The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c11.s5.7

v1.c11.s5.7

Other points of distinction between the priestly and the popular faith are equally difficult to determine. That the priests insisted on an aniconic worship while the people made offerings to idols is certainly unproved, and implausible. That the people rejoiced in bloody offerings while the priests objected to them contradicts the whole ritual of the animal offering, even if the blood of the victim is usually assigned to the Rakṣases to appease them, for this seems in Indian ritual the general use of the blood. The priests recognize the importance of women only in certain rites, namely those affecting marriage and agriculture; but there is no distinction here between hieratic and popular views, for primitive peoples recognize in these fields the special importance of women, and we see that as often the priests were in full harmony with popular views.