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ARYANS AND NON-ARYANS
just as the Himalayan mountain glacier is the fountain from
which pour the life-giving waters of the five rivers of the
Aryan holy land, so Siva as well as Vishnu had a dual aspect.
He was lord (^) both of life (^) and of death. Parvati, or Uma, the
fair daughter of Himalaya, and the sjonbol of spring, once a
year lured Siva from his profound meditation, caused his
snow-white mantle to melt partially away, and decked the
mountain slopes with bridal garlands. Siva was the horizontal
arm of the cosmic cross containing the sunrise and the sunset. He was^ Creator^ and^ Destroyer. The circle which contained
both ends of the cross was the wheel of life and the serpent of
reincarnation. Oriental scholars have long sought to discover by way of
philological research at what period of Indian history the two
great schools of modem Hinduism, the Saiva and Vaishnava,
had their starting-point, and, taking their stand upon philo-
logical data only, have drawn a hard-and-fast distinction
between the Hindu and Vedic religion because the names of
Brahma, Vishnu, and^ Siva do not come into^ prominence^ until
a late period of Sanskrit literature. But philology taken (^) by
itself cannot show the relationship between the word and
the idea or give the symbol representing a religious concept
its proper place in the daily life of a people. Names are
constantly changing with the development of old ideas, though
all the powers of nature which suggest those ideas to the
human mind remain unchanged.
The tangle of terminology in which, to the Western mind,
Indian religious thought is involved may be unravelled by the
study of the symbolism contained in its ritual, which has
remained fixed in its association with the cosmic forces
worshipped by the ancient Aryans in spite of all terminological
changes. The symbol of the cosmic cross, the^ wheel^ of^ life,^ or
four-petalled lotus-flower shown^ overleaf,^ which^ is embodied
in the plan of the Indo-Aryan^ village^ and^ temple,^ contains
the four^ fundamental^ concepts^ upon^ which^ all^ Hindu^ religious
cults have been built from the remotest Vedic period down
to the present day, whether they represented the earliest
ARYAN RULE IN INDIA
Aryan nature-worship or the esoteric philosophy^ which grew
out of it. And just as Birth and Death,^ I,ife^ and^ Eternity,
symbolised by sunrise and sunset, noon^ and^ midnight,^ are
always immutable^ factors^ in^ the^ history^ of^ human^ thought, so the historian may disregard the time when a^ particular
(NORTH) ETERNITY NARAYANA fVARUNA 1sOMA&-c.
(WEST)
DEATH SIVA J RUDRA I YAMA^ arc.
,,''-"
ARYAN RULE IN INDIA
Vishnu, popularly, was a deified hero, a great Kshatriya
teacher, reincarnated from time to time to instruct the Aryan
race and lead them to victory ; Siva was an ascetic whose
hermitage was fixed in some mountain cavern amidst Hima-
layan ice and snow, where through the third eye of spiritual
insight all the secrets of the universe were made known to him.
Great as the achievements of the Aryan philosopher^ un-
doubtedly were in the field of abstract thought, they were
not more remarkable than the success of a small colony of
people, vastly outnumbered by the congeries of different races
which India has probably always contained, in welding^ together
these heterogeneous elements intellectually, socially, and
politically in the organisation of the village communities^ ;
so that^ though^ each political, social, and^ racial unit^ retained
its own individuality, India became a synthesis of people with common traditions of polity and religion living together
within the Aryan pale. The result was not less remarkable
because several of the non-Aryan elements, especially the
Dravidian, made great intellectual contributions to the common
fund, and^ because^ the^ Aryan^ racial^ type never^ became^ very
widely distributed over the whole of India. Ethnographic
investigations show that the Indo-Aryan type described in
the Hindu^ epics—a tall,^ fair-complexioned,^ long-headed^ race,
with narrow, prominent noses, broad shoulders, long arms,
slim waists "like a lion," and thin legs like a deer—^is now
(as it was in the earliest^ times)^ mostly^ confined to Kashmir,
the Panjab and Rajputana, and represented by the Khattris,
Jats, and^ Rajputs.
CHAPTER II
THE EPIC AGE
THERE is^ no^ record^ of^ any^ striking^ event^ like^ the^ landing of Hengist and Horsa at Ebbsfleet, from which we
can date the beginning of Indian history. All that
can be gathered from philological evidence is that at some
remote period, reckoned from between 3000 and 1000 B.C.
or earlier, a number of Aryan tribes whose poets sang the sacrificial hymns of the Rig-Veda, dedicated to the powers of nature—^the Sun, the Sky, the Rain-spirit, the Storm-wind, vSoma the Moon, the Fire-spirit—and to the Unknown God who created^ all^ things,^ had^ established^ themselves^ in^ North- western India, in the districts now contained by the Panjab
and Eastern Afghanistan, which they called Brahmavarta,
the Holy I^and^ or^ I^and^ of^ Prayer.^ They^ were^ divided^ into
clans, of which the Kshatriyas formed the aristocracy and
priesthood, the Brahmans being as yet merely assistants at
the tribal sacrifices. The lower orders, which, though more
or less mixed in^ race, were classed as Aryans, were engaged
in trade and^ agriculture.^ The^ organisation^ of^ the^ village cormnunities was already essentially complete. Each village managed its own affairs through its council of elders, and the
assembly of the whole people elected its war-lord to lead
the tribe, or federation of tribes. Wars between^ the^ different
Aryan tribes as well as struggles with the non-Aryan '^ bar-
barians,' the Dasyus or Dasas, were frequent, but as in the
former case it was a fixed principle that war should not be
made merely for acquisition of territory, and^ that a conquered
Aryan king should not be deposed^ but^ should^ become^ the
tributary of his conqueror, tribal^ quarrels^ probably^ did^ not
greatly disturb Aryan social^ order^ :^ these^ inter-tribal^ wars
C 33
THE EPIC AGE
The principal^ political^ development^ of^ this^ epoch^ was^ the
gradual consolidation of the small tribal confederations which
characterised the Vedic period into considerable states ruled by hereditary dynasties. The explanation^ of the origin^ of
kingship given in the Mahabharata is the state of anarchy into
which Aryavarta had fallen owing to the absence of a strong
ruling hand to enforce social laws, and to the neglect of Aryan
tradition, which no doubt followed the frequent admission
of aliens to the privileges of freemen, as the Aryans gradually
spread themselves further over the country. But in Aryan
polity the divine right of kings was never recognised as a
personal attribute of the monarch, belonging to himself and
his family. He had no right except that which was conferred
upon him by Aryan law, and he could be fined or deposed by
the General Assembly of the freemen, or by the Council of Ministers, if (^) he neglected his duties (^) as king (^) or offended (^) against
that law. The hereditary principle was recognised as a safe-
guard for the maintenance of Aryan tradition, the king's
family being regarded as the one amongst the others of the
ruling class which should be most expert in the duties of
kingship. Theoretically the king should be chosen from the
Kshatriya class, as being that which by birth and training was best prepared for the responsibilities of royalty ; but the
rule was by no means a fixed one,^ and even a Sudra might in
time of war win his way to the throne by virtue of his miUtary
prowess. The king's chief duty was the protection of the
State. He should "^ first subdue himself and then seek to subdue his foes. How should a king^ who^ has not^ been able to conquer his own self be able to conquer his foes? "^ ^^ "In the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness : in their
welfare his welfare : whatever pleases himself he should not
consider as good." ^^ In his coronation oath, which he was
to take "mentally, physically, and verbally,"^ he swore to see
to the advantage of the State, "^ considering^ always^ as^ God
whatever is law and whatever is in accordance with ethics and
(^1) Mahabharata, Raja dharmanu Qasana Pavva, Sect. I/XIX, 4. ' (^) KauHliya-artha-Sastra, "^ The Duties of a King," chap. xix.
ARYAN RULE IN INDIA
whatever is not opposed to policy. I will act according to
that and will never act arbitrarily." ^
The so-called modern ideal of kingship is, in fact, as old
as Indian civilisation. According to Aryan law the king held
the same position in the macrocosm of the State as the grdmam or headman of the village community did in his smaller sphere. He was (^) bound to consult his ministers, who, like the elders of the village, were representative of all the five classes of
freemen, and were selected for their knowledge of Aryan tradi-
tion to advise the king in all important affairs of State, and to
assist him in the administration of Aryan law.
There is no detailed account of the exact constitution of
the king's council (^) given in the epics,^ but in the fully organised
Aryan state described in the oldest Aryan law-books the
ministers were generally ten in number—or eleven including
the crown prince. The first minister of the Crown was the
royal Purohita or chaplain, whose qualifications were to be
equal to his high position. He was the king's chief spiritual
adviser, and should be competent "^ both to curse and bless."
Besides being learned in the Vedas and versed in Mantras and
sacred rites, a man of great strength of character and strict
morals, so that^ even^ the^ king^ should fear his anger and hsten
to his correction, he was to be thoroughly versed in politics
and diplomacy, should know the science of archery in all its branches, and be a master^ of^ military^ arms and tactics. The Pratinidhi, ' the Deputy '^ or viceroy, who came next in rank
and emoluments, was a kind of privy councillor who, if the
king failed^ to^ listen^ to^ good^ advice,^ should^ "^ go on^ explaining."^
The Pradhdna was the president of the council, who apportioned to each member his special share of work. Next came the Sachiva, or War Minister,^ the^ Mantri, or Foreign Minister, the Prddvivdka, or Chief (^) Justice, the Pandit, (^) the Sumantra, or Finance Minister, the Amdtya, or Home Minister, and (^) lastly,
- (^) Mahabharata, Santi Parva. ' In the Ramayana there were eight (^) councillors—two Brahman .spiritual advisers and an executive council of six. ' (^) Sukrd-nitisdra, translated by Benoy (^) Kumar Sarkar, M.A., chap, ii, (^) p.
3^
ARYAN RULE IN INDIA
and South Bihar; and the kingdom of Kasi, the modern
Benares. Besides these kingdoms there were numerous^ con-
federations of tribes in which regal authority was^ exercised
not by a single ruler but by a council of noble families, and
other states whose political organisation was purely repub-
lican, the General Assembly and its executive committees
controlling all the affairs of the community. But whether the
central authority was monarchical, an oligarchy, or republican,
the village was the political unit of the State, and the rights
of (^) the soil were vested in the family of the freeman who cut away the wood or (^) who cleared and tilled it, the State receiving its taxes as remuneration for the protection it afforded him,
but the freeman remaining owner of the land, as he continued
to (^) be in (^) Rajputana down to modern times.
^
A natural consequence of the consolidation of the Aryan
tribal system into these larger states and kingdoms was the
gradual development of the village settlements into large
towns and cities planned on the same principles in which the
different wards, or village units, were grouped rotmd the
royal palace and citadel. The royal capitals became industrial
and trading centres, the duties imposed upon merchandise
forming part of the State revenue. The Indus and other great
waterways upon which the early Aryan settlements were
placed were important trade routes linking together the military roads maintained by the State, along which passed
the caravans laden with gold, precious stones, and spices from
Southern India which added to the magnificence and luxury
of the royal courts of Aryavarta as well as those of Western
Asia (^) and Europe. And (^) as the Brahmans gradually became
the custodians of Aryan traditions and culture, the asram,
or Brahman village, developed into the university town to
which Aryan youth of the twice-born classes went for instruc-
tion. But while the seaports, the halting-places for caravans,
and the centralisation of government, all tended to promote the
growth of city life, it always remained a characteristic of
Aryan (^) culture that the greatness of (^) the city—^which was the
- (^) Tod, Annals (^) of Rajast'han, (^) p. 492.
THE EPIC AGE
product of the vitality of the village—and its political^ influence
never restricted the independence of the latter or narrowed its
outlook upon life.
The increasing influence of the Brahman aristocracy began
to have very important consequences, both politically and
socially. For not only did the Brahmans, as experts in sacri-
ficial lore, obtain the respect due to religious teachers, but
they also challenged the supremacy of the Kshatriyas, the
political and military leaders, on the ground that the strict
discipline of mind and body which was a fundamental principle
of Aryan philosophy was as indispensable for success in war
and politics as it was for the spiritual development of those
who (^) sought divine truth. The Brahman university became
a school of arms and military tactics, diplomacy and political
science ; and just as Drona in the Mahabharata was the
Brahman instructor of the Pandava heroes in the use of the bow and other weapons of war, so the Brahman diplomatist and politician (^) became the chief among the ministers who
formed the royal council.
It must be admitted that, theoretically at least, there was
much force in the Brahman contention. The attempt to enforce
ethical considerations in the conduct of State policy, which
was the justification of the position of the Purohita at the
right hand of the War-lord, was the ground upon which the
Christian Church in Europe asserted its claim for temporal
power and privileges. In both cases the success or failure
of the attempt depended almost (^) as much upon the conscience
of the people as upon the integrity and sincerity of their rulers.
The Brahmans, however, as a class, never claimed for themselves
the prerogatives of the kingly office, but only special rights
as the king's philosopher and friend. The laws^ of Manu,^ a
code drawn up by and for the Brahmans,^ distinctly^ reserves
for Kshatriyas the power and position of sovereignty as defined
by Aryan tradition. Nevertheless the feeling of rivalry be-
tween the two sections of Aryan aristocracy became stronger
and stronger as their respective social positions and spheres of
influence became more clearly defined. The Kshatriyas were
THE EPIC AGE
kingdoms under a powerful central government. The sum- mary of the philosophy of the Upanishads, given as a divine
revelation by the guru of the Pandavas, Krishna, forms a
rehgious nucleus interpreting the spiritual meaning of the
fateful struggle, and numerous legends with a moral or
religious purpose and monologues expounding the principles
of Aryan polity are interwoven with the main plot of the
epic. The significance of the distinction (^) between the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata, that the former records the history
of the Surya-vamsa, the race of Surya, and the latter that of
the Chandra-vamsa, the race of Chandra, is worth considera-
tion. The conventional view is that of Indian court poets
and astrologers, that (^) Rama had an imaginary pedigree going
back to the Sun-god, Surya, and that the Pandavas and
Kauravas were reputed to be descendants of Chandra, the
Moon. There may be real history behind this poetic fancy if (^) the symbolism is rightly understood. The expression Surya-putra, 'the son of (^) Surya,' or (^) Chandra-putra, 'the son of Chandra,' when appUed to human beings, refers to their
spiritual and not their earthly father, or, in other words, to
their patron deity, or Ishta-devata (^) ; just as the Gangd-putras— an inferior class of Brahmans who now attend to the wants of pilgrims at Benares—are not sons of Ganga in the literal
sense, but her servants or devotees.
The Surya-vamsa, Rama's family, were worshippers of
Surya, while^ the Pandavas and Kauravas were worshippers
of Chandra. Surya was the chief deity of the Aryans in Baby-
lonia in the second millennium before Christ,^ so we may assume that the Aryan king of the Mitanni, Dushratta, who
ruled in Babylon at that time, was one of the Surya-vamsa.
It is not therefore surprising to find it recorded in the Rama-
yana that Dasharatha, of the royal house of Ajodhya, also
had Surya as his Ishta-devata. Vishnu-Surya was the patron
deity of the Kshatriyas, while Chandra- or Soma-worship
was a Brahmanical cult closely connected with that of Siva.
(^1) Hall's Ancient History (^) of the Near East, (^) p. 201.
ARYAN RULE IN INDIA
The distinction between the Surya-vamsa and Chandra-vamsa
of the Ramayana (^) and Mahabharata was therefore analogous
to that which divides the two main groups of Hinduism, the
Vaishnava and Saiva, in the present day.
It is not without significance that in the Mahabharata, Siva
is put forward as (^) the divine story-teller who records the history
of the Pandavas and Kauravas. The fact that Krishna, the
incarnation of Vishnu, is made their guru, or spiritual teacher,
suggests an attempt on the part of the pandits of a Vaishnava
court to unite the Surya-vamsa and Chandra-vamsa in a new
school representing a later development of Kshatriya doctrine ;
for the two schools were always intermingling and constantly
borrowing from each other.
The Ramayana is probably older than the Mahabharata as an epic, but the events recorded in it may have followed
those of the Great War. It is the first literary record of the
passing of the Aryans beyond the Vindhya Mountains, the
southern boundary of Aryavarta, and their penetration by
armed force into Southern India. According to the story the
leader of the expedition was Rama, a prince of Ajodhya, who,
like Krishna, is regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu. He,
and his devoted wife Sita, an ideal type of Indian womanhood,
were banished, like the Pandava brothers, by a court intrigue,
and went to a forest hermitage beyond the Vindhya Moimtains
on the banks of the Godavari, accompanied by Rama's faithful
companion, his half-brother lyakshman. There, during the absence of Rama on a hunting expedition, Sita was abducted by the barbarian king of Ceylon, Ravana, described as a magician of terrific strength and skill. (^) Rama thereupon roused
the Aryan clans, and, gathering under his standard a great force
of semi-civilised but brave aboriginal tribes of the South,
he crossed over the straits which separate Ceylon from the
mainland, stormed the demon-king's stronghold, (^) and, having
rescued Sita, came back in triumph to Ajodhya, where he
was crowned as king in his father's place.
It should^ be^ remembered^ that the two Indo-Aryan epics
belong to Kshatriya literature and record the prowess of the
ARYAN RULE IN INDIA
research in India has only recently begun to penetrate beneath
the surface of the ground. Another is the fact that the tropical
climate of India (^) is much more active than that of Europe in (^) obliterating the traces (^) of civilised life, while the tracts of
desert sand in Rajputana and elsewhere which might, as in
Egypt, preserve the remains of buried cities for an indefinite
period, have not yet been explored.
CHAPTER III
THE BUDDHA AS A STATESMAN AND
SOCIAL REFORMER
WE
come now out of that misty period, the Vedic and
Epic ages, in^ which^ chronological^ points^ are vaguely
fixed by millenniums and centuries instead (^) of by
years, to the sixth century before the Christian era, from which
time a more or less complete sequence of chronological data has
been (^) collected by the labours of Oriental scholars and archaeo- logists. (^) From the Brahmanical (^) point of view the advent of
the Buddha, about the year 563 B.C., was the starting-point
of the great heresy which obscured the divine light of Vedic
revelation, and hastened the fatal progress of Aryavarta along
the paths of unrighteousness, which will not be arrested
until at the end of the Kali age Vishnu's tenth avatar,
Kalkin, comes riding on a white horse, sword in hand, to
destroy iniquity and restore the divine rule of righteousness
and truth.
That Gautama Buddha disputed orthodox Brahmanical theories of the universe as the leader of a new reHgious sect was no new or startling event in Aryavarta. Aryan religion was already a synthesis of ideas, not a single^ dogma of belief. There was no subject more freely debated by Aryan (^) thinkers than the great problems of human existence (^) ; provided that
his theory conformed to accepted laws of logic and stood the
test of debate, anyone could obtain a hearing in the public
disputations which took place under the village council tree,
in the temple porch, or in the palace of the king, so that new
sects and schools of philosophy grew almost spontaneously
on Indian soil, though few survived the struggle for existence.
Nor was the Buddha philosophically an entirely original
THE BUDDHA ideal of purity^ and^ altruism^ set^ forth^ in^ the^ laws^ of^ Manu
and accepted^ as^ the^ guiding^ principle^ of^ Brahmanhood,^ or^ if
it had been possible to restrict the privileges of the order to
those who were fully qualified to exercise them, their exploita-
tion of the universal belief in the magical powers of the
mantram, whether that belief were justified^ or not, might
have been at the lowest reckoning^ harmless^ and^ at the highest
a strong incentive^ to the growth^ of^ moral^ and^ religious^ life
in the whole community. Even modern medical science, which
has generally detached itself entirely from religious dogmas,
has begun to revert to psychological remedies for the ills of
the flesh, and the Sanskrit mantram as a form of prayer might be as acceptable to God as any^ other^ if^ the^ spirit^ which dictated
it were truly religious. But the Brahmanical theory of the
mantram implied that it contained in itself a divine principle,
and the compelling power of the Deity Itself, though its use
by ignorant or ill-disposed persons would be ineffectual or disastrous to themselves. ''The rule^ of^ life^ which^ the^ Brahman
was presumed to follow was designed to prevent the abuse
of the power of the mantram, but so long as Brahmanhood
depended in the first instance entirely^ upon^ the^ accident of birth
it woiild obviously fail^ in^ its^ purpose,^ and^ the^ influence^ exercised
by unscrupiilous^ or^ ignorant^ priests^ was^ bound^ to^ encourage
superstition among the masses, and to become a hindrance
to civiUsation as well as a source of exaction and cruelty. "
'
Another instrument of tyranny and deception placed in the ]
hands of the Brahmans was the^ Aryan^ belief^ in^ the divine '•
power of sacrifice^^ which^ had^ come^ down^ from^ the^ earliest Vedic times. In the course of many centuries the performance of sacrificial rites had grown into a fine art, which the Brahman experts were not slow to use for their personal advantage,
for the efficacy of the sacrifice was^ said^ to^ depend^ largely^ upon
the hberality of the indispensable^ dakshina,^ or^ reward,^ bestowed
upon the officiating priests and their servants. I^ike the
mantram, the application of Vedic sacrificial ritual extended
to every concern of public and private life, great and small.
The purity and divine power of the Brahman was said to
ARYAN RULE IN INDIA
be implicit in the fact that sacrificial rites were performed for
his benefit from the time of conception in his mother's womb
until his body was consigned to the bosom of holy Ganga or
consumed in the funeral (^) pyre. And not only did public
sacrifices and the worship of tribal deities involve a vast
expenditure of State revenues, but the household rites for
which the services of Brahmans were generally necessary grew
more and more numerous and complicated. (^) Some of the great
State ceremonies, such as the king's consecration and the
horse sacrifice performed to secure victory and the welfare
of the kingdom, absorbed the (^) whole attention of the court functionaries for over a year, required the attendance of
thousands of Brahmans and a corresponding bountiful dis-
tribution of largesse, besides inordinate feasting and wholesale
slaughter of animals.
The due fulfilment of domestic sacrificial rites was equally
onerous for^ the Aryan^ householder.^ Besides the ordinary
daily rites at which the householder himself presided there
were endless sacrificial^ ceremonies^ which required the attend-
ance of Brahman experts. There were sacrifices for obtaining
male offspring ; birth sacrifices which had to be repeated
every month ; sacrifices of feeding,^ naming, piercing the ears,
shaving the beard, and investiture with the sacred thread
;
and numerous others connected with ordinary daily events
or with marriage and death ceremonies. The indiscriminate
slaughter of animals^ and^ the^ free^ indulgence^ in^ the^ intoxicating
juice of the soma plant associated with Vedic ritual involved
the tacit recognition by the Aryan priesthood of many bloody
and obscene orgies of^ the^ uncivilised^ non-Aryan^ tribes, in which
human victims were frequently sacrificed. Another superstition—^though not by any means the exclu- sive property of the Brahman^ class—^which the Buddha came to attack^ was^ the^ practice^ of^ tapas,^ or^ self-torture,^ by which it was believed that both gods and men acquired spiritual insight and command^ over the forces of nature. Sitting
between five fires,^ or^ upon^ an^ ant-heap^ in^ the forest, standing
Upon one^ leg^ and^ holding^ an^ arm^ above the head until the