Ancient Indian Historical Tradition c31.120

c31.120

Next, as regards this Veda's character. It is a heterogeneous collection of the most popular spells current among the masses, and its most salient teaching is sorcery.⁴ Now the populace was non-Aila (p. 290), and magical power was the particular pursuit of the earliest brahmans, who belonged to the non-Ailas, as shown above. These features indicate that these songs began with and embody the ancient beliefs and practices of the peoples whom the Ailas subjugated, so that naturally the spirit which breathes therein is that of a prehistoric age,⁵ of the times prior to the higher development of brahmanism among the Ailas.