Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/47

 The Veda On heaven's frame she hath shone forth in splendor; The goddess hath cast off the robe of darkness. Awakening the world, with ruddy horses, Upon her well-yoked chariot Dawn approacheth. Showering upon it many bounteous blessings, She spreads her brilliant lustre-all may see her. Last of the chain of mornings that have passed by, First of bright morns to come Dawn hath arisen. 31 Arise! the breath of life again hath reached us ! Dread darkness slinks away and light is coming! She hath blazed a pathway for the sun to travel, We have found the place where men prolong existence. The Rig Veda presupposes a tolerably elaborate and not uninteresting ritual, or scheme of priestly practices, in connection with the hymns addressed to the gods. How this may be read between the lines of the Rig-Veda's poetry I hope to show quite clearly later on. The Yajur-Veda represents the exceeding growth of this ritualism, or sacerdotalism, as time went by. Gradually the main object, namely, devotion to the gods, is lost sight of: sol- emn, pompous performance, garnished with lip service, occupies the centre of the stage. This per- formance is supposed to have magic or mystic power of its own, so that its every detail is all-important. It regulates mechanically the relation of man to the divine powers by its own intrinsic power, but yet a