THE FIRST TWO LECTURES OF THE SANHITA OF THE WITH THE COMMENTARY OF MADH AVXCHARYA, AND AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE TEXT. By lifiu E. RorrV' ) FASCICULUS I. CALCUTTA : PRINTED BY J. THOMAS, AT THE BAPTIST MISSION TRESS. CIRCULAR ROAD. 1818. JANUARY. BIBLIOTHECA INDICA. COLLECTION OF ORIENTAL WORKS rt BMSIIKD UNDER THF. PATRONAGE OF THE ftoit. Court of Director* of tlje lEa*t tnlria Contpann, AND THR SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. Edited by Dr. E. Roer. Digitized by CjOOQie ORIENTAL SECTION??? ASIATIC SOCIETY. 1848. U. A. BUSIIBY, Esa. WELBY JACKSON, Esa. BABU DEBENDRANATHA TIIAKURA. H. M. ELLIOT, Esa. W. SETON KARR, Esa. BABU IIARrMOHANA SENA. BABU RAJENDRALAL MITTRA. Dr. E. ROER, Secretary, Oriental Department. Honorary (non-resident) Members. B. II. HODGSON, Esa., Darjiling. WALTER ELLIOTT, Esa., Madras. II. II. WILSON, Esa. Botlen Professor of Sanscrit, Oxford. Digitized by Tooele I PREFACE. Tub present work is the first of a series of Oriental publications, which, as the title intimates, will be printed under the patronage of the Hon. Court of Directors and the superintendence of the Asiatic 8ocietj. It is to appear in the form of a Journal, in monthly numbers of 80 to 100 pages. Erery work is intended to be accompanied with an English translation, and if taken from Sanscrit literature, with its commen- tary also. The works of this collection may be of any Oriental lan- guage, provided they relate to India ; the greater part, however, will be taken from the Sanscrit, partly because the literature of that language in all its branches possesses a number of valuable works, not yet pub- lished, and partly because the Sanscrit is more intimately connected with India than any other Oriental language. The idea of this publication is due to my friend, Mr. Laidlay, to whose minute on the Oriental Publications of the Asiatic Society (Annual Report of the Asiatic Society 1847,) I refer for further infor- mation. Before entering upon an account of this edition of the collection of the Rig Vida Hymns, I have to premise a few words explaining to those of my readers who are not accpiainted with the late proceedings of the Asiatic Society, the reason why it is to remain a fragment. Requested by the Asiatic Society to obtain the suggestions of the Oriental Section with regard to the immediate adoption of measures to publish the Vidas, I submitted to the Oriental Section, the 30th March 1817, a Report, proposing the publication of the SanhiU of the Rig Vida with its commentary and a translation of the text. The Society approved of the proposition, and appointed me editor of the work, under the superintendence of the Oriental Section. The MSS. for the edi- tion had been collected from the Libraries of Calcutta and the College Digitized by Tooele H Preface . of Benares, and the first two lectures completed, when a letter from Professor Wilson announced to the Society, that the printing of the Rig Vida Sanhitl had been commenced upon at Oxford, at the expense of the Court of Directors, and that other parts of the Vidas were preparing for the press in Germany and Russia. Upon receiving this information the Asiatic Society was obliged to abandon the undertaking, but at the same time resolved to publish the part of the work tliut hud been completed. The MSS. at my disposul for the text and commentary of the Rig Vida Sanhitd, are the following, (??.) for the text. 1. Nos. 8 to 3(>, from the Library of Bishop???s College, on small leaves, a most carefully written and correct MS. 2. No. 443, from the Library of the Asiatic Society. 3. Nos. 1418 to 1428, from the Library of the Sanscrit College, in the most perfect preservation, and iu every respect a most excellent and correct MS. 4 . No. 1417, from the same, written in the Pada Pltha, a mode of writing the Vida Hymns, in which the compounds are separated into their elements, and each word is writteu independent of the rules of Sandhi. (6.) For the commentary. 1. A MS. of the Asiutic Society, very incorrect and defective. 2. A MS. from the Sanscrit College, generally correct. 3. A MS. from Benares, also pretty correct, transcribed for the Asiatic Society from a MS. iu the College through the kindness of Dr. Ballentync ; this MS., however, does not contain the two lirst chapters complete. All these MSS. are writteu iu the Devanugari character. No difficulty was experienced iu determining the text. The MSS. (with the exception of that of the Asiutic Society) are written with religious attention to the correctness of the text, and a comparison of all with Roseu???s edition, gave very few variations ; none of them of any importance. The commentary on the other hand ottered iu this respect many difficulties. The MS. of the Asiatic Society, besides its numberless orthographical and grammatical errors, is written in so careless a manner, that frequently whole passages arc misplaced or omitted. The Sanscrit and Benares College MSS. are much more curelul truns- Digitized by Tooele Preface . ????????? m cripts, although sometimes omissions occur also ; they appear, how- ever, to have been copied from one and the same original MS., for,- with a few exceptions, they generally agree with each other. These remarks mainly apply to the introduction to the commentary ; here discrepancies, omissions, &c. abound, evidently because it is in some passages difficult to understand, and the transcribers sometimes inter- polate their own explanation. In- the commentary to the hymns the MSS. agree better, and different readings are in fact of rare occur- rence. In giving the different readings it was not thought necessary to mark such deviations as are only variations of the same grammatical form, for instance for vifipw, each of which might have been equally well chosen by the author, and which do not indicate a different shade of thought or expression. Nor was it deemed expedient to point out the omissions in one or the other MS. The commentary in explaining the Vldaic forms of grammar, gener- ally refers to P&ofni's Sutras, without, however, quoting the rules. I have added the references to P&nhii, in which I derived the greatest assistance from Doethlinck???s excellent edition of PAjiini's Sutras. Sometimes the references to Y&ska's Nirukta hare also been noted, but as I received the Nirukta rather late, I was not able to give them all. The commentary of S&yana Xch&rya is no doubt a mine of learning with regard to Vldaic literature. It is in every respect a most sub- stantial body of all the learning treasured up for so many centuries concerning the orthodox understanding of the Vidas and the religious opinions derived from them. It exhibits a comprehensive kuowledge of the different disciplines, connected with the study of the Vidas, and also of the works of the author's predecessors. It was first my intention to give an analysis of Sftyana's work, but as my labours in this direction are superseded by Prof. Wilson's edition of the Rig Vida, I have given up the task, other labours now requiring my undivided attention. With a view to facilitate the proper understanding of the hymns, the following remarks on the religion, as found in them, are offered. It is first of all necessary to consider the religion of the hymn col- lections of the Vidas independently of the doctrine taught be 8iyana and the Brihmanas, or the parts of the Vidas which contain religious precepts, the ritual, &c. Slyana, who lived in the 14th century P. C., Digitized by VjOOQLC it Preface. has of course an opinion of the deities in the V??das, which is formed according to the view of the learned Br&hmaus of his owu days. Although the Brihmanas were composed at a very early period, yet the philosophic doctrine of those who had for so many ceuturies studied the V&las, was then already fully established. In the Br&hmanas we find a pantheistic system ; there is one all- pervading spiritual substance of which the several gods, as well as all other beings, are parts. This system was adapted to the explanation of the V&lnic deities. It is no doubt the prevailing belief of the most ancient period of the Hindu religion nearest to the composition of the Vidas. Nay, this philosophical conception, attained in a very early age, has remained unchanged in all periods of Hindu history. In this respect, the religion taught in the Brahmanas, is the same which the pandits of the present time entertain, the belief that all finite beings arc emanations from one infinite substance. The religion of the people only has changed, as there is now a worship of Krishna, Shiva, &c. # while before Indra, Agni, &c. were adored. Referring, however, to the collections of the Vida hymns, we find a different belief. There is evidently a polytheistic worship of Indra, Agni, Aditi, &c., and no attempts as yet ure made to form the idea of one infinite substance. The gods of the Vedas are evidently elements, as fire, wind, or conspicuous objects of nature as clouds, lightning, Jfcc. Such deities must have a double character, already noted by Y6ska, viz. as elements, their attributes arc elementary ; as gods, they will receive attributes belonging to rational natures. Tiius for instance, the fire in its elementary character consumes, gives light, ??lc. ; ns god it is the messenger from mau to the gods in consuming the sacrifice ; it is the keeper of treasure, the source of wisdom, &c. ; it has u chariot and horses, &c. If we want...
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