particular book, but of the literature of a particular epoch extending over a long period, say two thousand years or so. As this literature represents the total achievements of the Indian people in different directions for such a long period, it must of necessity be of a diversified character. If we roughly classify this huge literature from the points of view of age, language, and subject matter, we can point out four different types, namely the Sa@mhitâ or collection of verses (_sam_ together, _hita_ put), Brâhma@nas, Âra@nyakas ("forest treatises") and the Upani@sads. All these literatures, both prose and verse, were looked upon as so holy that in early times it was thought almost a sacrilege to write them; they were therefore learnt by heart by the Brahmins from the mouth of their preceptors and were hence called _s'ruti_ (literally anything heard)[Footnote ref 1]. The Sa@mhitâs. There are four collections or Sa@mhitâs, namely @Rg-Veda, Sâma-Veda, Yajur-Veda and Atharva-Veda. Of these the @Rg-Veda is probably the earliest. The Sâma-Veda has practically no independent value, for it consists of stanzas taken (excepting only 75) entirely from the @Rg-Veda, which were meant to be sung to certain fixed melodies, and may thus be called the book of chants. The Yajur-Veda however contains in addition to the verses taken from the @Rg-Veda many original prose formulas. The arrangement of the verses of the Sâma-Veda is solely with reference to their place and use in the Soma sacrifice; the contents of the Yajur-Veda are arranged in the order in which the verses were actually employed in the various religious sacrifices. It is therefore called the Veda of Yajus--sacrificial prayers. These may be contrasted with the arrangement in the @Rg-Veda in this, that there the verses are generally arranged in accordance with the gods who are adored in them. Thus, for example, first we get all the poems addressed to Agni or the Fire-god, then all those to the god Indra and so on. The fourth collection, the Atharva-Veda, probably attained its present form considerably later than the @Rg-Veda. In spirit, however, as Professor Macdonell says, "It is not only entirely different from the _Rigveda_ but represents a much more primitive stage of thought. While the _Rigveda_ deals almost exclusively with the higher gods as conceived by a _____________________________________________________________________ [Footnote 1: Pâ@nini, III. iii. 94.] 13 comparatively advanced and refined sacerdotal class, the _Atharva-Veda_ is, in the main a book of spells and incantations appealing to the demon world, and teems with notions about witchcraft current among the lower grades of the population, and derived from an immemorial antiquity. These two, thus complementary to each other in contents are obviously the most important of the four Vedas [Footnote ref 1]." The Brâhma@nas. [Footnote ref 2]