sonalities become more distinct,
yet the later Puranas are not attributed to human authors and were
susceptible of interpolation even in recent times. Thus the story of
Genesis has been incorporated in the Bhavishya Purana, apparently after
Protestant missionaries had begun to preach in India.

The other point to which I would draw attention is the importance of
relatively modern works, which supersede the older scriptures,
especially in Hinduism. This phenomenon is common in many countries, for
only a few books such as the Bhagavad-gita, the Gospels and the sayings
of Confucius have a portion of the eternal and universal sufficient to
outlast the wear and tear of a thousand years. Vedic literature is far
from being discredited in India, though some Tantras say openly that it
is useless. It still has a place in ritual and is appealed to by
reforming sects. But to see Hinduism in proper perspective we must
remember that from the time of the Buddha till now, the composition of
religious literature in India has been almost uninterrupted and that
almost every century has produced works accepted by some sect as
infallible scripture. For most Vishnuites the Bhagavad-gita is the
beginning of sacred literature and the Narayaniya[66] is also held in
high esteem: the philosophy of each sect is usually determined by a
commentary on the Brahma Sutras: the Bhagavata Purana (perhaps in a
vernacular paraphrase) and the Ramayana of Tulsi Das are probably the
favourite reading of the laity and for devotional purposes may be
supplemented by a collection of hymns such as the Namghosha, copies of
which actually receive homage in Assam. The average man--even the average
priest--regards all these as sacred works without troubling himself with
distinctions as to _sruti_ and _smriti_, and the Vedas and Upanishads
are hardly within his horizon.

In respect of sacred literature Buddhism is more conservative than
Hinduism, or to put it another way, has been less productive in the last
fifteen hundred years. The Hinayanists are like those Protestant sects
which still profess not to go beyond the Bible. The monks read the
Abhidhamma and the laity the Suttas, though perhaps both are disposed to
use extracts and compendiums rather than the full ancient texts. Among
the Mahayanists the ancient Vinaya and Nikayas exist only as literary
curiosities. The former is superseded by modern manuals, the latter by
Mahayanist Sutras such as the Lotus and the Ha