h what we might call its seven ages of life be seen so clearly,
nor the logical connection of these ages with each other be
recognised so unmistakably. The present chapter deals with the
infancy and lusty youth of the religion as seen in Vedism; the later
stages of Brahmanism and Buddhism will be spoken of in subsequent
chapters.

The Rigveda.--The Vedic religion takes its name from the Rigveda, the
oldest portion of Indian literature, and the earliest literary
document of Aryan religion. Of four vedas or collections of hymns,
the Rigveda is the oldest and most interesting. It contains a set of
hymns which, with much more of their early religious literature, the
Hindus ascribed to direct divine revelation, but which we know to
have been written by men who claimed no special inspiration. Most of
them date from the time when the Aryans, having made good their entry
in India, but without by any means altogether subduing the former
inhabitants, were dwelling in the Punjaub. The religion of the hymns
is a strongly national one. The Aryans appeal to their gods to help
them against the races, afterwards driven to the south and to the sea
coasts, who differ from themselves in colour, in physiognomy, in
language, in manners, and in religion. Nor are these conquerors by
any means an uncultivated people; they had long been using metals;
they built houses,--a number together in a village; they lived
principally by keeping cattle, but also by tillage, and by hunting.
They drank Sura, a kind of brandy, and Soma, a kind of strong ale, of
which we shall hear more. They were, as a rule, monogamous, the wife
occupying a high position in the household, and assisting her husband
in offering the domestic sacrifice. At the head of each state was a
king, as among the Greeks of Homer; he was not, however, an absolute
monarch; his people met in council and controlled him. The king
himself offered sacrifice for his tribe in his own house,--there were
no temples,--but he was frequently assisted by a man or several men
of special learning in such rites.

The hymns of the Rigveda were written for use at sacrifices. The
sacrifice consists of food and drink of which the god who is
addressed is invited to come and partake, or which are conveyed to
the gods seated on their heavenly thrones, by means of fire. Soma,
the intoxicating juice of the soma plant, is an invariable feature of
the banquets in these hymns; the solid part consists of butter, milk