the policy of incorporating rather than combating antagonistic creeds, led more to a quiet admission, than to a warm support of Siva's claims to the highest rank. For the character of these gods, for the relation in which the conception of these beings stands to that of the Vedic time, for the new ideas which they impersonate at the Epic period, and for the group of mythological beings connected with both of them, we refer the reader to the respective articles. We will point, however, to one remarkable myth, as it will illustrate the altered position of the gods during the Epic period. In the Vedic hymns, the immortality of the gods is never matter of doubt; most of the elementary beings are invoked and described as everlasting, as liable neither to decay nor death. The offerings they receive may add to their comfort and strength; they may invigorate them, but it is nowhere stated that they are indispensable for their existence. It is, on the contrary, the pious sacrificer himself who, through his offerings, secures to himself long life, and, as it is sometimes hyperbolically called, immor. tality. And the same notion prevails throughout the oldest Brahmanas. It is only in the latest work of this class, the S'atapatha-Brahmana, and more especially in the Epic poems, that we find the inferior gods as mortal in the beginning, and as becoming immortal through exterior agency. In the SatapathaBrahmana, the juice of the Soma plant, offered by the worshipper, or at another time clarified butter, or even animal sacrifices, impart to them this immortality. At the Epic period, Vishnu teaches them how to obtain the Amrita, or beverage of immortality, without which they would go to destruction; and this epic Amrita itself is merely a compound, increased by imagination, of the various substances which in the Vedic writings are called or likened to Amrita, i. e., a 'substance that frees from death.' It is obvious, therefore, that gods like these could not strike root in the religious mind of the nation. We must look upon them more as the gods of poetry than of real life; nor do we find that they enjoyed any of the worship which was allotted to the two principal gods, Vishnu and Siva.

The philosophical creed of this period adds little to the fundamental notions contained in the Upanishads; but it frees itself from the legendary dross which still imparts to those works a deep tinge of mysticism. On the other hand, it conceives and develops the notion, that the union of the individual soul with the supreme spirit may be aided by penances, such as peculiar modes of breathing, particular postures, protracted fasting, and the like; in short, by those practices which are systematised by the Yoga doctrine. The most remarkable Epic work which inculcates this doctrine is the celebrated poem Bhagavadgtta, which has been wrongly considered by European writers as a pure Sankhya work, whereas Sankara, the great Hindu theologian, who commented on it, and other native commentators after him, have proved that it is founded on the Yoga belief. The doctrine of the reunion of the individual soul with the supreme soul, was necessarily founded on the assumption, that the former must have become free from all guilt affecting its purity before it can be re-merged into the source whence it proceeded; and since one human life is apparently too short for enabling the soul to attain its accomplishment, the Hindu mind concluded that the soul, after the death of its temporary owner, had to be born again, in order to complete the work it had left undone in its previous existence, and that it must submit to the same fate until its task is fulfilled. This is the doctrine of metempsychosis, which, in the absence of a belief in grace, is a logical consequence of a system which holds the human

soul to be of the same nature as that of an absolute God. The beginning of this doctrine may be discovered in some of the oldest Upanishads, but its fantastical development belongs to the Epic time, where it pervades the legends, and affects the social life of the nation. See METEMPSYCHOSIS.

The PURANIC period of Hinduism is the period of its decline, so far as the popular creed' is concerned. Its pantheon is nominally the same as that of the Epic period. Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva remain still at the head of its imaginary gods; but whereas the Epic time is generally characterised by a friendly harmony between the higher occupants of the divine spheres, the Purânic period shews discord and destruction of the original ideas whence the Epic gods arose. Brahma withdraws, in general, from the popular adoration, and leaves Vishnu and Siva to fight their battles in the minds of their worshippers for the highest rank. The elementary principle which originally inhered in these deities is thus completely lost sight of-by the followers of the Puranas. The legends of the Epic poems relating to these gods become amplified and distorted, according to the sectarian tendencies of the masses; and the divine element which still distinguishes these gods in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, is now more and more mixed up with worldly concerns and intersected with historical events, disfigured in their turn to suit individual interests. Of the ideas implied by the Vedic rites, scarcely a trace is visible in the Puranas and Tantras, which are the text-books of this creed. In short, the unbridled imagination which pervades these works is neither pleasing from a poetical, nor elevating from a philosophical point of view. Some Purânas, it is true-for instance, the Bhagavatamake in some sense an exception to this aberration of original Hinduism; but they are a compromise between the popular and the Vedanta creed, which henceforward remains the creed of the educated and intelligent. They do not affect the worship of the masses as practised by the various sects; and this worship itself, whether harmless, as with the worshippers of Vishnu, or offensive, as with the adorers of Siva and his wife Durga, is but an empty ceremonial, which, here and there, may remind one of the symbolical worship of the Vedic Hindu, but, as a whole, has no connection whatever with the Vedic scriptures, on which it affects to rest. It is this creed which, with further deteriorations, caused by the lapse of centuries, is still the main religion of the masses in India. The opinion these entertain, that it is countenanced by the ritual, as well as by the theological portion of the Vedas, is the redeem. ing feature of their belief; for, as nothing is easier than to disabuse their mind on this score, by reviving the study of their ancient and sacred language, and by enabling them to read again their oldest and most sacred books, it may be hoped that a proper education of the people in this respect, by learned and enlightened natives, will remove many of the existing errors, which, if they continued, must inevitably lead to a further and, ultimately, total degeneration of the Hindu race.

The philosophical creed of this period, and the creed which is still preserved by the educated classes, is that derived from the tenets of the Vedanta philosophy. It is based on the belief of one supreme being, which imagination and speculation endeavour to invest with all the perfections conceivable by the human mind, but the true nature of which is, nevertheless, declared to be beyond the reach of thought, and which, on this ground, is defined as not possessing any of the qualities by which the human mind is able to comprehend intellectual or material entity. See VEDANTA.

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Hindu Sects.-This designation applies to the sects which arose during the third period of Hinduism. They suppose that their worship is countenanced by the Vedas; but its real origin is derived from the Puranas and Tantras. See these articles. There are three chief divisions of these sects-the adorers of Vishnu, of Siva, and of the wives or female energies of these gods. See VAISHNAVAS, SAIVAS, and SAKTAS. Besides these great sects, there are some of limited extent and total insignificance, such as the worshippers of Agni, the god of fire; of Surya, the sun-god; of Ganesa, the god of wisdom, and the obviator of impediments. For a detailed account of these and similar sects, see the first volume of the Works of the late H. H. Wilson, containing a Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus.

For an account of the various divisions of I., see articles on the various provinces referred to in the preceding article. See also INDIA, BRITISH; INDIA, NATIVE STATES OF; INDIA, FRENCH; INDIA, POR

TUGUESE.

For an account of the philosophy, literature, architecture, &c., of I., see SANSCRIT LITERATURE MIMANSA, NYAYA, SANKHYA, VEDANTA. For the history of I., see following article.

INDIA, BRITISH, is the name given to those parts of Hither and Further India placed under the administration of the viceroy or governor-general of India. It does not include Ceylon, which, although a British possession, has its government entirely separate from that of Hindustan; but it extends along the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal to 10° S. lat., and thus includes part of Further

India or Indo-China.

The following are the returns of the census of 1871-72 for the provinces under British rule; those for the Punjab, Oude, and Berar being, however, from 3 to 6 years antecedent to that date:

Government. By an act of parliament, which received the royal assent 2d August 1858, Queen Victoria was declared Empress of India, and various regulations were enacted for the better government of the country, which are now in force. Under these and more recent enactments, the home-government is vested in a secretary of state, who is a member of the English cabinet. He is assisted by an under-secretary and a council of 15 members. The Indian executive government is administered by the viceroy or governor-general appointed by the crown, and acting under the control of the secretary of state for India. The viceroy is appointed by the crown for a term of six years, and is assisted by a council of five ordinary members, three appointed by the secretary of state, two by her majesty's warrant. Each of them has charge of a department of the executive. The com

mander-in-chief may be constituted an extrac dinary member of the council. The legislatin council is composed of the members of the executive together with from 6 to 12 members, one half e whom must be unconnected with the public service They are nominated for two years by the viceroy. British I. is now divided into the provinces men tioned in the preceding table. It was formerly divided into the three Presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay; and in ordinary language, and even in official documents, the name of Presidency is stili given to the provinces of Madras and Bombay. As regards military matters, the old threefold division may be said to subsist, but it must be kept in mind that British I. is now divided into the 4 territories under the governor-general, and the 8 provinces, eramerated in the preceding table, and that each has its own civil government, and is independent of the others. The two governments of Madras and Bonbay are under the rule of governors appointed by the crown, and assisted by executive and legalative councils. They communicate only with regard to important matters with the home government through the governor-general. As regards affairs of minor importance, they correspond directly with the secretary of state for India. The Lower Pr vinces of Bengal, the North-west Provinces, and the Punjab are administered by lieutenant-governers appointed by the governor-general, subject to the approbation of the secretary of state for India. In Bengal, the lieutenant-governor is assisted by a legis lative council. Oude, Assam, the Central Provinces, and British Burmah are governed by chief-commissioners appointed by the Indian government Ajmere was separated from the government of the North-west Provinces in 1871, and placed under the direct control of the governor-general. Berar, alsa | known under the name of the assigned districts of Hyderabad, Mysore, and Coorg are administered by commissioners appointed by the governor-general All the governments of India are split into provinces, over each of which a commissioner is placed, and | these are in turn divided into districts under a judge and collector. The provinces are distinguished into regulation and non-regulation provinces. In the former the revenue is collected and justice is administered according to fixed methods. In the latter, power is reserved by legislative enactment to modify these as occasion requires. Resident polit | ical agents are appointed by the British government at the courts of the native princes. The Covenanted Civil Service is composed of Europeans who conduct the general administration in the Indian provinces. Since 1854 the members have been recruited from the successful candidates at competitive examinations instituted for the purpose, held in London. The Uncovenanted Civil Service, appointments to which are made by the authorities in I., is composed of Europeans, Eurasians (the class sprung from native mothers by European fathers), and natives. Municipalities in I. were first created for the three presidency towns, and it was not till 1850, | 1856, and 1868 that acts were passed under which a large number of Indian towns have obtained manicipal institutions, which are gradually diffusing the habit of self-government over the whole country.

Military Force.-The Indian military service, like the civil service, underwent a thorough reorganisation, consequent on the great mutiny, and the transfer of the government of the country from the East India Company to the Crown. In 1872, the established military force of British I. numbered 190,264, including officers; of whom about 123,470 were natives, and 60,632 English (exclusive of officers). I. is divided into three military divisions, which, although named after the three old