We have seen that the oblique form is the resultant of a general melting down of all the oblique cases of Sanskrit and Prakrit, and that in consequence it can be used for any oblique case. It is obvious that if it were so employed it would often give rise to great confusion. Hence, when it is necessary to show clearly what particular case is intended, it is usual to add defining particles corresponding to the English prepositions “of,†“to,†“from,†“by,†&c., which, as in all Indo-Aryan languages they follow the main word, are here called “postpositions.†The following are the postpositions commonly employed to form cases in our three languages:—Agent.Genitive.Dative.Ablative.Locative.PanjabinaidÄnÅ©tÄ“viccHindostaninÄ“kÄkÅsÄ“mẽBraj BhashanẽkaukaÅ©tẽ,saÅ©maÄ©Eastern HindiNonekÄ“r,kkãsÄ“mẽ,bikhÄ“The agent case is the case which a noun takes when it is the subject of a transitive verb in a tense formed from the past participle. This participle is passive in origin, and must be construed passively. In the Prakrit stage the subject was in such cases put into the instrumental case (seePrakrit), as in the phraseahaá¹ tēṇa mÄriÅ, I by-him (was) struck,i.e.he struck me. In Eastern Hindi this is still the case, the old instrumental being represented by the oblique form without any suffix. The other two languages define the fact that the subject is in the instrumental (or agent) case by the addition of the postpositionnÄ“, &c., an old form employed elsewhere to define the dative. It is really the oblique form (by origin a locative) ofnÄornÅ, which is employed in Gujarati (q.v.) for the genitive. As this suffix is never employed to indicate a material instrument but here only to indicate the agent or subject of a verb, it is called the postposition of the “agent†case.The genitive postpositions have an interesting origin. In Buddhist Sanskrit the wordskÅ—tas, done, andkÅ—tyas, to be done, were added to a noun to form a kind of genitive. A synonym ofkÅ—tyaswaskÄryas. These three words were all adjectives, and agreed with the thing possessed in gender, number, and case; thus,mÄla-kÅ—tÄ“karaṇá¸Ä“, in the basket of the garland, literally, in the garland-made basket. In the various dialects of Apabhraá¹Å›a PrakritkÅ—tasbecame (strong form)kida-uorkia-u,kÅ—tyasbecamekicca-u, andkÄryasbecamekÄ“ra-uorkajja-u, the initialkof which is liable to elision after a vowel. With the exception of Gujarati (and perhaps Marathi,q.v.) every Indo-Aryan language has genitive postpositions derived from one or other of these forms. Thus from(ki)da-uwe have PanjabidÄ; fromkia-uwe have H.kÄ, Br.kau, E.H. and Biharikand NaipalikÅ; from(ki)cca-uwe have perhaps MarathicÄ; fromkÄ“ra-u, E.H. and BiharikÄ“r,kar, Bengali Oriya and Assamese -r, and Rajasthani -rÅ; while from(ka)jja-uwe have the SindhijÅ. It will be observed that whilek,kÄ“r,kar, andrare weak forms, the rest are strong. As already stated, the genitive is an adjective.BÄpmeans “father,†andbÄp-kÄghÅrÄis literally “the paternal horse.†Hence (while the weak forms as usual do not change) these genitives agree with the thing possessed in gender, number, and case. Thus,bÄp-kÄ ghÅá¹›Ä, the horse of the father, butbÄp-kÄ« ghÅṛī, the mare of the father, andbÄp-kÄ“ ghÅṛē-kÅ, to the horse of the father, thekÄbeing put into the oblique case masculinekÄ“, to agree withghÅṛē, which is itself in an oblique case. The details of the agreement vary slightly in P. and W.H., and must be learnt from the grammars. The E.H. weak forms do not change in the modern language. Finally, in Prakrit it was customary to add these postpositions (kÄ“ra-u, &c.) to the genitive, as inmamaormama kÄ“ra-u, of me. Similarly these postpositions are, in the modern languages, added to the oblique form.The locative of the SanskritkÅ—tas,kÅ—tÄ“, was used in that language as a dative postposition, and it can be shown that all the dative postpositions given above are by origin old oblique forms of some genitive postposition. Thus H.kÅ, Br.kaÅ©, is a contraction ofkahÅ©, an old oblique form ofkia-u. Similarly for the others. The origin of the ablative postpositions is obscure. To the present writer they all seem (like the BengalhaïtÄ“) to be connected with the verb substantive, but their derivation has not been definitely fixed. The locative postpositionsmẽandmaÄ«are derived from the Skr.madhyÄ“, in, throughmajjhi,mÄhÄ«, and so on. The derivation ofviccandbikhÄ“is obscure.Apabhraá¹Å›a.Panjabi.Hindostani.BrajBhasha.EasternHindi.i,Nom.haÅ«maÄ«maÄ©haÅ©maÄ«Obl.maÄ«,mahu,majjhumaimujhmohimÅwe,Nom.amhÄ“asÄ©hamhamhamObl.amahãasÄhamõhamaÅ«,hamanihamthou,Nom.tuhÅ©tÅ©tÅ«tÅ«taÄ©Obl.taÄ©,tuha,tujjhutaitujhtohitÅyou,Nom.tumhÄ“tusÄ©tumtumtumObl.tumhahãtusÄtumhõtumhaÅ«tumThe pronouns closely follow the Prakrit originals. This will be evident from the preceding table of the first two personal pronouns compared with Apabhraá¹Å›a.It will be observed that in most of the nominatives of the first person, and in the E.H. nominative of the second person, the old nominative has disappeared, and its place has been supplied by an oblique form, exactly as we have observed in the nominative plural of nouns substantive. The P.asÄ©,tusÄ©, &c., are survivals from the old LahndÄ (seeLinguistic Boundaries, above). The genitives of these two pronouns are rarely used, possessive pronouns (in H.mÄ“rÄ, my;hamÄrÄ, our;tÄ“rÄ, thy;tumhÄrÄ, your) being employed instead. They can all (except P.asÄá¸Ä, our;tusÄá¸Ä, your, which are LahndÄ) be referred to corresponding Ap. forms.There is no pronoun of the third person, the demonstrative pronouns being used instead. The following table shows the principal remaining pronominal forms, with their derivation from Ap.:—Apabhraá¹Å›a.Panjabi.Hindostani.BrajBhasha.EasternHindi.that, he,Nom.?uhwohwÅÅ«Obl.?uhuswÄÅthose, they,Nom.ÅiÅhwÄ“waiunhObl.?unhãunhuniunhthis, he,Nom.Ä“huihyehyahÄ«Obl.Ä“hasu, Ä“hahoihisyÄÄ“these, they,Nom.Ä“iÄ“hyÄ“yaiinhObl.Ä“hÄṇainhãinhiniinhthat,Nom.sÅsÅsÅsÅsÄ“Obl.tasu, tahotihtistÄtÄ“those,Nom.sÄ“sÅsÅsÅsÄ“Obl.tÄṇatinhãtinhtinitenhwho,Nom.jÅjÅjÅjÅjÄ“Obl.jasu, jahojihjisjÄjÄ“who(pl.),Nom.jÄ“jÅjÅjÅjÄ“Obl.jÄṇajinhãjinhjinijenhwho?Nom.kÅ, kawaṇukauṇkaunkÅkÄ“Obl.kasu, kahokihkiskÄkÄ“who?(pl.),Nom.kÄ“kauṇkaunkÅkÄ“Obl.kÄṇakinhãkinhkinikenhwhat?(Neut.),Nom.kiá¹kiÄkyÄkahÄkÄObl.kÄha, kÄsukÄh, kÄskÄhÄ“kÄhÄ“kÄhÄ“The origin of the first pronoun given above (that, he; those, they) cannot be referred to Sanskrit. It is derived from an Indo-Aryan base which was not admitted to the classical literary language, but of which we find sporadic traces in Apabhraá¹Å›a. The existence of this base is further vouched for by its occurrence in the Iranian language of the Avesta under the formava-. The base of the second pronoun is the same as the base of the first syllable in the Skr.Ä“-á¹£as, this, and other connected pronouns, and also occurs in the Avesta. Ap.Ä“huis directly derived fromÄ“-sas.There are other pronominal forms upon which, except perhapskÅÄ«(Pr.kÅ-vi, Skr.kÅ-’pi), any one, it is unnecessary to dwell. The phrasekÅÄ« hai? “Is any one (there)?†is the usual formula for calling a servant in upper India, and is the origin of the Anglo-Indian word “Qui-hi.†The reflexive pronoun isÄp(Ap.appu, Skr.ÄtmÄ), self, which, something like the Latinsuus(Skr.svas), always refers to the subject of the sentence, but to all persons, not only to the third. ThusmaÄ© apnÄ“(notmÄ“rÄ“)bÄp-kÅ dÄ“khtÄ-hÅ©, “I see my father.â€C.Conjugation.—The synthetic conjugation was already commencing to disappear in Prakrit, and in the modern languages the only original tenses which remain are the present, the imperative, and here and there the future. The first is now generally employed as a present subjunctive. In the accompanying table we have the conjugation of this tense, and also the three participles, present active, and past and future passive, compared with Apabhraá¹Å›a, the verb selected being the intransitive rootcallorcal, go. In Ap. the word may be spelt with one or with twols, which accounts for the variations of spelling in the modern languages.The imperative closely resembles the old present, except that it drops all terminations in the 2nd person singular; thus,cal, go thou.In P. and H. a future is formed by adding the syllablegÄ(fem.gÄ«) to the simple present. Thus, H.calÅ©-gÄ, I shall go. ThegÄis commonly said to be derived from the Skr.gatas(Pr.gaÅ), gone, but this suggestion is not altogether acceptable to the present writer, although he is not now able to propose a better. Under the form of-gauthe same termination is used in Br., but in that dialect the old future has also survived, as incalihaÅ©(Ap.calihaÅ©, Skr.caliá¹£yÄmi), I shall go, which is conjugated like the simple present. The E.H. formation of the future is closely analogous to what we find in Bihari (q.v.). The third person is formed as in Braj Bhasha, but the first and second persons are formed by adding pronominal suffixes, meaning “by me,†“by thee,†&c., to the future passive participle.ApabhramÅ›a.Panjabi.Hindostani.BrajBjasja.EasternHindi.Old Present—Singular 1.callaÅ©callãcalÅ©calaÅ©calaÅ«Singular 2.callasi,callahicallẽcalÄ“calaicalasSingular 3.callaicallÄ“calÄ“calaicalaiPlural   1.callahÅ«calliyÄ“calẽcalaÄ«calaÄ«Plural   2.callahucallÅcalÅcalaucalauPlural   3.callanti,callahÄ©callaṇcalẽcalaÄ«calaÄ«Present Participlecallanta-ucalldÄcaltÄcalatucalatPast Part. Passivecallia-ucalliÄcalÄcalyaucalÄFuture Part. Passivecallaṇia-ucallṇÄcalnÄcalnaÅ©calliavva-u. .. .caliwaÅ©calabThus,calab-Å©, it-is-to-be-gone by-me, I shall go. We thus get the following forms. It will be observed that, as in many other Indo-Aryan languages, the first person plural has no suffix:—Sing.Plur.1.calabÅ©calab2.calabÄ“calabÅ3.calihaicalihaÄ«In old E.H. the future participle passive,calab, takes no suffix for any person, and is used for all persons.The last remark leads us to a class of tenses in P. and W.H., in which a participle, by itself, can be employed for any person of a finite tense. A few examples of the use of the present and past participles will show the construction. They are all taken from Hindostani.Woh caltÄ, he goes;woh caltÄ«, she goes;maÄ« calÄ, I went;woh calÄ«, she went;wÄ“ calÄ“, they went. The present participle in this construction, though it may be used to signify the present, is more commonly employed to signify a past conditional “(if) he had gone.†It will have been observed that in the above examples, in all of which the verb is intransitive, the past as well as the present participle agrees with the subject in gender and number; but, if the verb be transitive, the passive meaning of the past participle comes into force. The subject must be put into the case of the agent, and the participle inflects to agree with the object. If the object be not expressed, or, as sometimes happens, be expressed in the dative case, the participle is construed impersonally, and takes the masculine (for want of a neuter) form. Thus,maÄ«-nÄ“ kahÄ, by-me it-was-said,i.e.I said;us-nÄ“ ciá¹á¹hÄ« likhÄ«, by-him a-letter (fem.) was-written, he wrote a letter;rÄjÄ-nÄ“ shÄ“rnÄ«-kÅ mÄrÄ, the king killed the tigress, lit., by-the-king, with-reference-to-the-tigress, it (impersonal) -was-killed. In the articlePrakritit is shown that the same constructionisobtained in that language.In E.H. the construction is the same, but is obscured by the fact that (as in the future) pronominal suffixes are added to the participle to indicate the person of the subject or of the agent, as incalat-eÅ©, (if) I had gone;cal-eÅ©, I went;mÄr-eÅ©(transitive), I struck, lit., struck-by-me;mÄr-es, struck-by-him, he struck. If the participle has to be feminine, it (although a weak form) takes the feminine terminationi, as inmÄri-Å©, I struck her;calati-Å©, (if) I (fem.) had gone;cali-Å©, I (fem.) went.Further tenses are formed by adding the verb substantive to these participles, as in H.maÄ© caltÄ-hÅ«, I am going;maÄ© caltÄ-thÄ, I was going;maÄ© calÄ-hÅ«, I have gone;maÄ© calÄ-thÄ, I had gone. These and other auxiliary verbs need not detain us long. They differ in the various languages. For “I am†we have P.hã, H.hÅ«, Br.haÅ©, E.H.bÄá¹yeÅ©oraheÅ©. For “I was†we have P.sÄ«orsÄ, H.thÄ, Br.hauorhutau, E.H.raheÅ©. The H.hÅ©is thus conjugated:—Sing.Plur.1.hÅ©haÄ©2.haihÅ3.haihaÄ«The derivation ofhã,hÅ©,haÅ©, andaheÅ©is uncertain. They are usually derived from the Skr.asmi, I am; but this presents many difficulties. An old form of the third person singular ishwai, and this points to the Pr.havaï, he is, equivalent to the Skr.bhavati, he becomes. On the other hand this does not account for the initialaofaheÅ©. This last word is in theformof a past tense, and it may be a secondary formation fromasmi. The P.sÄ«is not a feminine ofsÄ, as usually stated, but is a survival of the Skr.ÄsÄ«t, Pr.ÄsÄ«, was. As in the Prakrit form,sÄ«is employed for both genders, both numbers and all persons.SÄis a secondary formation from this, on the analogy of the H.thÄ, which is from the Skr.sthitas, Pr.thiÅ, stood, and is a participial form likecalÄ; thus,woh thÄ, he was;woh thÄ«, she was. The Br.hauis a modern past ofhaÅ«, whilehutauis probably by origin a present participle of the Skr.bhÅ©, become, Pr.huntaÅ. The E.H.bÄá¹eÅ©, is the Skr.vartÄ“, Ap.vaá¹á¹aÅ©.RaheÅ©is the past tense of the rootrah, remain.The future participle passive is everywhere freely used as an infinitive or verbal noun; thus, H.calnÄ, E.H.calab, the act of going, to go. There is a whole series of derivative verbal forms, making potential passives and transitives from intransitives, and causals (and even double causals) from transitives. ThusdÄ«khnÄ, to be seen; potential passive,dikhÄnÄ, to be visible; transitive,dÄ“khnÄ, to see; causal,dikhlÄnÄ, to show.D.Literature.—The literatures of Western and Eastern Hindi form the subject of a separate article (seeHindostani Literature). Panjabi has no formal literature. Even theGranth, the sacred book of the Sikhs, is mainly in archaic Western Hindi, only a small portion being in Panjabi. On the other hand, the language is peculiarly rich in folksongs and ballads, some of considerable length and great poetic beauty. The most famous is the ballad ofHÄ«randRÄnjhÄby WÄris ShÄh, which is considered to be a model of pure Panjabi. Colonel Sir Richard Temple has published an important collection of these songs under the title ofThe Legends of the Punjab(3 vols., Bombay and London, 1884-1900), in which both texts and translations of nearly all the favourite ones are to be found.Authorities.—(a) General: The two standard authorities are the comparative grammars of J. Beames (1872-1879) and A. F. R. Hoernle (1880), mentioned in the articleIndo-Aryan Languages. To these may be added G. A. Grierson, “On the Radical and Participial Tenses of the Modern Indo-Aryan Languages†in theJournal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. lxiv. (1895), part i. pp. 352 et seq.; and “On Certain Suffixes in the Modern Indo-Aryan Vernaculars†in theZeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachenfor 1903, pp. 473 et seq.(b) For the separate languages, see C. J. Lyall,A Sketch of the Hindustani Language(Edinburgh, 1880); S. H. Kellogg,A Grammar of the Hindi Language(for both Western and Eastern Hindi), (2nd ed., London, 1893); J. T. Platts,A Grammar of the HindÅ«stÄnÄ« or UrdÅ« Language(London, 1874); andA Dictionary of UrdÅ«, Classical Hindi and English(London, 1884); E. P. Newton,PanjÄbÄ« Grammar: with Exercises and Vocabulary(Ludhiana, 1898); and Bhai Maya Singh,The Panjabi Dictionary(Lahore, 1895).The Linguistic Survey of India, vol. vi., describes Eastern Hindi, and vol. ix., Hindostani and Panjabi, in each instance in great detail.
We have seen that the oblique form is the resultant of a general melting down of all the oblique cases of Sanskrit and Prakrit, and that in consequence it can be used for any oblique case. It is obvious that if it were so employed it would often give rise to great confusion. Hence, when it is necessary to show clearly what particular case is intended, it is usual to add defining particles corresponding to the English prepositions “of,†“to,†“from,†“by,†&c., which, as in all Indo-Aryan languages they follow the main word, are here called “postpositions.†The following are the postpositions commonly employed to form cases in our three languages:—
The agent case is the case which a noun takes when it is the subject of a transitive verb in a tense formed from the past participle. This participle is passive in origin, and must be construed passively. In the Prakrit stage the subject was in such cases put into the instrumental case (seePrakrit), as in the phraseahaá¹ tēṇa mÄriÅ, I by-him (was) struck,i.e.he struck me. In Eastern Hindi this is still the case, the old instrumental being represented by the oblique form without any suffix. The other two languages define the fact that the subject is in the instrumental (or agent) case by the addition of the postpositionnÄ“, &c., an old form employed elsewhere to define the dative. It is really the oblique form (by origin a locative) ofnÄornÅ, which is employed in Gujarati (q.v.) for the genitive. As this suffix is never employed to indicate a material instrument but here only to indicate the agent or subject of a verb, it is called the postposition of the “agent†case.
The genitive postpositions have an interesting origin. In Buddhist Sanskrit the wordskÅ—tas, done, andkÅ—tyas, to be done, were added to a noun to form a kind of genitive. A synonym ofkÅ—tyaswaskÄryas. These three words were all adjectives, and agreed with the thing possessed in gender, number, and case; thus,mÄla-kÅ—tÄ“karaṇá¸Ä“, in the basket of the garland, literally, in the garland-made basket. In the various dialects of Apabhraá¹Å›a PrakritkÅ—tasbecame (strong form)kida-uorkia-u,kÅ—tyasbecamekicca-u, andkÄryasbecamekÄ“ra-uorkajja-u, the initialkof which is liable to elision after a vowel. With the exception of Gujarati (and perhaps Marathi,q.v.) every Indo-Aryan language has genitive postpositions derived from one or other of these forms. Thus from(ki)da-uwe have PanjabidÄ; fromkia-uwe have H.kÄ, Br.kau, E.H. and Biharikand NaipalikÅ; from(ki)cca-uwe have perhaps MarathicÄ; fromkÄ“ra-u, E.H. and BiharikÄ“r,kar, Bengali Oriya and Assamese -r, and Rajasthani -rÅ; while from(ka)jja-uwe have the SindhijÅ. It will be observed that whilek,kÄ“r,kar, andrare weak forms, the rest are strong. As already stated, the genitive is an adjective.BÄpmeans “father,†andbÄp-kÄghÅrÄis literally “the paternal horse.†Hence (while the weak forms as usual do not change) these genitives agree with the thing possessed in gender, number, and case. Thus,bÄp-kÄ ghÅá¹›Ä, the horse of the father, butbÄp-kÄ« ghÅṛī, the mare of the father, andbÄp-kÄ“ ghÅṛē-kÅ, to the horse of the father, thekÄbeing put into the oblique case masculinekÄ“, to agree withghÅṛē, which is itself in an oblique case. The details of the agreement vary slightly in P. and W.H., and must be learnt from the grammars. The E.H. weak forms do not change in the modern language. Finally, in Prakrit it was customary to add these postpositions (kÄ“ra-u, &c.) to the genitive, as inmamaormama kÄ“ra-u, of me. Similarly these postpositions are, in the modern languages, added to the oblique form.
The locative of the SanskritkÅ—tas,kÅ—tÄ“, was used in that language as a dative postposition, and it can be shown that all the dative postpositions given above are by origin old oblique forms of some genitive postposition. Thus H.kÅ, Br.kaÅ©, is a contraction ofkahÅ©, an old oblique form ofkia-u. Similarly for the others. The origin of the ablative postpositions is obscure. To the present writer they all seem (like the BengalhaïtÄ“) to be connected with the verb substantive, but their derivation has not been definitely fixed. The locative postpositionsmẽandmaÄ«are derived from the Skr.madhyÄ“, in, throughmajjhi,mÄhÄ«, and so on. The derivation ofviccandbikhÄ“is obscure.
The pronouns closely follow the Prakrit originals. This will be evident from the preceding table of the first two personal pronouns compared with Apabhraá¹Å›a.
It will be observed that in most of the nominatives of the first person, and in the E.H. nominative of the second person, the old nominative has disappeared, and its place has been supplied by an oblique form, exactly as we have observed in the nominative plural of nouns substantive. The P.asÄ©,tusÄ©, &c., are survivals from the old LahndÄ (seeLinguistic Boundaries, above). The genitives of these two pronouns are rarely used, possessive pronouns (in H.mÄ“rÄ, my;hamÄrÄ, our;tÄ“rÄ, thy;tumhÄrÄ, your) being employed instead. They can all (except P.asÄá¸Ä, our;tusÄá¸Ä, your, which are LahndÄ) be referred to corresponding Ap. forms.
There is no pronoun of the third person, the demonstrative pronouns being used instead. The following table shows the principal remaining pronominal forms, with their derivation from Ap.:—
The origin of the first pronoun given above (that, he; those, they) cannot be referred to Sanskrit. It is derived from an Indo-Aryan base which was not admitted to the classical literary language, but of which we find sporadic traces in Apabhraá¹Å›a. The existence of this base is further vouched for by its occurrence in the Iranian language of the Avesta under the formava-. The base of the second pronoun is the same as the base of the first syllable in the Skr.Ä“-á¹£as, this, and other connected pronouns, and also occurs in the Avesta. Ap.Ä“huis directly derived fromÄ“-sas.
There are other pronominal forms upon which, except perhapskÅÄ«(Pr.kÅ-vi, Skr.kÅ-’pi), any one, it is unnecessary to dwell. The phrasekÅÄ« hai? “Is any one (there)?†is the usual formula for calling a servant in upper India, and is the origin of the Anglo-Indian word “Qui-hi.†The reflexive pronoun isÄp(Ap.appu, Skr.ÄtmÄ), self, which, something like the Latinsuus(Skr.svas), always refers to the subject of the sentence, but to all persons, not only to the third. ThusmaÄ© apnÄ“(notmÄ“rÄ“)bÄp-kÅ dÄ“khtÄ-hÅ©, “I see my father.â€
C.Conjugation.—The synthetic conjugation was already commencing to disappear in Prakrit, and in the modern languages the only original tenses which remain are the present, the imperative, and here and there the future. The first is now generally employed as a present subjunctive. In the accompanying table we have the conjugation of this tense, and also the three participles, present active, and past and future passive, compared with Apabhraá¹Å›a, the verb selected being the intransitive rootcallorcal, go. In Ap. the word may be spelt with one or with twols, which accounts for the variations of spelling in the modern languages.
The imperative closely resembles the old present, except that it drops all terminations in the 2nd person singular; thus,cal, go thou.
In P. and H. a future is formed by adding the syllablegÄ(fem.gÄ«) to the simple present. Thus, H.calÅ©-gÄ, I shall go. ThegÄis commonly said to be derived from the Skr.gatas(Pr.gaÅ), gone, but this suggestion is not altogether acceptable to the present writer, although he is not now able to propose a better. Under the form of-gauthe same termination is used in Br., but in that dialect the old future has also survived, as incalihaÅ©(Ap.calihaÅ©, Skr.caliá¹£yÄmi), I shall go, which is conjugated like the simple present. The E.H. formation of the future is closely analogous to what we find in Bihari (q.v.). The third person is formed as in Braj Bhasha, but the first and second persons are formed by adding pronominal suffixes, meaning “by me,†“by thee,†&c., to the future passive participle.
Thus,calab-ũ, it-is-to-be-gone by-me, I shall go. We thus get the following forms. It will be observed that, as in many other Indo-Aryan languages, the first person plural has no suffix:—
In old E.H. the future participle passive,calab, takes no suffix for any person, and is used for all persons.
The last remark leads us to a class of tenses in P. and W.H., in which a participle, by itself, can be employed for any person of a finite tense. A few examples of the use of the present and past participles will show the construction. They are all taken from Hindostani.Woh caltÄ, he goes;woh caltÄ«, she goes;maÄ« calÄ, I went;woh calÄ«, she went;wÄ“ calÄ“, they went. The present participle in this construction, though it may be used to signify the present, is more commonly employed to signify a past conditional “(if) he had gone.†It will have been observed that in the above examples, in all of which the verb is intransitive, the past as well as the present participle agrees with the subject in gender and number; but, if the verb be transitive, the passive meaning of the past participle comes into force. The subject must be put into the case of the agent, and the participle inflects to agree with the object. If the object be not expressed, or, as sometimes happens, be expressed in the dative case, the participle is construed impersonally, and takes the masculine (for want of a neuter) form. Thus,maÄ«-nÄ“ kahÄ, by-me it-was-said,i.e.I said;us-nÄ“ ciá¹á¹hÄ« likhÄ«, by-him a-letter (fem.) was-written, he wrote a letter;rÄjÄ-nÄ“ shÄ“rnÄ«-kÅ mÄrÄ, the king killed the tigress, lit., by-the-king, with-reference-to-the-tigress, it (impersonal) -was-killed. In the articlePrakritit is shown that the same constructionisobtained in that language.
In E.H. the construction is the same, but is obscured by the fact that (as in the future) pronominal suffixes are added to the participle to indicate the person of the subject or of the agent, as incalat-eÅ©, (if) I had gone;cal-eÅ©, I went;mÄr-eÅ©(transitive), I struck, lit., struck-by-me;mÄr-es, struck-by-him, he struck. If the participle has to be feminine, it (although a weak form) takes the feminine terminationi, as inmÄri-Å©, I struck her;calati-Å©, (if) I (fem.) had gone;cali-Å©, I (fem.) went.
Further tenses are formed by adding the verb substantive to these participles, as in H.maÄ© caltÄ-hÅ«, I am going;maÄ© caltÄ-thÄ, I was going;maÄ© calÄ-hÅ«, I have gone;maÄ© calÄ-thÄ, I had gone. These and other auxiliary verbs need not detain us long. They differ in the various languages. For “I am†we have P.hã, H.hÅ«, Br.haÅ©, E.H.bÄá¹yeÅ©oraheÅ©. For “I was†we have P.sÄ«orsÄ, H.thÄ, Br.hauorhutau, E.H.raheÅ©. The H.hÅ©is thus conjugated:—
The derivation ofhã,hÅ©,haÅ©, andaheÅ©is uncertain. They are usually derived from the Skr.asmi, I am; but this presents many difficulties. An old form of the third person singular ishwai, and this points to the Pr.havaï, he is, equivalent to the Skr.bhavati, he becomes. On the other hand this does not account for the initialaofaheÅ©. This last word is in theformof a past tense, and it may be a secondary formation fromasmi. The P.sÄ«is not a feminine ofsÄ, as usually stated, but is a survival of the Skr.ÄsÄ«t, Pr.ÄsÄ«, was. As in the Prakrit form,sÄ«is employed for both genders, both numbers and all persons.SÄis a secondary formation from this, on the analogy of the H.thÄ, which is from the Skr.sthitas, Pr.thiÅ, stood, and is a participial form likecalÄ; thus,woh thÄ, he was;woh thÄ«, she was. The Br.hauis a modern past ofhaÅ«, whilehutauis probably by origin a present participle of the Skr.bhÅ©, become, Pr.huntaÅ. The E.H.bÄá¹eÅ©, is the Skr.vartÄ“, Ap.vaá¹á¹aÅ©.RaheÅ©is the past tense of the rootrah, remain.
The future participle passive is everywhere freely used as an infinitive or verbal noun; thus, H.calnÄ, E.H.calab, the act of going, to go. There is a whole series of derivative verbal forms, making potential passives and transitives from intransitives, and causals (and even double causals) from transitives. ThusdÄ«khnÄ, to be seen; potential passive,dikhÄnÄ, to be visible; transitive,dÄ“khnÄ, to see; causal,dikhlÄnÄ, to show.
D.Literature.—The literatures of Western and Eastern Hindi form the subject of a separate article (seeHindostani Literature). Panjabi has no formal literature. Even theGranth, the sacred book of the Sikhs, is mainly in archaic Western Hindi, only a small portion being in Panjabi. On the other hand, the language is peculiarly rich in folksongs and ballads, some of considerable length and great poetic beauty. The most famous is the ballad ofHÄ«randRÄnjhÄby WÄris ShÄh, which is considered to be a model of pure Panjabi. Colonel Sir Richard Temple has published an important collection of these songs under the title ofThe Legends of the Punjab(3 vols., Bombay and London, 1884-1900), in which both texts and translations of nearly all the favourite ones are to be found.
Authorities.—(a) General: The two standard authorities are the comparative grammars of J. Beames (1872-1879) and A. F. R. Hoernle (1880), mentioned in the articleIndo-Aryan Languages. To these may be added G. A. Grierson, “On the Radical and Participial Tenses of the Modern Indo-Aryan Languages†in theJournal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. lxiv. (1895), part i. pp. 352 et seq.; and “On Certain Suffixes in the Modern Indo-Aryan Vernaculars†in theZeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachenfor 1903, pp. 473 et seq.
(b) For the separate languages, see C. J. Lyall,A Sketch of the Hindustani Language(Edinburgh, 1880); S. H. Kellogg,A Grammar of the Hindi Language(for both Western and Eastern Hindi), (2nd ed., London, 1893); J. T. Platts,A Grammar of the HindÅ«stÄnÄ« or UrdÅ« Language(London, 1874); andA Dictionary of UrdÅ«, Classical Hindi and English(London, 1884); E. P. Newton,PanjÄbÄ« Grammar: with Exercises and Vocabulary(Ludhiana, 1898); and Bhai Maya Singh,The Panjabi Dictionary(Lahore, 1895).The Linguistic Survey of India, vol. vi., describes Eastern Hindi, and vol. ix., Hindostani and Panjabi, in each instance in great detail.
(G. A. Gr.)
1“HindÅstÄn†is a Persian word, and in modern Persian is pronounced “HindÅ«stÄn.†It means the country of the HindÅ«s. In medieval Persian the word was “HindÅstÄn,†with anÅ, but in the modern language the distinctions betweenÄ“andÄ«and betweenÅandÅ«have been lost. Indian languages have borrowed Persian words in their medieval form. Thus in India we haveshÄ“r, a tiger, as compared with modern PersianshÄ«r;gÅ, but modern Pers.gÅ«;bÅstÄn, but modern Pers.bÅ«stÄn. The word “Hindu†is in medieval Persian “Hindņrepresenting the ancient Avestahendava(Sanskrit,saindhava), a dweller on theSindhuor Indus. Owing to the influence of scholars in modern Persian the word “Hindū†is now established in English and, through English, in the Indian literary languages; but “Hindņis also often heard in India. “Hindostan†withois much more common both in English and in Indian languages, although “Hindustan†is also employed. Up to the days of Persian supremacy inaugurated in Calcutta by Gilchrist and his friends, every traveller in India spoke of “Indostan†or some such word, thus bearing testimony to the current pronunciation. Gilchrist introduced “Hindoostan,†which became “Hindustan†in modern spelling. The word is not an Indian one, and both pronunciations, withÅand withÅ«, are current in India at the present day, but that withÅis unquestionably the one demanded by the history of the word and of the form which other Persian words take on Indian soil. On the other hand “Hindu†is too firmly established in English for us to suggest the spelling “Hindo.â€. The word “Hindī†has another derivation, being formed from the PersianHind, India (Avestahindu, Sanskritsindhu, the Indus). “Hindi†means “of or belonging to India,†while “Hindu†now means “a person of the Hindu religion.†(Cf. Sir C. J. Lyall,A Sketch of the Hindustani Language, p. 1).2Sir C. J. Lyall,op. cit.p. 9.3This and the preceding paragraph are partly taken from Mr Platts’s article in vol. xi. of the 9th edition of this encyclopaedia.4In some dialects of W.H. weak forms have masculines ending in u and corresponding feminines ini, but these are nowadays rarely met in the literary forms of speech. In old poetry they are common. In Braj Bhasha they have survived in the present participle.
1“HindÅstÄn†is a Persian word, and in modern Persian is pronounced “HindÅ«stÄn.†It means the country of the HindÅ«s. In medieval Persian the word was “HindÅstÄn,†with anÅ, but in the modern language the distinctions betweenÄ“andÄ«and betweenÅandÅ«have been lost. Indian languages have borrowed Persian words in their medieval form. Thus in India we haveshÄ“r, a tiger, as compared with modern PersianshÄ«r;gÅ, but modern Pers.gÅ«;bÅstÄn, but modern Pers.bÅ«stÄn. The word “Hindu†is in medieval Persian “Hindņrepresenting the ancient Avestahendava(Sanskrit,saindhava), a dweller on theSindhuor Indus. Owing to the influence of scholars in modern Persian the word “Hindū†is now established in English and, through English, in the Indian literary languages; but “Hindņis also often heard in India. “Hindostan†withois much more common both in English and in Indian languages, although “Hindustan†is also employed. Up to the days of Persian supremacy inaugurated in Calcutta by Gilchrist and his friends, every traveller in India spoke of “Indostan†or some such word, thus bearing testimony to the current pronunciation. Gilchrist introduced “Hindoostan,†which became “Hindustan†in modern spelling. The word is not an Indian one, and both pronunciations, withÅand withÅ«, are current in India at the present day, but that withÅis unquestionably the one demanded by the history of the word and of the form which other Persian words take on Indian soil. On the other hand “Hindu†is too firmly established in English for us to suggest the spelling “Hindo.â€. The word “Hindī†has another derivation, being formed from the PersianHind, India (Avestahindu, Sanskritsindhu, the Indus). “Hindi†means “of or belonging to India,†while “Hindu†now means “a person of the Hindu religion.†(Cf. Sir C. J. Lyall,A Sketch of the Hindustani Language, p. 1).
2Sir C. J. Lyall,op. cit.p. 9.
3This and the preceding paragraph are partly taken from Mr Platts’s article in vol. xi. of the 9th edition of this encyclopaedia.
4In some dialects of W.H. weak forms have masculines ending in u and corresponding feminines ini, but these are nowadays rarely met in the literary forms of speech. In old poetry they are common. In Braj Bhasha they have survived in the present participle.
HINDÅŒSTÄ€NĪ LITERATURE.The writings dealt with in this article are those composed in the vernacular of that part of India which is properly called HindÅstÄn,—that is, the valleys of the Jumna and Ganges rivers as far east as the river KÅs, and the tract to the south including RajpÅ«tÄnÄ, Central India (BundÄ“lkhaṇḠand BaghÄ“lkhaṇá¸), the NarmadÄ (Nerbudda) valley as far west as KhandwÄ, and the northern half of the Central Provinces. It does not include the Punjab proper (though the town population there speak HindÅstÄnÄ«), nor does it extend to Lower Bengal.
In this region several different dialects prevail. The people of the towns everywhere use chiefly the form of the language calledUrdÅ«orRÄ“khta,1stocked with Persian words and phrases, and ordinarily written in a modification of the Persian character. The country folk (who form the immense majority) speak different varieties ofHindÄ«, of which the word-stock derives from the PrÄkrits and literary Sanskrit, and which are written in the DÄ“vanÄgari or KaithÄ« character. Of these the most important from a literary point of view, proceeding from west to east, areMÄrwÄṛīandJaipurÄ«(the languages of RajpÅ«tÄnÄ),BrajbhÄshÄ(the language of the country about MathurÄ and Agra),KanaujÄ«(the language of the lower Ganges-Jumna DoÄb and western Rohilkhaṇá¸),Eastern HindÄ«, also calledAwadhÄ«andBaiswÄrÄ«(the language of Eastern Rohilkhaṇá¸, Oudh and the Benares division of the United Provinces) andBihÄrÄ«(the language of BihÄr or MithilÄ, comprising several distinct dialects). What is calledHigh HindÄ«is a modern development, for literary purposes, of the dialect of Western Hindi spoken in the neighbourhood of Delhi and thence northwards to the HimÄlaya, which has formed the vernacular basis of UrdÅ«; the Persian words in the latter have been eliminated and replaced by words of Sanskritic origin, and the order of words in the sentence which is proper tothe indigenous speech is more strictly adhered to than in UrdÅ«, which under the influence of Persian constructions has admitted many inversions.
As in many other countries, nearly all the early vernacular literature of HindÅstÄn is in verse, and works in prose are a modern growth.2Both HindÄ« and UrdÅ« are, in their application to literary purposes, at first intruders upon the ground already occupied by the learned languages Sanskrit and Persian, the former representing HindÅ« and the latter MusalmÄn culture. But there is this difference between them, that, whereas HindÄ« has been raised to the dignity of a literary speech chiefly by impulses of revolt against the monopoly of the Brahmans, UrdÅ« has been cultivated with goodwill by authors who have themselves highly valued and dexterously used the polished Persian. Both Sanskrit and Persian continue to be employed occasionally for composition by Indian writers, though much fallen from their former estate; but for popular purposes it may be said that their vernacular rivals are now almost in sole possession of the field.
The subject may be conveniently divided as follows:—
1. Early HindÄ«, of the period during which the language was being fashioned as a literary medium out of the ancient PrÄkrits, represented by the old heroic poems of RajpÅ«tÄnÄ and the literature of the earlyBhagatsor Vaishnava reformers, and extending from aboutA.D.1100 to 1550;2. Middle HindÄ«, representing the best age of HindÄ« poetry, and reaching from about 1550 to the end of the 18th century;3. The rise and development of literary UrdÅ«, beginning about the end of the 16th century, and reaching its height during the 18th;4. The modern period, marked by the growth of a prose literature in both dialects, and dating from the beginning of the 19th century.
1. Early HindÄ«, of the period during which the language was being fashioned as a literary medium out of the ancient PrÄkrits, represented by the old heroic poems of RajpÅ«tÄnÄ and the literature of the earlyBhagatsor Vaishnava reformers, and extending from aboutA.D.1100 to 1550;
2. Middle Hindī, representing the best age of Hindī poetry, and reaching from about 1550 to the end of the 18th century;
3. The rise and development of literary Urdū, beginning about the end of the 16th century, and reaching its height during the 18th;
4. The modern period, marked by the growth of a prose literature in both dialects, and dating from the beginning of the 19th century.
1.Early HindÄ«.—Our knowledge of the ancient metrical chronicles of RajpÅ«tÄnÄ is still very imperfect, and is chiefly derived from the monumental work of Colonel James Tod, calledThe Annals and Antiquities of RÄjÄsthÄn(published in 1829-1832), which is founded on them. It is in the nature of compositions of this character to be subjected to perpetual revision and recasting; they are the production of the family bards of the dynasties whose fortunes they record, and from generation to generation they are added to, and their language constantly modified to make it intelligible to the people of the time. Round an original nucleus of historical fact a rich growth of legend accumulates; later redactors endeavour to systematize and to assign dates, but the result is not often such as to inspire confidence; and the mass has more the character of ballad literature than of serious history. The materials used by Tod are nearly all still unprinted; his manuscripts are now deposited in the library of the Royal Asiatic Society in London; and one of the tasks which, on linguistic and historical grounds, should first be undertaken by the investigator of early HindÄ« literature is the examination and sifting, and the publication in their original form, of these important texts.
Omitting a few fragments of more ancient bards given by compilers of accounts of HindÄ« literature, the earliest author of whom any portion has as yet been published in the original text is Chand BardÄÄ«, the court bard of PrithwÄ«-RÄj, the last HindÅ« sovereign of Delhi. His poem, entitledPrithÄ«-RÄj RÄsau(orRÄysÄ), is a vast chronicle in 69 books or cantos, comprising a general history of the period when he wrote. Of this a small portion has been printed, partly under the editorship of the late Mr John Beames and partly under that of Dr Rudolf Hoernle, by the Asiatic Society of Bengal; but the excessively difficult nature of the task prevented both scholars from making much progress.3Chand, who came of a family of bards, was a native of Lahore, which had for nearly 170 years (since 1023) been under Muslim rule when he flourished, and the language of the poem exhibits a considerable leaven of Persian words. In its present form the work is a redaction made by Amar Singh of MÄ“wÄr, about the beginning of the 17th century, and therefore more than 400 years after Chand’s death, with his patron PrithwÄ«-RÄj, in 1193. There is, therefore, considerable reason to doubt whether we have in it much of Chand’s composition in its original shape; and the nature of the incidents described enhances this doubt. The detailed dates contained in the Chronicle have been shown by KabirÄj SyÄmal DÄs4to be in every case about ninety years astray. It tells of repeated conflicts between the hero PrithwÄ«-RÄj and SultÄn ShihÄbuddin, of GhÅr (Muhammad Ghori), in which the latter always, except in the last great battle, comes off the worst, is taken prisoner and is released on payment of a ransom; these seem to be entirely unhistorical, our contemporary Persian authorities knowing of only one encounter (that of TiraurÄ« (Tirawari) near ThÄ“nÄ“sar, fought in 1191) in which the SultÄn was defeated, and even then he escaped uncaptured to Lahore. The Mongols (Book XV.) are brought on the stage more than thirty years before they actually set foot in India, and are related to have been vanquished by the redoubtable PrithwÄ«-RÄj. It is evident that such a record cannot possibly be, in its entirety, a contemporary chronicle; but nevertheless it appears to contain a considerable element which, from its language, may belong to Chand’s own age, and represents the earliest surviving document in HindÄ«. “Though we may not possess the actual text of Chand, we have certainly in his writings some of the oldest known specimens of Gaudian literature, abounding in pure ApabhramÅ›a ÅšaurasÄ“nÄ« PrÄkrit forms†(Grierson).
It is very difficult now to form a just estimate of the poem as literature. The language, essentially transitional in character, consists largely of words which have long since died out of the vernacular speech. Even the most learned Hindus of the present day are unable to interpret it with confidence; and the meaning of the verses must be sought by investigating the processes by which Sanskrit and PrÄkrit forms have been transfigured in their progress into HindÄ«. Chand appears, on the whole, to exhibit the merits and defects of ballad chroniclers in general. There is much that is lively and spirited in his descriptions of fight or council; and the characters of the RÄjpÅ«t warriors who surround his hero are often sketched in their utterances with skill and animation. The sound, however, frequently predominates over the sense; the narrative is carried on with the wearisome iteration and tedious unfolding of familiar themes and images which characterize all such poetry in India; and his value, for us at least, is linguistic rather than literary.
It is very difficult now to form a just estimate of the poem as literature. The language, essentially transitional in character, consists largely of words which have long since died out of the vernacular speech. Even the most learned Hindus of the present day are unable to interpret it with confidence; and the meaning of the verses must be sought by investigating the processes by which Sanskrit and PrÄkrit forms have been transfigured in their progress into HindÄ«. Chand appears, on the whole, to exhibit the merits and defects of ballad chroniclers in general. There is much that is lively and spirited in his descriptions of fight or council; and the characters of the RÄjpÅ«t warriors who surround his hero are often sketched in their utterances with skill and animation. The sound, however, frequently predominates over the sense; the narrative is carried on with the wearisome iteration and tedious unfolding of familiar themes and images which characterize all such poetry in India; and his value, for us at least, is linguistic rather than literary.
Chand may be taken as the representative of a long line of successors, continued even to the present day in the RÄjpÅ«t states. Many of their compositions are still widely popular as ballad literature, but are known only in oral versions sung in HindÅstÄn by professional singers. One of the most famous of these is theAlhÄ-khaṇá¸, reputed to be the work of a contemporary of Chand called Jagnik or JagnÄyak, of MahÅbÄ in BundÄ“lkhaṇá¸, who sang the praises of RÄjÄ-ParmÄl, a ruler whose wars with PrithwÄ«-RÄj are recorded in the MahÅbÄ-KhaṇḠof Chand’s work. Ä€lhÄ and Ūdal, the heroes of the poem, are famous warriors in popular legend, and the stories connected with them exist in an eastern recension, current in BihÄr, as well as in the BundÄ“lkhaṇá¸Ä« or western form which is best known. Two versions of the latter have been printed, having been taken down as recited by illiterate professional rhapsodists. Another celebrated bard was SÄrangdhar of RantambhÅr, who flourished in 1363, and sang the praises of HammÄ«r DÄ“o (Hamir Deo), the ChauhÄn chief of RantambhÅr who fell in a heroic struggle against SultÄn ‘AlÄ‘uddÄ«n KhiljÄ« in 1300. He wrote theHammÄ«r KÄvyaandHammÄ«r RÄsau, of which an account is given by Tod;5he was also a poet in Sanskrit, in which language he compiled, in 1363, the anthology calledSÄrngadhara-Paddhati. Another work which may be mentioned (though much more modern) is the long chronicle entitledChhattra-PrakÄs, or the history of RÄjÄ ChhatarsÄl, the BundÄ“lÄ rÄjÄ of PannÄ, who was killed, fighting on behalf of Prince DÄrÄ-ShukÅh, in the battle of DhÅlpur won by AurangzÄ“b in 1658. The author, LÄl Kabi, has given in this work a history of the valiant BundÄ“lÄ nation which was rendered into English by Captain W. R. Pogson in 1828, and printed at Calcutta.
Before passing on to the more important branch of earlyHindÄ« literature, the works of theBhagats, mention may be made here of a remarkable composition, a poem entitled thePadmÄwat, the materials of which are derived from the heroic legends of RajpÅ«tÄnÄ, but which is not the work of a bard nor even of a Hindu. The author, Malik Muḥammad of JÄ‘is, in Oudh, was a venerated Muslim devotee, to whom the Hindu rÄjÄ of AmÄ“á¹hÄ« was greatly attached. Malik Muḥammad wrote the PadmÄwat in 1540, the year in which ShÄ“r ShÄh SÅ«r ousted HumÄyÄn from the throne of Delhi. The poem is composed in the purest vernacular AwadhÄ«, with no admixture of traditional Hindu learning, and is generally to be found written in the Persian character, though the metres and language are thoroughly Indian. It professes to tell the tale of PadmÄwatÄ« or PadminÄ«, a princess celebrated for her beauty who was the wife of the ChauhÄn rÄjÄ of ChÄ«tÅr in MÄ“wÄr. The historical Padminī’s husband was named BhÄ«m Singh, but Malik Muḥammad calls him Ratan SÄ“n; and the story turns upon the attempts of ‘AlÄ‘uddÄ«n KhiljÄ«, the sovereign of Delhi, to gain possession of her person. The tale of the siege of ChÄ«tÅr in 1303 by ‘AlÄ‘uddÄ«n, the heroic stand made by its defenders, who perished to the last man in fight with the Sultan’s army, and the self-immolation of PadminÄ« and the other women, the wives and daughters of the warriors, by the fiery death calledjÅhar, will be found related in Tod’sRÄjÄsthÄn, i. 262 sqq. Malik Muḥammad takes great liberties with the history, and explains at the end of the poem that all is an allegory, and that the personages represent the human soul, Divine wisdom, Satan, delusion and other mystical characters.
Both on account of its interest as a true vernacular work, and as the composition of a MusalmÄn who has taken the incidents of his morality from the legends of his country and not from an exotic source, the poem is memorable. It has often been lithographed, and is very popular; a translation has even been made into Sanskrit. A critical edition has been prepared by Dr G. A. Grierson and Paṇá¸it SudhÄkar DwivÄ“di.
Both on account of its interest as a true vernacular work, and as the composition of a MusalmÄn who has taken the incidents of his morality from the legends of his country and not from an exotic source, the poem is memorable. It has often been lithographed, and is very popular; a translation has even been made into Sanskrit. A critical edition has been prepared by Dr G. A. Grierson and Paṇá¸it SudhÄkar DwivÄ“di.
The other class of composition which is characteristic of the period of early HindÄ«, the literature of theBhagats, or Vaishnava saints, who propagated the doctrine ofbhakti, or faith in Vishnu, as the popular religion of HindÅstÄn, has exercised a much more powerful influence both upon the national speech and upon the themes chosen for poetic treatment. It is also, as a body of literature, of high intrinsic interest for its form and content. Nearly the whole of subsequent poetical composition in HindÄ« is impressed with one or other type of Vaishnava doctrine, which, like Buddhism many centuries before, was essentially a reaction against Brahmanical influence and the chains of caste, a claim for the rights of humanity in face of the monopoly which the “twice-born†asserted of learning, of worship, of righteousness. A large proportion of the writers were non-Brahmans, and many of them of the lowest castes. As Åšiva was the popular deity of the Brahmans, so was Vishnu of the people; and while the literature of the Åšaivas and ÅšÄktas6is almost entirely in Sanskrit, and exercised little or no influence on the popular mind in northern India, that of the Vaishnavas is largely in HindÄ«, and in itself constitutes the great bulk of what has been written in that language.
The Vaishnava doctrine is commonly carried back to RÄmÄnuja, a Brahman who was born about the end of the 11th century, at Perambur in the neighbourhood of the modern Madras, and spent his life in southern India. His works, which are in Sanskrit and consist of commentaries on the VÄ“dÄnta SÅ«tras, are devoted to establishing “the personal existence of a Supreme Deity, possessing every gracious attribute, full of love and pity for the sinful beings who adore him, and granting the released soul a home of eternal bliss near him—a home where each soul never loses its identity, and whose state is one of perfect peace.â€7In the Deity’s infinite love and pity he has on several occasions become incarnate for the salvation of mankind, and of these incarnations two, RÄmachandra, the prince of AyÅdhyÄ, and Ká¹›ishṇa, the chief of the YÄdava clan and son of VasudÄ“va, are pre-eminently those in which it is most fitting that he should be worshipped. Both of these incarnations had for many centuries8attracted popular veneration, and their histories had been celebrated by poets in epics and by weavers of religious myths inPurÄnasor “old storiesâ€; but it was apparently RÄmÄnuja’s teaching which secured for them, and especially for RÄmachandra, their exclusive place as the objects ofbhakti—ardent faith and personal devotion addressed to the Supreme. The adherents of RÄmÄnuja were, however, all Brahmans, and observed very strict rules in respect of food, bathing and dress; the new doctrine had not yet penetrated to the people.
Whether RÄmÄnuja himself gave the preference to RÄma against Krishna as the form of Vishnu most worthy of worship is uncertain. He dealt mainly with philosophic conceptions of the Divine Nature, and probably busied himself little with mythological legend. Hismantra, or formula of initiation, if Wilson9was correctly informed, implies devotion to RÄma; but VÄsudÄ“va (Krishna) is also mentioned as a principal object of adoration, and RÄmÄnuja himself dwelt for several years in Mysore, at a temple erected by the rÄjÄ, at YÄdavagiri in honour of Krishna in his form RaṇchhÅá¹›.10It is stated that in his worship of Krishna he joined with that god as hisÅšaktÄ«, or Energy, his wife RukminÄ«; while the later varieties of Krishna-worship prefer to honour his mistress RÄdhÄ. The great difference, in temper and influence upon life, between these two forms of Vaishnava faith appears to be a development subsequent to RÄmÄnuja; but by the time of JaidÄ“o (about 1250) it is clear that the theme of Krishna and RÄdhÄ, and the use of passionate language drawn from the relations of the sexes to express the longings of the soul for God, had become fully established; and from that time onwards the two types of Vaishnava religious emotion diverged more and more from one another.
The cult of RÄma is founded on family life, and the relation of the worshipper to the Deity is that of a child to a father. The morality it inculcates springs from the sacred sources of human piety which in all religions have wrought most in favour of pureness of life, of fraternal helpfulness and of humble devotion to a loving and tender Parent, who desires the good of mankind, His children, and hates violence and wrong. That of Krishna, on the other hand, had for its basis the legendary career of a less estimable human hero, whose exploits are marked by a kind of elvish and fantastic wantonness; it has more and more spent its energy in developing that side of devotion which is perilously near to sensual thought, and has allowed the imagination and ingenuity of poets to dwell on things unmeet for verse or even for speech. It is claimed for those who first opened this way to faith that their hearts were pure and their thoughts innocent, and that the language of erotic passion which they use as the vehicle of their religious emotion is merely mystical and allegorical. This is probable; but that these beginnings were followed by corruption in the multitude, and that the fervent impulses of adoration made way in later times for those of lust and lasciviousness, seems beyond dispute.
The worship of Krishna, especially in his infant and youthful form (which appeals chiefly to women), is widely popular in the neighbourhood of MathurÄ, the capital of that land of Braj where as a boy he lived. Its literature is mainly composed in the dialect of this region, called BrajbhÄshÄ. That of RÄma,though general throughout HindÅstÄn, has since the time of TulsÄ« DÄs adopted for poetic use the language of Oudh, called AwadhÄ« or BaiswÄrÄ«, a form of Eastern HindÄ« easily understood throughout the whole of the Gangetic valley. Thus these two dialects came to be, what they are to this day, the standard vehicles of poetic expression.
Subsequently to RÄmÄnuja his doctrine appears to have been set forth, about 1250, in the vernacular of the people by JaidÄ“o, a Brahman born at Kinduvilva, the modern Kenduli, in the BÄ«rbhÅ«m district of Bengal, author of the SanskritGÄ«tÄ GÅvinda, and by NÄmdÄ“o or NÄmÄ, a tailor11of MahÄrÄshtra, of both of whom verses in the popular speech are preserved in theÄ€di Granthof the Sikhs. But it was not until the beginning of the 15th century that the Brahman RÄmÄnand, a prominentGÅsÄÄ«á¹…of the sect of RÄmÄnuja, having had a dispute with the members of his order in regard to the stringent rules observed by them, left the community, migrated to northern India (where he is said to have made his headquarters GaltÄ in RajpÅ«tÄnÄ), and addressed himself to those outside the Brahman caste, thus initiating the teaching of Vaishnavism as the popular faith of HindÅstÄn. Among his twelve disciples or apostles were a RÄjpÅ«t, a JÄt, a leather-worker, a barber and a MusalmÄn weaver; the last-mentioned was the celebratedKabÄ«r(see separate article). One short HindÄ« poem by RÄmÄnand is contained in theÄ€di Granth, and Dr Grierson has collected hymns (bhajans) attributed to him and still current in MithilÄ or TirhÅ«t. Both RÄmÄnand and KabÄ«r were adherents of the form of Vaishnavism where devotion is specially addressed to RÄama, who is regarded not only as an incarnation, but as himself identical with the Deity. A contemporary of RÄmÄnand, BidyÄpati ṬhÄkur, is celebrated as the author of numerous lyrics in the MaithilÄ« dialect of BihÄr, expressive of the other side of Vaishnavism, the passionate adoration of the Deity in the person of Krishna, the aspirations of the worshipper being mystically conveyed in the character of RÄdhÄ, the cowherdess of Braj and the beloved of the son of VasudÄ“va. These stanzas of BidyÄpati (who was a Brahman and author of several works in Sanskrit) afterwards inspired the Vaishnava literature of Bengal, whose most celebrated exponent was Chaitanya (b. 1484). Another famous adherent of the same cult was MÄ«rÄ BÄÄ«, “the one great poetess of northern India†(Grierson). This lady, daughter of RÄjÄ RatiyÄ RÄnÄ, RÄá¹hÅr, of MÄ“rtÄ in RajpÅ«tÄnÄ, must have been born about the beginning of the 15th century; she was married in 1413 to RÄjÄ Kumbhkaran of MÄ“wÄr, who was killed by his son Uday RÄnÄ in 1469. She was devoted to Krishna in the form of RaṇchhÅá¹›, and her songs have a wide currency in northern India.