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f^nt 7i# ^m:

A HISTORY

OF

INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

May He, who links the minds of all people, through the apertures of time, with new threads of knowledge like a garland of flowers, be pleased to accept this my thread of Eastern thought, offered, though it be small, with the greatest devotion.

A HISTORY

OF

INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

BY SURENDRANATH DASGUPTA, M.A., Ph.D.,

PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT, GOVERNMENT COLLEGE, CHITTAGONG, BENGAL, LECTURER IN BENGALI IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

VOLUME I

CAMBRIDGE

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

1922

100838

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

C. F. CLAY, Manager

LONDON : FETTER LANE, E.G. 4

NEW YORK : THE MACMILLAN CO.

BOMBAY 1

CALCUTTA I MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd.

MADRAS j

TORONTO : THE MACMILLAN CO. OF

CANADA, Ltd. TOKYO: MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA

3131

V. I

TO

HIS EXCELLENCY

LAWRENCE JOHN LUMLEY DUNDAS, G.C.I.E.,

EARL OF RONALDSHAY, CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA AND THE GOVERNOR OF BENGAL.

May it please your Excellency,

The idea of writing this work was first suggested to me by the Rectorial address which your Excellency delivered some years ago at a Convocation of the University of Calcutta, in which you emphasised the special need of the study of Indian philosophy by Indian students. I shall ever remember with gratitude the encouragement that I received from the kind interest that you showed in my work by going through the manuscript, in the conversations that I had the honour of holding with you on various occasions, and in your subsequent letters to me. Your Excellency's honoured name has thus already become peculiarly connected with the composition of this work. With your Excellency's kind permission, I therefore wish to take advantage of this opportunity in associating your Excellency's name with this volume as a mark of deepest respect and esteem. The present work is an attempt to present the thought of Ancient India at its best. This thought still holds the spirit of India, and the more it is studied the more do we see that the problems are often identical with those of European thinkers. That both East and West should realise each other's tasks and find that they are often identical is an auspicious omen for the future. The great work of uniting India with Europe can only be gradually accomplished through mutual appreciation of what is best in each country. I shall be very happy if this humble volume may even in a very small measure aid this process which is already begun in various ways and may repre- sent to your Excellency after your return to this country some- thing of the ancient ideals of India.

I remain, your Excellency,

Loyally and sincerely yours,

SURENDRANATH DASGUPTA.

NOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF

TRANSLITERATED SANSKRIT

AND PALI WORDS

The vowels are pronounced almost in the same way as in Italian, except that the sound of a approaches that of o in bond or u in but, and a that of a as in army. The consonants are as in English, except c, ch in church ; /, d, n are cerebrals, to which English /, d, n almost correspond; /, d, n are pure dentals; kh, gh, ch, jh, tk, dh, th, dh, ph, bh are the simple sounds plus an aspiration; h is the French gn\ r is usually pronounced as ri, and L s as s/i.

PREFACE

THE old civilisation of India was a concrete unity of many- sided developments in art, architecture, literature, religion, morals, and science so far as it was understood in those days. But the most important achievement of Indian thought was philosophy. It was regarded as the goal of all the highest practical and theoretical activities, and it indicated the point of unity amidst all the apparent diversities which the complex growth of culture over a vast area inhabited by different peoples produced. It is not in the history of foreign invasions, in the rise of independent kingdoms at different times, in the empires of this or that great monarch that the unity of India is to be sought. It is essentially one of spiritual aspirations and obedience to the law of the spirit, which were regarded as superior to every- thing else, and it has outlived all the political changes through which India passed.

The Greeks, the Huns, the Scythians, the Pathans and the Moguls who occupied the land and controlled the political machinery never ruled the minds of the people, for these political events were like hurricanes or the changes of season, mere phenomena of a natural or physical order which never affected the spiritual integrity of Hindu culture. If after a passivity of some centuries India is again going to become creative it is mainly on account of this fundamental unity of her progress and civilisation and not for anything that she may borrow from other countries. It is therefore indispensably necessary for all those who wish to appreciate the significance and potentialities of Indian culture that they should properly understand the history of Indian philosophical thought which is the nucleus round which all that is best and highest in India has grown. Much harm has already been done by the circulation of opinions that the culture and philosophy of India was dreamy and abstract. It is therefore very necessary that Indians as well as other peoples should become more and more acquainted with the true charac- teristics of the past history of Indian thought and form a correct estimate of its special features.

But it is not only for the sake of the right understanding of

viii Preface

India that Indian philosophy should be read, or only as a record of the past thoughts of India. For most of the problems that are still debated in modern philosophical thought occurred in more or less divergent forms to the philosophers of India, Their discussions, difficulties and solutions when properly grasped in connection with the problems of our own times may throw light on the course of the process of the future reconstruction of modern thought. The discovery of the important features of Indian philosophical thought, and a due appreciation of their full signi- ficance, may turn out to be as important to modern philosophy as the discovery of Sanskrit has been to the investigation of modern philological researches. It is unfortunate that the task of re-interpretation and re-valuation of Indian thought has not yet been undertaken on a comprehensive scale. Sanskritists also with very few exceptions have neglected this important field of study, for most of these scholars have been interested more in mythology, philology, and history than in philosophy. Much work however has already been done in the way of the publication of a large number of important texts, and translations of some of them have also been attempted. But owing to the presence of many technical terms in advanced Sanskrit philo- sophical literature, the translations in most cases are hardly in- telligible to those who are not familiar with the texts themselves. A work containing some general account of the mutual rela- tions of the chief systems is necessary for those who intend to pursue the study of a particular school. This is also necessary for lay readers interested in philosophy and students of Western philosophy who have no inclination or time to specialise in any Indian system, but who are at the same time interested to know what they can about Indian philosophy. In my two books The Study of Patanjali and Yoga Philosophy in relation to other Indian Systems of Thought I have attempted to interpret the Samkhya and Yoga systems both from their inner point of view and from the point of view of their relation to other Indian systems. The present attempt deals with the important features of these as also of all the other systems and seeks to show some of their inner philosophical relations especially in regard to the history of their development. I have tried to be as faithful to the original texts as I could and have always given the Sanskrit or Pali technical terms for the help of those who want to make this book a guide

Preface ix

for further study. To understand something of these terms is indeed essential for anyone who wishes to be sure that he is following the actual course of the thoughts.

In Sanskrit treatises the style of argument and methods of treating the different topics are altogether different from what we find in any modern work of philosophy. Materials had there- fore to be collected from a large number of works on each system and these have been knit together and given a shape which is likely to be more intelligible to people unacquainted with Sanskritic ways of thought. But at the same time I considered it quite undesirable to put any pressure on Indian thoughts in order to make them appear as European. This will explain much of what might appear quaint to a European reader. But while keeping all the thoughts and expressions of the Indian thinkers I have tried to arrange them in a systematic whole in a manner which appeared to me strictly faithful to their clear indications and suggestions. It is only in very few places that I have translated some of the Indian terms by terms of English philosophy, and this I did because it appeared to me that those were approximately the nearest approach to the Indian sense of the term. In all other places I have tried to choose words which have not been made dangerous by the acquirement of technical senses. This however is difficult, for the words which are used in philosophy always acquire some sort of technical sense. I would therefore request my readers to take those words in an unsophisti- cated sense and associate them with such meanings as are justified by the passages and contexts in which they are used. Some of what will appear as obscure in any system may I hope be removed if it is re-read with care and attention, for unfamiliarity sometimes stands in the way of right comprehension. But I may have also missed giving the proper suggestive links in many places where condensation was inevitable and the systems themselves have also sometimes insoluble difficulties, for no system of philosophy is without its dark and uncomfortable corners.

Though I have begun my work from the Vedic and Brah- manic stage, my treatment of this period has been very slight. The beginnings of the evolution of philosophical thought, though they can be traced in the later Vedic hymns, are neither connected nor systematic.

X Preface

More is found in the Brahmanas, but I do not think it worth while to elaborate the broken shreds of thought of this epoch. I could have dealt with the Upanisad period more fully, but many works on the subject have already been published in Europe and those who wish to go into details will certainly go to them. I have therefore limited myself to the dominant current flowing through the earlier Upanisads. Notices of other currents of thought will be given in connection with the treatment of other systems in the second volume with which they are more intimately connected. It will be noticed that my treatment of early Bud- dhism is in some places of an inconclusive character. This is largely due to the inconclusive character of the texts which were put into writing long after Buddha in the form of dialogues and where the precision and directness required in philosophy were not contemplated. This has given rise to a number of theories about the interpretations of the philosophical problems of early Buddhism among modern Buddhist scholars and it is not always easy to decide one way or the other without running the risk of being dogmatic ; and the scope of my work was also too limited to allow me to indulge in very elaborate discussions of textual difficulties. But still I also have in many places formed theories of my own, whether they are right or wrong it will be for scholars to judge. I had no space for entering into any polemic, but it will be found that my interpretations of the systems are different in some cases from those offered by some European scholars who have worked on them and I leave it to those who are acquainted with the literature of the subject to decide which of us may be in the right. I have not dealt elaborately with the new school of Logic (Navya-Nyaya) of Bengal, for the simple reason that most of the contributions of this school consist in the invention of technical expressions and the emphasis put on the necessity of strict exactitude and absolute preciseness of logical definitions and discussions and these are almost untranslatable in intelligible English. I have however incorporated what important differences of philosophical points of view I could find in it. Discussions of a purely technical character could not be very fruitful in a work like this. The bibliography given of the different Indian systems in the last six chapters is not exhaustive but consists mostly of books which have been actually studied or consulted in the writing of those chapters. Exact references to the pages of the

Preface xi

texts have generally been given in footnotes in those cases where a difference of interpretation was anticipated or where it was felt that a reference to the text would make the matter clearer, or where the opinions of modern writers have been incorporated.

It gives me the greatest pleasure to acknowledge my deepest gratefulness to the Hon'ble Maharaja Sir Manindrachandra Nundy, K.C.I.E. Kashimbazar, Bengal, who has kindly promised to bear the entire expense of the publication of both volumes of the present work.

The name of this noble man is almost a household word in Bengal for the magnanimous gifts that he has made to educational and other causes. Up till now he has made a total gift of about ;^300,ooo, of which those devoted to education come to about ;^20o,ooo. But the man himself is far above the gifts he has made. His sterling character, universal sympathy and friendship, his kindness and amiability make him a veritable Bodhisattva — one of the noblest of men that I have ever seen. Like many other scholars of Bengal, I am deeply indebted to him for the encouragement that he has given me in the pursuit of my studies and researches, and my feelings of attachment and gratefulness for him are too deep for utterance.

I am much indebted to my esteemed friends Dr E. J. Thomas of the Cambridge University Library and Mr Douglas Ainslie for their kindly revising the proofs of this work, in the course of which they improved my English in many places. To the former I am also indebted for his attention to the translitera- tion of a large number of Sanskrit words, and also for the whole-hearted sympathy and great friendliness with which he assisted me with his advice on many points of detail, in par- ticular the exposition of the Buddhist doctrine of the cause of rebirth owes something of its treatment to repeated discussions with him.

I also wish to express my gratefulness to my friend Mr N. K. Siddhanta, M.A., late of the Scottish Churches College, and Mademoiselle Paule Povie for the kind assistance they have rendered in preparing the index. My obligations are also due to the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press for the honour they have done me in publishing this work.

To the Hon'ble Sir Asutosh Mookerjee, Kt, C.S.L, M.A., D.L., D.Sc, Ph.D., the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta,

xii Preface

I owe a debt which is far greater than I can express here, especially for the generous enthusiasm with which he had kindly agreed to accept this work for publication by the Calcutta University, which would have materialised if other circumstances had not changed this arrangement.

To scholars of Indian philosophy who may do me the honour of reading my book and who may be impressed with its inevit- able shortcomings and defects, I can only pray in the words of Hemacandra:

Pramdnasiddhdntaviruddham atra

Yatkihciduktam tnatimdndyadosdt

Mdtsaryyam utsdryya taddryyacittdh

Prasddam ddhdya visodhayantii^.

1 May the noble-minded scholars instead of cherishing ill feeling kindly correct whatever errors have been here committed through the dullness of my intellect in the way of wrong interpretations and misstatements.

S. D.

Trinity College, Cambridge.

February^ 1922.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY i

CHAPTER II THE VEDAS, BRAHMANAS AND THEIR PHILOSOPHY

1 The Vedas and their antiquity lo

2 The place of the Vedas in the Hindu mind lo

3 Classification of the Vedic literature li

4 The Samhitas I2

5 The Brahmanas 13

6 The Aranyakas . 14

7 The ^g-Veda, its civilization 14

8 The Vedic gods 16

9 Polytheism, Henotheism, and Monotheism 17

10 Growth of a Monotheistic tendency ; Prajapati, Visvakarma . . 19

11 Brahma 20

12 Sacrifice ; the First Rudiments of the Law of Karma . . .21

13 Cosmogony — Mythological and_ Philosophical 23

14 Eschatology; the Doctrine of Atman 25

15 Conclusion . 26

CHAPTER III

THE EARLIER UPANISADS (700 B.C.— 600 B.C.)

1 The place of the Upanisads in Vedic literature .... 28

2 The names of the Upanisads ; Non-Brahmanic influence . . 30

3 Brahmanas and the Early Upanisads 31

4 The meaning of the word Upanisad 38

5 The composition and growth of diverse Upanisads .... 38

6 Revival of Upanisad studies in modern times 39

7 The Upanisads and their interpretations 41

8 The quest after Brahman : the struggle and the failures ... 42

9 Unknowability of Brahman and the Negative Method ... 44

10 The Atman doctrine 45

1 1 Place of Brahman in the Upanisads 48

12 The World 51

13 The World-Soul 52

14 The Theory of Causation . 52

15 Doctrine of Transmigration 53

16 Emancipation 58

CHAPTER IV

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE SYSTEMS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

1 In what sense is a History of Indian Philosophy possible.'' . . 62

2 Growth of the Philosophic Literature 65

3 The Indian systems of Philosophy 67

4 Some fundamental points of agreement 71

1 The Karma theory . . . . . . . . -71

2 The Doctrine of Mukti 74

3 The Doctrine of Soul 75

5 The Pessimistic Attitude towards the World and the Optimistic Faith in the end 75

6 Unity in Indian Sadhana (philosophical, religious and ethical endeavours) ^^

xiv Contents

CHAPTER V BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY

PAGE

1 The State of Philosophy in India before Buddha .... 78

2 Buddha : his Life 81

3 Early Buddhist Literature 82

4 The Doctrine of Causal Connection of early Buddhism ... 84

5 The Khandhas 93

6 Avijja and Asava 99

7 Slla and Samadhi 100

8 Kamma 106

9 Upanisads and Buddhism . 109

10 The Schools of Theravada Buddhism 112

11 Mahayanism 125

12 The Tathata Philosophy of Asvaghosa (80 A.D.) . . . .129

13 The Madhyamika or the Sunyavada school — Nihilism . . . 138

14 Uncompromising Idealism or the School of Vijiianavada Buddhism 145

15 Sautrantika theory of Perception . . . . . . -151

16 Sautrantika theory of Inference ....... 155

17 The Doctrine of Momentariness . . . . . . .158

18 The Doctrine of Momentariness and the Doctrine of Causal Efficiency (Arthakriyakaritva) .163

19 Some Ontological Problems on which the Different Indian Systems diverged 164

20 Brief Survey of the Evolution of Buddhist Thought . . . 166

CHAPTER VI

THE JAINA PHILOSOPHY

1 The Origin of Jainism 169

2 Two Sects of Jainism 170

3 The Canonical and other Literature of the Jains .... 171

4 Some General Characteristics of the Jains 172

5 Life of MahavTra 173

6 The Fundamental Ideas of Jaina Ontology 173

7 The Doctrine of Relative Pluralism (Anekantavada) . . -175

8 The Doctrine of Nayas 176

9 The Doctrine of Syadvada 179

10 Knowledge, its value for us 181

1 1 Theory of Perception 183

12 Non-Perceptual knowledge 185

13 Knowledge as Revelation 186

14 Thejlvas 188

15 Karma Theory 190

16 Karma, Asrava and Nirjara 192

17 Pudgala igj

18 Dharma, Adharma, Akasa 197

19 Kala and Samaya 198

20 Jaina Cosmography 199

21 Jaina Yoga 199

"" Jaina Atheism 203

22

23 Moksa (emancipation) 207

Contents

XV

CHAPTER VII

THE KAPILA AND THE PATANJALA SAMKHYA (YOGA)

1 A Review •

2 The Germs of Sarnkhya in the Upanisads

3 Sarnkhya and Yoga Literature ......

4 An Early School of Sarnkhya ......

5 Sarnkhya karika, Sarnkhya sutra, Vacaspati Misra and V Bhiksu

6 Yoga and Patanjali ........

7 The Sarnkhya and the Yoga doctrine of Soul or Purusa .

8 Thought and Matter

9 Feelings, the Ultimate Substances

10 The Gunas .........

11 Prakrti and its evolution .......

12 Pralaya and the disturbance of the Prakrti Equilibrium .

13 Mahat and Aharnkara .......

14 The Tanmatras and the Paramanus ....

15 Principle of Causation and Conservation of Energy

16 Change as the formation of new collocations .

17 Causation as Satkaryavada (the theory that the effect potentially exists before it is generated by the movement of the cause)

18 Sarnkhya Atheism and Yoga Theism ....

19 Buddhi and Purusa

20 The Cognitive Process and some characteristics of Citta

21 Sorrow and its Dissolution ......

22 Citta

23 Yoga Purificatory Practices (Parikarma) ....

24 The Yoga Meditation .......

PAGE

208 211 212 2n

222 226 238 241 242

243

245 247 248 251 254 255

257 258 259 261 264 268 270 271

CHAPTER VIII THE NYAYA-VAISESIKA PHILOSOPHY

1 Criticism of Buddhism and Sarnkhya from the Nyaya standpoint

2 Nyaya and Vaisesika sutras .....

3 Does Vaisesika represent an old school of Mimamsa ?

4 Philosophy in the Vaisesika sutras ....

5 Philosophy in the Nyaya sutras ....

6 Philosophy of Nyaya siitras and Vaisesika siitras

7 The Vaisesika and Nyaya Literature

8 The main doctrine of the Nyaya- Vaisesika Philosophy

9 The six Padarthas : Dravya, Guna, Karma, Samanya, Visesa, Sama vaya ..........

10 The Theory of Causation ......

1 1 Dissolution (Pralaya) andCreation (Srsti)

12 Proof of the Existence of Iisvara . ' .

13 The Nyaya-Vai^esika Physics .....

14 The Origin of Knowledge (Pramana)

15 The four Pramanas of Nyaya . * .

16 Perception (Pratyaksa)

17 Inference . ^

18 Upamana and Sabda

19 Negation in Nyaya- Vaisesika

20 The necessity of the Acquirement of debating devices for of Salvation ........

21 The Doctrine of Soul

22 Is vara and Salvation

the seeker

274 276 280 285 294 301

305 310

313 319 323 325 326

330

332 333 343 354 355

360 362 363

XVI

Contents

CHAPTER IX mImAmsA philosophy

PAGE

1 A Comparative Review 3^7

2 The Mimamsa Literature . . 369

3 The Paratah-pramanya doctrine of Nyaya and the Svatah-pramanya doctrine of Mimarnsa 372

4 The place of Sense-organs in Perception 375

5 Indeterminate and Determinate Perception 378

6 Some Ontological Problems connected with the Doctrine of Per- ception 379

7 The Nature of Knowledge 382

8 The Psychology of Illusion 3^4

9 Inference 1^1

10 Upamana, Arthapatti 39^

1 1 Sabda-pramana 394

12 The Pramana of Non-perception (anupalabdhi) .... 397

13 Self, Salvation, and God . . . ... . . -399

14 Mimarpsa as Philosophy and Mimamsa as Ritualism . . • 4^3

CHAPTER X

THE SANKARA SCHOOL OF VEDANTA

1 Comprehension of the Philosophical Issues more essential than Dialectic of Controversy .

2 The philosophical situation : a Review

3 Vedanta Literature .

4 Vedanta in Gaudapada

5 Vedanta and Sankara (788 — 820 A.D.)

6 The main idea of the Vedanta philosophy

7 In what sense is the world-appearance false?

8 The nature of the world-appearance, phenomena The Definition of Ajnana (nescience) ....

Ajnana established by Perception and Inference

Locus and Object of Ajfiana, Ahamkara and Antahkarana

Anirvacyavada and the Vedanta dialectic

The Theory of Causation .......

Vedanta theory of Perception and Inference .

15 Atman, Jiva, Isvara, Ekajlvavada and Drstisrstivada

16 Vedanta theory of Illusion

17 Vedanta Ethics and Vedanta Emancipation

18 Vedanta and other Indian systems .....

the

406 408 418 420 429 439 443 445 452

454 457 461 465 470 474 485 489 492

INDEX 495

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY

The achievements of the ancient Indians in the field of philosophy are but very imperfectly known to the world at large, and it is unfortunate that the condition is no better even in India. There is a small body of Hindu scholars and ascetics living a retired life in solitude, who are well acquainted with the subject, but they do not know English and are not used to modern ways of thinking, and the idea that they ought to write books in vernaculars in order to popularize the subject does not appeal to them. Through the activity of various learned bodies and private individuals both in Europe and in India large numbers of philosophical works in Sanskrit and Pali have been published, as well as translations of a few of them, but there has been as yet little systematic attempt on the part of scholars to study them and judge their value. There are hundreds of Sanskrit works on most of the systems of Indian thought and scarcely a hundredth part of them has been trans- lated. Indian modes of expression, entailing difficult technical philosophical terms are so different from those of European thought, that they can hardly ever be accurately translated. It is therefore very difficult for a person unacquainted with Sanskrit to understand Indian philosophical thought in its true bearing from translations. Pali is a much easier language than Sanskrit, but a knowledge of Pali is helpful in understanding only the earliest school of Buddhism, when it was in its semi-philosophical stage. Sanskrit is generally regarded as a difficult language. But no one from an acquaintance with Vedic or ordinary literary Sanskrit can have any idea of the difficulty of the logical and abstruse parts of Sanskrit philosophical literature. A man who can easily understand the Vedas, the Upanisads, the Puranas, the Law Books and the literary works, and is also well acquainted with European philosophical thought, may find it literally impossible to understand even small portions of a work of advanced Indian logic, or the dialectical Vedanta. This is due to two reasons, the use of technical terms and of great condensation in expression, and the hidden allusions to doctrines of other systems. The

D. I

2 Introductory [ch.

tendency to conceiving philosophical problems in a clear and un- ambiguous manner is an important feature of Sanskrit thought,but from the ninth century onwards, the habit of using clear, definite, and precise expressions, began to develop inavery striking manner, and as a result of that a large number of technical terms began to be invented. These terms are seldom properly explained, and it is presupposed that the reader who wants to read the works should have a knowledge of them. Any one in olden times who took to the study of any system of philosophy, had to do so with a teacher, who explained those terms to him. The teacher himself had got it from his teacher, and he from his. There was no tendency to popularize philosophy, for the idea then prevalent was that only the chosen few who had otherwise shown their fitness, deserved to become fit students {adhikdri) of philosophy, under the direction of a teacher. Only those who had the grit and high moral strength to devote their whole life to the true understanding of philosophy and the rebuilding of life in accordance with the high truths of philosophy were allowed to study it.

Another difficulty which a beginner will meet is this, that sometimes the same technical terms are used in extremely different senses in different systems. The student must know the meaning of each technical term with reference to the system in which it occurs, and no dictionary will enlighten him much about the matter^ He will have to pick them up as he advances and finds them used. Allusions to the doctrines of other systems and their refutations during the discussions of similar doctrines in any particular system of thought are often very puzzling even to a well-equipped reader; for he cannot be expected to know all the doctrines of other systems without going through them, and so it often becomes difficult to follow the series of answers and refutations which are poured forth in the course of these discus- sions. There are two important compendiums in Sanskrit giving a summary of some of the principal systems of Indian thought, viz. the Sarvadarsanasaingraha, and the Saddarsanasamuccaya of Haribhadra with the commentary of Gunaratna; but the former is very sketchy and can throw very little light on the understanding of the ontological or epistemological doctrines of any of the systems. It has been translated by Cowell and Gough, but I

^ Recently a very able Sanskrit: dictionary of technical philosophical terms called Nyayako^a has been prepared by M. M. Bhimacarya Jhalkikar, Bombay, Govt. Press.

i] Introductory 3

am afraid the translation may not be found very intelligible. Gunaratna'scommentary isexcellentso far as Jainism is concerned, and it sometimes gives interesting information about other systems, and also supplies us with some short bibliographical notices, but it seldom goes on to explain the epistemological or ontological doctrines or discussions which are so necessary for the right understanding of any of the advanced systems of Indian thought. Thus in the absence of a book which could give us in brief the main epistemological, ontological, and psychological positions of the Indian thinkers, it is difficult even for a good Sanskrit scholar to follow the advanced philosophical literature, even though he may be acquainted with many of the technical philosophical terms. I have spoken enough about the difficulties of studying Indian philosophy, but if once a person can get him- self used to the technical terms and the general positions of the different Indian thinkers and their modes of expression, he can master the whole by patient toil. The technical terms, which are a source of difficulty at the beginning, are of inestimable value in helping us to understand the precise and definite meaning of the writers who used them, and the chances of misinterpreting or misunderstanding them are reduced to a minimum. It is I think well-known that avoidance of technical terms has often rendered philosophical works unduly verbose, and liable to misinterpre- tation. The art of clear writing is indeed a rare virtue and every philosopher cannot expect to have it. But when technical ex- pressions are properly formed, even a bad writer can make himself understood. In the early days of Buddhist philosophy in the Pali literature, this difficulty is greatly felt. There are some technical terms here which are still very elastic and their repeti- tion in different places in more or less different senses heighten the difficulty of understanding the real meaning intended to be conveyed.

But is it necessary that a history of Indian philosophy should be written? There are some people who think that the Indians never rose beyond the stage of simple faith and that therefore they cannot have any philosophy at all in the proper sense of the term. Thus Professor Frank Thilly of the Cornell University says in his Historyof Philosophy'^" A universal history of philosophy would include the philosophies of all peoples. Not all peoples, however

^ New York, 19 14, p. 3.

I — 2

4 Introductory [ch.

have produced real systems of thought, and the speculations of only a few can be said to have had a history. Many do not rise beyond the mythological stage. Even the theories of Oriental peoples, the Hindus, Egyptians, Chinese, consist, in the main, of mythological and ethical doctrines, and are not thoroughgoing systems of thought: they are shot through with poetry and faith. We shall, therefore, limit ourselves to the study of the Western countries, and begin with the philosophy of the ancient Greeks, on whose culture our own civilization in part, rests." There are doubtless many other people who hold such uninformed and untrue beliefs, which only show their ignorance of Indian matters. It is not necessary to say anything in order to refute these views, for what follows will I hope show the falsity of their beliefs. If they are not satisfied, and want to know more definitely and elaborately about the contents of the different systems, I am afraid they will have to go to the originals referred to in the biblio- graphical notices of the chapters.

There is another opinion, that the time has not yet come for an attempt to write a history of Indian philosophy. Two different reasons are given from two different points of view. It is said that the field of Indian philosophy is so vast, and such a vast literature exists on each of the systems, that it is not possible for anyone to collect his materials directly from the original sources, before separate accounts are prepared by specialists working in each of the particular systems. There is some truth in this objection, but although in some of the important systems the literature that exists is exceedingly vast, yet many of them are more or less repetitions of the same subjects, and a judicious selection of twenty or thirty important works on each of the systems could certainly be made, which would give a fairly correct exposition. In my own undertaking in this direction I have always drawn directly from the original texts, and have always tried to collect my materials from those sources in which they appear at their best. My space has been very limited and I have chosen the features which appeared to me to be the most important. I had to leave out many discussions of difficult problems and diverse important bearings of each of the systems to many interesting aspects of philosophy. This I hope may be excused in a history of philosophy which does not aim at com- pleteness. There are indeed many defects and shortcomings, and

i] Introductory 5

these would have been much less in the case of a writer abler than the present one. At any rate it may be hoped that the imperfections of the present attempt will be a stimulus to those whose better and more competent efforts will supersede it. No attempt ought to be called impossible on account of its imper- fections.

In the second place it is said that the Indians had no proper and accurate historical records and biographies and it is therefore impossible to write a history of Indian philosophy. This objection is also partially valid. But this defect does not affect us so much as one would at first sight suppose; for, though the dates of the earlier beginnings are very obscure, yet, in later times, we are in a position to affirm some dates and to point out priority and posteriority in the case of other thinkers. As most of the systems developed side by side through many centuries their mutual relations also developed, and these could be well observed. The special nature of this development has been touched on in the fourth chapter. Most of the systems had very early beginnings and a continuous course of development through the succeeding centuries, and it is not possible to take the state of the philosophy of a particular system at a particular time and contrast it with the state of that system at a later time; for the later state did not supersede the previous state, but only showed a more coherent form of it, which was generally true to the original system but was more determinate. Evolution through history has in Western countries often brought forth the development of more coherent types of philosophic thought, but in India, though the types remained the same, their development through history made them more and more coherent and determinate. Most of the parts were probably existent in the earlier stages, but they were in an undifferentiated state; through the criticism and conflict of the different schools existing side by side the parts of each of the systems of thought became more and more differentiated, deter- minate, and coherent. In some cases this development has been almost imperceptible, and in many cases the earlier forms have been lost, or so inadequately expressed that nothing definite could be made out of them. Wherever such a differentiation could be made in the interests of philosophy, I have tried to do it. But I have never considered it desirable that the philosophical interest should be subordinated to the chronolosfical. It is no

6 Introductory [cH.

doubt true that more definite chronological information would be a very desirable thing, yet I am of opinion that the little chronological data we have give us a fair amount of help in form- ing a general notion about the growth and development of the different systems by mutual association and conflict. If the con- dition of the development of philosophy in India had been the same as in Europe, definite chronological knowledge would be considered much more indispensable. For, when one system supersedes another, it is indispensably necessary that we should know which preceded and which succeeded. But when the systems are developing side by side, and when we are getting them in their richer and better forms, the interest with regard to the conditions, nature and environment of their early origin has rather a historical than a philosophical interest. I have tried as best I could to form certain general notions as regards the earlier stages of some of the systems, but though the various features of these systems at these stages in detail may not be ascertainable, yet this, I think, could never be considered as invalidating the whole programme. Moreover, even if we knew definitely the correct dates of the thinkers of the same system we could not treat them separately, as is done in European philosophy, without unnecessarily repeating the same thing twenty times over; for they all dealt with the same system, and tried to bring out the same type of thought in more and more determinate forms.

The earliest literature of India is the Vedas. These consist mostly of hymns in praise of nature gods, such as fire, wind, etc. Excepting in some of the hymns of the later parts of the work (probably about lOOO B.C.), there is not much philosophy in them in our sense of the term. It is here that we first find intensely interesting philosophical questions of a more or less cosmological character expressed in terms of poetry and imagination. In the later Vedic works called the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas written mostly in prose, which followed the Vedic hymns, there are two tendencies, viz. one that sought to establish the magical forms of ritualistic worship, and the other which indulged in speculative thinking through crude generalizations. This latter tendency was indeed much feebler than the former, and it might appear that the ritualistic tendency had actually swallowed up what little of philosophy the later parts of the Vedic hymns were trying to express, but there are unmistakable marks that this tendency

i] Introductory 7

existed and worked. Next to this come certain treatises written in prose and verse called the Upanisads, which contain various sorts of philosophical thoughts mostly monistic or singularistic but also some pluralistic and dualistic ones. These are not reasoned statements, but utterances of truths intuitively perceived or felt as unquestionably real and indubitable, and carrying great force, vigour, and persuasiveness with them. It is very probable that many of the earliest parts of this literature are as old as 500 B.C. to 700 B.C. Buddhist philosophy began with the Buddha from some time about 500 B.C. There is reason to believe that Buddhist philosophy continued to develop in India in one or other of its vigorous forms till some time about the tenth or eleventh century A.D. The earliest beginnings of the other Indian systems of thought are also to be sought chiefly between the age of the Buddha to about 200 B.C. Jaina philosophy was probably prior to the Buddha. But except in its earlier days, when it came in conflict with the doctrines of the Buddha, it does not seem to me that the Jaina thought came much in contact with other systems of Hindu thought. Excepting in some forms of Vaisnava thought in later times, Jaina thought is seldom alluded to by the Hindu writers or later Buddhists, though some Jains like Haribhadra and Gunaratna tried to refute the Hindu and Buddhist systems. The non-aggressive nature of their religion and ideal may to a certain extent explain it, but there may be other reasons too which it is difficult for us to guess. It is interesting to note that, though there have been some dissensions amongst the Jains about dogmas and creeds, Jaina philosophy has not split into many schools of thought more or less differing from one another as Buddhist thought did.

The first volume of this work will contain Buddhist and Jaina philosophy and the six systems of Hindu thought. These six sys- tems of orthodox Hindu thought are the Sarnkhya, the Yoga, the Nyaya, the Vaisesika, the Mimarnsa (generally known as Purva Mimarnsa), and the Vedanta (known also as Uttara Mimarnsa). Of these what is differently known as Sarnkhya and Yoga are but different schools of one system. The Vaisesika and the Nyaya in later times became so mixed up that, though in early times the similarity of the former with Mimarnsa was greater than that with Nyaya, they came to be regarded as fundamentally almost the same systems. Nyaya and Vaisesika have therefore been treated

8 Introductory [ch.

together. In addition to these systems some theistic systems began to grow prominent from the ninth century A.D. They also probably had their early beginnings at the time of the Upanisads. But at that time their interest was probably concentrated on problems of morality and religion. It is not improbable that these were associated with certain metaphysical theories also, but no works treating them in a systematic way are now available. One of their most important early works is the Bhagavadgitd. This book is rightly regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces of Hindu thought. It is written in verse, and deals with moral, religious, and metaphysical problems, in a loose form. It is its lack of system and method which gives it its peculiar charm more akin to the poetry of the Upanisads than to the dialectical and syste- matic Hindu thought. From the ninth century onwards attempts were made to supplement these loose theistic ideas which were floating about and forming integral parts of religious creeds, by metaphysical theories. Theism is often dualistic and pluralistic, and so are all these systems, which are known as different schools of Vaisnava philosophy. Most of the Vaisnava thinkers wished to show that their systems were taught in the Upanisads, and thus wrote commentaries thereon to prove their interpretations, and also wrote commentaries on the Brahmasutra, the classical ex- position of the philosophy of the Upanisads, In addition to the works of these Vaisnava thinkers there sprang up another class of theistic works which were of a more eclectic nature. These also had their beginnings in periods as old as the Upanisads. They are known as the Saiva and Tantra thought, and are dealt with in the second volume of this work.

We thus see that the earliest beginnings of most systems of Hindu thought can be traced to some time between 600 B.C. to 100 or 200 B.C. It is extremely difficult to say anything about the relative priority of the systems with any degree of certainty. Some conjectural attempts have been made in this work with regard to some of the systems, but how far they are correct, it will be for our readers to judge. Moreover during the earliest manifestation of a system some crude outlines only are traceable. As time went on the systems of thought began to develop side by side. Most of them were taught from the time in which they were first conceived to about the seventeenth century A.D. in an unbroken chain of teachers and pupils. Even now each system of Hindu thought has its own adherents, though few people now

i] Introductory 9

care to write any new works upon them. In the history of the growth of any system of Hindu thought we find that as time went on, and as new problems were suggested, each system tried to answer them consistently with its own doctrines. The order in which we have taken the philosophical systems could not be strictly a chronological one. Thus though it is possible that the earliest speculations of some form of Sarnkhya, Yoga, and Mimamsa were prior to Buddhism yet they have been treated after Buddhism and Jainism, because the elaborate works of these systems which we now possess are later than Buddhism, In my opinion the Vaisesika system is also probably pre-Buddhistic, but it has been treated later, partly on account of its association with Nyaya, and partly on account of the fact that all its com- mentaries are of a much later date. It seems to me almost certain that enormous quantities of old philosophical literature have been lost, which if found could have been of use to us in showing the stages of the early growth of the systems and their mutual relations. But as they are not available we have to be satisfied with what remains. The original sources from which I have drawn my materials have all been indicated in the brief accounts of the literature of each system which I have put in before beginning the study of any particular system of thought.

In my interpretations I have always tried to follow the original sources as accurately as I could. This has sometimes led to old and unfamiliar modes of expression, but this course seemed to me to be preferable to the adoption of European modes of thought for the expression of Indian ideas. But even in spite of this striking similarities to many of the modern philosophical doctrines and ideas will doubtless be noticed. This only proves that the human mind follows more or less the same modes of rational thought. I have never tried to compare any phase of Indian thought with European, for this is beyond the scope of my present attempt, but if I may be allowed to express my own conviction, I might say that many of the philosophical doctrines of European philosophy are essentially the same as those found in Indian philosophy. The main difference is often the difference of the point of view from which the same problems appeared in such a variety of forms in the two countries. My own view with regard to the net value of Indian philosophical development will be ex- pressed in the concluding chapter of the second volume of the present work.

CHAPTER II THE VEDAS, BRAHMANAS AND THEIR PHILOSOPHY

The Vedas and their antiquity.

The sacred books of India, the Vedas, are generally believed to be the earliest literary record of the Indo-European race. It is indeed difficult to say when the earliest portions of these com- positions came into existence. Many shrewd guesses have been offered, but none of them can be proved to be incontestably true. Max Miiller supposed the date to be 1200 B.C., Haug 2400 B.C. and Bal Garigadhar Tilak 4000 B.C. The ancient Hindus seldom kept any historical record of their literary, religious or political achievements. The Vedas were handed down from mouth to mouth from a period of unknown antiquity ; and the Hindus generally believed that they were never composed by men. It was therefore generally supposed that either they were taught by God to the sages, or that they were of themselves revealed to the sages who were the "seers" {mantradrastd) of the hymns. Thus we find that when some time had elapsed after the composition of the Vedas, people had come to look upon them not only as very old, but so old that they had, theoretically at least, no beginning in time, though they were believed to have been revealed at some unknown remote period at the beginning of each creation.

The place of the Vedas in the Hindu mind.

When the Vedas were composed, there was probably no system of writing prevalent in India. But such was the scrupulous zeal of the Brahmins, who got the whole Vedic literature by heart by hearing it from their preceptors, that it has been trans- mitted most faithfully to us through the course of the last 3000 years or more with little or no interpolations at all. The religious history of India had suffered considerable changes in the latter periods, since the time of the Vedic civilization, but such was the reverence paid to the Vedas that they had ever remained as the highest religious authority for all sections of the Hindus at all times. Even at this day all the obligatory duties of the Hindus at birth, marriage, death, etc., are performed according to the old

CH. ii] Classification of the Vedic literature 1 1

Vedic ritual. The prayers that a Brahmin now says three times a day are the same selections of Vedic verses as were used as prayer verses two or three thousand years ago. A little insight into the life of an ordinary Hindu of the present day will show that the system of image-worship is one that has been grafted upon his life, the regular obligatory duties of which are ordered according to the old Vedic rites. Thus an orthodox Brahmin can dispense with image-worship if he likes, but not so with his daily Vedic prayers or other obligatory ceremonies. Even at this day there are persons who bestow immense sums of money for the performance and teaching of Vedic sacrifices and rituals. Most of the Sanskrit literatures that flourished after the Vedas base upon them their own validity, and appeal to them as authority. Systems of Hindu philosophy not only own their alle- giance to the Vedas, but the adherents of each one of them would often quarrel with others and maintain its superiority by trying to prove that it and it alone was the faithful follower of the Vedas and represented correctly their views. The laws which regulate the social, legal, domestic and religious customs and rites of the Hindus even to the present day are said to be but mere systematized memories of old Vedic teachings, and are held to be obligatory on their authority. Even under British administration, in the inheritance of property, adoption, and in such other legal transactions, Hindu Law is followed, and this claims to draw its authority from the Vedas. To enter into details is unnecessary. But suffice it to say that the Vedas, far from being regarded as a dead literature of the past, are still looked upon as the origin and source of almost all literatures except purely secular poetry and drama. Thus in short we may say that in spite of the many changes that time has wrought, the orthodox Hindu life may still be regarded in the main as an adumbration of the Vedic life, which had never ceased to shed its light all through the past.

Classification of the Vedic literature.

A beginner who is introduced for the first time to the study of later Sanskrit literature is likely to appear somewhat confused when he meets with authoritative texts of diverse purport and subjects having the same generic name " Veda " or " Sruti " (from sru to hear) ; for Veda in its wider sense is not the name of any

1 2 The Vedas, Brahmanas and their Philosophy [ch.

particular book, but of the literature of a particular epoch ex- tending over a long period, say two thousand years or so. As this literature represents the total achievements of the Indian people in different directions for such a long period, it must of necessity be of a diversified character. If we roughly classify this huge literature from the points of view of age, language, and subject matter, we can point out four different types, namely the Sarnhita or collection of verses {sani together, hita put), Brah- manas, Aranyakas (" forest treatises ") and the Upanisads. All these literatures, both prose and verse, were looked upon as so holy that in early times it was thought almost a sacrilege to write them; they were therefore learnt by heart by the Brahmins from the mouth of their preceptors and were hence called sruti (liter- ally anything heard)^

The Samhitas.

There are four collections or Samhitas, namely Rg-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda and Atharva-Veda. Of these the Rg- Veda is probably the earliest. The Sama-Veda has practically no independent value, for it consists of stanzas taken (excepting only 75) entirely from the Rg-Veda, which were meant to be sung to certain fixed melodies, and may thus be called the book of chants. The Yajur-Veda however contains in addition to the verses taken from the Rg-Veda many original prose formulas. The arrangement of the verses of the Sama-Veda is solely with reference to their place and use in the Soma sacrifice; the con- tents of the Yajur-Veda are arranged in the order in which the verses were actually employed in the various religious sacrifices. It is therefore called the Veda of Yajus — sacrificial prayers. These may be contrasted with the arrangement in the Rg-Veda in this, that there the verses are generally arranged in accordance with the gods who are adored in them. Thus, for example, first we get all the poems addressed to Agni or the Fire-god, then all those to the god Indra and so on. The fourth collection, the Atharva- Veda, probably attained its present form considerably later than the Rg-Veda. In spirit, however, as Professor Macdonell says, " it is not only entirely different from the Rigveda but represents a much more primitive stage of thought. While the Rigveda deals almost exclusively with the higher gods as conceived by a com-

^ Panini, III. iii. 94.

ii] The Brahmanas 13

paratively advanced and refined sacerdotal c\'a.s,^,\}[\^Atharva-Veda is, in the main a book of spells and incantations appealing to the demon world, and teems with notions about witchcraft current among the lower grades of the population, and derived from an immemorial antiquity. These two, thus complementary to each other in contents are obviously the most important of the four Vedas\"

The Brahmanas^

After the Samhitas there grew up the theological treatises called the Brahmanas, which were of a distinctly different literary type. They are written in prose, and explain the sacred signi- ficance of the different rituals to those who are not already familiar with them. " They reflect," says Professor Macdonell, "the spirit of an age in which all intellectual activity is concen- trated on the sacrifice, describing its ceremonies, discussing its value, speculating on its origin and significance." These works are full of dogmatic assertions, fanciful symbolism and specu- lations of an unbounded imagination in the field of sacrificial details. The sacrificial ceremonials were probably never so elaborate at the time when the early hymns were composed. But when the collections of hymns were being handed down from generation to generation the ceremonials became more and more complicated. Thus there came about the necessity of the dis- tribution of the different sacrificial functions among several distinct classes of priests. We may assume that this was a period when the caste system was becoming established, and when the only thing which could engage wise and religious minds was sacrifice and its elaborate rituals. Free speculative thinking was thus subordinated to the service of the sacrifice, and the result was the production of the most fanciful sacramental and symbolic

^ A. A. Macdonell's History of Sanskrit Literature, p- 31-

^ Weber {Hist. Ind. Lit., p. 11, note) says that the word Brahmana signifies "that which relates to prayer brahman.'''' Max Mliller {S.B. E. I. p. Ixvi) says that Brah- mana meant "originally the sayings of Brahmans, whether in the general sense of priests, or in the more special sense of Brahman-priests." Eggeling (5. ^5 E.y.\\. Introd. p. xxii) says that the Brahmanas were so called "probably either because they were intended for the instruction and guidance of priests (brahman) generally ; or because they were, for the most part, the authoritative utterances of such as were thoroughly versed in Vedic and sacrificial lore and competent to act as Brahmans or superintend- ing priests. " But in view of the fact that the Brahmanas were also supposed to be as much revealed as the Vedas, the present writer thinks that Weber's view is the correct one.

14 The Vedas, Brahmanas and their Philosophy [ch.

system, unparalleled anywhere but among the Gnostics. It is now generally believed that the close of the Brahmana period was not later than 500 B.C.

The Aranyakas.

As a further development of the Brahmanas however we get the Aranyakas or forest treatises. These works were probably composed for old men who had retired into the forest and were thus unable to perform elaborate sacrifices requiring a multitude of accessories and articles which could not be procured in forests. In these, meditations on certain symbols were supposed to be of great merit, and they gradually began to supplant the sacrifices as being of a superior order. It is here that we find that amongst a certain section of intelligent people the ritualistic ideas began to give way, and philosophic speculations about the nature of truth became gradually substituted in their place. To take an illustration from the beginning of the Brhadaranyaka we find that instead of the actual performance of the horse sacrifice {asvamedhd) there are directions for meditating upon the dawn ( Usas) as the head of the horse, the sun as the eye of the horse, the air as its life, and so on. This is indeed a distinct advance- ment of the claims of speculation or meditation over the actual performance of the complicated ceremonials of sacrifice. The growth of the subjective speculation, as being capable of bringing the highest good, gradually resulted in the supersession of Vedic ritualism and the establishment of the claims of philosophic meditation and self-knowledge as the highest goal of life. Thus we find that the Aranyaka age was a period during which free thinking tried gradually to shake off the shackles of ritualism which had fettered it for a long time. It was thus that the Aranyakas could pave the way for the Upanisads, revive the germs of philosophic speculation in the Vedas, and develop them in a manner which made the Upanisads the source of all philo- sophy that arose in the world of Hindu thought.

The Rg-Veda, its civilization.

The hymns of the Rg-Veda are neither the productions of a single hand nor do they probably belong to any single age. They were composed probably at different periods by different sages, and it is not improbable that some of them were composed

ii] The J^g- Veda, its civilization 1 5

before the Aryan people entered the plains of India. They were handed down from mouth to mouth and gradually swelled through the new additions that were made by the poets of succeeding generations. It was when the collection had increased to a very considerable extent that it was probably arranged in the present form, or in some other previous forms to which the present arrangement owes its origin. They therefore reflect the civilization of the Aryan people at different periods of antiquity before and after they had come to India. This unique monument of a long vanished age is of great aesthetic value, and contains much that is genuine poetry. It enables us to get an estimate of the primitive society which produced it — the oldest book of the Aryan race. The principal means of sustenance were cattle-keeping and the cultivation of the soil with plough and harrow, mattock and hoe, and watering the ground when necessary with artificial canals. "The chief food consists," as Kaegi says, "together with bread, of various preparations of milk, cakes of flour and butter, many sorts of vegetables and fruits; meat cooked on the spits or in pots, is little used, and was probably eaten only at the great feasts and family gatherings. Drinking plays throughout a much more im- portant part than eating ^" The wood-worker built war-chariots and wagons, as also more delicate carved works and artistic cups. Metal-workers, smiths and potters continued their trade. The women understood the plaiting of mats, weaving and sewing ; they manufactured the wool of the sheep into clothing for men and covering for animals. The group of individuals forming a tribe was the highest political unit; each of the different families forming a tribe was under the sway of the father or the head of the family. Kingship was probably hereditary and in some cases electoral. Kingship was nowhere absolute, but limited by the will of the people. Most developed ideas of justice, right and law, were present in the country. Thus Kaegi says, "the hymns strongly prove how deeply the prominent minds in the people were persuaded that the eternal ordinances of the rulers of the world were as inviolable in mental and moral matters as in the realm of nature, and that every wrong act, even the unconscious, was punished and the sin expiatedl" Thus it is only right and proper to think that the Aryans had attained a pretty high degree

^ The Rigveda, by Kaegi, 1886 edition, p. 13. ^ Ibid. p. 18.

1 6 The VedaSy Brahmanas and their Philosophy [ch.

of civilization, but nowhere was the sincere spirit of the Aryans more manifested than in religion, which was the most essential and dominant feature of almost all the hymns, except a few secular ones. Thus Kaegi says, " The whole significance of the Rigveda in reference to the general history of religion, as has repeatedly been pointed out in modern times, rests upon this, that it presents to us the development of religious conceptions from the earliest beginnings to the deepest apprehension of the godhead and its relation to man\"

The Vedic Gods.

The hymns of the Rg-Veda were almost all composed in praise of the gods. The social and other materials are of secondary importance, as these references had only to be mentioned inci- dentally in giving vent to their feelings of devotion to the god. The gods here are however personalities presiding over the diverse powers of nature or forming their very essence. They have therefore no definite, systematic and separate characters like the Greek gods or the gods of the later Indian mythical works, the Puranas. The powers of nature such as the storm, the rain, the thunder, are closely associated with one another, and the gods associated with them are also similar in character. The same epithets are attributed to different gods and it is only in a few specific qualities that they differ from one another. In the later mythological compositions of the Puranas the gods lost their character as hypostatic powers of nature, and thus became actual personalities and characters having their tales of joy and sorrow like the mortal here below. The Vedic gods may be contrasted with them in this, that they are of an impersonal nature, as the characters they display are mostly but expressions of the powers of nature. To take an example, the fire or Agni is described, as Kaegi has it, as one that " lies concealed in the softer wood, as in a chamber, until, called forth by the rubbing in the early morning hour, he suddenly springs forth in gleaming brightness. The sacrificer takes and lays him on the wood. When the priests pour melted butter upon him, he leaps up crackling and neighing like a horse — he whom men love to see increasing like their own prosperity. They wonder at him, when, decking himself with

' The Rigveda, by Kaegi, p. 26.

ii] Polytheism, Henotheism and Monotheism 1 7

changing colors like a suitor, equally beautiful on all sides, he

presents to all sides his front.

All-searching is his beam, the gleaming of his light, His, the all-beautiful, of beauteous face and glance, The changing shimmer like that floats upon the stream, So Agni's rays gleam over bright and never cease ^."

R. V. T. 143. 3.

They would describe the wind (Vata) and adore him and say

" In what place was he born, and from whence comes he ? The vital breath of gods, the world's great offspring, The God where'er he will moves at his pleasure : His rushing sound we hear — what his appearance, no one^."

R. V. X. 168. 3, 4.

It was the forces of nature and her manifestations, on earth here, the atmosphere around and above us, or in the Heaven beyond the vault of the sky that excited the devotion and imagination of the Vedic poets. Thus with the exception of a few abstract gods of whom we shall presently speak and some dual divinities, the gods may be roughly classified as the terres- trial, atmospheric, and celestial.

Polytheism, Henotheism and Monotheism.

The plurality of the Vedic gods may lead a superficial enquirer to think the faith of the Vedic people polytheistic. But an in- telligent reader will find here neither polytheism nor monotheism but a simple primitive stage of belief to which both of these may be said to owe their origin. The gods here do not preserve their proper places as in a polytheistic faith, but each one of them shrinks into insignificance or shines as supreme according as it is the object of adoration or not. The Vedic poets were the children of nature. Every natural phenomenon excited their wonder, admiration or veneration. The poet is struck with wonder that " the rough red cow gives soft white milk." The appearance or the setting of the sun sends a thrill into the minds of the Vedic sage and with wonder-gazing eyes he exclaims:

" Undropped beneath, not fastened firm, how comes it That downward turned he falls not downward ? The guide of his ascending path, — who saw it*?" R. V. iv. 13. 5.

The sages wonder how " the sparkling waters of all rivers flow into one ocean without ever filling it." The minds of the Vedic

' The Rigveda, by Kaegi, p. 35. ^ Ibid. p. 38.

D. 2

1 8 The Vedas, Brahmanas and their Philosophy [ch.

people as we find in the hymns were highly impressionable and fresh. At this stage the time was not ripe enough for them to accord a consistent and well-defined existence to the multitude of gods nor to universalize them in a monotheistic creed. They hypostatized unconsciously any force of nature that overawed them or filled them with gratefulness and joy by its beneficent or aesthetic character, and adored it. The deity which moved the de- votion or admiration of their mind was the most supreme for the time. This peculiar trait of the Vedic hymns Max Miiller has called Henotheism or Kathenotheism : " a belief in single gods, each in turn standing out as the highest. And since the gods are thought of as specially ruling in their own spheres, the singers, in their special concerns and desires, call most of all on that god to whom they ascribe the most power in the matter, — to whose department if I may say so, their wish belongs. This god alone is present to the mind of the suppliant ; with him for the time being is associated every- thing that can be said of a divine being; — he is the highest, the only god, before whom all others disappear, there being in this, however, no offence or depreciation of any other god \" " Against this theory it has been urged," as Macdonell rightly says in his Vedic Myth- ology"^, "that Vedic deities are not represented * as independent of all the rest,' since no religion brings its gods into more frequent and varied juxtaposition and combination, and that even the mightiest gods of the Veda are made dependent on others. Thus Varuna and Surya are subordinate to Indra (i. loi), Varuna and the A^vins submit to the power of Visnu (i. 156).... Even when a god is spoken of as unique or chief {ekd), as is natural enough in laudations, such statements lose their temporarily monotheistic force, through the modifications or corrections supplied by the con- text or even by the same versed" " Henotheism is therefore an appearance," says Macdonell, "rather than a reality, an appearance produced by the indefiniteness due to undeveloped anthropo- morphism, by the lack of any Vedic god occupying the position of a Zeus as the constant head of the pantheon, by the natural tendency of the priest or singer in extolling a particular god to exaggerate his greatness and to ignore other gods, and by the

^ The Rigveda, by Kaegi, p. 27.

' See Ibid. p. 33. See also Arrowsmith's note on it for other references to Heno- theism.

' Macdonell's Vedic Mythology, pp. 16, 17.

ii] Growth of a Monotheistic tendency 19

growing belief in the unity of the gods (cf the refrain of 3, 35) each of whom might be regarded as a type of the divineV But whether we call it Henotheism or the mere temporary exaggera- tion of the powers of the deity in question, it is evident that this stage can neither be properly called polytheistic nor monotheistic, but one which had a tendency towards them both, although it was not sufficiently developed to be identified with either of them. The tendency towards extreme exaggeration could be called a monotheistic bias in germ, whereas the correlation of different deities as independent of one another and yet existing side by side was a tendency towards polytheism.

Growth of a Monotheistic tendency; Prajapati, Visvakarma. This tendency towards extolling a god as the greatest and highest gradually brought forth the conception of a supreme Lord of all beings (Prajapati), not by a process of conscious generalization but as a necessary stage of development of the mind, able to imagine a deity as the repository of the highest moral and physical power, though its direct manifestation cannot be per- ceived. Thus the epithet Prajapati or the Lord of beings, which was originally an epithet for other deities, came to be recognized as a separate deity, the highest and the greatest. Thus it is said in R. V. x. 1212;

In the beginning rose Hiranyagarbha,

Born as the only lord of all existence.

This earth he settled firm and heaven established :