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OF THE HINDUS.
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merely abstract propositions. The case was very different with the heterodox schools. They went from abstractions to things. The Chárvákas condemned all ceremonial rites, ridiculed even the Śráddha, and called the authors of the Vedas fools, knaves, and buffoons*. The Buddhists and Jains denied the inspiration of the Vedas and the sanctity of the Brahmanical character, abrogated the distinction of caste, invented a set of deities for themselves, whom they placed above those of the Hindu pantheon, and organized a regular hierarchy, a priesthood, and a pontiff; an institution still subsisting in the trans-Indian countries, of which the grand Lama of Tibet is the head. It is a remarkable historical fact, that this organization was found too feeble to oppose, in India, the apparently loose and incoherent, the undisciplined, the anarchical authority of the Brahmans. It had, however, the effect of exciting their apprehensions and their hatred to such an extent, that it became proverbial with them to say, "If your only alternative be to encounter a heretic or a tiger, throw yourself before the latter; better be devoured by the animal than contaminated by the man. There may be a few Chárvákas in India, but their opinions are unavowed. The Buddhists have totally disappeared. The Jains are found in some numbers and influence in the west of India, but are little heard of elsewhere.
39
Besides the acknowledged schools or systems of
*[Sarvadarśana Sangraha, p. 6, śl. 10.]
