CHAPTER II.

THE RISE OF BRAHMANISM-THE LAWS OF MANU.

§ 1. The rise of the power of the Bráhmans. § 2. The Laws of Manu. § 3. Their date. § 4. Manu's caste-system. § 5. The Government. § 6. The Village system. § 7. The Administration of Justice. § 8. Religion and Manners.

§ 1. The Rise of the Bráhmans.-The Aryan conquest of Hindustán, effected during the period treated of in the Mahábhárata and the Ramáyána, was mainly carried out whilst the Bráhmans were employed as mere animal sacrificers, and before they had attained political power..During the rise of the Aryan-Hindu empires the Bráhmans may have occasionally struggled to assert their supremacy; but in so doing they met with considerable opposition from the Mahárájás. In the early times the latter were their own priests; and marriage rites were performed, not by a Bráhman, but by the father of the bride. Gradually, as the Aryan conquests became more settled, and wealth and luxury increased, sacrifices became larger and the Mahárájás began to employ priests as their substitutes in religious ceremonies. In this way the Bráhmans came to be regarded as the medium of communication between the people and their gods. They seem to have practised astrology, and to have assumed the possession of supernatural powers. Finally they asserted for themselves a divine origin from Bráhma, the Creator, whom they now exalted above all the Vaidik deities; and consequently took upon themselves to put down the popular gods, to prescribe new religious doctrines, and to introduce numerous rites of purification and consecration. They were now necessarily present at the ceremonies in connection with every birth, marriage, and death. The prayers and incantations of the Bráhmans were supposed to be always necessary to insure the long life and prosperity of individuals and families; to procure a favourable seed-time and an abundant harvest; to promote the success of every

undertaking; to purify the water of wells and strengthen the foundation of dwelling-houses; and to ward off every danger. In this way they gradually acquired that power over the minds of the people which was shown in the Laws of Manu (the Mánava Dharma Sústra), and which made them the most despotic priesthood ever known in history.

§ 2. The Laws of Manu.-The Laws of Manu are one of the Smritis, or Dharmasástras. They were compiled long after the full establishment of the power of the Bráhmans, and hence labour to magnify that power in every way. They afford a good general view of the state of India and of Indian society, as it existed from that period to the time of the Buddhist rule-i.e. for several centuries before 300 B.C.

§ 3. Their Date.—The actual date of compilation was probably about 300 years B.C., or even later; indeed, it is expressly stated in Manu that extensive portions of India and powerful kingdoms were in the hands of heretics, obviously referring to the Buddhists (see Chap. V.). The Aryans had now conquered the whole of Hindustán from Gujarát to Bengal; but the Bráhmans had not probably advanced further to the east than Kanauj, on the Ganges. The Aryans were directed to choose their Bráhman preceptors from Brahmárshi-Desa, the country of Bráhman Rishis.

§ 4. Manu's Caste System.-The distinct and authoritative settlement of the early caste system is one of the most prominent features of the Laws of Manu. The four castes were: (1) the Bráhman, or priestly caste; (2) the Kshatriya, or military caste; (3) the Vaisya, or industrial caste; (4) the Sudra, or servile caste. The three first castes were called 'twice-born'; and all the laws tend to their elevation and to the depression of the Sudras. The most striking points in the caste system as it existed at the times of these laws were:

First, the extraordinary dignity and sanctity accorded

to the Bráhmans, for whose good all other persons and all things were thought to be made; some of their privileges were also enjoyed, but in a far smaller degree, by the Kshatriyas and Vaisyas.

Secondly, the bitter contempt and even hatred felt and displayed against Sudras; their only duty was to serve the other castes, and especially the Bráhmans; but, if they were unable to obtain any service, then they were allowed to earn a precarious subsistence (but never to get rich) by means of handicrafts. This degraded condition of the Sudras seems to indicate that they were the remains of conquered races, the conquerors being the 'twice-born.'

Thirdly, the absence of any provision for the regular performance of the mechanical arts and handicrafts, when the Sudras were able to find service as prescribed in the law.

It may be noted that the Kshatriya and Vaisya castes are said by some to be now extinct; though the Rájpúts and a few other tribes claim to be descended from the former, and a few industrial tribes call themselves Vaisyas. The great majority of Hindus at the present day belong to castes unknown in the time of Manu (see Introduction, § 92).

§ 5. The Government.-The government in the various States was under a Rájá, whose power was despotic, according to the arrangements of Manu, except that he was bound to abide by the advice of the Bráhmans. It is a noteworthy fact that as the power of the Bráhmans increased, the jurisdiction of the Rájás became more despotic. Under the king were the lords of 1,000 villages; under each of the latter were lords of 100 villages-the hundred villages corresponding to what is now called a Parganah. Under these, again, were the headmen of the villages, the Mandals or Patels; and all these officers were regarded as officers of the Rájá.

§ 6. The Village System of Manu.-In the village communities the system of administration seems to have been almost identical with that which has prevailed in

India for ages. The headman settled with the Rájá the sum to be paid as revenue, apportioned these payments amongst the villagers, and was answerable for the payments and for the good conduct of the village, He held a portion of land rent-free, and he also received fees from the villagers, and was sometimes paid a salary by the Government. In all disputes he acted as umpire, assisted by arbitrators named by the disputants. The headman was assisted by various other officials, of whom the chief were the accountant and the watchman; all these officials were paid by fees, by assignments of rent-free land, and sometimes by salaries.

§ 7. The Administration of Justice.-The Laws of Manu regarding crimes were very rude, but not cruel; those regarding property were fair and good; and in both, directions were given about the most minute matters of daily life. The worst points were the favour shown to the higher castes and the oppression of the Sudras.

§ 8. Religion and Manners.-High regard for immemorial custom is an important feature in the Laws of Manu. The marriage laws were fair and just. The wife was commanded strictly to obey her husband, and other women to obey their natural guardians; but every provision was made for the welfare of the female sex. Bráhmans were ordered to divide their lives into four portions; in their youth they were to be students, and to observe celibacy; in the second portion of their lives they were to live with their wives as householders, and discharge the ordinary duties of Bráhmans; in the third portion they were to live as hermits in the woods, and submit to very severe penances; in the fourth they were to engage solely in contemplation, and were freed from all ceremonial observances. The arts of life in this period, though still in a simple state, were not rude; and the numerous professions spoken of (goldsmiths, carvers, artists, &c.) show that the people possessed most things necessary to civilisation.

CHAPTER III.

THE HINDU SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY.

§ 1. Origin and Date. § 2. The Six Darsanas.

§ 1. Origin and Date.-The Hindus have always been fond of the study of philosophy, and (as was pointed out in our Introduction, § 81) the esoteric side of the national religion, Bráhmanism, has always been highly philosophical and speculative in its nature. Buddhism, too, whose rise will be depicted in the next chapter, was essentially a philosophical system rather than a religion; its pure and simple code of morals, being of the nature of an adjunct to this philosophical system, was, perhaps, the main cause of its rising superior to all the other schools of philosophy contemporary with it, and establishing itself as one of the greatest religions of the world. For some centuries before the rise of Buddhism, commencing at various undefined times during the period treated of in the last chapter, the speculations of the Hindu sages began to assume those forms which ultimately became fixed and classified as the respective teachings of the six famous philosophical schools-the six Darsanas, or 'demonstrations.' One, indeed, of these schools, the Vedánta, or Uttara-Mimánsá, appears to have been evoked to some extent by the teachings of Buddhism, and to have arisen after the time of Buddha. The other schools are clearly earlier; though some authorities think that the doctrines of all, as now known to us, bear traces of Buddhist influence. It is, however, probable that these traces are rather indications of the general tone of Hindu thought at the period, to which Buddhism itself owed much. How far the Greek philosophy was indebted to the Hindu, or the Hindu to the Greek, is, again, a vexed question: the highest authority on the subject (Colebrooke) says that the Hindus were in this instance the teachers, not the learners.'