INDIA. PART I. tween the patri cated in the Ve that indicated in rata. abundant har vests, prolific cattle, bodily numerous pro geny, etc. HISTORY OF The simple patriarchal life of the Aryans is indicated in the Vedic hymns precisely as it is depicted Similarity be in the main tradition of the Mahá Bhárata. They archal life indi- were a people partly pastoral and partly agriculdie hymns and tural; keeping cows for the sake of their milk, the Maha Bhá- butter, and curds, and sowing the land with grain. They also seem to have had some acquaintance with the manufacture of weapons and coats of mail, and to have sometimes undertaken sea-voyages for the Prayers for rain, sake of gain. These people prayed to their gods, as such a people might be expected to pray, for plenty vigour, long life, of rain, abundant harvests, and prolific cattle; for bodily vigour, long life, numerous progeny, and protection against all foes and robbers, such as the Vedic deities cattle-lifting aborigines. Their gods appear to have been mere abstractions; personifications of those powers of nature on whom they relied for good harvests. They wanted seasonable rain, warmth, and fresh breezes. Accordingly, they prayed to the god of rain, the god of fire and light, and the Confusion in the god of wind. But from the very first, there appears to have been some confusion in these personifications, which led both to a multiplicity of deities, and the confounding together of different deities. tween Indra, the Thus the conception of the god of rain was Indra, and he was identified with the firmament as well as mere personifi cations of the abstract powers of nature. personifications. Distinction be sovereign god who sent the rain, and Varu water, or ocean. na, the god of with the unseen power which smote the rain-cloud and brought down the waters; and so important was the acquisition of rain in due season, that Indra is regarded as the sovereign of the gods, and subsequently became a type of sovereignty. But rain led to feel that his highest bliss on earth is derived from his marriage to one wife, and that the most elevated form of worship is that of one God, -the omniscient, the unseen, and the supreme. INDIA. Conception of Agui, as the god of light as well as of fire. tion of the Sun and water are frequently different things, and thus HISTORY OF there was another, and perchance an older, deity, named Varuna, who was particularly worshipped as the god of the waters, and deity of the ocean. Again, the conception of the god of fire was Agni, and Agni was not only the flame which burns upon the hearth or altar, but also the lightning which manifests itself in the clouds, and even the light of the sun, moon, and stars. Yet both the sun and Separate deificamoon appear as separate and individual deities, the and Moon. former under the name of Surya, and the latter under the name of Soma or Chandra. Again, there seems to have been a striking difference as regards wind. The god of wind, or air, was Váyu; but the Distinction bedifferent breezes which bring on or accompany the god of wind, and rain, are called Maruts, and are represented as the attendants of Indra. Thus, whilst there is a Leading Vedic Pantheon of separate and individual deities, the conception of one deity frequently overlapped the conceptions of other deities; and whilst the more prominent powers of nature, such as water, fire, and wind, were separately individualized, a monotheistic tendency was always at work, ascribing the attributes of every deity to each one in turn. Of these deities, the following appear to be the most important: Rain. Indra, god of the firmament. Fire. Agni, god of fire. Súrya, the sun. Soma, or Chandra, the Moon. tween Váyu, the the Maruts, or breezes. deities. Fanciful personifications which been regarded Air. Váyu, the god of wind. Maruts, the breezes who attended upon Indra. To these must be added a god of death, or judge of the dead, who was known as Yama. The characteristics of Yama as a Vedic deity would open up a large field of inquiry; but the subject at present vague and speculative. In the Epics, Yama appears distinctly as a judge of the dead; and men who are about to die are frequently said to be about to go to the mansions of Yama. is 4 The foregoing deities appear to have been the appear to have prominent gods in the Vedic Pantheon; but yet as minor deities. there are many fanciful personifications to whom hymns were addressed, such as Earth, Sky, Food, Wine, Months, Seasons, Day, Night, and Dawn. The religious ideas connected with these personifications are difficult of apprehension; and it can only be inferred that the abstractions were regarded as spiritual existences, and worshipped accordingly. Perchance a better acquaintance with Rig-Veda may serve to solve the problem, for at present philologists appear to be occasionally divided as regards the true meaning of passages; and, indeed, seem inclined to depend upon the interpretation of commentators who flourished thousands of years after the composition of the hymns, and when the national mind had been entirely recast in a Brahmanical mould.5 4 In a later and more mystic age, Earth became personified as the cow; but the conception of Earth in the Rig-Veda is more simple and primitive. 5 The chronology of the Vedas is still a subject of discussion, but the data are vague and unsatisfactory. The Rig-Veda has been referred to about the twelfth or fifteenth century before Christ, and would thus synchronize with the Hebrew INDIA. of worship. ples. simple articles different deities through the me The form of worship which prevailed amongst HISTORY OF the Vedic Aryans, throws still further light upon the simplicity of ancient rites and ideas. Indeed, Child-like form their whole religious system may be regarded as a child-like make-believe. They appear to have had No idols or temno idols and no temples, but either performed their sacrifice in the open air, or else in a sacrificial chamber set apart in each dwelling. The so-called Presentation of sacrifice was nothing more than the preparation of of food to the such simple viands as clarified butter, curds, wine, dium of fire. cakes, and parched grain; and the presentation of such articles to the different deities through the medium of fire. In other words, having deified The gods investcertain abstractions, they personified such abstrac- wants and aspirtions as beings with human wants and aspirations; of food. and then invoked the gods with hymns to attend and partake of the food which had been prepared for them, and made believe that the gods accepted the invitation. Moreover, the offerings do not ap- Flesh offerings. pear to have been always of a bloodless character, for Indra is described as rejoicing in roasted buffalo, and it is certain that a horse was occasionally sacrificed either to Indra or the Sun. ed with human ations, and invoked to partake connected with and drinking, and performed at These religious rites were thus intimately con- Religious rites nected with eating and drinking, and appear to have enti been performed at dawn, noon, and sunset. Ac- every meal. conquest of Canaan; but still it cannot be denied that some of the hymns may be of far earlier date, whilst the composition of others may have belonged to a much later age. The popular appreciation however of the Vedic hymns and the Vedic deities seems to have died away in the subsequent ages of Brahmanism and Buddhism, and later commentators must have proceeded to the task of interpretation with their minds deeply imbued with the religious ideas of the Brahmanic period. The most famous commentator of the Rig-Veda was Sáyana Acharya, who flourished about the fourteenth century of the Christian era, or about three thousand years after the composition of the works upon which he commentated; an interval corresponding to that which separates the books of Joshua and Judges from some of our early English divines. INDIA. PART I. cooking with sacrifice. HISTORY OF cordingly, it is easy to conceive that they may have formed an accompaniment to every meal, and may have been regarded almost as a part of the cookery. Thus the hymns may have been the expression of the aspirations of a simple people whilst the food was being cooked; and the so-called sacrifice may have been nothing more than the propitiation of the gods by the presentation of a portion of the Connection of victuals and liquors. Indeed, the preparations for cooking and sacrifice would be much the same. A fire would be kindled upon the ground, or upon a raised altar; the food would be either baked, or toasted, or boiled in kettles; bundles of a common but sacred species of grass, known as Kusa grass, would be sprinkled all round the altar for the 'makebelieve gods to sit upon, and upon which the worshippers also sat themselves; ghee and soma juice would be presented to the fire in ladles; and the god of fire would be invoked in a Vedic hymn, either to accept the offering, or to or to carry it away in flame to the other gods; after which the worshippers themselves partook of the meal which had been Greatness of the provided. Of course, such preparations would vary ried with the im- with the importance of the occasion. At the daily meal it may have been deemed sufficient to chaunt a few strains, and sprinkle a little ghee on the fire and grass; but on a set occasion, such as a marriage, an installation of a chieftain, or an assertion of sovereignty, the soma juice would be elaborately preparations va portance of the Grand entertainments. 6 Wilson's Rig-Veda, Vol. I. Introduction, p. xxiii. The Soma plant is the acid Asclepias, or Sarcostema viminalis, which yields to expression a copious milky juice of a mild nature and sub-acid taste. It does not appear to have been used in sacrifices until it had gone through the process of fermentation, and had become a strong spirituous beverage. Ib. p. 6, note. |