H. Later still than the Yoga philosophy is the systematic statement of the Vedānta point of view by Bādarāyana in his Sūtras, which are known either as _Brahma-sūtras_, _Sārīraka-sūtras_ or _Vedānta-sūtras_.[37] I. We next notice the latest development of Upanishad teaching, namely, that found in the Upanishads of the _Atharvaveda_. With the exception of three, namely, the _Mundaka_, _Prasna_ and _Māndūkya_ Upanishads, which we have already noticed, they are all very late.[38] They fall into four great groups, according as they teach (_a_) pure Vedantism, (_b_) Yoga practices, (_c_) the life of the Sannyāsin, or (_d_) Sectarianism.[39] For our purpose the last of the four is of the most importance. “These sectarian treatises interpret the popular gods Siva (under various names, such as Isāna, Mahesvara, Mahādeva) and Vishnu (as Nārāyana and Nrishinha) as personifications of the Atman. The different Avatārs of Vishnu are here regarded as human manifestations of the Atman.”[40] Let readers note that the doctrine of Avatārs is quite unknown in the Vedas, the Brāhmanas, the early Upanishads and the Sūtras.[41] We may also note that in groups (_a_) and (_b_) we find what is not found in earlier Upanishads, namely, the phrase _Sānkhya-Yoga_ used as the name of a system.[42] Here also the doctrines of Grace and _Bhakti_, the beginnings of which we found in the verse Upanishads, are regularly taught. J. The last development that we need mention is the teaching of the _Mahābhārata_ and _Manu_. We take them together, not only because each of them is the final product of long centuries of growth and compilation, but because they are so closely related to each other in origin, that it is hardly possible to take them separately.[43] In the first book of the _Mahābhārata_ we are told that the poem originally consisted of only 8,800 _slokas_, and that at a later date the number was 24,000. The complete work now contains over 100,000 _slokas_.[44] We need not here enquire when the simple heroic lays were composed, which lie at the basis of the great composition as it has come down to us; nor need we stay to decide at what period it finally reached its present labyrinthine structure and immense dimensions.[45] It is sufficient for our purpose to notice that scientific investigations have laid bare four stages in the formation of the Epic:—(_a_) early heroic songs, strung together into some kind of unity: this is the stage recognised in Book I, when the poem had only 8,800 _slokas_, and is in all probability the point at which it is referred to by Asvalāyana; (_b_) a Mahābhārata story with Pandu heroes, and Krishna as a demi-god: this is the form in which it had 24,000 _slokas_, and is the stage of the poem referred to by Pānini; (_c_) the Epic re-cast, with Krishna as All-god, and a great deal of didactic matter added; (_d_) later interpolations.[46] Scholars are able to fix, within certain limits, the dates of these various stages.