२१४ रामायणनिरीक्षण. कलकत्ता रिहूतील लेखक - - मि. कस्ट यान्या मुखाने तरी, यांनी लोक रामाचा समकालीन होता, व तो ( नमसा ) गंगायमुना नदींच्या संगमाजवळ -प्रय गाजवळ राहात होता, हे कबूल केलेले आहे. यावच्न रमायणभारतांवि- यींची पत्त्यांची मतं निवळत चालली आहेत हे कळून येते. रामायण व महाभारत यांच्या परस्परसंबंधाविषय ते लिहितात की, :--Not only was a large part of the महाभारत composed later than the रामायण, parts of it being comparatively modern, but the place which gave birth to the two poems are distinct. (पु. ४१७ ). भारतीय आर्य महाकाव्ये व होमरचे ग्रंथ यांची तुलना करतेवेळी ते लिहितात “ There are many graphic passages in both the रमःयण and महाभारत, which for beauty of descrip tion, cannot be surpassed by any thing in Homer.. It should be observed, moreover, that the dic- tion of the Indian Epics is more polished, regular, anl cultivated, and the language altogether in a more advanced stage of development than that of Homer. " ( पु. ४९२ ). ( 2 ) In reality, it is the religious element of the Indian Epics that. constitutes one of the principal features of contrast in comparing them with the Homeric (g. ४२७ ). ( 3 ) In the रामायण and महाभारत, the spiritual and -the supernatural are everywhere so deminant. and overpowering that anything merely hunan aseems altogether ont of place. In the Iliad and -Odyssey, the religious and supernatural are perhaps searcely less prevalent (पृ. ४३२ ). ( 4 ) In
