A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c3.5

c3.5

As the Vedic hymns grew ancient, ritual developed and theological inquiry awoke. Then arose what is called the Brāhmana portion of the Veda. This consists of a variety of compositions, chiefly in prose, and attached to the different Mantras. Ritual and liturgy were the chief objects of these writings, but traditions were cited to enforce and illustrate, and speculation was set at work to explain, the allusions of the hymns. The simplicity of the Vedic myths gradually became obscured, the deities grew more personal, and speculations as to the origin of the world and of the human race invested them with new attributes. Later on, in the Āranyakas and Upanishads, which form part of the collective Brāhmana, a further development took place, but principally in a philosophical direction.