Ashvini Kumar (Castor and Pollux); all of whom are invited to attend a moon-plant sacrifice, and partake of the offered viands: so that the reader begins to fancy the Veda a system of Elemental and Sabean worship. Soon, however, other gods, as Saraswati, Vishnoo, &c. either deified mortals, or the creatures of imagination, are addressed; and to remove all doubt of the Veda's favouring the demoniacal worship, which consists in paying divine honours to those who once occupied a place among mortals, the Ribhu are invoked, who, at the time the author wrote, are described as men who were to become gods*, and they are now in fact reckoned by the Hindoos an order of gods. There has been no passage of the Vedas more tortured, in order to make it speak a monotheistic language, than that famous verse, which every Brahmun should repeat several times a day, contained in the third Ashtak, 4th Adhyaya, 11th Warga of the Sanhita of the Rik-Veda, generally called by way of eminence the Gayatri, though every verse of a particular measure might claim the same appellation. The god, who is addressed in this verse, is the god Savita, or the light which emanates from him. Is then Savita "the sun," as all the Dictionaries interpret it, or is it a title of the Supreme Being? Sir William Jones, following the Vedanti commentators, asserts, that the Supreme Being is meant; Ram Mohun Roy has written a tract in favour of this theory; Mr. Colebrooke in his translation hesitates between the two; Mr. Rosen again, in his Rik-Veda Specimen, lately published in Germany, translates Savita simply by " Sol;" and his translation may be rendered into English as follows; "We meditate on the glorious light of the resplendent sun: let him direct our mindst." But we shall let the Veda speak for itself on this subject, and for this purpose extract a hymn entire from the 2nd Adhyaya of the first Ashtak, Wargas 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. The hymn is as follows: * R. S. Ashtak 1st, Adhyaya 2nd, Warga 1st. + In the original the Gayatri is as follows: च्व भूर्भुव: स्व : तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचेा दयात् The first line contains an invocation of the Hindoo Trinity in union with the earth, the sky, and the heavens. This line however is no part of the Veda. The other two lines, besides the translation given above, may also, according to another gloss of Sáyana Achárya, the commentator on the Vedas, be rendered as follows: "We are entirely dependent on that superexcellent (emanation) of the resplendent sun, which light may carry forward our solemnities (to a prosperous issue)." It seems to me, from the connection, that this most probably is the real meaning of this famous verse, the composition of Vishwamitra, the preceptor of Ráma. 1.-0 twin sons of Ashvini (Castor and Pollux), having awaked early in the morning*, and yoked your chariot, come hither to this our moon-plant banquet. 2. We invite the twin sons of Ashvini, both of them possessed of most splendid chariots, the most excellent of charioteers, and inhabitants of the celestial regions. 3.-0 twin sons of Ashvini, be not forgetful to pour libations on our sacrifice: wherefore bring along with you your whip wetted (with the horses' sweat), and smacking pleasantly, in token that we shall certainly receive our reward. 4. O twin sons of Ashvini, it is not a long journey for you to perform, coming in your chariot, to the house of the offerer of the moon-plant oblation? 5.-I invoke the golden-handed Savita to our aid. It is he who in his divine form assigns our host the rank which is his due. 6. In order that he may come to our aid, praise ye Savita, who spares not the water; for we desire to perform those sacred rites over which he presides. 7. We invite him, who is the assigner of their different abodes to men, the distributor of all various kinds of wealth, Savita, the eye of the world. 8.-O my friends, sit ye down, for we are speedily going to celebrate the praises of Savita, who shines forth gloriously as the bestower of riches. 9.-O Agni (god of fire), bring hither into our presence to the banquet of moon-plant juice the loving wines of the gods, along with the artist god (Vishwakarma). 10. Bring hither the female divinities, O Agni, to our aid; viz. thy own wife, the carrier on to completion of the sacrifice, Bharati (the wife of the sun), and the celebrated Saraswati. 11. Let us, to secure to ourselves their protection, diligently serve with supreme delight, the goddesses, the protectresses of men, who come to us with their wings uncropped+. 12.-I invite the wives of Indra, Warúna, and Agni, to come hither to us, to grant us security and ease, and partake of our moon-plant banquet. 13. O vast heaven, and thou, O earth, be ready to pour libations on our sacrifice, and fill us with all the necessaries of life. 14. It is the water, excellent as clarified butter, both of you two produce, and that which descends from the polar regions, the abode of the Gandarwas, which the learned Brahmuns expend in their sacred mysteries. 15. O earth, become felicitous, divested of thorns, and affording room for all to dwell in, and so grant us a spacious place of abode. 16. Since the god Vishnoo has ascended from this earth of ours, in that remarkable journey, by the aid of the seven illustrious poetical measures, let the gods in consequence preserve us. 17.-Vishnoo, in that remarkable journey, took but three steps, and humbled the earth in the place where his dusty feet rested‡. * There should be three daily sacrifices performed. This, with other similar Mantras, is directed to he used at the morning sacrifice. The moonplant juice is obtained by bruising the stalks of the plant, (Asclepias acida.) + Here the commentator asserts, that when the goddesses assume the form of birds, as they occasionally do, they sometimes have their wings cropped. The allusion here is evidently to the story of Vishnoo's deceiving and destroying Bali, and it is so applied by the commentator Sáyana Acharya. 18.-Vishnoo, the preserver, incapable of being injured, made his tour of the world in three steps, and in consequence has upheld the performance of religious rites. 19.-Behold the works of Vishnoo. It is by his favour alone, O our host, that thou canst carry on these sacred rites prosperously, for he is the belov ed relation of Indra*. 20.-The wise men ever look to that Vishnoo's supreme place of bliss, with unclouded vision, as do the eyes of all the heavenly inhabitants. 21. The ever-watchful learned Brahmuns light the way to Vishnoo's supreme mansion of bliss, by their sacred versest. No one after reading this hymn, and considering the company in which Savita is placed, and the epithets ascribed to him, can ever imagine that he is any thing more than the god to whom the regency of the sun is ascribed in the Hindoo mythology. But although Savita did mean the Supreme Being, or though Vishnoo were he, whose claims seem at least equal to those of Savita, the Vedas would still be chargeable with the error of polytheism in associating so many gods with him, to whom divine honours are ascribed, and a worship, as far as we can discern, in every respect equal paid. How then can any rational man believe that the ŘikVeda contains a Divine Revelation, when it errs in the fundamental article of all true religion, the Unity of the Deity, and the undivided homage due to him. I need hardly remind the reader of the frequency, plainness, and solemnity with which this grand truth is brought forward in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures; evidencing their divine origin, while they deduce all from God, and refer all back again to his glory. As the Unity of the Deity is the grand truth regarding God, so the practice of humility is one of the greatest duties we owe him; and accordingly we find the doctrine of a Mediator, and all the principal truths of Christianity, so inculcated in the Bible as to exalt God and humble man. We are at the same time assured, that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by the mercy of God, that we are saved; and that after we have done all, we are but unprofitable servants. Every unprejudiced mind will readily acknowledge, that this is as it ought to be: nor can any reflecting person find much comfort in relying on his own merits for acceptance with God. What then is the tendency of the religion of the Vedás on this point? Let the following passages from the Sanhita of the Rik-Veda inform us :— * He is Indra's younger brother, as is elsewhere narrated. + The Veda then professes to shew the way to the supreme place of bliss, although the Gitá, as quoted at page 117 of our March number, says, it cannot lead thither. O Indra, who didst obtain thy dignity by a hundred sacrifices, we offer food to thee, whilst thou art waging war, in order that thou mayest bestow on us riches. R. S. Ash. 1st, Adh. 1, W. 8. O Indra, who didst perform a hundred sacrifices, thou camest quickly, and with great joy, to the banquet of pressed moon-plant juice, in order that thou mightest obtain the chief place among the gods. R. S. 1st, 1. 10. 1. Let Indra, who preserves us from slaughter, accept our food, which we prepare again and again a thousand times, and in which all nourishment resides. R. S. 1st, 1. 10. 4. O Indra, possessed of stores of riches, send to us, men of no mean fame, and labouring by their sacrifice to obtain wealth, riches in abundance. R. S. 1st, 1. 18. 1. I have this day (in bathing) entered the waters, and been united to their essence; therefore, O water-inhabiting Agni, come and crown me so (bathed) with honour. R. S. 1st, 2. 12. 3. ✪ Agni, crown me with honours; with a numerous progeny, and with long life. The gods know what kind of a sacrifice I offer; let Indra and the Rishis also know it. R. S. 1st, 2. 12. 4. O Warúna, we incline thy mind by our praises to confer on us happiness, to as great a degree as the charioteer feels bound to feed his horses after a fatiguing march. R. S. 1st, 2. 16. 3. That surely cannot be a Divine Revelation which so exalts human performances, while it degrades the object of worship, and fixes the mind of the worshipper solely on worldly things. The character of the Lord Jesus, uniting in it so much unfeigned humility, such compassion towards the miserable, forgiveness towards enemies, and love to all men, has been triumphantly appealed to by the advocates of Christianity, as being unique in its kind, and furnishing a strong proof of his Divine character and heavenly mission. Is there any character in the Vedas to be compared with his? The reader has had sufficient specimens already of the attributes and works which the Veda ascribes to the objects of its worship; I will only ask him to contrast any of those, and they are by no means unfavourable specimens, or any others which he may find superior, with that given in the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, quoted from Isaiah, of the Saviour's character and work: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord*." What a contrast in regard to the object of our Saviour's descent on earth, compared with Indra's coming down to release a few cows; and in the means employed, with the fraud and violence used by Vishnoo for the destruction of Bali. Surely it is not necessary to carry these comparisons any farther : every one who impartially considers them must see how very little can be adduced in favour of the religion of the Vedas, and his mind *Luke iv. 18, 19. be deeply impressed with the overwhelming force of the evidences for the truth of the Christian Religion. It is an easy thing for careless or captious persons to cavil at any particular evidence alleged in favour of Christianity; but if such persons would only endeavour to find one fact, transacted in former times, for which evidence can be adduced superior or even equal to what has been done for the facts of the Bible, the absurdity of their cavils would appear evident to themselves, and they would find that if they rejected these facts, they must reject all testimony, and sink down into the gloom of a universal scepticism. Unless the Father of Spirits have wholly cast off this world of ours, and abandoned it, all wretched and forlorn, without any light to direct the soul in quest of those regions where he manifests his presence, Christianity is that light, and by means of it, the aspirant after Divine knowledge may be guided to glory and to God. स. य. IV.-The Opinions and the Circumstances of the Educated Hindoos. SIRS, To the Editors of the Calcutta Christian Observer. Many young Hindoos, under the humble name of " Inquirers" after Truth, have been led to encourage a spirit of serious investigation into those writings and institutions which profess to be of divine authority: they have renounced the superstitious doctrines of their ancestors; they have abandoned the shameful practice of idol-worship, and are now striving to accomplish the entire destruction of Brahmunical priestcraft. Though the Inquirers have gone thus far, and are of one mind with respect to the system they have abandoned, they are divided in their opinion as to the system which it is fit for them to adopt. One party is characterized by the appellation of Theists or Deists, and the other by that of fol lowers of Christianity, though they have not embraced it. They are of opinion, that the foundation of Hindooism has been greatly undermined in Calcutta, and that it will soon tumble into ruin. Such a monstrous set of doctrines as those of Hindooism cannot be reasonably expected to stand the test of an impartial examination. The characters of its advocates; the absurdities which the Shasters impose upon our attention by way of religious truths; the temptation on the part of the Brahmuns to encourage many vices, and to promote their own mercenary interests, have stimulated the Hindoo Inquirers after Truth to examine into the opinions of their forefathers, and into the evidence which may be adduced to support the opinion that their system is of divine authority. This system they have examined so far as to see, that it possesses neither external nor internal evidence of being a revelation from |