Page:History of India Vol 1.djvu/111

Rh spear and the sword, and defended against the black barbarians those blessings of civilization which they solicited from their gods and secured with so much care.

But though each householder was himself the priest, the warrior, and the cultivator, yet we find evidence of kings performing rites on a large scale by help of men specially proficient in the chanting of the hymns and in other religious rites and specially engaged and paid for the purpose. And as we go towards the later hymns of the Rig-Veda, we find this class of professional priests gaining in reputation and in wealth, honoured by

and rewarded by princely gifts of cattle and chariots. We find mention of particular families specially proficient in the performance of religious rites and ceremonies and in the composition of hymns, and it is more than probable that the existing hymns of the Rig-Veda were composed by members of these families and were