A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.83

c11.83

Beginning with an allegorical interpretation of the most important sacrifice, the *Açvamedha* (horse-sacrifice), as the universe, the first chapter proceeds to deal with *prāṇa* (breath) as a symbol of soul, and then with the creation of the world out of the Ātman or Brahma, insisting on the dependence of all existence on the Supreme Soul, which appears in every individual as his self. The polemical attitude adopted against the worship of the gods is characteristic, showing that the passage belongs to an early period, in which the doctrine of the superiority of the Ātman to the gods was still asserting itself. The next chapter deals with the nature of the Ātman and its manifestations, *purusha* and *prāṇa*.