The sun., 1900-06-17

product Of Greek literature, presents more
primitive form OF belief. and. therefore, gives
clearer picture OF the development OF religious
ideas than any other literary monument of the
world. Hence II came about that just as the
discovery Of the Sanskrit language led to the
foundation of the science Of comparative philoi-
ogy, an acquaintance with the literature OF
the yedas resulted In the foundation OF tho
science Of comparative mythology by Adalbert
Kuhn and Max Muller.
Ths importance Of ancient Indian literature
largely consists In It's originality. Naturally
Isolated by its gigantic mountain barrier on
the north. the Indian peninsula has ever since
the Aryan invasion. formed q world apart over
which unique form OF Aryan civilization
rapidly spread and has ever since prevaied
When the Greeks toward the end OF the fourth
century b, G.. invaded the Northwest the
Indians had already fully worked out national
civilization of their own unaffected by ioreien
influences. In spite. moreover. OF successive
waves OF invasion and conquest by persians'
Scythians, Mohammedans, the national devei-
opment OF tho life and literature OF the lndo-
Aryan race remained practically unchecked
and unmodifed from without down TO the era
of British occupation. No other branch OF ths
Indo- European stock has experienced an so-
lated evolution Ike this. No other country
except China can trace back NJ language ana
literature, It's religious beliefs and rites, its
domestic and social customs through an un-
interrupted development OF more than three
thousand years few examples cited by
Dr. Macdonel excmplify the remarkable con-
tnuty in Indian civilization. Sanskrit Is SUI
spoken as tho tongue Of the learned by thou
sands Of Brahmans, a. IL was many centuries be-
fore our era Nor has Il ceased to be used for
literary purposes. tnasmuch a. many books and
Journals written in the ancient language ara
still produced The copying Of Sanskrit manu-
scripts still goes on in hundreds OF libraries
In India, uninterrupted even by the introduc-
ton OF printing during the present century
The vedas are stfll learned by heart Is they were
long before the invasion Of Alexander. and could
be even now restored from the lips Of religious
teachers If every manuscript or printed copy
o' them we're destroyed The position OF San
skirt In short. has been all along and still Is,
although the founders OF Buddhism and Jan'sm
preached their gospels In the language OF the
people A. opposed TO that Of the learned. much
like that Of Hebrew among the Jews or that OF
Latin throughout Catholic Europe In the Middle
Ages. The linguistic importance OF the ancient
literary speech for the India OF to-day will be-
come still more apparent when II Is called to mind
that oil the modern dialects excepting those
OF few isolated aboriginal hill tribes. spoken
over the vast territory between the mouths
OF the Indus and those OF the Ganges. and
between the Himalaya and the vindhya range
besides the Bombay Presidency, as far south
as the Portuguese settlement OF Goa, are
descended through intermediate vernacu'ars
from the oldest form OF Sanskrit.
The history OF ancient Indian literature
falls Into two main periods Tho first Is the
Nedic, which, beginning perhaps as early az
1900 r. c., extended in It's last phase to about
300 B, c, In the former half Of the Vedc age
the character Of IT, literature was creative and
poctical. while the centre OF culture lay In tho
Indus and its tributaries. the modern Panjab in
the latter half literature was theoogicaly
speculative in matter and prosaic In form,
while the centre Of intellectual life had shifted
TO the valley of the Canges The second period
Of Indian literature, the Sanskrit period proper.
began at the time when the Vedc period WAS
closing. and IA generally said to have ended
with the NMohammedan conquest after 1000
A. D. In a certain sense. however. owing 10 the
continued literary use Of Sanskrit, mainly for
the composition OF commentaries. this period
may be regarded a. coming down to the present
day. During this second epoch Brahmanic
culture was introduced into and overspread
the southern portion Of the Continent called
the Dekhan. or tho south" In tho course
Of these two periods taken together Indian
literature attained noteworthy results In nearly
every department. The Vedic age, indeed
unlike the earlier epoch oS Greece. produced
only religions works, but II reached high
standard OF merit In lyric poetry. and later
made some advance toward the formation Of
prose style. The Sanakrlt period on the
other hand. embracing IA It did secular sub
iocts In general. achieved distinction In many
branches Of literature, In national ~ well as
court epics. In lyric and especially didactic
poetry. IN tho drama IN fairy tales. fables and
romances. Everywhere In N Is TO he found
much true poetry. tho beauty Of which. how
ever, Ia marred bv obac,irty of STYLE and the
evcr-ncreasinR taint NJ art,fciaity. On the
whole thIs period produced few works DON'T
mated by n sense Of harmony and proportion.
Such considerations have had LITTLE influence
on the psthetic notions NJ India, The tendency
has been rather toward exagReration. mani
Testing itself In all directions. Tho almost in
credible DEVELOPMENT Of detail In ritual
observance. the extraordinary excesses Of
ascetcism. the grotesqre representations Of
mythology In art, the frequent employment
Of vast numbers In description. the immense
bulk of the eplcs the unparalleled concisencss
Of one ~ tho forms Of prose and the huge COM
pounds habltualy employed In the later style,
arc among the striking illustrations Of this
defect NJ the Indian mind. II Is at the
sama t,ms to be noted that IN various branches
Of scientific literature. n for example In pho
netics. In grammar. mathematics, astronomy.
medicine and law the Indians achieved re-
markabe rcsultS. In soms OF these subjects
their attalnments were fnr In advance Of what
was accomplished bv the Greeks.
The one weli SPOT in Indian literature IL
history, n mny be- described In fact, as nom
existent. The total lack Of Tho historical ssnse
Is 60 characteristic that the whole course NJ
Snnskrlt literature II darkened by the absence
Of exact chronology The dates Of Sanskrit
authors arc In the vast majority Of cases only
known approximately, having been Inferred
from the indirec. evidence Of interdependence.
quotation or allusion. development Of langrage
or OF style AZ to the events Of their lives We
usually know nothing nj all Or Nacdorel
suggests that three causes may have combined
to bring about this extraordinary result
In tho FIRST place early india wrote no history
because II never mnde any TIE ancient In
dlans nover wont through n struggle for life.
like the Greeks and the Persiars, or the Ro-
mansin the func wars: secondly the Rrahmans,
whose task It would naturally have boon