Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 6 (Indian and Iranian).djvu/151

 knowledge of the nature of the Absolute as thereby winning freedom from rebirth, and union at death with the Absolute. These teachings are mingled in the Upanisads with the older tenet of recompense in heaven and hell, and a conglomerate is evoked which presents itself in the shape that those souls which do not attain full illumination (or even all souls) go after death to the moon, whence some proceed eventually to Brahma, while others are requited in the moon and then are born again, thus undergoing in each case a double reward. One version, that of the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad (vi. 2), refers to the existence of a third place for the evil. Later this is rendered needless by the conception that the rebirth is into a good or a bad form, as a Brahman, warrior, or house-holder, or as a dog, pig, or Candala (member of the lowest caste). The third place mentioned in the Chandogya Upanisad (v. 10) now becomes entirely meaningless, but that does not prevent its retention. A new effort to unite all the views is presented by the Kausitaki Upanisad (i. 2), which sends all souls to the moon and then allows some to go by the path of the gods to Brahma; while the others, who have been proved wanting, return to earth in such form as befits their merit, either as a worm, or fly, or fish, or bird, or lion, or boar, or tiger, or serpent, or man, or something else. The law-books show the same mixture of ideas, for, while heaven and hell are often referred to as reward and punishment, they also allude to the fact of rebirth. The intention is that a man first enjoys a reward for his action in heaven, and then, since he must be reborn, he is reincarnated in a comparatively favourable position; while in the other instance after punishment in hell he is further penalized by being born in a low form of life.

The fathers with Yama are, no doubt, conceived as in heaven, but we hear also of fathers in the earth, atmosphere, and sky, and various classes are known, such as the Umas, Urvas, and Kavyas. The belief that the fathers are to be found in all three worlds is natural enough as regards earth and heaven, and the