Page:Fairy Tales Their Origin and Meaning.djvu/34

22 addressed to Varuna, or the All-Surrounder, the ancient Hindu name for the chief deity:—

"Let me not, O Varuna, enter into the house of clay.    Have mercy! Almighty, have mercy! If I go trembling, like a cloud driven by the wind,     Have mercy! Almighty, have mercy! Through want of strength, thou strong and bright God,          have I gone wrong;     Have mercy! Almighty, have mercy!"

But, besides Dyaus pítar, or Varuna, the Aryans worshipped other gods, whom they made for themselves out of the elements, and the changes of night and day, and the succession of the seasons. They worshipped the sky, the earth, the sun, the dawn, fire, water, and wind. The chief of these deities were Agni, the fire; Prithiví, the earth; Ushas, the dawn; Mitra, or Sürya, the sun; Indra, the sky; Maruts, the storm-winds; and Varuna, the All-Surrounder. To these deities sacrifice was offered and prayer addressed; but they had no priests or temples—these came in later ages, when men thought they had need of others to stand between them and God. But the ancient Aryans saw the Deity everywhere, and stood face to face with Him in Nature. He was to them the early morning, the