Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/87

 The Hieratic Religion shabby!" And once again, "God after god urge thou on to favor us; make all pleasant things come our way; and, as thou shinest forth, create in us the inspiration that leads to gain!" That is to say, make our poctry so clever that it shall not fail to stimulate the liberality of the patron of the sacrifice! We can now understand the tour de force of the poet-priest who, when he sings of Dawn, is anxious above all that the main issue shall not be neglected. Therefore he blurts out his crassest thought first, afflicts the goddess with the doubtfully honorable title baksheesh, and then settles down to a very nice appreciation of his poetic opportunity: 66 1 Baksheesh's roomy chariot hath been harnessed, And the immortal gods have mounted on it, The friendly Dawn, wide-spread, from out of darkness Has risen up to care for the abode of mortals. "The mighty goddess arose before all the creatures, She wins the booty and always conquers riches; The Dawn looks forth, young and reviving ever, She came the first here to our morning offering." (Rig-Veda 1. 123. 1, 2.) 71 I think my hearers will understand that it is not necessary to regard the word dakshina, with Professor Max Müller, as a vague honorific adjective of Dawn, in the sense of "clever," or the like. Nor need we 2 1 Rig-Veda 7. 79. 5. 2 See his Auld Lang Syne, Second Series, p. 223 ff.