curve

From Delhi to Backar in a direct line there are no mountains, which remain to the South of this line, forming an immense Thus from the mouth of the Indus, to that of the Ganges, round Delhi, it is an immenfe flat and level country. The beach of the fhores to the North, at the foot of the fnowy mountains, and to the South round the island. of India in ancient times, is covered with pebbles, fome of the most beautiful I ever faw, But the greatest part of them are not real pebbles; they are only fragments of tones, marbie, and agate, rounded and polished by mutual attrition, produced by the agitation of the waves. It fems as if the waters, which once filled up the Gangetic provinces, had been fuddenly turned into earth: for the fhores, the rocks, and iflands rife abruptly from the level; and are every where well defined, and ftrongly marked; except where the fur face of the adjacent level has been difturbed by the incroachments of rivers, and torrents from the hills in the rains, or by the induftry of man. This I noticed particularly about Birbhoom, and to the South-east of Chunar. What we call the hills in this country, and which appear fuch, from the immenfe plains below, are in reality the Table-land of old India. In the Gangetic provinces no native earth is to be found, and the foil confifts of various ftrata of different forts of earths, in the greateft confufion, the lightest being often found below the heavieft. The deepest excavation, that ever came to my knowledge, was made fome years ago near Benares, at a place called Comowly, within a furlong, I believe, of the Ganges, by fome gentlemen, who were erecting fome indigo works. They pierced through an amazing thick ftratum of tiff earth, without obtaining water, They found then feveral beds of mould, and fand remarkably thin; then at the depth of about ninety-five feet, they arrived at an old bed of the Ganges, which confiited of a deep firatum of river fand, with bones of men and quadrupeds, They were fuppofed to be petrefactions, from their extraordinary weight, though they preferved their original texture, The human bones were entire, but thofe of quadrupeds were broken, and bore evident marks of their having been cut with a sharp. inftrument. This bed was exactly thirty feet below the prefent bed of the Ganges. Below this ftratum of fand, they found another of clay; and below it, fome mould; then, at the depth of about one hundred and five feet, they found a bed of fine white fand, fuch as is found on the fea fhore, Under this, they found a bed of the fame clay, and earth, as there was above į and they were relieved from their labours, by a copious stream of fresh water. The fight of the fea fand gave me fome hope of finding fome marine productions, but I was difappointed: which fhews that this bed of fand was merely adventitious, and had been brought down by the river from the fhores to the lower parts of its bed; and that the old bottom of the fea was confiderably

below,

below. The fame appearances, with human bones, have been found lately at different places in digging wells near the Ganges, and generally at the fame depth nearly." P. 290.

To illuftrate the fubject of this elaborate effay, Captain Wilford has, as ufual, gone through the whole circle of claf fical writers on eaftern geography, from Herodotus to Cofmas Indico-pleuftes, and his etymological reafonings and deductions, though often forced, mark the depth of his crudition, and the extent of his researches.

We now come to the most important article in this volume, a difcourfe on the Vedas, or facred writings of the Hindoos. By H. T. Colebrooke, Efq.

This gentleman is as indefatigable in unveiling to us the theological and moral doctrines of the Hindoos, as the laf writer in unravelling their geographical vagaries. Both their inveftigations are fufficiently abftrufe, but Mr. Colebrooke's enquiries being from their nature more generally interefting attract greater confideration from European Scholars than the dry repulfive ftrictures of Captain Wilford. In these pages, it is hoped, effential justice has been done to both these gentlemen, and when their fubjects would adınit of detached extracts being made, we have generally permitted them to fpeak for themselves; when that could not be done, we have given the best analyfis in our power of their differtations. Before Mr. C. proceeds to unveil the myfleries of the facred VEDAS, he prefents us with the best and fulleft account we have yet feen, (not even excepting Sir W. Jones's, who wrote at an earlier period, when accurate information was with more difficulty obtained,) of their prefumed. age, origin, and number, by fome writers ftated as only thret, but by others enlarged to five. Their age by being referred to Brahma, a vifionary being, is from that circumilance intended to be announced as unfathomable; their origin, that is to fay, their first publication in volumes as a religious code is imputed to Vyafa, a philofopher, who flourished by aftro nomical calculation, fourteen centuries before Christ; and their precife number, neither three nor five, but four. They are denominated the RIG-veda, the YACUR-veda, the SAMA-Veda, and the ATHARVAN-veda. The laft has been thought to be of an age anterior to the preceding Vedas, fince only three are enumerated in Sanferit treatifes of high antiquity, but that circumftance is thus accounted for by Mr. Colebrooke.

"The true reafon, why the three firft Védas are often mensioned without any notice of the fourth, must be fought, not in

their different origin and antiquity; but in the difference of their ufe and purport. Prayers, employed at folemn rites called Yajynyas have been placed in the three principal Védas: thofe, which are in profe, are named Yaju; fuch, as are in metre, are denominated Rich; and fome, which are intended to be chanted, are called Sáman: and these names, as diftinguishing different portions of the Védas, are anterior to their feparation in VYA'SA's compilation. But the Atharvana, not being ufed at the religious ceremonies above-mentioned, and containing prayers employed at luftrations, as rites conciliating the deities, and as imprecations on enemies, is effentially different from the other Védas; as is remarked by the author of an elementary treatise on the claffification of the Indian sciences *." P. 373.

Mr. Colebrooke now proceeds fucceffively, but fummarily, to give us the fubftance of these celebrated Vedas, containing many thoufand ftanzas, of varied measure, the brahmin creed of faith, as expreffed in innumerable mantras, or invocations, principally addreffed to the soLAR ORE and elementary FIRE, and through them, the radiant fymbols of his glory in this nether sphere, to the fource of light and Lord of animated nature. These folemn mantras are fuited to every condition of man, and every exigency of life: they abound, as is ufual with Hindoo productions of this kind, frequently before prefented to the reader, with a mixture of the most puerile and moft fublime conceptions. Every benignant fpirit that ranges the fky, every good king that reigns upon earth, is an emanation of that deity who pervades the vaft expanfe of fpace, and animates the whole extent of being. Thefe, therefore, receive the pious addreffes of the proftrate Hindoo. It is the Sabian idolatry of the Chaldeans in all its variety, as well as in its meridian fplendour. Mr. Colebrooke himself obferves, "It may be here fufficient to remark, that INDRA, or the firmament, fire, the fun, the moon and planets, water, air, the fpirits, the atmofphere, and the earth, are the objects most frequently addreffed, and the various and repeated facrifices with fire furnish abundant occafion for numerous prayers adapted to the many ftages of thofe religious rites:" p. 388. Notwithftanding all this fuperftitious veneration of created objects, the CREATOR himself is frequently addreffed, and spoken of in a ftrain of genuine and fervid piety worthy of the true religion. Out of a number of inftances that might be adduced

"MAD'HUSU'DANA SARASWATI, in the Prafthána

bhéda,"

in proof of this affertion, from the great mass of theological doctrines here laid open to our view, one fpecimen from the Yajurveda will fuffice. The interpolations by Mr. Colebrooke to render the extract, a literal tranflation intelligible, are made conformably to the beft Sanfcrit commentary on thefe facred books. It is the beginning of the prayers of the Sarvamedha, which conftitutes the thirty-fecond lecture of that Veda.

"Fire is that [original caufe]; the fun is that; fo is air; fo is the moon: fuch too is that pure BRAHME, and those waters, and that lord of creatures. Moments [and other measures of time] proceeded from the effulgent perfon, whom none can appre hend [as an object of perception], above, around, or in the midft. Of him, whofe glory is fo great, there is no image: he it is, who is celebrated in various holy ftrains *. Even he is the god, who pervades all regions: he is the first born: it is he, who is in the womb he, who is born; and he, who will be produced: he feverally, and univerfally, remains with [all] perfons.

"He, prior to whom, nothing was born; and who became all beings; himfelf the lord of creatures, with a [body compofed of] fixteen members, being delighted by creation, produced the three luminaries [the fun, the moon, and fire].

"To what God fhould we offer oblations, but to him, whe made the fluid fky and folid earth, who fixed the folar orb (war), and celestial abode (náca), and who framed drops [of rain] in the atmosphere? To what god fhould we offer oblations, but to him, whom heaven and earth mentally contemplate, while they are ftrengthened and embellished by offerings, and illuminated by the fun rifen above them.

"The wife man views that myfterious [being]; in whom the univerfe perpetually exifts, refting on that fole fupport. In him, this [world] is abforbed; from him, it iffues: in creatures, he is twined and wove, with various forms of existence. Let the wife man, who is converfant with the import of revelation +, promptly celebrate that immortal being, the mysteriously exifting and various abode: he, who knows its three ftates [its creation, consinuance and deftruction,] which are involved in mystery, is father of the father. That [Brahme], in whom the gods attain immor

The text refers to particular paffages.'

"

"For the word Gand harba is here interpreted, as intending one, who investigates holy writ. In another place (Afiatic Re fearches, vol. VII, p. 297), the fame term fignified the fun; and should have been so tranflated, instead of "heavenly quirifter, or celeftial chorifter;" which is not the meaning in that place, though it be the most common acceptation of the word.”

tality,

tality, while they abide in the third [or celeftial] region, is out venerable parent, and the providence which governs all worlds." P. 418

Such is the religion of the Vedas; a knowledge of the philofophy and fciences contained in them must be gleaned from what are called the BRAHMANA, or precepts inculcated throughout this voluminous work. But it must here be observed, that Mr. C. is not in poffeffion of the whole of the Vedas, nor has he perufed their entire contents. Sufficient fpecimens are, however, here given to enable us to form an idea of the high advance of the Brahmins in the fciences, at a period when Greece had fcarcely emerged from barba rifm. In aftronomy, in particular, that advance is proved by their early formation of a zodiac, divided into twenty-feven afterims, of which the firft is Crittica, or the Pleiades: p. 470. In fact, their religion, in fome degree, compelled the Indians to become aftronomers, fince all their great festivals are regulated by the motions of the heavenly bodies. Their aftronomical cycles are innumerable, from those of five years up to those of twelve thousand; the Calendar was formed, and the exact places of the colures are ftated fourteen hun. dred years before Chrift. This intelligence is truly important, especially at a period, when the high antiquity of the Brahmin aftronomy has been repeatedly attempted to be undermined. Mr. Colebrook has given the original Sanferit ftanzas, recording this memorable fact; with a literal tranflation and annotations, which it would be unpardonable in us to withhold from our readers.

"When the fun and moon ascend the sky together, being in the conftellation over which the Vafus prefide; then does the cycle begin, and the [feafon] Mág'ha, and the [month] Tapas, and the bright [fortnight], and the northern path.

The fun and moon turn towards the north at the beginning of Sravisht'há; but the fun turns towards the fouth in the middle of the conftellation over which the ferpent prefides; and this [his turn towards the fouth, and towards the north,] always [happens] in [the months of] Mágha Srávana.

In the northern progrefs, an increase of day, and decrease of night, take place, amounting to a praft'ha (or 32 palas) of water; in the fouthern, both are reverfed (i. e. the days decrease, and the nights increafe), and [the difference amounts] by the journey, to fix mubúrtas *.

"* I cannot, as yet, reconcile the time here stated. Its explanation appears to depend on the eonftruction of the clepfydra,