Indian Myth and Legend
This volume deals with the myths and legends of India, which survive to us in the rich and abundant storehouse of Sanskrit literature, and with the rise and growth of Brahmanism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. The reader is introduced to the various sacred works of the Hindus, including the ancient invocatory hymns of the four Vedas, and great epic poems the Ramayana, which is three times longer than the Iliad, and the Mahabharata, which is four times longer than the Ramayana. In the present day over two hundred million Hindus are familiar in varying degrees with the legendary themes and traditional beliefs which the ancient forest sages and poets of India invested with much beautiful symbolism, and used as a medium for speculative thought and profound spiritual teaching. The sacred books of India are to the Hindus what the Bible is to Christians. To students of history, ethnology, and comparative religion they present features or peculiar interest, for they contain an elaborate sociology of the ancient Aryo-Indians, their political organizations, their code of law, their high ethical code, all their conception of God, the soul and the universe. Some knowledge of them is necessary for those who desire to approach with sympathy the investigation of the religious beliefs of our Hindu fellow men and to understand their outlook upon life and the world.
**Contents and Sample Pages**