PREFACE. THE following pages contain the substance of a public lecture delivered by me at Oxford on the 9th of May, 1862. They also embody much of the information on the subject of Indian Epic Poetry, which I have conveyed to my classes in a more familiar manner during the past year. The Rámáyaṇa and Mahá-bhárata, unlike the Iliad and the Odyssey, are closely connected with the present religious faith of millions; and these millions, be it remembered, acknowledge British sway, and have a right to expect the British public to take an interest in works which are the time-honoured repository of their legendary history and mythology, of their ancient customs and observances, as well as of their most cherished gems of poetry. It needs no argument to show that some knowledge of the two great Indian Epics ought to be required of all who hold office in India, whether in the Civil Service, or in any other capacity. Nor is it right, or even possible, for Englishmen generally to remain any longer wholly ignorant of the nature and contents of these poems. British India is now brought so close to us by steam and electricity, and the present condition of the Hindú community, social, political, and religious, forces itself so peremptorily on our attention, that the duty of studying the past history of our Eastern empire, so far as it can be collected from ancient Sanskrit literature, can no longer be evaded by educated men. Hitherto the Indian Epics, which, in the absence of all real history, are the only guides to the early condition of our Hindú fellow-subjects, have been sealed books to the majority of Englishmen. Continuous translations of works, so tediously spun out, have never been accomplished: no reliable summaries have been printed of either poem *; * A short outline of the story of the Mahá-bhárata, written by Prof. Wilson, has been prefixed to Prof. Johnson's useful edition of Selections from the text of that work. It is, however, but a bare sketch; and the absence of references makes it impossible to verify some of the statements. For instance, Pándu is described as incapable of succession to the throne; whereas it will be seen from my Summary (p. 95) that he not only reigned, and such metrical versions of the more beautiful episodes as have from time to time appeared are so scattered about in reviews and ephemeral publications, as to be practically inaccessible. I trust, then, that the present volume may do something towards supplying a manifest want. Its object is to exhibit, in a popular manner, the general features of Indian Epic Poetry, to indicate the points of contact and divergence between that poetry and the Greek epos, and to furnish the Sanskrit scholar with a full analysis of the Rámáyana and of the leading story of the Mahá-bhárata. In justice to myself I should state that the size of the book does not represent the amount of labour employed on its composition. To produce a few insignificant pages, I have had to work my way through volumes of Sanskrit; but I shall not regret the time I have devoted to the task, if any useful purpose be thereby served. I should also state that, in writing the following lectures, I have had occasion constantly to refer to the various excellent reviews and anonymous critiques but extended his empire in all directions. Again, Yudhishthira is said to be vanquished at dice by Duryodhana; whereas he does not play at all with Duryodhana, but with S'akuni (Saubala), who appears to have been a form of Dwápara; see my Summary, p. 103, and p. 123, note; and compare Udyoga-parva 10, Swargárohanika-parva 167. |