The Social and Military Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India, as Represented by the Sanskrit Epic c2.s2.1

c2.s2.1

In order to a better understanding of the material from which are drawn the chief quotations preferred in this essay, a word will be necessary in regard to the present and past condition of the Hindu Epic. The poem is of obscure origin. History fails us, and who can trust Hindu tradition? More than this: the work when analyzed appears to be inwardly inconsistent. In the same heroes we discover different characters. Opposite tendencies seem at work. The highest god is at the same time a tricky mortal. The chief knights are depicted now as good and now as sinful men. The original theme is, as it were, diverted from its course.†