The following pages contain the substance of a public lecture delivered by me at Oxford on the 9th of May, 1862. They also embody much of the information on the subject of Indian Epic Poetry, which I have conveyed to my classes in a more familiar manner during the past year. The Ramayana and Maha-bharata, unlike the Iliad and the Odyssey, are closely connected with the present religious faith of millions ; and these millions, be it remembered, acknowledge British sway, and have a right to expect the British public to take an interest in works which are the time-honoured repository of their legendary history and mythology, of their ancient customs and observances, 08 well as of their most cherished gems of poetry.

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