The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads) c5.3

c5.3

Multiplicity of Hindu religions—Brahmanism—Buddhism—Profound hold of religion upon the Hindu mind—Hindu life dominated by religious institutions—The four stages of life—The institution of caste—Caste then and now—Symptoms of revulsion against caste—Other pernicious religious institutions—Continuity of India's religious history—Date of the conception of *ṛta*, or "cosmic order"—Close relationship of the religions of India and Persia—Slight connection between India and Persia in secular history—The Parsis in India—Close relation between Veda and Avesta—The Veda and the Indo-European period—The Veda as a whole—The date of the Veda—Its great uncertainty—Nature of Vedic tradition—The Çrotriyas, or "Oral Traditionalists"—Uncertain character of Vedic life and institutions—Origin of the Veda—Contents of Vedic literature as a whole—The four Vedas—The Rig-Veda—The books of the Rig-Veda—Theme and character of the Rig-Veda—A hymn to Goddess Dawn—The Yajur-Veda—Character of the *yajus*-formulas—The Sāma-Veda—Origin and purpose of the Sāma-Veda—The Atharva-Veda—Contents of the Atharva-Veda—Religious Quality of the Atharva-Veda—Two Atharvan hymns—The Brāhmaṇa Texts—Some legends of the Brāhmaṇas—The Āraṇyakas, or "Forest Treatises"—The Upanishads—Literary history of the Upanishads—The Upanishads in the West—Critical estimate of the Upanishads. . . . . . . . . 1-59