Twelve purificatory rites. Birth of a son. Subsequent ceremonies. Initiation. Four stages of a Brahman's life. Ancient marriage- a religious duty. Betrothal. Initiation. Marriage ceremonies. RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE ORTHODOX HINDU HOUSEHOlder. Description of a modern Hindū house. Some Vedic rites main- tained. A Brahman's daily duties. Dress. Sacredness of the kitchen. Omens; auspicious and inauspicious sights. Religious. status of women. Teeth-cleaning. Application of ashes. Morning Sandhya service. Brahma-yajña service. Tarpana service. Pañća- HINDU FASTS, FESTIVALS, AND HOLY DAYS. Hindū powers of fasting. Special fasts. Makara-saǹkrānti. Va- santa-pañćami. Siva-rātri. Holi. Rama-navami. Nāga-pañćami. Krishna-janmashtami. Gaṇeśa-ćaturthi. Dürgā-pūjā. Kālī-pūjā. TEMPLES, SHRINES, AND SACRED PLACES. Benares described. Tanjore temple. Madura temple. Ramesvara. CASTE IN RELATION TO TRADES AND INDUSTRIES. Caste, trade, and industry part of religion. Poverty and potential wealth of India. Village communities. Tillers of soil. Village functionaries. Trades. Delicacy and beauty of Indian hand-work. MODERN HINDU THEISM. RĀMMOHUN ROY'S SUCCESSORS. Dwarkanath Tagore. Debendra-nath Tagore. Ādi Brahma- WITH THE EQUIVALENT SANSKRIT LETTERS AND RULES FOR PRONUNCIATION. VOWELS. A, a, for, pronounced as in rural; Ã, ā, for HI, T, as in tar, father; I, i, for, f, as in fill; I, i, for §, †, as in police; U, u, for J, ̧, as in full; Û, ū, for 3, as in rude; Ri, ri, for, as in merrily; Ṛi, ri, for, as in marine; E, e, for T, as in prey; Ai, ai, for è, as in aisle; 0, 0, for ì, ì, as in go; Au, au, for,, as in Haus (German); y or m, for i.e. the Anusvāra, sounded like n in French mon, or like any nasal; ḥ, for :, i. e. the Visarga or a distinctly audible aspirate. CONSONANTS. K, k, for, pronounced as in kill, seek; Kh, kh, for A, as in inkhorn; G, g, for Д, as in gun, dog; Gh, gh, for, as in loghut; Ń, ǹ, for ₹, as in sing (sin). Ć. é, for ◄, as in dolće (in music),=English ch in church, lurch (luré); Ćh, éh, for, as in churchhill (ćurchill); J, j, for 3⁄4, as in jet; Jh, jh, for , as in hedge-hog (hejhog); Ñ, ñ, for 7, as in singe (siñj). T, t, for, as in true (tru); Th, th, for, as in anthill (anthill); D, d, for 3, as in drum (drum); Dh, dh, for, as in redhaired (redhaired); N, n, for , as in none (nun). T, t, for ☎, as in water (as pronounced in Ireland); Th, th, for ◄, as in nut-hook (but more dental); D, d, for 7, as in dice (more like th in this); Dh, dh, for, as in adhere (more dental); N, n, for , as in not, in. ་ P, p, for ч, as in put, sip; Ph, ph, for, as in uphill; B, b, for, as in bear, rub; Bh, bh, for, as in abhor; M, m, for , as in map, jam. Y, y, for, as in yet; R, r, for T, as in red, year; L, l, for ☎, as in lie; V, v, for, as in vie (but like w after consonants, as in twice). Ś, s, for 1, as in sure, session; Sh, sh, for ч, as in shun, hush; S, s, for , as in sir, hiss. H, h, for, as in hit. Fuller directions for pronunciation will be found in a 'Practical Grammar of the Sanskrit Language,' by Monier Williams, fourth edition, published by the Delegates of the Clarendon Press, Oxford, and sold by Henry Frowde, Amen Corner, Paternoster Row, and by W. H. Allen & Co., 13, Waterloo Place, London. Also in a Sanskrit-English Dictionary, published by the same. RELIGIOUS THOUGHT AND LIFE IN INDIA. Introductory Observations. THE present work is intended to meet the wants of those educated Englishmen who may be desirous of gaining an insight into the mental, moral, and religious condition of the inhabitants of our Eastern empire, and yet are quite unable to sift for themselves the confused mass of informationaccurate and inaccurate-spread out before them by innumerable writers on Indian subjects. Its aim will be to present trustworthy outlines of every important phase of religious thought and life in India, whether Hindū, Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian, or Muhammadan. Indian Christianity, too, will receive a share of attention; for it must be borne in mind that the existence of about two million native Christian converts-Roman Catholic and Protestant-justify the inclusion of Christianity among the religious systems permanently established on Indian soil. Having been a student of Indian sacred literature for more than forty years, and having thrice travelled over every part of India, from Bombay to Calcutta, from Cashmere to Ceylon, I may possibly hope to make a dry subject fairly attractive without any serious sacrifice of scientific accuracy, while at the same time it will be my earnest endeavour to hold the scales impartially between antagonistic religious systems and as far as possible to do justice to the amount of truth that each may contain. The Hindu religion may justly claim our first consideration, not only for the reason that nearly two hundred millions of the population of India are Hindūs, but because of the intricacy of its doctrines and the difficulty of making them intelligible to European minds. With a view, then, to greater perspicuity I propose making use of the three words Vedism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism as convenient expressions for the three principal stages or phases in the development of that complicated system. I. Vedism was the earliest form of the religion of the Indian branch of the great Aryan family-the form which was represented in the songs, invocations, and prayers, collectively called Veda, and attributed to the Rishis, or supposed inspired leaders of religious thought and life in India. It was the worship of the deified forces or phenomena of Nature, such as Fire, Sun, Wind, and Rain, which were sometimes individualized or thought of as separate divine powers, sometimes gathered under one general conception and personified as one God. It taught the II. Brahmanism grew out of Vedism. merging of all the forces of Nature in one universal spiritual Being the only real Entity—which, when unmanifested and impersonal, was called Brahmă (neuter); when manifested as a personal creator, was called Brahmā (masculine); and when manifested in the highest order of men, was called Brāhmaṇa (the Brahmans'). Brahmanism was rather a philosophy than a religion, and in its fundamental doctrine was spiritual Pantheism. It was Brāh III. Hinduism grew out of Brāhmanism. manism, so to speak, run to seed and spread out into a confused tangle of divine personalities and incarnations. The one system was the rank and luxuriant outcome of the other. Yet Hinduism is distinct from Brahmanism, and chiefly in |