ஆரியர்கள் இந்தியர்களே அது பற்றி சில கருத்துக்கள்

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ஆங்கிலேயர்களால் பிரித்தாள்வதற்காக தோற்றுவிக்கப்பட்ட ஆரியர்களின் ஆக்கிரமிப்பு கொள்கைகள் இன்றும் நம் பாடபுத்தகங்களை ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ளது.
ஆரியர்களின் ஆக்கிரமிப்பு கொள்கைகளுக்கு எதிரான வாதங்கள் சிலவற்றை பார்போம்.

1. வேதங்கள் ஆரியர் என்ற வார்த்தையை மனிதர்கள் பின்பற்றக்கூடிய உயரிய குணங்களை உடையவர் என்றே கூறுகிறது.

2. வேதங்களில் ஆரியர் எந்த வெளிநாட்டிலிருந்தும் வந்ததாக தெரிவிக்கவில்லை.

3. 1946 ல் அம்பேத்காரல் எழுதப்பட்ட " யார் சூத்திரர்கள்" என்ற நூலில் மேற்க்கத்தியர்களால் உருவாக்கப்பட்ட ஆரியர் ஆக்கிரமிப்பு கொள்கை பல விஷயங்களை விளக்க தவறி இருக்கிறது. இது முன்னமே உருவாக்கப்பட்டு அதற்கெற்றார் போல் சூழ்நிலைகள் உருவாக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. என்று கூறியுள்ளார்.

4. சுவாமி விவேகானந்தர் அமெரிக்காவில் ஆற்றிய சொற்பொழிவில் பின்வருமாறு கூறியுள்ளார் "உங்களது ஐரோப்பிய பண்டிதர்கள் கூறுவது போல் ஆரியர்கள் வெளிநாட்டிலிருந்து வந்து இந்தியாவிலுள்ள ஆதி குடிமக்களை வென்று அதிகாரம் செலுத்தினர் என்பது முட்டாள் தனமான பேச்சாகும். இதில் வேடிக்கையானது என்னவென்றால் எங்கள் இந்திய பண்டிதர்களும் அவர்களுக்கு ஆமாம் போடுவது தான்" .

5. அரவிந்தர் அவரது வேதங்களின் ரகசியம் எனும் நூலில் " ஆரியர் ஆக்கிரமிப்பு கொள்கை அதன் தரத்தில் மிகவும் குறைவாகவும் அதன் முக்கியதுவத்தில் நிச்சயமற்றதாகவும் உள்ளது. அதை பற்றிய எந்த ஒரு உண்மையும் முழுமையாக விவரிக்கப்படவில்லை" என்று கூறியுள்ளார்.

6. ஹரப்பா மற்றும் மோகஞ்சதரோ வில் பல ஆயிரம் வருடங்களுக்கு முன்பே நாகரிகங்கள் இருந்ததாக கூறப்படுகிறது . இதை வைதத்து பார்க்கும் பொது ஆரியர்கள் வெளிநாட்டிலிருந்து வந்து இந்த நவீன நகரங்களையும் கலாசாரங்களையும் அழித்திருப்பார் என்று கூறமுடியாது.

7. மேலும் ஹரப்பா மற்றும் மோகஞ்ச்சாதரோவில் பசுபதி எனும் சிவனை வழிபட்டுள்ளனர். அங்கு கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்ட சின்னங்களும் இந்து சமயம் சார்ந்ததாகவே உள்ளது. 5000 வருடங்களுக்கு முனதாகவே அதாவது ஆரியர் வந்தனர் என கூறப்படும் காலத்திற்க்கு முன்னதாகவே இந்து சமயம் இந்தியாவில் இருந்தது. எனவே வெளிநாட்டவர் இந்தியா வந்தனர் இந்து சமயத்தை பரப்பினர் என்று கூற வாய்பேயில்லை.

majority to them. In Germans, however, personal opinion and conviction are so supreme and unruly, that we need men who will seize the German John Bull, not, as is usual, by the horns, but in a friendly way, by his soft and weak points.
No doubt there will be many good men of the State there, but few
good statesmen. Everything in Frankfort will depend on how the
first majority is formed, but I don’t believe that any party in Germany,
be it what it may, would have any prospect of influence, if, when
finding itself in a minority, it resorts to violence. Modern history
accustoms itself to look on majorities which have arisen naturally
in the same way as the old world must have originally looked upon


1848] Life in Oxford 75
their “Judgement of God,” but with this diflference, that for the Christian world the Godlike has assumed the form of humanity and freedom, by the side of that of nature and necessity. Life here in Oxford is remarkably pleasant ; the place is so beautiful, and every- body so friendly and good, many people very superior and interesting.
I have not seen much of Stanley, as he is very much occupied ; but
I know many of the Fellows, who pursue the same objects, and with
even more understanding and determination, From many different
sides one hears of a wish for reforms in the life of the University, but
they are afraid of the Government ; and that if they once give it the
opportunity it will interfere far more than they desire. They par-
ticularly dread the tendencies of the Cheap Government, which might
involve them in Cheap Education, and therefore they would rather
remain quiet and keep their own. I have given your pamphlet on
Schleswig to Stanley, Dr. Jacobson, Dr. Plumptre, and Dr. Acland,
and I hear that Dr. Twiss means to write an answer ; the same man
who wrote on the Oregon question. One hopes it may come post
factum, like King Oscar’s troops, though I must own that it would be
wonderful if they could persuade the Holger Danske to listen to
reason and act accordingly.’ ‘
To his mother he describes his new life thus : —
Translation. 17, Walton Place, May 21.
‘ Here I am at last settled in Oxford. I have already told you how beautiful it is, and now in spring it is perfect ; the finest gardens I have ever seen, the old trees and the green velvety turf such as one only sees in England. I am enjoying the spring here as I have not enjoyed it for years, and feel better than I ever felt in hot, dirty, noisy London. I like the people here very much, and my work gets on much faster, which will delight you. Forty large sheets already printed, and £ 160 already spent ! But I can Hve more cheaply here, and save a little, which as yet I have not been able to do. I have not had a piano for a long time ; now I have hired one for 305-. a month. I find my music very useful in society, for they like to hear it, though few people play. Of course I miss Bunsen very much, but who can say how long he will stay in London .? and in these busy times I have seen but little of him. My speech at Oxford is published under the title, “ Three Linguistic Dissertations read at the Meeting of the British Association in Oxford, by Chevalier Bunsen, Dr. INIeyer, and Dr. Max MuUer.” I find it a good visiting card here. It is difficult to say when my first volume will be ready, as the printing is sometimes easy and sometimes very difficult ; but be sure I work as hard as I can, for it is most important for me to get the first part published.’


76 Dean Gaisford [ch. v
To THE Same.
Translation. OxFOVJi, June 28.

‘ I live here so quietly that I often wish I had you all here, safe out
of the trouble and turmoil in Germany. It is the greatest delight to
walk in these gardens, where the old gables and towers peep through
the green trees on all sides. I am asked to dinner nearly every day —
this is at five o’clock in one of the old Colleges. After dinner we have
coffee and tea in the gardens on the grass, and smoke our cigars.
We have a great deal of music, and I get on very well with all these
reverend sirs.’
Peaceful as his life in Oxford was, Max Miiller was too patriotic not to be deeply occupied with the events in his native country, and he writes to Dr. Pauli : —
Translation. June 27, 1848.
‘ One needs earnest and difficult work to keep one quiet. I sup- pose in time one will get accustomed to this new world, but up to now I have not had courage or power even to talk about it : in time the sea-sickness will leave one, and then one can watch the storm carefully and wonder at it. You ought to come to Oxford ; it is the most beautiful city I have ever seen, and one must have seen it to know England. Living is tolerably cheap, and the libraries rich in manuscript treasures. I shall stay here till October, then publish a volume and go to Germany.’
Max Miiller became almost immediately on intimate terms with a number of undergraduates, as well as many younger dons, whilst several of the heads of houses and Professors showed great kindness to the man whom they remembered as reading a paper but the year before at the British Association, on a subject quite unknown to most of them, but which had provoked interesting and important discussions. Dr. Gaisford was particularly condescending to the young scholar, who often mentioned with pleasure the real courtesy of the Dean^ as being the only head of a house who thought it necessary to call before sending him an invitation to dinner.
He has given an amusing account of that visit, and the
attack made on the Dean by his Scotch terrier. Belle. To
the few who still remember those days the name of Belle
will recall many a happy hour. She was a small terrier, by
no means a great beauty, and had belonged to Robert Morier,
who willingly passed her on to his friend, to avoid the trouble


1848] Oxford Friends 77
of looking after her. She lived to a great age, and gave her new master a good deal of occupation in taking care of her and her innumerable puppies. Her devotion made her very- jealous, and when some years after a beautiful Skye puppy was given him by a much-loved friend, Belle ill-treated it so, that he had to part with it to save its life ! Max Muller was always devoted to dogs, and his friends will recollect his great deerhound Oscar, Musk, a Skye terrier, and in later years his well-known dachshunds, Waldmann and Mannerl, and at the very last. Longbow and Big Ben.
Among Max’s intimate friends at this time were Morier, afterwards Sir Robert Morier, who died Ambassador at St. Petersburg ; William Sellar, later on Professor of Latin at Edin- burgh ; Palgrave, to whose advice he owed a great deal when he first began to write English books; William Spottiswoode;
Alexander Grant, who, after many years in India, became Principal of the University of Edinburgh ; Theodore Walrond, afterwards his brother-in-law, and whom for many years he used to call his English conscience ; Earle, later Professor of Anglo-Saxon ; Church, afterwards Dean of St. Paul’s ; George Butler ; ffolliott, who in the last letter he wrote to Max Muller says, ‘ Your friendship has been one of the happiest elements of my life ‘ ; Thomson, of Queen’s, who became Archbishop of York ; Story-Maskelyne, later Professor of Mineralogy ;
Clough, the poet ; Dr. Stanley, then Tutor of University ;
Dr. Acland ; Manuel Johnson, the Radcliffe Observer;
Professor Donkin, drawn to him by their common love of
music ; ‘ Bodley ‘ Coxe ; Jowett, then the popular young Tutor
of Balliol ; and J. A. Froude, of Exeter. To the two last
Max Muller was a staunch friend, standing by them when
their opinions exposed them to a good deal of obloquy and
closed many doors against them. Most of these men
remained Max Miiller’s devoted and intimate friends through
life ; from others, from circumstances of residence and occupa-
tion, he was more or less separated, though when they met
there was always a hearty recollection of the ‘ merry days
when they were young,’ and enjoyed many a joke and many
a discussion in their various rooms, whether in College or in
lodgings. The very few left who remember quite the early


78 Max Muller at Twenty-four [ch. v
years when Max Muller first settled in Oxford, recall his great powers of attraction, his lively conversation, even though in still rather quaint English, his fun, his power of repartee, above all his kindly lovable nature, to which a singularly beautiful countenance bore witness, his brilliant pianoforte-playing, and behind all this a seriousness of purpose, a loftiness of aim, with an amount of general culture seldom met with in a man of little more than twenty-four ; whilst the almost entire ignorance of the great subject to which he was devoting his life only added to their wonder and interest.
Mr. Tuckwell in his delightful Reminiscences says : * I recall the black-haired, slight young foreigner in 1846^ or there- abouts, known first as a pianist in Oxford drawing-rooms, whose inmates ceased their chatter at his brilliant touch.’
To Chevalier Bunsen.
Translation. 17, Walton V-lkcy., June 13, 1848.
‘ ‘Tis hard to carry a full cup even. Oxford is most beautiful, but one longs for German Professors, for Greek societies and seminars !
My Veda gets on; forty-five sheets are printed. I have good news
from India. The Pundits, to whom I sent proof-sheets, are delighted
with the plan and the way it is being carried out. As it does not
seem likely that the Prussian Government will at this moment grant
any money for MSS. from India, I shall apply to the East India
Company. The expense is very small, 1,000 lines of thirty-two
syllables for eight shillings. I think of staying here till my first
volume is ready, which it cannot be before the end of the year, and
then I shall go to Germany. But I must find some further occupa-
tion here, for Sanskrit alone does not yield enough to live on. It is
delightful to reconstruct a chapter in the historical consciousness of
mankind, especially one that is so ancient and so important for the
intellectual migrations of the Aryans as is the Vedic epoch. But
when mankind is at work it requires people who can wield the
hammer in order to forge a new link in the chain of humanity. Only
I don’t know with what hammer I should try to work, but it seems
to me pretty certain that for the next thirty years the Veda and such
literary ruins will find few friends and explorers. For what we now
see is but the prelude to wake and shake the mind, to bring it into
the necessary condition, “ corruptos hominum mores bellis emendare
atque conterere.” ‘
^ 1848 it should be.


i8^8] Commemoration 79
In the following letter to his mother he describes his first Commemoration, little imagining how many more he was to see^ till his own children were enjoying them from thirty to forty years later : —
Tratislaiion. July ii.
‘ There were great festivities for the end of term. Guizot was here, two sons of Metternich, Baron von Hiigel, and many of the best English families, and a crowd of such beautiful women as I have never before seen. The festivities lasted from early dawn till night ; the gardens lighted up, with music and singing, were enchanting. There were good concerts, the Messiah, the Creation, in which Birch, Tadolinde, and Lablache sang ; in fact it was magnificent, and cham- pagne and hock flowed in streams. Now every place is empty.
I have the beautiful gardens to myself, and that is delightful, where
I take a walk of an evening and smoke my cigar ; but it would be yet
better on the Terrace at Dresden I “However “ as the English say,
and I do my best to acquire an Englishman’s patience and indifference.’
The summer was spent quietly in Oxford, working at the Veda and the long Introduction, or Prolegomena, of which we hear more in the following year.
To HIS Mother.
Translation. Oxford, August 8.

‘ The times are not suited for quiet enjoyment, and who knows when this struggle of the discontented masses will cease .? But when one remembers all the suffering and sorrow, the thousands who are perish- ing from war, disease, and famine, one ought to be contented oneself, and thank God if we escape with a few inconveniences. It sometimes seems to me wrong to be sitting and working here so peacefully in Oxford, whilst so many in Germany are torn away from their scientific employments and must share all the dangers of war. One is not better than all those who die by thousands in battle or of cholera, or who see all their prospects for life ruined in a moment. And yet, surely, all this want and calamity must do some good, by teaching men that they are placed on the earth not for enjoyment but for a struggle and trial : in quieter times one forgets too easily the real earnest task of life, and the true man in us perishes. Now every one must stand fast and be ready for anything. If we do our duty and have a good conscience and trust in God, this little world cannot do us much harm.
I lead a most pleasant life here in Oxford. Many of my friends come
to see me, and live in the same house — Dr. Kollgren from Helsingfors,
Dr. Pauli from Berlin. Then of course I do not get through so much
work — we take long walks, bathe, &c. ; but when they are gone I shall


8o Revolution in Germany [ch. v
be able to work hard again till the first volume is ready. That will not be till Easter, as the first volume will have i,ooo pages, and only 500 are now printed. Everything seems to have quieted down in Dessau : they had not a large aristocracy to put down ! I should like to see for myself how things are, for here one can form but little idea about it.’
The next letter tells of the spread of the revolutionary spirit to Chemnitz, u’here his mother still lived, though no longer in her daughter’s house.
To HIS Mother.
Translation. Oxford, October 3.
‘ You can imagine my anxiety about you when I read in the papers of the insurrection of the workpeople in Chemnitz, of barricades and fighting in the streets, and remembered how far from strong Auguste is. From day to day 1 looked for a letter, and at last heard from you that you had escaped all danger. We must not complain of small deprivations, but thank God, who has watched over us hitherto with fatherly care. If I know that you are well in Chemnitz, and have always a sure refuge with Krug, and if you know that I am happy and well in Oxford, even if we do not see each other often, we can think of each other with perfect satisfaction ; and how few can say that in these times. One cannot expect things to settle down in Germany for many years. I cannot wish to be back in Germany, however much I long for German life, for one would only be drawn into all these party conflicts, without power to eifect any good. I often think it might be well to settle down entirely in England. I think one might be quite at home and happy here. If I go to Germany next year, I must look about and see what can be done there, and if any prospects open for me ; if not, I must look out for some career that later on would settle me here. I like Oxford so much better than London, that I shall remain here. Life is cheaper here, and I had already saved £20, but have spent it on MSS. from India, which I need for my work. Dr. Pauli is still living here, which is very pleasant, and gives me some one to talk to. Dessau seems to set an example to the world with its liberal institu- tions. What does Stockmarr ^ say to it all ? Uncle Fritz, doubtless, is much amused. I should like to see it with my own eyes ; it sounds a little fabulous ! ‘
Max Miiller seems to have been so m.uch absorbed in the
■^ An old and very conservative General, married to the sister of Max Miiller’s aunt, Frau Prasident von Basedow. The old man lived to keep his Iron Wedding (sixty-five years), and died a few days after, as did his wife, and they were buried the same day.


1848] Nineveh Inscriptions 81
Veda as to let a long time pass without any communication with his revered master, Burnouf, who sent him the following gentle reminder, which shows how even the life of a quiet student was upset by the political disorders of the times : —
Translaiion. Paris, October 7, 1848.
‘ My dear Friend, — It is a long time since I heard anything of you, and enough has happened here to make me forget any one to whom I was less attached than I am to you. But I have heard of you indirectly. I received a few days ago a sign of your remembrance of me, which touched me much ; and I have read your me’moire with delight, and have learnt from it many curious facts of the way in which Bengali has used for its own analytic purposes concrete words borrowed from Sanskrit. The work is well done, and I have observed with great satisfaction, among other things, a virtuous attack on the modernizers of Brahmanism in the interests of Buddhism, which has nothing to gain by outraging history and good sense. I venture to assert that, notwithstanding their pretensions, the dilettante authors of these heteroclite hypotheses understand neither Brahmanism nor Buddhism. I am now working at the second volume of my Introduc- tion to Buddhism, having been obliged to set aside the work I had begun on the Nineveh inscriptions. These researches cannot be carried on usefully in a time of political disturbance, such as the present ; the tempest in the streets distracts the mind. . , . Under these circumstances, I am devoting myself to Buddhism, to occupy my mind ; it is the only one of my labours for which I do not need State aid. Yours heartily, ‘E. Burnouf.’
To this Max Miiller replied : —
9, Park Place, November i, 1848.
‘ My Honoured Master and Friend, — . . . I was very sorry to
learn that the political agitation in France has disturbed your literary
work. Every one felt that the only hope of a successful and scien-
tific deciphering of the Nineveh inscriptions lay with you, for you
stand alone in such work. Yet the second volume of Buddhism
will be a welcome gift to many, to some perhaps not welcome, as it
will destroy their last heteroclite hypotheses. Unfortunately things
look very black for literature in Germany too, and I am glad that
I can give my time here in England quietly to the Veda. The first
Ashtaka, with a long introduction, will appear at Easter. I am
now writing the latter, and I often wish I could go to you for
advice, for here in England there is really no one who takes much
interest in real Indian antiquity. Wilson has finished his History
I G


82 Progress of Rig-veda [ch. v
of British India, which is very much liked, and is at work now on a lexicon of modern Indian names for measures, weights, and other words in daily use between Indians and Englishmen. Besides that he is preparing a catalogue of the MSS. of the East India House, as well as a translation of the Rig-veda. It is wonderful how busy he is, though one often wishes he v/ould devote his valuable time and powers more exclusively to Indian antiquity. ... I have heard nothing of Baron d’Eckstein since the Revolution, and would gladly hear how he is. . . . My time is so taken up with printing the Rig-veda, which has reached page 608, that I have no time for any other work ; for this I am very sorry, for the Commentary is terribly wearisome, and yet full of small difficulties, for which I often miss the help of MSS. from other parts of India. I have therefore ordered for myself a copy from Poonah, where your own valuable MS. was copied, and must await its arrival before I begin the second Ashtaka, as I have no collation of your MS. for that, and the MSS. here of the second Ashtaka are very imperfect. The East India Company has declared itself ready to buy Vedic MSS. if they can get them, so I hope for much new help from India.’
The following letter to Bunsen is the only allusion to a scheme which Max Miiller can hardly have contemplated seriously, though a Pass Degree would have been child’s play to him, and no doubt a hfe in College such as that led by many of his friends must have appeared more attractive than his solitary lodgings : —
Translation. 17, Walton Place, October 8, 1848.
‘ I think of going to London for a few days early next week to do
some work at the East India House. It would be a great delight to
me if I could see you for a few minutes, to ask your advice in a matter
which occupies me a good deal. The revolutions in Germany have
laid such hold on all the circumstances of life, and have so under-
mined the foundations of society, that one loses all courage to build
one’s future on such a soil. Unless one feels the strength and power
to take an active part in initiating and settling matters, but wishes to
find one’s ideal of life in the narrow quiet circle of science, one has
the right, I think, to seek shelter there, where science, if not patronized
and aided, is at least tolerated and let alone. With all my love of
the past, and with a full belief in the future of Germany, I feel more
drawn at present to English than to German soil. My work will keep
me in England for the next few years ; and as Oxford is a very
pleasant place of residence, I have an idea of entering one of the


1848] Thinks of entering College 83
Colleges as an undergraduate, keeping my twelve terms, and then taking my degree. I should hope to defray the expense by my own work, and the competition in the Oriental market is so small, that my prospects later on would probably not be bad. It is, of course, difficult to resolve to take such a backward step, and begin again from the beginning, when my friends and contemporaries have already found their spheres of activity as teachers and Professors. My own studies would meet with many interruptions, but when one sees that the path one has hewn for oneself does not lead to the goal, it is better to turn round than to pursue the wrong road till no return is possible. My work goes on merrily ; seventy-two sheets are printed, and I am writing the preface, which often overwhelms me ; but I have time till Easter, when the first two volumes and the preface will appear. Dr. Pauli is still living with me, but he has a good chance of being appointed to the Advocates’ Library in Edinburgh. In the hope of soon having the happiness of seeing you, I am, with my whole heart, yours obediently.’
We hear no more of the undergraduate scheme, and on his return from London he moved to pleasanter lodgings, No. 9, Park Place, now 18, Banbury Road, where he remained till January, 1856. Here he occupied the front floor, and some other German generally lodged in the same house.
To HIS Mother.
Translation. 9, Park Place, November 5.
‘ I have been staying with Bunsen in London and the country for a week. I was in his house, and we had long talks together, and I came back to my work with fresh courage. He is a delightful, excellent [b]