VERNACULAR DIALECTS.

109

than others. But nothing can be more certain than this, that the Tamul, the Telloogoo, and the Canarese which are the cognate dialects of the peninsula, are of a different family, and have no more connexion with the Sanscrit, than they have with the Persian, or Arabic. In these three languages, there is an ancient and a modern dialect. Nearly all their works are written in poetry, and in the higher tongue, and as we peruse the translations that have been made from the poems of Vyasa and Valmeekee, and all the more ancient classics, the purer does the Canarese, the Tamul, and Telloogoo become; there is scarcely a Sanscrit word to be found; the whole record is in the original language of the country, whereas the modern and vulgar dialects are more replete with Sanscrit terms-a full and convincing proof to my own mind, that the Sanscrit is not the parent of these languages.

All native grammarians too have agreed that these three dialects are radically different from the Sanscrit, and have no dependence upon it whatever, and have therefore divided their words into the respective heads of the language of the land, Sanscrit derivatives, Sanscrit corruptions, and provincial terms. All words expressive of primitive ideas and of such things as are used in the early stages of society; all words denoting the different members of the body, the various kinds of instruments in common use, and the different sorts of cattle; all words describing their food, their dress,

110

NATIVE GRAMMARIANS.

their ornaments, their dwelling, their relations in life, and the productions of the ground-belong to the vernacular tongue, while the Sanscrit terms in use belong entirely to law, literature and religion. In addition to this, the conversation of the Bramins, abounds much more with Sanscrit terms, than that of the other classes who speak their own colloquial dialects best, and who, in attempting to use Sanscrit words, often excite the scorn and derision of their more learned superiors. Nor is it unworthy of remark, that the Telloogoo which is spoken by the tribes of the north, is more replete, in the vulgar dialect, with Sanscrit words, than the Tamul and the Canarese which are spoken further to the south, and to the south-west, and since the lower classes of the people are now considered the aborigines of the land, since there is a more intimate alliance between Shin Tamul, and Hulee Canada, and ancient Teloogoo, than there is in the modern dialects, and since the Bramins are considered a race of conquerors who emigrated from the distant north, it would be evident that the dialect nearer to the seat of the aggressors, would be more likely to be affected by the foreign language.

The adoption of such a general principle as that against which I am contending, to account for the division and variety of Eastern languages, is, at first view, very imposing, and has so often been reiterated by the admirers of Sanscrit philology, that scholars have readily taken it for granted; but

every European who has studied the vernacular languages, knows that it is destitute of proof. Indeed! it might be contended with equal propriety, that our own language is derived from the Latin, or from the Greek, because a number of their words are incorporated with it, to express many of the technicalities of law, science, and literature; as to contend that these and other vernacular languages were derived from the Sanscrit.

The Vedas are four in number, and are the most ancient, and the most sacred of the Hindoo writings. The Rig-the Yajur-the Sam, and the At-hurwana Vedas are said to have proceeded from the mouth of Brumha, are, therefore, reckoned divine in their origin, and infallible in authority, are esteemed too sacred for the lower classes to hear, and are the books on which the Bramins rely for all their power and pretensions. According to the general belief, they were compiled by Vyasa, and as they do not enjoin any worship to Rama, to Crishnu and to other deities which have long been popular among Hindoos, their antiquity must be But however ancient they may be, very great. they can make no pretensions to divinity. After giving some account of the creation as the work of Brumha, they chiefly consist of prayers to the Supreme Being, to the sun, to the stars and to the elements; and descriptions of various rites, ceremonies, and incantations. The practical parts inculcate their idolatrous duties, advance arguments

for their system of mythology, describe the sanguinary chapter in which the sacrifices both animal and human, and the manner in which they are to be offered, are revealed, and give the fearful curses and imprecations which are to be denounced against enemies. In the exercise of their ingenuity to discover resemblances between the true religion, and the Hindoo mythology, some have gone so far as to find in these books, some analogies to the Books of Moses. Because one gives some account of the creation of the world and of man, THAT they imagine corresponds with Genesis. Because another contains laws and ordinances to regulate their worship, that is thought to resemble Exodus. Because another has enjoined sacrifices of all kinds and describes minutely the manner in which they are to be offered, that is thought to be similar to Leviticus. Because another teaches lessons of morality, and unfolds the blessings and the curses which the priests may pronounce, that they maintain must be analogous to Deuteronomy; and since the notion prevails that these Vedas were given by Brumha from Mount Meros, they trace, in this circumstance, the delivery of the law from Mount Sinai. These are, no doubt, strange fancies. But minds of a certain order delight in such researches and in drawing such analogies; it is enough to ordinary minds that they hear of such enquiries and contemplate the results.

Next in importance to the Vedas, the various

Shasters hold a place. In the estimation of the Bramins with whom I have conversed, they have not, as some have asserted, the same claims to divinity as the Vedas. Their rishes and their sages are their authors; but they are not esteemed as inspired, and, should you sweep away the whole circle of their sciences, the Vedas would remain unimpaired, and would be regarded as sacred as before. The Selpee Shaster teaches the science of architecture; the Dhurma Shaster that of law and logic; the Neetie Shaster that of moral philosophy; the Jotee Shaster that of astrology; the Weidya Shaster that of medicine. The sciences are described, are expatiated upon, have the rules by which they are brought into use, are taught in their schools and colleges, and present to the student a formidable array of metaphysics, and of philosophy, and of science falsely so called.

The Poorannas occupy the next place in the Hindoo literature. As mythological poems, they are perhaps the most popular and the most interesting of their writings. The Maha Bharta, and the Bagwuta describe the exploits of Chrishnu; and the Ramayana those of Rama. As it may not be uninteresting to the reader, I shall just give an outline of the latter.

At different times, Bhoodevi or the earth is represented as oppressed with monsters and with deUnable any longer to bear their enormities, she enters the presence of Vishnoo, entreats his in

mons.

I