A History of Hindu Political Theories from the Earliest Times to the End of the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century A.D. c7.25

c7.25

the Śrauta sacrifices. This is apparent from the dogmatic exposition of a ceremony forming an essential preliminary to the sacrificial act. The Dīkṣā or Initiation is declared in the Brāhmaṇas to have the result of raising the sacrificer to the level of the gods. Thus a passage of the Śat. Br. states, “He who is consecrated, truly draws nigh to the gods, and becomes one of the deities,”n∗ while in another passage it is stated, “He who is consecrated indeed becomes both Viṣṇu and a sacrificer; for when he is consecrated he is Viṣṇu; and when he sacrifices, he is the sacrificer.”n† Of a similar import is the direction in the Śat. Br. requiring the priest to address the consecrated person as Brahman, and invoking the divine protection on his behalf, because he is one of the gods. It is expressly laid down in this connexion that the same form of address should be uttered by the priest, even with respect to a Kṣatriya or a Vaiśya sacrificer.n‡