In fact Nirv[=a]na is
already a word of which the sense has been subjected to attrition
enough to make it synonymous with 'bliss.' Thus "the gods attained
Nirv[=a]na by means of Vishnu's greatness" (iii. 201. 22); and a
thirsty man "after drinking water attained Nirv[=a]na," _i.e_., the
drink made him happy (_ib_. 126. 16). One may best compare the Jain
Nirv[=a]na of happiness.

While, therefore, Buddhism seems to have left many manifest traces[60]
in the later epic the weight of its influence on the early epic may
well be questioned. The moral harangues of the earlier books show
nothing more than is consistent with that Brahmanism which has made
its way unaided through the greater humanitarianism of the earlier
Upanishads. At the same time it is right to say that since the poem is
composed after Buddha's time there is no historical certainty in
regard to the inner connection of belief and morality (as expounded in
the epic) with Buddhism. Buddhism, though at a distance, environed
epic Brahmanism, and may well have influenced it. The objective proofs
for or against this are not, however, decisive.

Whether Christianity has affected the epic is another question that
can be answered (and then doubtfully) only by drawing a line between
epic and pseudo-epic. And in this regard the Harivanca legends of
Krishna are to be grouped with the pseudo-epic, of which they are the
legitimate if late continuation. Again one must separate teaching from
legend. To the Divine Song belong sentiments and phrases that have
been ascribed to Christian influence. Definitive assurance in this
regard is an impossibility. When Vishnu says (as is said also in the
Upanishads) "I am the letter A," one may, and probably will, decide
that this is or is not an imitation of "I am alpha," strictly in
accordance with his preconceived opinions. There are absolutely no
historical data to go upon. One may say with tolerable certainty that
the Divine Song as a whole is antique, prior to Christianity. But it
is as unmistakably interpolated and altered. The doctrine of _bhakti_,
faithful love as a means of salvation, cannot be much older than the
Song, for it is found only in the latest Upanishads (as shown by
comparing them with those undoubtedly old). But on the other hand the
_pras[=a]da_ doctrine (of special grace) belongs to a much earlier
literature, and there is no reason why the whole theory with its
startling resemblance to the doctrine of grace, and