Hinduism / by Monier Williams.

  • Monier Monier-Williams
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hinduism / by Monier Williams. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    41/254 page 33
    CHAPTER III. THE BRAHMANAS AND THE SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM. Having thus endeavoured to explain the nature of the Vedic hymns, we now turn to the second division of the Veda called Brahmana, which, in relation to the rise of Brahmanical authority, the elaboration of the idea of sacrifice, and the development of the ritual, is more important than the Mantra portion. What, then, are the Brahmanas ? They are intended, as their name implies, for the Brahmans, and especially for their use in conducting the complicated sacrificial ceremonies. Just as the Mantras are the representatives of the nature-worship of the Rishis which was developed in the Panjab, so the Brahmanas are the exponents of the ritualism of the Brahmans, developed when they had settled in North-western Hindustan. Their chief aim is to serve as guides or directories for the employment of the Mantras at sacrifices. But they do more than this. They speculate as to the meaning and effect of using particular verses and metres, and give explanations of the origin, import, and conduct of the sacrifices, frequently intermixing illustrations in the shape of legends and old stories. The rambling discursiveness of these compositions (the oldest of which may have been written in the
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