the bestowal of gifts.'--From those /S/udras, however,
who, like Vidura and 'the religious hunter,' acquire knowledge in
consequence of the after effects of former deeds, the fruit of their
knowledge cannot be withheld, since knowledge in all cases brings about
its fruit. Sm/ri/ti, moreover, declares that all the four castes are
qualified for acquiring the knowledge of the itihasas and pura/n/as;
compare the passage, 'He is to teach the four castes' (Mahabh.).--It
remains, however, a settled point that they do not possess any such
qualification with regard to the Veda.

39. (The pra/n/a is Brahman), on account of the trembling (predicated of
the whole world).

The discussion of qualification for Brahma-knowledge--on which we
entered as an opportunity offered--being finished we return to our chief
topic, i.e. the enquiry into the purport of the Vedanta-texts.--We read
(Ka. Up. II, 6, 2), 'Whatever there is, the whole world when gone forth
trembles in the pra/n/a. It (the pra/n/a) is a great terror, a raised
thunderbolt. Those who know it become immortal[226].'--This passage
declares that this whole world trembles, abiding in pra/n/a, and that
there is raised something very terrible, called a thunderbolt, and that
through its knowledge immortality is obtained. But as it is not
immediately clear what the pra/n/a is, and what that terrible
thunderbolt, a discussion arises.

The purvapakshin maintains that, in accordance with the ordinary meaning
of the term, pra/n/a denotes the air with its five modifications, that
the word 'thunderbolt' also is to be taken in its ordinary sense, and
that thus the whole passage contains a glorification of air. For, he
says, this whole world trembles, abiding within air with its five
forms--which is here called pra/n/a--and the terrible thunderbolts also
spring from air (or wind) as their cause. For in the air, people say,
when it manifests itself in the form of Parjanya, lightning, thunder,
rain, and thunderbolts manifest themselves.--Through the knowledge of
that air immortality also can be obtained; for another scriptural
passage says, 'Air is everything by itself, and air is all things
together. He who knows this conquers death.'--We therefore conclude that
the same air is to be understood in the passage under discussion.

To this we make the following reply.--Brahman only can be meant, on
account of what precedes as well as what follows. In the preceding as
well as the subsequent p