The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c40.s2.1

v2.c40.s2.1

The texts which have come down to us are certainly not the beginning of the intellectual activity of the time: they bear every trace in their manner and matter of representing the result of many discussions, and deviations of opinion among the priestly schools. The doctrines have been handled and rehandled, and the names to which they are ascribed cannot be taken *au pied de la lettre*: as in the case of Yājñavalkya, we cannot assume that they really prove or indicate activity in philosophical research on the part of the men who are mentioned. It is also important to note that the texts, such as they are, are, in the case of the more important at any rate, not the productions of a single hand: they are redactions, perhaps made at more than one time,¹ of varying philosophic arguments, and they therefore contain very various doctrines, which are not often consistent.