A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s6.56

v1.c8.s6.56

Some prayer-formulæ of the Yajurveda are indeed nothing but magic spells in prose. Even exorcisms and curses, quite similar to those with which we have become acquainted in the Atharvaveda, confront us also among the prayers of the Yajurveda. For there exist also sacrificial acts by which one can injure an enemy. Thus the priest says to the yoke of the car on which the sacrificial utensils are kept: “A yoke thou art, injure the injurer, injure him who injures us, injure him whom we injure.” (Vāj., I, 8.)²