Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/56

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“blessings” ; the latter with “ witchcraft clxnrr‘ns,“ 0r “curses.” In additinn t0 this name, and the Inter more conventional name Athsrvn-Vccln, them are two other nz'nncs, used only in the“: ritual trusts 0f this thtlit. One is J’K’fg‘?'BI)£§£WI.S‘IIX€, that is, Ilhrigus and Angimscs. In this the: Bhrigns, snntllnr nncicnt family 0f first priests, tnltn the plans 0f tin: Atlznn vans. The nthcr‘ is Brnhnln-iles, pmtmbly “Veda 0f the Brainnnn,”t11nt is the Vctln 0f the: supsrvisingx fourth priest at the Vcdic (ffﬁlfl‘a) sacriﬁces} ’I‘hc latter name may, however, In: due: to snrnc cxtnz‘xt t0 the fact that the Athsrvsul/‘cdn contains a surprising number of thcosophic hymns which deal with the Maxims, the panthcistic 1’:>crsoniﬁcnti0n 0f 11:in thought and its pious utterance. This, as we shall see later 0n,n becomes in time the ultimate rcliginns conception ' 0f the Veda.

The Atharvan isa. collection of 730 hymns, con— taining some 6000 stanzas. Asidc from its than- sophic materials, which look not a little strange: in :11. collection of charms and exorcisms, and some hicrstic stanzas which were employed by the: Brahman 01* fourth priest,it the collection is almost entirely 0f n pepular character. It consists of hymns and stanzas

1 Cf. Caland, Vienna Oriental fazarrml, v01. xiv., p. 1125 ﬂ’.

9 See below, 1). 273. 3 See Caland in the article just cited.

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