Ancient India: Its Language and Religions

ANCIENT INDIA.

...vast amounts original: "gigantic masses" of an unknown literature and a strange, beautiful poetry. He was as well-qualified for this task—perhaps even more so—than many more serious or talented scholars might have been.

The political situation he found in India made it a duty for the European rulers of the land to familiarize themselves with the Sanskrit language and its literature. The rapid expansion and increased activity of British rule made it impossible to continue ignoring or only superficially acknowledging the nation's ancient indigenous civilization and literature.

This necessity was most obvious in the legal system. The policy of the East India Company strictly required that the local people be allowed to keep as many of their own laws and customs as possible. As early as 1772, an Act of Parliament concerning the Company's affairs included a measure suggested by Warren Hastings. It provided that Muslim original: "Mohammedan" and Indian lawyers should participate in court proceedings to ensure native laws were applied and to help reach legal judgments. This created a situation where European judges had to rely on the honesty—or lack thereof—of Indian pandits Hindu scholars or experts in Sanskrit and Indian law. This must have been very frustrating for a conscientious judge, because there was no way to verify the claims made by Indian advisors regarding the laws of inheritance, contracts, and other matters found in native texts.

To resolve original: "obviate" this difficulty, Warren Hastings commissioned several Brahmanical relating to Brahmins, the highest priestly caste in Hindu society legal experts original: "jurisconsults" to compile a summary original: "digest" of the ancient Sanskrit law books. This was...