eferred to. No such references appear in these
epics, except in some solitary passages, which are evidently modern
additions.[85] Hence the epics must have been composed before the time of
Buddhism. This argument of Lassen's is thought by Max Mueller to be
conclusive, and if so it disproves Mr. Talboys Wheeler's view of the
purpose of the Ramayana.

Few Hindoos now read the Vedas. The Puranas and the two great epics
constitute their sacred books. The Ramayana contains about fifty thousand
lines, and is held in great veneration by the Hindoos. It describes the
youth of Rama, who is an incarnation of Vischnu, his banishment and
residence in Central India, and his war with the giants and demons of the
South, to recover his wife, Sita. It probably is founded on some real war
between the early Aryan invaders of Hindostan and the indigenous
inhabitants.

The Mahabharata, which is probably of later date, contains about two
hundred and twenty thousand lines, and is divided into eighteen books,
each of which would make a large volume. It is supposed to have been
collected by Vyasa, who also collected the Vedas and Puranas. These
legends are very old, and seem to refer to the early history of India.
There appear to have been two Aryan dynasties in ancient India,--the Solar
and Lunar. Rama belonged to the first and Bharata to the second. Pandu, a
descendant of the last, has five brave sons, who are the heroes of this
book. One of them, Arjuna, is especially distinguished. One of the
episodes is the famous Bhagavat-gita. Another is called the Brahman's
Lament. Another describes the deluge, showing the tradition of a flood
existing in India many centuries before Christ. Another gives the story of
Savitri and Satyavan. These episodes occupy three fourths of the poem, and
from them are derived most of the legends of the Puranas. A supplement,
which is itself a longer poem than the Iliad and Odyssey combined (which
together contain about thirty thousand lines), is the source of the modern
worship of Krishna. The whole poem represents the multilateral character
of Hinduism. It indicates a higher degree of civilization than that of the
Homeric poems, and describes a vast variety of fruits and flowers existing
under culture. The characters are nobler and purer than those of Homer.
The pictures of domestic and social life are very touching; children are
dutiful to their parents, parents careful of their children; wives are
loyal and obedi