A History of India

THE country which, following the ancients, we name India', lies in the eastern hemisphere, between the eighth and the thirty-fourth degrees of northern latitude, and the sixty-eighth and ninetysecond degrees of eastern longitude. Its length from north to south is about 1900, and its greatest

breadth from west to east about 1500 miles. It is bounded on the north by the lofty range of the Himalaya mountains, on the west by the river Indus, on the east by the high lands eastwards of the Brahmaputra river, while its whole southern coast is washed by the waters of the Indian ocean. This region consists of two distinct parts, separated by a mountain range. The northern portion is a large oblong plain, the southern a triangular peninsula; the former is named Hindûstân, the latter the Deckan 3; the mountain range which divides them is called the Vindhya mountains. They commence near the peninsula of Gûzerât, and run eastwards to the river Ganges. The only island of any magnitude on the coast of India is the great island of Ceylon, to the east of its southern extremity.

The portion of India which we denominate Hindûstân, comprises the following regions. Eastwards of the Indus, from its mouth to its junction with

1 India is only the Latin name, the Greeks called it 'Ivoiй sc. yn or xúpa. It was derived from that of the river named in Sanscrit Sindhu, i. e. river, of which the Persians made Hindhu, the Hebrews, ejecting n, as usual, Hodu (Esther i. 1), and the Ionian Greeks dropping the aspirate 'Ivdos, and the people 'Ivdoí. The Sanscrit name of the country between the Himalaya and the Vindhya mountains is Yambudwîpa or Bharatakhanda.

2 Snow-mountains; from hima snow, and alaya abode. Hence the Greeks named a part of the range Imaus. 3 The South; in Sanscrit, Dakshina.

the Garrah, or united stream of the rivers Beyah and Sutlej, extends a wide sandy desert, like those of Africa or Arabia, as far as the Aravalli hills, which run northwards from the western extremity of the Vindhya range towards the city of Delhi. The whole of this tract, however, is not desert; its south-eastern portion is remarkably fertile; it contains many oases, and the region along the Indus, and watered by that stream, which overflows annually like the Nile, is rich and well inhabited. To the south of the Sandy Desert lie the two peninsulas of Cutch and Gûzerât; and to the north, and extending to the northern boundary of India, lies the fertile region named the Punjab, i. e. Five-rivers, from the five tributaries of the Indus, by which it is watered.

Eastwards of the Aravalli range the country rises into an elevated plain, or table-land, to the height of about 2000 feet above the level of the sea.

the south-east it is supported by hills proceeding from the Vindhya ranges, north-east it slopes into the basin of the Ganges. It is now known by the name of Central India. The country thence eastwards is the basin of the Ganges, including in it Bengal, which is not usually reckoned a part of Hindûstân. It may be regarded as one great and extensive plain, though in some places the land rises above the general level. This region appears to have been the original seat of the civilization and power of India.

river Nerbudda lies between the Vindhya and In the Deckan, on the west, the valley of the another parallel range named the Injâdree or Satpoora, south of which range is the valley of the river Tapti. The land then rises into a table-land, extending to the extreme point of the peninsula ; it is of varied and undulating surface, in general fertile, but displaying at times tracts of sandy desert. This table-land is supported on the west and east by ranges named the Ghâts, of which the western is the higher, and approaches nearer to the sea-coast. On either side of the peninsula between the Ghâts and the sea, are strips of land varying in breadth and in fertility. From that

part of Hindûstân where the eastern end of the Vindhya range sinks into the plain, an immense tract of forest stretches away southwards into the Deckan, till it reaches the river Godâveri.

The rivers of India are numerous and copious. Those of Hindûstân have their sources in the Himalaya and Vindhya mountains. From the former descend the Indus and its five tributaries, namely, the Jelûm, the Chenâb, the Râvi, the Beyah, and the Sutlej; the Jumnah, the Ganges, the Cusi, and the Brahmaputra, and their tributaries. The latter sends forth the Chumbul, the Betwah, the Sôn, and others, all of which are received in the Jumnah and the Ganges. The rivers of the Deckan, inferior in magnitude to those of Hindûstân, pour their waters into the sea on either coast of the peninsula, having their sources chiefly in the Vindhya and the western Ghâts. On the west coasts are the mouths of the Nerbudda and the Tapti, the only streams of magnitude on this side; on the east coast are those of the Mahânuddi, the Godâveri, the Kistna, the Palar, the Pannar, the Caveri, and others of less dimensions.

The climate of India is of course various, owing to its extent and its difference of elevation; but it is in general hotter than that of any part of Europe. The annual quantity of rain that falls in India is far beyond that of any country in this continent. The rain is periodical, and is brought by the monsoon, or south-west wind from the Indian ocean. On the west coast and in Hindûstân the rainy season is from May till October, the hottest part of the year, and it is introduced by tremendous storms. At that time the Ganges and other rivers overflow and flood the country, the greater part of Bengal, for example, becoming like one huge lake. Hence in the history we shall often find military operations interrupted by this season. The height of the Ghâts and of the table-land prevent the eastern coast from feeling the early effects of the monsoon, and it is not till the month of October, when the monsoon blows from the north-east, that it receives its supply of rain.

The vegetable productions of India are numerous and valuable. The teak used in ship-building, the wonderful banyan-tree (Ficus Indicus), the cocoa, the various palms and acacias, the bamboo which attains to such a prodigious size, and many other useful trees, are abundant. Numerous mulberries yield food to the silk-worm, the cotton-tree and cotton-shrub are every where to be seen, the ebony, the sandal, and other ornamental woods grow abundantly. India has also, from the most remote ages, been famed for its ginger, pepper, and other spices; the indigo derives its name from India; it is the native country of the sugar-cane.

Rice ranks among the most celebrated of the natural productions of India; but it is an error to suppose that it is the principal food of the bulk of the people. Such it is, no doubt, in Bengal, part of Bahar, and the coast of the peninsula ; but rice cannot be cultivated without abundance of moisture; and on the high lands of Central India and the Deckan, for example, it is only a luxury; the

4 Hydaspes, Acesines, Hydraotes, Hyphasis, were the names given by Alexander's Greek followers to the four of these rivers which they saw; for they did not come to the Sutlej. The Sanscrit names, from which three of those are formed, are Vitastâ, Chandrabhâgâ, Acrôvati, and Vipâsă.

ordinary food of the people of Hindûstân being wheat, and that of the people of the Deckan the grains named Jowâr, the Dûrra of the Arabs (Holcus sorgum), and Bâjra, small grains which grow in bunches on reedy stems. Mangos, melons, and all sorts of gourds, plantains, pine-apples, and other sweet fruits grow in the greatest plenty.

Among the animals of India the elephant is the most famous. It was formerly employed much in war, but now is only used for the carriage of baggage. Camels are also numerous in India, but the Indian horses are small, and of inferior quality; they are only used for riding. The beast of draught is the ox, which is used alike for the plough, the cart, and the carriage. Its colour is white, its form is slender, and it can travel nearly as fast as a horse.

India does not produce the precious metals, but its iron has always been famous. Diamonds, and other precious stones, are found there in great quantities. The finest pearls in the world are obtained from the beds near the isle of Ceylon. Rocksalt is found in the Punjâb, and saltpetre is obtained in great quantities in various places.

CHAPTER II.

Early Inhabitants of India-Hindoos-Their ColoniesReligion-Sects - Morals - Transmigration of SoulsBuddhists-Jains-Sciences and Arts-Laws of Manu— Castes-Government.

In our inquiries into the history of any ancient country, one of the first questions which presents itself, and one which rarely can be answered satisfactorily is, who were its original inhabitants, and whence did they come? With respect to India, this question cannot be answered more satisfactorily than elsewhere. From its nature and position, it is manifest that it must have been one of the earliest abodes of the human race; and we appear to have some reason to think that here, as in so many other parts of the world, its first occupants were an inferior race, who were invaded and overcome by a more highly endowed portion of our species.

In the forests and dales of the Vindhya mountains, in the great forest district stretching from Bahar in Hindûstân into the Deckan, and along its eastern coast, are still to be met tribes differing essentially from the more cultivated inhabitants of India. They are known by various names. the west of Bengal and Bahar they are called Côls, in the great forest and in the part of the Vindhya mountains adjoining it, they are named Gonds ; thence westwards in that chain, Bheels; and towards Gûzerât, Coolies. In the southern woods of the Deckan they are known by the name of Côlarees, and a general name for them is Parias, that is, Mountaineers. They are of small but active forms, and dark complexion, with something of the negro in their features. They go nearly naked, are armed with bows and spears, and plunder wherever they can. They have a superstition of their own, though they worship one or two of the Hindoo gods. Spirituous liquors are sought by them with avidity; they eat the flesh of oxen and of animals that have

LANGUAGE, RELIGION.

died a natural death. They are objects of horror and detestation to the genuine Hindoos 5.

A very different race meets the view in Hindûstân, and along the coasts of the Deckan. These are tall and slight, with handsome oval countenances, long eyes and eyebrows, dark, smooth, lank hair, an olive skin, but in the cooler regions, and when not much exposed to the weather, even fair, like that of more northern nations. In a word, every thing tends to show their connexion with the Persians, and to prove them to be a portion of the Caucasian or Japhetian, thence named the Indo-German family. Their language, the ancient Sanscrit, and its modern dialects, is clearly akin to the Zend or ancient Persian, the Greek, the Latin, the German, and many other western tongues, while the Tamul, the Telinga, and the other dialects of the Deckan, are as clearly of a totally different family. The more general opinion is, that this superior race came with the Persians from a common country, the high lands of Central Asia, and migrated into India where they subdued the aboriginal tribes, and reduced them to a servile condition. For a long time the Vindhya chain formed their southern limit; but at length they invaded the Deckan also, and spread their religion and institutions over it. They also sent colonies to the isle of Ceylon, and gradually diffused them over the isles of the Indian Archipelago. There is also reason to suspect that Hindoo colonists settled on the coast of Africa, and thence proceeding down the Nile, gave to Egypt those institutions so similar to those of India. But this, as will easily be seen, must have occurred at a time long prior to the commencement of history.

The religion and the political institutions of a people always most justly attract the principal attention of the inquirer. The Hindoo religion, as it is now and has been since the commencement of history, is one of the most intricate and degrading systems of polytheism and idolatry that can be conceived; yet, like every other system, it seems to have been in its origin pure and simple, and gradually to have been corrupted. This appears from the examination of the Hindoo literature, for this people seem always to have possessed the art of writing, and their books claim an age beyond that of the literature of almost any other people.

At the head of the literature of the Hindoos stand the four (or rather three) Vedas, each of which contains hymns and prayers, moral precepts, and theological arguments. From the directions which they contain respecting the calendar, it is inferred that the lowest date which can be assigned for their reduction to their present form is the fourteenth century before the birth of Christ. The religious system which these venerable monuments present, is that of a pure monotheism, joined with the worship of beings superior to man, presiding over the elements, the stars and planets. Personified virtues and powers likewise appear in them, but not prominently. Their general principle is,

5 There is every reason to suppose that our gypsies were originally Bheels. These last are smiths and horsedealers, thieves, jugglers, and dancers; and they are passionately fond of gold and silver. In all these points they correspond with the gypsies, whose Indian origin is historically certain ; but the gypsies are remarkable for sobriety.

It is probable that the Mysoreans, and the other civilized inhabitants of the Deckan, are descendants of the aborigines.

that every thing, "the substance as well as the form of all created beings, was derived from the will of the self-existing Cause."

The next authority is the Code or Institutes of Manu, of which we shall presently say more, whose date is the ninth century before our era. In this there is an account of creation, in which the Supreme Being produced a mundane egg, whence all things, the deities included, arose mediately or immediately. This creation, however, only endures for a limited period, when all will be reduced to nothing, Brahma, its support, being absorbed in the divine essence. The inferior deities named in it are Indra, air; Agni, fire; Varuna, water; Prithivi, earth; Surya, sun; Chandra, moon; and some gods of the planets; Dherma, justice, and other personifications.

The two great epic poems, the Ramayuna and the Mahabharata, with the numerous Puranas, as they are named, come next in order, and present the copious and variegated system of popular belief and mythology which is known to have prevailed for more than 2000 years in India. In this system the Deity is resolved into three persons (the Trimûrti, i. e. Three Forms), according to his three great acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, named Brahma, Vishnoo, and Seeva, to each of which is joined a female principle to denote his active power. These are Seraswati, Lakshmi, and Parvati. This last, the power of Seeva, is also named Deva, Bhavani, and Durga. Beside these deities and those above named, we meet Pavani, wind; Cuvera, wealth; Cama, love; Cartikeia, war; Yama, the judge of the dead; and Ganesa, who presides over entrances and commencements. These, too, have their wives and attendants, and the whole number of the denizens of the Hindoo Olympus, gods, genii, celestial singers and dancers, and others, is said to exceed three hundred millions. Each of the great deities has a heaven, or celestial abode of his own; those of Seeva and of Indra are the most renowned, and are luxuriantly described in Hindoo poetry.

Unlike the gods of Greece, the deities of India are often represented as strange or hideous in form. Ganesa has the head of an elephant; Seeva has a necklace of skulls, so also has his wife, whose form is still more direful than his own. A multitude of heads or arms is given to a deity to denote his wisdom or power; for we may notice that all these deformities have arisen from art following too closely the language of poetry and devotion.

The Hindoos are divided into two great sects, the adorers of Vishnoo and of Seeva. The latter are by far the most numerous, but the literature of India belongs chiefly to the former. The ten Avatars or incarnations of Vishnoo, in which he took flesh for the good of mankind, form an important part of the religious legends of the priesthood. The subject of the great epic poem, the Ramayuna, is his conquest, in the form of a king named Rama, of the Deckan and Ceylon. A more celebrated, if possible, appearance of Vishnoo (though not one of the ten Avatars), was that in which he was a king's son, like Cyrus, brought up by a herdsman under the name of Crishna to conceal him from a tyrant that sought his life. He afterwards overcame and slew the tyrant, and in the great poem, the Mahâbhârata, which celebrates the wars of the kindred families of the Pandûs and

« Précédent Continuer »

Livres

A History of India: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day