The History of Indian Literature c9.20

Language: English

c9.20.1

The direct data, attesting the posteriority of the second period of Indian literature, consist in these facts: first, that its opening phases everywhere presuppose the Vedic period as entirely closed; next, that its oldest portions are regularly based upon the Vedic literature; and, lastly, that the relations of life have now all arrived at a stage of development of which, in the first period, we can only trace the germs and beginning. Thus, in particular, divine worship is now centred on a triad of divinities, Brahman, Vishṇu, and Śiva; the two latter of whom, again, in course of time, have the supremacy severally allotted to them, under various forms, according to the different sects that grew up for this purpose. It is by no means implied that individual portions of the earlier period may not run on into the later; on the contrary, I have frequently endeavoured in the preceding pages to show that such is the case. For the rest, the connection between the two periods is, on the whole, somewhat loose: it is closest as regards those branches of literature which had already attained a definite stage of progress in the first period, and which merely continued to develop further in the second,—Grammar, namely, and Philosophy. In regard to those branches, on the contrary, which are a more independent growth of the second period, the difficulty of connecting them with the earlier age is very great. We have here a distinct gap which it is altogether impossible to fill up.

c9.20.2

The reason of this lies simply in the fact, that owing to the difficulty of preserving literary works, the fortunate successor almost always wholly supplanted the predecessor it surpassed: the latter thus became superfluous, and was consequently put aside, no longer committed to memory, no longer copied. In all these branches therefore—unless some other influence has supervened—we are in possession only of those master-works in which each attained its culminating point, and which in later times served as the classical models upon which the modern literature was formed, itself more or less destitute of native productive energy. This fact has been already adduced as having proved equally fatal in the case of the more ancient Brâhmaṇa literature, &c.; there, much to the same extent as here, it exercised its lamentable, though natural influence. In the Vedic literature also, that is to say, in its Śákhás, we find the best analogy for another kindred point, namely, that some of the principal works of this period are extant in several—generally two—recensions. But along with this a further circumstance has to be noted, which, in consequence of the great care expended upon the sacred literature, has comparatively slight application to it, namely, that the mutual relation of the manuscripts is of itself such as to render any certain restoration of an original text for the most part hopeless.

c9.20.3

It is only in cases where ancient commentaries exist that the text is in some degree certain, for the time at least to which these commentaries belong. This is evidently owing to the fact that these works were originally preserved by oral tradition; their consignment to writing only took place later, and possibly in different localities at the same time, so that discrepancies of all sorts were inevitable. But besides these variations there are many alterations and additions which are obviously of a wholly arbitrary nature, partly made intentionally, and partly due to the mistakes of transcribers. In reference to this latter point, in particular, the fact must not be lost sight of that, in consequence of the destructive influence of the climate, copies had to be renewed very frequently. As a rule, the more ancient Indian manuscripts are only from three to four hundred years old; hardly any will be found to date more than five hundred years back.198a Little or nothing, therefore, can here be effected by means of so-called diplomatic criticism. We cannot even depend upon a text as it appears in quotations, such quotations being generally made from memory,—a practice which, of course, unavoidably entails mistakes and alterations.