Introduction
In order to perceive how the religions of India have taken shape, it is convenient to trace briefly the history of the principal races which have peopled the country. We must go back to the aboriginal or primitive tribes, about whose origin so little is known posi-tively. Some of them are believed to have entered India at various times, several thousands of years before Christ, from the neighbourhood of Tartary and Tibet. Next we have the Kolarians, who apparently came from the same direction and, passing through Bengal, finally settled in the mountainous regions of the central portion of India. Thirdly there are the great Dravidian races in Southern India, whose antecedents seem to have advanced into the country through the passes of the north-west. These were the three main stocks of primitive tribes first known to have occupied the Peninsula; most of them were of small stature and dark skin, with flat noses and low foreheads The Gonds and Korkus in Central India, the Bhils in the hills to the west, the Kondhs in Gondvana and Orissa, the Santhals and Kols in the hilly tracts north of the Ganges in Bengal, the Khasias and Garos on the eastern border, the Puliyars and Nairs of the Madras hills, the savages of the Andaman Islands, and the celebrated Gurkhas in the neighbour-hood of Nepal are representatives of these ancient races. Some two thousand years before Christ there came about a great upheaval in Central Asia in the region which surrounds the sources of the Oxus; members of a great primeval race, who called themselves Arya, spread abroad into Europe, Persia, and India. They were a people of good physique, with fair complexions and fine features; the skin of those who resided in the plains of India became darkened, while that of the others who dwelt in the cooler climes of Europe assumed a paler hue. Their language was the common source of Sanskrit, Prakit, Zend, Persian, and Armenian in Asia; and of the Greek, Italic, Celtic, Teutonic, and Slavonic languages in Europe. In like manner their religion gave root to others, which thrived in the fruitful soil of Asia, but have now disappeared in Europe, although traces still remain there in languages, legends, and superstitions.
About The Book
The author attempts to bring together the leading features of the principal Indian religions, to describe some of the chief ceremonies and festivals, and, in the last chapter, to give a few notes on the management of a large religious fair. I do not profess to have written much which is original, and this little book may be regarded as a simple summary composed from the works of many learned authors.
Vedas (1182)
Upanishads (493)
Puranas (624)
Ramayana (741)
Mahabharata (354)
Dharmasastras (165)
Goddess (496)
Bhakti (242)
Saints (1503)
Gods (1289)
Shiva (370)
Journal (187)
Fiction (60)
Vedanta (362)
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