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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1se, a mule, a chariot cannot proceed with less than four feet, therefore the sacrifice, in order to succeed, must have four feet : the four Vedas, and the four priests. Especially characteristic is the following : At Tait. S. Ill, 5, 2, 1, &c. (cf. Ind. Stud. X, 34), the well-known legend is told, according to which Vasish///a ' saw Indra clearly, though the i^zshis (in general) did not see him clearly.' Indra makes Vasish//za his Brahman (purohita), and con- fides to him moreover a mystery, the stomabhaga-verses. Since then men have Vasish/^a for their purohita : there- fore a descendant of Vasish//za is to be chosen as Brahman. The same legend is repeated almost verbatim Gop. Br. II, 2, 13, but the text demurs at the last clause. The Gop. Br. cannot say tasmad vasish//zo brahma karya/z, because it has previously stated emphatically that a bhr/gvangirovid is the only person fitted for that exalted office (I, 2, 18 ; 3, 1 fi\). At Vait. Su. 6, 1 the garhapatya-fire is personified as a steed which is prepared by the four Vedas for the Brah- man, and by Pra^apati for Atharvan : the equation brah- man = atharvan is implied. The passage, Vait. Su. 37, 2, a brahmodya or theological contest between the Brahman and the Udgatar, betrays perhaps a certain insecurity and touchiness on the part of the Brahman in his assumed superiority to the other priests : ' Not art thou superior, better than I, goest not before me. ... Thou speakest these words that are worthy of being learned, (but) shalt not become equal to me.' The superiority of the Brahman was occasionally disputed1, and possibly the Atharvanic 1 See Haug, Brahma und die Brahmanen, p. 10. INTRODUCTION. lxi Brahman felt that he stood in special need of asserting his dignity. Even more energetic are the demands of the liturgical texts in the matter of the office of purohita who is rp, r, r known also by the name of brahman and The office of f purohita in the guru. ' The king who rules the country shall seek a wise Brahman (brahma^am). He verily is wise that is skilled in the bhr/gu and angiras ; for the bhrzgu and angiras act as a charm against all ominous occurrences, and protect everything ' (Kauj. 94, 2-4 ; cf. 126, 2). The equivalence of brahman, purohita, and guru is guaranteed by comparing with this Ath. Pam. 3, r, kulina//z .srotriya;// bhrzgvangirovida7/z . . . guru^ vr/myad bhupati^ ; and 3, 3, tasmad bhrzgvangirovida^ . , . kuryat purohitam. Cf. also 2, 2, brahma tasmad atharvavit.
2lence of brahman, purohita, and guru is guaranteed by comparing with this Ath. Pam. 3, r, kulina//z .srotriya;// bhrzgvangirovida7/z . . . guru^ vr/myad bhupati^ ; and 3, 3, tasmad bhrzgvangirovida^ . , . kuryat purohitam. Cf. also 2, 2, brahma tasmad atharvavit. Conversely, ( The gods, the Fathers, and the twice-born (priests) do not receive the oblation of the king in whose house there is no guru that is skilled in the Atharvan ' (2, 3). Cf. Weber, Omina und Portenta, p. 346 fT. ; Ind. Stud. X, 138; Saya^a, Introduction to the AV., p. 6. In Kaui*. 17, 4fT. the king and the purohita (Darila: ra^a, purodha/^) are seen in active co-operative practice at the consecration of the king ; and again (brahma ra^a ka) in 140, 4 fT. at the indramahotsava- festival. The Atharva-pari^ish/as are not content with these strong recommendations of their own adherents, but they would have the adherents of the other Vedas, yea even of certain branches (^kha) of the Atharvan itself, excluded from the purohiti : ' The Atharvan keeps off terrible occurrences, and acts as a charm against portentous ones . . . not the adhvaryu, not the ^andoga, and not the bahvrzka. . . . The bahvrika. destroys the kingdom, the adhvaryu destroys sons, the ^andoga dissipates wealth ; hence the guru must be an Atharva^a. ... A Paippalada as guru increases hap- piness, sovereignty, and health, and so does a 5aunakin who understands the gods and the mantras. . . . The king whose purodha is in any way a Calada or a Mauda is deposed from his kingdom within the year ' (Ath. Pam. 1X11 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. 2, 2-5) x. The Paippaladas, Saunakins, Caladas; and Maudas are alike representatives of Atharvan schools (see Kaorika, Introduction, p. xxxiii ff.) : the passage shows how eager the scramble for the office of purohita had become. That the Atharvans finally succeeded in making heard their clamorous demand for this office (see below, p. lxvii) is probably due, as we shall see, to their superior, if not exclusive knowledge of witchcraft, which was doubtless regarded in the long run as the most prac- tical and trenchant instrument for the defence of king and people. In order to estimate at its correct value the claims of the Atharvanists that their own Veda is entitled to the name Brahma-veda, and that the so-called Causes leading up to Brahman-priests and the Purohitas must be ^fth^AV011 acmerents 0I~ tne AV., we need to premise certain considerations of a more general nature.
3ists that their own Veda is entitled to the name Brahma-veda, and that the so-called Causes leading up to Brahman-priests and the Purohitas must be ^fth^AV011 acmerents 0I~ tne AV., we need to premise certain considerations of a more general nature. In the Vedic religious system, or we might say more cautiously religious evolution, three literary forms and correspondingly three liturgical methods of application of these forms to the sacrifice were evolved at a time prior to the recorded history of Hindu religious thought and action. They are the rikzh, samani, and ya^u^shi, known also by a variety of other designations, and characterised to a con- siderable extent by special verbs expressing the act of reciting or chanting them 2. Correspondingly the priests who had learned one of these varieties of religious expres- sion and its mode of application to the sacrifice appear, again for aught we know from prehistoric times, as indi- vidual actors (hotar, udgatar, adhvaryu), in no wise qualified each by himself to shoulder the burden of literary know- ledge or liturgic technique. The Hindus were at all times well aware that these religious forms are fragmentary and parts of a whole. The Rig-veda contains countless expres- sions indicating the insufficiency of the rik&k to fulfil alone 1 Cf. Weber, Ind. Stud. I, 296 ; the author, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XI, 378, note. 2 See Max Muller, History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 489 ff. ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, p. 25 ff. INTRODUCTION. lxiil the scheme of religious action, and the interdependence of the three Vedic types. There is a Rig-veda, but no Rig- vedic religion, as even recent writers on the religions of India unfortunately tend to assume : the absence of samans would in principle leave Vedic religion just as much muti- lated as the absence of rzks ; the categories are the three parts of a trio whose melody is carried by each in turn. A comprehensive vision was never wanting, though the search for a word for * religion/ or religious practice, as a whole was at first not very successful. The IMhmaTza- texts still struggle with the notion of the superiority of him that knows all the Vedas, and they consequently posit a sarvavidya1 which is superior to a knowledge of each of the Vedas. The most successful attempt at describing the religious literature and action as a whole is the word brahma, and, correspondingly, he who knows the religion as a whole is a brahman.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1se, a mule, a chariot cannot proceed with less than four feet, therefore the sacrifice, in order to succeed, must have four feet : the four Vedas, and the four priests. Especially characteristic is the following : At Tait. S. Ill, 5, 2, 1, &c. (cf. Ind. Stud. X, 34), the well-known legend is told, according to which Vasish///a ' saw Indra clearly, though the i^zshis (in general) did not see him clearly.' Indra makes Vasish//za his Brahman (purohita), and con- fides to him moreover a mystery, the stomabhaga-verses. Since then men have Vasish/^a for their purohita : there- fore a descendant of Vasish//za is to be chosen as Brahman. The same legend is repeated almost verbatim Gop. Br. II, 2, 13, but the text demurs at the last clause. The Gop. Br. cannot say tasmad vasish//zo brahma karya/z, because it has previously stated emphatically that a bhr/gvangirovid is the only person fitted for that exalted office (I, 2, 18 ; 3, 1 fi\). At Vait. Su. 6, 1 the garhapatya-fire is personified as a steed which is prepared by the four Vedas for the Brah- man, and by Pra^apati for Atharvan : the equation brah- man = atharvan is implied. The passage, Vait. Su. 37, 2, a brahmodya or theological contest between the Brahman and the Udgatar, betrays perhaps a certain insecurity and touchiness on the part of the Brahman in his assumed superiority to the other priests : ' Not art thou superior, better than I, goest not before me. ... Thou speakest these words that are worthy of being learned, (but) shalt not become equal to me.' The superiority of the Brahman was occasionally disputed1, and possibly the Atharvanic 1 See Haug, Brahma und die Brahmanen, p. 10. INTRODUCTION. lxi Brahman felt that he stood in special need of asserting his dignity. Even more energetic are the demands of the liturgical texts in the matter of the office of purohita who is rp, r, r known also by the name of brahman and The office of f purohita in the guru. ' The king who rules the country shall seek a wise Brahman (brahma^am). He verily is wise that is skilled in the bhr/gu and angiras ; for the bhrzgu and angiras act as a charm against all ominous occurrences, and protect everything ' (Kauj. 94, 2-4 ; cf. 126, 2). The equivalence of brahman, purohita, and guru is guaranteed by comparing with this Ath. Pam. 3, r, kulina//z .srotriya;// bhrzgvangirovida7/z . . . guru^ vr/myad bhupati^ ; and 3, 3, tasmad bhrzgvangirovida^ . , . kuryat purohitam. Cf. also 2, 2, brahma tasmad atharvavit.
2lence of brahman, purohita, and guru is guaranteed by comparing with this Ath. Pam. 3, r, kulina//z .srotriya;// bhrzgvangirovida7/z . . . guru^ vr/myad bhupati^ ; and 3, 3, tasmad bhrzgvangirovida^ . , . kuryat purohitam. Cf. also 2, 2, brahma tasmad atharvavit. Conversely, ( The gods, the Fathers, and the twice-born (priests) do not receive the oblation of the king in whose house there is no guru that is skilled in the Atharvan ' (2, 3). Cf. Weber, Omina und Portenta, p. 346 fT. ; Ind. Stud. X, 138; Saya^a, Introduction to the AV., p. 6. In Kaui*. 17, 4fT. the king and the purohita (Darila: ra^a, purodha/^) are seen in active co-operative practice at the consecration of the king ; and again (brahma ra^a ka) in 140, 4 fT. at the indramahotsava- festival. The Atharva-pari^ish/as are not content with these strong recommendations of their own adherents, but they would have the adherents of the other Vedas, yea even of certain branches (^kha) of the Atharvan itself, excluded from the purohiti : ' The Atharvan keeps off terrible occurrences, and acts as a charm against portentous ones . . . not the adhvaryu, not the ^andoga, and not the bahvrzka. . . . The bahvrika. destroys the kingdom, the adhvaryu destroys sons, the ^andoga dissipates wealth ; hence the guru must be an Atharva^a. ... A Paippalada as guru increases hap- piness, sovereignty, and health, and so does a 5aunakin who understands the gods and the mantras. . . . The king whose purodha is in any way a Calada or a Mauda is deposed from his kingdom within the year ' (Ath. Pam. 1X11 HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA. 2, 2-5) x. The Paippaladas, Saunakins, Caladas; and Maudas are alike representatives of Atharvan schools (see Kaorika, Introduction, p. xxxiii ff.) : the passage shows how eager the scramble for the office of purohita had become. That the Atharvans finally succeeded in making heard their clamorous demand for this office (see below, p. lxvii) is probably due, as we shall see, to their superior, if not exclusive knowledge of witchcraft, which was doubtless regarded in the long run as the most prac- tical and trenchant instrument for the defence of king and people. In order to estimate at its correct value the claims of the Atharvanists that their own Veda is entitled to the name Brahma-veda, and that the so-called Causes leading up to Brahman-priests and the Purohitas must be ^fth^AV011 acmerents 0I~ tne AV., we need to premise certain considerations of a more general nature.
3ists that their own Veda is entitled to the name Brahma-veda, and that the so-called Causes leading up to Brahman-priests and the Purohitas must be ^fth^AV011 acmerents 0I~ tne AV., we need to premise certain considerations of a more general nature. In the Vedic religious system, or we might say more cautiously religious evolution, three literary forms and correspondingly three liturgical methods of application of these forms to the sacrifice were evolved at a time prior to the recorded history of Hindu religious thought and action. They are the rikzh, samani, and ya^u^shi, known also by a variety of other designations, and characterised to a con- siderable extent by special verbs expressing the act of reciting or chanting them 2. Correspondingly the priests who had learned one of these varieties of religious expres- sion and its mode of application to the sacrifice appear, again for aught we know from prehistoric times, as indi- vidual actors (hotar, udgatar, adhvaryu), in no wise qualified each by himself to shoulder the burden of literary know- ledge or liturgic technique. The Hindus were at all times well aware that these religious forms are fragmentary and parts of a whole. The Rig-veda contains countless expres- sions indicating the insufficiency of the rik&k to fulfil alone 1 Cf. Weber, Ind. Stud. I, 296 ; the author, Journ. Amer. Or. Soc. XI, 378, note. 2 See Max Muller, History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 489 ff. ; Ludwig, Der Rigveda, III, p. 25 ff. INTRODUCTION. lxiil the scheme of religious action, and the interdependence of the three Vedic types. There is a Rig-veda, but no Rig- vedic religion, as even recent writers on the religions of India unfortunately tend to assume : the absence of samans would in principle leave Vedic religion just as much muti- lated as the absence of rzks ; the categories are the three parts of a trio whose melody is carried by each in turn. A comprehensive vision was never wanting, though the search for a word for * religion/ or religious practice, as a whole was at first not very successful. The IMhmaTza- texts still struggle with the notion of the superiority of him that knows all the Vedas, and they consequently posit a sarvavidya1 which is superior to a knowledge of each of the Vedas. The most successful attempt at describing the religious literature and action as a whole is the word brahma, and, correspondingly, he who knows the religion as a whole is a brahman.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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