The Vedic fathers of geology

96 Tae VEDIC FATHERS or GEOLOGY.

historic times. But, before we do that, it would, I think, be proper to give here the approximate date of the Upanishads and the Brahmanas, which, us we have already observed, are replete with allusions to the various rock-formations of considerable importance.

The researches of the Oriental Scholars how, that the period of the Upanishads and the Bralhmanas was over 2,500 years before A. D., while the period of the Rig- Veda extended even beyond the Quaternary Era. That is to say, many hymns of the Rig-Veda, if not all, were sung by the Vedic Rishis during the Tertiary Epoch, preceding the Great Ice Age, as would appear clear from the evidence offered in the sequel. Besides, the great antiquity of the Vedie period has also been recently acknowledged by acute researchers like Messrs. B. G. Trnax, S, B. Dixit, V. B. Ketkar, &e. of the East, and eritics like Dr. Jocobi of Bonn, Dr. Buhler, Professor Bloomfield, Professor Max-Muller, and others of the West.

Now, as regards the Brihmanas and their ascertained period, Mr. Tilak says, that, ‘* the astronomical statements found in the Vedic Literature supplied us with far more reliable data for correctly ascertaining the ages of the different periods of Vedic Literature,” and that these statements “ unmistakably pointed out that the