The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c26.35

v1.c26.35

The chief point in which the Rigveda gives little parallelism with the later ritual is the household ceremonies of all kinds. There are indeed traces of hymns made for such occasions as the ploughing,⁴ the return of the cattle from the pasture,⁵ their driving in and driving out,⁶ but these are almost isolated. There are, however, hymns for marriage⁷ and the funeral ritual,⁸ and a few hymns dealing with magic rites, such as the removal of jaundice by the sun,⁹ the prevention of miscarriage,¹⁰ and the prognostication of misfortune.¹¹