A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, so far as it illustrates the Primitive Religion of the Brahmans c8.s3.49.4

c8.s3.49.4

Any small matter that had been overlooked by the authors of the Sūtras is noted down as a matter of grave importance. Subjects on which general instructions were formerly considered sufficient, are now treated in special treatises, intended for men who would no longer take the trouble of reading the whole system of the Brahmanic ceremonial. The technical and severe language of the Sūtras was exchanged for a free and easy style, whether in prose or metre; and however near in time the Brahmans may place the authors of the Sûtras and some of the Pariśiṣṭas, certain it is that no man who had mastered the Sûtra style would ever have condescended to employ the slovenly diction of the Pariśiṣṭas. The change in the position and the characters of the Brahmans, such as we find them in the Sûtras, and such as we find them again in the Pariśiṣṭas, has been rapid and decisive. The men who could write such works were aware of their own weakness, and had probably suffered many defeats. The world around them was moving in a new direction, and the old Vedic age died away in impotent twaddle.