Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s18.409

v1.c3.s18.409

Divya, ‘ordeal,’ is a term not found until the later literature, but several references to the practice of ordeals have been seen in Vedic literature. The fire ordeal seen in the Atharvaveda¹ by Schlagintweit,² Weber,³ Ludwig,⁴ Zimmer,⁵ and others, has been disproved by Grill,⁶ Bloomfield,⁷ and Whitney.⁸ But such an ordeal appears in the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa,⁹ and an ordeal with a glowing axe¹⁰ occurs in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad as applied in an accusation of theft. Geldner¹¹ suggests that this usage is referred to even in the Rigveda,¹² but this is most improbable.¹³ Ludwig¹⁴ and Griffith¹⁵ discover in another passage of the Rigveda¹⁶ references to Dīrghatamas’ having been subjected to the fire and water ordeals, but this view cannot be supported. According to Weber,¹⁷ the ‘balance’ ordeal is referred to in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa,¹⁸ but see Tulā.