The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c27.s1.18

v1.c27.s1.18

Beside this form of offering in hope of favours to come very small traces can be found of the offering which expresses grateful thanks for favours paid. The two ideas are clearly closely connected and to a generous people the existence of the one might seem to bring with it essentially the existence of the other. But it is clear that as in Roman religion the traces of the thank-offering are scanty and, though the idea is known, it has a feeble existence. A Sūtra⁷ prescribes such an offering for the case in which a man after falling ill recovers his health: the case is interesting for its simplicity: if a man falls ill after establishing the three offering fires, he should go away from his place of abode: the fires love the village and in their desire to return thither may heal him, in which case he should perform a Soma or an animal sacrifice. The offering of firstfruits,¹ however, is mainly if not entirely an offering to secure the safe eating of the new products,² an idea which is of world-wide extension. If a man has a son born to him ³ or attains a thousand cattle ⁴ he sacrifices, but merely to secure the health of one or the other; if he makes a vow and keeps it on the fulfilment of the occasion, as for instance if he says to a god, ‘Slay him and I will offer to thee,’ the keeping of the promise, which was not always done, is not a thank-offering.⁵ If the dead have a feast made for them when there is a birth in the family or a wedding,⁶ it is not according to the texts for thanks at their bringing about the good fortune: it may rather be that they are expected to share in the common joy, or that it is hoped to avert their envy of the good fortune of the house. The horse sacrifice ⁷ is indeed offered after the attainment of the position of a great prince, but the ritual shows that it concludes with a prayer for the welfare of the king and his people and the birth of a prince: it is in effect an offering to secure the maintenance of the success arrived at, a fact hinted clearly by the assertion of the Brāhmaṇas that it is fatal to a weak king to make such an offering.