[122] Bloomfield's Atharvaveda iv, 36 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xlii).
[123] Mahabharata, Roy's trans. (Sabha Parva, p. 32).
[124] Vana Parva section of Mahabharata.
[125] Dasyu and Dasa are “applied in many passages of the Rigveda to superhuman enemies”. The colour reference in Dasa is probable, but it is also used in other senses. For a full discussion on conflicting views regarding Dasyu and Dasa see Vedic Index of Names and Subjects. Macdonell and Keith, vol. i, pp. 347-9 and 356-8.
[126] Mahabharata, Roy's translation (Adi Parva, section, pp. 495-6).
[127] Like an Egyptian Pharaoh, the rajah is here a god among men. His presence was necessary to ensure the success of rain-bringing ceremonies.
[CHAPTER V
Social and Religious Developments of the Vedic Age]
Aryan Civilization—Tribes and Clans—Villages and Trade—Divisions of Society—Origin of Castes—Rise of the Priestly Cult—Brahmanic Ideals of Life—Brahmanic Students—The Source of Algebra—Samaveda and Yajurveda—Atharva-veda Charms and Invocations—The “Middle Country” the Centre of Brahmanic Culture—Sacred Prose Books—Bold Pantheism of the Upanishads—Human Sacrifice and its Symbolism—Chaos Giant Myth in India, Babylonia, and China, and in Teutonic Mythology—Horse Sacrifices in India, Siberia, Greece, Rome, &c.—Creation the Result of Sacrifice—Death as the Creator and Devourer.