Vedic Metre in its Historical Development c17.s2.5

c17.s2.5

On the other hand the drink-ceremony is associated with a god or hero Indra, well described by H. Oldenberg as a ‘barbarian-god.’ A great feeder, swiller, and fighter, he stands out as the type of the Aryan adventurer-prince, rushing to the invasion of the lands of the ‘seven rivers,’ storming forts, releasing captives, taking possession of lands and herds. This conception seems so natural a product of the times, that we are hardly surprised to find that there is practically no trace of the worship of Indra amongst other Indo-European peoples: and it is so predominant in the earliest Vedic hymns, that we must ascribe to the enthusiasm of conquest embodied in the praise of this warrior-god the chief impulse towards the creation of the literature. From the ‘Chaldaean gods’ Indra is cut off by the fact that he dwells on earth, not in the sky; and again not less sharply by the lower moral tone which he represents. At this period then, the two worships seem to be separated by a gulf both of theory and of sentiment.