A History of Indian Literature v1.c8.s7.98

v1.c8.s7.98

This, by the way, is one of the few places in the Brāhmaṇas where morality is thought of. It is only very occasionally that we come across moral reflections, as for instance, when the Asuras defeated the gods by falsehood, but the gods gained the ascendancy in the end, we are told that in like manner when men speak the truth, they may suffer adversity at first, but will prosper ultimately, while though the liars may have success for a time, they will surely perish in the end.⁵ Generally speaking, however, it is very characteristic of these texts that there is hardly any mention of morality in them at all. The Brāhmaṇas are a splendid proof of the fact that an enormous amount of religion can be connected with infinitely little morality. Religious acts, sacrifices and ceremonies, are the one and only subject of all these extensive works, but morality is a thing with which these works have nothing to do.¹ On the contrary, sacrificial acts are not only performed in order that the gods may fulfil the very materialistic wishes of the sacrificer, but also very frequently in order to injure an enemy. Indeed, the Brāhmaṇas give directions for the priests, how, by means of the sacrifice, they can injure the sacrificer himself by whom they are employed, if, for instance, he does not give them enough presents. They need only perform the prescribed ceremonies in reverse order, or employ spells at the wrong place, and the fate of the sacrificer is sealed.