The Vedic fathers of geology

Iv

point, carefully scrutinized them with the object of gaining some insight into the matter, and found the probability to be a certainty, as I thought that there were very cogent grounds and strong evidence to affirm, that the Rig- Vedic Rishis and subsequent sages had, in truth, very wide acquaintance with, and intimate knowledge of Geology, since, they, every now and then, referred to the Geological formations and incidents of the Azoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Tertiary, and Quaternary Epochs, as also to the most prominent life-types thereof.

And here, it would not be out of place to remark, that the colossal Sanskrit Literature viz., Vedic, Puranic, and Classical, which forms an astounding monument of the everlasting and commanding genius of our ancestors, contains but stray passages in respect of the Earth’s crust, its Geological formations, its fossils, its various life-types, in short, its paleontology; and I have ventured to make copious use thereof, as these only formed the sources of my informa_tion and the basis of evidence, on which the present superstructure has been built, no Geological works in Sanskrit worthy of the name having been found, owing probably to the immense Sanskrit Literature on a variety of subjects