oblations (three at least); for every fortnight and season, a
sacrifice. Religious formulae were said over the child yet unborn.
From the moment of birth he was surrounded with observances.[5] At
such and such a time the child's head was shaved; he was taken out to
look at the sun; made to eat from a golden spoon; invested with the
sacred cord, etc, etc. When grown up, a certain number of years were
passed with a Guru, or tutor, who taught the boy his Veda; and to whom
he acted as body-servant (a study and office often cut short in the
case of Aryans who were not priests). Of the sacraments alone, such as
the observances to which we have just alluded, there are no less than
forty according to Gautama's laws (the name-rite, eating-rite, etc.).
The pious householder who had once set up his own fire, that is, got
married, must have spent most of his time, if he followed directions,
in attending to some religious ceremony. He had several little rites
to attend to even before he might say his prayers in the morning; and
since even to-day most of these personal regulations are dutifully
observed, one may assume that in the full power of Brahmanhood they
were very straitly enforced.[6]

It is, therefore, important to know what these works, so closely in
touch with the general public, have to say in regard to religion. What
they inculcate will be the popular theology of completed Brahmanism.
For these books are intended to give instruction to all the Aryan
castes, and, though this instruction filtrates through the hands of
the priest, one may be sure that the understanding between king and
priest was such as to make the code the real norm of justice and
arbiter of religious opinions. For instance, when one reads that the
king is a prime divinity, and that, _quid pro quo_, the priest may be
banished, but never may be punished corporally by the king, because
the former is a still greater divinity, it may be taken for granted
that such was received opinion. When we come to take up the Hinduism
of the epic we shall point out that that work contains a religion more
popular even than that of the legal literature, for one knows that
this latter phase of religion was at first not taught at all, but grew
up in the face of opposition. But for the present, before the rise of
epic 'Hinduism,' and before taking up the heretical writings, it is a
great gain to be able to scan a side of religion that may be called
popular in so far as it evi