doubtful, however, whether at the time when
this hymn was composed the relative position of the two upper castes
could already have been settled in so decided a way as this theory might
lead one to suppose. There is, on the contrary, reason to believe that
some time had yet to elapse, marked by fierce and bloody struggles for
supremacy, of which only imperfect ideas can be formed from the
legendary and frequently biased accounts of later generations, before
the Kshatriyas finally submitted to the full measure of priestly
authority.

The definitive establishment of the Brahmanical hierarchy marks the
beginning of the Brahmanical period properly so called. Though the
origin and gradual rise of some of the leading institutions of this era
can, as has been shown, be traced in the earlier writings, the chain of
their development presents a break at this juncture which no
satisfactory materials as yet enable us to fill up. A considerable
portion of the literature of this time has apparently been lost; and
several important works, the original composition of which has probably
to be assigned to the early days of Brahmanism, such as the institutes
of Manu and the two great epics, the _Mahabharata_ and _Ramayana_, in
the form in which they have been handed down to us, show manifest traces
of a more modern redaction. Yet it is sufficiently clear from internal
evidence that Manu's Code of Laws, though merely a metrical recast of
older materials, reproduces on the whole pretty faithfully the state of
Hindu society depicted in the sources from which it was compiled. The
final overthrow of the Kshatriya power was followed by a period of
jealous legislation on the part of the Brahmans. For a time their chief
aim would doubtless be to improve their newly gained vantage-ground by
surrounding everything relating to their order with a halo of sanctity
calculated to impress the lay community with feelings of awe. In the
Brahmanas and even in the Purusha Hymn, and the Atharvan, divine origin
had already been ascribed to the Vedic _Samhitas_, especially to the
three older collections. The same privilege was now successfully claimed
for the later Vedic literature, so imbued with Brahmanic aspirations and
pretensions; and the authority implied in the designation of _Sruti_ or
revelation removed henceforth the whole body of sacred writings from the
sphere of doubt and criticism. This concession necessarily involved an
acknowledgment of the new