Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/95

 The Hieratic Religion "C partly mystic designations; of sacrificial articles, the sacred straw upon which the priests are seated, the doors of the enclosure within which the offering takes place, and the sacrificial post to which the animal is tied have a stanza each in every one of the ten apri-hymns. These sets of invocations are purely liturgical; each set belongs to a different family of Rishis or seers.' In general, each of the so-called "family books" of the Rig-Veda has its apri-hyinn. A peculiar odor of sancity, solemnity, and family pride must have attached itself to these formulas. In later times, when the hymns of the Rig-Veda are taken in lump, and employed at the great sacrifices with but very slight reference to the particular priest family from which they are sup- posed to have been derived, the choice of the apri- hymns is still made according to family. The ritual books at that time still order that the sacrificer must choose that apri-hymn which was composed in the family of the Rishi from whom he would fain derive his descent.' It seems likely, therefore and for other reasons, that each family book of the Rig- Veda was intended for essentially the same class of practices, carried on according to different family traditions, and to the accompaniment of different 79 1 See Çankhāyana Çrautasutra 5. 16; Açvalayana Çrautasutra 3. 2; Lätyāyana Crautasutra 6. 7.