An Outline of the Religious Literature of India c3.4

c3.4

It was quite clear that to bring together all that is already known about Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain literature, whether in Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, or the modern vernaculars, and exhibit it as one historical development, would be extremely illuminating. The three religions are moments in a single religious movement; and they have reacted on each other throughout their history. Vernacular religious books are as truly a vital part of the growth of the sects as their more formal Sanskrit manuals are. For a full understanding of the history, the whole must be envisaged as one great movement.