A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s2.38

v1.c8.s2.38

so suggestive of people and scenes from the period of Kālidāsa, does not in the least fit into the times of the Ṛgveda. Even the lotus-flower, which in a manner belongs to the essentials of later Indian poetry, is not yet a subject for metaphors among the Vedic singers. Altogether the animal and plant worlds in the Ṛgveda are essentially different from those of later periods. The Indian fig-tree (Nyagrodha, Ficus indica) is missing in the Ṛgveda. The most dreaded beast of prey of the India of to-day, the tiger, is not yet mentioned in the hymns—his home is Bengal, into which the Aryan Indians at that time had not yet penetrated. Rice—later the chief product of agriculture and the staple food of the Indians—is still quite unknown to the Ṛgveda. Only barley is planted, and at the time of the hymns agriculture as yet played only a small part. The chief source of income was cattle-rearing, and the chief cattle was the bullock. The horse also was greatly valued and, harnessed before the chariot, bore the warrior to the field, and, at the popular chariot-races, gained praise and glory for the victor. Again and again in the songs and invocations to the gods, the prayer for cattle and horses occurs. Also the strife amongst the hostile aboriginal inhabitants turns on the possession of cattle. Therefore, too, the old word for “war” or “battle” is originally “desire for cattle” (gaviṣṭi). In the most extravagant expressions cows and bullocks ¹ are praised as the most precious possessions. The lowing of cows hastening to the calves is looked on by the ancient Indian as the sweetest music. "The singers are shouting to the god Indra," says a poet, "as mother cows low to the calf." Gods are readily compared with bullocks, goddesses with cows. The milk of the cow was not only one of the chief articles of food, but milk and butter formed an essential part of the sacrifices to the gods. The milk was by preference consumed warm as it came from the cow, and Vedic poets marvel at the miracle that the "raw" cow gives cooked milk. As the German nursery rhyme has it:—