traced from the Veda to Alexander, and in many cases from Alexander again to our own time, seem to me sufficient to impress upon us the real and historical character of the Veda. Suppose the Veda were a forgery—suppose at least that it had been put together after the time of Alexander—how could we explain these names? They are names that have mostly a meaning in Sanskrit, they are names corresponding very closely to their Greek corruptions, as pronounced and written down by people who did not know Sanskrit. How is a forgery possible here?
I selected this hymn for two reasons. First, because it shows us the widest geographical horizon of the Vedic poets, confined by the snowy mountains in the North, the Indus and the range of the Suleiman mountains in the West, the Indus or the sea in the South, and the valley of the Jumna and Ganges in the East. Beyond that, the world, though open, was unknown to the Vedic poets. Secondly, because the same hymn gives us also a kind of historical background to the Vedic age. These rivers, as we may see them
more considerable, and adds: "Un peu à l'est de Sirmágha, le Gomal traverse la chaine de montagnes de Solimán, passe devant Raghzi, et fertilise le pays habité par les tribus de Dauletkhail et de Gandehpour. Il se dessèche au défilé de Pezou, et son lit ne se remplit plus d'eau que dans la saison des pluies; alors seulement il rejoint la droite de l'Indus, au sud-est du bourg de Paharpour." The Kurrum falls into the Indus North of the Gomal, while, according to the poet, we should expect it South. It might be urged that poets are not bound by the same rules as geographers, as we see, for instance, in the verse immediately preceding. But if it should be taken as a serious objection, it will be better to give up the Gomati than the Krumu, the latter being the larger of the two, and we might then take Gomati, "rich in cattle," as an adjective belonging to Krumu.'—From a review of General Cunningham's 'Ancient Geography of India,' in Nature, 1871, Sept. 14.
