DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.638#0050
xlvi INDIAN MYTH AND LEGEND
thought". Among the settled and agricultural peoples of
the Brown race, the development of religious ideas followed
different lines, and were similarly controlled by early ideas
which sprang from different habits and experiences.
In the opening chapters we present various phases
of Aryan life and religion in India, beginning with the
worship of Indra, and concluding with the early stages
of modern Hinduism. From the ancient tribal struggles
of the Middle Country accumulated the hero songs which
received epic treatment in the Mahdbhdrata, while the
traditions of the " Easterners" were enshrined in the
Rdmdyana. Although neither of these great works can be
regarded as historical narratives, they contain a mass of
historical matter which throws much light on the habits
and customs and beliefs of the early peoples.
These epics were utilized by Brahmanical compilers
for purposes of religious propaganda, and survive to us
mainly as sacred books. In our pages we have given
prominence to the heroic narrative which remains em-
bedded in the mass of doctrinal treatises and mythological
interpolations. The miraculous element is somewhat
toned down in the accounts of conflicts, and the more
dramatic phases of the heroic stories are presented in as
full detail as space permits, so as to afford our readers
glimpses of ancient life in northern India at a time when
Vedic religion still held sway. This applies especially
to the Mahdbhdrata, the kernel of which, no doubt, con-
tains the hero songs of the Bharata and other tribes. The
mythical conflicts of the 'Rdmdyana appeal less to western
minds than its purely human episodes. We cannot help
being impressed by the chivalrous character of the leading
heroes, the high sense of honour displayed by the princes,
and the obedience shown by sons to their parents. "We
may weary of Rama's conflicts with giants and demons.
thought". Among the settled and agricultural peoples of
the Brown race, the development of religious ideas followed
different lines, and were similarly controlled by early ideas
which sprang from different habits and experiences.
In the opening chapters we present various phases
of Aryan life and religion in India, beginning with the
worship of Indra, and concluding with the early stages
of modern Hinduism. From the ancient tribal struggles
of the Middle Country accumulated the hero songs which
received epic treatment in the Mahdbhdrata, while the
traditions of the " Easterners" were enshrined in the
Rdmdyana. Although neither of these great works can be
regarded as historical narratives, they contain a mass of
historical matter which throws much light on the habits
and customs and beliefs of the early peoples.
These epics were utilized by Brahmanical compilers
for purposes of religious propaganda, and survive to us
mainly as sacred books. In our pages we have given
prominence to the heroic narrative which remains em-
bedded in the mass of doctrinal treatises and mythological
interpolations. The miraculous element is somewhat
toned down in the accounts of conflicts, and the more
dramatic phases of the heroic stories are presented in as
full detail as space permits, so as to afford our readers
glimpses of ancient life in northern India at a time when
Vedic religion still held sway. This applies especially
to the Mahdbhdrata, the kernel of which, no doubt, con-
tains the hero songs of the Bharata and other tribes. The
mythical conflicts of the 'Rdmdyana appeal less to western
minds than its purely human episodes. We cannot help
being impressed by the chivalrous character of the leading
heroes, the high sense of honour displayed by the princes,
and the obedience shown by sons to their parents. "We
may weary of Rama's conflicts with giants and demons.