1 THE ANCIENT HINDUS. 35
2 “The waters are called Mird because they were the production of Nard (the spirit of
3 God), and since they were His first (ayana) place of motion, He is hence called
4 Niardyana (moving upon the waters).
5 “From that which is, the first cause, not the object of sense, existing, not existing,
6 without beginning or end, was produced the Divine Male, famed in all worlds under
7 the appellation of Brahma.
8 “Tn that egg the Great Power sat inactive a whole year, at the close of which, simply
9 by an effort of mind, he caused the egg to divide itself.
10 “ And from its two divisions he framed the heaven and the earth; in the midst
11 of the subtle ether, the eight regions and the permanent receptacle of the waters.
12 “From the Supreme Soul he drew forth mind, existing substantially, though un-
13 ae by sense, immaterial ; and consciousness, the internal monitor, the ruler,”
14 &e., &c.*
15 Such are the Hindu conceptions of the mysteries of the universe, of the
16 Supreme Being and of ourselves. They are held to contain infallible dogmas
17 of divinity, the profoundest maxims of truth.
18 The Hinda literature has given birth to two noble epic poems, the
19 Ramdyana and the Mahdbhdrata. The incidents related in the former refer
20 to a period about 1000 Bc. but the compilation belongs to a later date.
21 The reputed author is a poet named Vdlmiki. The subject treated of is the
22 invasion of Ceylon by Rama, king of Awadh, whose wife, Sita, had been
23 abducted by Rawan, the aboriginal or demon prince of Ceylon. A great
24 fight took place and Sita was rescued.
25 The venerable epic, Mahabharata, deals with a period about 1200 B.c.
26 The composition is ascribed to a sage named Wasaya,t who lived in the
27 second century before Christ. I describes the great war between the
28 Pandts, or the people of the suria (solar) race, then represented by their
29 king Yudishtir and the Kurds, or men of the chandva (lunar) race, headed
30 by their king Dhritarashtra. The capital of the Pandas was Indraprastha
31 (Delhi), on the banks of the Yamuna, and that of the Kuris, Hastinapur
32 on the Ganges. Yudishtir claimed the kingdom of his rival, and to decide
33 the dispute all the chiefs of the lunar race were marshalled on the plains
34 of Kurakshetra, near Drishadvati, the modern Thanesar, a battle-field
35 which, in after times. so often decided the fate of the combatants for the
36 Empire of India. The beautiful, steadfast hero, Krishna, who, in his youth,
37 dancing among the rustics, captivated at once milkmaids and princesses
38 by his skill in music, sided with the Pandds. Fifty royal leaders and
39 many tributary and allied princes from the Indus to the Narbdda, and
40 from the bases of the Himdlayas to Bengal and Behar, assembled on the
41 field of battle. The whole of Hindostén proper breathed war. Yudishtir,
42 with his armies, advanced to the battle-field, clad in garments of yellow
43 and gold, and took his seat in his state carriage. He was followed by the
44 long-armed Bhima, with his flashing looks and knitted brows, and holding
45 in his hand an iron club, wrought with gold, and brave Arjuna, who carried
46 a great bow with an ape on his banner. As the great armies met,
47 Bhishma, a Kurd general, waving his banner from his golden chariot
48 on the opposite side, cried to his warriors: “To-day the gates of heaven
49 are opened for the brave; go ye the way by which your fathers and
50 ancestors have gone to heaven by following gloriously. Would ye rather
51 end life on a sick bed in pain? Only on field should a Shatria
52 (soldier) fall.” He then blew his horn, and the armies rushed upon each
53 other. Fearful was the slaughter which ensued. The battle-field was strewn
54 * Sir William Jones’ Works, vol. iii.
55 + Wasaya is a term signifying compiler. Some think itis not a proper name, and if this
56 theory be correct, tle real name of the author, or authors, is open to doubt.
57 The Rdmdyana and
58 the Mahdbhdrata,
59 The great war be-
60 tween the Pandus and
61 the Kurds, 1200 g.c,
62 Krishna,
63 Bhima.
64 Arjuna.
65 Bhishma.
66 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariE library @ gmail.com