The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c24.143

v1.c24.143

On Some Early References to the Vedas by European Writers, Ibid., VIII, p. 98; Caland, Ontdekkingsgeschiedenis van den Veda (Amsterdam, 1918); Zachariae-Hosten, The Discovery of the Veda, Journal of Indian History, II, p. 127-57. In the 18th century, a MS. containing a new Veda, the Ezur-Veda was found in the Mission Library of Pondichery. The most respectable native Christians of the place held the opinion, founded on no authority, that the book was written by Fr. de Nobili. Nevertheless, Mr. Ellis, Account of the Discovery of a Modern Imitation of the Vedas, Asiatic Researches, XIV, p. 32, wisely says. "There can be no doubt that he (de Nobili) was fully qualified to be the author of those writings. If this should be the fact, considering the high character he bears among all acquainted with his name and the nature of his known works, I am inclined to attribute to him the composition only, not the forgery, of pseudo Vedas". Max Muller, Lectures on the Science of Language, I, p. 174, note 70, categorically says: "The Ezur-Veda is not the work of Robert de Nobili. It was probably written by one of his converts. There is no evidence for ascribing the work to Robert, and it is not mentioned in the list of his works". In spite of the statements of these learned scholars, D'Orsey, Portuguese Discoveries, p. 256, boldly affirms that "Pere Robert applied his great skill to the production of a forgery in Sanskrit on an old bit of parchment. When questioned as to the genuineness of this certificate, he solemnly swore before the council of Brahmans at Madura that the document was authentic; and that he, like all Jesuits, was descended from their Indian Divinity! Nor was this all. He forged a new Veda, which was so well executed that, for nearly two centuries, it imposed itself upon the natives themselves". There cannot be more historical errors in so few lines. Then and Dr. Alex H. Japp, A Jesuit Missionary in India, East and West, III, p. 977-92, repeats this unfounded accusation; but he was thoroughly refuted by Fr. Ernest R. Hull, Was Robert de Nobili an Impostor? Ibid., p 1223-38. There cannot be any doubt about the authorship of the Ezur-Veda. A French Jesuit, named Calmette, wrote it one century later. As Prof. Caland, o. c., p. 33, shows, the spelling of the Sanskrit words and proper names points to Bengal and Orissa and not to the Tamil country where de Nobili ordinarily lived. Cf. Caland, Robert de Nobili and the Sanskrit Language, Acta Orientalia, III, p. 50.