A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s6.76

v1.c8.s6.76

Centuries later, in the Tantras, the religious books of more recent Indian sects, the use of such mystical syllables and words has become prevalent to such an extent that we frequently find nothing for pages, but inarticulated sounds such as um̐, ām̐, hrīm̐, ūm̐, em̐, krom̐, phat, aḥ, and so on. It is significant too, that the word *mantra*, which originally designated the verses and prayers (ṛc and yajus) of the Vedic Saṃhitās, later on had only the meaning of "magic formula." Already in the Yajurveda we can trace quite clearly the transition from prayer to magic formula—the two had, in fact, never been very strictly separated.