Page:A History of Hindu Chemistry Vol 1.djvu/25

 magical incantations for bringing about ruin, death, dementation and stupefaction of one's adversaries; and charms intended to secure the love of women through the potency of various herbs. Some of them are of hostile character, being meant to injure rivals. The picture here presented has its counterpart in the ancient Egyptians, who were noted for their magical lore to which the Greeks were no less attached. There is a close resemblance between the contents of the A. V. and those of the Papyrus of Leyden in some essential features. In the latter also there is an intermixture of magic, astrology, alchemy as well as recipes for love philters.

The A. V., on account of its frequent calling-in-aid of super-natural agencies for selfish and malevolent purposes, has not generally been accorded the canonical sanctity of the Vedic Triad—The Rik, the Yajus and the Sámán; the very authority of the fourth Veda as a