Nareda. vii. The Kapila. viii. The Manava. ix. The Usana. minor puranas, composed names are usually attached x. The Brahmanda. xi. The Varuna. xii. The Kalika. xiii. The Vasishtaleinga. xiv. The Sampa, xv. The Savura. xvi. The Parasura. xvii. The Maricha. xviii. The Bhaskara. These writings also are in strict accordance with the vedas. History.