No such references appear in these epics, except in some solitary passages, which are evidently modern additions.[85] Hence the epics must have been composed before the time of Buddhism.

This argument of Lassen's is thought by Max Mueller to be conclusive, and if so it disproves Mr.Talboys Wheeler's view of the purpose of the Ramayana.
Few Hindoos now read the Vedas.

The Puranas and the two great epics constitute their sacred books.

The Ramayana contains about fifty thousand lines, and is held in great veneration by the Hindoos.

It describes the youth of Rama, who is an incarnation of Vischnu, his banishment and residence in Central India, and his war with the giants and demons of the South, to recover his wife, Sita.